Red Dead Redemption 2

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-12400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 holds the 337th position out of 1,687 tested combos in Red Dead Redemption 2. This places the pairing comfortably within the top 20% of all configurations evaluated, indicating a strong overall capability for this specific title. The rank reflects a balance between the CPU and GPU that allows the system to perform well above the median, though not at the very top tier where the most extreme hardware combinations reside.

The CPU itself sits at the 77th percentile among all processors in the database, with an average benchmark score of 19,850. Its nearest rivals illustrate a tightly contested field: the Intel Core i7-9700 scores 19,831 (a 0.1% delta), while the Intel Core i7-8700 reaches 19,894 (a -0.2% delta). The AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5995WX posts 19,928 (a -0.4% delta), and the Intel Core i5-11600K achieves 19,771 (a 0.4% delta). These margins are negligible, showing that the i5-12400 delivers compute performance essentially identical to several older and more expensive parts.

On the GPU side, the RTX 5070 ranks at the 83rd percentile among all graphics cards, with an average benchmark score of 41,687. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 at 41,610 (0.2% delta), the NVIDIA Tesla M40 at 41,897 (-0.5% delta), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 at 41,441 (0.6% delta), and the AMD Radeon Pro 580X at 41,991 (-0.7% delta). The close deltas again suggest that in raw compute terms, the RTX 5070 sits in a dense cluster of high-end cards, with the RTX 3090 being a particularly notable comparison point as a previous-generation flagship.

FAQ

Q: How does the Intel Core i5-12400 compare to its closest rival, the Intel Core i7-9700?

A: The i5-12400 scores 19,850 on average, while the i7-9700 scores 19,831, giving the i5-12400 a 0.1% advantage. This effectively means the two processors perform identically in aggregate benchmarks.

Q: What is the RTX 5070's standing relative to the RTX 3090?

A: The RTX 5070 has an average benchmark score of 41,687, while the RTX 3090 scores 41,441. The RTX 5070 leads by 0.6%, indicating that the newer card matches or slightly exceeds the older flagship in overall compute capability.

Q: What is the measured performance at 1080p with High settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo achieves an average of 104.4 FPS. This is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

Q: What is the best measured result for this combo in the game?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 165.5 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The lowest is 34.7 at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings.

Q: Does raising settings from Medium to High at 1440p cause a large FPS drop?

A: At 2560x1440, Medium settings yield 90.8 FPS, while High settings yield 76.8 FPS. This is a drop of 14 FPS, indicating a moderate performance cost for the visual upgrade.

Q: What is the combo's overall rank and how many total configurations were tested?

A: The combo ranks 337th out of 1,687 tested configurations. This puts it in the top 20% of all tested combos for Red Dead Redemption 2.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of scaling as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 104.4 FPS at 1080p to 76.8 FPS at 1440p, and then to 50 FPS at 4K. This represents a 27% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and a 35% further reduction from 1440p to 4K. The scaling is not linear, with the 4K step exacting a proportionally heavier toll.

At Low settings, the pattern shifts. The 1080p result is 165.5 FPS, dropping to 122.8 FPS at 1440p (a 26% reduction), and then to 81.6 FPS at 4K (a 34% reduction). The relative drops are similar across settings, suggesting that the GPU is the primary constraint as resolution rises. The fact that even at Low settings the 4K result falls to 81.6 FPS indicates that pixel throughput becomes the limiting factor regardless of the graphical load.

Examining the Ultra settings provides additional insight. At 1080p, Ultra yields 75.7 FPS, which drops to 52.8 FPS at 1440p, and then to 34.7 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is below the 60 FPS threshold, showing that this combination cannot sustain high-refresh gameplay at maximum settings in 4K. The data suggests the RTX 5070's 12 GB of GDDR7 memory and 672.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but 4K Ultra pushes the GPU to its limits.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers a wide range of results depending on settings. Low settings produce an average of 165.5 FPS, which is the highest figure recorded across all configurations. Medium settings yield 121.4 FPS, High settings produce 104.4 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 75.7 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra is 89.8 FPS, showing a substantial performance range at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the results scale downward as expected. Low settings deliver 122.8 FPS, which remains above the 120 FPS mark. Medium settings produce 90.8 FPS, High settings yield 76.8 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 52.8 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 70 FPS at this resolution, indicating that the GPU is beginning to become more of a bottleneck.

At 3840x2160, the performance profile shifts significantly. Low settings produce 81.6 FPS, which is still playable. Medium settings deliver 60.5 FPS, placing it just above the 60 FPS threshold. High settings yield 50 FPS, and Ultra settings fall to 34.7 FPS. The Ultra result is the only configuration below 40 FPS in the entire dataset. The progression from Low to Ultra at 4K shows a 46.9 FPS drop, demonstrating that the GPU's rendering capacity is heavily taxed at this resolution.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with a GB205 chip, fabricated on a 5 nm process by TSMC. It contains 31,100 million transistors on a 263 mm² die, resulting in a transistor density of 118.3M per mm². The card has 6,144 shading units, 192 texture mapping units, and 80 raster operation units, along with 48 ray tracing cores and 192 tensor cores. These specifications drive a pixel rate of 201.0 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 482.3 GTexel/s.

The memory subsystem consists of 12 GB of GDDR7 on a 192-bit bus, providing 672.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The memory clock runs at 1750 MHz, which translates to 28 Gbps effective. The GPU core clocks are 2325 MHz base and 2512 MHz boost. These specifications position the RTX 5070 at the 83rd percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 41,687.

In Red Dead Redemption 2, the GPU's role is evident in the scaling patterns. The 12 GB memory capacity is sufficient for the game's demands at all tested settings, as there are no indications of texture thrashing or stutter in the measured FPS data. The bandwidth of 672.0 GB/s supports high-resolution rendering, but the 4K Ultra result of 34.7 FPS suggests that the compute and pixel throughput of the card are the limiting factors at that extreme setting. The GPU's performance relative to the RTX 3090 (0.6% ahead) shows that it can match a previous-generation flagship, which is notable given the architectural differences.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, manufactured on a 10 nm process by Intel. 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. Memory support includes both DDR4 and DDR5 in dual-channel configuration.

The CPU's benchmark results show a balanced profile. In Cinebench R23, it scores 15,935 in multi-core and 2,249 in single-core. The 3DMark tests reveal scaling from 910 in single-thread to 5,890 in max-threads, indicating good multi-threading efficiency. The PassMark multi-thread score is 18,747, with a single-thread score of 3,456. The CPU sits at the 77th percentile among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 19,850.

In Red Dead Redemption 2, the CPU's role is secondary to the GPU at higher resolutions, but it becomes more relevant at 1080p. The 1080p Low result of 165.5 FPS suggests that the CPU can feed the GPU effectively at high frame rates. The 6 cores and 12 threads provide sufficient parallelism for the game's engine, and the boost clock of 4.40 GHz ensures strong single-thread performance. The CPU's nearest rival, the i7-9700, performs within 0.1%, indicating that the i5-12400 offers comparable performance to a higher-tier older processor. The 65 W TDP suggests that thermal headroom is not a concern, allowing sustained boost clocks during extended gaming sessions.