Red Dead Redemption 2

The Intel Core i5-14600KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 delivers a broad performance envelope in Red Dead Redemption 2, scaling from high-refresh 1080p play to borderline 4K. The data shows a system where the GPU increasingly dominates the performance curve as resolution climbs, while the CPU’s substantial core count ensures frame pacing remains stable even at lower settings where the graphics card is less taxed.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a classic resolution-dependent scaling pattern. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 162.1 FPS, which drops to 123 FPS at Medium, 99.8 FPS at High, and 73 FPS at Ultra. This represents a 55% reduction from the lowest to the highest preset at 1080p. Moving to 1440p, the figures become 123.6 FPS (Low), 89.7 FPS (Medium), 74.7 FPS (High), and 53.9 FPS (Ultra). The scaling from 1080p Low to 1440p Low shows a 23.8% performance hit, which is modest and indicates the CPU can still feed the GPU at these settings.

The 4K results tell a different story. At 3840x2160, the average FPS ranges from 82.2 (Low) to 60.3 (Medium), 50.1 (High), and 36.4 (Ultra). The jump from 1440p High to 4K High is a 32.9% drop, while the 1080p High to 4K High reduction is 49.8%. This steep decline, particularly at Ultra settings where the frame rate falls below 40 FPS, indicates the RTX 5070’s 12 GB VRAM and memory bandwidth become limiting factors at higher resolutions. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is a 55.7% spread, similar to the 1080p spread but at a much lower absolute frame rate, reinforcing that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at this resolution.

Notably, the scaling from 1440p to 4K is not linear. At Medium settings, the drop is 32.8%, while at Low it is 33.5%. This consistency suggests the graphics card’s core clock and shading units handle the increased pixel load predictably, but the Ultra preset introduces a disproportionate penalty, likely due to memory pressure and texture data exceeding the 192-bit memory bus’s effective throughput.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600KF is a 14-core, 20-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. Its 24 MB of shared L3 cache and per-core L2 cache of 2 MB provide ample data locality for a game like Red Dead Redemption 2, which is known for its open-world asset streaming. The CPU’s benchmark scores are strong: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32889 and a single-core score of 4643, with Geekbench multi-core at 15636 and single-core at 2778. These figures place the CPU in the 93rd percentile among all processors, indicating it has headroom for even the most demanding game logic.

In this game, the CPU’s role is most apparent at 1080p Low settings, where the 162.1 FPS result suggests the processor can sustain high frame rates without bottlenecking. The 20 threads handle the game’s background simulation, NPC AI, and physics calculations, while the 5.30 GHz boost clock ensures single-threaded tasks like draw call submission remain responsive. Compared to its nearest rivals, the i5-14600KF is 0.4% ahead of the Intel Core i5-14600K and 0.6% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X in average benchmark score, though it trails the AMD EPYC 4345P by 0.5%. This data indicates the CPU is not the limiting factor in this pairing; even at 1440p Medium, the 89.7 FPS result shows the processor can keep up with the GPU’s output.

The PassMark multi-thread score of 38697 and single-thread score of 4273 further corroborate this. At 4K Ultra, the 36.4 FPS result is clearly GPU-bound, as the CPU would theoretically be capable of far higher frame rates. The data suggests that for users targeting 1080p or 1440p high-refresh gameplay, this CPU provides a comfortable margin, while at 4K, its performance is effectively masked by the graphics card’s limits.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 is based on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture, fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC, with 31,100 million transistors on a 263 mm² die. It features 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 672.0 GB/s. The GPU’s base clock is 2325 MHz with a boost clock of 2512 MHz, and it contains 6144 shading units, 192 TMUs, and 80 ROPs. Its FP32 compute is rated at 30.87 TFLOPS, with a pixel rate of 201.0 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 482.3 GTexel/s. These specifications explain why the card is in the 83rd percentile among all GPUs, though its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 (0.2% ahead) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 (0.6% ahead), indicating it sits in a competitive mid-to-high tier.

In Red Dead Redemption 2, the GPU’s performance is directly tied to resolution and preset. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 5077 and PassMark G3D score of 29137 provide synthetic context, but the in-game data is more telling. At 1080p Ultra, the 73 FPS average shows the card handles the game’s most demanding settings at full HD, but the 50.1 FPS at 4K High and 36.4 FPS at 4K Ultra reveal the GPU’s limitations at higher resolutions. The 12 GB VRAM, while sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, appears to be a constraint at 4K Ultra, where texture detail and draw distances can exceed the memory capacity, leading to the observed performance cliff.

The memory clock of 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective) and 672.0 GB/s bandwidth are respectable, but the 192-bit bus width is narrower than some competitors. This is reflected in the scaling: from 1440p Ultra to 4K Ultra, the frame rate drops 32.5%, whereas from 1080p Ultra to 1440p Ultra, the drop is 26.2%. The larger resolution jump causes a proportionally larger performance loss, consistent with memory bandwidth becoming a bottleneck. The GPU’s 250 W TDP and 600 W suggested PSU indicate it is a power-hungry component, but its performance at 1440p High (74.7 FPS) and 1080p High (99.8 FPS) shows it is well-suited for high-refresh 1440p gaming, with 4K reserved for less demanding presets.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1440p High settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 2560x1440 with High settings is 74.7 FPS, which is a playable frame rate for most action-adventure titles.

Q: How does the i5-14600KF compare to the Ryzen 9 5950X?

A: The i5-14600KF has an average benchmark score that is 0.6% higher than the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X, making them effectively equivalent in synthetic tests.

Q: Is the RTX 5070 capable of 4K Ultra in this game?

A: The data shows 36.4 FPS at 3840x2160 Ultra, which is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, indicating the GPU is not fully capable at this preset.

Q: What is the CPU’s boost clock?

A: The Intel Core i5-14600KF has a boost clock of 5.30 GHz, which helps with single-threaded performance in game logic.

Q: How much VRAM does the RTX 5070 have?

A: The GPU features 12 GB of GDDR7 memory, which is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but may limit performance at 4K Ultra.

Q: What is the FPS difference between 1080p Low and 4K Low?

A: At 1920x1080 Low, the average FPS is 162.1, while at 3840x2160 Low, it is 82.2, representing a 49.3% reduction.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-14600KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 ranks 363rd out of 1687 tested combos in Red Dead Redemption 2, placing it in the top 21.5% of all configurations. This ranking reflects the balanced nature of the pairing: the CPU is in the 93rd percentile among processors, while the GPU is in the 83rd percentile, and the combination delivers consistent performance across resolutions.

The rank is notably lower than the CPU’s individual percentile, which suggests that the GPU’s mid-tier position drags the overall combo down. However, the data shows the system is well-suited for 1440p gaming, where it achieves 74.7 FPS at High settings and 89.7 FPS at Medium. At 1080p, it excels with 99.8 FPS at High and 123 FPS at Medium, making it competitive for high-refresh monitors. The 4K results, while playable at Low (82.2 FPS) and Medium (60.3 FPS), show the combo is not optimized for Ultra settings at that resolution.

Compared to other combos in the database, this pairing sits above the median, but the 83rd percentile GPU ranking limits its ceiling. The CPU’s headroom, evidenced by its 32889 Cinebench R23 multi-core score, means that upgrading the GPU in the future would likely yield significant performance gains without requiring a processor change. For users prioritizing 1440p high-refresh or 1080p ultra-high-refresh gameplay, this combo ranks highly, but for 4K enthusiasts, it falls short of the top echelon.