Red Dead Redemption 2

# Red Dead Redemption 2: Intel Core i7-14700KF + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060

Red Dead Redemption 2 remains a demanding title even years after its release, and this particular pairing of Intel's Core i7-14700KF with NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 5060 produces a performance profile that is heavily dictated by resolution and settings. The measured data shows a system that can deliver smooth framerates at 1080p and 1440p with careful settings choices, but one that struggles to maintain playability at 4K Ultra. The 20-core, 28-thread processor with its 5.60 GHz boost clock is more than capable of feeding the GPU in most scenarios; instead, the 8 GB GDDR7 memory and the RTX 5060's overall throughput emerge as the limiting factors at higher resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and reveals a GPU-bound system. At High settings, the average framerate falls from 72.5 FPS at 1920x1080 to 52.2 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 20.3 FPS. Moving to 3840x2160, the average drops further to 34.4 FPS, which is less than half the 1080p figure. This scaling pattern is typical for a GPU-limited scenario; the CPU's 33 MB of shared L3 cache and high single-core performance are not the bottleneck here.

The delta between Low and Ultra settings widens dramatically as resolution increases. At 1080p, the spread between Low (117.6 FPS) and Ultra (52.6 FPS) is 65 FPS. At 1440p, that spread narrows to 48.6 FPS (86.4 vs 37.8). At 4K, the spread compresses to 30.4 FPS (55.9 vs 25.5). This compression indicates that at 4K, even lowering settings cannot fully compensate for the raw pixel throughput demands; the RTX 5060's 448.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 128-bit bus are simply overwhelmed.

Notably, the step from Medium to High at 4K costs 7.3 FPS (41.7 to 34.4), while the step from High to Ultra costs 8.9 FPS (34.4 to 25.5). This suggests that the Ultra preset introduces effects that disproportionately tax the GPU's 48 ROPs and 19.18 TFLOPS FP32 throughput. For players targeting 60 FPS, 1080p is the only resolution where even High settings come close (72.5 FPS), while 1440p requires dropping to Low (86.4 FPS) to comfortably exceed that threshold.

How This Combo Ranks

Among the 1,687 tested CPU-GPU combinations in Red Dead Redemption 2, this pairing ranks 864th. This places it almost exactly in the middle of the database, which is a surprising result given the individual components' strong benchmark scores. The CPU alone sits in the 96th percentile of all processors, while the GPU is in the 73rd percentile of all graphics cards. The middling combo rank suggests that the pairing is not well balanced for this specific game's engine demands, or that other combinations simply offer better raw framerate.

The rank of 864 out of 1,687 means roughly 823 tested combos perform better in this title. This is not a catastrophic result, but it indicates that the RTX 5060 holds the i7-14700KF back significantly. The CPU's nearest rivals — the Intel Core i7-14700K (0% delta), AMD EPYC 9115 (0.3% ahead), and AMD Ryzen 9 9950X (0.4% behind) — all show that the processor is performing exactly as expected. The issue is that the GPU's nearest rivals, including the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT (0% delta) and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Mobile (0.6% ahead), represent the class of graphics hardware this combo is effectively competing against.

The data indicates that this combo behaves like a mid-range GPU pairing, not a high-end one. In practical terms, a user with a high-refresh 1080p monitor will find this adequate, but those expecting 1440p Ultra or 4K performance will be disappointed. The rank suggests that within the benchmark database, there are many combinations delivering higher average framerates in this specific title.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with a 5 nm process from TSMC, featuring 21,900 million transistors on a 181 mm² die. Its 8 GB of GDDR7 memory operates at 28 Gbps effective across a 128-bit bus, yielding 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The card's boost clock of 2497 MHz and base clock of 2280 MHz drive 3840 shading units, 120 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. These specifications place it in a specific performance tier that the measured FPS data reflects.

The 8 GB VRAM capacity is the most critical limitation in Red Dead Redemption 2, a game known for large textures and open-world streaming. At 4K Ultra, the average framerate of 25.5 FPS indicates the GPU is not just compute-bound but likely memory-constrained. The 448.0 GB/s bandwidth is modest for 4K workloads, and the 128-bit bus further restricts memory throughput. This is evident in the scaling: from 1440p Ultra (37.8 FPS) to 4K Ultra (25.5 FPS), the 12.3 FPS drop is proportionally larger than the pixel count increase would suggest.

