Red Dead Redemption 2

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D paired with the Intel Arc B390 lands at rank 3306 out of 3714 tested combos in Red Dead Redemption 2. This places the pairing in the bottom 11% of all configurations, a position driven almost entirely by the GPU rather than the processor. The combo sits far behind the median tested system, and the performance ceiling is strictly limited by the graphics solution.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 3306 out of 3714 represents a bottom-decile result for this game. Benchmark data shows this pairing performs at a level where playable frame rates are rare, even at lower resolutions and settings. The rank is not a reflection of the CPU's capability — the Ryzen 9 9900X3D is a top-tier processor — but rather the result of pairing it with an integrated graphics solution that is not designed for demanding titles like Red Dead Redemption 2.

The data indicates that this combo would be outclassed by virtually any system with a discrete GPU, even older or entry-level ones. For context, the GPU's own benchmark percentile sits at 9, meaning it outperforms only about 9% of all GPUs in the database. When that GPU is tasked with running a 2018 open-world title at modern resolutions, the results are predictably poor. The rank reflects a fundamental mismatch: a high-end CPU with a low-end graphics solution yields a system that cannot deliver a smooth experience in this game.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is the primary bottleneck in this combo. It is an integrated graphics processor (IGP) with a 300 MHz base clock and a 2500 MHz boost clock. The GPU has 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 raster output units. It also includes 12 ray tracing cores, though those are unlikely to be meaningfully utilized at the frame rates this GPU can produce.

Memory is system-shared, meaning the GPU uses the same DDR5 memory as the CPU rather than having dedicated VRAM. The memory bandwidth is listed as "System Dependent," which means performance scales with the CPU's memory configuration — in this case, the 89.6 GB/s dual-channel bandwidth of the Ryzen 9 9900X3D. The GPU's pixel rate is 60.00 GPixel/s and the texture rate is 120.0 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance of 7.680 TFLOPS.

In Red Dead Redemption 2, the GPU's limitations are stark. At 1080p Low, the combo manages 51 FPS average, which is the only setting and resolution where the game approaches playability. Dropping to 4K Ultra yields just 11 FPS. The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482 places it in the 9th percentile, and its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, GeForce 800M, GT 625 OEM, and GT 710. The delta between the Arc B390 and these rivals ranges from 1.3% to 2.7%, indicating that this GPU sits in the absolute entry-level tier.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling across resolutions reveals a GPU-bound scenario at every setting. Moving from 1080p to 1440p to 4K shows consistent drops that are characteristic of a graphics card running out of fill rate and memory bandwidth.

At Low settings, the average FPS goes from 51 at 1080p to 38 at 1440p, then down to 25 at 4K. That is a 25% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and another 34% drop from 1440p to 4K. At Medium settings, the progression is 39 FPS at 1080p, 29 at 1440p, and 19 at 4K. High settings yield 32 FPS at 1080p, 24 at 1440p, and 16 at 4K. Ultra settings are the worst, with 23 FPS at 1080p, 17 at 1440p, and 11 at 4K.

The pattern is consistent: every resolution step costs roughly 25-30% of the frame rate. This is a classic sign of a GPU that is saturated at all resolutions, with the CPU having no influence on the scaling. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect to see smaller differences between 1080p and 1440p, since the CPU workload stays relatively constant while the GPU workload increases. Instead, the linear drop across all resolutions confirms the GPU is the sole constraint. Even at 1080p Low, the GPU is pushing near its maximum capability, and any additional resolution only makes the situation worse.

FAQ

Q: Is this combo capable of running Red Dead Redemption 2 at 60 FPS?

A: No. The highest average frame rate recorded across all tested settings and resolutions is 51 FPS at 1080p Low. At 1080p Medium, it drops to 39 FPS, and at 1080p High, it falls to 32 FPS. No test configuration reaches 60 FPS.

Q: What is the best settings and resolution combination for this game with this hardware?

