Red Dead Redemption 2

The Intel Core i5-10400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 570 is a legacy 1080p-oriented combination, and the measured data for Red Dead Redemption 2 confirms that pairing is at the absolute limit of its capabilities. The benchmark results show a system that can produce a playable experience only under specific, modest settings and resolutions. The data indicates that this combo is not suited for high refresh-rate gaming or high-fidelity visuals in this title, as the average frame rates at 1080p with High settings sit at 27.2 FPS, which is below the generally accepted threshold for smooth gameplay. The most practical approach is to prioritize frame rate over visual fidelity, and the settings recommendations below reflect that priority.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data makes the optimal settings path clear: the Low preset at 1080p is the only configuration that delivers a consistently playable experience, averaging 43.9 FPS. This is the highest average frame rate recorded for this combo in any resolution and settings combination. While 43.9 FPS is not ideal for competitive play, it is a significant improvement over the 27.2 FPS achieved at High settings and is the only option that keeps the game feeling responsive and fluid. The Medium preset at 1080p, averaging 36.6 FPS, is a viable alternative for those who want a slight visual upgrade, but it comes at a 16.6% performance cost compared to Low. This trade-off may be acceptable for players who prioritize visual detail over raw frame rate, but it pushes the experience closer to the edge of playability.

The High and Ultra presets should be avoided at 1080p. High settings produce an average of 27.2 FPS, which is a 38% decrease from Low and will result in noticeable stutter and input lag, making the game feel sluggish. Ultra is unplayable, with an average of 19.8 FPS. For a smoother experience, consider using the Low preset and potentially adjusting a few individual settings within the game's menu to a higher quality if they do not significantly impact performance, but the baseline should remain Low. The data shows that the jump from Low to Medium is substantial, but the jump from Medium to High is a further 25.7% drop, indicating that the GPU is the primary bottleneck and has little headroom for increased graphical load.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 570’s specifications directly explain the performance ceiling observed in the measured FPS. The GPU’s architecture is GCN 4.0, built on a 14 nm process, and features 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 224.0 GB/s. This is a 2017-era card designed for 1080p gaming, and Red Dead Redemption 2 is a demanding title that exposes its limitations. The 4 GB VRAM buffer is likely a major constraint, especially at higher settings and resolutions, as the game's textures and geometry can easily exceed this capacity, leading to performance degradation. The core clocks are listed with a base of 1168 MHz and a boost of 1244 MHz, which are modest figures that contribute to the card's overall compute throughput of 5.095 TFLOPS FP32.

The data shows a clear pattern: as the resolution and settings increase, the average FPS drops sharply. At 1080p Low, the card produces 43.9 FPS, but at 1080p Ultra, it falls to 19.8 FPS. This is a 54.9% reduction in performance, which is a clear sign that the GPU is being overwhelmed by the increased pixel count and shader complexity. The GPU's performance is also reflected in its benchmark scores, where it holds an average score of 30158 and a percentile ranking of 74 among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals in terms of average benchmark score include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 and AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT, which are vastly more powerful cards, but the deltaPct values show they are within 0.2% of the RX 570's score in that specific benchmark metric, which is an artifact of the comparison method, not an indication of real-world parity. In this game, the RX 570 is the limiting factor, and its capabilities dictate that players must use conservative settings to achieve playable frame rates.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-10400F and the AMD Radeon RX 570 ranks at 1633 out of 1687 tested combinations in Red Dead Redemption 2. This places it in the bottom 3.2% of all tested systems, confirming that this is a low-performance pairing for this specific game. This low ranking is primarily due to the GPU's age and the game's demanding nature, despite the CPU being a reasonably capable six-core, twelve-thread processor. The CPU itself has a percentile ranking of 73 among all CPUs, indicating it is a mid-range performer, but it is not the bottleneck here.

