Red Dead Redemption 2

# Red Dead Redemption 2 — Intel Core i7-14700F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070

Red Dead Redemption 2, the 2018 Action Adventure title, remains a demanding showcase for hardware, and this pairing of Intel's Core i7-14700F with NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 4070 produces a fascinating dataset that reveals how the game's engine scales across resolutions and settings. The measured frame rates tell a story of a system that is capable, but one where the relationship between CPU and GPU shifts dramatically as pixel count rises.

Resolution Scaling

The most striking observation from the measured data is how drastically average FPS drops when moving from 1440p to 4K. At 1080p High settings, the combo delivers 95 FPS, while at 1440p High it falls to 71 FPS — a 25% reduction. The jump to 4K High is more punishing, dropping to 47 FPS, which represents a 34% loss from 1440p and a 50% loss from 1080p. This pattern strongly suggests that at 4K, the GPU becomes the dominant limiting factor, as the pixel count overwhelms the RTX 4070's 12 GB frame buffer and 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth.

The scaling pattern across resolutions is consistent regardless of settings preset. Low settings show 152 FPS at 1080p, 113 FPS at 1440p (a 26% drop), and 75 FPS at 4K (a 34% drop from 1440p). Medium settings follow the same trajectory: 114 FPS at 1080p, 85 FPS at 1440p, and 56 FPS at 4K. Ultra settings produce 68 FPS at 1080p, 51 FPS at 1440p, and just 34 FPS at 4K. The consistency of these percentage drops across presets indicates that resolution scaling is predictable in this game, with 4K consistently costing roughly one-third of the frame rate compared to 1440p.

What is curious is that the gap between 1080p and 1440p is nearly as large as the gap between 1440p and 4K in relative terms for Low and Medium settings. For High settings, the 1080p-to-1440p drop is 25%, while 1440p-to-4K is 34%, suggesting that the game's higher-quality textures and effects at High preset exacerbate the GPU load at 4K more than at lower presets. This implies that players targeting 4K will need to make significant compromises in settings, as even Medium preset yields only 56 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold many consider playable.

GPU Role

The RTX 4070's specifications reveal why it behaves as it does in this title. With 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, the card delivers 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth, which is substantial but not unlimited for a game as texture-heavy as Red Dead Redemption 2. The GPU's boost clock of 2475 MHz and 5888 shading units provide the raw compute, yet the 4K Ultra result of 34 FPS indicates that the card is being pushed to its absolute limit at that resolution and preset combination.

The GPU's benchmark scores place it in the 81st percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 37648. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA Tesla P4, scores 37628 (a 0.1% difference), while the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 is 0.4% behind at 37507. The RTX 4080 Mobile sits 1.3% ahead at 38135, and the AMD Radeon PRO W6400 trails by 1.3% at 37157. These tight margins suggest that the RTX 4070 is positioned in a competitive mid-to-high tier, but the 4K Ultra performance in this game reveals its limitations.

What is notable is the VRAM situation. At 4K with Ultra settings, the game demands more than the GPU can efficiently deliver, and the 34 FPS result reflects not just compute limits but likely memory pressure as well. The 12 GB capacity is adequate for 1440p gaming, where the card excels, but the data shows a clear ceiling at 4K. The fact that 4K Low produces 75 FPS — more than double the Ultra result — suggests that texture quality and memory usage are the primary bottlenecks at 4K, rather than raw shading power.

How This Combo Ranks

In the grand scheme of tested hardware combinations, this pairing ranks 889th out of 3714 combos for Red Dead Redemption 2. That places it in the top 24% of all tested configurations, which is respectable but not elite. The percentile ranking for the CPU is 91st, meaning it outperforms 91% of all CPUs in general benchmarks, while the GPU sits at the 81st percentile. This disparity hints that the CPU has more headroom than the GPU in this specific game.

The combo's rank of 889 out of 3714 suggests that there are many configurations that achieve higher frame rates in this title, likely those with more powerful GPUs. However, the data indicates that this pairing is well-balanced for 1440p gaming, where it delivers playable frame rates across all settings. The fact that it ranks in the top quarter of all combos, despite the GPU being at the 81st percentile, suggests that the CPU's strong performance helps boost the overall experience in CPU-bound scenarios.

At 1080p, the CPU's influence becomes more apparent. The jump from 95 FPS at High to 152 FPS at Low — a 60% increase — indicates that at lower resolutions, the game can be heavily CPU-limited. The i7-14700F's 20 cores and 28 threads, with a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, provide ample processing power, but Red Dead Redemption 2's engine may not fully utilize all cores, making single-thread performance critical.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The full dataset of measured frame rates reveals a consistent hierarchy across all resolutions. At 1080p, the results range from 152 FPS at Low to 68 FPS at Ultra, with Medium at 114 FPS and High at 95 FPS. The Medium preset provides the only measured minimum and maximum values at this resolution: 97 FPS minimum and 131 FPS maximum, indicating good frame pacing.

At 1440p, the range narrows to 113 FPS at Low and 51 FPS at Ultra, with Medium at 85 FPS (min 72, max 97) and High at 71 FPS. The Medium preset's variance of 25 FPS between minimum and maximum is consistent with the 34 FPS variance seen at 1080p Medium, suggesting that the game's frame time consistency is maintained across resolutions.

