Red Dead Redemption 2

# Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Red Dead Redemption 2 with the Intel Core i7-14700KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D reveals a clear pattern: resolution scaling heavily favors this combination at lower resolutions, with the GPU becoming the dominant constraint as resolution climbs. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo delivers 146 FPS average. Moving to 2560x1440 High drops that to 109 FPS, a 25% reduction, while 3840x2160 High falls to 72 FPS, which is 51% below the 1080p figure. This scaling curve indicates that the RTX 5090 D's immense compute resources are being stretched thinner at each higher resolution, but the system still maintains playable frame rates even at 4K.

The Low preset tells a similar story but with steeper absolute numbers. At 1080p Low, the system hits 234 FPS average, which drops to 175 FPS at 1440p and 115 FPS at 4K. The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K is 51%, identical to the High preset drop, suggesting that the scaling penalty is resolution-driven rather than settings-driven. However, the Medium preset shows a slightly different pattern: 175 FPS at 1080p, 131 FPS at 1440p, and 86 FPS at 4K. The 1080p-to-4K reduction here is 51% as well, reinforcing that this game's performance scaling with resolution is consistent regardless of quality tier.

Ultra settings produce the lowest frame rates across all resolutions, with 105 FPS at 1080p, 79 FPS at 1440p, and 52 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is notably the only measured configuration that dips below 60 FPS, indicating that this is the point where the RTX 5090 D's raw throughput meets its limit in this title. The 1080p-to-4K drop for Ultra is 50%, nearly identical to the other presets.

What this data suggests about the limiting component is straightforward: at 1080p, the CPU and GPU are both capable of feeding high frame rates, but the GPU is clearly the bottleneck as resolution increases. The fact that 1080p Low achieves 234 FPS while 4K Low achieves only 115 FPS — a 119 FPS gap — points to pixel throughput being the primary constraint. The i7-14700KF has sufficient headroom at lower resolutions, but the data shows that even this 20-core processor cannot maintain frame rates above 234 FPS in this game, suggesting a CPU-side ceiling around that mark.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D brings substantial hardware to this game, and the measured results reflect its capabilities. With 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus delivering 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth, the GPU has ample memory resources for Red Dead Redemption 2's large open-world textures. The 21760 shading units and 680 tensor cores provide the compute foundation for the high frame rates observed. The GPU's boost clock of 2407 MHz and base clock of 2017 MHz are the operating frequencies that drive these results, though the game's performance scaling shows that raw clock speed is less relevant than the sheer number of processing units.

In the benchmark data, the RTX 5090 D achieves an average benchmark score of 77712, placing it in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals in the database include the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT with an average score of 76904 (1.1% higher), the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT at 78940 (1.6% lower), the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB at 79396 (2.1% lower), and the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB at 79605 (2.4% lower). These deltaPct values indicate that the RTX 5090 D sits in a competitive band where small percentage differences separate it from other high-end cards, though its 92nd percentile ranking confirms it is among the top tier.

The GPU's role in Red Dead Redemption 2 becomes more pronounced at higher resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the 52 FPS average suggests the GPU is fully saturated, while at 1080p Low, the 234 FPS figure indicates the GPU has headroom that the CPU cannot fully utilize. The 32 GB VRAM capacity is more than sufficient for this game, even at 4K Ultra, so memory capacity is not a limiting factor in any measured scenario. The GPU's 104.8 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 423.6 GPixel/s pixel rate are the specifications that translate into the observed frame rates, with the latter being particularly relevant for resolution-heavy workloads.

The fact that 4K High (72 FPS) is only 38% slower than 1440p High (109 FPS) while 1440p High is 25% slower than 1080p High (146 FPS) shows diminishing returns as resolution drops. This is consistent with a GPU that has substantial bandwidth and compute but is still bound by pixel fill rates at 4K. The RTX 5090 D's 176 ROPs and 680 TMUs are the units responsible for this pixel throughput, and they appear to be the constraining factor at 3840x2160.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700KF is a 20-core, 28-thread processor from the Raptor Lake-R architecture, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. Its 33 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel memory support for DDR4 and DDR5 provide the memory subsystem necessary for feeding a high-end GPU. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44167 and a single-core score of 6235, with a Geekbench multi-core score of 21462 and single-core score of 2578. Its average benchmark score of 70163 places it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs.

The CPU's nearest rivals in the database are the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F with an average score of 69996 (0.2% higher than the i7-14700KF), the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX at 69875 (0.4% higher), the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X at 69515 (0.9% higher), and the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K at 70879 (1.0% lower). These small deltaPct values indicate that the i7-14700KF is effectively tied with its closest competitors in overall CPU performance, making it a well-balanced choice for gaming workloads.

In Red Dead Redemption 2, the CPU's role is most visible at lower resolutions where GPU load is lighter. The 1080p Low result of 234 FPS represents a practical ceiling for this CPU-GPU combination, as the GPU has more than enough power to render frames faster but the CPU cannot issue draw calls quickly enough. The i7-14700KF's 5.60 GHz boost clock is the key specification for single-threaded game logic, while its 20 cores handle background tasks and multi-threaded game systems. The 28 threads provide additional parallelism for games that can utilize them, though Red Dead Redemption 2's engine appears to scale primarily with frequency rather than core count, given that the 1080p results plateau around 234 FPS.

