Red Dead Redemption 2

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 pairing in Red Dead Redemption 2 demonstrates a clear GPU-bound configuration, where the processor’s substantial core and clock specifications provide ample headroom, but the graphics card’s 8 GB VRAM and mid-range positioning dictate the final frame rates across all tested resolutions and settings.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K is a 20-core, 20-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. This configuration places it in the 97th percentile of all CPUs tested on this database, with an average benchmark score of 79102. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 7 265KF, scores 79240, a delta of -0.2%, while the Intel Core i9-14900K scores 79824, putting the 265K 0.9% behind. These benchmark numbers indicate that the 265K is not the bottleneck in Red Dead Redemption 2; its multi-threaded capabilities, evidenced by a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 50009 and a Passmark multi-thread score of 58838, are far beyond the demands of this 2018 title.

In practical terms, the CPU’s performance headroom means that at every resolution from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160, the frame rates are constrained by the GPU, not the processor. The data shows a consistent drop in FPS as resolution increases, which is a classic signature of a GPU-limited scenario. Even at the lowest settings and highest resolution, the CPU’s single-thread performance—a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 7060 and a Passmark single-thread score of 4904—ensures that no frame pacing or draw-call bottlenecks emerge. The 30 MB of shared L3 cache and 102.4 GB/s memory bandwidth further support smooth asset streaming in the open-world environment, but these specifications do not translate into higher FPS because the RTX 4060 reaches its performance ceiling first. The 265K’s role here is purely supportive: it delivers all the data the GPU needs without introducing latency, but it cannot compensate for the GPU’s 8 GB VRAM limitation at higher settings.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is the primary performance limiter in this combination. It features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, yielding 272.0 GB/s of bandwidth, with a base clock of 1830 MHz and a boost clock of 2460 MHz. The GPU sits in the 66th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 23181. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 6600M at 23321 (-0.6%), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti at 23338 (-0.7%), and the Intel Arc B580 at 23021 (+0.7%). These close deltas indicate that the RTX 4060 is a mid-pack performer, which directly explains the measured FPS in Red Dead Redemption 2.

The 8 GB VRAM capacity is the critical constraint. At 1920x1080 with Ultra settings, the GPU manages 51.3 FPS, but at 3840x2160 Ultra, it collapses to 22.7 FPS. This dramatic drop is not solely due to raw compute power—the RTX 4060’s 15.11 TFLOPS FP32 throughput is adequate for 1080p—but rather the memory bandwidth and capacity struggling with higher-resolution textures and draw distances. The 272.0 GB/s bandwidth is insufficient for 4K Ultra, where the game’s asset demands exceed what the 128-bit bus can deliver. The GPU’s 24 RT cores and 96 tensor cores are irrelevant in this context, as the measured data does not include ray tracing or DLSS scenarios; the bottleneck is purely rasterization and memory throughput. At 1080p Low, the RTX 4060 achieves 110.8 FPS, showing that when VRAM pressure is low, the GPU can stretch its legs, but any increase in settings or resolution quickly exposes its limits.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS scaling reveals a textbook GPU-bound profile. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 at High settings, the average FPS drops from 69.5 to 53.4, a 23% reduction. From 1440p to 3840x2160 at the same settings, it drops further to 36.3, another 32% reduction. This compounding loss is steep and directly correlates with the pixel count increase, confirming that the RTX 4060 is the limiting component. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect the FPS to remain relatively flat across resolutions, as the processor’s workload does not scale with pixel count. Instead, the data shows a nearly linear decline in performance with resolution, which is the definitive signature of GPU saturation.

The scaling is even more telling at Ultra settings. At 1080p Ultra, the combo produces 51.3 FPS; at 1440p Ultra, it falls to 37.3; and at 4K Ultra, it plummets to 22.7. This 55.7% drop from 1080p to 4K is far larger than the 32% drop seen at High settings, indicating that the 8 GB VRAM buffer overflows more severely as both resolution and texture quality increase. In contrast, at Low settings, the drop from 1080p (110.8 FPS) to 4K (55.3 FPS) is exactly 50%, which aligns with the pixel count differential (4x) but is mitigated by reduced memory pressure. The conclusion is unambiguous: the CPU’s 97th-percentile standing and 20 cores provide zero additional FPS beyond what the GPU can physically render, and any attempt to play above 1080p Medium requires accepting sub-60 FPS averages.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the combo exceeds 60 FPS on any setting above Low. At 1080p Medium, it hits 79.4 FPS, and at High, 69.5 FPS, making 1080p the sensible choice for fluid gameplay.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming?