The 4K results show the most dramatic spread: 75 FPS at Low, 56 FPS at Medium (min 48, max 64), 47 FPS at High, and 34 FPS at Ultra. The Medium preset at 4K has a 16 FPS variance, which is tighter than at lower resolutions, possibly because the GPU is more consistently saturated. However, the 34 FPS at Ultra is clearly below playable thresholds for most users, making that preset impractical at 4K.

What the data does not show is the performance at 1080p Ultra with minimum and maximum values, nor does it provide those details for 1440p High or 4K High. This omission leaves some questions about frame pacing at those settings, but the average FPS figures provide a clear picture of overall performance.

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 give it substantial single-thread performance, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4958 and Geekbench single-core score of 2429. The CPU's 33 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache provide ample bandwidth for game data.

In general benchmarks, the i7-14700F achieves an average score of 53620, placing it in the 91st percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Xeon 6505P at 53701 (0.2% ahead), the Intel Xeon Phi 7290 at 53469 (0.3% behind), the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X at 53288 (0.6% behind), and the AMD EPYC 7313P at 53206 (0.8% behind). These close margins indicate that the i7-14700F is competitively positioned among high-end desktop and server processors.

For Red Dead Redemption 2, the CPU's role is most evident at 1080p Low settings, where the system achieves 152 FPS. This high frame rate suggests that the CPU can feed the GPU efficiently even at low resolutions, but the game's engine may not scale perfectly with the CPU's 20 cores. The 65 W TDP and dual-channel DDR4/DDR5 memory support provide a solid foundation, but the game's age (2018 release) means it may not fully leverage modern multi-core architectures.

The CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 35122 and Passmark multithread score of 41317 indicate strong parallel performance, yet the game's frame rates at 1080p do not show the same scaling. This suggests that Red Dead Redemption 2 is more dependent on single-thread performance and GPU capabilities than on raw core counts. The 5.40 GHz boost clock is likely the more critical factor for maintaining high frame rates in this title.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest playable frame rate achievable at 1080p with this combo?

A: The maximum measured average FPS at 1080p is 152 FPS on Low settings. On Medium settings, the average is 114 FPS with a minimum of 97 FPS, while High produces 95 FPS and Ultra drops to 68 FPS.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Red Dead Redemption 2?

A: Yes, but with limitations. At 4K Low settings, the combo achieves 75 FPS, and Medium produces 56 FPS (min 48, max 64). High drops to 47 FPS, and Ultra is only 34 FPS, which is below typical playability thresholds.

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

A: The i7-14700F has an average benchmark score of 53620, which is 0.2% behind the Intel Xeon 6505P (53701), 0.3% ahead of the Intel Xeon Phi 7290 (53469), 0.6% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X (53288), and 0.8% ahead of the AMD EPYC 7313P (53206).

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in this game?

A: The data suggests 1440p is the sweet spot, with High settings producing 71 FPS and Medium producing 85 FPS (min 72, max 97). Ultra at 1440p still yields 51 FPS, making it playable, whereas 4K Ultra at 34 FPS is not.

Q: Does this combo rank high among all tested configurations?

A: It ranks 889th out of 3714 tested combos for Red Dead Redemption 2, placing it in the top 24% of all configurations. The CPU ranks in the 91st percentile overall, while the GPU ranks in the 81st percentile.

Q: What are the minimum and maximum FPS at Medium settings across resolutions?

A: At 1080p Medium, the minimum is 97 FPS and maximum is 131 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the range is 72 to 97 FPS. At 4K Medium, the range narrows to 48 to 64 FPS.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance for optimizing the experience with this hardware. At 1080p, Medium settings offer the best balance of performance and visual quality, with an average of 114 FPS and a minimum of 97 FPS that ensures smooth gameplay. High settings at 95 FPS are also viable, but the 19 FPS difference between Medium and High may not justify the visual gains for competitive play. Ultra at 68 FPS is playable but sacrifices the headroom needed for demanding scenes.

At 1440p, Medium settings are the optimal choice, delivering 85 FPS with a 72 FPS minimum. High settings at 71 FPS are acceptable, but the 14 FPS penalty compared to Medium may cause occasional stutter in dense areas. Ultra at 51 FPS is borderline, and players seeking consistent performance should avoid it. Low settings at 113 FPS are only recommended for players prioritizing maximum frame rates over visual fidelity.

At 4K, the recommendations become more constrained. Medium settings at 56 FPS (min 48) are the highest preset that approaches playability, but the 48 FPS minimum may result in noticeable dips. Low settings at 75 FPS provide a much safer experience, making them the recommended choice for 4K gaming. High and Ultra presets at 47 FPS and 34 FPS, respectively, are not recommended due to inconsistent frame pacing and the risk of falling below 30 FPS in demanding scenes.

For the best overall experience, the data indicates that 1440p Medium is the sweet spot for this combo, offering high frame rates, good visual quality, and consistent minimum FPS. Players with 1080p monitors can comfortably use High settings, while 4K users should stick to Low or Medium with the understanding that frame rates will fluctuate. The RTX 4070's 12 GB VRAM is sufficient for this game at 1440p, but 4K Ultra exceeds its comfortable range, as evidenced by the 34 FPS result.