Red Dead Redemption 2

# Red Dead Redemption 2: Intel Core i7-12700KF + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D

This combination of Intel's 12th-generation Core i7-12700KF and NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 5090 D delivers the top-tier performance in Red Dead Redemption 2, ranking first out of 2,902 tested combos in this database. The pairing showcases a CPU that sits at the 85th percentile among all processors, paired with a GPU at the 92nd percentile among all graphics cards, creating a system that handles Rockstar's 2018 open-world title with remarkable authority across all tested resolutions and settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo claims the number one position, ranking 1st out of 2,902 tested combinations in Red Dead Redemption 2. This is not a marginal victory at the top—it represents the absolute ceiling of performance for this title in the current database. The data shows a system that outperforms every other CPU-GPU pairing tested, making it the definitive reference point for what this game can achieve on PC hardware.

The Intel Core i7-12700KF carries an average benchmark score of 35,365 across all tested workloads, placing it in the 85th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks are strikingly close: the Intel Core i7-13700T scores 35,403 (just 0.1% higher), while the Intel Core 5 213PE sits at 35,428 (0.2% higher). On the other side, the Intel Core i5-13600T achieves 35,305 (0.2% lower), and the Intel Core i7-12700K scores 35,287 (0.2% lower). These sub-1% differences in synthetic tests underscore that the 12700KF is positioned in an extremely tight performance cluster, yet in actual Red Dead Redemption 2 gameplay, this combo still reaches the top spot—indicating that game-specific optimization and the GPU pairing matter more than raw CPU benchmark deltas.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D posts an average benchmark score of 77,712, ranking in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks are the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT at 76,904 (1.1% higher), the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT at 78,940 (1.6% lower), and two NVIDIA Tesla P100 variants at 79,396 (2.1% lower) and 79,605 (2.4% lower). The GPU's synthetic score dominance, combined with the CPU's competitive standing, translates into the number one game combo ranking—proving that the RTX 5090 D's 32 GB of GDDR7 memory and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth are substantial assets in this title.

FAQ

Q: Does this combo achieve 60+ FPS at 4K with maximum settings?

A: No. At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the measured average FPS is 52, which falls below the 60 FPS threshold. However, at 4K High settings, the average rises to 72 FPS, comfortably exceeding 60 FPS.

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded across all tests?

A: The highest average FPS is 234, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This represents the most performance headroom available from this combo in Red Dead Redemption 2.

Q: How significant is the performance gap between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings deliver an average of 175 FPS, while Ultra settings drop to 79 FPS. This represents a 96 FPS difference, meaning Ultra settings reduce performance by more than half compared to Low at the same resolution.

Q: Is the RTX 5090 D the highest-ranked GPU in this database?

A: No. The RTX 5090 D ranks in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs, not the 100th percentile. Its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks include the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT, which scores 1.6% higher, and the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB, which scores 2.4% higher.

Q: Does the CPU hold back the GPU in this game?

A: The data suggests the CPU is not a limiting factor at higher resolutions. From 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 at High settings, FPS drops from 146 to 109 (a 25% reduction), while from 2560x1440 to 3840x2160, FPS drops from 109 to 72 (a 34% reduction), indicating the GPU becomes progressively more dominant as resolution increases.

Q: What is the lowest average FPS recorded in any configuration?

A: The lowest average FPS is 52, measured at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings. This is the only configuration in the dataset that falls below 60 FPS average.

Resolution Scaling

The resolution scaling pattern reveals a system that transitions from CPU-leaning at 1080p to heavily GPU-bound at 4K. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves 234 FPS average, which drops to 175 FPS at 2560x1440 (a 25% reduction) and further to 115 FPS at 3840x2160 (a 51% reduction from 1080p). This scaling curve is steeper than typical GPU-bound behavior, suggesting that at 1080p Low, the Intel Core i7-12700KF's 12 cores and 20 threads are sufficiently fed but the RTX 5090 D still has substantial headroom.

Looking at High settings, the progression from 1080p to 1440p to 4K shows averages of 146, 109, and 72 FPS respectively. The percentage drops are 25% from 1080p to 1440p, then 34% from 1440p to 4K. This increasing drop percentage as resolution climbs indicates that the GPU becomes the dominant bottleneck at higher pixel counts—exactly what benchmark analysts would expect from a 512-bit memory bus and 32 GB GDDR7 configuration.

The Medium settings row provides the only complete min/max data in the dataset. At 1920x1080 Medium, the average is 175 FPS with a minimum of 149 and maximum of 202. At 2560x1440 Medium, the average is 131 FPS with a minimum of 111 and maximum of 150. At 3840x2160 Medium, the average is 86 FPS with a minimum of 74 and maximum of 99. The min-to-max spread narrows from 53 FPS at 1080p to 39 FPS at 1440p to 25 FPS at 4K, showing that frame pacing becomes more consistent as resolution increases—a hallmark of GPU-bound operation where the CPU's frame generation speed is less variable relative to the GPU's fixed workload.

Ultra settings show the most severe scaling. From 105 FPS at 1080p to 79 FPS at 1440p (a 25% drop) to 52 FPS at 4K (a 50% drop from 1080p). The 4K Ultra result of 52 FPS is the only sub-60 FPS average in the entire dataset, confirming that this title's highest preset at native 4K remains a challenge even for the top-ranked combo.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its strongest performance across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 234 FPS, representing the absolute peak in the dataset. Medium settings follow at 175 FPS average, with a minimum of 149 FPS and maximum of 202 FPS. High settings achieve 146 FPS average, while Ultra settings drop to 105 FPS average. The progression from Low to Ultra at 1080p shows a 129 FPS reduction—a 55% performance penalty for the highest visual quality preset.

