Red Dead Redemption 2

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The FPS scaling across resolutions reveals a classic GPU-bound pattern for this combination of Intel Core i7-12700KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 191.8 FPS, but dropping to 1440p Low yields 145.3 FPS — a 24% reduction. Pushing further to 4K Low gives 94 FPS, which is another 35% drop. The steepness of these declines, especially between 1440p and 4K, indicates that the RTX 4080 SUPER is the primary constraint as pixel count rises.

The High preset tells a similar story but with a narrower absolute spread. At 1080p High, the system reaches 122.8 FPS; at 1440p High it falls to 92.5 FPS; at 4K High it lands at 61.6 FPS. The gap between 1080p and 4K at High settings is roughly 50%, which is substantial but expected for a demanding title like Red Dead Redemption 2. The data implies that the CPU has ample headroom at 1080p, as the 191.8 FPS Low result suggests the i7-12700KF can feed frames well beyond what the GPU can render at higher resolutions.

Interestingly, the Ultra preset shows the most dramatic scaling. At 1080p Ultra, the combo hits 90.1 FPS; at 1440p Ultra, it drops to 67.2 FPS; at 4K Ultra, it plummets to 40.4 FPS. This 55% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Ultra reinforces that the GPU's rendering workload — not CPU throughput — dominates the performance curve. The 12-core, 20-thread processor with a 5.00 GHz boost clock is unlikely to bottleneck at any resolution in this game, given that even the most demanding 4K Ultra scenario holds above 40 FPS.

The pattern across all four presets shows consistent scaling ratios, which is a hallmark of GPU-limited performance. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect the FPS at 1080p Low to be significantly higher relative to 4K Low, as the CPU would cap performance at lower resolutions. Instead, the monotonic decline with resolution strongly suggests the RTX 4080 SUPER's 16 GB of GDDR6X memory and 736.3 GB/s bandwidth are being fully utilized at higher pixel counts.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

This specific pairing of Intel Core i7-12700KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER holds the 124th position out of 1,687 tested combinations in Red Dead Redemption 2. That places it in the top 7.4% of all combos in the database, which is a strong showing for a system built around a CPU that ranks in the 89th percentile among all processors and a GPU in the 88th percentile among all graphics cards.

The CPU's nearest rivals provide context for its contribution. The Intel Core i5-14400 scores nearly identically (35336 vs. 35355 average benchmark score, a 0.1% delta), meaning the extra cores and threads of the i7-12700KF may not translate to meaningful gains in this game's engine. Similarly, the Intel Core i9-12900HX is just 0.2% behind, and the Intel Core i5-13600T trails by 0.3%. These tiny deltas suggest that Red Dead Redemption 2 is not heavily dependent on the absolute multi-threaded throughput that distinguishes these processors.

On the GPU side, the RTX 4080 SUPER's nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT, which is only 0.2% behind in average score. The AMD Radeon Pro W6600M is 0.4% behind, while the AMD Radeon RX 7700S trails by 2.1%. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti is 2.9% behind, which is surprising given it's a newer generation product. These margins indicate that the RTX 4080 SUPER is very closely matched with several high-end alternatives, and the combo's rank of 124 likely depends as much on driver optimization for this specific title as on raw hardware capability.

Given that the combo rank is 124 out of 1,687, there are 123 combinations that outperform this pairing in Red Dead Redemption 2. Those would presumably include more recent flagship GPUs or CPUs with higher benchmark scores. However, the delta between the RTX 4080 SUPER and its nearest rivals is so small that the practical difference in gameplay would be imperceptible in most scenes.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Red Dead Redemption 2 if I want to stay above 60 FPS?

A: At 4K High, the combo averages 61.6 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS threshold. For more headroom, 1440p High delivers 92.5 FPS, while 1440p Medium achieves 105.5 FPS. The data shows that 4K is playable at High settings, but 1440p offers significantly more margin.

Q: How much performance is lost when switching from 1080p to 4K on the Low preset?

A: The measured FPS drops from 191.8 at 1080p Low to 94 at 4K Low, representing a 51% reduction. This substantial loss indicates that the RTX 4080 SUPER's rendering load increases dramatically with resolution, even at the lowest settings.

Q: Is the Intel Core i7-12700KF holding back the RTX 4080 SUPER?

A: The data does not suggest a CPU bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 191.8 FPS, which is far above typical monitor refresh rates. The CPU's 5.00 GHz boost clock and 20 threads provide ample processing power, and its 89th percentile ranking among all CPUs supports this.

Q: Which preset gives the best balance of visual quality and performance at 1440p?

A: At 1440p, the High preset produces 92.5 FPS, while Ultra drops to 67.2 FPS. The Medium preset yields 105.5 FPS. Given that High is only 13 FPS below Medium but visually superior, High is the strongest choice for most users. Ultra still maintains above 60 FPS, making it viable for those prioritizing visuals.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 SUPER compare to its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT, in this game?

A: The RTX 4080 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 53610, while the RX 6900 XT scores 53489 — a delta of just 0.2%. In practical terms, this means the two GPUs are nearly identical in performance for this title, and the combo rank would likely be similar regardless of which card is used.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K Ultra settings in Red Dead Redemption 2?

A: The measured average FPS at 4K Ultra is 40.4, which is below the 60 FPS target but still playable for some users. The 16 GB VRAM and 52.22 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power are sufficient to render the game, but the frame rate suggests that Ultra settings at 4K require compromises or upscaling to achieve smoother gameplay.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data reveals a clear hierarchy of performance across the four presets. At 1080p, all presets deliver playable frame rates, with Low hitting 191.8 FPS, Medium at 142, High at 122.8, and Ultra at 90.1. Since even Ultra exceeds 90 FPS, users with 1080p displays can confidently select Ultra without sacrificing smoothness. The jump from High to Ultra costs 32.7 FPS, which is significant, but the visual gains in Red Dead Redemption 2's expansive open world are often worth it.

