Red Dead Redemption 2

# How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-12600KF paired with the Intel Arc B370 ranks 2670th out of 2902 tested combinations for Red Dead Redemption 2. This places the combo in the bottom 8% of all tested systems, a position that reflects the GPU's severe limitations rather than any deficiency in the processor. The data shows a configuration that is heavily imbalanced, with the CPU capable of far more than the graphics solution can deliver in this title. Among all tested combos, this pairing sits in the lower percentile bracket, meaning the vast majority of systems tested will outperform it in this specific game. The rank is not surprising given that the Arc B370's average benchmark score places it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs, while the i5-12600KF sits in the 79th percentile of all CPUs. This 74-percentile gap between components is the defining characteristic of this combo, and it shapes every performance metric measured in Red Dead Redemption 2.

The nearest GPU rivals in synthetic benchmarks include the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570, ATI Radeon HD 5770, AMD Radeon HD 7650M, and AMD FirePro M2000, all of which score within 1.4% of the Arc B370's 3DMark Steel Nomad result of 1184. These are legacy or entry-level parts, which contextualizes the GPU's position. Meanwhile, the CPU's nearest rivals include the Intel Core i9-10900K, AMD Ryzen 5 8500GE, AMD Ryzen 7 6800U, and AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D, with delta percentages ranging from -0.3% to 0.3%. The i5-12600KF essentially matches the Ryzen 7 5800X3D in average benchmark score, which is a strong indicator of the CPU's capability. The combination of a top-tier CPU with a bottom-tier GPU creates a scenario where the measured FPS in Red Dead Redemption 2 is almost entirely dictated by the graphics processor.

FAQ

Q: What is the best average FPS this combo achieves in Red Dead Redemption 2?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 47 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. At Medium settings, the combo achieves 35 FPS at the same resolution, while High settings yield 29 FPS and Ultra drops to 21 FPS.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K resolution?

A: At 3840x2160, the performance is marginal. The best result is 23 FPS at Low settings, dropping to 17 FPS at Medium, 14 FPS at High, and 10 FPS at Ultra. The Medium preset shows a minimum FPS of 15 and a maximum of 20, indicating significant frame time variance.

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

A: The GPU is definitively the limiting component. The Arc B370's low benchmark percentile and the fact that FPS drops dramatically with resolution increases indicate GPU-bound performance. The i5-12600KF's high multi-threaded scores, such as 23,391 in Cinebench R23 and 27,575 in Passmark multithread, far exceed what the GPU can utilize in this title.

Q: What is the playable settings recommendation for 1080p?

A: Based on the measured data, Low settings at 1920x1080 provide the only clearly playable experience with 47 FPS average. Medium settings at 35 FPS may be acceptable for some users, but the 30 FPS minimum suggests occasional dips below smooth thresholds.

Q: How does this combo's CPU compare to the Ryzen 7 5800X3D?

A: The Intel Core i5-12600KF has an average benchmark score of 27,799, while the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D scores 27,896. The delta is -0.3%, meaning the i5-12600KF is essentially tied with the 5800X3D in average synthetic performance, differing by less than one percent.

Q: What is the lowest FPS recorded in the entire test set?

A: The lowest average FPS is 10 at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings. The lowest minimum FPS recorded is 15 at 3840x2160 with Medium settings, though the average for that configuration is 17 FPS.

Resolution Scaling

The resolution scaling behavior in Red Dead Redemption 2 reveals a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-limited. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 at Low settings, the average FPS drops from 47 to 35, a reduction of approximately 25.5%. Scaling further to 3840x2160 at Low settings yields 23 FPS, which represents a 34.3% drop from the 1440p result and a 51.1% drop from the 1080p result. This pattern shows that the GPU cannot maintain frame rates as pixel count increases, which is typical for a graphics solution in the 5th percentile of all GPUs.

At Medium settings, the scaling is similar but the absolute numbers are lower. The 1080p result is 35 FPS, dropping to 26 FPS at 1440p and 17 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are 25.7% from 1080p to 1440p and 34.6% from 1440p to 4K. High settings show 29 FPS at 1080p, 22 FPS at 1440p, and 14 FPS at 4K, with drops of 24.1% and 36.4% respectively. Ultra settings are the most demanding, with 21 FPS at 1080p, 16 FPS at 1440p, and 10 FPS at 4K, representing drops of 23.8% and 37.5%.

The consistency of these percentage drops across settings presets suggests that the scaling is purely resolution-driven and not affected by settings complexity. The CPU, with its 10 cores and 16 threads, is not the bottleneck at any resolution, as evidenced by the fact that frame rates scale predictably with pixel count. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect to see less variation between resolutions, particularly at lower settings where GPU load is reduced. The data indicates that even at 1080p Low, the GPU is still the primary constraint, as the 47 FPS result is well below what the i5-12600KF could theoretically support in this game.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its most usable results. Low settings produce an average of 47 FPS, which is the highest measured value across all configurations. Medium settings yield 35 FPS with a minimum of 30 and a maximum of 40, providing a playable range with some headroom. High settings drop to 29 FPS average, and Ultra settings fall to 21 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 26 FPS, representing a 55.3% reduction in frame rate when maxing out the settings.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance becomes more constrained. Low settings average 35 FPS, which matches the 1080p Medium result. Medium settings average 26 FPS with a minimum of 22 and a maximum of 30. High settings produce 22 FPS, and Ultra drops to 16 FPS. The 1440p results are consistently 25-30% lower than their 1080p counterparts at the same settings preset, reinforcing the GPU-bound nature of the system.

