Red Dead Redemption 2

# Red Dead Redemption 2 — Intel Core i5-14600KF + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080

This combination of Intel's Core i5-14600KF and NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 3080 delivers a solid, if not spectacular, experience in Red Dead Redemption 2. The measured data places this specific CPU-GPU pairing at rank 523 out of 1,687 tested combos in this game, putting it in the upper third of all configurations. The 14-core, 20-thread processor with a 5.30 GHz boost clock paired with the 10 GB GDDR6X memory and 760.3 GB/s bandwidth of the RTX 3080 yields playable frame rates across most settings, though the game's demanding nature is evident in the Ultra preset results. The data set covers four quality presets—Low, Medium, High, and Ultra—at three resolutions: 1920x1080, 2560x1440, and 3840x2160.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data suggests that High settings provide the most balanced experience for this combination. At 1080p, High delivers 89.1 FPS, which comfortably exceeds the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. Moving to 1440p, High still maintains 66.5 FPS, keeping the experience fluid on higher-resolution displays. Even at 4K, High manages 46.8 FPS, which is playable for a story-driven action-adventure title, though it falls short of the 60 FPS mark.

Ultra settings, by contrast, push this hardware to its limits. At 1080p, Ultra yields 65.6 FPS—playable but with noticeable headroom lost. At 1440p, Ultra drops to 47.3 FPS, and at 4K it falls to 32.4 FPS, making fast-paced sequences potentially stutter-prone. The performance cost of moving from High to Ultra is substantial: at 1080p, the drop is from 89.1 to 65.6 FPS, a reduction of 23.5 FPS. For players prioritizing visual fidelity, Medium offers a middle ground—108.9 FPS at 1080p, 80.1 FPS at 1440p, and 54 FPS at 4K—but High provides the best combination of visual quality and frame rate stability.

The Low preset, while delivering 147.2 FPS at 1080p, 110 FPS at 1440p, and 71.6 FPS at 4K, sacrifices significant visual detail in a game known for its atmospheric rendering. For most users, High is the recommended starting point, with adjustments down to Medium if 4K performance is the priority.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080, built on the Ampere architecture with an 8 nm process from Samsung, is the primary driver of these results. Its 10 GB of GDDR6X memory across a 320-bit bus provides 760.3 GB/s of bandwidth, which is crucial for Red Dead Redemption 2's large textures and open-world streaming. The GPU's 68 RT cores and 272 tensor cores are present, though this game's primary load falls on the 8,704 shading units and 96 ROPs.

The boost clock of 1710 MHz, up from a 1440 MHz base, allows the RTX 3080 to sustain high throughput in sustained gaming sessions. The GPU's 29.77 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is reflected in the frame rates measured across settings. The data shows that the GPU becomes the limiting factor as resolution increases—at 1440p High, the 66.5 FPS result is nearly identical to what a CPU-bound scenario would produce, but the scaling from 1080p to 1440p (89.1 to 66.5 FPS) indicates the GPU is being increasingly taxed.

The RTX 3080's 80th percentile ranking among all GPUs places it in a strong position, though its nearest rivals show how competitive this segment is. The AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE scores 0.9% higher on average, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Mobile is 1% lower. This suggests the desktop RTX 3080 remains a capable performer even against newer mobile parts.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS progression from 1080p to 4K reveals a clear GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions. At High settings, the frame rate drops from 89.1 FPS at 1080p to 66.5 FPS at 1440p—a 25.4% reduction—and then to 46.8 FPS at 4K, a 47.5% reduction from 1080p. This scaling is steeper than the pixel count increase (4K has 4x the pixels of 1080p), indicating that memory bandwidth and fill rate are significant constraints.

The Low preset shows similar scaling behavior: 147.2 FPS at 1080p, 110 FPS at 1440p (25.3% drop), and 71.6 FPS at 4K (51.4% drop). The consistent ~50% reduction from 1080p to 4K across both Low and High settings suggests that the GPU's compute and memory subsystems are the primary bottlenecks, rather than CPU limitations. At 1080p Low, the 147.2 FPS result is likely approaching the CPU's maximum frame delivery capability for this game, given the i5-14600KF's 93rd percentile ranking among all CPUs.

