Red Dead Redemption 2

The Intel Core i5-12400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 produces a playable but constrained experience in Red Dead Redemption 2, with performance heavily dependent on resolution and quality settings. The measured data shows this combination ranks 1760th out of 2902 tested combos for this game, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database. The 6-core, 12-thread processor with a 2.50 GHz base and 4.40 GHz boost clock provides solid CPU fundamentals, while the 8 GB GDDR6 memory and 320.0 GB/s bandwidth of the RTX 5050 become the primary limiting factors as resolution increases. At 1080p, the combo delivers smooth frame rates across most presets, but 4K Ultra drops to 22 FPS average, indicating that the GPU cannot sustain high fidelity at that resolution.

FAQ

Q: What is the combo's overall rank for Red Dead Redemption 2?

A: The Intel Core i5-12400 with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 ranks 1760th out of 2902 tested combos for this game, which places it in the 60th percentile of all tested configurations. This suggests that while it is not a top-tier setup, it outperforms a majority of the combinations in the database for this specific title.

Q: What is the best frame rate achieved at 1080p?

A: The highest average FPS recorded at 1920x1080 is 98 FPS with Low settings. The Medium preset delivers 73 FPS average, High settings produce 61 FPS, and Ultra drops to 44 FPS. The Medium preset also includes measured minimum and maximum values of 62 and 84 FPS, respectively.

Q: How does the RTX 5050's VRAM capacity affect 4K performance?

A: The RTX 5050 has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory with a 128-bit bus and 320.0 GB/s bandwidth. At 3840x2160, the highest average FPS is 48 with Low settings, but High settings yield only 30 FPS, Medium produces 36 FPS, and Ultra falls to 22 FPS. The 8 GB capacity appears insufficient for high-detail 4K rendering in this game.

Q: What is the CPU's benchmark percentile ranking?

A: The Intel Core i5-12400 has a percentile rank of 72 versus all CPUs in the database, with an average benchmark score of 18683. Its closest rival is the AMD EPYC 7643, which scores 18697, a delta of -0.1 percent. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multicore score is 15989, and its single-core score is 2257.

Q: Which settings preset offers the best balance at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset achieves 73 FPS average, while Medium drops to 55 FPS, High to 46 FPS, and Ultra to 33 FPS. The Medium preset has measured minimum and maximum values of 46 and 63 FPS. Given that Low nearly doubles the frame rate of Ultra, it provides the most consistent experience at this resolution.

Q: Does the GPU outperform or underperform its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 5050 has an average benchmark score of 21035 and a percentile rank of 66 versus all GPUs. Its nearest rival is the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL, which scores 21153, a delta of -0.6 percent. The NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile scores 21379, placing it 1.6 percent ahead of the RTX 5050.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-12400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 achieves a rank of 1760 out of 2902 tested combos specifically for Red Dead Redemption 2. This position indicates that the setup falls slightly below the median performance tier for this game, as roughly 1142 tested combinations perform worse while 1760 perform better. The rank reflects the overall balance between the CPU's capabilities and the GPU's limitations.

Examining the CPU's position in the broader context, the i5-12400 holds a percentile rank of 72 versus all CPUs, meaning it outperforms 72 percent of processors in the database. This is a relatively strong showing for a mainstream desktop chip. The CPU's average benchmark score of 18683 places it within 0.1 percent of the AMD EPYC 7643, which scores 18697, and 0.3 percent behind the Intel Core i7-1355U at 18730. The i5-12400 also edges out the Intel Core i3-14100F, which scores 18519, by 0.9 percent.

On the GPU side, the RTX 5050 has a percentile rank of 66 versus all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 21035. This places it slightly below the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL, which scores 21153 (0.6 percent higher), and the NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile at 21379 (1.6 percent higher). The AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT scores 20713, which is 1.6 percent lower than the RTX 5050. These synthetic benchmarks suggest the GPU is competitive with mid-range previous-generation cards, but it is not positioned as a high-end performer.

The game-specific rank of 1760 is lower than what either component's individual percentile might suggest. This discrepancy indicates that the RTX 5050's 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit memory bus become bottlenecks in Red Dead Redemption 2, particularly at higher resolutions. The data shows a clear pattern: at 1080p, the combo performs adequately, but at 4K, frame rates fall below 30 FPS on most presets. The rank reflects this resolution-dependent behavior, as the game's demanding open-world environment scales heavily with GPU memory and bandwidth.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture using a 5 nm process at TSMC, with a chip designated GB207 and a die size of 149 mm². The GPU contains 2560 shading units, 80 texture mapping units, and 32 raster output units, along with 20 ray tracing cores and 80 tensor cores. These specifications position it as an entry-level to mid-range option in the GeForce 50-series lineup.

