Red Dead Redemption 2

The Intel Core i9-14900K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 delivers a performance profile in Red Dead Redemption 2 that is heavily dictated by resolution and the graphics preset applied. The data shows a clear scaling pattern: as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160, the average frame rates drop significantly across all settings, but the magnitude of that drop reveals where the bottleneck shifts.

Resolution Scaling

At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo produces 149.5 FPS, which is the highest measured result in the entire dataset. This indicates that at lower resolutions and reduced graphical loads, the system has ample headroom, likely leaning more on the CPU's capability. The Core i9-14900K, with its 24 cores and 32 threads, can feed frames quickly, but the RTX 4070 is still the primary driver. Moving to 2560x1440 at Low settings reduces the average to 115.9 FPS, a drop of approximately 22.5% from 1080p. When scaling further to 3840x2160 at Low, the average falls to 72.4 FPS, which is a 37.5% reduction from the 1440p figure. This steep decline at 4K suggests the GPU is becoming the limiting factor, as the pixel count quadruples from 1080p, demanding more from the 12 GB of VRAM and the 504.2 GB/s memory bandwidth.

The scaling pattern is more pronounced at higher quality settings. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 96.3 at 1080p to 72.2 at 1440p (a 25% decrease), and then to 47.4 at 4K (a 34.4% decrease from 1440p). This consistent drop indicates that the RTX 4070's compute resources are being saturated as the resolution increases. The most extreme case is at Ultra settings, where the average FPS plummets from 69.9 at 1080p to 50.7 at 1440p, and finally to 33.1 at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is the lowest in the entire measured set, showing that this configuration struggles to maintain playable frame rates at the highest fidelity and resolution combination. The benchmark results indicate that while the CPU can handle the game's logic and physics at any resolution, the GPU's rendering load is the primary constraint as resolution scales upward.

FAQ

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

A: According to the data, 1920x1080 provides the highest average frame rates across all settings, with the Low preset hitting 149.5 FPS. This resolution is clearly the sweet spot for maximizing performance with this specific CPU and GPU combination.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Red Dead Redemption 2?

A: Yes, but with caveats. At 3840x2160, the average FPS ranges from 72.4 on Low settings to 33.1 on Ultra. The High preset yields 47.4 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for competitive or fast-paced action.

Q: How does the Low preset compare to the Ultra preset at 1440p?

A: The difference is substantial. At 2560x1440, Low settings produce 115.9 FPS, while Ultra settings drop to 50.7 FPS. That is a performance gap of 65.2 FPS, making Low more than twice as fast as Ultra in terms of average frame rate.

Q: Is the RTX 4070's VRAM sufficient for this game?

A: The GPU has 12 GB of GDDR6X memory. The measured data does not show VRAM-related crashes or failures, but the significant FPS drops at 4K Ultra suggest the memory bandwidth and capacity are being heavily taxed, as the average score falls to 33.1 FPS.

Q: What is the performance difference between Medium and High settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, Medium settings yield 114 FPS, while High settings yield 96.3 FPS. The difference is 17.7 FPS, indicating that High is more demanding but still provides a smooth experience above 90 FPS.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: The combo rank for this game is 428 out of 1687 tested combinations. This places it in the top 25.4% of all tested systems, indicating strong overall performance.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 plays a critical role in this game's performance, particularly as settings and resolution increase. The GPU features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. The memory clock runs at 1313 MHz, with an effective speed of 21 Gbps. These specifications directly influence how the card handles the large textures and open-world environments of Red Dead Redemption 2. The benchmark results show that at 1080p Low, the card achieves 149.5 FPS, but at 4K Ultra, it drops to 33.1 FPS. This 116.4 FPS gap underscores how the GPU's compute units, 5888 shading units and 64 ROPs, are pushed to their limits at higher resolutions.

