Red Dead Redemption 2

Resolution Scaling

Red Dead Redemption 2 presents a steep performance cliff for this particular pairing of the Intel Core i7-14700K with the Intel Arc B370. The measured data shows a clear and consistent pattern: as resolution increases, the frame rate collapses, indicating that the graphics solution is the primary bottleneck across all tested settings. The drop from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 is dramatic and non-linear, underscoring how quickly the rendering load outpaces what the iGPU can deliver.

At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo manages an average of 47 FPS. Stepping up to Medium drops that to 35 FPS, while High yields 29 FPS, and Ultra plunges to 21 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra at this resolution represents a reduction of more than half the frame rate, which is a typical response to increased pixel shading and texture work, but the absolute numbers remain low for a title of this graphical scope. Moving to 2560x1440, the same settings ladder shows 35 FPS at Low, 26 FPS at Medium, 22 FPS at High, and 16 FPS at Ultra. The resolution jump from 1080p to 1440p costs roughly 25-30% of the frame rate at every settings tier, which is a substantial hit.

The situation becomes critical at 3840x2160. Here, Low settings produce only 23 FPS, Medium drops to 17 FPS, High manages 14 FPS, and Ultra falls to a single-digit 10 FPS. The scaling from 1080p Low to 4K Low shows a 51% reduction in frame rate, while the 4K Ultra figure is less than half of the 1080p Ultra result. This pattern suggests that the Arc B370, with its system-shared memory and 25 W TDP, is simply overwhelmed by the pixel throughput required at 4K. The data indicates that the limiting component is unequivocally the GPU; the CPU's role becomes negligible at higher resolutions because the render pipeline is starved long before the processor can flex its capabilities.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the benchmark database, this specific combination of the Core i7-14700K and the Arc B370 ranks at 2670 out of 2902 tested combos for Red Dead Redemption 2. That places it in the bottom 8% of all configurations, which is a harsh verdict for a system built around a high-end 20-core processor. The ranking reflects the severe mismatch between the CPU's potential and the GPU's actual delivery in this game.

The combo's position is driven almost entirely by the graphics component. The Arc B370 sits at the 5th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 1184 in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test. Its nearest rivals in that synthetic benchmark are the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570, the ATI Radeon HD 5770, and the AMD Radeon HD 7650M, all of which are within a fraction of a percent of its score. The deltaPct values are tight: the Arc B370 trails the HD 5570 by 0.2%, the HD 5770 by 0.5%, and the HD 7650M by 0.7%, while it leads the AMD FirePro M2000 by 1.4%. This places the GPU in a performance tier that is fundamentally unsuited to a demanding open-world title like Red Dead Redemption 2.

The CPU, by contrast, is a top-tier part. The Core i7-14700K sits at the 94th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 69355. Its nearest rivals in synthetic CPU tests include the AMD EPYC 9115, the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X, the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX, and the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F, with deltaPct values ranging from +0.1% to -0.9%. This means the processor is essentially on par with the fastest consumer and workstation chips available. Yet in this game, the combo ranking of 2670 out of 2902 is a direct consequence of the GPU bottleneck, not a reflection of CPU weakness. The data shows that pairing a 94th-percentile CPU with a 5th-percentile GPU yields a result that is far closer to the GPU's tier than the CPU's.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is an integrated graphics solution based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, fabricated on a 3 nm process. Its specifications reveal why it struggles so profoundly in Red Dead Redemption 2. The GPU operates with system-shared memory, meaning there is no dedicated VRAM pool; instead, it borrows from the main system memory, which is "System Dependent" in terms of bandwidth. This is a critical limitation for a game that is known for large textures and heavy memory traffic. The memory bus width is also system-shared, which further constrains the data throughput available to the render pipeline.

Clock speeds for the Arc B370 are listed as a base of 300 MHz and a boost of 2400 MHz. The boost clock is reasonably high for an iGPU, but the execution resources are minimal: 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 20 raster output units. The pixel rate is 48.00 GPixel/s, and the texture rate is 96.00 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance of 6.144 TFLOPS. These figures are indicative of a low-power part, with a TDP of just 25 W and a slot width of "IGP," meaning it is built into the processor package rather than a discrete card. The GPU supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, so API compatibility is not the issue; raw throughput is.