A: No. At 3840x2160, the highest average FPS achieved is 55.3 on Low settings, and Ultra drops to 22.7 FPS. Even Medium at 4K only produces 43.7 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth play.

Q: Why does Ultra settings perform so much worse than High?

A: The gap between High and Ultra is significant: at 1080p, it drops from 69.5 to 51.3 FPS, and at 1440p, from 53.4 to 37.3 FPS. This indicates that Ultra settings exceed the 8 GB VRAM capacity, forcing the GPU to manage memory more aggressively, which costs performance.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in this game?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K scores 79102 on average, which is 0.2% behind the 265KF and 0.9% behind the i9-14900K. In this game, these differences are irrelevant because the RTX 4060 is the bottleneck; the CPU never limits frame rates.

Q: Is the RTX 4060 a good match for the Core Ultra 7 265K?

A: In terms of benchmark percentiles, the CPU is in the 97th percentile while the GPU is in the 66th, creating a significant imbalance. The data confirms this: the GPU holds the combo back at every resolution, meaning a stronger GPU would yield higher FPS without any CPU upgrade.

Q: What is the lowest FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The worst case is 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, where the average FPS is 22.7. This is the only measured configuration that falls below 30 FPS, and it is unplayable for most users.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS, the optimal experience is at 1920x1080 with Medium settings, delivering 79.4 FPS average. This provides a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS threshold while maintaining visual quality. High settings at 1080p yield 69.5 FPS, which is still playable but with a 12.5% performance penalty. Ultra at 1080p drops to 51.3 FPS, which is below 60 and not recommended for smooth gameplay. At 2560x1440, the best option is Low settings at 81.4 FPS, but this sacrifices too much visual fidelity; Medium at 58.9 FPS is borderline, and High at 53.4 FPS is acceptable for those who prioritize quality over smoothness. At 3840x2160, no setting achieves 60 FPS; Low at 55.3 FPS is the only viable choice, but even that is sub-optimal. The data suggests that for a balanced experience, 1080p Medium is the sweet spot, as it offers the highest FPS above 60 while retaining moderate detail levels. High at 1080p is a reasonable alternative for users with 120 Hz displays who can tolerate occasional dips below 70 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

At 1920x1080, the combo produces a wide range of results. Low settings yield 110.8 FPS, Medium 79.4 FPS, High 69.5 FPS, and Ultra 51.3 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 59.5 FPS, showing how sensitive the RTX 4060 is to settings changes at this resolution. At 2560x1440, the numbers are: Low 81.4 FPS, Medium 58.9 FPS, High 53.4 FPS, and Ultra 37.3 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra is 44.1 FPS, indicating that the VRAM constraint becomes more pronounced at higher pixel counts. At 3840x2160, the results are: Low 55.3 FPS, Medium 43.7 FPS, High 36.3 FPS, and Ultra 22.7 FPS. The Ultra figure is particularly stark, being 32.6 FPS lower than Low, which is the largest absolute difference across all resolutions. Across all settings, the highest measured FPS is 110.8 (1080p Low) and the lowest is 22.7 (4K Ultra), a factor of 4.9x difference. The data also shows that Medium settings provide a consistent 30% uplift over High at 1080p and 1440p, but only a 20% uplift at 4K, further confirming the memory bottleneck at higher resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

This specific combination of Intel Core Ultra 7 265K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 ranks 953rd out of 1687 tested combos in Red Dead Redemption 2, placing it in the 43.5th percentile of all configurations. This ranking is heavily influenced by the GPU’s 66th-percentile standing, as the CPU’s 97th-percentile score cannot overcome the graphics card’s limitations. The rank suggests that while this combo is not among the worst performers—it beats 734 other combos—it is firmly in the lower-middle tier of tested systems. The data implies that most higher-ranked combos pair the 265K with a more capable GPU, or use a less powerful CPU with a stronger GPU, since the game is overwhelmingly GPU-bound. The combo’s position at 953/1687 means it outperforms approximately 43.5% of all tested configurations, but it falls short of the majority of systems that can achieve higher frame rates at 1440p or 4K. For users targeting 1080p gaming, this rank is acceptable, but for those expecting 1440p or 4K performance, the data clearly indicates that this pairing is sub-optimal, as the GPU’s 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit memory bus are the decisive constraints in this title. The rank also underscores that the CPU’s high benchmark scores are wasted in this configuration, as the RTX 4060 becomes the performance ceiling in every measured scenario.