Red Dead Redemption 2

The Intel Core i5-12400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER combination delivers a highly capable Red Dead Redemption 2 experience, but the data reveals a clear hierarchy: the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, while the CPU's 6-core/12-thread configuration holds its own even at 1080p. The measured FPS across all twelve configurations shows a system that can hit 60+ FPS at 1440p with High settings, yet struggles to maintain playable framerates at 4K Ultra, where the average dips to 38.6 FPS.

Resolution Scaling

The scaling from 1080p to 4K demonstrates exactly where the performance ceiling lies. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 168.8 FPS, but dropping to 1440p Low reduces that to 125.2 FPS (-25.8%), and 4K Low further drops to 85.2 FPS (-49.5% from the 1080p baseline). This pattern intensifies at higher settings: 1080p High yields 104 FPS, 1440p High yields 81.1 FPS (-22%), and 4K High yields 54.5 FPS (-47.6%). The 4K penalty is substantial across all presets, indicating that the RTX 4070 SUPER's 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth are being taxed heavily by the resolution increase.

The most telling data point comes from the Ultra preset. At 1080p Ultra, the system manages 77.8 FPS, which drops to 55.9 FPS at 1440p (-28.1%) and then to 38.6 FPS at 4K (-50.4% from 1080p). This near-linear degradation with resolution scaling points squarely at the GPU as the limiting component in this game. The CPU, with its 2.50 GHz base and 4.40 GHz boost clocks, has sufficient headroom to feed the GPU at lower resolutions, but the sheer pixel count at 4K overwhelms the graphics card's 35.48 TFLOPS of FP32 compute.

Interestingly, the gap between Low and Ultra settings widens as resolution increases. At 1080p, Low (168.8 FPS) is 117% faster than Ultra (77.8 FPS). At 1440p, that gap grows to 124% (125.2 vs 55.9). At 4K, it expands to 121% (85.2 vs 38.6). This suggests that the RTX 4070 SUPER's 56 RT cores and 224 tensor cores are being utilized more aggressively at higher settings, but the additional workload disproportionately impacts higher resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

The data strongly favors the High preset at 1440p as the optimal balance. The 81.1 FPS average at 2560x1440 High is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, while the jump to Ultra only yields 55.9 FPS — a drop of 31.1% for what is typically a marginal visual improvement. For users prioritizing frame rate, the Medium preset at 1440p delivers 91.5 FPS, representing a 12.8% improvement over High while still offering decent visual quality.

At 4K, the recommendation shifts. The High preset produces 54.5 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for competitive or fast-paced sequences. Dropping to Medium yields 59.4 FPS, a 9% improvement that pushes just past the 60 FPS mark. The Ultra preset at 4K (38.6 FPS) is effectively unplayable for most users, and even Low (85.2 FPS) sacrifices too much visual fidelity for the resolution benefit.

For 1080p users, the Ultra preset at 77.8 FPS is the clear winner. This is the only resolution where Ultra maintains a high refresh rate, and the RTX 4070 SUPER's 220 W TDP is well within its comfort zone. The data shows that this combo is best suited for 1440p High or 1080p Ultra, with 4K requiring a compromise to Medium or High depending on tolerance for sub-60 FPS performance.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Red Dead Redemption 2 at 4K 60 FPS?

A: No. The measured data shows a maximum of 59.4 FPS at 4K Medium, with High at 54.5 FPS and Ultra at 38.6 FPS. None of the 4K configurations reach 60 FPS.

Q: What is the best 1080p preset for this system?

A: The Ultra preset at 77.8 FPS is the recommended choice, as it provides the highest visual quality while maintaining a smooth frame rate. The Low preset (168.8 FPS) is overkill for most displays and sacrifices significant visual fidelity.

Q: How much performance does the Ultra preset cost compared to High?

A: At 1080p, Ultra (77.8 FPS) is 25.2% slower than High (104 FPS). At 1440p, the penalty is 31.1% (55.9 vs 81.1). At 4K, Ultra (38.6 FPS) is 29.2% slower than High (54.5 FPS).

Q: Is the RTX 4070 SUPER the bottleneck at 1080p?

A: The data suggests the CPU begins to matter more at 1080p Low (168.8 FPS), but the GPU still dominates. The i5-12400's 12 threads and 18 MB of shared L3 cache are sufficient to prevent major CPU limitations at lower resolutions.

Q: What is the performance difference between 1440p and 4K at High settings?

