Red Dead Redemption 2

The Intel Core i5-12400 and Intel Arc B390 combination delivers a narrow performance envelope in Red Dead Redemption 2, with benchmark results showing a strict ceiling that favors lower resolutions and reduced graphical presets. The data indicates this pairing ranks near the bottom of the tested database, occupying the 2568th position out of 2902 recorded combos, which places it in the 12th percentile of all system configurations measured for this title. The measured frames per second across all resolutions and settings reveal a system that is fundamentally constrained by the graphics processor, whose benchmark percentile of 9 versus all GPUs suggests it operates at a level that struggles with the demands of this 2018 Action Adventure title.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Red Dead Redemption 2 with this hardware combo?

A: The measured data shows that 1920x1080 with Low settings yields the highest average frame rate at 51 FPS, which is the only configuration that approaches a playable threshold. At 2560x1440, the best result drops to 38 FPS on Low, while 3840x2160 peaks at just 25 FPS on Low.

Q: How does this combo rank against other tested systems?

A: The combo is ranked 2568th out of 2902 total combinations tested for Red Dead Redemption 2, placing it in the bottom 12 percent of all systems in the database. This low ranking is consistent with the graphics card's individual percentile of 9, which indicates it performs worse than approximately 91 percent of all GPUs in the database.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-12400 processor the bottleneck in this system?

A: The CPU data does not suggest a bottleneck. The processor scores 15,989 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2,257 in single-core tests, with a percentile of 72 versus all CPUs. The GPU's percentile of 9 is significantly lower, indicating the graphics solution is the limiting factor in this pairing.

Q: What frame rates can I expect at 1080p with Medium settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with Medium settings, the measured average FPS is 39, with a minimum of 33 and a maximum of 44. This is a 24 percent reduction from the Low preset at the same resolution, showing a notable performance cost for the visual upgrade.

Q: Does the system support modern graphics APIs for this game?

A: The Intel Arc B390 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, which covers the API requirements for Red Dead Redemption 2. Benchmark results from 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 show a score of 1,482, which aligns with the GPU's low overall performance tier.

Q: How does the CPU's multi-threaded performance compare to its direct rivals?

A: The Core i5-12400 has an average benchmark score of 18,683, which is nearly identical to its nearest rival, the AMD EPYC 7643, at 18,697 with a delta of -0.1 percent. It trails the Intel Core i7-1355U by 0.3 percent and the AMD Ryzen AI 5 330 by 0.7 percent, but leads the Intel Core i3-14100F by 0.9 percent.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data across all resolutions and presets indicates that the only viable configuration for an acceptable experience is the 1920x1080 Low preset, which delivers an average of 51 FPS. This is the sole setting combination that exceeds the 30 FPS threshold commonly considered the minimum for playable performance. The step from Low to Medium at 1080p results in a significant drop to 39 FPS average, with minimums recorded at 33 FPS, which still remains technically playable but approaches the lower boundary of smooth motion.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset yields 38 FPS average, which may be tolerable for users who prioritize resolution over visual fidelity, but the Medium preset falls to 29 FPS with minimums of 24 FPS, indicating noticeable stutter during demanding scenes. The High preset at 1440p drops further to 24 FPS, and Ultra plummets to 17 FPS, both of which are below acceptable playability. For 3840x2160, even the Low preset at 25 FPS fails to reach a playable threshold, making 4K resolution impractical for this hardware combination.

The data suggests a clear trade-off pattern: each increment in settings tier costs approximately 20-25 percent of the average frame rate at a given resolution. The Ultra preset at 1080p produces 23 FPS, which is less than half of the Low preset's 51 FPS, indicating that the GPU's 24 ROPs and 7.68 TFLOPS FP32 compute are insufficient for the game's highest quality settings. Users seeking the best experience should prioritize the 1080p Low preset, as it provides the highest margin above playability while maintaining the lowest resolution tested.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 operates as an integrated graphics processor with a 3 nm process node and the Xe3-LPG architecture, featuring 1,536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 render output units. Its clock speeds range from a 300 MHz base to a 2,500 MHz boost, delivering a pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 120.0 GTexel/s. The GPU's memory configuration is system shared, meaning it relies on the host system's RAM rather than dedicated VRAM, which directly impacts performance in a memory-intensive title like Red Dead Redemption 2.

The GPU's benchmark performance is minimal, with a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1,482, placing it at the 9th percentile of all GPUs in the database. Its nearest rivals in the benchmark rankings are the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1,463, 1.3 percent higher), NVIDIA GeForce 800M (1,460, 1.5 percent higher), and NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM (1,446, 2.5 percent higher), all of which are entry-level or legacy mobile parts. This context explains the measured FPS results: the GPU operates at a level comparable to decade-old integrated solutions, which is insufficient for a game of Red Dead Redemption 2's graphical complexity.

