Red Dead Redemption 2

The benchmark data for Red Dead Redemption 2 using the Intel Core i7-14700KF with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 presents a clear picture of a system where the graphics card is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. The measured frame rates across the three resolutions and four settings presets reveal how the GPU's workload scales, offering specific insights into where the combination performs best and where its limitations become most apparent. This analysis walks through the resolution scaling, the combo's overall ranking, and the specific roles of the CPU and GPU in generating these results.

Resolution Scaling

The most direct way to understand this combo's behavior is to observe how the average FPS changes as you move from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At the Low settings preset, the system achieves an average of 98 FPS at 1080p. Moving to 2560x1440, the average drops to 73 FPS, a decrease of 25 FPS. Pushing further to 3840x2160, the average falls to 48 FPS, another 25 FPS drop from the 1440p result. This consistent, linear degradation of roughly 25 FPS per resolution step at Low settings indicates that the GPU is being tasked with a proportionally increasing number of pixels, and its performance scales almost exactly with that workload.

The pattern shifts slightly when examining the High preset. At 1080p, the average is 61 FPS. At 1440p, it drops to 46 FPS (a 15 FPS decrease), and at 4K, it falls to 30 FPS (a 16 FPS decrease from 1440p). While the absolute drop is smaller than at Low settings, the percentage change is significant. The jump from 1080p to 1440p represents a roughly 24.6% reduction in frame rate, and the jump from 1440p to 4K represents a roughly 34.8% reduction. This steeper percentage decline at higher resolutions suggests that the rendering complexity of the High preset, combined with the pixel count, is saturating the GPU's capabilities more aggressively.

The Medium preset provides the most granular data, as it is the only preset with recorded minimum and maximum FPS values. The average FPS goes from 73 at 1080p to 55 at 1440p, and then to 36 at 4K. The minimum FPS values follow a similar trend: 62 at 1080p, 46 at 1440p, and 31 at 4K. The gap between the minimum and average FPS narrows as resolution increases (11 FPS at 1080p, 9 FPS at 1440p, and 5 FPS at 4K), which indicates that the frame times are becoming more consistent as the GPU becomes the limiting factor, reducing the variability that might come from CPU-side frame pacing issues.

The Ultra preset yields the lowest performance, with averages of 44 FPS at 1080p, 33 FPS at 1440p, and 22 FPS at 4K. The scaling here is nearly linear, with a 11 FPS drop from 1080p to 1440p and another 11 FPS drop from 1440p to 4K. This linearity at the highest settings strongly suggests that the RTX 5050 is fully saturated at all three resolutions under Ultra, and its raw compute and memory bandwidth are the sole determinants of the frame rate. Overall, the data shows that the RTX 5050 is the limiting component across all settings, but the CPU's influence is most apparent at 1080p with lower settings, where the frame rates are high enough to potentially expose any CPU-side limitations.

How This Combo Ranks

In the grand scheme of tested hardware combinations for Red Dead Redemption 2, this specific pairing of the Core i7-14700KF and the RTX 5050 holds a rank of 1760 out of 2902 tested combos. This places the system in the lower half of all configurations, which is a direct reflection of the GPU's performance tier. While the CPU is a high-end part, the graphics card's capabilities anchor the overall gaming experience to a mid-range level.

The percentile data for the individual components corroborates this. The Intel Core i7-14700KF is in the 94th percentile when compared to all CPUs, indicating it is a top-tier processor. In contrast, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 sits in the 66th percentile against all GPUs, which is a solidly mid-range position. The substantial gap between the CPU's high percentile and the GPU's mid-range percentile is the definitive reason for the combo's overall rank. The system is essentially a high-performance CPU paired with a mid-range GPU, and in a graphically demanding title like Red Dead Redemption 2, the GPU's performance ceiling is what matters most for the final frame rate.

The nearest rival comparisons for the CPU show that the i7-14700KF is closely matched with several other high-end processors. It is 0.2% faster than the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F, 0.4% faster than the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX, and 0.9% faster than the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X, while being 1% slower than the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K. These tiny margins confirm that the CPU is not a differentiating factor in this combo's performance; any of these near-identical processors would likely produce the same results. The GPU's nearest rivals also show a tight cluster, with the RTX 5050 being 0.6% slower than the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL, 1% slower than the AMD Radeon HD 8970M, and 1.6% faster than the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT. This places the RTX 5050 in a specific performance bracket, and the measured FPS data in this game will be representative of that bracket.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture and features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 320.0 GB/s. This memory configuration is a critical factor in the game's performance at higher resolutions, as the texture and geometry data for a game like Red Dead Redemption 2 can quickly fill an 8 GB frame buffer. The data suggests that this is happening, as the performance drop from 1440p to 4K is substantial across all settings, indicating that the GPU is not only struggling with compute but also potentially with memory capacity and bandwidth.

The GPU's clock speeds are listed as a base of 2317 MHz and a boost of 2572 MHz. These clocks, along with its 2560 shading units and 32 ROPs, contribute to its raw compute power, which is rated at 13.17 TFLOPS for FP32 operations. The pixel rate is 82.30 GPixel/s, and the texture rate is 205.8 GTexel/s. These specifications are the theoretical limits of the card, and the measured FPS data shows how they translate into real-world performance. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 benchmark score of 2502 and the Passmark G3D score of 17326 provide a synthetic baseline that aligns with the in-game results, confirming that the card's performance in this title is consistent with its overall capabilities.