A: The data shows 1080p Low provides the highest average FPS at 51. This is the only combination that approaches playable frame rates. At 1080p Medium, the average is 39 FPS with a minimum of 33 FPS and a maximum of 44 FPS, which may be acceptable if you prioritize visual quality over smoothness.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B390's average benchmark score is 1482. Its closest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX with a score of 1463, which is 1.3% slower. The GeForce 800M scores 1460 (1.5% slower), the GT 625 OEM scores 1446 (2.5% slower), and the GT 710 scores 1443 (2.7% slower). The Arc B390 is the fastest of this group, but the margin is small.

Q: Is the CPU the reason for low frame rates in this game?

A: No. The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D is a 12-core, 24-thread processor with a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. Its benchmark scores are strong, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 47737 and a single-core score of 6739. The frame rate scaling across resolutions shows the GPU is the bottleneck, not the CPU.

Q: Can the Arc B390 handle 4K resolution in this game?

A: Technically yes, but not at playable frame rates. At 4K Low, the average FPS is 25. At 4K Medium, it drops to 19, and at 4K High, it is 16. At 4K Ultra, the average is 11 FPS. These are all well below the threshold for smooth gameplay.

Q: What does the GPU's 9th percentile ranking mean for this game?

A: The GPU's percentile of 9 means it performs better than only 9% of all GPUs in the database. In Red Dead Redemption 2, this translates to frame rates that are mostly in the teens and twenties at common resolutions. The GPU is simply not designed for modern gaming workloads.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers four resolutions and four settings levels. Below is the complete breakdown.

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: 51 FPS average
• Medium: 39 FPS average, 33 FPS minimum, 44 FPS maximum
• High: 32 FPS average
• Ultra: 23 FPS average

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: 38 FPS average
• Medium: 29 FPS average, 24 FPS minimum, 33 FPS maximum
• High: 24 FPS average
• Ultra: 17 FPS average

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: 25 FPS average
• Medium: 19 FPS average, 16 FPS minimum, 22 FPS maximum
• High: 16 FPS average
• Ultra: 11 FPS average

The Medium settings are the only ones with recorded minimum and maximum frame rates, showing significant variance. At 1080p Medium, the frame rate swings between 33 and 44 FPS, which is a 25% variance. At 1440p Medium, the range is 24 to 33 FPS, and at 4K Medium, it is 16 to 22 FPS. This variance suggests that the GPU is struggling to maintain consistent performance even within a single scene.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D is a 12-core, 24-thread processor from the 9000 series, built on the Zen 5 architecture with the Granite Ridge codename. It has a base clock of 4.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, with a 120W TDP. The CPU supports DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration with 89.6 GB/s bandwidth, and it features 128 MB of L3 cache. Its benchmark scores are excellent: Cinebench R23 multicore is 47737, single-core is 6739, and Geekbench multicore is 22884 with a single-core score of 3041.

In Red Dead Redemption 2, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic. The data shows this processor is more than capable of handling the game's CPU demands. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 12490 and max-thread score of 13795 indicate strong multi-threaded performance. The PassMark multithread score of 56154 and single-thread score of 4646 further confirm its capability.

The CPU's nearest rivals in overall benchmark scores are the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF (55093, 0.6% faster), the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K (54053, 1.3% slower), the Intel Xeon 6505P (53701, 2% slower), and the Intel Core i7-14700F (53620, 2.1% slower). The 9900X3D's average benchmark score is 54762, placing it in the 91st percentile of all CPUs.

However, in this specific game, the CPU's performance is irrelevant to the final frame rates. The resolution scaling data proves this: if the CPU were the bottleneck, we would see similar frame rates across different resolutions. Instead, the frame rates drop consistently as resolution increases, which is the definitive signature of a GPU-limited scenario. The CPU is capable of far higher frame rates than the GPU can deliver, and the bottleneck is entirely on the graphics side.

This means that if you were to pair this CPU with a more powerful GPU, you would see a dramatic improvement in frame rates in this game. The CPU's 91st percentile ranking and high benchmark scores suggest it would not be a limiting factor even at higher settings and resolutions. But with the Arc B390, the system is constrained to the low frame rates listed in the measured FPS breakdown. The CPU is overqualified for this GPU, and the combo's rank of 3306 out of 3714 reflects the GPU's inability to utilize the CPU's power.