Red Dead Redemption 2

The Intel Core i5-11400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 delivers a highly capable Red Dead Redemption 2 experience, with the data clearly showing that the GPU is the dominant performance driver at higher resolutions while the CPU holds its own at 1080p. The measured frame rates indicate that this combination ranks in the top 10% of all tested configurations, making it a strong choice for high-refresh-rate 1440p play and a solid 60 FPS 4K option.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i5-11400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Rocket Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. This 14 nm part features 12 MB of shared L3 cache and supports DDR4 memory with a dual-channel bus, delivering 51.2 GB/s of bandwidth. The processor's benchmark scores place it in the 71st percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17177, indicating solid mid-range performance that is more than sufficient for feeding a high-end graphics card in this title.

In Red Dead Redemption 2, the CPU's role is primarily to handle game logic, physics, and draw calls, and the 6-core/12-thread configuration proves adequate for the task. At 1080p, where the GPU is less burdened, the CPU's single-thread performance becomes more relevant; the processor scores 868 in 3dmark_single_thread and 2024 in cinebench_r23_singlecore, values that are competitive with close rivals like the AMD EPYC 7H12 (which trails by 0.3% in average score) and the Intel Core i5-12450H (which leads by 0.4%). The data shows that at lower resolutions, the combination achieves frame rates as high as 178 FPS on Low settings, suggesting the CPU is not a limiting factor in those scenarios.

However, the CPU's multi-threaded performance, while respectable with a cinebench_r23_multicore score of 14340, is not the star of the show. The processor's passmark_multithread score of 16908 and 3dmark_max_threads score of 5652 demonstrate that it can handle the game's workload without bottlenecking the GPU at higher resolutions. When compared to its nearest rivals, the i5-11400F sits within a narrow band of performance: it is 0.3% ahead of the AMD EPYC 7H12, 0.4% behind the Intel Core i5-12450H, and 0.6% behind the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G. This tight clustering means that any differences in frame rates at 4K are almost entirely attributable to the GPU, not the processor.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is the clear performance leader in this pairing, and its specifications show why it dominates the frame rate charts. Built on the 5 nm Ada Lovelace architecture with the AD103 chip, this GPU features 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 716.8 GB/s of bandwidth. The core clock runs at 2205 MHz base and boosts to 2505 MHz, with a memory clock of 1400 MHz (22.4 Gbps effective). With 9728 shading units, 304 texture mapping units, and 112 ROPs, the RTX 4080 delivers substantial raw compute power, including 76 ray tracing cores and 304 tensor cores.

The GPU's benchmark results place it in the 86th percentile of all GPUs, with an average score of 54247. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER, scores nearly identically at 54209, a mere 0.1% difference, indicating that the two cards are effectively interchangeable in performance. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X trails by 1.1%, and the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB and AMD Radeon 8060S both lead by 2.6-2.7%, though these differences are within the margin of error for most gaming scenarios.

In the context of Red Dead Redemption 2, the RTX 4080's 16 GB VRAM is more than sufficient for even the highest settings at 4K, as the game's texture demands are well within this capacity. The GPU's memory bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s ensures that high-resolution textures stream without stutter, and the high boost clock of 2505 MHz allows for sustained performance under load. The data shows that at 4K Ultra settings, the combination still manages an average of 43 FPS, which is playable but not ideal; the GPU is clearly the bottleneck at this resolution, as the CPU's performance is sufficient for the game's computational demands.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combination of the Intel Core i5-11400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 ranks 358th out of 3714 tested combos in Red Dead Redemption 2, placing it in the top 9.6% of all configurations. This is an excellent result, especially considering that the CPU is a mid-range part from a previous generation. The data suggests that the GPU is the primary driver of this ranking, as the RTX 4080's high percentile score (86th) and the CPU's more modest percentile (71st) combine to produce a system that excels in GPU-bound scenarios.