The CPU's 94th percentile ranking versus all CPUs suggests it is not the primary bottleneck in any of the measured scenarios, and the data supports this: frame rates scale predictably with resolution, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound workload. However, the CPU's performance is not irrelevant — the 234 FPS ceiling at 1080p Low shows that this processor cannot push beyond that threshold, meaning users seeking frame rates above 240 Hz would need a faster CPU. For typical gaming at 1440p or 4K, the i7-14700KF provides ample headroom, as evidenced by the 175 FPS and 115 FPS results at Low settings for those resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Intel Core i7-14700KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D ranks first among 2902 tested combos in Red Dead Redemption 2. This top ranking is driven by the GPU's position in the 92nd percentile and the CPU's 94th percentile, both of which place them in the upper echelon of their respective categories. The data shows that this combo outperforms every other tested pairing in this game, which is notable given the wide field of 2902 combinations.

The rank of 1 out of 2902 means that no other CPU-GPU pairing in the database achieves higher frame rates in Red Dead Redemption 2. This is consistent with the RTX 5090 D being one of the most powerful GPUs available, combined with a CPU that has the single-thread performance to avoid bottlenecking at lower resolutions. The 94th percentile CPU ranking and 92nd percentile GPU ranking together produce a synergistic result that exceeds the sum of its parts in this specific game.

The nearest rival data for each component provides context for this ranking. The GPU's closest competitor, the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT, has an average score 1.6% lower, while the CPU's closest competitor, the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K, has an average score 1.0% lower. These small margins at the component level translate into a significant advantage when combined, as the top combo rank demonstrates. The data suggests that this pairing is not just marginally better than average — it is the definitive best for this game among all tested configurations.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows provide clear guidance for optimal settings at each resolution. At 3840x2160, the High preset delivers 72 FPS average, which is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, while Ultra drops to 52 FPS, which may feel sluggish in action sequences. The Medium preset at 86 FPS offers a comfortable margin above 60 FPS with better visual quality than Low. For 4K users, the Medium preset is the best balance of performance and quality, as it provides 86 FPS average with minimums of 74 FPS, ensuring no drops below 60 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the High preset achieves 109 FPS average, which is excellent for high-refresh-rate monitors. The Ultra preset at 79 FPS is also playable and provides the best visual fidelity without sacrificing smoothness. For competitive play at 1440p, the Low preset at 175 FPS offers the highest frame rates, but the Medium preset at 131 FPS with minimums of 111 FPS is the recommended choice for most users, as it delivers nearly double the frame rate of Ultra while maintaining good visual quality.

At 1920x1080, all presets exceed 100 FPS, with Low at 234 FPS, Medium at 175 FPS, High at 146 FPS, and Ultra at 105 FPS. For 1080p gamers with high-refresh-rate displays, the High preset at 146 FPS is the recommended option, as it provides a substantial visual improvement over Low while still maintaining frame rates well above 120 FPS. The Ultra preset at 105 FPS is also viable for those who prioritize visual fidelity over maximum frame rates, though the Medium preset at 175 FPS with minimums of 149 FPS offers the best combination of smoothness and quality for most users.

The data shows that the Medium preset is consistently the sweet spot across all resolutions, offering the best frame rate-to-quality ratio. At 4K, Medium delivers 86 FPS versus 72 FPS for High and 52 FPS for Ultra; at 1440p, Medium delivers 131 FPS versus 109 FPS for High and 79 FPS for Ultra; at 1080p, Medium delivers 175 FPS versus 146 FPS for High and 105 FPS for Ultra. This consistency makes Medium the safest recommendation for users who want to maximize performance without sacrificing too much visual quality.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 with Medium settings delivers 131 FPS average with minimums of 111 FPS, which is the highest resolution that maintains frame rates above 120 FPS. At 3840x2160, the best result is 86 FPS on Medium, which is still above 60 FPS but below high-refresh-rate thresholds.

Q: Does the RTX 5090 D's 32 GB VRAM matter for this game?

A: The 32 GB GDDR7 memory is more than sufficient for Red Dead Redemption 2 at any resolution or preset, as the game does not appear to be VRAM-limited in any measured scenario. The GPU's memory bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s is the more relevant specification for this game's texture streaming.

Q: How does this combo compare to the nearest rival GPU setup?

A: The RTX 5090 D has an average benchmark score of 77712, which is 1.6% higher than its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT at 78940. In game performance, this combo ranks first out of 2902 tested configurations, indicating it outperforms all other CPU-GPU pairings in this title.

Q: Is the i7-14700KF a bottleneck at 1080p?

A: The 234 FPS result at 1080p Low suggests a CPU-side ceiling, as the GPU has more capability than the CPU can feed at this resolution. The CPU's 94th percentile ranking indicates it is not a major bottleneck overall, but for extreme frame rates above 234 FPS, a faster processor would be needed.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 4K Ultra settings?

A: The measured data shows 52 FPS average at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings. This is the only preset-resolution combination that falls below 60 FPS, making it the most demanding configuration tested.

Q: How does the Medium preset compare to High in terms of minimum FPS?

A: At 4K, Medium has a minimum FPS of 74 versus no minimum data for High. At 1440p, Medium minimums are 111 FPS, and at 1080p, Medium minimums are 149 FPS. These minimum values indicate that Medium provides a smoother experience than High, which lacks recorded minimum FPS data but averages lower overall.