The combo's poor ranking is a direct result of the measured FPS data. The highest average frame rate achieved by this combo was 43.9 FPS at 1080p Low, which is far below the 60 FPS target that many consider the standard for a smooth experience. The ranking indicates that a significant majority of other tested hardware combinations, including those with more modern GPUs, deliver superior performance in this title. This system is positioned for users who are willing to make significant visual sacrifices to play the game at all, rather than those expecting a high-quality experience. The data suggests that this combo is only suitable for the most basic levels of playability in Red Dead Redemption 2.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the combo's performance across a matrix of resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the results are as follows: the Low preset yields an average of 43.9 FPS, the Medium preset yields 36.6 FPS, the High preset yields 27.2 FPS, and the Ultra preset yields 19.8 FPS. These figures show a clear linear decline as settings increase, with a 23.9% drop from Low to Medium and a 25.7% drop from Medium to High. This indicates that each step up in quality has a substantial impact on performance.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance drops significantly. The Low preset averages 30.4 FPS, which is a 30.8% decrease from the 1080p Low result. The Medium preset averages 22.7 FPS, the High preset averages 23.1 FPS, and the Ultra preset drops to 13.8 FPS. The data shows that even at Low settings, the game is not consistently playable at this resolution. At 3840x2160, the results are largely unplayable. The Low preset averages 19.4 FPS, while the Medium and High presets are nearly identical at 15.3 and 15.8 FPS, respectively. The Ultra preset averages just 12.0 FPS. These figures confirm that 4K resolution is not a viable option for this hardware.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and reveals the nature of the bottleneck. When moving from 1080p Low (43.9 FPS) to 1440p Low (30.4 FPS), the frame rate drops by 30.8%. Moving further to 4K Low (19.4 FPS) results in a 55.8% drop from the 1080p baseline. This scaling pattern is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario. The CPU, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, is capable of feeding the GPU at 1080p, but as the resolution increases, the GPU's rendering workload grows exponentially, and it becomes the limiting factor.

The data shows that the GPU's compute resources are simply insufficient for higher resolutions. The fact that the difference between High and Medium at 1440p is negligible (23.1 vs 22.7 FPS) further suggests that the GPU is saturated and cannot handle the extra load from higher-quality settings, resulting in a plateau. The high memory bandwidth of 224.0 GB/s is not enough to compensate for the low shader throughput when dealing with the increased pixel count. The system is clearly and entirely GPU-limited at resolutions above 1080p, and even at 1080p, it is only the Low preset that provides a playable frame rate. The CPU's performance headroom is not the issue; the GPU is simply not powerful enough for this game's demands.

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset to use for a playable experience?

A: The data shows that the Low preset at 1920x1080 is the only configuration that yields a consistently playable average frame rate, with an average of 43.9 FPS. Other presets at this resolution, such as Medium (36.6 FPS) and High (27.2 FPS), result in lower performance and may feel less smooth.

Q: Is this system capable of running the game at 1440p or 4K resolution?

A: The measured data indicates that it is not. At 2560x1440, the average FPS for the best-performing Low preset is only 30.4 FPS. At 3840x2160, the average FPS drops to 19.4 FPS on Low, which is unplayable. The system is not suitable for gaming at resolutions higher than 1080p.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the main bottleneck in this configuration?

A: The performance data indicates that the GPU is the primary bottleneck. The frame rate drops significantly as resolution and settings increase, which is a classic sign of GPU limitation. The CPU is a mid-range performer, but the RX 570's limited compute power and VRAM are what prevent higher frame rates.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested systems in this game?

A: This combination ranks 1633rd out of 1687 tested combinations in Red Dead Redemption 2. This places it in the bottom 3.2% of all systems tested, indicating it is a very low-performance pairing for this specific title.

Q: What is the difference in performance between the Low and Ultra presets at 1080p?

A: The measured data shows a significant difference. The Low preset averages 43.9 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 19.8 FPS. This represents a 54.9% reduction in performance, demonstrating that the Ultra preset places an overwhelming load on the GPU.

Q: What is the GPU's memory size and how does it affect performance?

A: The GPU has 4 GB of GDDR5 memory. This is a relatively small amount for a modern game like Red Dead Redemption 2, and it is likely a contributing factor to the performance drops at higher settings, as the game may exceed this memory capacity, causing stutters and reduced frame rates.