Red Dead Redemption 2

The data for Red Dead Redemption 2 with the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 reveals a system that is heavily defined by its graphics card, with the CPU providing a stable, high-performance foundation that rarely becomes the limiting factor. The measured FPS across resolutions and settings paints a clear picture of a hardware pairing optimized for high-refresh-rate 1080p and smooth 1440p gameplay, while 4K demands more conservative settings.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 produces a dramatic and consistent drop in frame rates, a clear indicator that the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is the primary bottleneck at higher pixel counts. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 97.7 at 1080p to 72.2 at 1440p, and finally to 49.5 at 4K. This represents a roughly 49% reduction in performance from 1080p to 4K, a scaling pattern that is typical for a mid-range GPU like the RTX 4070 with its 12 GB of VRAM and 192-bit memory bus.

The scaling behavior becomes more pronounced when examining the Low settings preset. Here, the system achieves 154.3 FPS at 1080p, drops to 111.9 FPS at 1440p, and settles at 75.1 FPS at 4K. The fact that even at 4K Low the system can push past 75 FPS suggests that the CPU, with its 20 cores and 20 threads, is supplying the GPU with enough data to maintain playable frame rates. However, the steep drop from 154.3 to 111.9 FPS between 1080p and 1440p at Low settings indicates that the GPU's raw fillrate and shading power are being taxed significantly as the pixel count increases.

At Ultra settings, the resolution scaling is the most punishing. The system manages 67.8 FPS at 1080p, but this falls to 52.7 FPS at 1440p and plummets to a marginal 34 FPS at 4K. This pattern suggests that the RTX 4070's 29.15 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 455.4 GTexel/s texture rate are simply overwhelmed by the combination of Ultra quality assets and 4K resolution. The data implies that for 4K gaming, users must be willing to sacrifice significant graphical fidelity to achieve smooth frame rates, whereas 1080p and 1440p offer much more headroom for visual quality.

FAQ

Q: How does the system perform at 1080p with High settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with High settings, the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K and RTX 4070 combination delivers an average of 97.7 FPS. This places the system well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, indicating that 1080p High is a very comfortable operating point for this hardware.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between 1440p and 4K at Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the system averages 84.5 FPS. When the resolution is increased to 3840x2160 at the same Medium settings, the average FPS drops to 55.4. This represents a significant 34% performance reduction when moving from 1440p to 4K.

Q: Can this combination handle 4K Ultra settings?

A: The data shows that at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is only 34. This is below the commonly accepted 60 FPS standard for smooth gameplay, indicating that 4K Ultra is not a viable configuration for this hardware if fluid motion is desired.

Q: What is the best resolution for maximum frame rate?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 154.3, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This suggests that for competitive or high-refresh-rate play, 1080p with lower settings is the optimal choice for this particular GPU and CPU pairing.

Q: How does the system's performance at 1440p compare to 1080p?

A: Across all settings presets, the frame rate at 1440p is consistently lower than at 1080p. For instance, at High settings, the system drops from 97.7 FPS at 1080p to 72.2 FPS at 1440p, a performance penalty of roughly 26% for the increased resolution.

Q: Is the CPU holding back the GPU in this game?

A: The benchmark data does not indicate that the CPU is a limiting factor at lower resolutions. For example, at 1080p Low, the system reaches 154.3 FPS, a high frame rate that still relies on GPU performance. The consistent FPS drops with increasing resolution point to the GPU as the primary constraint, while the Core Ultra 7 265K, with its high multi-threaded scores, appears to provide sufficient headroom.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K is a 20-core, 20-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, built on a 3 nm process by TSMC. Its specifications include a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, with a substantial 30 MB of shared L3 cache. In the context of Red Dead Redemption 2, this processor provides a powerful foundation that allows the RTX 4070 to operate without being starved of data.

The CPU's performance is reflected in its synthetic benchmarks, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 50009 and a single-core score of 7060. These scores indicate that the processor is capable of handling the game's complex simulation and AI tasks while maintaining high single-thread performance, which is often critical for game logic. The processor's Passmark single-thread score of 4904 and multi-thread score of 58838 further support this, showing a balanced profile that excels in both lightly-threaded and heavily-threaded workloads.

