Red Dead Redemption 2

The Intel Core i5-13400F and AMD Radeon RX 580 pairing in Red Dead Redemption 2 delivers playable framerates only at lower resolutions and settings, with the data showing a hard ceiling imposed by the GPU. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 50.9 FPS average, which is the only measured configuration approaching smooth gameplay. The combination ranks 1548th out of 1687 tested combos, placing it in the bottom 8% of all systems benchmarked for this title, indicating that while the CPU has headroom, the aging graphics card severely limits the experience.

FAQ

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

A: The highest measured average is 50.9 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. No other configuration in the data exceeds this figure, and all higher settings or resolutions drop below 40 FPS.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested systems for this game?

A: The combo ranks 1548th out of 1687 total combinations, which places it in the lower percentile of systems. This suggests that most other tested hardware configurations deliver better performance in Red Dead Redemption 2.

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

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck. The CPU scores in the 82nd percentile compared to all processors, while the GPU sits in the 53rd percentile. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 13.9, which is far below playable thresholds regardless of CPU capability.

Q: What resolution provides the most balanced experience?

A: At 2560x1440 with Low settings, the combo achieves 37.3 FPS average. This is the only 1440p configuration above 30 FPS, making it the highest resolution where the system maintains marginal playability.

Q: How does the RX 580 compare to its closest GPU rivals?

A: The RX 580's average benchmark score is 13559, which is essentially identical to the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 (13564, 0% delta) and GTX 950 (13549, 0.1% delta). The AMD Radeon Pro 455 trails by 1.1%, while the NVIDIA P106-090 leads by 1.1%.

Q: Does the i5-13400F have performance headroom for this game?

A: Yes. The CPU's average benchmark score of 25236 puts it within 0.5% of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D (25365) and 0.1% of the Intel Core i7-13620H (25201). Its multi-threaded capabilities far exceed what the GPU can feed in this title.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-13400F provides substantial processing power that goes largely underutilized in this configuration. With 10 cores and 16 threads, the Raptor Lake architecture chip runs at a base clock of 2.50 GHz and boosts to 4.60 GHz. Its 20 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel memory support for both DDR4 and DDR5 give it strong fundamentals for modern game logic and physics simulation.

Benchmark data confirms the CPU's capability. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21279 and single-core score of 3004 place it well above average, and its PassMark multi-thread score of 25032 reinforces this. The CPU's 82nd percentile ranking among all processors means it outperforms the vast majority of installed hardware. In comparison to its nearest rivals, the i5-13400F scores 0.1% higher than the Intel Core i7-13620H (25201) and 0.5% higher than the AMD EPYC 9474F (25103), while trailing the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D (25365) by just 0.5%.

For Red Dead Redemption 2, the CPU's role is to handle the game's open-world simulation, NPC logic, and rendering calls. The measured results show that even at 1080p Low, where the GPU is least stressed, the average FPS only reaches 50.9. This indicates that the CPU can feed frames faster than the GPU can render them, meaning the processor is not the limiting factor at any tested setting. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 7314 and max-thread score of 7307 show consistent scaling across thread counts, which helps maintain stable frame pacing when the game does utilize multiple cores.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 580 is the decisive component in this pairing, and its age shows clearly in the results. Built on the 14 nm Polaris 20 chip with GCN 4.0 architecture, it features 2304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. Its 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is adequate for 1080p but insufficient for higher resolutions.

The GPU's clock speeds are modest by modern standards: 1257 MHz base and 1340 MHz boost, with memory running at 2000 MHz (8 Gbps effective). This translates to 6.175 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and pixel and texture rates of 42.88 GPixel/s and 193.0 GTexel/s respectively. The GPU's 53rd percentile ranking among all graphics cards places it in the middle of the pack, but its average benchmark score of 13559 is nearly identical to that of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 (13564, 0% delta) and GTX 950 (13549, 0.1% delta). The AMD Radeon Pro 455 trails by 1.1%, while the NVIDIA P106-090 leads by 1.1%.

In Red Dead Redemption 2, the RX 580's limitations become apparent as resolution increases. At 1080p Low, the card manages 50.9 FPS, but moving to High settings drops this to 29.1 FPS. At 1440p, even Low settings only yield 37.3 FPS, and at 4K, all settings fall below 27 FPS, with Ultra producing just 13.9 FPS. The GPU's 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for the game's textures at 1080p, but the raw compute power is insufficient for the game's demanding shading and post-processing effects at higher quality presets.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 1548 out of 1687 tested combinations places it in the bottom 8% of all systems benchmarked for Red Dead Redemption 2. This is a poor showing that reflects the GPU's age more than the CPU's capabilities. The i5-13400F is a modern processor with strong benchmark scores, but it is paired with a graphics card that launched in 2017 and has since been discontinued, with its production status listed as end-of-life.

The rank suggests that most other combinations tested deliver better performance in this specific title. The measured FPS data supports this: the system only achieves playable framerates at 1080p Low, and even then, it barely crosses the 50 FPS threshold. For context, the CPU alone ranks in the 82nd percentile, while the GPU ranks in the 53rd percentile. This mismatch means the combo's overall rank is dragged down by the GPU, which is the weaker component in this pairing.

Comparing the GPU to its nearest rivals shows that the RX 580 is not catastrophically behind its direct competitors, but those rivals are also older or lower-tier parts. The 0% delta against the GTX 570 and 0.1% delta against the GTX 950 indicate that the RX 580 is performing exactly as expected for its class. The problem is that this class of GPU is simply not powerful enough for a demanding title like Red Dead Redemption 2 at higher settings.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance for optimizing the experience. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers 50.9 FPS, which is the only configuration that approaches smooth gameplay. The Medium preset drops to 36 FPS, which is playable but not ideal, while High (29.1 FPS) and Ultra (24.7 FPS) fall below acceptable thresholds for action-oriented gameplay.

At 2560x1440, the situation is more constrained. The Low preset achieves 37.3 FPS, which is playable for a slower-paced title like Red Dead Redemption 2, but Medium drops to 28.8 FPS and High falls to 25.9 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p produces just 17.7 FPS, which is not recommended for any gameplay scenario.

At 3840x2160, the system is not viable for playable framerates. All settings produce average FPS below 27, with Low at 26.7 FPS, Medium at 16.3 FPS, High at 13.8 FPS, and Ultra at 13.9 FPS. These results indicate that 4K is not a realistic option for this hardware combination.

The data suggests that the optimal experience is 1080p with Low settings, which provides 50.9 FPS average. For users who prefer higher visual fidelity, 1080p Medium at 36 FPS offers a reasonable compromise, though it requires accepting lower frame rates. At 1440p, Low settings at 37.3 FPS is the only configuration that maintains playability, but it requires significant visual compromises. The recommendation is to prioritize frame rate over visual quality with this combo, as the GPU cannot sustain high settings at any resolution.