Red Dead Redemption 2

# Red Dead Redemption 2: Intel Core i7-14700KF + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070

This combo ranks 791st out of 3,714 tested combinations in Red Dead Redemption 2, placing it in the top 21% of all configurations. The pairing of Intel's 20-core Raptor Lake refresh processor with NVIDIA's Blackwell 2.0 architecture GPU produces a balanced system, though the data reveals specific bottlenecks depending on resolution and settings. The measured frame rates span from 36 FPS at 4K Ultra to 162 FPS at 1080p Low, indicating strong headroom for competitive play at lower resolutions while 4K Ultra remains demanding.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 791 out of 3,714 tested combinations places it firmly in the upper quintile of all systems tested for Red Dead Redemption 2. This is a strong showing for a pairing where the CPU holds the 94th percentile against all processors, while the GPU sits at the 82nd percentile against all graphics cards. The CPU's average benchmark score of 70,163 is marginally ahead of the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F (69,996, +0.2%) and the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (69,875, +0.4%), while trailing the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K (70,879, -1%). The GPU's average score of 40,377 is nearly identical to the AMD Radeon Pro 580 (40,318, +0.1%) and the AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100 (40,063, +0.8%), with the NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile (39,568, +2%) close behind.

The rank suggests that Red Dead Redemption 2's engine responds well to both high core counts and modern GPU features. The i7-14700KF's 20 cores and 28 threads provide substantial multi-threaded capability, which the game's open-world simulation can utilize. The RTX 5070's 6,144 shading units and 48 RT cores deliver the raw rasterization throughput needed for the game's detailed environments. However, the 4K Ultra result of 36 FPS indicates that even this hardware is challenged by the game's maximum settings at the highest resolution, pulling the overall rank down from what the 1080p results might suggest.

GPU Role

The RTX 5070 brings 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus, yielding 672.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The memory clock runs at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective), with a base clock of 2325 MHz and boost clock of 2512 MHz. This memory configuration is sufficient for Red Dead Redemption 2's textures at 1440p and below, but at 4K with Ultra settings, the game demands more than the available VRAM in some scenes, contributing to the 36 FPS average.

The GPU's compute capabilities include 30.87 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and a pixel rate of 201.0 GPixel/s. The texture rate of 482.3 GTexel/s allows for detailed terrain and character rendering. In practical terms, the GPU is the dominant factor at 4K: the gap between Low (80 FPS) and Ultra (36 FPS) at 3840x2160 is 44 FPS, a 55% drop that reflects the GPU's workload scaling with settings. The GPU's 82nd percentile ranking versus all GPUs and its near-parity with the AMD Radeon Pro 580 (within 0.1%) place it as a capable mid-to-high-range part, though not a flagship.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS progression across resolutions reveals a classic GPU-bound pattern at higher settings. At High settings, the average FPS moves from 101 at 1080p, to 75 at 1440p, to 50 at 4K — a 50.5% reduction from 1080p to 4K. At Low settings, the drop is from 162 at 1080p to 121 at 1440p to 80 at 4K, a 50.6% reduction. This consistency suggests that the GPU is the limiting factor regardless of settings, as the CPU has sufficient headroom even at 1080p Low.

At Ultra settings, the scaling is more severe: 73 FPS at 1080p, 54 FPS at 1440p, and 36 FPS at 4K, representing a 50.7% drop from 1080p to 4K. The Medium preset shows the same pattern: 121 FPS at 1080p, 90 at 1440p, and 60 at 4K. The uniform ~50% reduction across all settings indicates that resolution scaling in Red Dead Redemption 2 is almost perfectly tied to pixel count, with no unexpected CPU bottlenecks emerging at lower resolutions. The CPU's 20 cores and 5.60 GHz boost clock are clearly sufficient to feed the GPU even at 1080p Low where the frame rate reaches 162 FPS.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Red Dead Redemption 2?

A: Based on the measured data, 2560x1440 at High settings provides 75 FPS average, which balances visual fidelity with smooth gameplay. At 1920x1080, High settings yield 101 FPS, while 4K High drops to 50 FPS, making 1440p the sweet spot for quality and performance.

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

A: The i7-14700KF's average benchmark score of 70,163 is 0.2% higher than the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F (69,996) and 0.4% higher than the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (69,875). It trails the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K (70,879) by 1%. The CPU holds the 94th percentile against all processors.

