Red Dead Redemption 2

The Intel Core i7-14700F and AMD Radeon RX 7700 combination delivers a highly variable experience in Red Dead Redemption 2, with performance swinging dramatically based on resolution and quality preset. The data shows a system that is clearly capable of high refresh rates at 1080p but struggles to maintain playable frame rates at 4K Ultra, indicating a complex balance between the CPU’s strong multi-threaded capabilities and the GPU’s mid-range positioning. This analysis examines the measured FPS across all settings to understand where the bottleneck lies and how users can optimize their experience.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a steep and consistent performance drop as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 73 FPS at 1080p to 54 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 36 FPS at 4K. This represents a 26% decrease from 1080p to 1440p and a further 33% drop from 1440p to 4K, showing that the GPU is being taxed progressively harder as pixel count rises. The scaling is not linear, suggesting that the Radeon RX 7700’s memory bandwidth and compute resources become increasingly saturated at higher resolutions.

Looking at the Low preset, the pattern is similar but with higher absolute numbers: 117 FPS at 1080p, 87 FPS at 1440p, and 57 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are 26% and 34% respectively, which is remarkably close to the High preset’s scaling. This consistency across presets indicates that the resolution scaling is primarily a GPU-bound phenomenon, with the rendering load increasing proportionally regardless of quality settings. The fact that even at Low settings the 4K frame rate is only 57 FPS suggests that the RX 7700 simply does not have enough raw throughput for smooth 4K gaming in this title.

The most telling data point comes from the Medium preset, which includes min and max FPS readings. At 1080p Medium, the average is 87 FPS with a range of 74-100 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 65 FPS with a range of 55-75 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average is 43 FPS with a range of 37-49 FPS. The variance between min and max FPS is remarkably consistent at around 12-13 FPS across all resolutions, suggesting that frame pacing issues are not exacerbated by resolution changes. This stability in variance implies that the CPU is maintaining consistent frame delivery, and the overall FPS drop is purely due to GPU rendering limits.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows 1920x1080 as the most viable resolution, with all presets exceeding 52 FPS and Low and Medium reaching 117 FPS and 87 FPS respectively. At 2560x1440, only Low and Medium presets (87 FPS and 65 FPS) remain comfortably playable, while 3840x2160 only achieves playable frame rates on Low (57 FPS).

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Intel Core i7-14700F has an average benchmark score of 53620, placing it in the 91st percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the Intel Xeon 6505P, scores 53701, which is just 0.2% higher. The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X scores 53288, putting the i7-14700F 0.6% ahead, and the AMD EPYC 7313P scores 53206, with the i7-14700F leading by 0.8%.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 117 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 52 FPS. This is a difference of 65 FPS, meaning the Ultra preset delivers only 44% of the Low preset’s frame rate. The High preset (73 FPS) and Medium preset (87 FPS) sit between these extremes, showing a clear trade-off between visual fidelity and performance.

Q: Does the GPU’s performance in synthetic benchmarks align with its in-game results?

A: The Radeon RX 7700 scores 20974 in Passmark G3D and 2865 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, placing it in the 58th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the Radeon R9 370X, scores 15862, which is 0.1% lower. However, the in-game data shows significant frame rate drops at 4K, indicating that while the GPU is competitive in synthetic tests, real-world gaming at high resolutions reveals its limitations.

Q: What is the average FPS at 1440p Medium, and what are the minimum and maximum values?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the average FPS is 65, with a minimum of 55 FPS and a maximum of 75 FPS. This 20 FPS spread between min and max is consistent with the 1080p Medium data (74-100 FPS), suggesting stable frame times. The 55 FPS minimum ensures that gameplay remains fluid even during demanding scenes.

Q: How many cores and threads does the CPU have, and what is its boost clock?