At 1440p, the decision becomes more nuanced. Ultra averages 67.2 FPS, which is still above 60, but the margin is slim. High at 92.5 FPS provides a more comfortable buffer, while Medium at 105.5 FPS offers the smoothest experience without dropping to Low's 145.3 FPS. For most users with 1440p 144Hz monitors, High is the optimal choice — it maintains well above 60 FPS while preserving most of the visual enhancements that make this game stunning.

At 4K, the trade-offs are most pronounced. Ultra averages 40.4 FPS, which is below the standard 60 FPS target and may feel sluggish in action sequences. High at 61.6 FPS barely crosses the 60 FPS threshold, making it the minimum recommended preset for a smooth experience. Medium at 69.4 FPS offers slightly more headroom, while Low at 94 FPS is the only preset that provides substantial margin above 60. Given that 4K is the most demanding scenario, the data suggests that High is the sweet spot — it balances visual fidelity with playability, and the 61.6 FPS average indicates that most scenes will run at or above 60 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

1920x1080: The lowest resolution tested shows the highest frame rates. Low settings produce 191.8 FPS, Medium drops to 142, High reaches 122.8, and Ultra settles at 90.1. The gap between Low and Ultra is 101.7 FPS, demonstrating that the Ultra preset imposes a substantial rendering cost even at 1080p. The progression from Low to Medium (49.8 FPS loss) is steeper than from Medium to High (19.2 FPS loss), but the High to Ultra step (32.7 FPS loss) is again significant.

2560x1440: At this mid-range resolution, the frame rates remain strong but show the expected decline. Low averages 145.3 FPS, Medium hits 105.5, High reaches 92.5, and Ultra drops to 67.2. The delta between Low and Ultra is 78.1 FPS. Notably, the 1440p High result (92.5 FPS) is very close to the 1080p Ultra result (90.1 FPS), suggesting that the GPU is handling the additional pixel count similarly to the extra visual effects.

3840x2160: The highest resolution tests the limits of the RTX 4080 SUPER. Low averages 94 FPS, Medium 69.4, High 61.6, and Ultra 40.4. The gap between Low and Ultra is 53.6 FPS. At this resolution, the Ultra preset falls below 45 FPS, which is a significant drop from the 67.2 FPS at 1440p Ultra. The scaling from 1440p to 4K at Medium (105.5 to 69.4, a 34% drop) and High (92.5 to 61.6, a 33% drop) is consistent, indicating a proportional GPU workload increase.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i7-12700KF brings 12 cores and 20 threads to the table, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. Its benchmark scores are impressive: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 28979 and a single-core score of 4091. For a game like Red Dead Redemption 2, which typically scales with both single-threaded and multi-threaded performance, these numbers suggest the CPU is more than capable of keeping up with the RTX 4080 SUPER.

The 3DMark scores provide additional insight. The max-threads score of 9983 is nearly 50% higher than the 16-thread score of 9282, indicating that the extra threads are utilized when available. However, the 4-thread score of 4011 and 8-thread score of 7211 show that the game may not fully saturate all 20 threads. The single-thread score of 1043 in 3DMark and 2526 in Geekbench reveal a strong per-core performance, which is crucial for this game's physics and AI calculations.

The data from the measured FPS suggests that the CPU is not the limiting factor. At 1080p Low, the 191.8 FPS result is high enough that any CPU bottleneck would manifest as a plateau across resolutions. Instead, the FPS declines consistently with resolution, pointing to the GPU as the primary constraint. The CPU's 89th percentile ranking among all CPUs further supports this — it's a top-tier processor that easily feeds the RTX 4080 SUPER.

The L3 cache of 25 MB shared across the cores is adequate for this game's open-world data streaming. The 80 KB L1 and 1.25 MB L2 per core provide fast access to frequently used data, which helps maintain consistent frame times. The 10 nm process node and Alder Lake architecture contribute to the CPU's efficiency, though the 125 W TDP means it does require adequate cooling.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is the star of this combination, and its specifications directly explain the measured performance. With 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, the card offers 736.3 GB/s of bandwidth. Red Dead Redemption 2 is known for its large textures and detailed environments, so this VRAM capacity is likely sufficient even at 4K Ultra, where the game can consume over 10 GB of video memory.

The GPU's clock speeds are 2295 MHz base and 2550 MHz boost, with memory running at 1438 MHz (23 Gbps effective). These clocks, combined with 10240 shading units and 320 TMUs, produce a pixel rate of 285.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 816.0 GTexel/s. The FP32 performance of 52.22 TFLOPS is substantial, and the 80 RT cores and 320 tensor cores provide additional capabilities for any ray tracing or DLSS features the game might use.

The measured FPS data aligns with the GPU's capabilities. At 4K Ultra, the 40.4 FPS result is consistent with a card that ranks in the 88th percentile among all GPUs. The nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT, scores 53489 vs. the RTX 4080 SUPER's 53610 — a 0.2% difference. This close margin explains why the combo rank is 124 out of 1687; the RTX 4080 SUPER is powerful but not head-and-shoulders above its peers.

The 320 W TDP and 700 W suggested PSU indicate this is a high-power card, but the thermal design is managed through a triple-slot cooler. The 16-pin power connector is the modern standard for this class of GPU. The 45,900 million transistors on a 379 mm² die at 5 nm demonstrate the density of the Ada Lovelace architecture, which allows for the high clock speeds and substantial compute throughput observed in the benchmarks.