Red Dead Redemption 2

The pairing of the Intel Core i5-9400 with the AMD Radeon RX 7700 produces a clear pattern in Red Dead Redemption 2: the GPU is the dominant factor at higher resolutions, while the CPU becomes a limiting factor at 1080p. The data shows a system that can handle high refresh rates at 1440p with adjusted settings, but struggles to maintain playable framerates at 4K Ultra. This analysis interprets the measured FPS across three resolutions and four quality presets to give a practical picture of what this combo delivers.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS reveals a steep performance cliff as resolution increases. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo averages 117 FPS. Dropping to 1440p Low reduces that to 87 FPS, a 26% decrease. Moving to 4K Low yields 57 FPS, a further 34% drop from 1440p. This scaling pattern indicates that the Radeon RX 7700’s compute and memory bandwidth are being saturated as pixel count rises.

The gap between 1080p and 4K is most pronounced at the High preset. The system averages 73 FPS at 1920x1080, falls to 54 FPS at 2560x1440, and then plummets to 36 FPS at 3840x2160. That means 4K High delivers roughly half the framerate of 1080p High. The 4K Ultra preset is nearly unplayable at 26 FPS average, while 1080p Ultra still manages a playable 52 FPS. This suggests the GPU’s 16 GB of memory and 256-bit bus are sufficient for the data load, but the raw shader throughput of 25.18 TFLOPS is not enough to maintain high framerates at 4K with maxed settings.

The scaling from Medium to Ultra at each resolution shows diminishing returns. At 1440p, Medium averages 65 FPS while Ultra drops to 39 FPS. At 1080p, Medium hits 87 FPS but Ultra falls to 52 FPS. The performance cost of Ultra versus Medium is roughly 40% at both resolutions. This indicates that the Ultra preset is extremely demanding, likely due to heavy use of volumetric lighting and shadow quality, which the RX 7700 struggles to process at higher pixel counts.

Looking at the minimum FPS data available, the 4K Medium preset shows a minimum of 37 FPS with a maximum of 49 FPS, suggesting noticeable frame pacing issues. The 1440p Medium preset has a minimum of 55 FPS and maximum of 75 FPS, which is a tighter band. The 1080p Medium preset shows a minimum of 74 FPS and maximum of 100 FPS, indicating smoother frame delivery. The lack of min/max data for Low and High presets limits deeper analysis, but the Medium preset data points to better frame consistency at lower resolutions.

The limiting component shifts with resolution. At 1080p, the i5-9400’s six cores and six threads with a 4.10 GHz boost clock appear to be the bottleneck, as framerates do not scale linearly with GPU load. At 4K, the GPU is clearly the constraint, as framerates drop dramatically regardless of preset. The 1440p results represent the sweet spot where both components are balanced, allowing the GPU to stretch its legs without being fully constrained by the CPU.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Red Dead Redemption 2 at 4K?

A: Yes, but only at Low settings, which averages 57 FPS. Medium drops to 43 FPS, High falls to 36 FPS, and Ultra is below playable at 26 FPS. For a consistent 60 FPS experience at 4K, you would need to lower resolution scaling or accept Low settings.

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU/GPU pairing?

A: The data shows 1440p is the most balanced choice. At Medium settings, it delivers 65 FPS average, and at High it still reaches 54 FPS. This resolution avoids the CPU bottleneck seen at 1080p and the GPU strain seen at 4K.

Q: How much of a performance difference is there between Low and Ultra settings?

A: At 1080p, Low averages 117 FPS while Ultra averages 52 FPS, a 65 FPS difference. At 1440p, Low hits 87 FPS versus 39 FPS on Ultra. At 4K, Low gets 57 FPS but Ultra drops to 26 FPS. The gap widens in percentage terms at higher resolutions.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-9400 holding back the Radeon RX 7700?

A: Benchmark results indicate the CPU is a limiting factor at 1080p, where framerates cap out around 117 FPS on Low. At 1440p and above, the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck. The i5-9400’s 6-core/6-thread configuration with a 2.90 GHz base clock struggles to feed the GPU at lower resolutions.

Q: What is the most stable preset in terms of frame consistency?

A: The Medium preset at 1440p shows a minimum of 55 FPS and maximum of 75 FPS, which is a 20 FPS spread. At 1080p Medium, the spread is 26 FPS (74 to 100). At 4K Medium, the spread is 12 FPS (37 to 49), but the average is lower. The 1080p Medium preset offers the best combination of high average and acceptable frame pacing.

Q: How does this combo rank against other tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 1320 out of 2902 tested combinations for this game. This places it in the upper half of systems, but not near the top. The GPU’s 58th percentile ranking among all GPUs and the CPU’s 47th percentile ranking suggest a mid-range pairing that trades blows with more balanced systems.

Settings Recommendations

For a smooth experience, the Medium preset is the clear choice across all resolutions. At 1080p, Medium delivers 87 FPS average with a minimum of 74 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold. At 1440p, Medium still provides 65 FPS average with a 55 FPS minimum, making it playable on most displays. Even at 4K, Medium manages 43 FPS average, which is borderline but acceptable for slower-paced sections of the game.

The High preset is only recommended at 1080p, where it achieves 73 FPS average. At 1440p, High drops to 54 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for fast action. At 4K, High falls to 36 FPS, which is below the standard playability threshold. The Low preset offers the highest framerates but sacrifices visual quality, which is counterproductive for a game with such detailed environments.

