Red Dead Redemption 2

Red Dead Redemption 2 presents a demanding open-world workload, and the pairing of the Intel Core i5-9400 with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 produces a distinct performance profile across resolutions. The data shows a system where the GPU is the primary driver at higher resolutions, but the six-core, six-thread CPU begins to assert its influence as resolution drops and frame rates climb. The measured results indicate that this configuration is capable of solid frame rates at 1440p, but requires careful settings management to achieve a smooth experience at 4K.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K clearly illustrates the shift in system bottleneck. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo delivers 98 FPS, but this drops to 70.1 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 28.5%. Moving to 3840x2160, the average frame rate falls further to 50 FPS, representing a 49% decline from the 1080p figure. This scaling pattern is typical of a GPU-limited scenario at higher resolutions, where the RTX 4070’s rendering workload increases faster than the CPU’s frame preparation time.

However, the scaling becomes more revealing when examining the Low settings presets. At 1080p Low, the system hits 144.8 FPS, but at 1440p Low, it manages 114.8 FPS, and at 4K Low, it still produces 78.2 FPS. The relatively modest drop between 1080p and 1440p Low (from 144.8 to 114.8 FPS, a 20.7% decrease) combined with a more substantial drop to 4K Low (a 46% decrease from 1080p) suggests that at lower settings, the CPU’s six threads are becoming a limiting factor at 1080p, preventing the GPU from reaching even higher frame rates. The data indicates that at 1080p Low, the i5-9400 is likely near its ceiling, as the frame rate scaling is less than linear compared to the resolution increase.

The Ultra preset tells a different story. At 4K Ultra, the system only manages 31.5 FPS, a 53.7% drop from the 1080p Ultra score of 68.1 FPS. This steep decline underscores that at maximum settings, the RTX 4070 is overwhelmed by the graphical demands, and the CPU's role becomes secondary. Ultimately, the scaling data suggests that for this pairing, 1440p is the sweet spot where the GPU and CPU workloads are better balanced, whereas 4K requires either Low or Medium settings to remain playable, and 1080p is often constrained by the processor.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average frame rate this combo achieves in Red Dead Redemption 2?

A: The highest recorded average FPS is 144.8, which occurs at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

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

A: Yes, but only with reduced settings. The data shows 4K High produces 50 FPS, 4K Medium produces 57.9 FPS, and 4K Low produces 78.2 FPS. However, 4K Ultra drops to 31.5 FPS, which is below a smooth playable threshold.

Q: How does the i5-9400's multi-core performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The i5-9400 has an average benchmark score of 2305. It is 0.2% faster than the Intel Core i3-10305 and the Intel Core i3-1125G4, and 0.4% faster than the Intel Xeon E-2134. It trails the Intel Core i7-8809G by 0.6%.

Q: What is the difference in performance between 1080p High and 1440p High settings?

A: At 1080p High, the average FPS is 98. At 1440p High, the average FPS drops to 70.1. This represents a 28.5% reduction in frame rate when moving up one resolution tier.

Q: Is the RTX 4070's performance more consistent with which rival GPU?

A: Based on average benchmark scores, the RTX 4070 (score 37283) is 0.6% slower than the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (score 37507). It is also 1.9% and 2.2% slower than the NVIDIA GeForce MX570 A and RTX 4080 Mobile, respectively.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between the lowest and highest settings at 1440p?

A: The range is substantial. At 1440p Low, the system achieves 114.8 FPS. At 1440p Ultra, it drops to 50.7 FPS. This shows a 64.1 FPS difference, or about 55.8% lower performance when switching from Low to Ultra.

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, with a shared 9 MB L3 cache. In the context of Red Dead Redemption 2, this CPU's role is to feed the RTX 4070 with draw calls and game logic. The processor's benchmark scores—7969 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 1125 in single-core—place it at the 50th percentile among all CPUs, indicating a mid-range standing.

The data reveals that this CPU is a limiting factor at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system produces 144.8 FPS, but this is likely near the CPU's maximum frame output. The fact that 1440p Low still achieves 114.8 FPS, which is only 20.7% lower, suggests that the GPU still has headroom, but the CPU cannot push much higher. The six threads are fully utilized in this scenario, as Red Dead Redemption 2 is a demanding title for processor resources. The 65W TDP and stock clocks indicate that there is no thermal headroom for significant boosts, so the CPU's performance ceiling is fixed.

Compared to its nearest rivals, the i5-9400 is virtually tied with the Intel Core i3-10305, i3-1125G4, and Xeon E-2134, showing only a 0.2% to 0.4% difference in average scores. This means that in CPU-bound scenarios, swapping to these alternatives would yield negligible frame rate changes. The processor's single-threaded performance, represented by a Cinebench R23 score of 1125, is adequate for the game's main thread, but its lack of hyper-threading (6 threads for 6 cores) limits its ability to handle multiple background tasks or highly parallel CPU workloads that the game engine may generate.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the comprehensive database of tested hardware combinations, this specific pairing of the i5-9400 and RTX 4070 holds a rank of 397 out of 1687 combos in Red Dead Redemption 2. This places the system in the top 23.5% of all tested configurations, which is a strong showing. The rank reflects the balanced nature of the components; the RTX 4070 is a high-end GPU (81st percentile among all GPUs), while the i5-9400 is a mid-range CPU (50th percentile). The combination leverages the GPU's power effectively, but the CPU prevents the system from climbing higher into the top 200.

The rank suggests that the system is better suited for high-refresh-rate 1440p gaming than for 4K. The 397th position indicates that many other combos, likely those with newer or higher-core-count CPUs like an i7 or Ryzen 7 paired with similar GPUs, outperform it. However, the i5-9400's performance is not a severe bottleneck; it is a capable gaming processor that allows the RTX 4070 to deliver excellent frame rates at lower resolutions. The data implies that if the user were to upgrade the CPU to a model with more threads, the combo rank would improve significantly, as the GPU has demonstrated it can push beyond 144 FPS at 1080p when given enough CPU support. For now, the rank of 397 out of 1687 confirms the RTX 4070's raw power compensating for the older CPU architecture.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates provide a detailed look at performance across all settings and resolutions. At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates. With Low settings, it achieves 144.8 FPS, which drops to 116.1 FPS on Medium, 98 FPS on High, and 68.1 FPS on Ultra. This shows a 76.7 FPS difference between Low and Ultra, indicating that the GPU is the main variable here, but the CPU still caps the Low preset from going higher.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain strong. Low settings produce 114.8 FPS, Medium yields 87.4 FPS, High settings hit 70.1 FPS, and Ultra falls to 50.7 FPS. The 1440p results are 20.7% to 28.5% lower than their 1080p counterparts, showing a consistent scaling pattern. The 70.1 FPS at High is particularly notable, as it suggests that this resolution and setting combination is ideal for a smooth experience on a 60Hz or 144Hz monitor.

At 3840x2160, the data reveals the GPU's limitations. Low settings achieve 78.2 FPS, which is playable. Medium settings drop to 57.9 FPS, and High falls to 50 FPS. The Ultra preset only manages 31.5 FPS, which is below the 30 FPS console-style target, but not by much. The 4K results show a clear progression: from Low to Ultra, the frame rate drops by 46.7 FPS, or 59.7%. This indicates that 4K Ultra is not viable for this combo, but 4K Low or Medium could be used for a cinematic experience. The data consistently shows that the RTX 4070 provides a strong foundation for 1440p gaming with this older CPU.