Red Dead Redemption 2

The data for Red Dead Redemption 2 with the Intel Core i5-14400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER reveals a system that is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions, yet exhibits surprising scalability at 1080p. The measured average frame rates across three resolutions and four quality presets provide a clear picture of where this combination’s strengths and limitations lie. This analysis interprets those results relative to the component's benchmark standings and the broader combo pool.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 demonstrates a classic GPU-bound scaling pattern, but with notable nuances. At the High preset, the average frame rate drops from 121.6 FPS at 1080p to 91.3 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of approximately 25%. Moving further to 4K, the frame rate falls to 57 FPS, representing a 37.5% decrease from the 1440p figure and a 53% drop from the 1080p baseline. This steep decline at 4K indicates that the RTX 4080 SUPER is approaching its rendering limits with this title’s High settings.

The scaling behavior is even more pronounced at the Ultra preset. Here, the system delivers 85.9 FPS at 1080p, which drops to 67.7 FPS at 1440p (a 21% reduction) and then to 40.5 FPS at 4K (a 40% reduction from 1440p). The 4K Ultra result falls below the 60 FPS threshold, showing that this combination cannot maintain high refresh rates at maximum quality. The data suggests that at 1080p, the CPU still provides enough headroom to feed the GPU, but by 1440p and especially 4K, the rendering pipeline becomes the primary bottleneck.

Interestingly, the Low preset shows the most dramatic scaling. The system achieves 191.5 FPS at 1080p, 145.4 FPS at 1440p, and 92.5 FPS at 4K. The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K here is 51.7%, which is similar to the High preset’s drop. However, the absolute frame rates are significantly higher, suggesting that lower graphical workloads reduce the GPU’s per-frame cost, allowing the CPU to push more frames. At 1080p Low, the 191.5 FPS result hints that the i5-14400F with its 10 cores and 16 threads can drive the RTX 4080 SUPER to very high output levels, though the frame rate is still limited by the GPU’s pixel throughput rather than the processor’s physics or draw-call processing.

The Medium preset serves as an intermediate step, with 145.5 FPS at 1080p, 111 FPS at 1440p, and 69.8 FPS at 4K. The scaling from 1080p to 4K is a 52% reduction, nearly identical to Low and High. This consistency across presets indicates that the resolution scaling factor is primarily a function of pixel count and memory bandwidth, not necessarily the complexity of shading or lighting calculations. The RTX 4080 SUPER’s 16 GB of GDDR6X memory with 736.3 GB/s bandwidth is sufficient for these workloads, but the raw compute power of 52.22 TFLOPS FP32 becomes the limiting factor as resolution increases.

Settings Recommendations

Given the measured data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1920x1080, the High preset delivers 121.6 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS standard and suitable for high-refresh-rate displays. The Ultra preset at 85.9 FPS is also viable, offering a 29% performance penalty over High but with increased visual fidelity. For competitive play or maximum smoothness, the Medium preset at 145.5 FPS provides a substantial margin, though the visual difference between Medium and High may be noticeable.

At 2560x1440, the High preset at 91.3 FPS is the best balance of visual quality and performance. It maintains a comfortable margin above 60 FPS, making it suitable for most gaming scenarios. The Medium preset at 111 FPS offers additional headroom for those prioritizing frame rate, while the Ultra preset at 67.7 FPS is still playable but leaves little room for frame time spikes. The Low preset at 145.4 FPS is excessive for this resolution, as the visual degradation is unlikely to be worth the frame rate gain over Medium.

At 3840x2160, the situation becomes more constrained. The High preset at 57 FPS is marginally below the 60 FPS target, meaning users may experience occasional dips below the threshold. The Medium preset at 69.8 FPS is the recommended choice for 4K gaming, as it provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS while retaining moderate visual quality. The Ultra preset at 40.5 FPS is not recommended for smooth gameplay, as the frame rate is too low for action sequences. The Low preset at 92.5 FPS is viable but sacrifices significant visual detail, making Medium the practical sweet spot for 4K.

The data indicates that the High preset is the most consistent performer across all resolutions, with frame rates of 121.6, 91.3, and 57 FPS at 1080p, 1440p, and 4K respectively. This preset offers a balanced experience without the steep performance cost of Ultra. For users with 144Hz displays at 1080p, the Medium preset at 145.5 FPS is the best choice, while those with 60Hz 4K displays should opt for Medium to ensure consistent frame delivery.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1440p with High settings?

A: The measured average frame rate is 91.3 FPS at 2560x1440 with the High preset. This provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS for smooth gameplay.

Q: Can this combination handle 4K Ultra settings?

A: No. The average frame rate at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 40.5 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The High preset at 57 FPS is also marginal, while Medium at 69.8 FPS is the recommended 4K option.

