Red Dead Redemption 2

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Red Dead Redemption 2 across three resolutions and four quality presets reveals a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling. At 1080p with High settings, the combination of the Intel Core i7-14700KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER delivers 119.2 FPS. Moving to 1440p High drops this to 92.6 FPS, a 22% reduction. At 4K High, the average falls to 57.4 FPS, which is 52% below the 1080p result. This steep decline as pixel count increases is the classic signature of a GPU-limited scenario; the RTX 4080 SUPER's rendering throughput, not the CPU's geometry or draw-call processing, is the constraining factor at higher resolutions.

The scaling behavior differs notably when settings are lowered. At Low settings, the 1080p average reaches 194.9 FPS, while 1440p Low yields 141.3 FPS and 4K Low produces 93.6 FPS. The percentage drops between resolutions are similar to High, but the absolute headroom at 1080p Low is enormous. This suggests that at Low settings and 1080p, the CPU's 20 cores and 28 threads are still able to feed the GPU adequately, as evidenced by the near-200 FPS figure. However, the fact that 4K Low still only reaches 93.6 FPS—barely above the 1440p High result of 92.6 FPS—indicates that even with reduced visual complexity, the sheer pixel fill rate demand at 4K overwhelms the GPU.

Ultra settings present the most demanding scenario. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 90.1 FPS, which drops to 63.6 FPS at 1440p and 41.3 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is the only measured configuration below 60 FPS, making it unsuitable for smooth gameplay on a 60 Hz display. The gap between Medium and Ultra at 4K is particularly instructive: Medium averages 72.9 FPS, while Ultra drops to 41.3 FPS—a 44% performance penalty for the highest preset. This indicates that Ultra settings include effects that disproportionately impact the RTX 4080 SUPER's shading and memory bandwidth resources.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700KF 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. Its cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 33 MB of shared L3. In synthetic benchmarks, this CPU achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44557 and a single-core score of 6290, placing it in the 96th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-14700K, has an average benchmark score of 70074, a deltaPct of 0 relative to this chip's 70104 average—essentially identical performance. The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X is 0.4% ahead, while the Intel Xeon Platinum 8270 trails by 1.3%.

In Red Dead Redemption 2, the CPU's role is most visible at lower resolutions where the GPU is less burdened. At 1080p Low, the 194.9 FPS result suggests the CPU can maintain high frame rates without becoming a bottleneck. However, the jump from Low to Medium at 1080p—from 194.9 to 142.0 FPS—is a 27% reduction, which is larger than the corresponding drop at 1440p (141.3 to 108.8 FPS, a 23% reduction). This non-linear scaling indicates that while the CPU is capable, the game's draw-call and physics processing at higher settings does create some contention, though not enough to cap performance below the GPU's limit. The 5.60 GHz boost clock is likely the key factor here, as Red Dead Redemption 2's single-threaded game logic benefits from high per-core frequency rather than raw core count.

The data shows that at 4K, the CPU becomes almost irrelevant. The difference between 4K Low (93.6 FPS) and 4K High (57.4 FPS) is entirely attributable to GPU work. Even at 4K Low, the RTX 4080 SUPER is the limiting component, as the CPU has ample headroom to produce more frames if the GPU could render them. This is consistent with the CPU's 96th percentile ranking—it is not a weak link in any measured configuration.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance for optimizing the experience with this hardware combination. At 1080p, all presets are playable, but the highest quality per frame rate is achieved at High settings, which delivers 119.2 FPS. Ultra at 1080p drops to 90.1 FPS—a 24% penalty over High—for visual gains that are marginal in practice. Medium at 1080p offers 142.0 FPS, but the step from Medium to High costs 19% of frame rate for a significant visual uplift, making High the sweet spot.

At 1440p, High settings produce 92.6 FPS, which is comfortably above 60 FPS and suitable for high-refresh monitors. Ultra at 1440p falls to 63.6 FPS, which is playable but leaves little headroom for dips. Medium at 1440p delivers 108.8 FPS, but the visual compromise is not worth the 17% frame rate gain over High. The recommendation for 1440p is High, as it balances the RTX 4080 SUPER's capabilities with the game's visual demands.

