Red Dead Redemption 2

The Intel Core i7-14700F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER produces a playable but constrained experience in Red Dead Redemption 2. The data shows a system where the graphics card is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, while the processor provides ample headroom at lower settings. This combination ranks 1204th out of 1687 tested combos, placing it in the lower half of the database but with clear paths to acceptable performance through settings adjustments.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and reveals the RTX 2060 SUPER as the limiting component. At 1080p Low settings, the combo delivers 93.4 FPS, but at 4K Low it falls to 47.2 FPS—a reduction of roughly half. This scaling pattern is typical of a GPU-bound scenario, where the 8 GB frame buffer and 448.0 GB/s memory bandwidth struggle to feed the pixel count at higher resolutions.

Moving from 1440p to 4K shows the steepest degradation. At 1440p Medium, the system produces 52.5 FPS, but at 4K Medium it drops to 35.3 FPS. The Ultra preset tells an even harsher story: 29.1 FPS at 1440p versus 21.9 FPS at 4K. These numbers indicate that the RTX 2060 SUPER, with its 2176 shading units and 64 ROPs, simply cannot sustain high-quality rendering at 4K without falling below the 30 FPS threshold.

The scaling between 1080p and 1440p is more moderate. At High settings, the drop is from 57.1 FPS to 43.0 FPS, a 25% reduction. This suggests that at 1080p, the CPU begins to play a more significant role, as the frame rates approach the 60 FPS target where the i7-14700F's 20 cores and 28 threads can keep feeding the GPU. At 4K, the CPU is largely idle waiting on the GPU, which explains why the 1080p-to-4K gap is so pronounced.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700F is a 20-core, 28-thread processor with a base clock of 2.10 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 35443 and single-core score of 5003 place it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs. In this game, the CPU's role is to maintain a stable frame delivery pipeline, particularly at lower resolutions where the GPU can render frames quickly.

Benchmark results indicate that the CPU is not the bottleneck in most scenarios. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 93.4 FPS, which is well within the capability of this processor. The PassMark multi-thread score of 41765 and single-thread score of 4261 confirm strong per-core performance, which matters for Red Dead Redemption 2's engine that relies on a few heavily loaded threads.

The nearest rival data puts this CPU in context. The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X scores 54450 average, just 0.6% higher than the i7-14700F's 54097 average benchmark score. The Intel Xeon Phi 7290 is actually 1.2% lower, while the AMD EPYC 7313P trails by 1.7%. This means the i7-14700F is essentially tied with top-tier competition in synthetic benchmarks, so any frame rate differences in-game stem from the GPU, not the processor.

At 4K, the CPU's advantage becomes irrelevant. The 21.9 FPS Ultra result at 4K is purely a GPU limitation. Even at 1440p, the CPU has excess capacity, as evidenced by the 70.6 FPS Low result, which is 21% higher than the High preset's 43.0 FPS. The processor is never the constraint; the RTX 2060 SUPER's 7.181 TFLOPS FP32 performance is the ceiling.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo achieve 60 FPS at 1080p?

A: Yes, but only on Low settings, where the measured average is 93.4 FPS. Medium settings produce 68.1 FPS, which is also above 60. High settings fall short at 57.1 FPS, so a 60 FPS target requires dropping to Medium or below.

Q: Is 4K gaming viable with this setup?

A: Only with significant compromises. Low settings at 4K yield 47.2 FPS, which is playable but not smooth. Medium drops to 35.3 FPS, High to 28.8 FPS, and Ultra to 21.9 FPS. None of these meet a 60 FPS standard, and only Low stays above 30 FPS consistently.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 SUPER compare to its nearest rival, the RTX 2070?

A: The RTX 2060 SUPER averages 19774 in benchmark scores, which is 0.5% higher than the RTX 2070's 19680. The GTX TITAN is 0.3% lower at 19706, and the Quadro K5200 trails by 0.8%. This means the GPU performs essentially identically to its closest competitors.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo?

