Red Dead Redemption 2

Red Dead Redemption 2 presents a demanding workload that scales predictably across resolutions, and the combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 produces a clear picture of where the performance ceiling lies. The measured frames per second (FPS) data shows a consistent decline as pixel count increases, a pattern typical of a GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 214 FPS, which drops to 160 FPS at 1440p and further to 106 FPS at 4K. This progression indicates that while the RTX 4090 is powerful, the demands of 4K resolution begin to strain even this flagship-class GPU, particularly as settings are increased.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1080p to 4K reveals a significant performance cost, with the average FPS dropping by roughly half or more depending on the settings preset. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 214 FPS at 1920x1080 to 160 FPS at 2560x1440, a 25% reduction, and then to 106 FPS at 3840x2160, a further 34% reduction from the 1440p figure. This steep decline at 4K suggests that the game’s rendering load, including shading and texture fill, begins to saturate even the RTX 4090’s immense compute resources. The pattern is even more pronounced at Ultra settings, where the average FPS plummets from 96 at 1080p to 72 at 1440p and finally to 48 at 4K. The gap between 1080p and 4K at Ultra is exactly a 50% reduction in average FPS, underscoring how resolution scaling disproportionately impacts the highest quality presets.

Looking at the Medium preset, which is the only one with complete min/max FPS data, the scaling trend is consistent. At 1080p, the average is 161 FPS with a minimum of 136 FPS; at 1440p, the average drops to 120 FPS with a minimum of 102 FPS; and at 4K, the average falls to 79 FPS with a minimum of 67 FPS. The minimum FPS values at each resolution stay within a reasonable margin of the average, suggesting that frame pacing remains stable despite the heavy load. This data indicates that the limiting component at 4K is unequivocally the GPU, as the CPU’s role becomes less influential when the pixel throughput requirement increases. The fact that the 1080p Low preset reaches 214 FPS, a very high refresh rate, further confirms that the CPU is not the bottleneck at lower resolutions, allowing the GPU to flex its full potential.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090, built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process, is a dominant force in this pairing. Its specifications include 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s, which is critical for feeding the high-resolution textures of Red Dead Redemption 2. The GPU’s boost clock is rated at 2520 MHz, and its massive 16,384 shading units are capable of an FP32 throughput of 82.58 TFLOPS. These figures explain why the card can maintain playable frame rates at 4K Ultra, even when the average dips to 48 FPS. The memory configuration, with 24 GB of VRAM, ensures that even the most demanding settings at 4K will not exceed the frame buffer, a common limitation in other titles.

The benchmark results for the RTX 4090 place it in the 88th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 60,347. Its nearest rivals in the database include the Intel Arc Pro A60, which scores 60,326 (a 0% delta), and the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M, which scores 61,896 (a -2.5% delta from the 4090’s perspective). These comparisons highlight that while the RTX 4090 is not the absolute top performer in every synthetic test, its real-world gaming performance, as measured in this game, shows a clear capability to handle high refresh rates at 1440p and solid 4K performance. The GPU’s 128 ray tracing cores and 512 tensor cores are present in the spec sheet, but the measured FPS data in this title does not isolate their specific impact, focusing instead on raw rasterization throughput.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS achievable with this combo at 1080p?

A: The highest average FPS is 214, achieved with the Low settings preset at 1920x1080 resolution. This drops to 161 FPS on Medium, 134 FPS on High, and 96 FPS on Ultra.

Q: How does the 4K Ultra performance compare to 1440p High performance?

A: At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 48, while at 1440p High, it is 100 FPS. This represents a 52 FPS difference, showing that the higher resolution and settings combination demands significantly more from the GPU.

Q: Is there a large gap between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: Yes, the gap is substantial. At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 160 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 72 FPS. This is a performance difference of 88 FPS, indicating that Ultra settings nearly halve the frame rate compared to Low.

Q: Does the combo maintain a stable frame rate at 4K Medium?

A: The data shows an average of 79 FPS at 3840x2160 with Medium settings, with a minimum recorded FPS of 67 and a maximum of 91. This suggests relatively stable performance, as the minimum is within 12 FPS of the average.

Q: What is the performance delta between this CPU and its nearest rival?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 has an average benchmark score of 46,062, which is 0.1% higher than the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 (46,030) and 0.1% lower than the Intel Core i9-13900HX (46,098). These differences are negligible in practice.

Q: How does the GPU’s benchmark percentile reflect its gaming performance here?

A: The RTX 4090 sits in the 88th percentile of all GPUs, and its measured performance in Red Dead Redemption 2 aligns with this, delivering over 100 FPS at 1440p High and 66 FPS at 4K High, confirming its high-end positioning.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of tested combinations, this specific pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 holds a rank of 134 out of 3,714 combos for this game. This places it in the top 3.6% of all tested systems, a position that reflects the strength of both components. The rank is particularly notable because it is achieved with a mid-range CPU (the Ultra 5 235) paired with a top-tier GPU (the RTX 4090), suggesting that the GPU is the primary driver of the high ranking. The data indicates that the combo outperforms the vast majority of alternatives, with only 133 other combinations delivering higher average FPS across the tested settings.

