Red Dead Redemption 2

# Red Dead Redemption 2 with AMD Ryzen 9 9900X + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 produces a wide spread of frame rates across resolutions and presets in Red Dead Redemption 2, with the measured data showing 12 distinct combinations of resolution and quality settings. This combination ranks 437th out of 1,687 tested combos, placing it in the upper quartile of all CPU-GPU pairings for this title. The data set spans 1080p, 1440p, and 4K at Low, Medium, High, and Ultra presets, allowing a detailed look at how each component responds to changing workload characteristics.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a consistent and predictable drop as resolution increases, though the magnitude of the drop varies significantly by preset. At Low settings, the RTX 4070 with the Ryzen 9 9900X delivers 149.8 FPS at 1920x1080, which falls to 112.4 FPS at 2560x1440 (a 25% reduction) and then to 76.5 FPS at 3840x2160 (a further 32% reduction from 1440p). This pattern shows that even at the lowest quality preset, 4K resolution exacts a heavy toll, cutting frame rates nearly in half compared to 1080p.

At Medium settings, the scaling curve steepens. The 1080p result is 114 FPS, dropping to 87.7 FPS at 1440p and 58.3 FPS at 4K. The percentage decline from 1080p to 4K here is roughly 49%, compared to about 49% at Low as well — the relative drop is similar, but the absolute numbers sit lower because the preset itself demands more from the GPU. High settings show 94.4 FPS at 1080p, 68.4 FPS at 1440p, and 48 FPS at 4K, representing a 49% total decline from 1080p to 4K. Ultra is the most demanding preset, with 71 FPS at 1080p, 49.6 FPS at 1440p, and 30.6 FPS at 4K — a 57% drop from 1080p to 4K.

The pattern across all four presets indicates that the GPU becomes the limiting factor as resolution climbs. At 1080p, the Ryzen 9 9900X has enough headroom in its 12 cores and 24 threads to keep the RTX 4070 fed, but by 4K the pixel throughput demands of Red Dead Redemption 2 overwhelm the GPU regardless of preset. The Ultra preset at 4K falls below 31 FPS, which is playable only for turn-based or slow-paced scenarios. The data shows that the scaling from 1440p to 4K is consistently larger than the scaling from 1080p to 1440p, confirming that the RTX 4070's computational resources saturate more quickly at higher resolutions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 brings 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration plays a direct role in the frame rates observed at higher resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the game demands more than the GPU can sustain, yielding 30.6 FPS — a result that suggests the 12 GB frame buffer and the AD104 chip's 64 ROPs are stretched to their limits. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1920 MHz with a boost of 2475 MHz, and its 5,888 shading units handle the pixel workload across the three tested resolutions.

The RTX 4070's memory bandwidth becomes increasingly important as resolution rises. At 1080p, the bandwidth requirement is modest, and the GPU can push well past 100 FPS on Low and Medium presets. At 4K, however, the 504.2 GB/s figure appears insufficient to maintain high frame rates even at Medium settings, where the 58.3 FPS result indicates a hard ceiling imposed by memory throughput. The GPU's 184 texture mapping units and 46 ray tracing cores also factor into the equation, though the measured data does not isolate their individual contributions.

Comparing the RTX 4070 to its nearest rivals in the benchmark database, its average score of 37,283 sits 0.6% behind the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 and 1.9% behind the NVIDIA GeForce MX570 A. The RTX 4080 Mobile leads by 2.2%, while the RX 5300M trails by 2.5%. These small deltas in synthetic benchmarks do not translate linearly to Red Dead Redemption 2 performance, but they place the RTX 4070 in a competitive mid-range tier. The GPU's 81st percentile ranking among all GPUs reinforces its position as a solid but not top-tier performer for this title.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 achieves a rank of 437 out of 1,687 tested CPU-GPU pairs in Red Dead Redemption 2. This places the combo in the top 26% of all tested configurations, a strong result that reflects balanced performance across both components. The CPU itself ranks in the 94th percentile among all CPUs, while the GPU sits in the 81st percentile — the combo rank of 437 suggests that the pairing works well together without either component becoming a severe bottleneck.