At 3840x2160, the performance is largely unplayable for smooth gameplay. Low settings average 23 FPS, Medium averages 17 FPS with a minimum of 15 and a maximum of 20, High averages 14 FPS, and Ultra averages 10 FPS. The 4K results show that even the lowest settings preset cannot reach 30 FPS, which is generally considered the minimum for acceptable playability in a game like Red Dead Redemption 2. The Medium preset at 4K shows a tight range of 15-20 FPS, indicating that the GPU is consistently saturated with work.

The measured data includes min and max FPS only for the Medium preset at each resolution. At 1080p Medium, the 30 FPS minimum and 40 FPS maximum suggest frame times are relatively stable, but the 35 FPS average leaves little margin. At 1440p Medium, the 22-30 FPS range indicates more variance, and at 4K Medium, the 15-20 FPS range shows severe performance degradation. The absence of min and max data for other presets limits deeper analysis, but the averages alone tell a clear story of a GPU struggling to keep up with even modest demands.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is an integrated graphics solution based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, fabricated on Intel's 3 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2400 MHz, with a thermal design power of just 25 W. The GPU features 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, 20 raster output units, and 10 ray tracing cores. Its pixel rate is 48.00 GPixel/s and texture rate is 96.00 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance of 6.144 TFLOPS.

The memory configuration is system shared, meaning the GPU uses main system memory rather than dedicated VRAM. This is a critical limitation for Red Dead Redemption 2, a game known for its large open world and high-resolution textures. The system shared memory architecture means bandwidth is system dependent, which can cause stuttering or reduced performance in texture-heavy scenes. The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1184 places it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs, with its nearest rivals including the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 and ATI Radeon HD 5770, both of which are over a decade old.

In Red Dead Redemption 2, the GPU's role is clearly the limiting factor. The measured FPS at all resolutions and settings presets is consistent with a GPU that cannot handle the game's rendering demands. The 10 ray tracing cores are present but unlikely to be utilized effectively given the overall performance envelope. The GPU's boost clock of 2400 MHz is respectable for an integrated part, but the low shading unit count and shared memory architecture prevent it from delivering playable frame rates at higher resolutions or settings. The 25 W TDP indicates this is designed for power efficiency rather than performance, which is reflected in the benchmark results.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12600KF is a desktop processor from the Core 12th Gen series, based on the Alder Lake architecture and fabricated on Intel's 10 nm process. It features 10 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz. The thermal design power is 125 W, and it uses the Intel Socket 1700. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 1.25 MB of L2 cache per core, and 20 MB of shared L3 cache.

The processor's benchmark results are strong across the board. In Cinebench R23, it scores 23,391 in multi-core and 3,302 in single-core. Geekbench shows 12,137 multi-core and 2,157 single-core. Passmark multithread score is 27,575, with a single-thread score of 3,925. The average benchmark score is 27,799, placing it in the 79th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i9-10900K (avg score 27,872, delta -0.3%), AMD Ryzen 5 8500GE (avg score 27,712, delta 0.3%), AMD Ryzen 7 6800U (avg score 27,887, delta -0.3%), and AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D (avg score 27,896, delta -0.3%).

In Red Dead Redemption 2, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with data, and the i5-12600KF is more than capable of doing so. The 10 cores and 16 threads provide ample processing power for the game's simulation and AI workloads. The 4.90 GHz boost clock ensures strong single-threaded performance, which is important for game logic. However, the data shows that the CPU is never the bottleneck in this combo. Even at 1080p Low, where the GPU load is lowest, the 47 FPS result is well below what the CPU could support. The CPU's high multi-threaded scores, such as 9,824 in Cinebench R20 and 23,391 in Cinebench R23, indicate it could handle far more demanding workloads than this game presents. The launch MSRP for this CPU is $264, and it has been in the market since late 2021, but its performance remains competitive with newer parts.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the only clearly playable configuration is 1920x1080 with Low settings, which delivers 47 FPS average. This is the single point where the combo approaches the 60 FPS target, though it falls short. For users who prioritize smooth gameplay over visual fidelity, this is the recommended preset. The 1080p Medium preset at 35 FPS is a viable alternative for those who want better visuals, but the 30 FPS minimum suggests that demanding scenes may cause noticeable dips. The 1080p High preset at 29 FPS is at the edge of playability, and the Ultra preset at 21 FPS is not recommended for active gameplay.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset at 35 FPS is the only configuration that approaches playability, but it comes with a significant visual compromise. The Medium preset at 26 FPS is borderline, and the High and Ultra presets at 22 and 16 FPS respectively are not recommended. At 3840x2160, none of the presets are playable, with the best result being 23 FPS at Low settings. The 4K Medium preset shows 17 FPS average with a 15 FPS minimum, which would result in a stuttery, unsatisfying experience.

The data suggests that the best experience per the measured rows is achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This configuration provides the highest average FPS and the most headroom for frame time variance. The step up to Medium settings at 1080p costs 12 FPS on average but provides better visual quality, which may be worth it for some users. The resolution scaling data shows that dropping from 1080p to 1440p costs roughly 25% performance at any given settings preset, so users should stay at 1080p to maximize frame rate. Given the GPU's position in the 5th percentile of all GPUs, the expectation should be for low-to-medium settings at best, and the measured data confirms that this combo is best suited for 1080p gaming with modest graphical settings.