Red Dead Redemption 2

Red Dead Redemption 2 pairs the Intel Core i9-14900K with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080, a combination that delivers playable frame rates across all tested resolutions, though the performance curve reveals a system progressively constrained by the graphics card as pixel count increases. The measured data shows a clear hierarchy: at 1080p the combo produces extremely high frame rates that indicate CPU headroom, while at 4K the averages drop to levels where the GPU becomes the dominant factor. This analysis walks through the resolution scaling, settings behavior, ranking position, and the individual roles of the processor and graphics card in shaping these results.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 produces a substantial reduction in average frame rates across every settings preset, with the drop becoming more pronounced as graphical load increases. At Low settings, the average falls from 194 FPS at 1080p to 145 FPS at 1440p, then further to 96 FPS at 4K — a decline of roughly 25% from 1080p to 1440p, and another 34% from 1440p to 4K. This scaling pattern indicates that even at the lowest preset, the RTX 4080 is increasingly burdened by the pixel count, though the 1080p result of 194 FPS suggests the CPU is not the limiting factor at that resolution.

At Medium settings, the averages are 145 FPS at 1080p, 108 FPS at 1440p, and 72 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops between steps are similar to Low, reinforcing that resolution scaling is consistent regardless of preset. However, the Medium preset at 4K shows a minimum of 61 FPS and a maximum of 82 FPS, indicating some frame time variability at the highest pixel count. Moving to High settings, the averages are 121 FPS at 1080p, 90 FPS at 1440p, and 60 FPS at 4K — the 4K result lands exactly at the 60 FPS threshold, which is often considered the baseline for smooth gameplay.

The Ultra preset reveals the steepest scaling curve. At 1080p, the average is 87 FPS; at 1440p, it drops to 65 FPS; and at 4K, it falls to 43 FPS. The difference between 1080p and 4K at Ultra is over 50%, demonstrating that the most demanding settings amplify the resolution penalty. The data suggests that at 1080p, particularly at Low and Medium settings, the Core i9-14900K is capable of feeding the RTX 4080 enough frames to approach or exceed 145 FPS, but as resolution climbs, the GPU's rendering workload dominates, and the CPU's role diminishes. The 4K results across all presets — 43 to 96 FPS — indicate that the RTX 4080 is the primary constraint at that resolution, with the CPU providing sufficient headroom to avoid bottlenecking even at the highest settings.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rates, the optimal preset depends on the target resolution and the desired balance between visual fidelity and performance. At 1920x1080, the High preset delivers 121 FPS average, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold and leaves room for higher refresh rate displays. The Ultra preset at 87 FPS is also viable for 1080p, offering the best visual quality while maintaining a comfortable margin above 60 FPS. For players prioritizing maximum frame rates at 1080p, the Low preset at 194 FPS or Medium at 145 FPS are options, but the High preset provides a more balanced experience without sacrificing much performance.

At 2560x1440, the High preset achieves 90 FPS average, which is suitable for high-refresh-rate gaming, while the Medium preset at 108 FPS offers an even smoother experience with only a modest reduction in visual quality. The Ultra preset at 65 FPS is playable but closer to the 60 FPS baseline, and the minimum frame rate data for Medium at 1440p (92 FPS) suggests that this preset maintains consistency. The Low preset at 145 FPS is available for competitive play, but the High preset is the recommended starting point for most users at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the choices become more constrained. The High preset produces exactly 60 FPS average, which is the minimum for smooth gameplay, while the Medium preset at 72 FPS offers a slight buffer above that threshold. The Ultra preset at 43 FPS falls below the 60 FPS target and may result in noticeable stutter in fast-paced scenes, making it less suitable for consistent play. The Low preset at 96 FPS is the highest performer at 4K, but it sacrifices significant visual detail. For 4K, the Medium preset appears to be the best balance, providing 72 FPS average with a minimum of 61 FPS, ensuring that the frame rate rarely dips below the playable threshold.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i9-14900K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 ranks 260th out of 3714 tested combos in Red Dead Redemption 2, placing it in the top 7% of all configurations in the database. This high percentile position reflects the strength of both components, though the ranking also indicates that there are 259 other combos that achieve higher average frame rates in this specific game. The ranking is based on measured performance data, and the gap between this combo and the top performers likely stems from combinations featuring more powerful GPUs or CPUs that offer higher headroom in this title.

Looking at the individual component benchmarks, the Core i9-14900K sits at the 95th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 79097. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i9-14900KF (delta -0.3%), Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus (delta -0.6%), AMD EPYC 7413 (delta -1.2%), and AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 (delta 1.7%). These small deltas indicate that the i9-14900K is essentially at parity with its closest competitors, meaning the CPU is unlikely to be the differentiator in the combo ranking.

The RTX 4080, meanwhile, sits at the 86th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 54247. Its nearest rivals are the RTX 4080 SUPER (delta 0.1%), AMD Radeon Pro W5700X (delta -1.1%), AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (delta -2.6%), and AMD Radeon 8060S (delta -2.7%). The GPU's percentile is lower than the CPU's, suggesting that in Red Dead Redemption 2, the graphics card may be the limiting factor for this combo's rank. The combination rank of 260 out of 3714 aligns with this interpretation — the CPU is near the top of its class, but the GPU's position in the 86th percentile means that combos with higher-tier GPUs will outperform this setup.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1080p with High settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings is 121 FPS.

