Red Dead Redemption 2

The benchmark data for Red Dead Redemption 2, using the Intel Core i5-11400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D, presents a compelling case study in system bottlenecking. The measurements reveal a combination that is overwhelmingly capable of delivering high frame rates, but the performance scaling across resolutions and settings tells a nuanced story about where the limits of this pairing truly lie. The data invites a closer look at how a mid-range 11th Gen processor interacts with a top-tier Blackwell architecture GPU in a game that is known for its demanding open-world rendering.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows provide a clear hierarchy of performance across the four available presets. For this specific combo, the data suggests that the Medium preset offers the most balanced experience, particularly when considering frame time consistency. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset achieves an average of 160 FPS, which is only 18 FPS lower than the Low preset's 178 FPS, but it delivers a substantial visual uplift. More importantly, the Medium preset is the only one in the entire dataset that includes minimum and maximum FPS values, showing a range of 136 to 184 FPS at 1080p. This indicates a playable and stable frame delivery, suggesting the preset is well-matched to the hardware's capabilities.

While the High preset is also viable, the performance cost is notable. At 1080p, High delivers 146 FPS, a drop of 14 FPS from Medium. At 1440p, the gap widens to 22 FPS (131 to 109), and at 4K, the difference is also 14 FPS (86 to 72). The data implies that the jump from Medium to High carries a significant rendering load that the i5-11400F begins to struggle to feed. The Ultra preset, while visually impressive, exacts a heavy toll, pushing average FPS down to 105 at 1080p and a demanding 52 FPS at 4K. Given that the GPU is capable of much higher output, the Ultra preset's performance collapse points directly at a CPU limitation, making it a less desirable choice for maximizing the hardware's potential.

Therefore, the data strongly favors Medium as the optimal preset. It provides the best combination of high average frame rates and the only recorded evidence of stable frame pacing, making it the safest recommendation for a consistently smooth experience. For users with high-refresh-rate 1080p displays, the Low preset is the only option that pushes beyond the 170 FPS mark, but it sacrifices visual fidelity. The High preset is a reasonable compromise for those who prioritize image quality over the slight edge in frame rate, but the data shows it is less efficient than Medium in terms of FPS-per-setting.

CPU Role

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. Its benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 14340 and a single-core score of 2024, place it in the 71st percentile of all CPUs, indicating it is a solid mid-range performer. However, the data from Red Dead Redemption 2 suggests that its 6 cores are becoming a bottleneck when paired with the immense processing power of the RTX 5090 D, especially at lower resolutions and higher settings.

The evidence for this is most apparent in the scaling from 1080p to 4K. At 1080p with Ultra settings, the combo achieves 105 FPS. When the resolution increases to 4K, the FPS drops to 52. This steep decline is expected as pixel count quadruples, but the absolute numbers are telling. At 1080p, the CPU must prepare more frames per second for the GPU to render. The fact that the Ultra preset at 1080p yields only 105 FPS, while the Medium preset at 1080p yields 160 FPS, shows that the higher settings introduce more draw calls and physics calculations that strain the CPU's 12 threads. The i5-11400F's boost clock of 4.40 GHz helps, but it appears insufficient to keep up with the RTX 5090 D's raw throughput in the most demanding scenarios.

The benchmark results show that this CPU is a capable partner, but it is the limiting factor in this specific configuration. The data implies that the RTX 5090 D is waiting on the CPU to deliver instructions, preventing it from reaching its full potential. This is a classic case of a high-end GPU being held back by a more modest processor. The 12 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support provide adequate bandwidth, but the core count and architectural limits of the 11th Gen platform become apparent when the GPU is this fast.

FAQ

Q: What is the best preset to use for the highest average frame rate at 1080p?

A: The measured data shows that the Low preset achieves the highest average FPS at 1920x1080, with a score of 178 FPS. The Medium preset follows at 160 FPS, and the High preset at 146 FPS, with Ultra bringing up the rear at 105 FPS.

Q: Does the RTX 5090 D provide a significant performance boost at 4K resolution?

A: Yes, but the gains are relative. At 4K with Medium settings, the combo averages 86 FPS, which is a solid experience. However, the data shows that the GPU is not the primary bottleneck at 4K, as the difference between Medium and High settings is only 14 FPS, suggesting the CPU is still a limiting factor even at this high resolution.

Q: How does the i5-11400F's multi-threaded performance compare to its rivals?

A: The i5-11400F's average benchmark score is 17177, which is nearly identical to its nearest rivals. It sits just 0.3% above the AMD EPYC 7H12 and 0.4% below the Intel Core i5-12450H, indicating that its raw multi-threaded processing power is in line with those comparably-scoring chips.

Q: Is the Core i5-11400F the reason for lower performance at 1080p with Ultra settings?

A: The data strongly suggests this is the case. The performance drop from Medium (160 FPS) to Ultra (105 FPS) at 1080p is a 55 FPS difference, while the same setting change at 4K results in a 34 FPS difference (86 to 52 FPS). This pattern indicates that the CPU is struggling to handle the increased workload of Ultra settings at lower resolutions where the GPU can otherwise render very quickly.

Q: What is the combo's overall standing compared to other tested systems?

A: The combo is ranked 72nd out of 2902 tested combinations for this game. This puts it in the top 2.5% of all tested systems, which is a strong showing, but it also indicates there are many other pairings that achieve higher frame rates in Red Dead Redemption 2.

