Red Dead Redemption 2

The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 pairing delivers a wide performance envelope in Red Dead Redemption 2, with results that scale predictably across resolutions and presets. The measured frame rates show a system that remains fluid at 4K Ultra, while 1080p Low produces triple-digit averages that far exceed display refresh rate requirements. The data indicates a combination where the GPU is the primary constraint at higher resolutions, but the CPU’s headroom becomes evident when settings are lowered. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS, the ranking relative to other tested combinations, and the role each component plays in shaping the final output.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic GPU-bound scenario in Red Dead Redemption 2. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the average FPS is 132.2, which drops to 98.9 at 2560x1440 (a 25.2% reduction), and further to 65.2 at 3840x2160 (a 50.7% reduction from the 1080p figure). This pattern indicates that pixel count is the dominant factor, with the RTX 4090’s rendering throughput being the limiting component as resolution rises.

The scaling behavior becomes more pronounced at lower settings. For instance, at Low preset, the 1080p average of 213.2 FPS falls to 160.5 at 1440p (a 24.7% drop) and then to 108.1 at 4K (a 49.3% drop from 1080p). This consistency across presets suggests that the CPU, with its 16 cores and 32 threads, is not a bottleneck even at the highest frame rates. The 9950X3D’s 128 MB of shared L3 cache and boost clock of 5.70 GHz provide ample single-thread performance for the game’s simulation logic, allowing the GPU to be the sole limit.

At Ultra settings, the scaling is steeper in absolute terms: 100.1 FPS at 1080p, 72.1 at 1440p, and 47.8 at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is the only measured configuration below 60 FPS, indicating that the most demanding preset at the highest resolution stresses the RTX 4090’s 24 GB of GDDR6X memory and 82.58 TFLOPS FP32 compute. The data suggests that users targeting 4K should either accept Ultra’s 47.8 FPS average or step down to High for a 36.4% improvement in frame rate.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this combo in Red Dead Redemption 2?

A: The highest measured average is 213.2 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low preset.

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

A: The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 ranks 38th out of 1687 tested combos, placing it in the top 2.3% of all configurations.

Q: What is the lowest average FPS recorded, and at what settings?

A: The lowest average is 47.8 FPS, recorded at 3840x2160 resolution with the Ultra preset.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU limit performance more in this game?

A: The data shows a GPU-bound scenario. The RTX 4090’s performance score of 38194 in Passmark G3D and its 91st percentile ranking among all GPUs indicate it is the primary constraint, while the CPU’s 96th percentile ranking suggests it has headroom.

Q: What is the difference between 1080p High and 1440p High average FPS?

A: The 1080p High average is 132.2 FPS, while the 1440p High average is 98.9 FPS, representing a 33.3 FPS or 25.2% reduction when moving to the higher resolution.

Q: How much faster is the Low preset compared to Ultra at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 160.5 FPS, while Ultra averages 72.1 FPS, making Low 122.6% faster than Ultra at the same resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 achieves a combo rank of 38 out of 1687 tested configurations in Red Dead Redemption 2. This places the pairing in the 97.7th percentile, meaning it outperforms the vast majority of setups. The CPU’s average benchmark score of 71660 puts it 0.9% ahead of the Intel Xeon Platinum 8270 and 1.8% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X, though it trails the Intel Xeon 6517P by 1.9%. For the GPU, the RTX 4090’s average score of 66473 is 0.5% above the NVIDIA Tesla P40, despite being 0.4% behind the Tesla T4.

In game-specific terms, the rank reflects a system that can handle the most demanding presets at high resolutions. The 4K Ultra result of 47.8 FPS is the only sub-60 FPS measurement, but every other configuration exceeds 60 FPS, with most exceeding 100 FPS. The ranking suggests that while there are 37 faster combos, they are likely using similar high-end components, and the practical differences in playable frame rates are minimal for most users. The 9950X3D’s 16-core, 32-thread configuration with 128 MB L3 cache provides a strong foundation, but the data shows the RTX 4090 is the determining factor in this game’s performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured averages range from 100.1 FPS at Ultra to 213.2 FPS at Low. The Medium preset yields 162.9 FPS, while High produces 132.2 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 113.1 FPS, indicating that the CPU can push frame rates well beyond what most displays can show, even at the lowest settings.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages are 72.1 FPS (Ultra), 98.9 FPS (High), 120.3 FPS (Medium), and 160.5 FPS (Low). The relative ordering is consistent, but the absolute differences shrink slightly due to GPU load. The 1440p Ultra result is 28.0% higher than the 4K Ultra figure, highlighting the resolution’s impact on GPU workload.

At 3840x2160, the averages are 47.8 FPS (Ultra), 65.2 FPS (High), 82.1 FPS (Medium), and 108.1 FPS (Low). The 4K Low result is the only 4K configuration above 100 FPS, and it is 126.2% faster than 4K Ultra. This wide spread across settings at 4K shows that the RTX 4090’s 24 GB VRAM and 1.01 TB/s bandwidth are sufficient even for Ultra, but the compute load of 82.58 TFLOPS is still taxed by the highest quality presets.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090’s specifications directly explain the measured frame rates. Its 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus provides 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth, which is adequate for Red Dead Redemption 2’s texture-heavy environments at 4K. The GPU’s boost clock of 2520 MHz and 16384 shading units deliver 82.58 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, which drives the pixel rate of 443.5 GPixel/s and texture rate of 1,290.2 GTexel/s.

In this game, the GPU’s role is the primary bottleneck at all resolutions above 1080p. The scaling from 1080p to 4K at High settings shows a 50.7% FPS reduction, consistent with the 4x increase in pixel count. The RTX 4090’s Passmark G3D score of 38194 and 91st percentile ranking among all GPUs confirm its high absolute performance, but the 4K Ultra result of 47.8 FPS indicates that even this flagship cannot fully saturate the most demanding settings at maximum resolution. The memory clock of 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective) and 384-bit bus width are not limiting factors, as the frame rate drops are proportional to resolution, not bandwidth constraints.

Settings Recommendations

For 4K displays, the High preset at 3840x2160 offers the best balance, delivering 65.2 FPS average, which is 36.4% faster than Ultra’s 47.8 FPS. The Medium preset at 82.1 FPS is also viable, but High provides a more significant visual upgrade for a 20.6% FPS cost. Given that 4K Ultra is the only measured configuration below 60 FPS, users prioritizing smoothness should avoid Ultra at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the High preset’s 98.9 FPS is recommended for most users, as it remains above 90 FPS while retaining quality. Those with high refresh rate displays can consider Medium at 120.3 FPS, but the jump to Low (160.5 FPS) offers diminishing returns for most visual settings. The Ultra preset at 72.1 FPS is playable, but the 27.1% improvement from High to Medium suggests a better trade-off.

For 1080p, any preset is playable, but the High preset at 132.2 FPS is the sensible choice, as it exceeds 120 FPS and avoids the visual degradation of Low. The Medium preset at 162.9 FPS is suitable for 165 Hz displays, while Low’s 213.2 FPS is only relevant for 240 Hz panels. The data shows that the RTX 4090’s headroom at 1080p means the CPU’s 128 MB L3 cache and 5.70 GHz boost clock are sufficient to avoid any frame rate cap, making the choice purely visual.