Red Dead Redemption 2

The pairing of the Intel Core i5-9400 with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti in Red Dead Redemption 2 produces a dataset dominated by the GPU’s raw throughput, though the older six-core processor leaves a clear fingerprint at lower resolutions. The RTX 4070 Ti, which sits in the 84th percentile of all GPUs, is clearly the dominant component in this system. However, the i5-9400, which rests in the 47th percentile of all CPUs, appears to be the limiting factor as resolution drops. This analysis breaks down the measured performance across three resolutions and four quality presets, interpreting what the numbers mean for actual gameplay.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 4K to 1080p reveals a system that is heavily GPU-bound at the highest resolution but becomes increasingly CPU-limited as the pixel count drops. At the High preset, the average frame rate scales from 55 FPS at 3840x2160 to 83 FPS at 2560x1440, and finally to 111 FPS at 1920x1080. This represents a 51% increase in performance from 4K to 1440p, and a further 34% jump from 1440p to 1080p. The scaling is not linear, and the diminishing returns at 1080p suggest that the i5-9400 is starting to cap the frame rate.

The Low preset data confirms this trend more starkly. At 4K Low, the system produces 88 FPS, which climbs to 131 FPS at 1440p and tops out at 144 FPS at 1080p. The jump from 4K to 1440p is a massive 49%, but from 1440p to 1080p the gain is only 10%. This plateau at 144 FPS is a strong indicator that the CPU is the bottleneck at 1080p, as the GPU clearly has headroom left if the Low preset at 1440p can produce 131 FPS. The fact that lowering the resolution from 1440p to 1080p yields only a 13 FPS increase, while the GPU work decreases substantially, points directly to the six-core, six-thread i5-9400 as the limiting factor.

Moving to the Medium preset, the scaling pattern holds. The average FPS goes from 66 at 4K to 99 at 1440p, then to 130 at 1080p. The 4K to 1440p gain is 50%, while the 1440p to 1080p gain is 31%. Interestingly, the 1080p Medium result of 130 FPS is lower than the 1080p Low result of 144 FPS, which is expected. However, the gap between 1440p Medium (99 FPS) and 1080p Medium (130 FPS) is larger than the gap between 1440p Low (131 FPS) and 1080p Low (144 FPS), suggesting that the game’s medium settings add enough GPU load to push the bottleneck back toward the graphics card at this resolution.

The Ultra preset demonstrates the most dramatic scaling, with the system dropping from 60 FPS at 1440p to 80 FPS at 1080p, and down to 39 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is the only sub-40 FPS measurement in the entire dataset, showing that the RTX 4070 Ti is simply overwhelmed by the combination of maximum quality and 8.3 million pixels. The scaling from 4K to 1440p represents a 54% improvement, while 1440p to 1080p yields a 33% gain. This suggests that at Ultra settings, the GPU is the primary constraint at all three resolutions, as the increased shader and texture work keeps the CPU from becoming the limiting factor.

When examining the percentile placement, the RTX 4070 Ti’s 84th percentile ranking against all GPUs indicates it is a top-tier part, while the i5-9400’s 47th percentile ranking is decidedly mid-pack. The data suggests that at 4K, the GPU is doing most of the heavy lifting, and the CPU’s slower single-thread performance is masked by the sheer volume of pixel work. At 1080p, however, the CPU’s limitations become apparent, particularly in the Low preset where the FPS ceiling appears to be around 144.

Settings Recommendations

For users targeting a smooth 60 FPS experience at 4K, the data shows that the High preset is the optimal choice. The 55 FPS average at 3840x2160 High is close to the target, and while it is not a locked 60, it is playable. The Medium preset at 4K produces 66 FPS, which is a solid 10% headroom above the 60 FPS target, but the visual fidelity loss from High to Medium may not be worth the modest frame rate gain. The Ultra preset at 4K delivers only 39 FPS, which is a poor experience for a game that demands constant attention to the environment. The Low preset at 4K produces 88 FPS, but the graphical downgrade is severe enough to negate the purpose of playing at such a high resolution.

