Red Dead Redemption 2

FAQ

Q: What is the measured performance of the Intel Core i7-14700F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 in Red Dead Redemption 2?

A: The combo achieves its highest average of 114.6 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings, while the most demanding configuration—3840x2160 with Ultra settings—drops to 23.9 FPS. The full matrix spans 12 measured rows across three resolutions and four preset levels.

Q: How does the RTX 5060 compare to its closest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 5060’s average benchmark score of 30109 is essentially tied with the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT (deltaPct 0%), sits 0.2% behind the AMD Radeon RX 570, and leads the NVIDIA Tesla M60 and RTX 5070 Mobile by 0.5% and 0.6%, respectively. This near-parity in raw compute suggests the GPU is a mid-pack performer relative to its peers.

Q: What is the CPU’s standing among all tested processors?

A: The Core i7-14700F ranks in the 94th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 54097. It trails the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X by 0.6% and the Ryzen 9 9900X3D by 1.1%, while outperforming the Intel Xeon Phi 7290 by 1.2% and the AMD EPYC 7313P by 1.7%.

Q: How does the combo rank specifically within Red Dead Redemption 2?

A: Among 1687 tested combinations, this pairing ranks 850th, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database for this game. The rank reflects the measured FPS data, which shows playable but not exceptional performance at higher resolutions and settings.

Q: What are the key memory specifications for the GPU and CPU?

A: The RTX 5060 features 8 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 128-bit bus with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth and a 1750 MHz memory clock (28 Gbps effective). The Core i7-14700F supports dual-channel DDR4 and DDR5 memory, with 33 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB of L2 cache per core.

Q: What is the launch MSRP for each component?

A: The Core i7-14700F had a launch MSRP of $359, while the RTX 5060 had a launch MSRP of $299 USD. The data shows no further pricing information beyond these one-time statements.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060’s role in Red Dead Redemption 2 is defined by its 8 GB GDDR7 memory capacity and a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s, which becomes a critical constraint as resolution climbs. At 1920x1080, the GPU delivers 114.6 FPS on Low settings, but this drops to 75.2 FPS on High—a 34% reduction that points to the GPU’s compute limits rather than memory pressure. The 128-bit bus width is narrow for modern titles, and the data suggests that at 3840x2160, the 8 GB frame buffer is likely saturated, as evidenced by the steep fall from 56.6 FPS on Low to 34.2 FPS on High.

The GPU’s clock behavior—base 2280 MHz and boost 2497 MHz—provides a moderate headroom, but the real bottleneck appears in the measured frame rates. At 2560x1440, the RTX 5060 manages 89.8 FPS on Low, which is respectable, but High settings drop it to 52.8 FPS. This pattern implies that the GPU’s 3,840 shading units and 48 ROPs are sufficient for lower presets, yet the transition to High and Ultra reveals a significant performance penalty that cannot be offset by the 19.18 TFLOPS of FP32 throughput.

Synthetic benchmarks reinforce this view. The RTX 5060’s PassMark G3D score of 20891 places it in the 73rd percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rivals—the RX 7700 XT at 0% delta and RX 570 at -0.2%—have similar average scores. This indicates that within its class, the RTX 5060 is a balanced but not standout performer. In Red Dead Redemption 2, the GPU’s role is pivotal at lower resolutions, but at 4K, the 8 GB memory and 128-bit interface become the limiting factor, producing frame rates that fall below the 30 FPS threshold at Ultra (23.9 FPS).

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700F brings 20 cores and 28 threads to the pairing, with a base clock of 2.10 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. This is a high-core-count processor that ranks in the 94th percentile of all CPUs, and its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 35443 indicates substantial parallel throughput. However, in Red Dead Redemption 2, the CPU’s influence appears secondary to the GPU, as evidenced by the FPS scaling across resolutions.

At 1920x1080, where the GPU is less stressed, the CPU’s single-thread performance (Geekbench single-core score of 2711) helps maintain 114.6 FPS on Low settings. But when resolution increases to 3840x2160, the FPS drops across all presets—from 56.6 on Low to 23.9 on Ultra—despite the CPU’s capabilities remaining constant. This suggests the game is primarily GPU-bound at higher resolutions, with the CPU’s 33 MB of L3 cache and 28 threads providing sufficient headroom for the game’s AI and physics workloads.

