Red Dead Redemption 2

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i5-12400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The CPU's 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 places the processor in the 77th percentile of all CPUs in the database, indicating solid mainstream performance.

In synthetic benchmarks, the i5-12400F shows a clear scaling pattern from single-thread to multi-thread workloads. Its single-thread score in 3dmark is 909, while the 2-thread score jumps to 1699. The 4-thread score reaches 3067, and the 8-thread score climbs to 4779. At max threads, the score peaks at 5912, which is nearly identical to the 16-thread result of 5895. This plateau suggests that the processor's 6 physical cores with 12 threads are fully utilized by the 8-thread test, and additional threads beyond that point yield minimal gains. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 16518 reinforces this, showing strong scaling efficiency across all available threads.

Compared to its nearest rivals in the database, the i5-12400F's average benchmark score of 19221 places it 0.1% ahead of the Intel Core i7-8700K (19210) and 0.3% ahead of the Intel Core i5-1335U (19167). It trails the AMD Ryzen 5 7533HS by 0.7% (19364) and the AMD EPYC 7773X by 1.3% (18979). These deltas are all within a narrow band, meaning the i5-12400F performs essentially on par with these competitors in aggregate metrics, despite being a newer architecture.

For Red Dead Redemption 2, the CPU's role is primarily about maintaining a stable frame delivery pipeline. The 12 threads are sufficient to handle the game's simulation and AI workloads, but the measured FPS data indicates that at lower resolutions, the GPU becomes the primary constraint. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 127.8 FPS, which is a very high frame rate that suggests the CPU is not holding back the GPU in this scenario. The boost clock of 4.40 GHz provides adequate single-thread performance for the game's main thread, while the 6 cores handle background tasks.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-12400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 ranks 726th out of 1687 tested combos in Red Dead Redemption 2. This places it in the 43rd percentile of all combos, meaning roughly 57% of tested configurations perform better in this specific game. The rank reflects the balance between the CPU and GPU, where neither component is severely mismatched for the workload.

The RTX 3070's average benchmark score of 28238 places it in the 72nd percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD FirePro S7150 (28409, 0.6% higher), the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT (27985, 0.9% lower), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti (27956, 1% lower), and the AMD Radeon R9 M295X (28541, 1.1% higher). These deltas are small, indicating the RTX 3070 sits in a tightly contested performance tier. When paired with the i5-12400F, which itself is near its rival cluster, the combo's rank of 726 suggests that the system performs as expected given the individual component scores, without any unusual bottleneck or synergy.

The combo rank of 726 against 1687 total combos means this configuration is solidly mid-pack. It is not a top-tier enthusiast setup, but it is also far from entry-level. The data shows that the CPU and GPU are well-matched in aggregate terms, with the GPU's 72nd percentile ranking being the stronger contributor to the combo's overall position. The CPU's 77th percentile ranking actually exceeds the GPU's percentile, which is unusual and suggests the processor is slightly more capable relative to its peers than the graphics card is.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of resolution scaling that points to the GPU as the limiting component in most scenarios. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 127.8 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low reduces this to 92.6 FPS, a drop of 27.5% from 1080p. At 4K Low, the average FPS falls to 61.6, which is a 51.8% reduction from 1080p and a 33.5% reduction from 1440p. These steep drops with increasing resolution are characteristic of a GPU-bound system, where the RTX 3070's 8 GB GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are being taxed more heavily at higher pixel counts.

The Medium settings row shows a similar scaling pattern. At 1080p, the average is 93.7 FPS. At 1440p, it drops to 70.6 FPS (a 24.7% decrease), and at 4K, it falls to 49.2 FPS (a 47.5% decrease from 1080p). The High settings row follows suit: 79 FPS at 1080p, 59 FPS at 1440p (a 25.3% decrease), and 40.9 FPS at 4K (a 48.2% decrease from 1080p). The consistency of these percentage drops across settings levels reinforces that the GPU's rendering throughput is the dominant factor in frame rate scaling.

Ultra settings show the most dramatic degradation. At 1080p, the combo manages 57.9 FPS. At 1440p, this drops to 44.7 FPS (a 22.8% decrease), and at 4K, it falls to 27.2 FPS (a 53% decrease from 1080p). The 4K Ultra result of 27.2 FPS is below playable thresholds for most users. The pattern across all four settings levels shows that the FPS penalty from 1080p to 4K ranges from roughly 48% to 53%, which is a very consistent GPU-bound signature. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the scaling from 1440p to 4K would show a much smaller FPS delta, as the GPU would become less utilized at lower resolutions.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play at with this combo if targeting 60 FPS?

A: The data shows that 1440p High achieves 59 FPS, which is just shy of 60. At 1440p Medium, the combo reaches 70.6 FPS, providing a comfortable margin above 60 FPS. At 1080p High, the average is 79 FPS, and at 1080p Medium, it is 93.7 FPS.

