Red Dead Redemption 2

The Intel Core i5-12400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 combination delivers playable performance in Red Dead Redemption 2, but the data shows that settings management is critical to achieving a smooth experience. The measured frames per second across three resolutions and four quality presets reveal a system where the GPU becomes the primary constraint at higher fidelity settings. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 82.9 FPS, while the Medium preset drops to 64.3 FPS and High falls to 52.3 FPS. The Ultra preset at this resolution produces only 35.8 FPS, which is below the threshold for fluid gameplay. Moving to 2560x1440, the Low preset still manages 60.7 FPS, but Medium drops to 45.4 FPS and High to 37.3 FPS. At 3840x2160, even the Low preset only reaches 41 FPS, with High and Ultra falling to 23.8 FPS and 21.9 FPS respectively.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark data indicates that the Medium preset at 1920x1080 offers the most balanced experience, delivering 64.3 FPS on average. This provides a 23% improvement over the High preset’s 52.3 FPS while retaining substantially better visual quality than the Low preset’s 82.9 FPS. The Medium preset at this resolution keeps the frame rate comfortably above 60 FPS, which is the standard for responsive gameplay in an action-adventure title. For users prioritizing maximum smoothness, the Low preset at 1920x1080 is the only configuration that approaches high refresh rates, with its 82.9 FPS average.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset is the only viable option for consistent performance, producing 60.7 FPS. The Medium preset at this resolution drops to 45.4 FPS, which may introduce noticeable stutter during intense scenes. The High preset at 2560x1440 yields only 37.3 FPS, making it unsuitable for most players. The Ultra preset is effectively unplayable across all resolutions, with 35.8 FPS at 1080p, 26.8 FPS at 1440p, and 21.9 FPS at 4K. The data strongly suggests that users should avoid Ultra entirely with this hardware combination. The scaling pattern shows diminishing returns from Low to Medium, with a 22% performance penalty, but a much larger 34% penalty from Medium to High at 1080p.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F provides six cores and twelve threads, operating with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. This processor belongs to the Alder Lake architecture, built on a 10 nm process. The CPU’s benchmark scores indicate strong single-threaded and multi-threaded performance. In Cinebench R23, the processor scores 16518 points in multi-core and 2332 points in single-core tests. The 3DMark results show a progression from 909 in single-thread to 5912 in max-threads, demonstrating good scaling across core counts.

For Red Dead Redemption 2, the CPU’s role appears secondary to the GPU based on the measured FPS data. The game’s frame rates scale more dramatically with resolution changes than with settings changes alone, which typically indicates GPU limitation. However, the CPU’s 12 threads ensure that background tasks and game logic do not become bottlenecks at lower resolutions where the GPU is less stressed. The processor’s average benchmark score of 19221 places it in the 77th percentile of all CPUs, with its nearest rival being the Intel Core i7-8700K, which scores 19210, a 0.1% difference. The i5-12400F also compares closely to the AMD Ryzen 5 7533HS, which scores 19364, representing a -0.7% delta. This suggests the CPU is well-matched for mid-range gaming workloads.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 features 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1365 MHz and boosts to 1680 MHz. Built on the Turing architecture with a 12 nm process, this card includes 1920 shading units and 48 ROPs. The GPU’s benchmark results show a Passmark G3D score of 14111 and a Geekbench OpenCL score of 71278, placing it in the 58th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 7600S, scores 15996, a 0.5% difference, while the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M scores 16351 with a -1.7% delta.

In Red Dead Redemption 2, the GPU is clearly the limiting factor at higher settings. The 6 GB VRAM capacity becomes a concern at 4K resolution, where even the Low preset only achieves 41 FPS. The memory bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s is insufficient for the demands of Ultra settings, as evidenced by the sharp drop from Medium to Ultra at every resolution. At 1080p, the difference between Medium and Ultra is 44%, with 64.3 FPS versus 35.8 FPS. This pattern repeats at 1440p, where Medium produces 45.4 FPS and Ultra drops to 26.8 FPS. The RTX 2060’s compute capability of 6.451 TFLOPS appears adequate for Low and Medium presets but falls short for High and Ultra configurations.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-12400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 ranks 1416 out of 1687 tested combinations for Red Dead Redemption 2, placing it in the lower 16% of all configurations. This ranking reflects the GPU’s age and memory limitations rather than the CPU’s capabilities. The processor’s 77th percentile standing among all CPUs suggests it is not the bottleneck, while the GPU’s 58th percentile indicates room for improvement. The measured FPS data confirms this disparity, as the system performs adequately at 1080p Low and Medium but struggles at higher resolutions and settings.

The combination’s rank suggests that many other GPU pairings would deliver superior performance in this game. The RTX 2060’s nearest rivals in benchmark scores, such as the AMD Radeon RX 7600S with a 0.5% higher score, would likely produce similar in-game results. The gap between this combo and the top-performing systems is substantial, as indicated by its position in the bottom quartile of all tested combinations. However, for 1080p gaming at Medium settings, this configuration remains functional, as demonstrated by the 64.3 FPS average.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS data across resolutions reveals a clear pattern of GPU limitation. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 at High settings reduces the average frame rate from 52.3 FPS to 37.3 FPS, a 29% decrease. The same resolution change at Low settings results in a 27% drop, from 82.9 FPS to 60.7 FPS. The scaling from 1440p to 4K is even more severe. At High settings, the frame rate falls from 37.3 FPS to 23.8 FPS, a 36% reduction. At Low settings, the drop is from 60.7 FPS to 41 FPS, a 32% decrease.

This resolution scaling behavior indicates that the GPU is the primary bottleneck, as frame rates decrease proportionally with pixel count. The CPU’s performance remains constant across resolutions, so the consistent percentage drops point to the RTX 2060’s memory bandwidth and compute limits. The 6 GB VRAM capacity is particularly problematic at 4K, where the Low preset’s 41 FPS is the only playable option. At 1080p, the system can maintain playable frame rates across Low, Medium, and High presets, but the 4K data suggests that this resolution is beyond the GPU’s practical capabilities for this title.

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1080p gaming with this hardware?

A: The Medium preset at 1920x1080 provides 64.3 FPS on average, which offers the best balance between visual quality and performance. The Low preset achieves 82.9 FPS for higher smoothness, while High drops to 52.3 FPS.

Q: Can this combination handle 4K resolution in Red Dead Redemption 2?

A: At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 41 FPS, Medium averages 30.2 FPS, High averages 23.8 FPS, and Ultra averages 21.9 FPS. Only the Low preset approaches playability, and even it falls below 60 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The GPU is the limiting factor. The frame rate drops consistently with resolution increases, while the CPU’s benchmark scores place it in the 77th percentile of all processors. The GPU’s 58th percentile ranking and 6 GB VRAM capacity create the primary constraint.

Q: How does the i5-12400F compare to its nearest rival in CPU benchmarks?

A: The i5-12400F scores 19221 on average, which is 0.1% higher than the Intel Core i7-8700K’s 19210 and 0.3% higher than the Intel Core i5-1335U’s 19167. The AMD Ryzen 5 7533HS scores 19364, which is 0.7% higher.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Medium and Ultra at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Medium preset produces 45.4 FPS, while Ultra drops to 26.8 FPS. This represents a 41% performance penalty for the highest visual settings.

Q: Does the RTX 2060’s VRAM affect performance at higher resolutions?

A: The 6 GB GDDR6 memory with 336.0 GB/s bandwidth appears insufficient for 4K Ultra settings, which only achieve 21.9 FPS. The sharp performance drops at higher settings across all resolutions indicate memory capacity and bandwidth limitations.