Red Dead Redemption 2

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Red Dead Redemption 2 with the Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 shows a clear and consistent pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases. At 1080p with Low settings, the combination produces 126.9 FPS, which drops to 95.2 FPS at 1440p and further to 61 FPS at 4K. This represents a 25% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and a 52% reduction from 1080p to 4K at the same settings tier.

The scaling behavior shifts notably when examining higher quality presets. At High settings, the frame rate falls from 77.2 FPS at 1080p to 58 FPS at 1440p, then to 35.4 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 24.9%, while the 1440p to 4K transition incurs a 39% penalty. This steeper decline at higher resolutions suggests the GPU becomes the limiting component as pixel count increases, since the CPU workload remains relatively constant across resolutions while the GPU must process significantly more fragments and texture data.

Ultra settings exhibit the most dramatic scaling curve. The system delivers 55 FPS at 1080p, 41.8 FPS at 1440p, and only 26.6 FPS at 4K. The gap between 1080p and 1440p is 24%, but the 1440p to 4K drop is 36.4%. This pattern indicates that at Ultra settings, the RTX 3070's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are being saturated at higher resolutions, particularly at 4K where the frame rate falls below the 30 FPS threshold for smooth playability.

The data reveals that the RTX 3070's performance headroom is best exploited at 1080p, where even Ultra settings maintain 55 FPS. At 1440p, Medium settings provide 68.9 FPS, which is the sweet spot for balancing visual fidelity with smoothness. The 4K resolution is only viable with Low settings at 61 FPS, and even that requires significant visual compromises. The scaling behavior confirms that this CPU-GPU pairing is not well-suited for 4K gaming in Red Dead Redemption 2, as the GPU becomes the dominant bottleneck beyond 1440p.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070, built on the Ampere architecture with a GA104 chip, has 5888 shading units and 184 texture mapping units. Its base clock of 1500 MHz boosts to 1725 MHz, providing 20.31 TFLOPS of FP32 compute. The 8 GB GDDR6 memory operates at 1750 MHz with a 256-bit bus, yielding 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. These specifications directly influence the measured frame rates in Red Dead Redemption 2.

The memory subsystem plays a critical role in this game's performance. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming at most settings, but at 4K with Ultra settings, the game's memory footprint likely approaches the capacity limit. The 448.0 GB/s bandwidth is a significant factor in the 4K performance drop, as higher resolutions require more frequent texture streaming and larger framebuffers. The 4K Ultra result of 26.6 FPS indicates the GPU is memory-bound, as the compute capability of 20.31 TFLOPS should theoretically support higher frame rates if memory bandwidth were not a constraint.

The GPU's 96 raster output units (ROPs) and 165.6 GPixel/s pixel rate determine the fill-rate capabilities, which become increasingly important at higher resolutions. At 4K, the pixel throughput requirement is four times that of 1080p, and the data shows this scaling is not linear in practice. The 4K Low result of 61 FPS versus 1080p Low at 126.9 FPS demonstrates a 48% reduction, which is less than the theoretical 75% pixel count increase would suggest, indicating some GPU headroom remains at lower settings.

The RTX 3070's 184 tensor cores and 46 RT cores do not directly impact rasterized performance in Red Dead Redemption 2, but the GPU's overall architecture benefits from its 8 nm process node and 17,400 million transistors. The GPU's percentile rank of 72 against all GPUs places it in the upper tier, and its average benchmark score of 28238 positions it close to the AMD FirePro S7150 (28409, 0.6% faster) and slightly ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT (27985, 0.9% slower). These relative standings help contextualize its gaming performance.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for smooth gameplay with this CPU-GPU combo?

A: The data shows that 1080p provides the most consistent performance across all settings, with even Ultra settings maintaining 55 FPS. At 1440p, Medium settings deliver 68.9 FPS, which is also playable, but 4K only reaches 61 FPS at Low settings.