A: The 4K High average of 54.5 FPS is 32.8% lower than the 1440p High average of 81.1 FPS. This represents a significant drop that pushes the experience below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: Does the Medium preset offer a good compromise at 4K?

A: Yes. The 4K Medium average of 59.4 FPS is the closest any configuration gets to 60 FPS at 4K, and it is 53.9% faster than Ultra at the same resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system demonstrates its peak performance. The Low preset achieves 168.8 FPS, Medium reaches 127.9 FPS, High hits 104 FPS, and Ultra settles at 77.8 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 54% performance drop, but every preset remains above 75 FPS, making 1080p the most flexible resolution for this combo.

Moving to 2560x1440, the numbers tell a different story. Low produces 125.2 FPS, Medium 91.5 FPS, High 81.1 FPS, and Ultra 55.9 FPS. The 1440p Ultra result is notable — it is the first configuration to fall below 60 FPS, and it represents a 55.4% drop from the 1440p Low result. The High preset remains playable, but users seeking 100+ FPS must stick with Low or Medium.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's limitations become stark. Low delivers 85.2 FPS, Medium 59.4 FPS, High 54.5 FPS, and Ultra 38.6 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 30.3%, while the gap between Medium and Ultra is 35%. This resolution exposes the RTX 4070 SUPER's 192-bit memory bus and 12 GB capacity as the primary constraint, as the 4K Ultra result is only 49.6% of the 1080p Ultra result.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is the dominant performance driver in this configuration. Its 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus provides 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for 1440p High but strained at 4K Ultra. The GPU's 7168 shading units and 80 ROPs deliver the raw compute, but the 35.48 TFLOPS FP32 performance is the key metric for this game's pixel-heavy rendering.

The GPU's boost clock of 2475 MHz (with a 1980 MHz base) allows it to maintain high utilization across all presets. The data shows that the RTX 4070 SUPER's 220 W TDP is fully leveraged at 4K, where the frame rate drops are most pronounced. The 56 RT cores and 224 tensor cores are relevant for the game's advanced lighting and shadow effects, but the Ultra preset's 38.6 FPS at 4K indicates that these features come at a steep cost.

The GPU's 84th percentile ranking against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 42576, places it in the upper tier. Its nearest rivals — the RTX A6000 (42653, -0.2%), RX 7650 GRE (42723, -0.3%), and Radeon Pro 580X (41991, +1.4%) — are all within 1.6% of its performance, confirming that this is a well-balanced mid-to-high-end card that excels at 1440p but lacks the headroom for 4K Ultra in demanding titles.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 provides a solid foundation for this GPU pairing. Its 6 cores and 12 threads, operating between 2.50 GHz base and 4.40 GHz boost, deliver a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 15935 and a single-core score of 2249. The 18 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB per-core L2 cache help maintain consistent frame pacing, as evidenced by the 1080p Low result of 168.8 FPS.

The CPU's 77th percentile ranking against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19850, places it just 0.1% ahead of the Core i7-9700 (19831) and 0.4% ahead of the Core i5-11600K (19771). Its 3DMark single-thread score of 910 and 16-thread score of 5873 indicate that it can handle the game's thread scheduling without becoming a bottleneck at 1080p.

However, the CPU's role diminishes at higher resolutions. The data shows that at 4K, the GPU is so heavily loaded that the CPU's 65 W TDP and 10 nm process node are rarely the limiting factor. The PassMark multithread score of 18747 and physics score of 1105 suggest adequate compute for the game's physics simulation, but the real-world results confirm that the i5-12400 is a capable but not exceptional partner for the RTX 4070 SUPER in this title.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-12400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER ranks 292nd out of 1687 tested combos in Red Dead Redemption 2. This places it in the top 17.3% of all configurations, which is a strong result given the CPU's mid-range positioning and the GPU's upper-mid-range tier.

This ranking reflects the system's ability to deliver high frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, while acknowledging its limitations at 4K Ultra. The combo outperforms the vast majority of tested systems in the database, but it does not reach the top tier reserved for flagship CPUs paired with the most powerful GPUs. The 292nd rank suggests that users with this setup can expect a smooth experience at 1440p High, which is the sweet spot for this pairing, and can push to 4K only by accepting Medium or High presets.

The data indicates that the ranking is primarily driven by the GPU's strong performance at lower resolutions, as the CPU's 6-core/12-thread configuration is sufficient but not exceptional. For users upgrading from older systems, this combo represents a significant leap in capability, but those seeking 4K Ultra performance would need to look at higher-tier GPUs or accept the compromises outlined in the resolution scaling analysis.