The data from the measured FPS suggests that the CPU is not the bottleneck in this pairing, even at 1080p where the GPU is less stressed. The jump from 114.8 FPS at 1080p Medium to 154.3 FPS at 1080p Low demonstrates that the system is capable of scaling performance with GPU load, which implies that the CPU can feed the GPU with enough frames to reach these high numbers. The fact that the Core Ultra 7 265K's nearest rivals include the Intel Core i9-14900K and the Intel Core i9-14900KF, with deltaPct values of -0.9% and -0.2% respectively, shows that this processor is in the top tier of consumer CPUs, making it a non-issue for this game's requirements.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The dataset provides a comprehensive look at the system's performance across four distinct settings presets at three resolutions. At 1920x1080, the frame rates are consistently high, starting at 154.3 FPS on Low, dropping to 114.8 FPS on Medium, 97.7 FPS on High, and down to 67.8 FPS on Ultra. This shows a clear scaling pattern where each step up in settings costs roughly 16-20 FPS, with the jump from High to Ultra being the most severe at nearly 30 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance profile shifts downward. The Low preset yields 111.9 FPS, which is still excellent for a high-refresh-rate monitor. Medium settings produce 84.5 FPS, High settings deliver 72.2 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 52.7 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 59.2 FPS, indicating that the Ultra preset imposes a significant load on the GPU that limits its ability to maintain high frame rates.

At 3840x2160, the system's limitations become evident. The Low preset manages 75.1 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for a high-refresh-rate display. Medium settings drop to 55.4 FPS, High settings fall to 49.5 FPS, and Ultra settings plummet to 34 FPS. The data shows that 4K gaming is only truly smooth when using the Low preset, as the other presets fall below the 60 FPS threshold.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Red Dead Redemption 2, this specific pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 holds a combo rank of 392 out of 1687 tested combinations. This placement in the top 23% of all tested systems indicates that this is a strong performer, though not at the absolute top tier. The rank suggests that there are many systems with more powerful GPUs or CPUs that can achieve higher frame rates, but this combination is still significantly above the median.

The GPU's own performance percentile is 81, meaning it outperforms 81% of all GPUs in the database. The CPU's percentile is even higher at 97, placing it in the top 3% of all CPUs tested. This data implies that the CPU is a much more powerful component relative to the GPU. The combo rank of 392 reflects this imbalance, as the overall system performance is likely limited by the RTX 4070's capabilities, despite the CPU's high standing. The gap between the CPU's percentile and the combo's rank suggests that upgrading the GPU would yield substantial improvements in this game, while the CPU has plenty of headroom to support a more powerful graphics card.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the ideal settings preset depends heavily on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For 1080p displays, the High preset at 97.7 FPS offers the best balance between visual fidelity and performance, providing a smooth experience without sacrificing the game's detailed world. The Ultra preset at 67.8 FPS is also viable for users who prioritize image quality over frame rate, but the drop from High to Ultra is significant.

At 1440p, the High preset at 72.2 FPS is the recommended choice for a smooth, high-quality experience. The Medium preset at 84.5 FPS is also a strong option for users who prefer higher frame rates, while the Ultra preset at 52.7 FPS falls below the 60 FPS threshold and is not recommended for those who value fluidity. The Low preset at 111.9 FPS is only suitable for competitive play where maximum frame rate is paramount.

For 4K resolution, the data clearly shows that the Low preset at 75.1 FPS is the only truly playable option. The Medium preset at 55.4 FPS is borderline, while High at 49.5 FPS and Ultra at 34 FPS are too sluggish for a responsive experience. The analysis suggests that for 4K, users should either stick with Low settings or consider lowering the resolution to 1440p to enjoy higher quality presets.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture and features 5888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs. Its memory configuration includes 12 GB of GDDR6X on a 192-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. The GPU's boost clock is rated at 2475 MHz, and its FP32 compute performance is 29.15 TFLOPS. These specifications are crucial in understanding how this card performs in Red Dead Redemption 2.

The data indicates that the RTX 4070 is the primary determinant of frame rates in this game. The significant FPS drops when moving from 1080p to 4K, as well as the substantial penalties for increased settings presets, point directly to the GPU's limitations. For example, the difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 86.5 FPS, which is a massive performance gap that can only be attributed to the GPU's workload. The card's 12 GB of VRAM may also be a factor at 4K Ultra, where high-resolution textures could fill the buffer and cause performance degradation.

The GPU's performance percentile of 81, when compared to its nearest rivals like the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile, shows that it is a capable mid-range to upper-mid-range card. However, the data from this benchmark makes it clear that for a demanding title like Red Dead Redemption 2, the RTX 4070 is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K requiring significant compromises in settings to achieve playable frame rates.