The core clocks are also relevant. The base clock is 1920 MHz, with a boost clock of 2475 MHz. These clocks allow the GPU to maintain high throughput in less demanding scenes, but the data suggests that sustained loads at 4K cause the performance to drop significantly. The GPU's FP32 performance is rated at 29.15 TFLOPS, which is ample for this title, but the memory subsystem becomes a bottleneck at higher resolutions. The 35,800 million transistors on a 294 mm² die, built on a 5 nm process, provide the raw power, yet the 4K Ultra result of 33.1 FPS indicates that the card is not fully sufficient for max settings at that resolution. The GPU's role is clearly the dominant factor in determining frame rates, as the CPU is capable of much higher output, evidenced by the 1080p Low result.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Red Dead Redemption 2, the Intel Core i9-14900K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination ranks 428 out of 1687 total combos. This places the system in the 74.6th percentile, meaning it outperforms approximately 74.6% of all other tested configurations. This is a strong showing, but it is not at the top tier, which is reserved for systems with more powerful GPUs. The rank reflects the balance between the CPU and GPU, where the i9-14900K is a top-tier processor, but the RTX 4070 is a mid-to-high-range graphics card. The CPU's benchmark scores support this, as it ranks in the 97th percentile versus all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 79824. Its nearest rival, the AMD EPYC 7413, has a score of 80041, which is a delta of -0.3%, indicating the i9-14900K is essentially on par with that server chip. The GPU, however, ranks in the 81st percentile versus all GPUs, with an average score of 37283. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56, scores 37507, a delta of -0.6%, showing the RTX 4070 is slightly behind that older card in synthetic benchmarks.

The combination's rank of 428 indicates that while the CPU is among the best, the GPU holds the system back from the top 25% of all combos. The measured FPS data aligns with this, as the system can only achieve 33.1 FPS at 4K Ultra, which is below the 60 FPS threshold that many users target. The data suggests that the combo is well-suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where it delivers excellent results, but it is not optimized for 4K at the highest settings.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset offers a balanced experience with an average of 114 FPS, which is smooth and responsive. The High preset at 1080p yields 96.3 FPS, which is still excellent and provides better visual fidelity. For users with high-refresh-rate monitors, the Low preset at 1080p delivers 149.5 FPS, which easily exceeds 144 Hz. At 2560x1440, the High preset provides 72.2 FPS, which is playable, while the Medium preset offers 85.5 FPS, making it a better choice for a smoother experience. The Low preset at 1440p is the best for performance, hitting 115.9 FPS. At 3840x2160, the data shows that the Low preset is the only viable option for a playable frame rate, with 72.4 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K drops to 55 FPS, and High drops to 47.4 FPS, both of which are below the ideal 60 FPS threshold. Ultra settings are not recommended at any resolution above 1080p, as they yield 50.7 FPS at 1440p and 33.1 FPS at 4K.

The best overall experience for a mix of visual quality and performance is the High preset at 1920x1080, which achieves 96.3 FPS. For 1440p users, the Medium preset is the sweet spot, providing 85.5 FPS. At 4K, the Low preset is the only way to maintain a frame rate above 60 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table details the exact average FPS measurements for each resolution and settings combination:

• 1920x1080: Low 149.5 FPS, Medium 114 FPS, High 96.3 FPS, Ultra 69.9 FPS
• 2560x1440: Low 115.9 FPS, Medium 85.5 FPS, High 72.2 FPS, Ultra 50.7 FPS
• 3840x2160: Low 72.4 FPS, Medium 55 FPS, High 47.4 FPS, Ultra 33.1 FPS

The data shows a clear hierarchy. The highest average FPS in the entire dataset is 149.5 at 1080p Low, while the lowest is 33.1 at 4K Ultra. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p at the same settings results in a performance loss of approximately 22.5% at Low, 25% at High, and 27.5% at Ultra. The scaling from 1440p to 4K is more severe, with losses of 37.5% at Low, 34.4% at High, and 34.7% at Ultra. These numbers indicate that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at 4K, as the frame rate drops are more pronounced than the resolution increase would suggest if the CPU were the limiting factor. The i9-14900K's high single-thread performance, evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 7040, ensures that the CPU is not a constraint in this title. Instead, the RTX 4070's rendering capabilities, particularly its 12 GB VRAM and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth, determine the final frame rates.