Red Dead Redemption 2

The Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER presents a classic high-GPU, mid-range-CPU configuration in Red Dead Redemption 2. The measured data shows this pairing lands at rank 121 out of 1687 tested combos, placing it in the top 7% of all hardware configurations tested for this title. The benchmark results reveal a system where the RTX 4080 SUPER's immense rendering power is frequently held back by the 4-core/8-thread Alder Lake processor, particularly at lower resolutions and higher settings.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows show a clear hierarchy across settings presets, with the sweet spot varying by resolution. At 1080p, the High preset delivers 123.4 FPS average, which is a substantial 34.5 FPS jump over Ultra's 88.9 FPS. This 28% performance gain from dropping one preset level makes High the optimal choice for 1080p, as the visual difference between High and Ultra is typically minor compared to the frame rate improvement. Low at 1080p produces 194.2 FPS, but this comes with significant visual compromises that most players would find unacceptable for a game of Red Dead Redemption 2's graphical fidelity.

Moving to 1440p, the High preset again emerges as the recommended choice with 87.9 FPS average. This is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay while maintaining substantial visual quality. Medium at 1440p offers 110.4 FPS, but High's additional detail is worth the 22.5 FPS reduction. Ultra at 1440p drops to 64.3 FPS, which is playable but leaves little headroom for demanding scenes or future driver overhead.

At 4K, the calculus changes. High produces 59.2 FPS, which is just shy of the 60 FPS target. Medium delivers 70.7 FPS, providing a comfortable margin above 60 FPS while retaining most of the visual enhancements. For 4K users, Medium represents the best balance, as High's marginal visual upgrade does not justify the 11.5 FPS penalty that pushes it below the smoothness threshold. Ultra at 4K falls to 45.8 FPS, which is noticeably less fluid and best reserved for screenshot taking rather than active gameplay.

GPU Role

The RTX 4080 SUPER's specifications explain its behavior in this game. With 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, the card has ample bandwidth at 736.3 GB/s for Red Dead Redemption 2's large open-world textures. The 45,900 million transistors on the AD103 chip, built on TSMC's 5 nm process, provide substantial compute resources: 52.22 TFLOPS of FP32 performance across 10,240 shading units. The boost clock of 2550 MHz, up from a 2295 MHz base, allows the card to scale performance dynamically based on thermal and power headroom.

The GPU's benchmark results reflect its high-end positioning. It achieves a Passmark G3D score of 34245 and sits at the 88th percentile against all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT at 0.2% higher average score, showing near-parity with the previous generation's flagship. The RTX 4080 SUPER also holds a 2.9% advantage over the RTX 5070 Ti in average benchmark scores, indicating strong performance within the current generation.

In Red Dead Redemption 2, the GPU's role becomes increasingly dominant as resolution rises. The 16 GB VRAM capacity ensures no texture streaming bottlenecks even at 4K Ultra, where the game's detailed environments and character models demand significant memory. The 320 TMUs and 112 ROPs handle the game's complex shading and rasterization workload efficiently, as evidenced by the card's ability to push 93.1 FPS at 4K Low settings.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals where the bottleneck lies in this configuration. At High settings, the progression goes from 123.4 FPS at 1080p to 87.9 FPS at 1440p to 59.2 FPS at 4K. This represents a 52% performance drop from 1080p to 4K, which is substantial but not as severe as it would be with a more balanced CPU-GPU pairing.

The Low settings row tells a more revealing story. At 1080p Low, the system produces 194.2 FPS, but this only drops to 143.7 FPS at 1440p and 93.1 FPS at 4K. The 1080p to 1440p drop of 50.5 FPS (26%) is relatively modest, suggesting the CPU is the limiting factor at these lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the i3-12100F's 4 cores are likely saturated, preventing the RTX 4080 SUPER from reaching its full potential.

At 4K, the GPU becomes the primary constraint. The difference between Low and High at 4K is 33.9 FPS (93.1 vs 59.2), which is a larger gap than at 1080p where Low and High differ by 70.8 FPS. This pattern indicates that at 4K, the GPU's rendering load dominates, and the CPU has enough headroom to feed the graphics card. The data suggests that users with this combo should favor higher resolutions to shift the workload toward the GPU where the RTX 4080 SUPER can flex its capabilities.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured averages show a wide spread across presets. Low delivers 194.2 FPS, Medium produces 141.6 FPS, High achieves 123.4 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 88.9 FPS. The 105.3 FPS difference between Low and Ultra demonstrates the significant impact of preset selection at this resolution. The system's rank of 121 out of 1687 combos indicates strong overall performance, though the CPU's 4-core limitation becomes apparent in the relatively small gap between Medium and High (18.2 FPS) compared to the gap between Low and Medium (52.6 FPS).

At 2560x1440, the pattern shifts. Low runs at 143.7 FPS, Medium at 110.4 FPS, High at 87.9 FPS, and Ultra at 64.3 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra narrows to 79.4 FPS, showing that resolution scaling reduces the relative impact of settings changes. The 4K results continue this trend: Low at 93.1 FPS, Medium at 70.7 FPS, High at 59.2 FPS, and Ultra at 45.8 FPS.

The i3-12100F's benchmark scores provide context for its role. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 11912 and single-core score of 1681 indicate solid performance for a quad-core part. The CPU's average benchmark score of 13516 places it at the 72nd percentile of all CPUs, with its nearest rivals being the Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX at 0.1% lower and the Core i7-7700K at 1.8% lower. These scores suggest the CPU can maintain adequate frame pacing in most scenarios, but its 4 cores and 8 threads may struggle with the game's background simulation tasks at high frame rates.

FAQ

Q: Can this system maintain 60 FPS at 4K in Red Dead Redemption 2?

A: Yes, but only with preset adjustments. At 4K Medium, the system achieves 70.7 FPS average, providing a comfortable margin above 60 FPS. At 4K High, it drops to 59.2 FPS, just missing the 60 FPS target. For consistent 60 FPS at 4K, Medium is the recommended preset.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 SUPER compare to its closest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 4080 SUPER scores 53610 on average benchmarks, placing it at the 88th percentile. It trails the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT by 0.2% in average score, leads the Radeon Pro W6600M by 0.4%, and outperforms the RTX 5070 Ti by 2.9%.

Q: Is the i3-12100F a bottleneck for the RTX 4080 SUPER in this game?

A: The data suggests CPU limitation at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system hits 194.2 FPS, but the scaling to 1440p Low (143.7 FPS) and 4K Low (93.1 FPS) is not purely GPU-bound. The 4-core/8-thread CPU likely limits performance below 1440p, while the GPU becomes the constraint at 4K.

Q: What is the optimal resolution for this hardware combo?

A: The data shows 1440p High provides the best balance, delivering 87.9 FPS average with strong visual quality. This resolution keeps the GPU sufficiently loaded while allowing the CPU to maintain high frame rates. At 1080p, the CPU bottleneck becomes more evident, while 4K requires dropping to Medium settings.

Q: How does the CPU's performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The i3-12100F averages 13516 points, sitting 0.1% below the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX and 0.4% above the Intel Core i7-1250U. It leads the Core i3-10105 by 0.6% and the Core i7-7700K by 1.8% in average benchmark scores.

Q: What frame rates can users expect at 1440p Ultra?

A: The system delivers 64.3 FPS average at 1440p Ultra, which is above the 60 FPS threshold but leaves limited headroom. This preset is viable for users who prioritize visual fidelity, though High at 87.9 FPS offers a more fluid experience with a modest visual trade-off.