The memory subsystem consists of 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, running at 2500 MHz with 20 Gbps effective speed, resulting in 320.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is the most critical factor in Red Dead Redemption 2's performance. The game's open-world rendering, which includes large draw distances, detailed textures, and dynamic lighting, places substantial demands on VRAM capacity and bandwidth. The 8 GB capacity is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p at lower settings, but at 4K, the measured frame rates indicate that the GPU runs out of headroom.

Clock speeds are relatively modest, with a base clock of 2317 MHz and a boost clock of 2572 MHz. This yields a pixel rate of 82.30 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 205.8 GTexel/s. The FP32 performance is rated at 13.17 TFLOPS, which is adequate for rasterized rendering but not exceptional for a modern GPU. The GPU's TDP is 130 W with a suggested PSU of 300 W, and it uses a single 8-pin power connector.

In synthetic benchmarks, the RTX 5050 scores 17326 in Passmark G3D and 9184 in Passmark GPU Compute. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test yields a score of 2502. These numbers align with the GPU's percentile rank of 66, showing that it performs better than most GPUs but lags behind higher-tier options. In Red Dead Redemption 2 specifically, the GPU's role is defined by its memory limitations. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 98 FPS, indicating that the GPU can handle the workload when texture quality and draw distances are reduced. However, at 4K Ultra, the frame rate drops to 22 FPS, demonstrating that the 8 GB VRAM and 320.0 GB/s bandwidth cannot sustain the game's highest fidelity settings at that resolution.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings preset depends on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset provides the best balance between visual quality and performance, delivering 73 FPS average with minimum and maximum values of 62 and 84 FPS. This frame rate comfortably exceeds the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The High preset at 61 FPS is also viable, though it leaves less margin for demanding scenes. The Low preset at 98 FPS is unnecessary unless the user prioritizes maximum frame rates, while Ultra at 44 FPS sacrifices smoothness for marginal visual gains.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset achieves 73 FPS average, making it the only setting that maintains fluid motion. The Medium preset drops to 55 FPS, which is playable but may exhibit stutter in busy areas, as indicated by the 46 FPS minimum. High settings at 46 FPS and Ultra at 33 FPS are below the ideal range for action-heavy gameplay. The recommendation is to use Low settings at 1440p for the most consistent experience, or Medium if the user accepts occasional dips below 50 FPS.

At 3840x2160, no preset achieves a fully smooth experience. The Low preset yields 48 FPS average, which is the highest at this resolution. Medium produces 36 FPS with a minimum of 31 FPS, while High drops to 30 FPS and Ultra falls to 22 FPS. The data suggests that 4K gaming is not practical with this combo unless the user is willing to accept frame rates below 50 FPS. The Low preset is the only reasonable choice at 4K, and even then, performance is marginal.

The overall recommendation is to use Medium settings at 1080p for the best balance of visuals and performance, as this preset provides the highest frame rate that still maintains a 60 FPS floor in most scenarios. For users who prioritize frame rate over fidelity, the Low preset at 1440p offers a similar average FPS of 73, making it a viable alternative. Ultra settings are not recommended at any resolution due to the significant frame rate penalties, particularly at 4K where the average FPS drops below 30.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across three resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 98 FPS, which is the highest frame rate recorded for this combo. Medium settings produce 73 FPS average with a minimum of 62 and maximum of 84 FPS. High settings yield 61 FPS average, while Ultra drops to 44 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a reduction of 54 FPS, representing a 55 percent decrease in performance.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset delivers 73 FPS average, which is identical to the 1080p Medium result. This highlights the resolution scaling behavior of the GPU. Medium settings at 1440p produce 55 FPS average with minimum and maximum values of 46 and 63 FPS. High settings drop to 46 FPS, and Ultra falls to 33 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 40 FPS, a 55 percent reduction, matching the percentage seen at 1080p.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset achieves 48 FPS average, which is the only preset that exceeds 40 FPS at this resolution. Medium settings produce 36 FPS average with a minimum of 31 and maximum of 41 FPS. High settings drop to 30 FPS, and Ultra falls to 22 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 26 FPS, representing a 54 percent reduction, consistent with the other resolutions.