At 1440p, the High preset is the standout performer, delivering an 83 FPS average. This is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold and provides enough headroom for dips during busy scenes. The Medium preset at 1440p offers 99 FPS, which is excellent for users with high refresh rate monitors, but the jump to Ultra drops the frame rate to exactly 60 FPS. That 60 FPS average at 1440p Ultra is a usable result, but the lack of any minimum FPS data for that preset suggests that frame pacing could be inconsistent. The Low preset at 1440p hits 131 FPS, which is overkill for most displays and sacrifices too much visual quality.

For 1080p gaming, the Medium preset provides the best balance of quality and performance. The 130 FPS average is exceptionally smooth, and the minimum FPS of 110 ensures that even the most chaotic scenes stay well above the 60 FPS threshold. The High preset at 1080p delivers 111 FPS, which is also excellent, but the Medium preset’s 19 FPS advantage makes it the more flexible choice for users who might want to enable additional post-processing effects. The Ultra preset at 1080p yields 80 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for competitive play. The Low preset at 1080p hits 144 FPS, but the visual degradation is noticeable on a monitor where small details matter.

The minimum FPS data provided for the Medium preset across all resolutions offers insight into frame consistency. At 4K Medium, the minimum is 56 FPS, which is close to the 60 FPS target and suggests that the system can hold near-60 FPS in most situations. At 1440p Medium, the minimum of 84 FPS provides a comfortable buffer above the 60 FPS line. At 1080p Medium, the minimum of 110 FPS means the system never drops below a very high threshold, making this the most consistent preset in the entire dataset.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Red Dead Redemption 2 at 4K with playable frame rates?

A: Yes, but only at Medium or High settings. The data shows 66 FPS at 4K Medium and 55 FPS at 4K High. The Ultra preset drops to 39 FPS, which is not playable for most users.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-9400 holding back the RTX 4070 Ti in this game?

A: The benchmark results indicate CPU limitation at 1080p, particularly at the Low preset where the FPS plateaus at 144. At 1440p and 4K, the GPU is the primary bottleneck, as evidenced by the large FPS gains when lowering resolution.

Q: What is the best settings preset for a 144Hz monitor at 1440p?

A: The Medium preset at 2560x1440 provides a 99 FPS average with a minimum of 84 FPS. This is the only 1440p preset that exceeds 90 FPS, making it the best option for high refresh rate displays.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 Ti compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 4070 Ti has an average benchmark score of 44795, which is 0.8% lower than the RTX 5090 Mobile and 1.3% lower than the Radeon Pro 5500 XT. It is 1.6% higher than the RTX A6000 and 1.7% higher than the Arc A730M.

Q: Does the game show a preference for higher core counts in this specific CPU?

A: The i5-9400 has 6 cores and 6 threads, and its Cinebench R23 multicore score is 6629. The game’s scaling pattern, with FPS capping at 1080p Low, suggests that the CPU’s thread count is sufficient for the game’s engine, but the per-core performance limits the maximum frame rate.

Q: What is the most consistent preset across all resolutions in terms of minimum FPS?

A: The Medium preset is the only one with minimum FPS data for all three resolutions. The minimums are 56 FPS at 4K, 84 FPS at 1440p, and 110 FPS at 1080p, showing that this preset maintains a stable frame rate relative to its average.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the system delivers a wide range of performance depending on the preset. The Low setting produces an average of 88 FPS, which is surprisingly high for 4K and indicates that the game’s low-quality assets reduce the GPU load dramatically. The Medium setting drops to 66 FPS, with a minimum of 56 FPS and a maximum of 76 FPS. This is the only 4K preset with min/max data, and the 20 FPS spread between min and max suggests some scene-dependent variability. The High setting averages 55 FPS, which is a 17% reduction from Medium. The Ultra setting produces just 39 FPS, which is a 41% drop from High. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 4K is a 56% reduction in performance, showing that the Ultra preset is extremely demanding.

At 2560x1440, the performance envelope shifts upward. The Low preset averages 131 FPS, which is a 49% improvement over the 4K Low result. The Medium preset averages 99 FPS, with a minimum of 84 FPS and a maximum of 114 FPS. The High preset produces 83 FPS, and the Ultra preset delivers exactly 60 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 54%, which is narrower than at 4K, indicating that the CPU is beginning to play a larger role in the lower-resolution results.

