Red Dead Redemption 2

Resolution Scaling

Red Dead Redemption 2 shows a pronounced performance curve as resolution increases, and the data indicates a clear GPU-bound scenario at higher settings. At 1080p with Low settings, the Intel Core i7-13700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER combination delivers 169.5 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops that to 126.8 FPS, a 25% reduction. At 4K Low, the average falls further to 84.8 FPS, which is 50% below the 1080p figure. This scaling pattern is typical for a game where pixel throughput becomes the dominant factor; the CPU has ample headroom at lower resolutions, and the graphics card's fill rate and memory bandwidth take over as the primary constraint.

The scaling becomes more telling when examining higher presets. At Ultra settings, the frame rate drops from 78.6 FPS at 1080p to 54.9 FPS at 1440p, and then to 39.9 FPS at 4K. That 4K Ultra result is less than half the 1080p Ultra figure, showing that the most demanding settings amplify the GPU bottleneck. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is stark: 84.8 FPS versus 39.9 FPS — a 53% performance gap purely from settings changes. This indicates that while the CPU is capable of pushing high frame rates, the RTX 4070 SUPER's 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth are the limiting factors when the resolution and quality settings demand maximum data throughput.

A notable observation is the diminishing returns at 1080p. The jump from Low (169.5 FPS) to Medium (128.8 FPS) is 24%, but the jump from Medium to High (106.3 FPS) is 17%, and High to Ultra (78.6 FPS) is 26%. The 4K scaling is more linear: Low (84.8), Medium (60.3), High (51.8), and Ultra (39.9) — each step costs roughly 15-20 FPS. This suggests that at lower resolutions, the CPU can still feed the GPU adequately, but at 4K, the GPU's compute resources (35.48 TFLOPS FP32) and memory system are saturated. The data strongly suggests that for 4K gaming, the RTX 4070 SUPER is the bottleneck, while at 1080p, the i7-13700K's 16 cores and 24 threads provide enough headroom to avoid CPU limitation.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU-GPU combo in Red Dead Redemption 2?

A: Based on the measured data, 1440p High provides a solid balance at 81.6 FPS, while 1440p Medium reaches 93.3 FPS. For those prioritizing frame rate over visual fidelity, 1080p Medium at 128.8 FPS is the sweet spot, as it stays well above 60 FPS while maintaining acceptable quality.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 SUPER perform at 4K Ultra?

A: The average frame rate at 4K Ultra is 39.9 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold commonly targeted for smooth gameplay. This indicates that the card is not sufficient for maximum settings at 4K in this title; users would need to lower settings to High (51.8 FPS) or Medium (60.3 FPS) to approach playable levels.

Q: Is the Intel Core i7-13700K a bottleneck at 1080p?

A: The data does not indicate a CPU bottleneck at 1080p. At Low settings, the combo achieves 169.5 FPS, and at Ultra it still reaches 78.6 FPS. The i7-13700K's 3DMark single-thread score of 1136 and multi-thread score of 12412 suggest strong per-core performance, which is sufficient for this game's engine.

Q: What settings preset gives the largest performance jump?

A: Across all resolutions, switching from High to Ultra yields the largest absolute drop in FPS. For example, at 1080p, High delivers 106.3 FPS while Ultra drops to 78.6 FPS — a 27.7 FPS loss. The Low to Medium transition is much smaller in impact, with only a 40.7 FPS drop at 1080p (from 169.5 to 128.8).

Q: How does the GPU's memory configuration affect performance?

A: The RTX 4070 SUPER has 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 504.2 GB/s bandwidth. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra (39.9) versus 4K Low (84.8) suggests that memory bandwidth is a constraint at high settings, as the increased texture detail and shadow quality demand more data transfer per frame.

Q: Is this combo better suited for 1440p or 4K gaming?

A: The data shows 1440p is the more comfortable territory. At 1440p Ultra, the combo still manages 54.9 FPS, which is playable, while 4K Ultra falls to 39.9 FPS. Given the measured results, 1440p High (81.6 FPS) provides a smoother experience than any 4K preset except Low (84.8 FPS).

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows indicate that the Medium preset offers the best balance between visual quality and performance for most users. At 1080p, Medium delivers 128.8 FPS, which is 59.2 FPS higher than High (106.3) and only 40.7 FPS lower than Low (169.5). At 1440p, Medium reaches 93.3 FPS, comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold, while High drops to 81.6 FPS and Ultra falls to 54.9 FPS. For 4K, Medium is the only preset that stays above 60 FPS (60.3 FPS), making it the recommended choice for that resolution.

High settings are viable for users with 1440p monitors who prioritize visual fidelity, as the 81.6 FPS average remains smooth. However, at 4K, High (51.8 FPS) may feel less fluid, and users should consider Medium instead. Ultra settings are only recommended for 1080p displays, where the 78.6 FPS average is still acceptable, but the 27.7 FPS drop from High is substantial. For competitive play or high-refresh-rate monitors (144 Hz or above), Low settings at 1080p (169.5 FPS) or 1440p (126.8 FPS) are the only options that approach those refresh rates.