Q: How does the RTX 3070 compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score of 28238 is 0.6% behind the AMD FirePro S7150 (28409) and 0.9% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT (27985). It also sits 1% above the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti (27956).

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-9400 a bottleneck at 1080p?

A: The CPU's average benchmark score of 2305 places it at the 50th percentile, with its nearest rival the Intel Core i3-10305 scoring 2300 (0.2% difference). At 1080p Low, the system achieves 126.9 FPS, suggesting the CPU is not severely limiting at lower settings.

Q: What FPS can be expected at 1440p with High settings?

A: The measured average FPS for 2560x1440 with High settings is 58 FPS. This is below the 60 FPS threshold but still playable for most users.

Q: Is 4K gaming viable with the RTX 3070 in this game?

A: At 4K, only Low settings achieve 61 FPS. Medium settings drop to 47.6 FPS, High to 35.4 FPS, and Ultra to 26.6 FPS. The data indicates 4K is only practical with Low settings.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in multi-core performance?

A: The Core i5-9400's Cinebench R23 multi-core score is 7969, and its average benchmark score of 2305 is 0.4% ahead of the Intel Xeon E-2134 (2295) and 0.6% behind the Intel Core i7-8809G (2319).

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates. Low settings produce 126.9 FPS, Medium settings yield 91.5 FPS, High settings achieve 77.2 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 55 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 56.7% reduction in performance, with the largest single-step drop occurring between Medium and High at 15.4%.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates decrease across all settings. Low settings maintain 95.2 FPS, which is 75% of the 1080p Low result. Medium settings produce 68.9 FPS (75.3% of 1080p Medium), High settings reach 58 FPS (75.1% of 1080p High), and Ultra settings yield 41.8 FPS (76% of 1080p Ultra). The consistency of this ratio across settings suggests the GPU scaling is uniform at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the performance drops become more pronounced. Low settings achieve 61 FPS, which is 48% of the 1080p Low result. Medium settings produce 47.6 FPS (52% of 1080p Medium), High settings yield 35.4 FPS (45.9% of 1080p High), and Ultra settings deliver 26.6 FPS (48.4% of 1080p Ultra). The 4K results show a more erratic scaling, with High settings suffering the largest relative penalty.

The overall combo rank in game is 784 out of 1687 tested combinations, placing this pairing in the upper-middle range. The data is measured, not estimated, providing reliable figures for analysis. The minimum and maximum FPS values are not recorded in the data pack, so only average frame rates are available for interpretation.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual quality and performance, the data points to 1080p with High settings, delivering 77.2 FPS. This provides a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS threshold while maintaining substantial graphical fidelity. Users prioritizing maximum smoothness can opt for 1080p Medium at 91.5 FPS, which offers a 18.5% frame rate increase over High with moderate visual compromises.

At 1440p, Medium settings at 68.9 FPS represent the most viable option for high-resolution gaming. High settings at 58 FPS are borderline playable, but the 15.8% frame rate penalty may be noticeable in fast-paced scenes. Ultra settings at 41.8 FPS are not recommended, as the visual gains do not justify the performance hit.

For 4K, Low settings at 61 FPS is the only configuration that achieves smooth frame rates. Medium settings at 47.6 FPS and High at 35.4 FPS fall below the ideal playability range, while Ultra at 26.6 FPS is unsuitable for gameplay. The substantial performance gap between Low and Medium at 4K (22% reduction) indicates that the memory bandwidth limitation becomes severe at this resolution.

The data suggests that the RTX 3070's capabilities are best utilized at 1080p, where even Ultra settings maintain 55 FPS. Users should consider their display resolution and refresh rate when selecting settings, with the measured results providing clear guidance: 1080p allows full preset flexibility, 1440p requires Medium or High, and 4K necessitates Low settings. The CPU's performance at the 50th percentile does not appear to constrain the GPU at any tested resolution, as the frame rate scaling aligns more closely with GPU workload patterns.