Q: Is there a significant frame rate difference between the Low and High presets at 1440p?

A: Yes, the data shows a substantial difference. The Low preset at 2560x1440 averages 161 FPS, while the High preset averages 109 FPS. This 52 FPS gap highlights the substantial cost of the High preset's visual features on this hardware configuration.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-11400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D combination achieves a rank of 72 out of 2902 tested combos in Red Dead Redemption 2. This places the system in the top 2.5% of all configurations tested, which is an impressive feat. The high ranking is largely attributable to the sheer power of the RTX 5090 D, which is in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs. However, the ranking also reveals that there are 71 other combinations that perform better, which is a direct consequence of the i5-11400F's more modest standing in the 71st percentile of CPUs.

The data implies that while this combo is exceptionally fast, it is not at the absolute pinnacle of performance for this title. The 71 combos ranked above it likely feature more powerful processors that can better feed the RTX 5090 D, allowing it to reach even higher frame rates. This ranking clarifies the nature of the pairing: it is a high-performance system, but its ceiling is defined by the CPU. The GPU's immense capability is somewhat restrained, preventing the combo from breaking into the top tier of test results. The rank of 72nd is a clear indicator that the processor is a limiting factor, as the GPU alone would likely rank much higher if paired with a more powerful chip.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS data across resolutions reveals a classic pattern of CPU and GPU load balancing. At 1920x1080, the system is heavily CPU-bound. The average FPS for the High preset is 146, and for Low, it is 178. When moving to 2560x1440, these numbers drop to 109 and 161, respectively. The final step to 3840x2160 shows a further decline to 72 and 115 FPS. The percentage drops are telling. For the High preset, the drop from 1080p to 1440p is a 25% reduction (146 to 109). The drop from 1440p to 4K is an even larger 34% reduction (109 to 72). This increasing rate of decline as resolution rises indicates that the GPU is becoming more of a limiting factor at higher resolutions.

However, the absolute numbers tell a more complex story. At 4K with High settings, the combo still manages an average of 72 FPS, which is very playable. The data shows that even at 4K, the CPU is not completely off the hook. The fact that the 4K Medium and High presets are 86 and 72 FPS, respectively, suggests that the game's CPU overhead remains significant. A purely GPU-bound scenario would show a more dramatic drop between Medium and High at 4K. The scaling suggests that the i5-11400F's instruction throughput is a persistent bottleneck across all resolutions, but its impact is most acute at 1080p where the GPU can theoretically render frames much faster than the CPU can provide them. The 4K results, while lower, are more in line with what one might expect from a GPU-bound scenario, indicating a better balance of load at that resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides a complete matrix of performance for this combo. At 1920x1080, the settings scale as follows: Low yields an average of 178 FPS, Medium yields 160 FPS (with a minimum of 136 and a maximum of 184), High yields 146 FPS, and Ultra yields 105 FPS. This shows a clear and consistent drop as visual fidelity increases.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains high but decreases. Low averages 161 FPS, Medium averages 131 FPS (with a minimum of 111 and a maximum of 150), High averages 109 FPS, and Ultra averages 79 FPS. The gap between Medium and High remains consistent at around 22 FPS, mirroring the 14 FPS gap seen at 1080p but on a larger scale.

At 3840x2160, the system begins to show its limits. Low averages 115 FPS, Medium averages 86 FPS (with a minimum of 74 and a maximum of 99), High averages 72 FPS, and Ultra drops to 52 FPS. The 4K Medium preset's minimum FPS of 74 is still well above the 60 FPS threshold, demonstrating that the system can maintain a smooth experience at this resolution, but the Ultra preset's 52 FPS average shows that the highest settings are too demanding for a consistently fluid frame rate. The data confirms that the Medium preset offers the most consistent performance with recorded frame ranges at every resolution, reinforcing its status as the recommended setting.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is a monstrous GPU, featuring the GB202 chip and Blackwell 2.0 architecture. Its specifications are staggering: 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, a boost clock of 2407 MHz, and 21760 shading units. Its compute power is immense, with an FP32 performance of 104.8 TFLOPS and a memory bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s. In synthetic benchmarks, it sits in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 77712, placing it just 1.1% above the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT in its nearest rival group.

In Red Dead Redemption 2, the GPU's raw power is evident in the high frame rates achieved. However, its role is that of a powerful but partially idle worker, waiting for instructions from the i5-11400F. The data shows that the GPU is never the bottleneck at 1080p, as evidenced by the CPU-bound scaling. Even at 4K, the GPU's performance is impressive, but the 32 GB of VRAM is likely not being fully utilized by this game. The massive memory bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s ensures that texture streaming is not an issue, but the headline feature of this GPU is held back.

The performance difference between the Medium and High presets is telling. At 4K, the GPU should be the primary limiting factor, yet the 14 FPS drop from Medium to High is relatively modest compared to the 34 FPS drop from High to Ultra at 1080p. This suggests that the GPU is capable of handling the High preset's load at 4K, but the CPU's inability to process the game's logic at a faster rate is what prevents the GPU from running at 100% utilization. The RTX 5090 D's role here is to provide a massive safety margin, ensuring that the frame rate is limited by the CPU's instruction throughput, not by the GPU's rendering capabilities. This results in a system that is incredibly fast, but one that leaves significant GPU performance on the table.