Red Dead Redemption 2

The Intel Core i5-14600KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER delivers a playable but constrained experience in Red Dead Redemption 2, with performance heavily dictated by graphics settings and resolution. The data shows a clear pattern: the GPU becomes the primary limiting factor as resolution increases, while the CPU’s strong multi-threaded capabilities ensure consistent frame delivery at lower settings. This combination ranks 1045th out of 1687 tested combos, placing it in the lower-middle tier of the database, yet it still manages to hit 60 FPS at 1080p with Medium settings, making it a viable option for 1080p gaming with adjustments.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a steep performance drop as resolution scales from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160, indicating that the RTX 2070 SUPER’s memory bandwidth and compute resources are the limiting factor. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 62.5 FPS at 1080p to 46.8 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of 15.7 FPS, and then plummets to 28.4 FPS at 4K, a further drop of 18.4 FPS. This trend is consistent across all settings, but the severity varies: at Low settings, the drop from 102.2 FPS at 1080p to 76.6 FPS at 1440p is 25.6 FPS, while the 4K figure of 48.9 FPS represents a 53.3 FPS loss from 1080p. The data suggests that 4K is only feasible at Low settings, where the 48.9 FPS average remains above 30 FPS but below the 60 FPS target, while 1440p at Medium (58.8 FPS) and High (46.8 FPS) offer a smoother experience.

The scaling pattern indicates that the GPU’s 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for 4K Ultra, where the average drops to 25.2 FPS. At 1080p, the CPU’s role becomes more apparent—the i5-14600KF’s 14 cores and 20 threads can keep up with the GPU’s output, as evidenced by the 102.2 FPS at Low settings, which is nearly double the 4K High result. This suggests that at 1080p, the system is balanced, but at higher resolutions, the GPU’s 9.062 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is the bottleneck, not the processor.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS achievable with this combo at 1080p?

A: The highest recorded average FPS is 102.2 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. At Medium settings, the average drops to 79.9 FPS, while High yields 62.5 FPS and Ultra falls to 43.4 FPS.

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

A: Only at Low settings, where the average FPS is 48.9. At Medium, the average drops to 36.3 FPS, and at High and Ultra, it falls below 30 FPS (28.4 and 25.2, respectively), which is generally considered unplayable for smooth action.

Q: How does the i5-14600KF compare to its closest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The i5-14600KF has an average benchmark score of 49367, which is 0.4% higher than the Intel Core i5-14600K (49166) and 0.6% higher than the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X (49062). It trails the AMD EPYC 4345P by 0.5% (49595) and the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H by 1.4% (48698).

Q: What is the GPU’s performance percentile relative to all tested GPUs?

A: The RTX 2070 SUPER ranks in the 65th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 22206. It is 0.9% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z (22006) and 2.5% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 5700 (21670).

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU at 1080p?

A: No, the data indicates the CPU is sufficient. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 102.2 FPS, which is close to the GPU’s limit. The CPU’s high single-core performance (4643 in Cinebench R23) and multi-core score (32889) suggest it can feed the GPU adequately at this resolution.

Q: What is the combo’s rank among all tested configurations?

A: The combination ranks 1045th out of 1687 tested combos, placing it in the 62nd percentile of all pairings, which reflects a mid-tier position in the database.

How This Combo Ranks

In Red Dead Redemption 2, this specific CPU-GPU pairing achieves a rank of 1045 out of 1687 tested combos, which means it outperforms roughly 38% of all configurations tested. This rank is influenced by the GPU’s mid-range standing—the RTX 2070 SUPER sits in the 65th percentile of all GPUs—and the CPU’s high-end position, with the i5-14600KF in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs. The disparity between the CPU’s strong synthetic scores (49367 average) and the GPU’s moderate scores (22206 average) explains the overall ranking: the combo is CPU-heavy, but the GPU limits gaming performance in this title.

