Red Dead Redemption 2

# Red Dead Redemption 2: Intel Core i5-12600KF + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER

This combination of the Intel Core i5-12600KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER places at rank 660 out of 3714 tested combos in Red Dead Redemption 2, putting it in the top 18% of all systems benchmarked for this title. The pairing demonstrates a strong balance between CPU and GPU capabilities, though the data reveals distinct bottlenecks depending on resolution and settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 660 out of 3714 tested configurations places it comfortably in the upper quintile of systems for Red Dead Redemption 2. This ranking reflects the synergy between a 10-core, 16-thread processor from Intel's Alder Lake architecture and NVIDIA's Ada Lovelace-based GPU with 56 RT cores and 224 tensor cores. The CPU sits at the 79th percentile among all processors, while the GPU achieves the 83rd percentile among all graphics cards, indicating both components perform well above median levels. The CPU's average benchmark score of 27799 places it within 0.3% of several near-identical rivals: the Intel Core i9-10900K scores 27872 (0.3% higher), the AMD Ryzen 5 8500GE scores 27712 (0.3% lower), and the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D scores 27896 (0.3% higher). This suggests the i5-12600KF is not a limiting factor in most gaming scenarios, as its performance is essentially tied with these alternatives. The GPU's average benchmark score of 43223 similarly shows tight competition, with the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 24 GB scoring 43262 (0.1% higher) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile scoring 43667 (1% higher). The combination's rank indicates that while neither component is top-tier in absolute terms, their balanced characteristics produce a well-rounded experience in this demanding open-world title.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12600KF features 10 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and boost clock of 4.90 GHz. This Alder Lake-S architecture processor uses a 10 nm process from Intel and supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory in dual-channel configuration. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 20 MB of shared L3 cache. Benchmark data shows strong multi-threaded capability: Cinebench R23 multicore scores 23391 while single-core scores 3302, and 3DMark 16-thread scores 7956 versus 1016 for single-thread. In Red Dead Redemption 2, the CPU's role manifests primarily at lower resolutions where the GPU can render frames quickly enough to expose processor limitations. At 1080p Low settings, the combo achieves 169 FPS average, which is the highest measured value across the entire dataset. This suggests the CPU can feed the GPU efficiently even under light graphical loads. However, the gap between 1080p Low (169 FPS) and 1080p High (106 FPS) — a 63 FPS difference — indicates that graphical settings have a more pronounced impact than CPU capability. The processor's 20 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel memory support provide adequate bandwidth for the game's open-world streaming requirements, though the data does not show specific memory bandwidth figures. The CPU's 3DMark 8-thread score of 6128 versus 16-thread score of 7952 indicates reasonable scaling beyond 8 threads, which matters for a game that can utilize multiple cores for physics, AI, and world simulation.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is built on the AD104 chip using TSMC's 5 nm process with 35,800 million transistors on a 294 mm² die. It features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1980 MHz with a boost clock of 2475 MHz, and memory runs at 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective). With 7168 shading units, 224 TMUs, 80 ROPs, 56 RT cores, and 224 tensor cores, the card provides 35.48 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and a pixel rate of 198.0 GPixel/s. In Red Dead Redemption 2, the GPU's influence dominates at higher resolutions and settings. At 4K Ultra, the combo drops to 37 FPS average — a figure that highlights the GPU's limitations under maximum load. The 12 GB VRAM capacity appears sufficient for this title, as the game's memory requirements at 4K Ultra do not cause catastrophic failures, though the 37 FPS result indicates the compute throughput is the binding constraint. The GPU's benchmark scores reinforce this: PassMark G3D scores 29995, and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 scores 4627, placing it at the 83rd percentile among all GPUs. The 504.2 GB/s memory bandwidth proves adequate for the game's texture streaming needs, but the 192-bit bus width means higher resolutions require more efficient memory management. The GPU's 56 RT cores suggest ray tracing capability, though the measured FPS data does not include ray tracing settings, so its impact remains unquantified in this dataset.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers 169 FPS average on Low settings, 126 FPS on Medium (with a minimum of 107 and maximum of 145), 106 FPS on High, and 76 FPS on Ultra. These figures show a clear progression: dropping from Low to Ultra reduces performance by 93 FPS, with each settings tier costing roughly 20-30 FPS. The 1080p Medium result includes a measured range of 107-145 FPS, indicating some frame-time variance even at this resolution. Moving to 2560x1440, the averages become 126 FPS on Low, 94 FPS on Medium (range 80-108), 79 FPS on High, and 57 FPS on Ultra. The transition from 1080p to 1440p costs roughly 25% performance at each settings level: Low drops from 169 to 126 FPS, Medium from 126 to 94, High from 106 to 79, and Ultra from 76 to 57. At 3840x2160, the averages fall to 83 FPS on Low, 62 FPS on Medium (range 53-72), 52 FPS on High, and 37 FPS on Ultra. The 4K Medium result shows a minimum of 53 FPS and maximum of 72 FPS, representing the only measured range at 4K. The data indicates that 4K Ultra (37 FPS) falls below the 60 FPS threshold commonly associated with smooth gameplay, while 4K High (52 FPS) remains borderline. At 1440p, all settings except Ultra (57 FPS) exceed 60 FPS, and at 1080p, even Ultra maintains 76 FPS.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for maintaining 60+ FPS across all settings?

