Red Dead Redemption 2

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination delivers a highly playable Red Dead Redemption 2 experience across most settings, though the data reveals a clear performance ceiling at 4K. The benchmark results show a predictable scaling pattern where the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck as pixel count rises, while the CPU provides ample headroom at lower resolutions. This pairing ranks in the 78th percentile of all tested combinations for this title, indicating strong but not elite performance relative to the broader database.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K follows a classic GPU-bound curve, with the most dramatic drop occurring at the highest resolution. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces 152 FPS, which falls to 113 FPS at 1440p and further to 75 FPS at 4K. This represents a 50.7% reduction from 1080p to 4K, a steep decline that strongly indicates the RTX 4070's rendering limits are being hit rather than any CPU constraint.

The Medium settings row provides the most complete data with min and max FPS values, showing how the system behaves under moderate load. At 1080p Medium, the average sits at 114 FPS with a minimum of 97 FPS and maximum of 131 FPS. Moving to 1440p Medium drops the average to 85 FPS with a tighter range of 72-97 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average falls to 56 FPS with a 48-64 FPS range. The narrowing gap between resolutions at higher settings reinforces that the GPU is the limiting factor, as the CPU has more than enough headroom even at 1080p.

Ultra settings amplify the resolution dependence. The 1080p Ultra average of 68 FPS drops to 51 FPS at 1440p and plummets to 34 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is particularly telling, as it falls below the 60 FPS threshold that most gamers consider the minimum for smooth play. The scaling from 1440p to 4K at Ultra shows a 33.3% performance hit, which is proportionally larger than the 25.5% drop seen from 1080p to 1440p. This non-linear degradation suggests the RTX 4070's 12 GB VRAM and memory bandwidth become increasingly strained as resolution increases.

Interestingly, the Low settings row shows the most dramatic absolute scaling, with 152 FPS dropping to 75 FPS at 4K. This 77 FPS difference dwarfs the 34 FPS gap seen at Ultra settings between the same resolutions. The reason is that Low settings remove many GPU-intensive effects, allowing the card to push higher raw framerates that then hit the memory bandwidth wall more abruptly as resolution climbs.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 paired with the RTX 4070 achieves a combo rank of 648 out of 2,902 tested combinations in Red Dead Redemption 2. This places the pairing in the top 22.3% of all recorded configs, a solid result that reflects the balanced nature of these components. The rank indicates that while this is not a flagship-tier setup, it outperforms the vast majority of systems tested in this database.

The CPU's individual benchmark standing helps contextualize this ranking. The Core Ultra 5 245 sits at the 90th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 48,995. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G at 49,196 (0.4% faster), the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 at 49,228 (0.5% faster), the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H at 48,698 (0.6% slower), and the Intel Core i5-14600K at 48,618 (0.8% slower). This tight clustering shows the Ultra 5 245 is well within striking distance of several established mid-range and upper-mid-range processors.

The GPU's percentile ranking at 81% among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 37,648, is slightly lower than the CPU's standing. The RTX 4070's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Tesla P4 at 37,628 (0.1% faster), the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 at 37,507 (0.4% faster), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile at 38,135 (1.3% faster), and the AMD Radeon PRO W6400 at 37,157 (1.3% slower). The GPU's lower percentile compared to the CPU suggests that in CPU-light scenarios, this combo might not fully utilize the processor's potential.

The combination rank of 648 reflects both components working together. Given the CPU ranks higher than the GPU in their respective pools, the 78th percentile combo ranking makes sense — the GPU is the limiting factor in most scenarios, pulling the overall performance down from what the CPU alone could achieve.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. The card's base clock runs at 1920 MHz with a boost clock of 2475 MHz, while memory operates at 1313 MHz with 21 Gbps effective speed. These specifications directly influence the resolution scaling observed in the benchmark data.

The 12 GB VRAM capacity appears sufficient for Red Dead Redemption 2 at 1080p and 1440p across all tested settings, as the game's open-world nature typically requires 6-8 GB at those resolutions. However, at 4K Ultra, the combination of high-resolution textures and dense geometry likely pushes VRAM usage toward the 12 GB ceiling, contributing to the 34 FPS average. The 504.2 GB/s bandwidth also becomes a constraint at higher resolutions, as the GPU must move more texture and geometry data per frame.

The RTX 4070's 5 nm process from TSMC packs 35,800 million transistors into a 294 mm² die, with 5,888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs. The card includes 46 RT cores and 184 tensor cores, though these are less relevant for Red Dead Redemption 2's traditional rasterization workload. The 29.15 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 455.4 GTexel/s texture rate provide the raw compute needed for the game's complex lighting and shadow systems.

The GPU's 200 W TDP and dual-slot design suggest it can sustain boost clocks under sustained load, which is important for a game like Red Dead Redemption 2 that can run for hours. The PCIe 4.0 x16 interface provides sufficient bandwidth for the game's streaming requirements, and the card's 240 mm length makes it compatible with most mid-tower cases.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1080p, the RTX 4070 delivers excellent performance across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 152 FPS, which is well beyond the refresh rate of most standard monitors. Medium settings at 1080p yield 114 FPS average with a 97-131 FPS range, providing a smooth experience even during intense action sequences. High settings at 1080p average 95 FPS, while Ultra settings drop to 68 FPS. The 1080p results show that this combo can handle even the most demanding settings at this resolution, with the lowest average still above 60 FPS.