The measured FPS data aligns with these specifications. At 1080p Low, the 47 FPS average is achievable because the render load is modest, but even then, the minimum frame rate in the Medium preset is 30 FPS, indicating that the GPU is already near its limit. At 4K Ultra, the 10 FPS average is a clear sign that the renderer is choking on the pixel count and the associated shader work. The GPU's 5th-percentile ranking and its proximity to decade-old discrete parts like the ATI Radeon HD 5770 in synthetic tests reinforce the conclusion that this is not a gaming-oriented part, and Red Dead Redemption 2 exposes that limitation mercilessly.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates for this combo are sparse on minimum and maximum values, but the averages tell a stark story. At 1920x1080, the lowest tested resolution, the results are as follows: Low settings average 47 FPS, Medium averages 35 FPS with a minimum of 30 FPS and a maximum of 40 FPS, High averages 29 FPS, and Ultra averages 21 FPS. The Medium preset is the only one with full min/max data, showing a tight 10 FPS range, which suggests that the GPU is consistently busy without major spikes or drops, but the overall level is low.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages decline across the board: Low yields 35 FPS, Medium averages 26 FPS with a minimum of 22 FPS and a maximum of 30 FPS, High drops to 22 FPS, and Ultra falls to 16 FPS. The Medium preset's range here is 8 FPS, again indicating steady but constrained performance. At 3840x2160, the numbers become marginal for playability: Low averages 23 FPS, Medium averages 17 FPS with a minimum of 15 FPS and a maximum of 20 FPS, High averages 14 FPS, and Ultra averages 10 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K has a 5 FPS range, which is tight, but the average is below what most users would consider acceptable for a smooth experience.

Across all resolutions, the settings scaling is consistent: Low to Medium costs roughly 25-30% of the frame rate, Medium to High costs another 20-25%, and High to Ultra costs another 25-30%. This is a predictable pattern, but the starting point is so low that even the best-case scenario of 1080p Low at 47 FPS is not sufficient for a high-refresh-rate display. The data shows that no combination of settings and resolution in this test set breaks the 60 FPS barrier, and only the 1080p Low preset comes close to 50 FPS.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700K is a 20-core, 28-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. It has a 33 MB shared L3 cache, 2 MB per-core L2 cache, and 80 KB per-core L1 cache. The CPU supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration, and it includes UHD Graphics 770 as integrated graphics, though the system uses the Arc B370 for rendering. The processor has a 125 W TDP, a 94th-percentile ranking, and an average benchmark score of 69355, with strong Cinebench results including a multicore score of 33440.5 in R23 and a single-core score of 2160.

In Red Dead Redemption 2, the CPU's role is largely moot because the GPU is the limiting factor at every resolution and settings tier. The measured data shows that even at 1080p Low, where the CPU would have the most opportunity to influence frame rates, the 47 FPS average is far below what the i7-14700K is capable of pushing in a CPU-bound scenario. The processor's nearest rivals in synthetic tests — the AMD EPYC 9115, Ryzen 9 7950X, Ryzen 9 7940HX, and Ryzen 7 9700F — all have comparable or slightly higher average scores, with deltaPct values within 1% of the i7-14700K. This means the CPU is not holding back the system in any meaningful way; it is the GPU that fails to convert the CPU's compute headroom into frames.

The CPU's high core count and boost clock are irrelevant when the render pipeline is starved. At 4K Ultra, the 10 FPS average is a GPU-bound result, and even a faster CPU would not improve it because the Arc B370 is already at its maximum output. Conversely, at 1080p Low, the 47 FPS average is still GPU-bound, as the i7-14700K's single-core performance, evidenced by its 2160 score in Cinebench R23 single-core, is more than sufficient to handle the game's game logic and draw calls. The data suggests that for this game, the CPU is a bystander, and the combo's poor ranking is entirely attributable to the GPU.

FAQ

Q: What is the best frame rate this combo can achieve in Red Dead Redemption 2?

A: The highest measured average frame rate is 47 FPS, which occurs at 1920x1080 with Low settings. No tested configuration reaches 60 FPS.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B370 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: In the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, the Arc B370 scores 1184. It trails the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 by 0.2%, the ATI Radeon HD 5770 by 0.5%, and the AMD Radeon HD 7650M by 0.7%, while leading the AMD FirePro M2000 by 1.4%.

Q: Is the Intel Core i7-14700K the bottleneck in this system?

A: No. The CPU ranks at the 94th percentile of all CPUs and has an average benchmark score of 69355, with nearest rivals like the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X within 0.2%. The GPU is the limiting component, as evidenced by the steep frame rate drops at higher resolutions.

Q: What is the difference in frame rate between 1080p and 4K at High settings?

A: At 1920x1080 High, the average is 29 FPS. At 3840x2160 High, the average drops to 14 FPS, a reduction of 15 FPS or roughly 52%.

Q: Does the Arc B370 have dedicated video memory?

A: No. The GPU uses system-shared memory, with a memory type, bus width, and bandwidth all listed as "System Shared" or "System Dependent." This contributes to its poor performance in this game.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested systems for this game?

A: It ranks 2670 out of 2902 tested combos, placing it in the bottom 8% of configurations for Red Dead Redemption 2.