Red Dead Redemption 2

# CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a 24-core, 24-thread processor built on the Arrow Lake Refresh architecture, fabricated on a TSMC 3 nm process. Its base clock of 3.70 GHz and boost clock of 5.80 GHz provide substantial single-thread headroom, which is critical for this game's frame pacing and physics simulation. The chip's L3 cache is 36 MB shared, with 3 MB L2 per core and 192 KB L1 per core, allowing the game's open-world streaming systems to maintain data locality.

In synthetic benchmarks, this CPU scores 51,731 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 7,303 in single-core, placing it in the 96th percentile against all CPUs. The data shows a multithreaded Passmark score of 60,860 and a single-thread score of 4,823. These figures indicate that the processor has ample headroom for Red Dead Redemption 2's AI, weather simulation, and NPC scheduling tasks, which tend to spread across multiple cores.

The nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, scores 83,807 on average benchmark score, a delta of only 0.2% from the 290K Plus's 84,003 average. This near-tie means that in CPU-bound scenarios within the game, the difference between these two chips would be imperceptible. The AMD EPYC 4584PX trails by 1.1% (83,090 average), while the EPYC 9135 is 1.2% behind (82,980). The AMD EPYC 7F72 actually leads by 1.3% (85,072), though that is a server-class part.

For this game specifically, the 24 threads are not all equally utilized; Red Dead Redemption 2 typically scales well up to eight to twelve threads for its main simulation loops. The high boost clock of 5.80 GHz ensures that the primary game thread, which often handles input, camera, and core gameplay logic, receives the fastest possible processing. The 115.2 GB/s memory bandwidth from dual-channel DDR5 support also helps with the game's large texture streaming requirements.

# GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with an AD103 chip fabricated on a 5 nm TSMC process. It packs 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 716.8 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's base clock is 2205 MHz with a boost of 2505 MHz, while the memory runs at an effective 22.4 Gbps. With 9,728 shading units, 304 TMUs, and 112 ROPs, the card is well-equipped for the heavy rasterization demands of Red Dead Redemption 2's detailed landscapes and volumetric lighting.

The RTX 4080's 76 RT cores and 304 tensor cores provide hardware acceleration for the game's optional ray-traced reflections and DLSS features, though the measured FPS data here appears to be from standard rasterization runs. The card's FP32 performance of 48.74 TFLOPS and texture rate of 761.5 GTexel/s allow it to handle the game's high-resolution texture sets and complex shader work.

In GPU benchmarks, the RTX 4080 scores 34,457 in Passmark G3D and 20,671 in GPU compute, placing it in the 86th percentile against all GPUs. Its average benchmark score of 54,247 is nearly identical to the RTX 4080 SUPER at 54,209, a delta of just 0.1%. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X scores 54,828 (1.1% higher), while the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB and AMD Radeon 8060S trail by 2.6% and 2.7% respectively with scores of 55,698 and 55,757.

For this game, the 16 GB VRAM is more than sufficient at all tested resolutions, even at Ultra settings with high-resolution texture packs. The GPU's 716.8 GB/s bandwidth ensures that texture streaming from VRAM to the rendering pipeline does not become a bottleneck, even in the dense forest areas of the game world.

# Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of GPU dominance as resolution increases. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves 600 FPS average, which drops to 379 FPS at 2560x1440 and 198 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 67% drop from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, indicating that the CPU is the primary limiter at 1080p, as the GPU has massive headroom that gets progressively consumed by higher pixel counts.

At Medium settings, the scaling shows 446 FPS at 1080p, 281 FPS at 1440p, and 147 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 37%, while 1440p to 4K is 48%. This non-linear scaling suggests that at 1440p Medium, the system is transitioning from CPU-bound to GPU-bound territory. The 4K Medium result of 147 FPS with a min FPS of 125 and max of 169 indicates that the GPU is now the limiting factor, but still maintains excellent frame consistency.

High settings show a similar pattern: 383 FPS at 1080p, 242 FPS at 1440p, and 126 FPS at 4K. The 1080p to 1440p drop is 37%, and 1440p to 4K is 48%, nearly identical to Medium settings. This suggests that the relative load between CPU and GPU remains consistent across these two settings presets.

Ultra settings present the most dramatic scaling: 274 FPS at 1080p, 173 FPS at 1440p, and 91 FPS at 4K. The 1080p to 1440p drop is 37%, while 1440p to 4K is 47%. The 4K Ultra result of 91 FPS average indicates that the GPU is heavily taxed at this configuration, but the system still delivers a playable experience.

The data shows that at 1080p, even Ultra settings (274 FPS) leave significant GPU headroom, confirming the CPU's role as the primary constraint. At 4K, the GPU becomes the dominant bottleneck across all settings, with the gap between Low (198 FPS) and Ultra (91 FPS) being 54%. This wide spread indicates that the RTX 4080's performance scales predictably with render load at 4K.

# Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal balance between visual quality and performance varies by resolution. At 1920x1080, Ultra settings deliver 274 FPS average, which is far beyond what any display can show, making this preset the best choice for image quality without any practical performance penalty. The High preset's 383 FPS and Medium's 446 FPS offer no tangible benefit at this resolution since the Ultra setting already exceeds typical 240Hz refresh rate capabilities.

