Red Dead Redemption 2

The Intel Core i7-14700KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 delivers a performance profile in Red Dead Redemption 2 that is defined by extreme GPU headroom at lower resolutions and a steep, predictable drop as pixel count rises. At 1920x1080, the combination produces an average of 224.9 FPS on Low settings, but this falls to 100.3 FPS on Ultra, indicating that even at 1080p, the title's most demanding presets begin to tax the GPU significantly. Moving to 2560x1440, the spread narrows: Low settings yield 164.5 FPS, while Ultra drops to 73.5 FPS. At 3840x2160, the RTX 5090 becomes the clear limiting factor, with the average FPS ranging from 110.7 on Low down to 49.1 on Ultra. The data shows a consistent scaling pattern where the gap between Low and Ultra settings expands from 124.6 FPS at 1080p to 61.6 FPS at 4K, demonstrating that the GPU's raw throughput is the primary constraint at higher resolutions, while the CPU's 20 cores and 28 threads are sufficient to avoid bottlenecking even at the lowest settings.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 and then to 3840x2160 reveals a linear relationship between pixel count and frame rate, but with diminishing returns at the top end. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 224.9 at 1080p to 164.5 at 1440p, a reduction of 60.4 FPS, and then to 110.7 at 4K, a further reduction of 53.8 FPS. This pattern suggests that the RTX 5090's 32 GB of GDDR7 memory and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth are sufficient to handle the increased data throughput, but the GPU's compute units—21,760 shading units and 176 ROPs—become the bottleneck as resolution rises. For Ultra settings, the drop is more severe: from 100.3 FPS at 1080p to 73.5 FPS at 1440p (a 26.8 FPS loss) and then to 49.1 FPS at 4K (a 24.4 FPS loss). The percentage decline from 1080p to 4K is roughly 56% for Low settings and 51% for Ultra, indicating that the Ultra preset's additional effects (likely including higher draw distances and more complex shading) scale less efficiently with resolution. The data strongly implies that the CPU is not the limiting factor in any scenario; even at 1080p Low, where the CPU would typically be stressed, the 14700KF's boost clock of 5.60 GHz and 33 MB of shared L3 cache maintain a frame rate well above what most displays can refresh. The limiting component is unequivocally the GPU at 4K Ultra, where the 49.1 FPS average suggests that the RTX 5090's 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is fully utilized.

FAQ

Q: At which resolution and settings does this combo achieve the highest average frame rate?

A: The highest measured average is 224.9 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is more than double the frame rate seen at 4K Ultra, which averages 49.1 FPS.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1440p to 4K at High settings?

A: At 2560x1440 High, the average FPS is 105.5, while at 3840x2160 High it drops to 67.8. This represents a loss of 37.7 FPS, or approximately 36% of the 1440p performance.

Q: Is the RTX 5090 the bottleneck at 1080p?

A: No, the data suggests the GPU is not the primary constraint at 1080p. The average FPS at Low settings is 224.9, and even at Ultra it remains at 100.3, indicating that the CPU's 28 threads and high boost clock are capable of feeding the GPU adequately at this resolution.

Q: What is the difference in average FPS between Medium and High settings at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, Medium settings yield an average of 82.6 FPS, while High settings produce 67.8 FPS. The difference is 14.8 FPS, which is a smaller gap than the 33.5 FPS difference between Low and Medium at the same resolution.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations in Red Dead Redemption 2?

A: The combination ranks 5th out of 1687 tested combos, placing it in the top 0.3% of all configurations. This high ranking is consistent with the strong absolute frame rates observed across all settings.