At 4K, the situation is more constrained. High settings average 57.4 FPS, which is just below the 60 FPS target. Medium averages 72.9 FPS, providing a smoother experience while retaining most of the game's visual fidelity. Ultra at 4K averages 41.3 FPS and should be avoided unless the user prioritizes image quality over playability. Low at 4K averages 93.6 FPS, but the visual degradation is severe. The optimal 4K preset is Medium, as it offers a 27% frame rate improvement over High while still presenting a coherent visual scene.

FAQ

Q: Is the Intel Core i7-14700KF a bottleneck for the RTX 4080 SUPER in this game?

A: No. At 1080p Low, the combination reaches 194.9 FPS, and the CPU's 96th percentile ranking and 5.60 GHz boost clock allow it to feed the GPU effectively. At 4K, the GPU is always the limiting factor, as evidenced by the 93.6 FPS at 4K Low versus 194.9 FPS at 1080p Low.

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

A: Medium settings provide the best balance, averaging 72.9 FPS at 4K. High drops to 57.4 FPS, which is below 60 FPS, while Ultra falls to 41.3 FPS. Medium offers a smooth experience without the visual penalties of Low.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 SUPER compare to its nearest rivals in raw performance?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score is 53610, placing it 0.2% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT (53489), 0.4% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M (53414), and 2.9% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti (52086). It sits in the 88th percentile of all GPUs.

Q: Does the CPU's 20-core configuration matter for this game?

A: Red Dead Redemption 2's performance scaling is more dependent on single-thread speed than core count. The CPU's 5.60 GHz boost clock and 6290 Cinebench R23 single-core score are the relevant metrics. The 28 threads provide headroom for background tasks, but the game's frame rate is not core-limited in the measured results.

Q: What frame rate can be expected at 1440p with Ultra settings?

A: The measured average is 63.6 FPS. This is playable, but it is 31% below the High preset's 92.6 FPS, indicating that Ultra at 1440p demands significant GPU resources with diminishing visual returns.

Q: Is the 16 GB of VRAM on the RTX 4080 SUPER sufficient for this game at 4K?

A: The data shows that memory capacity is not a limiting factor at any measured preset. The 4K Ultra result of 41.3 FPS is limited by GPU compute throughput, not VRAM, as the 736.3 GB/s bandwidth and 16 GB capacity are adequate for the game's requirements.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with the AD103 chip, featuring a base clock of 2295 MHz and a boost clock of 2550 MHz. Its memory subsystem includes 16 GB of GDDR6X on a 256-bit bus, providing 736.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU has 10240 shading units, 320 texture mapping units, and 112 raster output units, along with 80 ray tracing cores and 320 tensor cores. Its FP32 compute performance is 52.22 TFLOPS, with a pixel rate of 285.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 816.0 GTexel/s. In synthetic benchmarks, it achieves a Passmark G3D score of 34245 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6600, placing it in the 88th percentile of all GPUs.

In Red Dead Redemption 2, the GPU's role is dominant across all measured configurations. The 4K Ultra result of 41.3 FPS is 54% below the 1080p Ultra result of 90.1 FPS, demonstrating that the GPU's pixel fill rate and shading throughput are the primary constraints at high resolutions. The 736.3 GB/s memory bandwidth is likely a factor in the 4K results, as the game's high-resolution textures and draw distances consume significant bandwidth. The RTX 4080 SUPER's 52.22 TFLOPS FP32 performance is what enables the 93.6 FPS at 4K Low, but the Ultra preset's additional shading load—likely from volumetric lighting and shadow effects—pushes the GPU beyond its practical limits.

The GPU's closest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT, has an average score 0.2% lower, yet the measured FPS data suggests the RTX 4080 SUPER handles this game's specific workload well, as evidenced by the playable 1440p High result of 92.6 FPS. The 320-watt TDP and triple-slot cooling design indicate this is a high-power part, but the performance per frame in this title is consistent with its 88th percentile ranking. The end-of-life production status does not diminish its current capability in this benchmark, as the data shows it remains a strong performer for Red Dead Redemption 2 at up to 1440p with High settings, and at 4K with Medium settings.