Red Dead Redemption 2

The Intel Core i5-10400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7600 produces a distinctive performance profile in Red Dead Redemption 2, one defined by a stark contrast between 1080p capability and 4K compromise. The measured frames per second across the four preset levels reveal a system that is decisively GPU-bound at higher resolutions, while the CPU’s six cores and twelve threads provide a stable foundation that never appears to be the primary constraint. This analysis interprets the measured FPS data, contextualizes the hardware’s role, and offers practical settings guidance based exclusively on the provided figures.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 exposes a severe performance penalty that clearly identifies the Radeon RX 7600 as the limiting component. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 93 FPS, but this drops to 69 FPS at 2560x1440 and further to 46 FPS at 4K. That represents a 50.5% reduction in average FPS from 1080p to 4K at the Low preset, a scaling pattern indicative of a GPU that is being overwhelmed by the pixel count increase.

The High preset tells a similar story with slightly lower absolute numbers: 58 FPS at 1080p falls to 43 FPS at 1440p and bottoms out at 29 FPS at 4K. The gap between 1440p and 4K is particularly telling — a 32.6% drop for High settings, compared to a 33.3% drop for Low settings across the same resolution step. This consistency across presets suggests the scaling bottleneck is purely resolution-driven rather than settings-driven, reinforcing the conclusion that the RX 7600’s 128-bit memory bus and 8 GB VRAM are the fundamental limits.

Interestingly, the Medium preset shows the most controlled scaling behavior. The average FPS at 1080p Medium is 70, dropping to 52 at 1440p and 34 at 4K. The 1440p to 4K step here is a 34.6% reduction, which is proportionally similar to the other presets. The data implies that no amount of settings reduction can overcome the resolution wall — even at Low settings, 4K only reaches 46 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold many would consider smooth. The implication is clear: this combination is designed for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K being a stretch target that requires significant settings compromises.

GPU Role

The Radeon RX 7600 is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture using the Navi 33 chip, fabricated on a 6 nm process at TSMC. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory operates across a 128-bit bus, delivering 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is the most likely culprit for the 4K performance collapse, as the data shows average FPS dropping to 21 at Ultra settings in 3840x2160. The GPU’s boost clock of 2655 MHz and game clock of 2250 MHz are respectable, but the raw compute throughput of 21.75 TFLOPS FP32 cannot compensate for the bandwidth limitation at higher resolutions.

The GPU’s benchmark scores place it in the 57th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 15171. Its nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM, which scores 15199, a delta of -0.2% meaning the RX 7600 is effectively tied with that card. The AMD Radeon Pro 560X trails by 0.6% with a score of 15082, while the AMD Radeon 680M leads by 0.7% at 15270. These tight margins indicate the RX 7600 sits in a crowded mid-range performance tier, which aligns with its measured behavior in Red Dead Redemption 2 — capable at mainstream resolutions but not a high-end 4K solution.

The DirectX 12 benchmark score of 58 and DirectX 11 score of 172 from PassMark provide additional context. The game’s API utilization appears to favor the GPU’s strengths at lower resolutions, where the 1080p results show the combo exceeding 90 FPS on Low settings. However, the 4K Ultra result of 21 FPS represents a 77.4% drop from the 1080p Low result, a catastrophic scaling that points directly to VRAM capacity and bandwidth as the limiting factors. The GPU’s 8 GB allocation is simply insufficient for 4K Ultra textures and effects in this open-world title.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Red Dead Redemption 2 at 4K smoothly?

A: No. The measured data shows 4K average FPS ranging from 21 at Ultra to 46 at Low, with even the Low preset falling short of 60 FPS. The 4K Medium preset averages 34 FPS with a minimum of 29 FPS, indicating inconsistent performance that would be noticeable during gameplay.

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU-GPU pairing?

A: The 1920x1080 resolution delivers the most playable results across all settings, with averages from 42 FPS at Ultra to 93 FPS at Low. The 2560x1440 resolution is also viable, particularly at High settings where it achieves 43 FPS, but the 4K results suggest users should avoid that resolution for a consistent experience.

Q: How does the RX 7600 compare to its closest competitor in this game?

A: The RX 7600’s average benchmark score of 15171 is 0.2% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM, which scores 15199. This near-identical performance suggests the two cards would produce very similar frame rates in Red Dead Redemption 2, though the data does not provide direct in-game comparisons.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-10400F holding back the GPU?

A: The data does not indicate CPU bottlenecking. The CPU’s multi-threaded benchmark score of 10283 in Cinebench R23 and its 68th percentile ranking among all CPUs suggest it has sufficient headroom. The FPS scaling pattern aligns with GPU limitations, not CPU constraints.

Q: What is the average FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 93 FPS while Ultra averages 42 FPS, a difference of 51 FPS or 54.8%. This wide gap indicates that the Ultra preset imposes a significant load on the GPU, making the settings choice critical for achieving high refresh rates.

Q: Does the Medium preset offer stable frame times?

A: The Medium preset is the only one with recorded minimum and maximum FPS values. At 1080p, it ranges from 59 to 80 FPS with an average of 70; at 1440p, it ranges from 44 to 60 with an average of 52; and at 4K, it ranges from 29 to 40 with an average of 34. These ranges suggest moderate frame time variance that could be perceptible but manageable.

How This Combo Ranks

Among 3714 tested combinations in Red Dead Redemption 2, this pairing of the Intel Core i5-10400F and AMD Radeon RX 7600 ranks 2595th. This places it in the 30th percentile of all tested combos, meaning roughly 70% of configurations achieve higher average frame rates in this game. The ranking reflects the GPU’s mid-range positioning — the RX 7600 sits at the 57th percentile among all GPUs, but the combination with the i5-10400F, which is at the 68th percentile among CPUs, does not boost the overall performance ranking.