The data shows a consistent pattern: the RTX 5050 scales almost linearly with quality settings, with each step from Low to Medium, Medium to High, and High to Ultra costing roughly 15-20 percent performance. The Medium preset is the only one with complete minimum and maximum measurements across all resolutions, providing the most detailed picture of frame time consistency. At 1080p Medium, the 62-84 FPS range indicates reasonable stability, while at 1440p Medium, the 46-63 FPS range shows more variance, and at 4K Medium, the 31-41 FPS range suggests tight but low performance.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the Alder Lake-S architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, with a TDP of 65 W. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 18 MB of shared L3 cache. This configuration provides solid multi-threaded performance for gaming workloads, which typically utilize fewer than 8 threads but benefit from high single-core speeds.

Synthetic benchmarks for the i5-12400 show strong results. The Cinebench R23 multicore score is 15989, while the single-core score is 2257. The Geekbench multicore score is 8564, and single-core is 1848. In 3DMark tests, the 16-thread score is 5873, and the max-thread score is 5890, indicating that the CPU maintains consistent performance across all threads. The Passmark multithread score is 18747, with a single-thread score of 3456.

In Red Dead Redemption 2, the CPU's role is secondary to the GPU at higher resolutions. The game is known for its CPU demands in open-world scenes, particularly when rendering distant objects and managing NPCs. The i5-12400's 6 cores and 12 threads are sufficient to avoid becoming a bottleneck at 1080p, where the GPU is the limiting factor. Evidence of this is the frame rate scaling: at 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 54 FPS, which is primarily driven by GPU workload changes rather than CPU limitations.

At 4K, the CPU's influence diminishes further because the GPU is heavily constrained by memory bandwidth and capacity. The 22 FPS Ultra result at 4K is a GPU limitation, not a CPU one. The CPU's percentile rank of 72 versus all CPUs suggests it is well above average, and its nearest rivals in the database include the AMD EPYC 7643 and Intel Core i7-1355U, both scoring within 0.3 percent. This indicates that the i5-12400 provides ample compute power for this game, and the measured FPS differences across resolutions are attributable to the GPU.

The CPU's memory support includes DDR4 and DDR5, with dual-channel configuration. While the FACT PACK does not specify memory bandwidth, the 18 MB L3 cache helps mitigate memory latency in gaming scenarios. The lack of multiplier unlocking means the CPU cannot be overclocked, but its boost clock of 4.40 GHz is sufficient for the game's single-threaded components.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 98 at 1080p to 73 at 1440p, a 25.5 percent decrease, and then to 48 at 4K, a further 34.2 percent decrease from 1440p. The total drop from 1080p to 4K at Low settings is 50 FPS, representing a 51 percent reduction.

At Medium settings, the average FPS is 73 at 1080p, 55 at 1440p, and 36 at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 18 FPS (24.7 percent), and from 1440p to 4K is 19 FPS (34.5 percent). The total reduction from 1080p to 4K is 37 FPS, a 50.7 percent decrease. This consistency in percentage drops across presets indicates that the GPU is the limiting component, as the scaling pattern does not change with quality settings.

At High settings, the average FPS is 61 at 1080p, 46 at 1440p, and 30 at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 15 FPS (24.6 percent), and from 1440p to 4K is 16 FPS (34.8 percent). The total reduction is 31 FPS, a 50.8 percent decrease. At Ultra settings, the average FPS is 44 at 1080p, 33 at 1440p, and 22 at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 11 FPS (25 percent), and from 1440p to 4K is 11 FPS (33.3 percent). The total reduction is 22 FPS, a 50 percent decrease.

The uniform scaling across all presets strongly suggests that the GPU is the bottleneck. The number of pixels at 4K is four times that of 1080p, but the frame rate drops by approximately half, not a quarter. This indicates that the GPU's memory bandwidth of 320.0 GB/s and 8 GB VRAM capacity are insufficient to maintain proportional performance as pixel count increases. The CPU's role in this scaling is minimal, as its performance does not change with resolution, and the consistent percentage drops point to a GPU-limited scenario.

The data also shows that the RTX 5050 cannot maintain playable frame rates at 4K for this game, with even Low settings resulting in 48 FPS average. The jump from 1440p to 4K causes a larger percentage drop than the jump from 1080p to 1440p, which is typical for GPUs with limited memory bandwidth. The 128-bit memory bus is the primary constraint, as it restricts the data throughput needed for high-resolution textures and effects. Users seeking 4K performance would need a GPU with greater memory capacity and bandwidth, but within this combo, the i5-12400 provides sufficient CPU headroom to avoid exacerbating the issue.