Red Dead Redemption 2

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

The measured frame rates for this combination of Intel Core i7-13700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 in Red Dead Redemption 2 reveal a clear and consistent pattern: performance scales almost entirely with resolution, indicating the GPU is the dominant limiting factor at every setting tier. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 121 FPS at 1920x1080 to 90 FPS at 2560x1440, then to 60 FPS at 3840x2160. That represents a 25.6% drop when moving from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 33.3% drop from 1440p to 4K. The total reduction from 1080p to 4K at High settings is 50.4%, which is a steep penalty that points squarely at the graphics card’s pixel throughput limits.

At Low settings, the resolution scaling is even more pronounced in absolute terms. The average FPS at 1920x1080 is 194, dropping to 145 at 2560x1440, and then to 96 at 3840x2160. The percentage drops are 25.3% from 1080p to 1440p and 33.8% from 1440p to 4K, nearly identical to the High setting pattern. This consistency across settings is the key diagnostic: if the CPU were the bottleneck, lowering graphical settings would produce disproportionately larger gains at lower resolutions, where the CPU has to feed more frames. Instead, the data shows that reducing settings from High to Low at 1080p yields a 60.3% improvement (from 121 to 194 FPS), while the same settings change at 4K yields a 60.0% improvement (from 60 to 96 FPS). The near-identical relative gains at both resolutions mean the render load is scaling smoothly with settings, and the CPU is never the primary constraint.

The Medium and Ultra settings round out the picture. At Medium, the average FPS is 145 at 1080p, 108 at 1440p, and 72 at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 4K is 50.3%, again matching the High and Low patterns. At Ultra, the averages are 87 at 1080p, 65 at 1440p, and 43 at 4K, with a 50.6% reduction from 1080p to 4K. The fact that every setting tier shows roughly a 50% loss from 1080p to 4K is a textbook signature of a GPU-bound scenario. A CPU-limited system would show much smaller drops at higher resolutions because the CPU workload per frame stays relatively constant while the GPU takes longer per frame; here, the consistent halving of frame rates as pixel count quadruples confirms the RTX 4080’s rendering pipeline is the limiting component.

It is also worth noting the minimum and maximum frame rates recorded at Medium settings. At 4K Medium, the range is 61 to 82 FPS around the 72 average; at 1440p Medium, the range is 92 to 125 around the 108 average; and at 1080p Medium, the range is 123 to 167 around the 145 average. The spread between min and max is roughly 15-24% of the average at each resolution, which suggests frame time consistency is reasonably stable, but the absolute values scale down proportionally with resolution. This further reinforces that the GPU’s fill rate and memory bandwidth are the binding constraints, not the CPU’s ability to issue draw calls or maintain thread scheduling.

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

The Intel Core i7-13700K is a 16-core, 24-thread processor based on Raptor Lake architecture, built on Intel’s 10 nm process. Its base clock is 3.40 GHz with a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, and it carries 30 MB of shared L3 cache alongside 2 MB of L2 cache per core. For a game like Red Dead Redemption 2, which is known for its open-world simulation and AI routines, the CPU’s single-thread performance and multi-thread capacity both matter, but the measured FPS data indicates that even at 1080p Low — the most CPU-stressing scenario in this dataset — the processor is not the bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 194 FPS average, which is far beyond what most displays can show, and the fact that raising settings to High at the same resolution only drops the average to 121 FPS shows the GPU is still absorbing the extra load.

The CPU’s benchmark scores put its capabilities in context. In Cinebench R23, it scores 30745 multi-core and 2116 single-core. Its Geekbench scores are 19429 multi-core and 2529 single-core. The 3DMark tests show a scaling curve from 1136 single-thread to 12412 max-threads, with 10717 on the 16-thread test. These numbers indicate a processor that can handle heavy multi-threaded workloads, but Red Dead Redemption 2’s frame rates do not appear to be constrained by thread count — the consistent 50% FPS drop from 1080p to 4K across all settings would not occur if the CPU were struggling to feed the GPU. The CPU’s percentile ranking of 89 against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 46881, places it in the upper tier, but its nearest rivals — the AMD Ryzen 9 5900 (46971, -0.2% delta), AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 375 (47022, -0.3% delta), AMD Ryzen 9 7845HX (46654, +0.5% delta), and Intel Xeon w3-2535 (46653, +0.5% delta) — are all within a fraction of a percent. This means the i7-13700K is effectively at parity with those CPUs in general compute, and none of them would change the GPU-bound outcome in this game.

