Red Dead Redemption 2

Settings Recommendations

The measured frames-per-second data for Red Dead Redemption 2 with the Intel Core i5-14400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER reveals a clear hierarchy across the four tested presets. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers 94.3 FPS, which is the only configuration in the entire dataset to approach triple-digit performance. Medium follows at 68.3 FPS, then High at 56.1 FPS, and Ultra drops to 44.3 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is substantial — a 26 FPS difference — while the step from Medium to High costs 12.2 FPS, and High to Ultra costs another 11.8 FPS.

For players prioritizing smoothness, the Low preset at 1080p offers the best experience per the measured rows, as it clears the 60 FPS threshold by a wide margin. However, the Medium preset at 2560x1440 produces 51.9 FPS, which is a more balanced compromise for higher resolution. At 4K, no preset reaches 60 FPS; the best option is Low at 46.2 FPS, which is playable but not ideal. The data suggests that Medium at 1440p is the sweet spot for visual fidelity and frame rate, as it keeps the experience above 50 FPS while the High preset at the same resolution only manages 41.1 FPS.

Ultra settings are punishing across all resolutions. At 1080p Ultra, the system produces 44.3 FPS; at 1440p Ultra, it falls to 33.8 FPS; and at 4K Ultra, it collapses to 20.7 FPS. These numbers indicate that Ultra is only viable for players who prioritize image quality over responsiveness, and even then, only at 1080p. The measured data shows diminishing returns from High to Ultra, with the FPS penalty being roughly equal to the penalty from Medium to High, suggesting the preset scaling is consistent but steep.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is the primary driver of these results, and its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth provides the memory subsystem for this game. The GPU's base clock of 1470 MHz and boost clock of 1650 MHz, combined with 2176 shading units, 136 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, define its raw throughput. The FP32 performance is rated at 7.181 TFLOPS, which is a modest figure for modern standards but sufficient for a game from 2018.

The GPU's percentile ranking of 63 against all GPUs places it in the upper-middle tier, and its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN with a deltaPct of 0.3, the RTX 2070 at 0.5, and the Quadro K5200 at 0.8. These close margins indicate that the RTX 2060 SUPER is performing near the ceiling of its class in compute benchmarks, yet the game data tells a different story. At 4K Ultra, the 20.7 FPS result shows the GPU is overwhelmed by the combination of high resolution and maxed-out settings, which is expected given the 8 GB VRAM capacity and the game's demanding nature.

The Tensor cores (272) and RT cores (34) are present on this Turing architecture GPU, but Red Dead Redemption 2 does not heavily leverage ray tracing or DLSS in the measured configurations, so these features likely contribute little to the observed frame rates. The GPU's 175 W TDP and dual-slot design indicate it is a mid-range power draw card, and the PCIe 3.0 x16 interface may be a limiting factor compared to newer PCIe 4.0 or 5.0 slots, though the measured data does not isolate this variable. The 448.0 GB/s memory bandwidth is a key asset for texture-heavy scenes, but the 8 GB capacity becomes a bottleneck at 4K where the game demands more memory than is available.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is stark and reveals the GPU-bound nature of this configuration. At Low settings, the system produces 94.3 FPS at 1080p, 71.7 FPS at 1440p, and 46.2 FPS at 4K. This represents a 24.0% decrease from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 35.5% decrease from 1440p to 4K. The scaling is not linear, which is typical for resolution increases that quadruple pixel count from 1080p to 4K but only double from 1080p to 1440p.

At Medium settings, the pattern holds: 68.3 FPS at 1080p, 51.9 FPS at 1440p, and 33.7 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are 24.0% and 35.1%, respectively, nearly identical to the Low preset. High settings show 56.1 FPS at 1080p, 41.1 FPS at 1440p, and 27.9 FPS at 4K, with drops of 26.7% and 32.1%. Ultra is the most punishing: 44.3 FPS at 1080p, 33.8 FPS at 1440p, and 20.7 FPS at 4K, representing a 23.7% drop and a 38.8% drop.

The consistency of these percentage drops across presets strongly indicates that the GPU is the limiting component. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the FPS would not scale so predictably with resolution. The CPU, with 10 cores and 16 threads boosting to 4.70 GHz, is capable of feeding the GPU at 1080p, but the RTX 2060 SUPER simply cannot maintain high frame rates as pixel count increases. The 4K results are all below 50 FPS, even at Low settings, which suggests that the 8 GB VRAM is also a constraint, as the game likely exceeds this capacity at 4K, causing texture thrashing or reduced fill rates.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combo for a smooth experience?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 with Low settings produces 94.3 FPS, which is the only configuration above 90 FPS. For a balance of quality and speed, 2560x1440 with Medium settings yields 51.9 FPS, which is close to the 60 FPS target.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 SUPER compare to its nearest GPU rivals in synthetic tests?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score of 19774 places it just 0.3% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN (score 19706) and 0.5% ahead of the RTX 2070 (score 19680). It trails the AMD Ryzen 7 250 by 0.2% and the Intel Core i7-13705H by 0.2% in CPU benchmarks, but for GPU comparisons, the margins are tight.

Q: Is the CPU holding back the GPU in this game?