Moving to 1440p, the performance remains strong but shows the expected decline. Low settings average 113 FPS, barely a drop from the 1080p result, indicating the CPU and GPU have headroom at this resolution. Medium settings at 1440p average 85 FPS with a 72-97 FPS range, which is still smooth for most players. High settings average 71 FPS, while Ultra settings fall to 51 FPS. The 1440p Ultra result dips below the 60 FPS threshold, suggesting that players wanting maximum visual quality should consider dropping to High or Medium settings.

At 4K, the performance ceiling becomes apparent. Low settings average 75 FPS, which is respectable but shows a significant 50.7% drop from the 1080p result. Medium settings at 4K average 56 FPS with a 48-64 FPS range, providing playable but not optimal performance. High settings average 47 FPS, while Ultra settings drop to 34 FPS. The 4K results clearly show that this combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K requiring significant settings compromises.

The Medium settings rows provide the most complete picture of performance stability, with min and max FPS data available for all three resolutions. At 1080p, the 34 FPS spread between min and max (97 to 131) indicates some frame pacing variance. At 1440p, the spread narrows to 25 FPS (72 to 97), while at 4K it widens again to 16 FPS (48 to 64). This pattern suggests the GPU's frame delivery becomes more consistent as resolution increases, likely because the rendering workload per frame becomes more uniform.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Red Dead Redemption 2 at 60 FPS in 4K?

A: At 4K Medium settings, the average FPS is 56 with a minimum of 48, so 60 FPS is not consistently achievable. High settings at 4K average 47 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 34 FPS. For 60 FPS at 4K, you would need to use Low settings, which average 75 FPS.

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU and GPU pairing?

A: The data shows 1440p is the sweet spot. At High settings, the combo averages 71 FPS at 1440p, which is playable. Medium settings at 1440p average 85 FPS with a 72-97 FPS range, providing smooth performance. At 1080p, all settings exceed 68 FPS, but the higher resolution offers more visual detail.

Q: How does the Ultra 5 245 compare to its nearest CPU rivals?

A: The Core Ultra 5 245 scores 48,995 in average benchmarks. It trails the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G by 0.4% (49,196) and the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 by 0.5% (49,228). It beats the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H by 0.6% (48,698) and the Intel Core i5-14600K by 0.8% (48,618).

Q: Is the RTX 4070's 12 GB VRAM sufficient for this game?

A: The benchmark data shows the card handles all tested settings at 1080p and 1440p, with the lowest average being 51 FPS at 1440p Ultra. At 4K Ultra, the average drops to 34 FPS, which may indicate VRAM or bandwidth limitations, but the card still produces playable results at 4K Medium with a 56 FPS average.

Q: What settings provide the most stable frame delivery?

A: The Medium settings rows show the most consistent performance across all resolutions. At 1080p, the range is 97-131 FPS; at 1440p, it's 72-97 FPS; and at 4K, it's 48-64 FPS. These ranges are tighter than what would be expected from High or Ultra settings, which lack min/max data but likely show more variance.

Q: How does this combo rank against all tested systems?

A: This pairing ranks 648th out of 2,902 tested combinations, placing it in the top 22.3% of all systems in the database. The CPU ranks in the 90th percentile among all CPUs, while the GPU ranks in the 81st percentile among all GPUs.

Settings Recommendations

For 1080p gaming, Ultra settings are viable with a 68 FPS average, but High settings at 95 FPS provide a better balance of visual quality and headroom for demanding scenes. Medium settings at 114 FPS offer the smoothest experience for competitive play or high-refresh-rate displays, with a 131 FPS maximum.

At 1440p, the Medium preset delivers the best experience with an 85 FPS average and a 72-97 FPS range. This settings level maintains good visual fidelity while ensuring consistent frame delivery. High settings at 71 FPS are acceptable for players who prioritize image quality, but the lower minimum FPS makes Medium the safer choice for consistent performance. Ultra settings at 51 FPS should be avoided unless the player is willing to accept occasional dips below 60 FPS.

For 4K, the data presents a clear hierarchy. Low settings at 75 FPS provide the smoothest experience but sacrifice significant visual quality. Medium settings at 56 FPS with a 48-64 FPS range offer the best compromise between fidelity and playability, though the sub-60 FPS average means some judder in fast-moving scenes. High settings at 47 FPS and Ultra at 34 FPS are not recommended for most players, as the performance drops below the threshold where the game's detailed animations and particle effects remain smooth.

The recommended configuration for most users is 1440p with Medium settings, which provides an 85 FPS average and tight frame delivery. For 1080p users, High settings at 95 FPS offer the best visual-to-performance ratio. Players with 4K displays should use Medium settings and accept the 56 FPS average, or drop to Low for a more consistent experience. The Ultra preset should be reserved for 1080p gaming, where the 68 FPS average remains playable, or for screenshots where frame rate is not a concern.