The rank of 134 is consistent with the measured FPS data, which shows the combo capable of exceeding 200 FPS at 1080p Low and maintaining above 60 FPS at 4K High. This level of performance places it well ahead of systems using lower-tier GPUs, even if they are paired with more powerful CPUs. The benchmark results for the CPU, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 14,769 and a single-core score of 2,085, are solid but not class-leading, which reinforces that the 89th percentile CPU ranking is secondary to the GPU’s 88th percentile ranking in determining the game’s overall performance. The combo’s rank of 134 confirms how a balanced pairing, where the GPU is the focal point, can yield excellent results in a GPU-intensive title like Red Dead Redemption 2.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete matrix of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 214 FPS, the Medium preset delivers 161 FPS with a minimum of 136 and a maximum of 185, the High preset delivers 134 FPS, and the Ultra preset delivers 96 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440, the average FPS figures are 160 for Low, 120 for Medium (minimum 102, maximum 138), 100 for High, and 72 for Ultra. At the highest resolution, 3840x2160, the averages drop to 106 for Low, 79 for Medium (minimum 67, maximum 91), 66 for High, and 48 for Ultra. The data set is complete for average FPS across all settings, but min/max values are only available for the Medium preset at each resolution.

This breakdown reveals that the scaling between settings is not linear. At 1080p, moving from Low to Ultra yields a 118 FPS drop (from 214 to 96), which is a 55% reduction. At 1440p, the same settings comparison shows a drop of 88 FPS (from 160 to 72), a 55% reduction as well. At 4K, the drop is 58 FPS (from 106 to 48), also a 55% reduction. This consistent percentage reduction across resolutions indicates that the settings presets have a uniform multiplicative effect on the frame rate, regardless of the base resolution. The High preset sits approximately midway between Medium and Ultra at each resolution, with 134 FPS at 1080p, 100 FPS at 1440p, and 66 FPS at 4K. These numbers suggest that High is a balanced choice for players seeking a compromise between visual fidelity and frame rate.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the optimal settings preset depends on the user’s priority for frame rate versus visual quality. For competitive play or high refresh rate displays at 1080p, the Low preset at 214 FPS is the clear choice, as it provides the highest possible frame rate. However, for a more balanced experience at 1080p, the High preset at 134 FPS is recommended, as it offers a significant improvement in visual quality over Low while still maintaining a frame rate well above 120 FPS. The Ultra preset at 96 FPS is also viable for 1080p, but the drop below 100 FPS may be noticeable to some users. At 1440p, the High preset delivers 100 FPS, which is an excellent match for 144Hz monitors, making it the recommended setting for this resolution. The Medium preset at 120 FPS is also strong, but High provides better visuals with only a 20 FPS penalty.

At 4K, the situation becomes more constrained. The Ultra preset averages 48 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold that many consider the minimum for a smooth experience. The High preset at 66 FPS is a better choice for 4K, as it clears 60 FPS and provides a good balance of detail and performance. The Medium preset at 79 FPS is the best option for 4K if the user prioritizes frame rate, as it stays well above 60 FPS and still offers moderate visual improvements over Low. The Low preset at 106 FPS is the only 4K option that approaches high refresh rates, but it sacrifices the graphical richness that makes Red Dead Redemption 2 visually impressive. In summary, the data recommends High at 1080p and 1440p for the best experience, while at 4K, Medium or High are the safest choices to maintain a playable frame rate.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235, with its 14 cores and 14 threads, plays a supporting role in this combination. Its base clock of 3.40 GHz and boost clock of 5.00 GHz, combined with 24 MB of shared L3 cache, provide sufficient processing power to avoid bottlenecking the RTX 4090 at most resolutions. The CPU’s benchmark scores, including a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 14,769 and a single-core score of 2,085, are respectable but not exceptional. The PassMark multi-thread score of 37,816 and single-thread score of 4,516 indicate a processor that is well-suited for gaming, where single-thread performance is often more critical. The 89th percentile ranking among all CPUs places it in the upper tier, but its nearest rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 and Intel Core i9-13900HX, have nearly identical average scores, with deltas of 0.1% or less.

In the context of Red Dead Redemption 2, the CPU’s role is most evident at 1080p Low settings, where the frame rate reaches 214 FPS. At this point, the GPU is still the primary driver, but the CPU must keep up with the game’s simulation and draw call processing. The fact that the frame rate scales down smoothly as resolution increases, without any erratic dips in the minimum FPS data, suggests that the Ultra 5 235 is providing a stable foundation. The CPU’s 65 W TDP and 3 nm process node also indicate an efficient part, which is beneficial for thermal management in a system with a high-power GPU. While the CPU is not the star of this show, its performance is sufficient to allow the RTX 4090 to operate at its full potential, particularly at 1440p and 4K where the GPU is the clear limiting factor.