Red Dead Redemption 2

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data for Red Dead Redemption 2 reveals a steep and consistent performance curve as resolution climbs. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo delivers 113.5 FPS average. Moving to 1440p drops that to 88.9 FPS, a 21.7% reduction. At 4K, the same Low preset manages only 54.8 FPS — roughly half of the 1080p figure. This scaling pattern is the classic signature of a GPU-bound workload at higher resolutions.

The High preset tells a similar story. At 1080p, the system averages 73 FPS. At 1440p, that falls to 54.3 FPS. At 4K, it collapses to 37.5 FPS. The drop from 1440p to 4K is particularly steep — a 30.9% loss — suggesting the GPU is hitting a memory bandwidth or shading throughput wall. The RTX 5060's 448.0 GB/s bandwidth and 19.18 TFLOPS FP32 throughput are being taxed heavily as pixel count rises.

What does this imply about the limiting component? At 1080p, the gap between Low (113.5 FPS) and Ultra (52.7 FPS) is massive — a 60.8 FPS spread. At 4K, that same spread narrows to 29.6 FPS (54.8 vs 25.2). This compression at higher resolutions indicates the GPU is saturated; the CPU has headroom to feed frames, but the graphics card cannot keep up. The Intel Core i5-12600KF, with its 10 cores and 16 threads boosting to 4.90 GHz, is clearly not the bottleneck in this scenario — the data points squarely at the RTX 5060 as the limiting factor once resolution climbs past 1440p.

How This Combo Ranks

In the global database of tested CPU-GPU combinations for Red Dead Redemption 2, this pairing sits at rank 822 out of 1687 combos. That places it in the 51st percentile of all tested systems — dead center of the pack. The ranking reflects the RTX 5060's position in the GPU hierarchy: its percentileVsAllGpus is 73, meaning it outperforms roughly three-quarters of all GPUs in the database. The CPU is even stronger, with a percentileVsAllCpus of 84.

The combo's mid-pack ranking is somewhat surprising given the individual component strengths. The i5-12600KF's nearest rival, the Intel Core i9-10900K, has an identical average benchmark score of 27829 (deltaPct 0). The i5-12600K is 0.1% behind at 27851, and the Core Ultra 5 125H trails by 0.2%. On the GPU side, the RTX 5060's nearest rival is the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT with a deltaPct of 0 (30097 vs 30097). The RX 570 is 0.2% ahead, and the Tesla M60 is 0.5% behind.

The data suggests that while both components are individually competitive, the combination doesn't push into the upper echelon for this specific title. Red Dead Redemption 2 is known for its demanding rendering pipeline, and the 8 GB VRAM of the RTX 5060 may be a contributing factor to the mid-pack standing. The rank of 822 indicates there are 865 combos that perform better in this game, which is a substantial number given the component quality.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture using TSMC's 5 nm process. It packs 3840 shading units, 120 TMUs, and 48 ROPs, with 30 RT cores and 120 tensor cores. The chip contains 21,900 million transistors on a 181 mm² die. Clock speeds are 2280 MHz base and 2497 MHz boost, delivering 19.18 TFLOPS FP32 and 19.18 TFLOPS FP16 (1:1 ratio).

Memory configuration is where the RTX 5060 shows both strength and potential limitation. It has 8 GB of GDDR7 on a 128-bit bus, running at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective), yielding 448.0 GB/s bandwidth. For Red Dead Redemption 2 at 4K Ultra, the 25.2 FPS average suggests the GPU is struggling with both compute and memory demands. The pixel rate of 119.9 GPixel/s and texture rate of 299.6 GTexel/s are being pushed to their limits.

The benchmark scores for this GPU show a passmark_g3d score of 20891 and a geekbench_opencl score of 120785. The passmark_directx_12 score is notably low at 77, while directx_11 scores 200. This disparity might indicate that the GPU's driver optimization for certain DX12 workloads in this game is not ideal. The GPU's avgBenchmarkScore of 30109 places it at the 73rd percentile overall, with the RX 7700 XT as its closest competitor at 30097 (deltaPct 0).

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers three resolutions and four settings presets, providing a comprehensive picture. At 1920x1080, the results are: Low 113.5 FPS, Medium 89.1 FPS, High 73 FPS, and Ultra 52.7 FPS. The step from Low to Medium costs 24.4 FPS, while High to Ultra costs 20.3 FPS. The scaling is roughly linear, indicating that at 1080p, both CPU and GPU have headroom.