A: At 1920x1080, all four settings levels — Low (169 FPS), Medium (126 FPS), High (106 FPS), and Ultra (76 FPS) — exceed 60 FPS. At 2560x1440, Low (126 FPS), Medium (94 FPS), and High (79 FPS) all stay above 60 FPS, but Ultra drops to 57 FPS. At 3840x2160, only Low (83 FPS) and Medium (62 FPS) remain above 60 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in overall benchmark scores?

A: The Intel Core i5-12600KF has an average benchmark score of 27799, placing it 0.3% below the Intel Core i9-10900K (27872), 0.3% above the AMD Ryzen 5 8500GE (27712), and 0.3% below both the AMD Ryzen 7 6800U (27887) and AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D (27896). These differences are within 0.3% of each other, indicating near-identical overall performance.

Q: What is the FPS difference between 1080p and 4K at Ultra settings?

A: At 1920x1080 Ultra, the combo achieves 76 FPS average. At 3840x2160 Ultra, it drops to 37 FPS average. This represents a 39 FPS reduction, or roughly 51% lower performance when moving from 1080p to 4K at maximum settings.

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

A: The RTX 4070 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 43223. It is 0.1% below the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 24 GB (43262), 0.1% below the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 Mobile (43268), 0.2% below the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 (43301), and 1% below the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile (43667). All rivals score within 1% of this GPU.

Q: Which settings preset provides the most consistent frame times at 1440p?

A: The 2560x1440 Medium setting shows a measured range of 80-108 FPS with an average of 94 FPS, providing a 28 FPS spread. This is the only 1440p setting with min/max data available. For comparison, 1080p Medium ranges from 107-145 FPS (38 FPS spread), and 4K Medium ranges from 53-72 FPS (19 FPS spread).

Settings Recommendations

For players targeting 60 FPS as a minimum threshold, the data supports specific settings choices at each resolution. At 1920x1080, Ultra settings (76 FPS) provide the highest visual quality while maintaining comfortable headroom above 60 FPS, making this the recommended preset for 1080p displays. At 2560x1440, High settings (79 FPS) deliver the best balance, as Ultra drops to 57 FPS — below the 60 FPS target. The 1440p High preset offers 79 FPS average, which provides sufficient margin for demanding scenes. At 3840x2160, Medium settings (62 FPS) barely exceed the 60 FPS threshold and represent the highest quality option that maintains playable frame rates; High (52 FPS) falls short of the target. The 4K Medium result includes a minimum of 53 FPS, suggesting occasional dips below 60 FPS even at this preset, so players sensitive to frame drops might prefer 1440p High (79 FPS) over 4K Medium. For maximum visual fidelity regardless of frame rate, 4K Ultra (37 FPS) remains an option, but the data indicates this preset sacrifices smoothness substantially. The measured range at 4K Medium (53-72 FPS) shows a 19 FPS variance, which is tighter than the 38 FPS spread at 1080p Medium, suggesting that higher resolutions actually provide more consistent frame times at medium settings.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the GPU as the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. From 1920x1080 to 2560x1440, the performance drop is consistent across settings: Low falls from 169 to 126 FPS (a 43 FPS reduction), Medium from 126 to 94 (32 FPS), High from 106 to 79 (27 FPS), and Ultra from 76 to 57 (19 FPS). This pattern shows that lower settings suffer larger absolute drops because the CPU can still feed frames quickly, but the GPU becomes increasingly limited by pixel count. Moving from 2560x1440 to 3840x2160, the reductions continue: Low drops from 126 to 83 FPS (43 FPS), Medium from 94 to 62 (32 FPS), High from 79 to 52 (27 FPS), and Ultra from 57 to 37 (20 FPS). The near-identical absolute drops between resolution steps at each settings level indicate that the GPU's rendering workload scales roughly linearly with pixel count. However, the percentage drop is more revealing: at Low settings, 1080p to 4K reduces performance by 86 FPS (51% lower), while at Ultra, the reduction is 39 FPS (51% lower). This consistent proportional scaling suggests that the RTX 4070 SUPER's compute resources, not memory bandwidth or VRAM capacity, are the limiting factor. The 12 GB VRAM and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth appear sufficient even at 4K, as the game does not show anomalous drops that would indicate memory swapping. The CPU's role diminishes as resolution increases — at 1080p Low, the 169 FPS result likely approaches the processor's maximum frame delivery capability, while at 4K Ultra (37 FPS), the GPU is clearly the constraining component. The data suggests that for this combo, 1440p represents the sweet spot where both components contribute meaningfully, while 4K shifts the balance heavily toward GPU limitations.