The Medium preset follows the same pattern: 108.9 FPS at 1080p, 80.1 FPS at 1440p (26.4% drop), and 54 FPS at 4K (50.4% drop). Ultra, being the most demanding, shows the steepest absolute decline: 65.6 FPS at 1080p, 47.3 FPS at 1440p (27.9% drop), and 32.4 FPS at 4K (50.6% drop). This consistent ~50% penalty from 1080p to 4K across all settings confirms that the RTX 3080's 10 GB frame buffer and 760.3 GB/s bandwidth are the determining factors at higher resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the data shows a clear hierarchy across presets. Low settings produce 147.2 FPS average, Medium delivers 108.9 FPS, High reaches 89.1 FPS, and Ultra settles at 65.6 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 38.3 FPS, while the gap from Medium to High is 19.8 FPS, and from High to Ultra it narrows to 23.5 FPS. This indicates that the visual quality improvements from Medium to High come at a relatively moderate cost, while the jump to Ultra is disproportionately expensive.

At 2560x1440, the same pattern holds but with compressed absolute numbers. Low hits 110 FPS, Medium 80.1 FPS, High 66.5 FPS, and Ultra 47.3 FPS. The 1440p results show that High remains above the 60 FPS threshold, making it the most viable preset for high-refresh-rate 1440p monitors. Ultra, at 47.3 FPS, is borderline for smooth gameplay, though it remains above the 30 FPS minimum for playability.

At 3840x2160, the RTX 3080 begins to struggle with the game's demands. Low produces 71.6 FPS, Medium 54 FPS, High 46.8 FPS, and Ultra 32.4 FPS. Only Low exceeds 60 FPS at 4K, and even Medium falls below that threshold. Ultra at 32.4 FPS is at the edge of what most players would consider acceptable, with the 46.8 FPS High result being the best balance for 4K gaming on this hardware.

The CPU's contribution is notable at lower resolutions and settings. The i5-14600KF's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32,889 and single-core score of 4,643 indicate strong gaming performance, with the processor's 93rd percentile ranking among all CPUs confirming it is not a bottleneck in most scenarios. However, at 1080p Low, the 147.2 FPS result approaches the practical ceiling for this game's engine, suggesting that even this capable CPU has limits in Red Dead Redemption 2's world simulation.

FAQ

Q: Is the RTX 3080 sufficient for 4K gaming in Red Dead Redemption 2?

A: The data shows that at 4K Ultra, the combination achieves 32.4 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target. At 4K High, it reaches 46.8 FPS, and only at 4K Low does it exceed 60 FPS (71.6 FPS). For comfortable 4K play, Medium (54 FPS) or High (46.8 FPS) are the realistic choices, with High being the recommended preset for visual quality.

Q: How does this CPU-GPU combo compare to other configurations in this game?

A: This pairing ranks 523rd out of 1,687 tested combinations, placing it in the 69th percentile of all configurations. The CPU's 93rd percentile ranking and GPU's 80th percentile ranking show a balanced system, though the GPU is the more likely performance limiter at higher resolutions.

Q: What is the performance difference between High and Ultra settings?

A: At 1080p, Ultra delivers 65.6 FPS versus 89.1 FPS on High, a 23.5 FPS reduction. At 1440p, the gap is 47.3 FPS versus 66.5 FPS (19.2 FPS difference). At 4K, Ultra yields 32.4 FPS versus 46.8 FPS on High (14.4 FPS difference). The Ultra preset costs roughly 25-30% of the frame rate compared to High across all resolutions.

Q: Is the i5-14600KF a bottleneck for the RTX 3080 in this game?

A: The CPU's benchmark scores are strong—Cinebench R23 multi-core of 32,889 and single-core of 4,643—and it ranks in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs. At 1080p Low, the 147.2 FPS result suggests the CPU is approaching its limit, but at higher resolutions and settings, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck, as evidenced by the consistent ~50% FPS drop from 1080p to 4K.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 1440p with High settings?

A: The measured data shows 66.5 FPS average at 2560x1440 with High settings. This is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay and represents the best balance of visual quality and performance at this resolution.

Q: How does the RTX 3080's performance in this game compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RTX 3080's average benchmark score of 35,787 is 0.2% higher than the AMD Radeon Pro Duo, 0.4% higher than the AMD Radeon 880M, 0.9% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE, and 1% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Mobile. This places the RTX 3080 in a competitive position relative to these alternatives.