At 2560x1440, the figures are: Low 88.9 FPS, Medium 64.2 FPS, High 54.3 FPS, and Ultra 40.7 FPS. The drop from Low to Medium is 24.7 FPS, nearly identical to the 1080p delta. However, the High to Ultra gap narrows to 13.6 FPS, suggesting the GPU is becoming more sensitive to the highest settings.

At 3840x2160, the numbers are: Low 54.8 FPS, Medium 45.5 FPS, High 37.5 FPS, and Ultra 25.2 FPS. The Low to Medium delta shrinks to 9.3 FPS, and High to Ultra is 12.3 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K is the only configuration that dips below 30 FPS, making it effectively unplayable for smooth action. The Medium preset at 4K, at 45.5 FPS, is the highest playable option at that resolution.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12600KF is a 10-core, 16-thread processor based on Alder Lake architecture, manufactured on Intel's 10 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz, with a TDP of 125 W. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB L1 per core, 1.25 MB L2 per core, and 20 MB shared L3. It supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory in dual-channel configuration.

Benchmark data shows this CPU is a strong performer. The Cinebench R23 multicore score is 23444, with a single-core score of 3309. Geekbench multicore reaches 12373, and single-core is 2529. The Passmark multithread score is 27575, with a single-thread score of 3925. In 3DMark tests, it scores 7956 for 16 threads and 7952 for max threads, showing excellent scaling.

The CPU's avgBenchmarkScore is 27827, placing it at the 84th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals are nearly identical in performance: the i9-10900K matches at 27829, and the i5-12600K is 0.1% behind. This CPU is clearly not the bottleneck in Red Dead Redemption 2. The FPS data shows that at 1080p Low (113.5 FPS), the CPU is feeding frames well above 100 FPS. The fact that 4K Ultra drops to 25.2 FPS while the CPU has capacity to spare confirms the GPU is the limiting factor.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance for optimal settings. At 1920x1080, the High preset at 73 FPS offers a balanced experience, while Ultra at 52.7 FPS is still playable. The Medium preset at 89.1 FPS is the sweet spot for competitive play. For maximum smoothness, Low at 113.5 FPS is excellent.

At 2560x1440, the High preset at 54.3 FPS is the highest visual quality that maintains 60 FPS territory, though it falls short of that mark. Medium at 64.2 FPS is the recommended choice for 1440p gaming, providing both quality and performance. Low at 88.9 FPS is ideal for high-refresh-rate displays. Ultra at 40.7 FPS is marginal but usable.

At 3840x2160, the options are limited. Low at 54.8 FPS is the only preset that stays above 50 FPS. Medium at 45.5 FPS is playable but not ideal. High at 37.5 FPS is borderline, and Ultra at 25.2 FPS is not recommended for action sequences. For 4K, the data suggests using Medium settings to balance visual fidelity with playability. The High preset at 37.5 FPS might be acceptable for slower exploration moments but will struggle in combat.

The best overall experience per the measured rows is the 1440p Medium preset at 64.2 FPS. It offers a good balance of resolution and quality. For 1080p users, High at 73 FPS is the recommended default, with Medium available if higher frame rates are preferred.

FAQ

Q: Is this combo capable of 60 FPS at 1440p in Red Dead Redemption 2?

A: Yes, but only at Medium settings (64.2 FPS). The High preset falls to 54.3 FPS, and Ultra drops to 40.7 FPS. Low achieves 88.9 FPS.

Q: What is the best 4K setting for this system?

A: The Medium preset at 45.5 FPS is the highest playable option at 4K. Low runs at 54.8 FPS, while High drops to 37.5 FPS and Ultra to 25.2 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The i5-12600KF scores 27827 on average benchmarks, matching the i9-10900K (27829, deltaPct 0). It is 0.1% ahead of the i5-12600K and 0.4% behind the i7-13700H.

Q: What GPU is the RTX 5060 most comparable to?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT is the closest rival with an identical average score of 30097 (deltaPct 0). The RX 570 is 0.2% ahead, and the Tesla M60 is 0.5% behind.

Q: Does the 8 GB VRAM affect 4K performance?

A: The data suggests a significant drop at 4K Ultra (25.2 FPS) compared to 4K High (37.5 FPS), a 12.3 FPS reduction. This could indicate VRAM or bandwidth pressure, as the GPU has 448.0 GB/s bandwidth on a 128-bit bus.

Q: What is the maximum FPS this combo can achieve in this game?

A: The highest measured average is 113.5 FPS at 1080p with Low settings. The lowest is 25.2 FPS at 4K Ultra.