Q: How does the 4K Ultra preset compare to the 1080p Ultra preset?

A: The 4K Ultra preset averages 43 FPS, while the 1080p Ultra preset averages 87 FPS, representing a 50% reduction in frame rate when moving from 1080p to 4K at the same settings.

Q: What is the minimum frame rate recorded at 1440p Medium settings?

A: The minimum FPS at 2560x1440 with Medium settings is 92 FPS, with a maximum of 125 FPS and an average of 108 FPS.

Q: Which component has a higher percentile ranking in its class?

A: The Intel Core i9-14900K ranks in the 95th percentile among all CPUs, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 ranks in the 86th percentile among all GPUs.

Q: Is the RTX 4080's performance closer to the RTX 4080 SUPER or the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE?

A: The RTX 4080's average benchmark score of 54247 is 0.1% higher than the RTX 4080 SUPER (delta 0.1%), while it is 2.6% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE (delta -2.6%).

Q: What is the highest average frame rate recorded for this combo?

A: The highest average frame rate is 194 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is built on the AD103 chip using the Ada Lovelace architecture, fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It features 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s. The GPU's base clock is 2205 MHz, with a boost clock of 2505 MHz, and the memory operates at an effective speed of 22.4 Gbps. These specifications place the RTX 4080 well above the mid-range tier, and its benchmark results reflect this: a Passmark G3D score of 34457 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6567.

In Red Dead Redemption 2, the RTX 4080's performance is directly visible in the measured frame rates. At 4K, the GPU's 16 GB VRAM is sufficient for the game's textures at all presets, as evidenced by the playable averages at Medium (72 FPS) and High (60 FPS). The Ultra preset at 43 FPS suggests that the GPU's compute and rasterization throughput is the limiting factor at the highest settings, rather than memory capacity. The boost clock of 2505 MHz allows the GPU to sustain high utilization, but the data shows that at 4K Ultra, the RTX 4080 cannot maintain 60 FPS, indicating that the game's most demanding settings exceed the GPU's capabilities.

Compared to its nearest rivals, the RTX 4080's average benchmark score of 54247 is nearly identical to the RTX 4080 SUPER (54209, delta 0.1%), meaning that in synthetic tests, the two cards perform equivalently. However, in this specific game, the measured results show that the RTX 4080 delivers 60 FPS at 4K High, which is a solid result for a GPU in the 86th percentile. The GPU's role in this combo is to render the scene at the target resolution and settings, and the data indicates that it is the primary determinant of frame rates at 1440p and 4K, while at 1080p the CPU has more influence.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i9-14900K is a 24-core, 32-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, manufactured on Intel's 10 nm process. It features a base clock of 3.20 GHz and a boost clock of 6.00 GHz, with a thermal design power of 125 W. The CPU's cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 36 MB of shared L3 cache. Its benchmark scores are exceptional: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 39399.5, a single-core score of 2262.5, and a Geekbench multi-core score of 21697.

In Red Dead Redemption 2, the i9-14900K's role is to feed the RTX 4080 with enough data to keep the GPU busy. The measured frame rates at 1080p Low (194 FPS) and Medium (145 FPS) suggest that the CPU is capable of driving very high frame rates, as these values are well above what the GPU can achieve at higher resolutions. The 24 cores and 32 threads provide ample parallelism for the game's simulation and AI workloads, and the 6.00 GHz boost clock ensures strong single-threaded performance, which is often critical for game logic.

The CPU's percentile ranking of 95th among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 79097, places it among the top processors available. Its nearest rival, the Core i9-14900KF, scores 79371 (delta -0.3%), indicating that the two are essentially identical in performance. In this game, the CPU's influence is most apparent at 1080p, where the frame rates are highest. At 4K, the CPU's role diminishes because the GPU becomes the bottleneck, but the i9-14900K ensures that it never holds back the RTX 4080, even at the lowest settings where CPU overhead could otherwise become a factor.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates for this combo are organized by resolution and settings, with averages provided for all configurations and minimum/maximum values for the Medium preset at each resolution.

At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers the highest average at 194 FPS, followed by Medium at 145 FPS (minimum 123 FPS, maximum 167 FPS), High at 121 FPS, and Ultra at 87 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 107 FPS, demonstrating that settings have a significant impact on performance at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 145 FPS, Medium averages 108 FPS (minimum 92 FPS, maximum 125 FPS), High averages 90 FPS, and Ultra averages 65 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 80 FPS, which is smaller than at 1080p, indicating that the GPU's load is increasing. The Medium preset's minimum of 92 FPS shows that even at lower settings, the frame rate remains above the 60 FPS threshold.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 96 FPS, Medium averages 72 FPS (minimum 61 FPS, maximum 82 FPS), High averages 60 FPS, and Ultra averages 43 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 53 FPS, the narrowest of the three resolutions, confirming that the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K. The Medium preset's minimum of 61 FPS is just above the 60 FPS line, while the Ultra preset's average of 43 FPS indicates that this setting is not suitable for smooth gameplay at 4K. These numbers provide a complete picture of how the Core i9-14900K and RTX 4080 perform together in Red Dead Redemption 2 across the full range of resolutions and presets.