The GPU's 73rd percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 30,109, places it in the upper-mid range. Its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks — the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT (0% delta) and AMD Radeon RX 570 (0.2% behind) — show that it competes with cards from multiple generations and price tiers. In Red Dead Redemption 2 specifically, the GPU's 30 RT cores and 120 tensor cores provide feature support, but the measured data shows that raw rasterization performance is the deciding factor for average FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the RTX 5060 delivers playable results across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 117.6 FPS, Medium 85.1 FPS, High 72.5 FPS, and Ultra 52.6 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 32.5 FPS, while the gap between High and Ultra is 19.9 FPS. For 60 FPS gaming at 1080p, High settings are the highest quality option that consistently exceeds the threshold, while Medium offers a comfortable margin.

At 2560x1440, performance degrades predictably. Low settings yield 86.4 FPS, Medium 66.6 FPS, High 52.2 FPS, and Ultra 37.8 FPS. The Medium preset is the only one that stays above 60 FPS, with High falling 7.8 FPS short. The 1440p Ultra figure of 37.8 FPS is only 2.4 FPS higher than the 4K High result of 34.4 FPS, indicating that the Ultra preset at 1440p is nearly as demanding as High at 4K.

At 3840x2160, the results are marginal. Low settings produce 55.9 FPS, which is the only 4K preset that approaches playability. Medium drops to 41.7 FPS, High to 34.4 FPS, and Ultra to 25.5 FPS. None of these 4K figures reach the 60 FPS standard, and only Low settings come close to a 30 FPS console-like experience. The data shows that 4K is not a realistic target for this combo in Red Dead Redemption 2, regardless of settings.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Red Dead Redemption 2 at 60 FPS?

A: Yes, but only at 1080p or 1440p with specific settings. At 1080p, Medium (85.1 FPS), High (72.5 FPS), and Low (117.6 FPS) all exceed 60 FPS. At 1440p, only Low (86.4 FPS) and Medium (66.6 FPS) do. No 4K preset reaches 60 FPS.

Q: What is the best 4K setting for this system?

A: Low settings at 3840x2160 produce an average of 55.9 FPS, which is the highest 4K result. Medium (41.7 FPS), High (34.4 FPS), and Ultra (25.5 FPS) are progressively less playable.

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

A: The Intel Core i7-14700KF has an average benchmark score of 70,104, which is nearly identical to the Intel Core i7-14700K (70,074, 0% delta) and AMD EPYC 9115 (69,887, 0.3% higher). It is 0.4% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X (70,420).

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

A: The RTX 5060's average benchmark score is 30,109. The AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT (30,097) matches it exactly (0% delta), while the AMD Radeon RX 570 (30,158) is 0.2% ahead. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Mobile (29,928) is 0.6% behind.

Q: Is the 8 GB VRAM sufficient for this game?

A: The measured data suggests it is a limiting factor at high resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the average framerate of 25.5 FPS indicates the GPU is overwhelmed, and the 128-bit memory bus with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth cannot keep up with the demands of the game's assets at 3840x2160.

Q: What is the combo's overall rank in this game?

A: This CPU-GPU combination ranks 864th out of 1,687 tested combos in Red Dead Redemption 2, placing it in the middle of the database despite the CPU's 96th percentile and GPU's 73rd percentile individual scores.

Settings Recommendations

For a 1080p display, High settings (72.5 FPS) provide the best balance of visual quality and smoothness, with a 19.9 FPS margin over Ultra's 52.6 FPS. Players with a 144 Hz monitor should consider Medium (85.1 FPS) as the highest preset that keeps framerates well above 60, while Low (117.6 FPS) is the only option that approaches high-refresh territory.

For a 1440p display, Medium settings (66.6 FPS) are the recommended starting point, as they are the only preset above the 60 FPS threshold besides Low (86.4 FPS). High (52.2 FPS) is playable but requires accepting sub-60 FPS framerates. Ultra (37.8 FPS) is not recommended for any gameplay requiring responsive controls.

For a 4K display, the data strongly advises against this combo. Low settings (55.9 FPS) are the only option that approaches playability, but even that requires significant visual compromises. Medium (41.7 FPS) and High (34.4 FPS) are marginal, and Ultra (25.5 FPS) is effectively a slideshow. The benchmark results indicate that this pairing is best suited for 1080p or 1440p gaming, and users with 4K displays should consider either lowering resolution or upgrading the GPU before attempting this title at native 4K.