The boost clock of 5.40 GHz is relevant for the game’s single-threaded rendering commands and physics calculations, but the evidence from the FPS data is that the RTX 4080 saturates before the CPU’s limits are reached. At 1080p Low, the 194 FPS average is close to what one might expect from a top-tier GPU with a capable CPU, and the lack of min FPS data for most settings means we cannot directly assess frame pacing, but the available Medium settings min/max values (e.g., 123-167 at 1080p) show no signs of stuttering that would indicate CPU thread starvation. The CPU’s 16 cores and 24 threads are more than sufficient for this title, and the data supports the conclusion that this processor is not the limiting component in any of the measured configurations.

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

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture using TSMC’s 5 nm process, with a die size of 379 mm² and 45,900 million transistors. Its base clock is 2205 MHz with a boost clock of 2505 MHz, and it features 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 716.8 GB/s of bandwidth. For Red Dead Redemption 2, which can be demanding on memory capacity at high resolutions and texture settings, the 16 GB VRAM is a meaningful asset, and the measured FPS data shows the GPU’s capabilities are the primary determinant of performance. The GPU’s average benchmark score is 54247, with a percentile ranking of 86 against all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER (54209, +0.1% delta), AMD Radeon Pro W5700X (54828, -1.1% delta), AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (55698, -2.6% delta), and AMD Radeon 8060S (55757, -2.7% delta). Notably, the RTX 4080 is essentially tied with the RTX 4080 SUPER in aggregate benchmarks, which is consistent with the idea that this GPU is a high-end part whose performance headroom is being fully exercised by this game’s settings.

The GPU’s boost clock of 2505 MHz and its 9728 shading units, 304 TMUs, and 112 ROPs determine its raw fill rate, and the measured FPS numbers reflect that. At Ultra settings, the game is pushing the GPU hard: 87 FPS at 1080p, 65 FPS at 1440p, and 43 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result of 43 FPS is below the 60 FPS target that many gamers consider the baseline for smooth play, and this indicates that the RTX 4080, despite its high compute throughput (48.74 TFLOPS FP32), cannot maintain high refresh rates at maximum settings in this title at 4K. The drop from Ultra to High at 4K (from 43 to 60 FPS) is a 39.5% improvement, which shows how sensitive the game is to the specific graphics settings — likely those that affect shadow quality, draw distance, and post-processing effects that stress the GPU’s shading units and memory subsystem.

The memory bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s is a critical factor at higher resolutions, and the data supports this. At 4K, the average FPS across settings ranges from 43 at Ultra to 96 at Low, which is a 123% spread. At 1080p, the spread from 87 at Ultra to 194 at Low is also 123%. The proportional consistency across resolutions indicates that the GPU’s memory bandwidth is not being disproportionately taxed at 4K relative to 1080p; rather, the shading workload scales linearly with resolution, and the GPU simply runs out of pixel processing capacity. The 16 GB VRAM is sufficient for the game’s highest settings at 4K, as there are no signs of texture thrashing or stuttering in the measured min FPS values at Medium settings (61 FPS minimum at 4K), which would be apparent if memory capacity were exceeded.

FAQ

Q: Is the Intel Core i7-13700K a bottleneck for the RTX 4080 in Red Dead Redemption 2?

A: No. The measured FPS data shows consistent 50% drops from 1080p to 4K across all settings (e.g., from 121 to 60 FPS at High), which is the signature of a GPU-bound scenario. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the FPS drop would be much smaller at higher resolutions.

Q: What is the best resolution to play this game with this combo?

A: At 2560x1440 High, the system averages 90 FPS, which is smooth. At 3840x2160 High, the average is 60 FPS, which is playable but at the edge. At 3840x2160 Ultra, the average drops to 43 FPS, which may be too low for fast-paced action.

Q: How much performance is gained by lowering settings from Ultra to Low?