At 1920x1080, the system reaches its peak performance. The Low preset hits 144 FPS, which appears to be the ceiling for this CPU-GPU combination. The Medium preset averages 130 FPS, with a minimum of 110 FPS and a maximum of 149 FPS. The High preset produces 111 FPS, and the Ultra preset delivers 80 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 47%, which is the smallest of any resolution, confirming that the CPU is the limiting factor at this resolution. The maximum FPS of 149 at Medium 1080p is the highest single measurement in the entire dataset.

The Ultra preset shows the most consistent degradation across resolutions, with 39 FPS at 4K, 60 FPS at 1440p, and 80 FPS at 1080p. The scaling from 4K to 1440p is a 54% improvement, and from 1440p to 1080p is a 33% improvement. The High preset scales similarly, with 55 FPS at 4K, 83 FPS at 1440p, and 111 FPS at 1080p. The Medium preset’s scaling is the most linear, with 66 FPS at 4K, 99 FPS at 1440p, and 130 FPS at 1080p, representing consistent 50% and 31% jumps respectively.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti ranks 631st out of 3714 tested combos for Red Dead Redemption 2. This places the system in the top 17% of all tested configurations, which is a strong result given the CPU’s age and mid-range positioning. The rank is likely bolstered by the GPU’s high percentile placement, as the RTX 4070 Ti’s 84th percentile ranking is significantly higher than the CPU’s 47th percentile ranking.

The combo rank of 631 suggests that there are 630 other configurations that perform better in this specific game. Given that the RTX 4070 Ti is a high-end GPU, most of those higher-ranked combos likely pair it with a stronger CPU. The i5-9400’s nearest rivals in average benchmark score include the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 (0.2% higher), the Intel Core i7-10710U (0.3% lower), and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 (0.4% lower). These CPUs are all within 0.4% of the i5-9400’s average score, indicating that the processor is performing at its expected level.

The GPU’s nearest rivals provide context for its performance tier. The RTX 4070 Ti’s average benchmark score of 44795 is 0.8% lower than the RTX 5090 Mobile and 1.3% lower than the Radeon Pro 5500 XT. It is 1.6% higher than the RTX A6000 and 1.7% higher than the Intel Arc A730M. This places the RTX 4070 Ti in a tightly contested performance band, where a few percentage points separate it from its closest competitors.

The 631st rank out of 3714 combos indicates that while the GPU is capable of high frame rates, the CPU’s limitations prevent the system from reaching the top tier of performance. The data suggests that pairing the RTX 4070 Ti with a higher-end CPU would likely improve the combo rank significantly, particularly in the 1080p resolution where the CPU bottleneck is most apparent.

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 9 MB shared L3 cache. The CPU’s benchmark results show a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 6629 and a single-core score of 935. These scores place the i5-9400 in the 47th percentile of all CPUs, indicating that it is a middle-of-the-road processor in 2024.

In Red Dead Redemption 2, the CPU’s role is most evident at 1080p with the Low preset. The FPS ceiling of 144 at this setting is a clear sign that the CPU cannot push frames beyond this point, regardless of the GPU’s capability. The i5-9400’s six threads are likely being fully utilized by the game’s engine, but the lack of hyper-threading means that the processor cannot handle additional background tasks without impacting game performance.

The CPU’s memory bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s over a dual-channel DDR4 bus is another potential limiting factor. While the game’s memory requirements are not excessive, the CPU’s reliance on system memory for asset streaming could contribute to the FPS cap at lower resolutions. The 14 nm process node and 65 W TDP indicate that this is a power-efficient part, but the older architecture does not have the single-thread performance of newer processors.

The benchmark data shows that the CPU’s performance is closely matched with several other processors. The i5-9400’s average benchmark score of 2254 is nearly identical to the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 (2259) and the Intel Core i7-10710U (2248). This suggests that the i5-9400 is not a performance outlier; it performs exactly as expected for its class. The fact that the RTX 4070 Ti’s average benchmark score of 44795 is nearly 20 times higher than the CPU’s score highlights the imbalance in this pairing.

The game’s reliance on CPU performance at lower resolutions is confirmed by the scaling data. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra presets is only 47%, while at 4K, the difference is 56%. This indicates that at 1080p, the CPU is limiting the system’s ability to scale with GPU load. The CPU’s boost clock of 4.10 GHz helps in single-threaded scenarios, but the game appears to benefit from additional threads, which the i5-9400 lacks.