A: 1440p is the sweet spot. Low settings deliver 70.6 FPS, and Medium hits 52.5 FPS. High produces 43.0 FPS, which is still smooth enough for a single-player action adventure. 4K is only viable on Low, while 1080p leaves performance on the table.

Q: Is the i7-14700F overkill for this GPU?

A: In this game, yes. The CPU's 94th percentile ranking and 54097 average benchmark score far exceed what the RTX 2060 SUPER can utilize. At 4K, the processor is effectively idle, waiting on the GPU. The bottleneck is always the graphics card.

Q: Does the Ultra preset offer any benefit at 1440p?

A: At 29.1 FPS, Ultra at 1440p is below the 30 FPS playability threshold and shows a 45% drop from High's 43.0 FPS. The visual uplift is unlikely to justify the frame rate penalty. Medium provides a better balance at 52.5 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

This combo ranks 1204th out of 1687 tested combinations, putting it in the 71st percentile from the bottom. This is a below-average ranking, driven entirely by the GPU's age and performance tier. The RTX 2060 SUPER sits in the 63rd percentile of all GPUs, while the i7-14700F is in the 94th percentile of CPUs. The mismatch is evident.

The ranking reflects the GPU's limitations at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the combo performs respectably, with Low settings producing 93.4 FPS. But the database ranking weighs all tested scenarios, and the 4K results drag the average down. The 21.9 FPS Ultra 4K result is particularly damaging to the overall score.

In context, the GPU's nearest rivals—the GTX TITAN, RTX 2070, and Quadro K5200—all have nearly identical average scores, so this ranking is representative of the entire GPU tier. The i7-14700F is not the issue; any modern mid-range GPU would produce similar results. The combo's position is a reflection of the RTX 2060 SUPER's end-of-life status and its 8 GB memory capacity.

Settings Recommendations

For a 60 FPS target, the only viable preset is Low at 1080p, which delivers 93.4 FPS. This leaves significant headroom for higher settings or resolution. At 1440p, Low gives 70.6 FPS, which is smooth enough for most players. The data shows that Medium at 1080p (68.1 FPS) is the highest quality preset that maintains a stable 60+ FPS experience.

For a 30 FPS minimum, 1440p Medium at 52.5 FPS is the best quality-to-performance ratio. It provides a substantial visual upgrade over Low while staying well above the playability floor. High at 1440p (43.0 FPS) is also acceptable, but the 18% performance drop from Medium may not justify the visual gains.

At 4K, Low is the only reasonable choice at 47.2 FPS. Medium and High fall below 40 FPS, and Ultra is unplayable at 21.9 FPS. For a smoother 4K experience, the data suggests dropping to 1440p and using Medium or High instead. The Ultra preset is not recommended at any resolution, as it consistently delivers the lowest frame rates without a proportional visual improvement.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1080p, the full settings range is usable. Low produces 93.4 FPS, Medium 68.1 FPS, High 57.1 FPS, and Ultra 43.8 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 49.6 FPS, showing a wide performance envelope that accommodates different priorities.

At 1440p, the numbers compress. Low yields 70.6 FPS, Medium 52.5 FPS, High 43.0 FPS, and Ultra 29.1 FPS. The Low-to-Ultra span is 41.5 FPS. Notably, 1440p High matches 1080p Ultra performance (43.0 versus 43.8 FPS), indicating that resolution scaling is more impactful than preset changes at this tier.

At 4K, performance collapses. Low produces 47.2 FPS, Medium 35.3 FPS, High 28.8 FPS, and Ultra 21.9 FPS. The Ultra result is less than half of the 1080p Low figure, and even 4K Low struggles to match 1080p High (47.2 versus 57.1 FPS). The 4K Medium result of 35.3 FPS is barely above the 30 FPS threshold, making 4K gaming a compromise in every configuration.