A: At 1920x1080, the average FPS goes from 87 at Ultra to 194 at Low, a 123% improvement. At 3840x2160, the average goes from 43 at Ultra to 96 at Low, also a 123% improvement. The gains are consistent across resolutions.

Q: Does the RTX 4080’s 16 GB VRAM cause any issues at 4K?

A: No. The measured minimum FPS at 4K Medium is 61 FPS, with a max of 82 FPS around the 72 average. There are no signs of stuttering or frame drops that would indicate VRAM capacity is exceeded at any settings level.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested combinations?

A: This combo ranks 260 out of 3714 tested combinations in Red Dead Redemption 2, placing it in the top 7% of all tested systems.

Q: Is the CPU’s 16-core/24-thread configuration useful for this game?

A: The CPU’s multi-threaded performance (Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 30745) is strong, but the game’s frame rates are limited by the GPU. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 194 FPS, indicating the CPU can feed the GPU adequately without becoming a bottleneck.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of Intel Core i7-13700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 achieves a rank of 260 out of 3714 tested combos in Red Dead Redemption 2. This places it in the top 7.0% of all tested systems, which is a strong result but not the absolute top tier. The ranking reflects the GPU-bound nature of the game: the RTX 4080’s performance (average benchmark score 54247, 86th percentile) is the primary driver, while the i7-13700K (average benchmark score 46881, 89th percentile) provides ample support without being a limiting factor. The fact that the combo ranks 260 out of 3714 means there are 259 other systems that achieve higher average FPS in this game, likely featuring GPUs with higher compute throughput or more favorable settings configurations.

Given that the RTX 4080’s nearest rival in benchmark scores is the RTX 4080 SUPER with a delta of only +0.1%, the ranking difference between these two GPUs would be minimal, and the CPU choice would not meaningfully change the outcome since the game is GPU-bound. The data shows that the combo’s ranking is more dependent on the GPU tier than the CPU, as evidenced by the consistent FPS scaling patterns across all settings and resolutions. For a user looking at this ranking, the takeaway is that this system delivers high frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, and playable frame rates at 4K with adjusted settings, but it does not top the charts due to the inherent limits of the RTX 4080 in this specific title’s most demanding configurations.

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

The following are the exact measured average FPS values for this combo across all tested configurations:

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: 194 FPS average
• Medium: 145 FPS average (minimum 123, maximum 167)
• High: 121 FPS average
• Ultra: 87 FPS average

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: 145 FPS average
• Medium: 108 FPS average (minimum 92, maximum 125)
• High: 90 FPS average
• Ultra: 65 FPS average

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: 96 FPS average
• Medium: 72 FPS average (minimum 61, maximum 82)
• High: 60 FPS average
• Ultra: 43 FPS average

The data reveals several key relationships. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 107 FPS (from 194 to 87), which is a 123% improvement from Ultra to Low. At 1440p, the same settings range yields a difference of 80 FPS (from 145 to 65), also a 123% improvement. At 4K, the range is 53 FPS (from 96 to 43), again a 123% improvement. This consistency confirms that the game’s settings scaling is uniform across resolutions, and the GPU’s relative performance at each setting is unaffected by resolution.

Looking at resolution scaling for each setting: Low goes from 194 to 145 to 96 FPS across 1080p, 1440p, and 4K; Medium goes from 145 to 108 to 72; High goes from 121 to 90 to 60; and Ultra goes from 87 to 65 to 43. The percentage of FPS retained from 1080p to 4K is 49.5% for Low, 49.7% for Medium, 49.6% for High, and 49.4% for Ultra. These near-identical retention rates (all around 50%) are the strongest evidence that the RTX 4080 is the sole limiting factor — the GPU’s rendering workload scales linearly with pixel count, and the CPU’s contribution is constant regardless of resolution. The min and max FPS values at Medium settings show a consistent pattern as well: at 1080p, the range is 123-167 (spread of 44 FPS); at 1440p, it is 92-125 (spread of 33 FPS); and at 4K, it is 61-82 (spread of 21 FPS). The shrinking absolute spread at higher resolutions is expected because the average FPS is lower, and the relative spread (as a percentage of average) remains stable at roughly 30%, indicating no additional stuttering or frame time spikes introduced by higher resolution rendering.