The CPU’s nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks are close in average score: the Ryzen 9 9900X trails by 0.6%, and the Xeon Phi 7290 leads by 1.2%. This tight grouping implies that the i7-14700F is not a performance outlier in either direction. In the measured FPS data, the CPU’s role is to avoid becoming a bottleneck—and it succeeds, as the frame rate drops from 1080p to 4K are consistent with GPU limitations rather than CPU stalls. The 65 W TDP and dual-channel memory support further suggest a balanced platform, but the data does not show any CPU-specific frame rate ceilings.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal experience depends on the target resolution. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset delivers 88.9 FPS, which is a strong balance between visual quality and smoothness, while High drops to 75.2 FPS—still playable but with diminishing returns. For competitive or high-refresh-rate play, Low at 114.6 FPS is the best choice, but it sacrifices visual fidelity.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset offers 64.3 FPS, which is the sweet spot for this resolution, as High falls to 52.8 FPS and Low jumps to 89.8 FPS. The data indicates that Medium provides a playable frame rate with moderate detail, whereas Ultra at 37.8 FPS may be too inconsistent for most users. At 3840x2160, the situation is more constrained: Low achieves 56.6 FPS, but Medium drops to 46.1 FPS, and High falls to 34.2 FPS. For 4K, Low or Medium are the only viable options, as Ultra at 23.9 FPS is below playable thresholds.

The best overall experience per the measured data is 2560x1440 with Medium settings, yielding 64.3 FPS—a balance that avoids the CPU/GPU strain of 4K while maintaining higher fidelity than 1080p. For users prioritizing frame rate over visuals, 1920x1080 on Low at 114.6 FPS is the performance leader. The data suggests avoiding Ultra at any resolution above 1080p, as the frame rate penalty (e.g., 50.6 FPS at 1080p Ultra) does not justify the visual uplift.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i7-14700F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 combination ranks 850th out of 1687 tested combos in Red Dead Redemption 2, placing it in the 50th percentile of the database. This middling rank is surprising given the CPU’s 94th percentile standing and the GPU’s 73rd percentile, suggesting that the pairing underperforms in this specific title relative to other components.

The rank reflects the measured FPS data: at 1080p, the combo achieves 114.6 FPS on Low, which is competitive, but at 4K Ultra it drops to 23.9 FPS, dragging the overall standing down. The GPU’s nearest rivals—the RX 7700 XT and RX 570—have nearly identical synthetic scores, yet the RTX 5060’s actual game performance in Red Dead Redemption 2 may be influenced by driver optimizations or the 8 GB memory limit. The CPU’s rivals, such as the Ryzen 9 9900X, are within 1.1% in synthetic benchmarks, indicating that the CPU is not the differentiator.

This rank of 850 out of 1687 suggests that while the components are individually capable, their combination in this game does not yield top-tier results. The data implies that the GPU is the limiting factor at higher settings, and the rank would likely improve with lower resolutions or reduced presets, where the combo’s strengths are more apparent.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers 12 configurations, providing a clear picture of performance scaling. At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are: Low 114.6 FPS, Medium 88.9 FPS, High 75.2 FPS, and Ultra 50.6 FPS. This shows a 56% drop from Low to Ultra, indicating that the GPU struggles with the highest preset even at entry-level resolution.

At 2560x1440, the values are: Low 89.8 FPS, Medium 64.3 FPS, High 52.8 FPS, and Ultra 37.8 FPS. The transition from 1080p to 1440p reduces frame rates by approximately 22-27% across presets, which is consistent with the increased pixel count. The Ultra preset at 37.8 FPS is notably below the 60 FPS target, making it less desirable.

At 3840x2160, the results are: Low 56.6 FPS, Medium 46.1 FPS, High 34.2 FPS, and Ultra 23.9 FPS. This resolution shows the most dramatic falloff, with Ultra dropping below 24 FPS. The data reveals that the combo can handle 4K only at Low settings, and even then, the 56.6 FPS average is marginal for smooth gameplay. Across all resolutions, the Medium preset provides the most consistent frame rates relative to visual quality, while Ultra is consistently the worst performer.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 is steep and consistent across all settings, revealing the limiting component. At Low settings, the frame rate falls from 114.6 FPS at 1080p to 89.8 FPS at 1440p (a 22% reduction) and then to 56.6 FPS at 4K (a 51% reduction from 1080p). This scaling pattern indicates that the GPU is the primary bottleneck, as the CPU’s performance remains constant while the pixel workload increases fourfold.

At High settings, the drop is even more pronounced: 75.2 FPS at 1080p, 52.8 FPS at 1440p (a 30% reduction), and 34.2 FPS at 4K (a 55% reduction from 1080p). The Ultra preset shows the worst scaling, falling from 50.6 FPS at 1080p to 23.9 FPS at 4K—a 53% reduction. These numbers suggest that the RTX 5060’s 8 GB memory and 128-bit bus are overwhelmed at higher resolutions, particularly when texture quality increases with the Ultra preset.

The data implies that the limiting component is the GPU, not the CPU. The Core i7-14700F has ample headroom, as evidenced by the consistent frame rate drops that correlate with resolution rather than CPU-intensive tasks. At 1080p, the combo achieves 114.6 FPS on Low, which is close to the GPU’s peak, but the CPU’s 5.40 GHz boost clock and 20 cores are not the constraining factor. The resolution scaling shows that users seeking higher frame rates at 4K would need a more powerful GPU, as the current pairing falls below 60 FPS at all 4K presets except Low.