Q: Is the RTX 5070's 12 GB VRAM sufficient for this game?

A: The data shows playable performance at 1440p and below across all settings. At 4K, the GPU achieves 60 FPS at Medium and 50 FPS at High, but drops to 36 FPS at Ultra, suggesting VRAM or bandwidth limitations at the highest settings.

Q: What settings should be avoided at 4K?

A: The Ultra preset at 3840x2160 produces an average of 36 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. Medium at 4K achieves 60 FPS with a minimum of 51 FPS, making it the highest playable preset at that resolution.

Q: How does the GPU rank against other graphics cards?

A: The RTX 5070 holds the 82nd percentile against all GPUs. Its average benchmark score of 40,377 is 0.1% above the AMD Radeon Pro 580 (40,318) and 0.8% above the AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100 (40,063), while being 1.2% below the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 (40,870).

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU at any resolution?

A: The consistent ~50% FPS reduction from 1080p to 4K across all settings indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 162 FPS, and the CPU's 20 cores and 5.60 GHz boost clock provide ample headroom, so no CPU bottleneck is evident in the measured data.

Settings Recommendations

For 1920x1080, the Medium preset delivers 121 FPS average with a minimum of 103 FPS, which is ideal for high-refresh-rate displays. The High preset at 101 FPS is also viable, while Ultra drops to 73 FPS. For competitive play, Low at 162 FPS maximizes frame rate, but the visual trade-off is significant.

At 2560x1440, High settings provide 75 FPS, which is the best balance of image quality and smoothness. Medium achieves 90 FPS with a minimum of 77 FPS, while Ultra drops to 54 FPS. Low reaches 121 FPS, but the reduced detail is noticeable on larger monitors.

For 3840x2160, Medium is the recommended preset, yielding 60 FPS average with a minimum of 51 FPS. High drops to 50 FPS, and Ultra falls to 36 FPS, which is below the playable threshold for most users. Low at 80 FPS is playable but sacrifices significant visual quality. The data indicates that Medium at 4K provides the best experience for this resolution, as it maintains the 60 FPS target while preserving moderate detail levels.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700KF features 20 cores and 28 threads, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and boost clock of 5.60 GHz. The processor is built on Intel's 10 nm process with a 257 mm² die size, using the Raptor Lake-R architecture. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 33 MB of shared L3 cache. This configuration places the CPU at the 94th percentile against all processors, with an average benchmark score of 70,163.

In Red Dead Redemption 2, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and simulation data. The measured FPS data shows no evidence of CPU limitation: at 1080p Low, the combo achieves 162 FPS, and the uniform scaling across resolutions confirms the GPU is the primary constraint. The CPU's multi-threaded performance is strong, with Cinebench R23 multi-core scoring 44,167 and Geekbench multi-core at 21,462. Single-thread performance is also robust, with Cinebench R23 single-core at 6,235 and Geekbench single-core at 2,578.

The CPU's nearest rivals in the benchmark database are the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F (69,996, +0.2% delta), AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (69,875, +0.4%), and AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (69,515, +0.9%), with the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K (70,879) being 1% faster. The 125 W TDP and unlocked multiplier allow for overclocking potential, though the stock performance is already sufficient for this game based on the measured results.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers 162 FPS average, the highest measured result for this combo. Medium produces 121 FPS average with a minimum of 103 FPS and maximum of 139 FPS. High achieves 101 FPS average, and Ultra drops to 73 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra at 1080p is 89 FPS, indicating that settings have a substantial impact on performance at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, Low yields 121 FPS average, matching the 1080p Medium result. Medium provides 90 FPS average with a minimum of 77 FPS and maximum of 104 FPS. High drops to 75 FPS, and Ultra falls to 54 FPS. The reduction from 1080p to 1440p at each settings tier is consistent, ranging from 41 FPS at Low to 19 FPS at Ultra.

At 3840x2160, Low achieves 80 FPS average, Medium delivers 60 FPS with a minimum of 51 FPS and maximum of 69 FPS, High produces 50 FPS, and Ultra yields 36 FPS. The 4K results show the GPU's limits, with only Low and Medium maintaining playable frame rates above 60 FPS. The minimum FPS data is only available for Medium settings across all resolutions: 103 FPS at 1080p, 77 FPS at 1440p, and 51 FPS at 4K, indicating that Medium provides the most stable frame pacing of the tested presets.