The rank of 2595 out of 3714 suggests that while the individual components are not weak, the combination is outclassed by many alternatives. The CPU’s nearest rivals — the Intel Xeon 6756E with a delta of 0.2% and the AMD EPYC 7552 with a delta of 0.5% — are within a fraction of a percent in average benchmark score, indicating the i5-10400F is competitively positioned. However, the GPU’s nearest rivals, including the RTX 3050 OEM at -0.2% and the Radeon 680M at -0.7%, represent a performance tier that struggles at higher resolutions in this demanding title.

The data implies that users with this combo should expect to prioritize resolution over settings. The 1080p results are competitive, with the Low preset achieving 93 FPS, which would rank favorably against many combinations. However, the 4K results are poor, with the Ultra preset’s 21 FPS likely ranking near the bottom of tested configurations. This dichotomy explains the overall rank — the combo excels at lower resolutions but fails to maintain that performance as pixel count increases.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its strongest performance across all settings. The Low preset averages 93 FPS, representing the highest measured result in the entire dataset. The Medium preset averages 70 FPS with a minimum of 59 FPS and maximum of 80 FPS, providing a solid 60 FPS experience with some headroom. High settings reduce the average to 58 FPS, which is just below the 60 FPS threshold, while Ultra drops to 42 FPS, indicating a significant visual fidelity cost.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance scales down proportionally. Low settings maintain an average of 69 FPS, which remains playable for most users. Medium settings average 52 FPS with a range of 44 to 60 FPS, placing the minimum below the 60 FPS mark but still generally smooth. High settings produce 43 FPS, and Ultra drops to 31 FPS. The step from 1080p to 1440p at each preset shows a consistent reduction of roughly 25-30%, which is expected given the 1.78x increase in pixel count.

At 3840x2160, the performance becomes marginal for most presets. Low settings average 46 FPS, which is the only 4K result above 45 FPS. Medium settings average 34 FPS with a minimum of 29 FPS and maximum of 40 FPS, indicating noticeable stuttering potential. High settings produce 29 FPS, and Ultra falls to 21 FPS. The 4K results are uniformly below the 60 FPS target, and even the 30 FPS console-style target is only met by the Low preset. The data suggests that 4K gaming is not a viable option for this combo without substantial compromises.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data points to the Medium preset as the optimal balance for this combination. At 1920x1080, Medium averages 70 FPS with a minimum of 59 FPS, providing a near-locked 60 FPS experience with room for frame time variance. This is the only preset at 1080p that maintains its minimum above 55 FPS, making it the most consistent choice for smooth gameplay. The jump from Medium to High costs 12 FPS on average, while the jump from Medium to Low gains 23 FPS, suggesting Medium offers the best trade-off between visual quality and performance.

For users prioritizing maximum visual fidelity, the High preset at 1080p is acceptable with its 58 FPS average, though the data shows it dips below the 60 FPS target. The Ultra preset at 1080p is not recommended, as its 42 FPS average represents a 40% reduction from Medium with diminishing returns on visual quality. At 2560x1440, the Medium preset is again the best choice, averaging 52 FPS with a minimum of 44 FPS. This provides a playable experience, though users sensitive to frame drops may prefer the Low preset at 69 FPS.

The 4K resolution should be avoided for this combo. Even the Low preset at 46 FPS is below the 60 FPS target, and the Medium preset’s 34 FPS average with a 29 FPS minimum would likely result in noticeable judder. The data suggests that users with 4K displays should either run the game at 1440p with Medium settings or accept the Low preset at native 4K, but neither option delivers a consistently smooth experience. The most sensible recommendation based on the measured rows is 1080p Medium for the best frame rate stability, or 1440p Medium for users who prioritize resolution over absolute smoothness.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-10400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Comet Lake architecture, built on Intel’s 14 nm process. Its base clock of 2.90 GHz and boost clock of 4.30 GHz provide the computational headroom needed for this open-world title. The CPU’s benchmark results are consistent: Cinebench R23 shows a multi-core score of 10283 and a single-core score of 1451, while Geekbench reports 6257 multi-core and 1420 single-core. These figures place the CPU at the 68th percentile of all processors, indicating solid mid-range performance.

The CPU’s memory support includes DDR4 with dual-channel configuration, offering 42.7 GB/s of memory bandwidth. This is a relevant factor for Red Dead Redemption 2, which is known for streaming large open-world environments. The 12 MB of shared L3 cache provides adequate buffering for game assets, and the 16 PCIe Gen 3 lanes from the CPU connect to the GPU, which uses a PCIe 4.0 x8 interface — this means the GPU operates at PCIe 3.0 speeds equivalent to x8, which is unlikely to bottleneck the RX 7600 given the measured FPS patterns.

The benchmark data does not suggest the CPU is a limiting factor in this game. The 3DMark multi-threaded score of 4748 and single-thread score of 688 indicate balanced performance that should handle the game’s simulation and AI workloads. The CPU’s nearest rivals include the Intel Xeon 6756E with a 0.2% delta and the Intel Core 7 160UL with a -0.3% delta, showing that the i5-10400F sits in a tightly contested performance envelope. In the context of the measured FPS, the fact that 1080p Low achieves 93 FPS while 4K Ultra achieves only 21 FPS points entirely to the GPU as the bottleneck — the CPU is capable of feeding frames at much higher rates than the GPU can render at higher resolutions.