The system-shared memory architecture means the GPU has no dedicated VRAM pool, and bandwidth is listed as system dependent, which introduces additional latency and contention with CPU memory access. The 80 W TDP and IGP slot width confirm this is not a discrete solution but rather an integrated part of the processor package, further limiting its ability to sustain high frame rates. The measured FPS pattern across resolutions shows a consistent scaling: 1080p Low at 51 FPS drops to 38 FPS at 1440p and 25 FPS at 4K, which aligns with the pixel throughput limitations of the GPU's 24 ROPs.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-12400 and Intel Arc B390 is ranked 2568th out of 2902 tested combinations for Red Dead Redemption 2, placing it in the bottom 11.5 percent of all systems in the database. This ranking reflects the GPU's severe performance deficit, as the CPU itself ranks at the 72nd percentile, showing a substantial mismatch between the two components. The combo's position in the database is consistent with the GPU's individual 9th percentile ranking, confirming that the graphics solution dictates the overall system performance in this game.

The CPU's average benchmark score of 18,683 places it in competitive territory with the AMD EPYC 7643 (18,697, -0.1 percent) and Intel Core i7-1355U (18,730, -0.3 percent), showing that the processor is not the limiting factor. However, the GPU's average benchmark score of 1,482 places it 1.3 percent above the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, a GPU from a bygone era, which starkly illustrates the performance ceiling. The delta between the CPU's 72nd percentile and the GPU's 9th percentile creates an imbalanced system where the processor sits idle while the graphics solution struggles to render frames.

The 2902 total combinations in the database include a wide range of hardware pairings, and this combo's 2568th rank indicates it outperforms only 334 other configurations. This places the system in a category where users would likely need to reduce resolution and settings to their absolute minimums to achieve playable frame rates, as confirmed by the measured data. The ranking also suggests that any upgrade path would require addressing the GPU first, as the CPU has ample headroom to support a significantly more capable graphics solution.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 features 6 cores and 12 threads based on the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. The processor includes 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 1.25 MB of L2 cache per core, and 18 MB of shared L3 cache, providing a solid foundation for gaming workloads. Its benchmark results show strong multi-threaded performance with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 15,989 and a single-core score of 2,257, while Geekbench reports 8,564 multi-core and 1,848 single-core.

The CPU's performance relative to the game's demands is more than adequate, as evidenced by its 72nd percentile ranking among all CPUs. In the 3DMark tests, the processor scores 5,873 with 16 threads, 4,745 with 8 threads, and 3,012 with 4 threads, demonstrating scalability across thread counts. The PassMark multi-thread score of 18,747 and single-thread score of 3,456 further confirm that the CPU can handle the game's logic and physics calculations without bottlenecking the graphics pipeline.

However, the measured FPS data shows that the CPU's capabilities are largely underutilized in this pairing. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 51 FPS, which is the highest measured result, but the GPU's limitations prevent the CPU from demonstrating its full potential. The CPU's TDP of 65 W and support for DDR4 and DDR5 memory indicate a balanced platform, but the system-shared memory of the GPU means the CPU's memory bandwidth is shared with graphics tasks, potentially creating additional contention that limits performance further.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the highest resolution tested, the system produces an average of 16 FPS on High settings, 19 FPS on Medium with a minimum of 16 and maximum of 22, 25 FPS on Low, and 11 FPS on Ultra. These results are uniformly below playable thresholds, with even the best 4K result at 25 FPS falling short of the 30 FPS minimum. The spread between Low and Ultra at 4K shows a 56 percent reduction in performance, indicating that the GPU's 24 ROPs cannot handle the pixel fill requirements at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the data shows improvement but remains marginal: Low settings yield 38 FPS average, Medium produces 29 FPS with a minimum of 24 and maximum of 33, High drops to 24 FPS, and Ultra falls to 17 FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p shows a 24 FPS minimum, which suggests frame time spikes that could cause noticeable judder during busy scenes. The step from Low to Medium at this resolution costs 9 FPS, while the step from Medium to High costs another 5 FPS, showing diminishing returns as settings increase.

At 1920x1080, the only resolution that approaches playability, the results are: Low at 51 FPS average, Medium at 39 FPS with a minimum of 33 and maximum of 44, High at 32 FPS, and Ultra at 23 FPS. The Medium preset at 1080p maintains a minimum above 30 FPS, making it the second viable option after Low. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p shows a 55 percent performance drop, consistent with the 4K results, confirming that the GPU's compute throughput of 7.68 TFLOPS limits high-quality settings regardless of resolution. The data reveals that the system operates in a narrow band where only the lowest settings at the lowest resolution provide a comfortable gaming experience, while all other configurations require significant compromises or are simply unplayable.