This ranking means that the combo outperforms the vast majority of tested systems, including many with more expensive or newer CPUs. The deltaPct values for the CPU's rivals are all within 0.6% of the i5-11400F, meaning that swapping in a different processor would have minimal impact on the overall ranking. Similarly, the GPU's rivals are within 2.7% of the RTX 4080's score, so the ranking is robust to minor hardware variations. The high rank is particularly notable because it indicates that the i5-11400F does not significantly hold back the RTX 4080 in this game, even at lower resolutions where CPU load is relatively higher.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The measured frame rates provide a comprehensive picture of the combo's performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the data shows the highest frame rates: Low settings produce an average of 178 FPS, Medium averages 145 FPS (with a minimum of 123 and maximum of 167), High averages 121 FPS, and Ultra averages 87 FPS. These numbers indicate that at 1080p, the system is capable of driving high-refresh-rate monitors even on Ultra, with the drop from Low to Ultra representing a 51% reduction in frame rate.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain impressive but show the expected decline from 1080p. Low settings average 145 FPS, Medium averages 108 FPS (with a range of 92-125), High averages 90 FPS, and Ultra averages 65 FPS. The 1440p Ultra result is particularly noteworthy, as it remains above the 60 FPS threshold, making this resolution the sweet spot for a balanced visual and performance experience. The transition from 1080p to 1440p results in a 18.5% drop in frame rate at Low settings, a 25.5% drop at Medium, a 25.6% drop at High, and a 25.3% drop at Ultra.

At 3840x2160, the performance drops further but remains playable on most presets. Low settings average 96 FPS, Medium averages 72 FPS (with a range of 61-82), High averages 60 FPS, and Ultra averages 43 FPS. The 4K High result is exactly at 60 FPS, which is the minimum target for smooth gameplay, while Ultra falls below that threshold. The data shows a clear trend: as resolution increases, the frame rate penalty grows, with the drop from 1440p to 4K ranging from 33.8% at Low to 33.8% at Ultra, indicating that the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The resolution scaling data reveals that the GPU is the primary bottleneck in this system, particularly at higher resolutions. From 1080p to 4K, the frame rate drops by 46.1% at Low settings (178 to 96 FPS), 50.3% at Medium (145 to 72 FPS), 50.4% at High (121 to 60 FPS), and 50.6% at Ultra (87 to 43 FPS). This consistent drop of approximately 50% across all settings is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario, where the CPU's performance remains constant but the GPU must render four times as many pixels.

The fact that the frame rate drops are nearly identical across all settings presets suggests that the GPU's workload scales linearly with resolution, and the CPU is not introducing additional overhead. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect to see smaller percentage drops at lower settings (where the GPU is less stressed and the CPU becomes relatively more important) and larger drops at higher settings (where the GPU is fully utilized). The data shows no such pattern, confirming that the i5-11400F is capable of feeding the RTX 4080 adequately at all tested resolutions.

At 1080p, the system achieves 178 FPS on Low, which is well above the CPU's likely maximum frame rate for this game, but the fact that the CPU does not bottleneck even at this extreme suggests that the 6-core/12-thread configuration is well-suited for Red Dead Redemption 2. The 4K results further confirm the GPU-bound nature: at 4K Ultra, the frame rate drops to 43 FPS, which is a 50.6% reduction from 1080p Ultra, and this aligns with the theoretical pixel count increase. The data indicates that users seeking higher frame rates at 4K would need to reduce settings, as the GPU is the limiting component.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Based on the measured frame rates, the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance across all resolutions. At 1080p, Medium delivers 145 FPS with a minimum of 123, which is more than sufficient for any high-refresh-rate display, and the visual improvement over Low is significant. At 1440p, Medium averages 108 FPS with a minimum of 92, maintaining smooth gameplay even during intense scenes, while High drops to 90 FPS and Ultra to 65 FPS. At 4K, Medium averages 72 FPS with a minimum of 61, which is just above the 60 FPS target, while High averages exactly 60 FPS and Ultra falls to 43 FPS.

For users prioritizing frame rate over visual fidelity, the Low preset is the most responsive option, providing 178 FPS at 1080p, 145 FPS at 1440p, and 96 FPS at 4K. These numbers indicate that Low settings can deliver a high-refresh-rate experience even at 4K, which is unusual for a demanding title like Red Dead Redemption 2. However, the visual compromise is substantial, and most users will find Medium to be the better choice.

The High preset is the best option for those who want near-maximum visual quality without sacrificing smoothness. At 1440p, High delivers 90 FPS, which is excellent, and at 4K, it hits exactly 60 FPS, making it viable for users with 60 Hz displays. However, the data shows that Ultra is only recommended for users with 1080p displays or those who prioritize visuals over frame rate, as it drops to 87 FPS at 1080p, 65 FPS at 1440p, and 43 FPS at 4K. The Medium preset is the clear winner for most users, as it provides a consistent experience across all resolutions while maintaining frame rates above 60 FPS except at 4K, where it still delivers a playable 72 FPS average.