Red Dead Redemption 2

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture, built on a 4 nm process at TSMC. It has a base clock of 4.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, with 64 MB of shared L3 cache. For a game like Red Dead Redemption 2, which is a large open-world title that can utilize multiple threads for simulation and AI, the 9900X’s core count is more than sufficient. The data confirms this: the CPU scores 46,438 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 6,555 in single-core, placing it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs. The GPU, a NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090, is the more potent component in this pairing, with 24 GB of GDDR6X memory and 16,384 shading units. Its Passmark G3D score of 38,194 puts it in the 91st percentile for all GPUs. The 9900X’s 24 threads ensure that it will not bottleneck the RTX 4090 in this title, even at lower resolutions where the CPU load is relatively higher.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Ryzen 9 9900X’s architecture is designed for high throughput. With a base clock of 4.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, it can handle both lightly-threaded tasks and heavily-parallelized workloads. In Red Dead Redemption 2, the game’s simulation of the world, including NPC behavior and physics, can scale well beyond a few cores. The 3DMark benchmark results show the scaling: a single-thread score of 1,286, but a 16-thread score of 12,552, which is nearly ten times higher. This indicates that the CPU has significant headroom when the game asks for more processing power. The benchmark data shows that the 9900X is 0.7% ahead of the Intel Core i7-14700F in average benchmark score, and 1.5% behind the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K. This places it in a competitive tier for gaming. The 9900X’s 64 MB of L3 cache is also relevant, as it helps keep frequently accessed game data close to the cores, reducing latency. The CPU’s memory bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s, paired with DDR5 support, ensures that the data pipeline from system memory to the GPU is not a limiting factor in this combination.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is measured in this game at rank 44 out of 1,687 tested combos. This places the system in the top 2.6% of all tested configurations, which is an exceptional result. The rank reflects the absolute performance ceiling of this pairing. While the RTX 4090 is a top-tier GPU, the 9900X is not the absolute fastest CPU on the market, which explains why it does not rank even higher. For example, the CPU’s average benchmark score of 54,450 is slightly below the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D’s score of 54,681, a delta of -0.4%. The 3D V-Cache of the X3D variant often provides a gaming advantage. However, the combo still outperforms the vast majority of systems because the RTX 4090 carries most of the graphical load. The data suggests that this combination is not bottlenecked in a way that would cause it to fall below the top tier; it is simply that a few other CPU choices might extract slightly more performance from the same GPU.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data shows a clear pattern as resolution increases. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo achieves 134.7 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440, the FPS drops to 102.8, a reduction of roughly 24%. Finally, at 3840x2160, the FPS falls to 66, which is a 51% drop from the 1080p result. This behavior indicates that the system is becoming increasingly GPU-bound at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the CPU has more headroom to feed frames to the GPU, and the 9900X’s strong single-thread performance (a Geekbench single-core score of 3,341) helps maintain higher frame rates. As the resolution increases, the pixel fill rate and shading work of the RTX 4090 become the dominant factor. The 4K results, particularly the Ultra setting’s 46 FPS, show that even this powerful GPU is taxed by the game’s most demanding settings. The scaling from Low to Ultra settings at 4K is also telling: 105.7 FPS at Low versus 46 FPS at Ultra, a 56% performance penalty for the highest visual quality. This is a clear sign that the GPU’s compute resources are the limiting factor at 4K, not the CPU.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The dataset provides average FPS for four settings presets at three resolutions.

At 1920x1080, the frame rates are high across the board. The Low preset delivers 217 FPS, which is excellent for high-refresh-rate monitors. Medium settings drop to 161 FPS, while High settings achieve 134.7 FPS. The Ultra preset still manages 98.5 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS target for most displays. The difference between Low and Ultra is 118.5 FPS, indicating that the GPU can handle the extra load but with a significant cost to performance.

At 2560x1440, the results are still strong. Low settings produce 157.9 FPS, Medium yields 120.8 FPS, and High is close behind at 102.8 FPS. The Ultra preset drops to 69.6 FPS, which is still playable but shows the impact of the more demanding settings. The gap between Low and Ultra here is 88.3 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly the bottleneck. Low settings provide 105.7 FPS, which is a solid experience. Medium settings reduce this to 76.4 FPS, and High settings further lower it to 66 FPS. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, bringing the average down to 46 FPS. This is below the 60 FPS threshold that many players prefer. The data shows a 59.7 FPS difference between Low and Ultra at this resolution, confirming that the RTX 4090 is stretched to its limits with the highest settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS achieved by this combo at 1080p?

A: The highest average FPS is 217, achieved with the Low settings preset at 1920x1080.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K with Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 46, which is below the standard 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay.

Q: Is the Ryzen 9 9900X a bottleneck for the RTX 4090 in this game?

A: The data suggests no. At 1080p, the combo reaches 134.7 FPS at High settings, and the CPU's strong multi-threaded performance (Cinebench R23 multicore score of 46,438) indicates it is not limiting the GPU.

Q: What is the FPS difference between Medium and High settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Medium settings yield 120.8 FPS, while High settings yield 102.8 FPS, a difference of 18 FPS.

Q: How does the combo rank compared to all other tested combinations?

A: The combo ranks 44th out of 1,687 tested combinations, placing it in the top percentile of all systems.

Q: What is the lowest average FPS recorded in the entire dataset?

A: The lowest average FPS is 46, which occurs at 3840x2160 with the Ultra settings preset.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark data indicates that the optimal experience depends on the user’s display resolution and preference for visual fidelity versus frame rate. For players targeting 60 FPS, the data shows that High settings at 4K achieve 66 FPS, which is a comfortable margin above the target. If the user has a 1440p monitor, High settings provide 102.8 FPS, which is well-suited for higher refresh rate displays, while Ultra settings drop to 69.6 FPS, still smooth but with a notable performance cost. At 1080p, the High preset (134.7 FPS) offers a good balance, allowing for high refresh rates without sacrificing too much visual quality; the Ultra preset at 98.5 FPS is also viable for 144Hz monitors. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, and at 4K it results in sub-60 FPS performance (46 FPS), so it is only recommended for players who prioritize maximum visual detail over frame rate and have a display that supports adaptive sync to mitigate the lower FPS. The Medium preset is a good fallback for 4K users who want a higher frame rate (76.4 FPS) than High, but the visual difference between Medium and High is often significant in this title. The Low preset, while achieving very high FPS (217 at 1080p), is not recommended for general play as it substantially reduces the game’s visual quality. The data suggests that High settings at 1440p or 4K provide the best balance of image quality and performance for this hardware combination, and the 4K High result of 66 FPS is the sweet spot for a cinematic experience.