Red Dead Redemption 2

# Red Dead Redemption 2 with AMD Ryzen 9 9900X + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050

This combination of AMD's 12-core Ryzen 9 9900X and NVIDIA's entry-level GeForce RTX 5050 produces a heavily GPU-limited experience in Red Dead Redemption 2, with average frame rates that range from a playable 73 FPS at 1080p Medium down to a slideshow-like 22 FPS at 4K Ultra. The benchmark data shows a system where the CPU is essentially never the bottleneck — instead, the RTX 5050's 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit memory bus dictate what settings and resolutions are viable, and the results make clear that this pairing is best treated as a 1080p-oriented configuration for this 2018 title.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates reveal a steep performance cliff as resolution increases, which is the classic signature of a GPU-bound scenario. At 1080p Low, the combo averages 98 FPS, but dropping to 1440p Low reduces that to 73 FPS — a decline of roughly 25%. Going further to 4K Low yields 48 FPS, which is about 34% lower than the 1440p result and less than half of the 1080p Low figure. This scaling pattern is consistent with the RTX 5050's modest 320.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 13.17 TFLOPS FP32 throughput; the GPU simply runs out of pixel-pushing capability as the render target grows.

The Medium preset tells a similar story with slightly compressed numbers. At 1080p Medium, the average is 73 FPS with a minimum of 62 FPS and a maximum of 84 FPS. Moving to 1440p Medium drops the average to 55 FPS (min 46, max 63), and 4K Medium falls to 36 FPS (min 31, max 41). The gap between 1080p and 1440p Medium is about 25%, while the gap from 1440p to 4K Medium is roughly 35% — again pointing at the GPU as the limiting component, since CPU load does not scale with resolution in the same way.

High settings show the same pattern: 1080p High averages 61 FPS, 1440p High drops to 46 FPS, and 4K High lands at 30 FPS. The step from 1080p to 1440p costs about 25% performance, and the step to 4K costs another 35%. Ultra settings are the most punishing, with 1080p Ultra at 44 FPS, 1440p Ultra at 33 FPS, and 4K Ultra at just 22 FPS. The data suggests that the RTX 5050 is overwhelmed at 4K regardless of preset — even Low settings cannot reach 60 FPS at that resolution, which is a strong indicator that the GPU's 8 GB frame buffer and 128-bit bus are the primary constraints.

How This Combo Ranks

Among the 2,902 tested CPU-GPU combinations for Red Dead Redemption 2, this pairing sits at rank 1,760, placing it in the lower half of the field. That ranking is somewhat surprising given the Ryzen 9 9900X's strong overall CPU performance — the processor holds the 92nd percentile among all CPUs in the database — but it reflects the reality that the RTX 5050 is the weak link here. The GPU's percentile versus all GPUs is just 66, and its average benchmark score of 21,035 is modest by current standards.

Looking at the GPU's nearest rivals puts the RTX 5050's position in context. The AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL scores 21,153 (0.6% higher), the AMD Radeon HD 8970M scores 21,237 (1% higher), and the NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile scores 21,379 (1.6% higher). The only rival it beats in this group is the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT at 20,713, which it edges by 1.6%. These are not modern high-end parts — several are mobile or legacy desktop components — which underscores that the RTX 5050 is an entry-level GPU. The combo's rank of 1,760 out of 2,902 means that roughly 60% of tested pairings deliver better performance in this game, and the primary reason is the GPU's limited throughput and memory subsystem.

The CPU side of the ranking is far more flattering. The Ryzen 9 9900X's average benchmark score of 57,498 places it just 0.1% below the AMD EPYC 9015 (57,555) and 0.2% above the AMD EPYC 7313 (57,399). It trails the Intel Core i9-14900 by 1.1% (58,115) and the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M by 1.4% (58,323). In synthetic CPU tests, this is a top-tier desktop processor, but in-game results show that its capabilities are largely wasted in this pairing — the RTX 5050 cannot feed the CPU enough frames to utilize its 12 cores and 24 threads effectively.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 9 9900X is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge), built on TSMC's 4 nm process. Its base clock is 4.40 GHz with a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, and it carries 64 MB of L3 cache alongside 1 MB of L2 per core and 80 KB of L1 per core. The CPU's TDP is 120 W, and it supports DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration with 89.6 GB/s of bandwidth. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 32,172 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2,253 in single-core, with a Geekbench multi-core score of 22,174 and single-core of 3,010. These are strong numbers that place it in the 92nd percentile of all CPUs.

For Red Dead Redemption 2, however, the CPU's role is minimal because the measured frame rates are so low. At 1080p Medium, the average is 73 FPS, and even at the fastest measured configuration (1080p Low, 98 FPS), the CPU has ample headroom. The game was released in 2018 and is not particularly demanding on modern multi-core processors; the Ryzen 9 9900X's 12 cores and 24 threads are far beyond what this title requires. The 3DMark results are instructive: the CPU scores 12,552 with 16 threads, 9,114 with 8 threads, 4,886 with 4 threads, and 2,519 with 2 threads. The scaling from 2 to 16 threads shows good multi-threaded performance, but Red Dead Redemption 2's workload is unlikely to stress more than a handful of cores.