A: The Intel Core i7-14700F has 20 cores and 28 threads, with a base clock of 2.10 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. Its L3 cache is 33 MB shared, and it supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory. In Cinebench R23, it scores 35122 in multi-core and 4958 in single-core tests.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700F is a 20-core, 28-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, manufactured on Intel’s 10 nm process. Its base clock of 2.10 GHz and boost clock of 5.40 GHz provide substantial single-threaded performance, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4958 and Geekbench single-core score of 2429. These scores place the CPU in the 91st percentile of all processors, indicating strong overall capability.

In Red Dead Redemption 2, the CPU’s role appears to be primarily in maintaining consistent frame delivery rather than pushing maximum FPS. The measured FPS data shows remarkably stable minimum and maximum values across resolutions, with the Medium preset exhibiting only a 12-13 FPS variance between min and max at all resolutions. This stability suggests that the i7-14700F’s 28 threads are sufficient to feed the GPU without introducing frame pacing issues, even at 4K where the GPU is clearly the limiting factor.

The CPU’s multi-threaded performance is impressive, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 35122 and a Passmark multithread score of 41317. However, Red Dead Redemption 2 may not be able to fully utilize all 28 threads, as the game’s engine has historically been more reliant on single-thread performance. The i7-14700F’s single-core scores are strong but not exceptional, with a Passmark single-thread score of 4257 and a Geekbench single-core score of 2429. This means that in scenarios where the GPU is not fully saturated, such as at 1080p Low, the CPU’s single-thread performance may become the bottleneck.

The data supports this interpretation: at 1080p Low, the system achieves 117 FPS, which is significantly higher than at 4K Low (57 FPS). This 60 FPS difference is almost entirely attributable to the GPU’s rendering load, as the CPU is capable of delivering much higher frame rates if the GPU could keep up. The fact that the CPU’s nearest rivals (Xeon 6505P, Xeon Phi 7290, Ryzen 9 7900X, EPYC 7313P) all have similar average benchmark scores within 0.8% suggests that the i7-14700F is well-positioned in the CPU hierarchy, and its performance in this game is likely representative of its class.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the RX 7700 with the i7-14700F delivers its best performance across all presets. The Low preset averages 117 FPS, which is ideal for high refresh rate monitors. The Medium preset averages 87 FPS with a minimum of 74 FPS and a maximum of 100 FPS, providing a smooth experience with moderate visual improvements. The High preset drops to 73 FPS, which is still playable but shows a significant 14 FPS decrease from Medium. The Ultra preset falls to 52 FPS, which is at the edge of playability for many users, especially in action-heavy scenes.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates drop noticeably. The Low preset averages 87 FPS, which is still excellent for 1440p gaming. The Medium preset averages 65 FPS with a minimum of 55 FPS and a maximum of 75 FPS, providing a solid 60+ FPS experience with some headroom. The High preset drops to 54 FPS, which may feel less smooth but is still playable. The Ultra preset averages only 39 FPS, which is below the 40 FPS threshold that many consider minimum for playable frame rates.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly overwhelmed. The Low preset averages 57 FPS, which is the only 4K setting that approaches playable frame rates. The Medium preset averages 43 FPS with a minimum of 37 FPS and a maximum of 49 FPS, which is borderline for playability. The High preset drops to 36 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages only 26 FPS. These numbers indicate that 4K gaming with this combination requires significant compromises, with only the Low preset offering a somewhat acceptable experience.

The data shows a clear pattern: each preset step from Low to Ultra costs approximately 20-25% of the frame rate at any given resolution. For example, at 1080p, the progression is 117 FPS (Low) → 87 FPS (Medium) → 73 FPS (High) → 52 FPS (Ultra). This consistent scaling suggests that the GPU’s shading units, texture mapping units, and raster operations are being progressively more utilized as quality settings increase.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with a Navi 32 chip manufactured on TSMC’s 5 nm process. It features 2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 96 raster operations pipelines, along with 40 ray tracing cores. The GPU is equipped with 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 624.1 GB/s of bandwidth. Its boost clock of 2459 MHz and game clock of 2041 MHz give it a peak FP32 performance of 25.18 TFLOPS.