The RTX 5050's nearest GPU rivals are a mixed group of older and mobile parts, including the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL and the AMD Radeon HD 8970M. This is a strong indicator that its real-world performance is similar to those parts, despite being a much newer architecture. The fact that it is only 1.6% faster than the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT, a card from a previous generation, highlights that its performance class is firmly in the mid-range segment. For Red Dead Redemption 2, this means the GPU will handle 1080p and 1440p gaming at medium-to-high settings, but it will not have the headroom for 4K gaming at high frame rates.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Red Dead Redemption 2 with this combo?

A: The data suggests 1920x1080 is the most viable resolution. At 1080p, the system achieves a playable average of 61 FPS on High settings and 73 FPS on Medium settings. At 2560x1440, the average FPS on High drops to 46, which is less ideal for smooth gameplay.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in this title?

A: The benchmark results indicate that 3840x2160 is not a practical target. The highest average FPS at 4K is 48 on Low settings. On the more realistic Medium preset, the average is only 36 FPS, and on Ultra, it falls to 22 FPS, which is below the threshold for a smooth experience.

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

A: The Intel Core i7-14700KF is marginally faster than several competitors. It is 0.2% faster than the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F, 0.4% faster than the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX, and 0.9% faster than the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X. It is 1% slower than the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K.

Q: What is the performance difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 1080p?

A: The difference is substantial. The system achieves an average of 98 FPS on Low settings, which drops to 44 FPS on Ultra settings. This represents a 54 FPS difference, showing a significant performance cost for the highest visual fidelity.

Q: Is the GPU or CPU the main bottleneck in this game?

A: Based on the data, the GPU is the clear limiting factor. The CPU ranks in the 94th percentile, while the GPU is in the 66th percentile. The significant frame rate drops as resolution increases further confirm that the graphics card is saturated and determines the final performance.

Q: What is the average FPS on Medium settings at 1440p?

A: The average FPS on Medium settings at 2560x1440 is 55. The recorded minimum FPS for this configuration is 46, and the maximum is 63, indicating some frame time variability but a generally stable experience.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table details the exact measured average FPS values for each resolution and settings preset combination. The data is sourced directly from the benchmark results.

• 1920x1080 (1080p):
• Low: 98 FPS average
• Medium: 73 FPS average (min 62, max 84)
• High: 61 FPS average
• Ultra: 44 FPS average

• 2560x1440 (1440p):
• Low: 73 FPS average
• Medium: 55 FPS average (min 46, max 63)
• High: 46 FPS average
• Ultra: 33 FPS average

• 3840x2160 (4K):
• Low: 48 FPS average
• Medium: 36 FPS average (min 31, max 41)
• High: 30 FPS average
• Ultra: 22 FPS average

The data reveals a clear performance hierarchy. The highest frame rate recorded is 98 FPS at 1080p Low, while the lowest is 22 FPS at 4K Ultra. The Medium preset is the only one with complete min/max data across all resolutions, providing insight into frame pacing. At 1080p, the spread between min and max is 22 FPS, which narrows to 17 FPS at 1440p, and further to 10 FPS at 4K. This tightening of the frame rate range at higher resolutions is another indicator that the GPU is becoming the sole performance limiter, as the CPU has less influence over the final output.

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. It features 33 MB of shared L3 cache and supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores exceptionally well, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44167 and a single-core score of 6235. Its multi-threaded performance is further evidenced by a Passmark multithread score of 52425 and a Geekbench multi-core score of 21462.

Despite this immense processing power, the CPU's role in this game's benchmark results is primarily to feed the GPU and avoid becoming a bottleneck. The data shows that at 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves 98 FPS, a frame rate high enough where a weaker CPU might struggle. The i7-14700KF easily handles this workload. However, the performance scaling from 1080p to 4K is entirely dictated by the GPU. The CPU's 94th percentile ranking and its close rivalry with other top-tier chips, such as being only 0.2% faster than the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F, suggest that swapping it for any similar high-end processor would yield nearly identical frame rates. The CPU is a high-performance part that will not limit this GPU in this game at any resolution.

The CPU's specifications, such as the 20 cores and 28 threads, are more than sufficient for modern games, but Red Dead Redemption 2 does not appear to be heavily multi-threaded based on this data. The fact that the frame rate drops consistently with resolution increases indicates that the game's performance is scaling with GPU load, not CPU load. The CPU has enough headroom to handle any physics, AI, or draw call responsibilities without affecting the overall frame rate.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings preset depends on the user's target resolution and preference for frame rate versus visual quality.

For 1920x1080, the High preset is the best balance, delivering an average of 61 FPS. This provides a smooth and visually detailed experience. The Medium preset offers a higher average of 73 FPS, which is beneficial for players who prioritize frame rate, but the High preset's visual improvements justify the 12 FPS reduction for most users. The Ultra preset is not recommended, as the 44 FPS average is below the ideal smoothness threshold for a fast-paced action-adventure game.

For 2560x1440, the Medium preset is the recommended choice, as it delivers an average of 55 FPS. This is a playable frame rate that balances visual fidelity with performance. The High preset at 46 FPS is on the edge of playability and might be acceptable for those who prefer higher detail, but it is riskier. The Low preset at 73 FPS is smooth but sacrifices too much visual quality for the increased resolution.

For 3840x2160, the data suggests that this resolution is not suitable for this combo. Even the Low preset only manages an average of 48 FPS, and the Medium preset drops to 36 FPS. These frame rates are too low for a consistently smooth experience. The recommendation is to avoid 4K and use 1440p with Medium settings instead, which will provide a far better experience. Overall, the system is best suited for 1080p High or 1440p Medium, where it can deliver a good balance of performance and visual quality in Red Dead Redemption 2.