The Ryzen 9 9900X's average benchmark score of 54,450 places it just 0.4% behind the Ryzen 9 9900X3D and 0.7% ahead of the Intel Core i7-14700F. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245K and 245KF lead by 1.5% and 1.8%, respectively. These close margins in CPU performance mean that the combo's rank in this game is driven primarily by the GPU, which is the more variable component across different resolutions. The delta between the combo's rank and the CPU's percentile suggests that Red Dead Redemption 2 is not heavily CPU-bound at the tested settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS achievable with this combo at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves 149.8 FPS. Medium delivers 114 FPS, High reaches 94.4 FPS, and Ultra drops to 71 FPS.

Q: Is 4K playable with this CPU-GPU pairing?

A: Yes, but only at lower presets. At 4K Low, the average FPS is 76.5; at Medium it falls to 58.3; at High it is 48; and at Ultra it drops to 30.6. The Ultra preset at 4K is below common playability thresholds.

Q: How does the Ryzen 9 9900X compare to its closest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Ryzen 9 9900X scores 54,450 on average, which is 0.4% lower than the Ryzen 9 9900X3D (54,681) and 0.7% higher than the Intel Core i7-14700F (54,097).

Q: What memory configuration does the RTX 4070 use?

A: The GPU has 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth with a memory clock of 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective).

Q: What is the frame rate difference between 1440p and 4K at High settings?

A: At 2560x1440 High, the average FPS is 68.4; at 3840x2160 High, it drops to 48. This represents a 30% reduction in frame rate when moving from 1440p to 4K.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations in this game?

A: The combo ranks 437th out of 1,687 tested CPU-GPU pairs, placing it in the top 26% of all tested configurations.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X is a 12-core, 24-thread processor built on the Zen 5 architecture with a 4 nm process node. Its base clock is 4.40 GHz with a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, and it carries a 120 W TDP. The CPU's 64 MB of shared L3 cache, along with 1 MB of L2 per core and 80 KB of L1 per core, provides ample cache for game workloads. The dual-channel DDR5 memory support with 89.6 GB/s of bandwidth ensures the GPU receives data without significant delays.

In Red Dead Redemption 2, the CPU's role varies by resolution. At 1080p Low, the frame rate of 149.8 FPS indicates that the Ryzen 9 9900X is capable of feeding the RTX 4070 to its limits — the GPU is the bottleneck even at this low preset. The CPU's single-thread performance, evidenced by its 3DMark single-thread score of 1,286 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 6,555, ensures that the game's main thread is not starved. The multi-threaded capabilities, shown by a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 46,438, handle background tasks and any secondary threads the game spawns.

The CPU's 94th percentile ranking among all CPUs, combined with its average benchmark score of 54,450, puts it in elite territory. Its nearest rival, the Ryzen 9 9900X3D, scores nearly identically at 54,681 (0.4% higher), suggesting that the 3D V-Cache variant offers no meaningful advantage in this game. The Intel Core i7-14700F trails by 0.7%, and the Core Ultra 5 245K and 245KF lead by small margins. These tight deltas mean that the CPU choice has minimal impact on Red Dead Redemption 2 performance relative to the GPU.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance for optimizing the play experience. For users targeting 60 FPS, the 1440p High preset delivers 68.4 FPS, making it the best choice for a balance of visual quality and smoothness. At 1080p, High settings produce 94.4 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold and leaves headroom for more demanding scenes. The 1080p Medium preset at 114 FPS offers even more margin, while 1080p Low at 149.8 FPS is ideal for competitive play or high-refresh-rate monitors.

For 4K displays, the situation is more constrained. The 4K Low preset at 76.5 FPS is the only 4K option that comfortably exceeds 60 FPS. Medium at 58.3 FPS is close to the threshold but may dip below in heavy scenes. High at 48 FPS and Ultra at 30.6 FPS are best reserved for screenshots or turn-based play. The data suggests that 4K High is the highest quality preset that remains playable, provided the user accepts frame rates in the mid-40s range.

The sweet spot for most users appears to be 1440p High, which delivers 68.4 FPS — a 46% improvement over 4K High's 48 FPS while retaining most visual fidelity. For users prioritizing frame rate above all else, 1080p Low at 149.8 FPS or 1440p Low at 112.4 FPS are the strongest options. The Ultra preset at any resolution shows diminishing returns: at 1080p it drops to 71 FPS, which is a 25% reduction from High despite the visual gains being modest in most scenes. The measured data indicates that High settings at 1440p offer the best experience for this combo, balancing the GPU's 12 GB memory capacity and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth against the CPU's substantial headroom.