At 2560x1440, Ultra settings produce 173 FPS average, which remains well above the 144Hz threshold common among high-refresh monitors. The High preset at 242 FPS offers additional headroom for competitive play, but the visual fidelity difference between High and Ultra in this game is noticeable in draw distance and shadow quality. The Medium preset at 281 FPS is only recommended for players with 240Hz+ displays who prioritize maximum frame rate over visual detail.

At 3840x2160, the decision becomes more nuanced. Ultra settings yield 91 FPS average, which is generally considered the threshold for smooth gameplay on 60Hz displays but may feel slightly less fluid on 120Hz panels. High settings at 126 FPS provide a substantial improvement in smoothness while sacrificing some visual effects. The Medium preset at 147 FPS offers the best frame rate for 4K gaming on high-refresh displays, with min FPS of 125 ensuring consistent performance. Low settings at 198 FPS are unnecessary at this resolution since the visual degradation is substantial.

The data indicates that High settings at 4K (126 FPS) represents the best balance for most users, as it maintains frame rates above 120 FPS while preserving the game's intended visual presentation. For those with 60Hz displays, Ultra at 4K (91 FPS) is the recommended choice to maximize image quality.

# How This Combo Ranks

The combination of Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 ranks 2nd out of 3,714 tested combos in Red Dead Redemption 2. This top-tier placement reflects the synergy between the high-boost CPU and the powerful GPU, which together deliver exceptional frame rates across all tested configurations.

The rank of 2 suggests that only one other hardware combination outperforms this setup in the game. Given the CPU's 0.2% advantage over the Core Ultra 9 285K and the GPU's near-tie with the RTX 4080 SUPER, the ranking likely comes down to marginal differences in memory latency or driver optimization. The 96th percentile CPU ranking and 86th percentile GPU ranking combine to create a system that sits at the apex of gaming performance.

This combo's performance is particularly notable because the RTX 4080's nearest rival, the RTX 4080 SUPER, scores only 0.1% higher in average benchmark score. This means that the GPU choice is not the differentiator at this performance tier. Instead, the CPU's strong single-thread performance (7,303 in Cinebench R23 single-core) likely provides the edge in this game's CPU-bound scenarios at lower resolutions.

The fact that this combo achieves 600 FPS at 1080p Low and 274 FPS at 1080p Ultra indicates that the system has massive headroom even in the most demanding CPU-bound scenarios. The rank of 2 out of 3,714 validates that this hardware pairing is one of the most capable configurations for this title.

# FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS achieved by this combo at 4K?

A: The highest 4K average FPS is 198, achieved at Low settings. At Ultra settings, the average drops to 91 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus has an average benchmark score of 84,003, which is 0.2% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K's 83,807. The AMD EPYC 4584PX trails by 1.1% with 83,090.

Q: Is the GPU or CPU the limiting factor at 1080p Ultra?

A: At 1080p Ultra, the combo achieves 274 FPS, which is well above typical display refresh rates. The data indicates the CPU is the primary limiter at this resolution, as the GPU has significant headroom.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded at 4K Medium settings?

A: The 4K Medium settings show a min FPS of 125 and a max FPS of 169, with an average of 147 FPS.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations in this game?

A: This combo ranks 2nd out of 3,714 tested combos in Red Dead Redemption 2.

Q: What is the GPU's VRAM capacity and memory bandwidth?

A: The RTX 4080 features 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 716.8 GB/s of memory bandwidth.

# Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080:

• Low: 600 FPS average
• Medium: 446 FPS average, 379 min, 513 max
• High: 383 FPS average
• Ultra: 274 FPS average

2560x1440:

• Low: 379 FPS average
• Medium: 281 FPS average, 239 min, 324 max
• High: 242 FPS average
• Ultra: 173 FPS average

3840x2160:

• Low: 198 FPS average
• Medium: 147 FPS average, 125 min, 169 max
• High: 126 FPS average
• Ultra: 91 FPS average

The data shows that at every resolution, the progression from Low to Ultra settings results in predictable FPS reductions. At 1080p, the drop from Low to Ultra is 54% (600 to 274 FPS). At 1440p, the drop is 54% as well (379 to 173 FPS). At 4K, the drop is 54% (198 to 91 FPS). This consistent scaling across resolutions indicates that the performance penalty per settings tier is uniform, regardless of pixel count.

The Medium settings presets consistently provide the only rows with min and max FPS data. At 1080p Medium, the range is 379 to 513 FPS, a spread of 134 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the range is 239 to 324 FPS, a spread of 85 FPS. At 4K Medium, the range is 125 to 169 FPS, a spread of 44 FPS. This narrowing range as resolution increases confirms the GPU becoming the dominant bottleneck, as frame time variance decreases when the GPU is fully saturated.

The jump from Low to Medium settings at each resolution represents the largest relative performance cost. At 1080p, the drop is 154 FPS (600 to 446). At 1440p, the drop is 98 FPS (379 to 281). At 4K, the drop is 51 FPS (198 to 147). This suggests that Medium settings introduce significant rendering features that tax the GPU heavily, while the step from Medium to High (and High to Ultra) follows a more gradual curve.