The practical implication is that the CPU is never the limiting factor in any of the 12 measured configurations. Whether at 1080p Low (98 FPS) or 4K Ultra (22 FPS), the frame rate is determined by the GPU's ability to render the scene. If the RTX 5050 were replaced with a more powerful GPU, the Ryzen 9 9900X would have no trouble keeping up — its PassMark single-thread score of 4,672 and multi-thread score of 54,643 indicate strong per-core and multi-core performance. But with this GPU, the CPU sits mostly idle, waiting on the graphics card to deliver frames.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the full range of presets shows what this combo can do when the GPU is not overwhelmed. Low settings deliver 98 FPS average, which is smooth and well above the 60 FPS threshold. Medium settings average 73 FPS with a minimum of 62 FPS and a maximum of 84 FPS — this is the sweet spot for 1080p, offering a solid experience with some headroom. High settings drop to 61 FPS average, which is still playable but leaves little margin for demanding scenes. Ultra settings fall to 44 FPS, which is noticeably less smooth and suggests that the RTX 5050 cannot handle the highest quality presets even at 1080p.

At 2560x1440, the performance drops are substantial. Low settings average 73 FPS, which is exactly the same as 1080p Medium — a useful comparison point showing that resolution scaling roughly matches preset scaling. Medium settings average 55 FPS with a minimum of 46 FPS and a maximum of 63 FPS; the minimum is below 60 FPS, meaning there will be noticeable dips in busy scenes. High settings average 46 FPS, which is borderline for action gameplay. Ultra settings average 33 FPS, which is not ideal for a game that involves shooting and horse riding. The 1440p results suggest that this resolution is only viable with Low or Medium presets, and even Medium will occasionally drop below 50 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the RTX 5050 is clearly out of its depth. Low settings average 48 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target and will feel sluggish in fast-paced moments. Medium settings average 36 FPS with a minimum of 31 FPS and a maximum of 41 FPS — the minimum is approaching unplayable territory. High settings average 30 FPS, which is the classic "30 FPS console experience" but with the inconsistency of a minimum that could dip lower. Ultra settings average 22 FPS, which is a slideshow. None of the 4K presets deliver a satisfactory experience, and the data strongly suggests avoiding 4K with this GPU in this game.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture (GB207 chip) using TSMC's 5 nm process, with 16,900 million transistors on a 149 mm² die. It has 2,560 shading units, 80 texture mapping units, 32 ROPs, 20 RT cores, and 80 tensor cores. The base clock is 2,317 MHz with a boost clock of 2,572 MHz, and memory runs at 2,500 MHz (20 Gbps effective) across an 8 GB GDDR6 bus that is 128 bits wide, yielding 320.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's TDP is 130 W with a suggested PSU of 300 W, and it connects via PCIe 5.0 x8. In synthetic tests, it scores 2,502 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, 90,334 in Geekbench OpenCL, and 89,381 in Geekbench Vulkan, with a PassMark G3D score of 17,326 and GPU compute score of 9,184.

The 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit memory bus are the critical limitations for Red Dead Redemption 2. At 4K Ultra, the game likely exceeds the frame buffer, causing the 22 FPS average — a combination of pixel throughput limits and potential memory spills. The 320.0 GB/s bandwidth is also modest for a game that streams large textures across a vast open world. The 13.17 TFLOPS FP32 performance is the compute ceiling, and the measured frame rates align with what this level of throughput can deliver: roughly 98 FPS at 1080p Low, dropping to 44 FPS at 1080p Ultra.

The GPU's nearest rivals in the database — the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL, AMD Radeon HD 8970M, and NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile — are all older or mobile parts, and the RTX 5050 trades blows with them in synthetic scores. This reinforces that it is an entry-level desktop GPU, and Red Dead Redemption 2's demanding rendering (volumetric lighting, long draw distances, dense foliage) exposes its weaknesses. The GPU's 66th percentile ranking among all GPUs puts it below the majority of discrete cards, and the measured in-game results are consistent with that positioning.

Settings Recommendations

Based strictly on the measured FPS data, the best experience for this combo is 1080p with Medium settings. This configuration delivers 73 FPS average with a minimum of 62 FPS and a maximum of 84 FPS, which means it stays above 60 FPS even in the worst measured frame. It is the only preset-resolution combination that both exceeds 60 FPS on average and maintains a minimum above that threshold. 1080p Low is faster at 98 FPS, but the visual quality loss from Low to Medium is significant in a game like Red Dead Redemption 2, and the extra 25 FPS is not worth the graphical downgrade given that Medium already hits 73 FPS.

If you require higher visual fidelity, 1080p High at 61 FPS average is technically playable, but the lack of a min FPS reading in the data means there could be dips below 60 FPS in demanding scenes. The margin is thin, so this is a riskier choice. 1080p Ultra at 44 FPS is not recommended — the drop from High to Ultra costs 17 FPS (about 28% performance loss) for what is usually a marginal visual improvement in this title. At 1440p, only Low settings (73 FPS) and Medium settings (55 FPS average, 46 FPS minimum) are worth considering; the Medium minimum of 46 FPS suggests occasional stutter, so 1440p Low is the safer pick if you must use that resolution. 4K is not viable with any preset — even Low's 48 FPS is below the 60 FPS target, and the frame pacing will suffer.

For most players, the recommendation is clear: run the game at 1920x1080 with the Medium preset. This gives the best balance of smoothness and visual quality, with the measured data showing consistent performance above 60 FPS. If you prioritize frame rate over visuals, 1080p Low offers a large headroom at 98 FPS. If you prioritize visuals over frame rate, 1080p High is the highest preset that stays near 60 FPS, but be prepared for potential dips. Avoid Ultra at any resolution, and avoid 1440p Medium and above if you are sensitive to frame drops below 50 FPS. The Ryzen 9 9900X has more than enough CPU power for any of these configurations, so your settings choices should be driven entirely by the RTX 5050's limits.