The nearest rival combos highlight this imbalance. For instance, the GPU’s closest rival, the NVIDIA RTX A400, has a deltaPct of -0.5%, meaning it scores 0.5% lower, but the RTX 2070 SUPER’s actual gaming results are tied to its 8 GB VRAM and 256-bit bus. The CPU’s rivals, such as the Intel Core i5-14600K (0.4% delta) and AMD Ryzen 9 5950X (0.6% delta), show that the processor is not the weak link. The rank of 1045 suggests that users would need to pair this CPU with a stronger GPU to move up significantly, but as configured, it delivers acceptable performance for 1080p and modest 1440p gaming.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the best experience balances visual quality with playable frame rates. At 1920x1080, Medium settings provide the highest average FPS above 60 (79.9 FPS), which is ideal for smooth gameplay without sacrificing too much detail. High settings at 1080p yield 62.5 FPS, still playable, but the drop to 43.4 FPS at Ultra makes that preset unsuitable for consistent action. For 1440p, High settings at 46.8 FPS are borderline, while Medium at 58.8 FPS offers a better trade-off, though still below the 60 FPS threshold. At 4K, only Low settings (48.9 FPS) are viable, and even then, the experience is marginal.

The data suggests that users targeting 60 FPS should stick to 1080p with Medium or High settings. At 1440p, Medium is the recommended preset, as it stays within 1.2 FPS of the 60 FPS target, while Ultra at 36.4 FPS is too demanding. For those prioritizing resolution over frame rate, 4K Low is the only option, but the 48.9 FPS average may cause stutter in demanding scenes. The optimal configuration for this combo is 1080p Medium, which delivers the highest FPS above 60 without pushing the GPU to its limits.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides a comprehensive view of performance across three resolutions and four settings. At 1920x1080, the average FPS ranges from 43.4 (Ultra) to 102.2 (Low). Medium delivers 79.9 FPS, and High achieves 62.5 FPS, showing a clear linear progression. Moving to 2560x1440, the averages drop significantly: Low is 76.6 FPS, Medium is 58.8 FPS, High is 46.8 FPS, and Ultra falls to 36.4 FPS. At 3840x2160, the results are more constrained: Low is 48.9 FPS, Medium is 36.3 FPS, High is 28.4 FPS, and Ultra is 25.2 FPS.

The largest single drop occurs between 1080p and 1440p at Low settings, where the FPS falls by 25.6 FPS (102.2 to 76.6). The smallest drop is from 1440p to 4K at Ultra, where the FPS decreases by 11.2 (36.4 to 25.2). This indicates that the GPU struggles more with resolution scaling at lower settings, likely due to increased pixel throughput requirements. The data also shows that the difference between High and Ultra at 1080p is 19.1 FPS (62.5 to 43.4), which is larger than the difference between Medium and High at 17.4 FPS (79.9 to 62.5), suggesting diminishing returns from Ultra settings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600KF is a 14-core, 20-thread processor based on Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. Its cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 24 MB of shared L3 cache, which supports high-bandwidth data access for gaming workloads. The CPU’s synthetic benchmarks are strong: it scores 32889 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 4643 in single-core, with a Geekbench multi-core score of 15636. These figures place it in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs, confirming its capability to handle demanding titles.

In Red Dead Redemption 2, the CPU’s role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and physics calculations. The measured FPS at 1080p Low (102.2 FPS) suggests the CPU is not a bottleneck at lower resolutions, as the frame rate scales with GPU load. However, the CPU’s 14 cores and 20 threads are likely underutilized in this game, which may not fully exploit multi-threading, but the high single-thread performance (4273 in Passmark single-thread) ensures smooth frame delivery. Compared to rivals, the i5-14600KF is 0.4% ahead of the i5-14600K and 0.6% ahead of the Ryzen 9 5950X, but these differences are negligible in gaming, where the GPU dominates. The CPU’s 125 W TDP and support for DDR4 and DDR5 memory make it a flexible choice, but its performance in this title is sufficient, as evidenced by the 62.5 FPS at 1080p High, which is more than adequate for most players.