The data suggests that the GPU's 12 GB VRAM is not a limiting factor at Medium settings, as the frame rates scale predictably. However, at Ultra, the combination of increased draw distances and shadow resolution likely taxes the 504.2 GB/s memory bandwidth, causing the 39.9 FPS result at 4K. Therefore, the optimal experience for most users is Medium at 1440p, offering 93.3 FPS with a reasonable visual uplift over Low.

How This Combo Ranks

In Red Dead Redemption 2, the Intel Core i7-13700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER combination ranks 281 out of 1687 tested combos, placing it in the top 17% of all configurations. This percentile positioning is strong, but not elite — there are 280 other combos that achieve higher average frame rates in this specific game. The ranking reflects the balance of the CPU and GPU: the i7-13700K is a high-end processor, ranking in the 93rd percentile among all CPUs, while the RTX 4070 SUPER sits in the 84th percentile among GPUs. The combo rank suggests that the GPU is slightly more of a limiting factor than the CPU, as the CPU's percentile is higher.

Comparing to the CPU's nearest rivals, the i7-13700K is nearly identical in performance to the i7-13700KF, with a deltaPct of -0.1% (the KF scores 47334 versus 47282). The AMD EPYC 4364P and Intel Core i9-12900F are also within 0.4% of the i7-13700K's average benchmark score. This means that swapping to these CPUs would yield negligible differences in this game, as the GPU would likely remain the bottleneck. On the GPU side, the RTX 4070 SUPER's nearest rival is the NVIDIA RTX A6000, which scores 42653 (a -0.2% delta), and the AMD Radeon RX 7650 GRE (42723, -0.3% delta). These close scores indicate that the GPU's performance is well-established in this tier.

The 281st rank out of 1687 combos indicates that while this setup is capable, there are many higher-end configurations (likely with RTX 4080 or 4090-class GPUs) that deliver superior frame rates in this demanding title. For the majority of users, however, this combo provides a high-refresh-rate experience at 1080p and a solid 60+ FPS experience at 1440p, which is reflected in the measured data.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER plays the dominant role in determining Red Dead Redemption 2's performance, as evidenced by the resolution scaling data. The GPU has a base clock of 1980 MHz and a boost clock of 2475 MHz, with 7168 shading units and 224 texture mapping units. Its 12 GB of GDDR6X memory operates at 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective) across a 192-bit bus, yielding 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but the 4K Ultra result of 39.9 FPS suggests that the 192-bit bus becomes a constraint at extreme resolutions.

The GPU's FP32 throughput of 35.48 TFLOPS and pixel rate of 198.0 GPixel/s are high for its class, but Red Dead Redemption 2's open-world rendering demands significant fill rate. The measured FPS at 4K Medium (60.3) versus 4K High (51.8) indicates that the GPU's compute and memory resources are heavily taxed as settings increase. The 56 RT cores and 224 tensor cores are present, but this game's rasterization workload is the primary driver of the results. The GPU's 84th percentile ranking and average benchmark score of 42576 place it slightly below the RTX A6000 (42653) and RX 7650 GRE (42723), confirming that its performance is competitive but not top-tier.

The VRAM capacity of 12 GB is adequate for the measured settings, as no data suggests memory overflow. However, the bandwidth is the more critical factor — at 4K Ultra, the 39.9 FPS result indicates that the memory system cannot supply data fast enough to keep the GPU's 7168 shaders fully occupied. The GPU's TDP of 220 W and 1x 16-pin power connector are standard for this class, and the suggested PSU of 550 W is reasonable. The dual-slot design and 267 mm length make it compatible with most cases, but the performance ceiling in this game is clearly defined by the GPU's memory bandwidth rather than its compute capability.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers a wide performance envelope. Low settings produce 169.5 FPS, Medium 128.8 FPS, High 106.3 FPS, and Ultra 78.6 FPS. The progression shows a 40.7 FPS drop from Low to Medium, a 22.5 FPS drop from Medium to High, and a 27.7 FPS drop from High to Ultra. The 1080p results are all above 60 FPS, making this resolution ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors, with Low settings even exceeding 144 Hz.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates are lower but still robust. Low settings hit 126.8 FPS, Medium 93.3 FPS, High 81.6 FPS, and Ultra 54.9 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 33.5 FPS, while the gap between High and Ultra is 26.7 FPS. All settings except Ultra remain above 60 FPS, indicating that 1440p is a viable resolution for this combo with most presets.

At 3840x2160, the performance drops significantly. Low settings achieve 84.8 FPS, Medium 60.3 FPS, High 51.8 FPS, and Ultra 39.9 FPS. The transition from Low to Medium costs 24.5 FPS, Medium to High costs 8.5 FPS, and High to Ultra costs 11.9 FPS. Only Low and Medium settings stay at or above 60 FPS, making 4K a challenging resolution for this GPU. The data shows that users targeting 4K should stick to Medium or Low settings for a smooth experience, while those with 1440p monitors can afford High settings without sacrificing frame rate.