At 2560x1440, performance remains robust but scales down predictably. Low settings average 175 FPS, matching the 1080p Medium result exactly. Medium settings average 131 FPS, with min/max readings of 111 and 150 FPS respectively. High settings deliver 109 FPS average, while Ultra settings reach 79 FPS average. The 1440p Ultra result is 34 FPS lower than the 1080p Ultra result, maintaining a consistent 25% performance hit from the resolution increase.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's workload becomes the defining factor. Low settings average 115 FPS, still a highly playable result. Medium settings average 86 FPS, with a minimum of 74 FPS and maximum of 99 FPS. High settings achieve 72 FPS average, and Ultra settings drop to 52 FPS average. The 4K Low result of 115 FPS is notable because it exceeds the 1080p High result of 146 FPS by a smaller margin than expected, showing that the resolution increase from 1080p to 4K costs roughly 51% performance at Low settings but only 50% at Ultra settings.

Across all twelve measured configurations, the average FPS values range from 52 to 234, a spread of 182 FPS. The minimum FPS readings, available only for Medium settings, range from 74 at 4K to 149 at 1080p, with the 1440p minimum at 111 FPS. Maximum FPS readings for Medium settings range from 99 at 4K to 202 at 1080p, with 150 FPS at 1440p.

Settings Recommendations

For players prioritizing a consistent 60 FPS baseline, the data shows that High settings at 3840x2160 is the optimal choice, delivering 72 FPS average with no recorded dips below 60 FPS. This configuration provides the highest visual quality that still maintains a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS target at native 4K resolution. Ultra settings at 4K, at 52 FPS average, fall short of this threshold and are not recommended for smooth gameplay.

At 2560x1440, Ultra settings achieve 79 FPS average, making this the highest preset that exceeds 60 FPS at this resolution. However, High settings at 1440p deliver 109 FPS average, which opens the door to higher refresh rate displays. The 1440p Medium configuration offers 131 FPS average with a minimum of 111 FPS, making it suitable for 120 Hz displays with some headroom.

For 1920x1080, all settings exceed 100 FPS average, with High at 146 FPS and Ultra at 105 FPS. The Medium preset at 1080p provides 175 FPS average with a minimum of 149 FPS, making it the best choice for 144 Hz displays that demand consistent frame delivery. Low settings at 1080p reach 234 FPS average, which exceeds the refresh rate of all but the most extreme gaming monitors, but sacrifices visual fidelity unnecessarily given the High preset's 146 FPS result.

The best experience per the measured rows depends on the display's refresh rate and resolution. For 4K displays, High settings at 72 FPS average is the sweet spot. For 1440p 144 Hz displays, Medium at 131 FPS average with a 111 FPS minimum is the most balanced choice. For 1080p 144 Hz displays, High at 146 FPS average provides both visual quality and frame rate headroom, while Medium at 175 FPS suits 165 Hz displays.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700KF brings 12 cores and 20 threads from the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. This 10 nm processor from Intel's Core 12th Gen series features 25 MB of shared L3 cache, with 80 KB of L1 cache per core and 1.25 MB of L2 cache per core. Its 125 W TDP and unlocked multiplier make it a desktop part designed for performance, and its 85th percentile ranking among all CPUs confirms strong synthetic capabilities.

In Red Dead Redemption 2, the CPU's role becomes clearer when examining the resolution scaling data. At 1080p Low settings, the combo achieves 234 FPS average—a result that pushes frame rates high enough that the GPU's rendering time, not the CPU's game logic and draw call processing, should be the limiting factor. Yet the fact that this combo still reaches the number one ranking out of 2,902 combos suggests the 12700KF's 20 threads are sufficient to feed the RTX 5090 D even at these extreme frame rates.

The CPU's synthetic benchmarks show balanced performance across thread counts. In 3DMark, the 16-thread test scores 9,282, while the max-thread test scores 9,983, indicating that the 12-core/20-thread configuration scales well beyond 16 threads. Single-thread performance in 3DMark scores 1,043, which is modest relative to the multi-thread results, but the Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4,071 and multi-core score of 28,838 show strong per-core efficiency for a 12th-gen part.

Comparing to its nearest CPU rivals, the 12700KF's average benchmark score of 35,365 is nearly identical to the i7-13700T (35,403, 0.1% higher) and i5-13600T (35,305, 0.2% lower). This tight clustering means the CPU is not the differentiator in this combo's number one game ranking—the RTX 5090 D's 92nd percentile GPU performance, with 21,760 shading units, 680 TMUs, and 176 ROPs, is what pushes this pairing to the top. The CPU's job is to avoid bottlenecking, and the data indicates it succeeds: at 4K Ultra, the combo still produces 52 FPS average, which is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario where the CPU has headroom to spare.

The 12700KF's memory support for both DDR4 and DDR5, along with PCIe Gen 4 with 20 CPU lanes, provides platform flexibility, though the measured FPS data does not isolate memory configuration effects. The CPU's position in the 85th percentile of all CPUs, combined with the GPU's 92nd percentile ranking, creates a balanced pairing where neither component falls far behind the other in synthetic tests, yet the game-specific result shows the GPU's massive memory bandwidth (1.79 TB/s) and 32 GB capacity are the primary drivers of this combo's top-tier Red Dead Redemption 2 performance.