In terms of memory, the 16 GB VRAM capacity is generous for a mid-range GPU, and the 624.1 GB/s bandwidth is substantial. However, the measured FPS data suggests that the GPU’s compute throughput is the limiting factor at high resolutions. The 4K Ultra average of 26 FPS is particularly telling, as it indicates that the GPU cannot handle the combination of high resolution and maximum quality settings.

The GPU’s synthetic benchmark scores place it in the 58th percentile of all GPUs, with a Passmark G3D score of 20974 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2865. Its nearest rivals include the Radeon R9 370X (0.1% lower), Radeon RX 9060 (1% higher), Radeon Pro W5500 (1.1% lower), and GeForce RTX 3060 Ti (1.7% higher). These close margins indicate that the RX 7700 is positioned in a competitive mid-range segment.

The GPU’s role in Red Dead Redemption 2 is clearly dominant. The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario, where the CPU is able to feed frames faster than the GPU can render them. This is particularly evident at Low settings, where the 4K frame rate (57 FPS) is significantly lower than the 1080p frame rate (117 FPS) despite the reduced visual complexity. The GPU’s 96 ROPS and 160 TMUs are likely the bottleneck at high resolutions, as the pixel fill rate and texture filtering requirements increase quadratically with resolution.

Settings Recommendations

For users prioritizing smooth gameplay, the 1920x1080 Medium preset offers the best balance of performance and visual quality. The 87 FPS average with a 74 FPS minimum ensures that frame rates rarely drop below the 60 FPS threshold, providing a consistently fluid experience. The 74 FPS minimum is particularly reassuring, as it indicates that even in demanding scenes, the system maintains playable frame rates.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset is the recommended choice, with an average of 65 FPS and a minimum of 55 FPS. This provides a good balance between resolution and performance, with the minimum FPS staying above 50 FPS for a smooth experience. The Low preset at 87 FPS is an option for users who prioritize frame rate over visual quality, but the Medium preset’s 65 FPS is likely sufficient for most gamers.

For 4K gaming, the data suggests that only the Low preset (57 FPS) is viable for a playable experience. The Medium preset’s 43 FPS average and 37 FPS minimum may be acceptable for slower-paced games, but Red Dead Redemption 2’s action sequences could suffer at these frame rates. Users with 4K displays should consider reducing resolution to 1440p or accepting the Low preset’s visual compromises.

The High preset is not recommended at any resolution, as it offers only marginal visual improvements over Medium while costing significant frame rates. At 1080p, High delivers 73 FPS compared to Medium’s 87 FPS (a 16% decrease), and at 1440p, High drops to 54 FPS compared to Medium’s 65 FPS (a 17% decrease). The Ultra preset is only viable at 1080p (52 FPS) and should be avoided at higher resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i7-14700F and AMD Radeon RX 7700 combination ranks 1320th out of 2902 tested combos in Red Dead Redemption 2, placing it in the 45th percentile of all tested systems. This ranking reflects the system’s mid-range positioning, with the CPU being a high performer (91st percentile) but the GPU being more modest (58th percentile).

The ranking suggests that this combo is not optimized for maximum performance in this game, likely due to the GPU being the limiting factor. Systems with similar CPU performance but higher-end GPUs would likely rank significantly higher, as the i7-14700F’s strong multi-threaded performance is not fully utilized when the GPU is the bottleneck. Conversely, systems with weaker CPUs but similar GPUs might rank similarly, as the game’s performance is primarily GPU-bound.

The combination’s rank of 1320 out of 2902 indicates that it is slightly above the median of all tested systems. This is consistent with the measured FPS data, which shows playable performance at 1080p and 1440p but struggles at 4K. Users with this combination should focus on resolution and settings optimization to get the best experience, as the hardware is capable of delivering smooth gameplay at reasonable settings but cannot handle maximum quality at high resolutions.