The Ultra preset should be avoided entirely. Even at 1080p, it only reaches 52 FPS average, and at 1440p it falls to 39 FPS. The visual uplift from Medium to Ultra is not worth the 40% performance hit. If you want better visuals than Medium, consider using High at 1080p or Medium at 1440p as a compromise.

For the best overall experience, select Medium at 1440p. This preset provides 65 FPS average with a 55 FPS minimum, which balances visual fidelity with smooth gameplay. If you have a 1080p monitor, Medium at 1080p with 87 FPS average is the most responsive option. If you are using a 4K display, stick with Low at 57 FPS average to maintain playability.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system shows strong performance across all presets. Low settings hit 117 FPS average, making it ideal for high refresh rate monitors. Medium settings achieve 87 FPS average with a minimum of 74 FPS and maximum of 100 FPS, providing consistent frame delivery. High settings reach 73 FPS average, which is still smooth for most players. Ultra settings drop to 52 FPS average, which is playable but not ideal for competitive play.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales down predictably. Low settings average 87 FPS, matching the 1080p Medium result. Medium settings deliver 65 FPS average with a minimum of 55 FPS and maximum of 75 FPS, making it the most balanced preset at this resolution. High settings average 54 FPS, which is acceptable for a single-player game. Ultra settings fall to 39 FPS average, which is too low for comfortable gameplay.

At 3840x2160, the GPU struggles to keep up. Low settings average 57 FPS, which is just below the 60 FPS target. Medium settings drop to 43 FPS average with a minimum of 37 FPS and maximum of 49 FPS, indicating noticeable frame dips. High settings average 36 FPS, which is borderline playable. Ultra settings plummet to 26 FPS average, making the game feel like a slideshow.

The data shows a clear progression: each resolution step down from 1080p to 4K costs roughly 20-35% performance depending on the preset. The Medium preset at each resolution appears to be the most consistently measured, with min/max data available for all three resolutions. This suggests the benchmark focused on Medium as a reference point.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 1320 out of 2902 tested combinations for Red Dead Redemption 2, placing it in the 45th percentile of all systems tested. This is a mid-pack result, reflecting the balanced but not exceptional nature of this pairing. The rank suggests that many other CPU/GPU combinations achieve higher framerates, but also that a significant number of systems perform worse.

The GPU’s individual percentile of 58 among all GPUs indicates the RX 7700 is slightly above average. Its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks include the AMD Radeon R9 370X (0.1% slower), AMD Radeon RX 9060 (1% faster), AMD Radeon Pro W5500 (1.1% slower), and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti (1.7% faster). These close margins in synthetic scores do not directly translate to gaming performance, but they suggest the RX 7700 is competitive with last-generation mid-range cards.

The CPU’s percentile of 47 among all CPUs shows it is slightly below average. The i5-9400 sits between the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 (0.2% faster) and Intel Core i7-10710U (0.3% slower) in average benchmark scores. It also trades blows with the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 (0.4% faster) and Intel Core i3-10305 (0.4% slower). This clustering indicates the i5-9400 is firmly in the mid-range tier, neither a bottleneck nor a standout performer.

The combination of a 47th percentile CPU and 58th percentile GPU results in a composite rank that is slightly below what the GPU alone would suggest. This implies the CPU is dragging down overall performance in games that are sensitive to single-thread performance. For Red Dead Redemption 2 specifically, the rank of 1320 reflects the CPU’s inability to fully feed the GPU at lower resolutions.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a six-core, six-thread processor based on the Coffee Lake architecture. It has a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz, which is modest by modern standards. The 9 MB shared L3 cache and 42.7 GB/s memory bandwidth are adequate for most games, but the lack of Hyper-Threading means the CPU can struggle with heavily threaded workloads.

In synthetic benchmarks, the i5-9400 scores 6629 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 935 in single-core. Its Geekbench scores are 5141 multi-core and 1389 single-core. These numbers place it in the 47th percentile of all CPUs, meaning it outperforms roughly half of all processors tested. For gaming, the single-core score is more relevant, as most games rely on a few fast cores.

The data shows the CPU becomes a limiting factor at 1080p. The 117 FPS average on Low settings suggests the CPU cannot push framerates higher even when the GPU has headroom. At 1440p and 4K, the GPU takes over as the bottleneck, and the CPU’s limitations are masked. This is typical behavior for a mid-range CPU paired with a mid-range GPU.

For Red Dead Redemption 2, which is known for its complex AI and physics simulations, the CPU’s six threads are sufficient but not ideal. The game benefits from higher clock speeds, which the i5-9400’s 4.10 GHz boost clock provides in bursts. However, sustained loads may cause the CPU to drop below boost clocks, affecting minimum framerates. The lack of Hyper-Threading means background tasks can compete for resources, potentially causing stutters.

The CPU’s 65 W TDP and 14 nm process node indicate it is an older design, but it remains capable for this game at moderate settings. The measured FPS data suggests that upgrading the CPU would provide minimal gains at 1440p and above, where the GPU is the primary constraint. At 1080p, a newer CPU with higher single-thread performance could unlock higher framerates, but the current combo remains viable for 60 FPS gaming at 1440p Medium.