Q: How does the i5-14400F perform relative to its CPU rivals?

A: The i5-14400F has an average benchmark score of 32508, which places it at the 88th percentile of all CPUs. It is effectively tied with the Intel Core i7-12800H (32513, 0% delta) and AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 7645 (32446, 0.2% delta), and slightly ahead of the AMD Ryzen 7 250 (32584, -0.2% delta) and Intel Core i7-13705H (32586, -0.2% delta).

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers 191.5 FPS, while the Ultra preset delivers 85.9 FPS. This represents a 55% reduction from Low to Ultra, showing a significant performance cost for maximum visual quality.

Q: Is the RTX 4080 SUPER’s performance close to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 4080 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 53610, at the 88th percentile of all GPUs. It is 0.2% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT (53489), 0.4% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M (53414), 2.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 7700S (52505), and 2.9% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti (52086).

Q: What is the best preset for 1080p gaming with this system?

A: The High preset at 121.6 FPS offers the best balance of visual quality and performance. The Medium preset at 145.5 FPS is preferable for high-refresh-rate displays, while the Ultra preset at 85.9 FPS is still viable for those prioritizing graphics.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-14400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER ranks 130th out of 1687 tested combos for Red Dead Redemption 2. This places it in the top 7.7% of all configurations, indicating that it is a high-performing pairing for this title. The rank reflects the balance between the CPU’s 88th percentile standing and the GPU’s 88th percentile standing, suggesting that both components are well-matched for this game’s workload.

The ranking is particularly strong considering the CPU’s position relative to its rivals. The i5-14400F’s average benchmark score of 32508 is nearly identical to the Intel Core i7-12800H (32513) and AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 7645 (32446), meaning that the combo’s rank is largely driven by the GPU’s capabilities. The RTX 4080 SUPER’s 2.9% advantage over the RTX 5070 Ti in average benchmark scores helps position this combo ahead of configurations using slightly less powerful GPUs.

The measured frame rates support this high ranking. At 1440p High, the 91.3 FPS result is strong for a modern title, and the 1080p High figure of 121.6 FPS demonstrates excellent headroom. The 4K High result of 57 FPS is the weakest link, but it is still within a reasonable range for a demanding game. The combo’s rank suggests that it outperforms the vast majority of tested systems, with only 129 combinations achieving higher scores in this specific game.

The ranking also implies that the i5-14400F does not bottleneck the RTX 4080 SUPER significantly. The CPU’s 10 cores and 16 threads, with a boost clock of 4.70 GHz, provide sufficient processing power for the game’s AI, physics, and draw-call overhead. The 20 MB of shared L3 cache helps maintain data locality, reducing memory latency. This allows the GPU to operate near its full potential, as evidenced by the 145.4 FPS at 1440p Low and 191.5 FPS at 1080p Low.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER plays the dominant role in determining frame rates in Red Dead Redemption 2. Its 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus provides 736.3 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for the game’s texture streaming and geometry data at 4K resolutions. The memory clock of 1438 MHz (23 Gbps effective) is high enough to avoid bandwidth bottlenecks, even with Ultra settings that increase texture detail and draw distances.

The GPU’s clock speeds, with a base of 2295 MHz and a boost of 2550 MHz, are relatively high for a 40-series card. This boost clock allows the 10240 shading units to operate at 52.22 TFLOPS FP32 performance. In the context of this game, the pixel rate of 285.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 816.0 GTexel/s are key metrics. The 112 ROPs handle final pixel output, while the 320 TMUs manage texture filtering. These figures correlate with the measured frame rates: at 4K Ultra, the 40.5 FPS result suggests the pixel fill rate is the limiting factor, as the GPU must process 8.3 million pixels per frame.

The GPU’s 80 RT cores and 320 tensor cores are relevant for the game’s optional ray tracing features, though the measured data does not include ray tracing results. The 45,900 million transistors on a 379 mm² die, manufactured on TSMC’s 5 nm process, indicate a dense and efficient design. The 320 W TDP and 700 W suggested PSU requirement are consistent with the performance level observed, though these figures do not directly influence game performance metrics.

The RTX 4080 SUPER’s benchmark standing, at the 88th percentile of all GPUs, confirms its high-end positioning. Its average benchmark score of 53610 is only 0.2% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT (53489), but 2.9% ahead of the RTX 5070 Ti (52086). In Red Dead Redemption 2, the GPU’s role is to maintain frame rates across resolutions, and the data shows that it excels up to 1440p, where it delivers 91.3 FPS at High. At 4K, the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck, with the 57 FPS High result indicating that users must reduce settings to maintain smoothness. The 16 GB VRAM capacity is not exceeded in this title, as the game’s memory requirements are within the GPU’s allocation, but the compute and fill-rate limits are the constraining factors at higher resolutions.