Red Dead Redemption 2

The Intel Core i7-14700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 ranks 72nd out of 1,687 tested combinations in Red Dead Redemption 2, placing it in the top 4.3% of all configurations. This is a formidable pairing for Rockstar’s 2018 open-world title, and the measured frame rates confirm that the combo delivers a high-refresh-rate experience at 1080p and 1440p while remaining comfortably playable at 4K. The following analysis breaks down how this hardware duo behaves across resolutions and settings, what the CPU contributes, and how the numbers stack up.

How This Combo Ranks

Out of 1,687 tested combos, this specific configuration sits at rank 72. That places it well ahead of the median system, and the data shows that the i7-14700K is a strong partner for the RTX 5080 in this title. The CPU itself holds the 96th percentile among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 70,074. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-14700KF, scores 70,104, a delta of 0%, meaning the performance difference between the K and KF variants is effectively negligible. The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X posts a score of 70,420, which is 0.5% higher, while the AMD EPYC 9115 trails by 0.3% at 69,887. The Intel Xeon Platinum 8270 leads the group slightly at 71,056, 1.4% ahead, but that is a server-class chip.

For the GPU, the RTX 5080 sits in the 89th percentile among all graphics cards, with an average benchmark score of 59,188. Its nearest rival, the Intel Arc A570M, scores 58,239, which is 1.6% lower, while the Intel Arc Pro A60 is 1.9% ahead at 60,326. The Intel Arc A580 and AMD Radeon Pro W5500X trail by 2.5% and 2.6%, respectively. The ranking data indicates that this CPU-GPU combination is well balanced for Red Dead Redemption 2, with neither component bottlenecking the other to a severe degree at typical gaming resolutions.

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset for 4K gaming with this combo?

A: At 3840x2160, the High preset delivers 61.4 FPS on average, which is just above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The Medium preset drops to 78.4 FPS, while Ultra falls to 43.6 FPS, which is below the ideal playable range. Low yields 102.6 FPS.

Q: How does the i7-14700K compare to its closest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The i7-14700K scores 70,074 on average, while the i7-14700KF scores 70,104, a delta of 0%. The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X is 0.5% faster at 70,420, and the AMD EPYC 9115 is 0.3% slower at 69,887.

Q: Does the RTX 5080 outperform its nearest GPU rival significantly?

A: The RTX 5080 scores 59,188, which is 1.6% higher than the Intel Arc A570M at 58,239. However, the Intel Arc Pro A60 is 1.9% faster at 60,326, so the gap is narrow in synthetic testing.

Q: Can this combo hit 144 FPS at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440 with Low settings, the average FPS is 154.5. With Medium settings, it drops to 115 FPS, and High yields 97 FPS. Ultra falls to 67.9 FPS. So 144 FPS is only achievable on the lowest preset.

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

A: At 1920x1080 High, the average is 127.8 FPS. At 3840x2160 High, it drops to 61.4 FPS, a reduction of 66.4 FPS, or roughly 52% lower performance.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more likely to limit performance at 1080p?

A: The data shows a large jump from 4K to 1080p at Low settings: 102.6 FPS at 4K versus 209.1 FPS at 1080p. This scaling suggests the GPU is still the primary limiter at 1080p, as the CPU has 20 cores and 28 threads with a 5.60 GHz boost clock, which is substantial for this title.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows how the workload shifts as resolution increases. Starting at 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo averages 209.1 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 Low drops that to 154.5 FPS, a 26% reduction. At 3840x2160 Low, the average falls to 102.6 FPS, which is a 51% drop from 1080p. This pattern indicates that even at the lowest settings, the RTX 5080 is increasingly stressed as pixel count grows, while the i7-14700K has ample headroom.

At High settings, the scaling is steeper. The 1080p High average is 127.8 FPS, 1440p High is 97 FPS, and 4K High is 61.4 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 24%, and from 1440p to 4K is 37%. At Ultra settings, the numbers are 94.2 FPS at 1080p, 67.9 FPS at 1440p, and 43.6 FPS at 4K. The consistent decline across all settings suggests that the GPU is the dominant limiting factor at higher resolutions, which is expected given the RTX 5080’s 16 GB of GDDR7 memory and 256-bit bus.

The data also reveals that the gap between Low and Ultra widens with resolution. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 114.9 FPS (209.1 versus 94.2). At 4K, that gap shrinks to 59 FPS (102.6 versus 43.6). This compression indicates that at 4K, the GPU’s raw throughput becomes the bottleneck, and settings tweaks yield smaller absolute gains. For this combo, 1440p appears to be the sweet spot for balancing visual fidelity and frame rate, with High settings delivering 97 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo shows strong performance across all presets. Low settings produce an average of 209.1 FPS, which is exceptionally high. Medium settings drop to 154.3 FPS, High settings yield 127.8 FPS, and Ultra settings bring the average down to 94.2 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 114.9 FPS, showing that the RTX 5080 has enough headroom at 1080p to handle even the heaviest preset comfortably.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages are 154.5 FPS at Low, 115 FPS at Medium, 97 FPS at High, and 67.9 FPS at Ultra. The transition from 1080p to 1440p costs between 26.4% (Low) and 27.9% (Ultra) of performance. At 1440p Ultra, the combo still clears 60 FPS, which is notable for a game as demanding as Red Dead Redemption 2. High settings at 1440p offer a good balance, with 97 FPS allowing for smooth gameplay on high-refresh-rate monitors.

At 3840x2160, the numbers become more constrained. Low settings average 102.6 FPS, Medium drops to 78.4 FPS, High yields 61.4 FPS, and Ultra falls to 43.6 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is below the 60 FPS threshold, indicating that users targeting 4K will need to use High or Medium settings for a consistently smooth experience. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 59 FPS, which is smaller than at lower resolutions, reinforcing that the GPU is the limiting factor. The data shows no min or max FPS values, so the analysis relies on averages, but the trend is clear: this combo is capable of 4K gaming, but not at maximum settings.

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 33 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB of L2 cache per core, with 80 KB of L1 cache per core. This is a high-end desktop chip with a 125 W TDP, and it supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration. The CPU’s benchmark scores are strong: it achieves 44,534 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 6,287 in single-core, with a Geekbench multi-core score of 18,896.

In Red Dead Redemption 2, the CPU’s role is to feed the GPU with enough data to maintain high frame rates. The measured FPS scaling suggests that the i7-14700K is not a bottleneck at any resolution. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 209.1 FPS, which is a demanding scenario for the CPU, yet the frame rate remains high. The 28 threads and 5.60 GHz boost clock provide ample single-thread performance, which is critical for this game’s engine. The PassMark single-thread score of 4,472 supports this, as does the Cinebench R20 single-core score of 2,640.

Compared to its nearest rivals, the i7-14700K is essentially tied with the i7-14700KF (0% delta), and it trails the Ryzen 9 9950X by only 0.5%. This means that in CPU-bound scenarios, the i7-14700K will perform nearly identically to its direct sibling and within a rounding error of AMD’s flagship. The Xeon Platinum 8270 is 1.4% ahead in synthetic benchmarks, but that chip is not designed for gaming. For this title, the CPU’s 20 cores are more than sufficient, and the data indicates that the RTX 5080 is the performance ceiling. The combination of high boost clocks and a large L3 cache ensures that the CPU keeps up with the GPU’s output, even at 1080p where frame rates exceed 200 FPS.