Q: Which settings preset provides the most balanced experience at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Medium settings achieve 126.4 FPS, which is high enough for smooth gameplay on most high-refresh displays. High settings drop to 105.5 FPS, which is still playable, but Medium offers a better margin above 60 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Red Dead Redemption 2, the Intel Core i7-14700KF with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 achieves a rank of 5 out of 1687 combos. This places it in the 99.7th percentile, meaning only 4 other configurations produce higher average frame rates across the measured scenarios. The CPU's own percentile ranking is 96th among all processors, and its average benchmark score of 70,104 is nearly identical to its closest rival, the Intel Core i7-14700K, which scores 70,074 with a deltaPct of 0. The GPU, meanwhile, ranks in the 94th percentile of all graphics cards, with an average benchmark score of 84,306. The combination's top-5 ranking is notable because the RTX 5090's nearest rivals—including the RTX 5090 D with a deltaPct of 0.1 and the RTX 5050 Mobile with a deltaPct of 0.2—are extremely close in raw GPU compute, yet the 14700KF's superior single-threaded performance (a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 6,290) likely contributes to the overall ranking. The data indicates that this combo outperforms 99.7% of all tested systems, making it a top-tier choice for this title, though the specific frame rates vary significantly by resolution and preset.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance for optimal settings at each resolution, balancing visual fidelity against playability. At 1920x1080, the Low preset's 224.9 FPS is excessive for most displays, while Ultra's 100.3 FPS is already above the 60 FPS threshold. The recommended setting here is High, which delivers 136.6 FPS—a comfortable margin for 120 Hz or 144 Hz monitors while providing better visual quality than Medium's 167 FPS. At 2560x1440, the choice becomes more nuanced: Medium achieves 126.4 FPS, which is ideal for high-refresh gaming, while High drops to 105.5 FPS, still playable but with less headroom. For users with 144 Hz displays, Medium is the best choice; for those with 60 Hz displays, High offers superior visuals without sacrificing smoothness. At 3840x2160, the data shows that Ultra's 49.1 FPS falls below the 60 FPS target, making it unsuitable for most users. The recommended setting is Medium, which achieves 82.6 FPS and provides an acceptable balance for 4K gaming. High at 67.8 FPS is also viable for users willing to accept slightly lower frame rates for better fidelity, but Medium offers a more robust experience. The Low preset at 110.7 FPS is unnecessary at 4K, as the visual degradation is not compensated by the extra frames.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are 224.9 FPS on Low, 167 FPS on Medium, 136.6 FPS on High, and 100.3 FPS on Ultra. The progression from Low to Medium shows a drop of 57.9 FPS, from Medium to High a drop of 30.4 FPS, and from High to Ultra a drop of 36.3 FPS. This indicates that the Low to Medium transition is the most costly in performance, while the High to Ultra transition is less severe. At 2560x1440, the averages are 164.5 FPS on Low, 126.4 FPS on Medium, 105.5 FPS on High, and 73.5 FPS on Ultra. The deltas here are 38.1 FPS between Low and Medium, 20.9 FPS between Medium and High, and 32 FPS between High and Ultra. At 3840x2160, the averages are 110.7 FPS on Low, 82.6 FPS on Medium, 67.8 FPS on High, and 49.1 FPS on Ultra. The differences are 28.1 FPS between Low and Medium, 14.8 FPS between Medium and High, and 18.7 FPS between High and Ultra. Across all resolutions, the Low to Medium gap is the largest, suggesting that the Medium preset introduces significant graphical effects that heavily impact the RTX 5090's rendering workload. The Ultra preset at 4K is the only scenario where the average FPS drops below 50, indicating that this setting combination is beyond the GPU's comfortable operating range for this title.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700KF is a 20-core, 28-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, manufactured on Intel's 10 nm process. Its base clock of 3.40 GHz can boost up to 5.60 GHz, and it features 33 MB of shared L3 cache, with 2 MB of L2 cache per core. In Red Dead Redemption 2, the CPU's role is to feed the RTX 5090 with enough draw calls and game state updates to avoid becoming a bottleneck. The benchmark results show that the CPU is not the limiting factor at any resolution or settings level. Even at 1080p Low, where the GPU load is lightest, the average FPS of 224.9 indicates that the CPU's 28 threads are sufficient to process game logic and issue rendering commands without stalling. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44,557 and single-core score of 6,290 demonstrate its high throughput, which is critical for a game that relies on both multi-threaded scene management and single-threaded physics calculations. The CPU's nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-14700K, has a nearly identical average benchmark score (70,074 vs. 70,104), confirming that the 14700KF's performance is representative of its class. The fact that the combo ranks 5th overall suggests that the CPU's 5.60 GHz boost clock is particularly well-suited to this game's engine, which likely benefits from high single-threaded performance. The data shows that the CPU's 125 W TDP and 20 cores provide ample headroom, and the lack of any frame rate plateau at lower resolutions confirms that the GPU is the primary performance driver in this configuration.