A: The resolution scaling data suggests the GPU is the primary limiter. FPS drops are consistent with pixel count increases, and the CPU's 10 cores and 16 threads with a 4.70 GHz boost clock are likely sufficient, as evidenced by the high FPS at 1080p Low (94.3 FPS).

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Red Dead Redemption 2?

A: At 4K, the best result is 46.2 FPS on Low settings. Medium yields 33.7 FPS, High 27.9 FPS, and Ultra 20.7 FPS. These numbers indicate that 4K is only playable on Low, and even then, it is below 60 FPS.

Q: What is the difference in FPS between Medium and High presets at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Medium produces 51.9 FPS while High produces 41.1 FPS, a difference of 10.8 FPS. This is a meaningful drop for visual improvements that may not be noticeable to all players.

Q: How does the combo rank compare to other tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 1208 out of 1687 tested combos for this game, placing it in the bottom 28.4% of all configurations. This suggests that while the system is functional, many other CPU-GPU pairings deliver better performance in Red Dead Redemption 2.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-14400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER combination ranks 1208 out of 1687 tested combos for Red Dead Redemption 2. This places the system in the lower third of all configurations, which is a notable finding given the individual components' synthetic benchmark standings. The CPU ranks in the 88th percentile against all CPUs, and the GPU ranks in the 63rd percentile against all GPUs, yet the combined performance falls short of what those individual percentiles might suggest.

The gap between component percentiles and the combo rank indicates that the RTX 2060 SUPER is the weak link in this pairing. The CPU's 10 cores and 16 threads, with a 20 MB shared L3 cache, are more than capable for this game, but the GPU's 8 GB VRAM and 7.181 TFLOPS FP32 throughput cannot consistently deliver high frame rates at demanding settings. The measured FPS data confirms this: at 1080p Ultra, the system only achieves 44.3 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target that many players consider the minimum for smooth gameplay.

When compared to other combos in the database, this pairing is not competitive for high-refresh-rate gaming. The rank of 1208 out of 1687 means that roughly 479 other combinations perform worse, but over 1200 perform better. This is a mid-to-low-tier result for a game that is known for its demanding graphics. The data implies that players with this combo should stick to 1080p or 1440p with Medium or Low settings to avoid the severe FPS drops seen at Ultra.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor from the Core 14th Gen series, built on Intel's Raptor Lake architecture with a 10 nm process node. It has a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz, with a 20 MB shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB L2 cache per core. The CPU supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory in dual-channel mode, and its 65 W TDP indicates an efficient design. It is not multiplier-unlocked, so overclocking is limited, but its 4.70 GHz boost clock provides strong single-thread performance.

In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU scores 21914 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 3093 in single-core. Its average benchmark score of 32508 places it in the 88th percentile against all CPUs, with nearest rivals including the Intel Core i7-12800H (score 32513, deltaPct 0), AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 7645 (score 32446, deltaPct 0.2), AMD Ryzen 7 250 (score 32584, deltaPct -0.2), and Intel Core i7-13705H (score 32586, deltaPct -0.2). These margins are extremely tight, meaning the CPU is performing at the expected level for its class.

In Red Dead Redemption 2, the CPU's role appears to be supportive rather than limiting. The FPS scaling with resolution is smooth and predictable, which would not be the case if the CPU were a bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 94.3 FPS, which is high enough to suggest the CPU can feed the GPU effectively. The 16 threads are likely beneficial for the game's multithreaded rendering tasks, and the 4.70 GHz boost clock ensures strong single-threaded performance for game logic and physics. The PassMark physics score of 1594 and integer math score of 81964 further indicate the CPU's computational strength, which is more than sufficient for this 2018 title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its best performance across all presets. Low settings produce 94.3 FPS, Medium 68.3 FPS, High 56.1 FPS, and Ultra 44.3 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 50.0 FPS, showing a significant performance penalty for maxed-out settings. At 1080p, only Low and Medium clear the 60 FPS threshold, while High and Ultra fall short.

Moving to 2560x1440, the FPS drops are noticeable but not catastrophic. Low settings yield 71.7 FPS, Medium 51.9 FPS, High 41.1 FPS, and Ultra 33.8 FPS. The spread narrows slightly to 37.9 FPS, but the percentage penalty for Ultra versus Low is similar. At 1440p, only Low maintains 60+ FPS, and even that is marginal at 71.7 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles. Low settings produce 46.2 FPS, Medium 33.7 FPS, High 27.9 FPS, and Ultra 20.7 FPS. No preset reaches 60 FPS, and even the best result — Low at 46.2 FPS — is below the ideal smoothness threshold. The Ultra preset at 4K is nearly unplayable at 20.7 FPS, which is a 23.6 FPS drop from High at the same resolution.

The complete dataset shows a consistent pattern: each resolution increase costs roughly 20-25% of FPS at the same settings, and each preset step up (from Low to Medium, Medium to High, High to Ultra) costs a similar percentage. This consistency indicates that the RTX 2060 SUPER is the limiting factor, and the CPU is not constraining performance at any resolution. The data is measured, not estimated, providing a reliable basis for these conclusions.