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

A: The i5-12400F has an average benchmark score of 19221, which is 0.1% higher than the Intel Core i7-8700K (19210) and 0.3% higher than the Intel Core i5-1335U (19167). It trails the AMD Ryzen 5 7533HS by 0.7% and the AMD EPYC 7773X by 1.3%.

Q: Is the RTX 3070 or the i5-12400F the stronger component in this combo?

A: In percentile terms, the CPU ranks in the 77th percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU ranks in the 72nd percentile of all GPUs. This indicates the CPU is slightly stronger relative to its own pool of competitors than the GPU is relative to its pool.

Q: What happens to frame rates when moving from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings?

A: At 1080p Ultra, the average FPS is 57.9. At 1440p Ultra, it drops to 44.7, and at 4K Ultra, it falls to 27.2. This represents a 53% reduction from 1080p to 4K.

Q: Does the combo show signs of CPU bottlenecking at any resolution?

A: The FPS scaling from 1440p to 4K shows consistent drops across all settings levels, ranging from roughly 30% to 40%. This pattern indicates the GPU is the primary limiting factor at all resolutions tested, with no evidence of CPU bottlenecking.

Q: How does the RTX 3070's performance compare to the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT?

A: The RTX 3070 has an average benchmark score of 28238, which is 0.9% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT's score of 27985.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 is built on the Ampere architecture using Samsung's 8 nm process, with a GA104 chip containing 17,400 million transistors on a 392 mm² die. It features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU has 5888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, and 96 raster output units. Its base clock is 1500 MHz with a boost clock of 1725 MHz, and memory runs at 1750 MHz with 14 Gbps effective speed.

The RTX 3070 includes 46 ray tracing cores and 184 tensor cores, supporting DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. Its compute capabilities include 20.31 TFLOPS for FP32 and FP16 (1:1 ratio). The GPU's pixel rate is 165.6 GPixel/s and its texture rate is 317.4 GTexel/s. With a 220 W TDP and a suggested 550 W power supply, the card is rated for dual-slot cooling with a 1x 12-pin power connector.

In Red Dead Redemption 2, the RTX 3070's role is clearly the dominant factor in determining frame rates. The measured FPS data shows that the GPU's memory bandwidth and compute throughput are the primary constraints across all resolutions and settings. At 4K Ultra, the combo falls to 27.2 FPS, which is below the 30 FPS threshold often considered the minimum for playability. At 4K Medium, the score rises to 49.2 FPS, and at 4K Low, it reaches 61.6 FPS. This suggests that the 8 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for the game's textures at 4K, but the raw compute power of the GA104 chip is limited at this resolution.

The RTX 3070's benchmark results show a passmark G3D score of 22214 and a GPU compute score of 11195. Its 3dmark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 3162, and Geekbench scores are 123479 for OpenCL and 120664 for Vulkan. These figures place the GPU in the 72nd percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 28238.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance on which settings preset delivers the best experience across different resolutions. The goal is to find the highest settings level that maintains a playable frame rate, typically 60 FPS or above, while avoiding the steep performance penalties of Ultra.

At 1080p, the High preset delivers 79 FPS, which is comfortably above 60 FPS while offering better visual quality than Medium (93.7 FPS) or Low (127.8 FPS). The Ultra preset at 1080p drops to 57.9 FPS, which is just below the 60 FPS target. Therefore, at 1080p, the High preset provides the best balance, with Medium as a viable alternative if higher frame rates are desired for competitive play or smoother motion.

At 1440p, the High preset achieves 59 FPS, which is marginally shy of the 60 FPS target. The Medium preset reaches 70.6 FPS, providing a 19.7% improvement over High while only sacrificing some visual fidelity. The Low preset at 1440p hits 92.6 FPS, which is ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors. The Ultra preset at 1440p falls to 44.7 FPS, which is below the playable threshold for most users. At 1440p, the Medium preset is the recommended choice, as it maintains a stable 70+ FPS while preserving most visual quality.

At 4K, the situation changes significantly. The High preset delivers only 40.9 FPS, which is below 60 FPS but still playable for slower-paced games. The Medium preset reaches 49.2 FPS, and the Low preset achieves 61.6 FPS, which is the only preset at 4K that hits the 60 FPS target. The Ultra preset at 4K drops to 27.2 FPS, which is not recommended for play. At 4K, the Low preset is the only option that consistently maintains 60 FPS, while Medium offers a playable experience at 49.2 FPS for those who prioritize visual quality over frame rate.

The data shows a consistent pattern where Ultra settings impose a penalty of roughly 20-30% over High settings at the same resolution. For example, at 1080p, the drop from High (79 FPS) to Ultra (57.9 FPS) is 26.7%. At 1440p, it is 24.2% (59 to 44.7), and at 4K, it is 33.5% (40.9 to 27.2). This suggests that the Ultra preset's additional visual features come at a significant cost that is not justified by the marginal visual improvement. The Medium and High presets offer the best value in terms of frame rate per visual quality increment.