Red Dead Redemption 2

Resolution Scaling

Red Dead Redemption 2 exhibits pronounced performance scaling as resolution increases, with the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 showing a clear transition from CPU-bound behavior at lower resolutions to GPU-bound behavior at 4K. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo delivers 162 FPS average, which drops to 121 FPS at 2560x1440 and further to 80 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 50.6% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 1440p and a 33.9% further reduction from 1440p to 4K, indicating that the GPU begins to dominate the performance equation as pixel count rises.

The scaling pattern across settings reveals a consistent trend. At High settings, the average FPS goes from 101 at 1080p to 75 at 1440p and finally to 50 at 4K. The percentage drop from 1080p to 1440p is 25.7%, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 33.3%. This accelerating decline suggests that at 4K resolution, the RTX 5070's rendering capabilities become the primary limiting factor, as the absolute frame rate differences become proportionally larger with each resolution step.

At Medium settings, the measured rows show 121 FPS at 1080p, 90 FPS at 1440p, and 60 FPS at 4K. The scaling from 1440p to 4K here is exactly 33.3%, matching the High setting's proportional drop. However, the 1080p to 1440p transition shows a 25.6% decrease, nearly identical to High settings. This consistency across settings suggests that resolution scaling in Red Dead Redemption 2 is largely independent of the quality preset, with the GPU's fill-rate and bandwidth constraints becoming increasingly dominant at higher pixel densities.

Ultra settings tell a different story, with 73 FPS at 1080p, 54 FPS at 1440p, and 36 FPS at 4K. The 1080p to 1440p drop is 26.0%, while the 1440p to 4K drop is 33.3%. Interestingly, the 4K Ultra result of 36 FPS is the lowest measured frame rate across the entire dataset, suggesting that the combination of maximum quality settings and 4K resolution pushes the RTX 5070 to its practical limits in this title. The diminishing returns at Ultra settings are evident, as the absolute FPS gap between Medium and Ultra widens from 48 FPS at 1080p to 24 FPS at 4K.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070, with its 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivers 672.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth, which proves critical for Red Dead Redemption 2's open-world streaming demands. The GPU's base clock of 2325 MHz and boost clock of 2512 MHz, combined with 6144 shading units, provide the computational throughput necessary to drive frame rates across all tested resolutions. The benchmark results indicate that the GPU's 30.87 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 482.3 GTexel/s texture rate are substantial contributors to the observed frame rates, particularly at 4K where texture sampling and pixel throughput become paramount.

The RTX 5070's memory configuration is particularly relevant at 4K resolution, where the 12 GB capacity must accommodate the game's high-resolution textures alongside the operating system and driver overhead. The measured 4K results, ranging from 36 FPS at Ultra to 80 FPS at Low, suggest that memory bandwidth rather than capacity is the limiting factor, as the 672.0 GB/s figure aligns with the scaling patterns observed when transitioning between 1440p and 4K. The 192-bit bus width, while narrower than some higher-tier cards, still provides sufficient bandwidth for this title at the tested settings.

The GPU's pixel rate of 201.0 GPixel/s and its 80 ROPs directly influence the 4K performance ceiling. At 4K Ultra, the 36 FPS average represents a 28% reduction compared to 4K High's 50 FPS, indicating that the additional pixel shading and compute demands of Ultra settings overwhelm the GPU's capabilities. The RTX 5070's 48 RT cores and 192 tensor cores are present but likely underutilized in this title, as Red Dead Redemption 2's rasterization-focused rendering places greater emphasis on traditional shader throughput.

Comparing the RTX 5070 to its nearest rivals in the database, the GPU's average benchmark score of 40377 places it 0.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro 580 and 0.8% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100. However, it trails the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 by 1.2% and the NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile by 2.0%. These marginal differences in synthetic benchmarks do not directly translate to the measured in-game performance, where the RTX 5070's architectural advantages in memory bandwidth and shader throughput manifest more clearly.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS achieved by this combo in Red Dead Redemption 2?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 162, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This represents the most favorable scenario for the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and RTX 5070 combination, where the CPU's capabilities are maximized relative to GPU workload.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS drops to 36, which is the lowest measured result in the dataset. This indicates that the RTX 5070 becomes the primary bottleneck at maximum quality and resolution, delivering a playable but not smooth experience for demanding users.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings produce 121 FPS average, while Ultra settings produce 54 FPS average. This represents a 55.4% reduction in frame rate when moving from the lowest to the highest quality preset, illustrating the substantial GPU workload increase from Ultra settings.

Q: Does the combo maintain 60+ FPS at 4K?

A: The only 4K settings that achieve 60+ FPS are Low, which delivers 80 FPS average. Medium settings achieve exactly 60 FPS average, while High and Ultra fall below the 60 FPS threshold at 50 FPS and 36 FPS respectively. Users targeting 60 FPS at 4K must use Medium or lower settings.

Q: How does the CPU's benchmark performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus has an average benchmark score of 84003, which is 0.2% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K's 83807 and 1.1% higher than the AMD EPYC 4584PX's 83090. It also outperforms the AMD EPYC 9135 by 1.2%, but trails the AMD EPYC 7F72 by 1.3%.

Q: What is the best resolution for balanced performance?

A: At 2560x1440 with High settings, the combo achieves 75 FPS average, which provides a good balance between visual quality and smoothness. For higher frame rates, 1080p High delivers 101 FPS, while 4K requires reducing to Medium settings to maintain 60 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured FPS across settings shows a clear hierarchy. Low settings deliver the highest average at 162 FPS, followed by Medium at 121 FPS with a minimum of 103 FPS and maximum of 139 FPS. High settings produce 101 FPS average, while Ultra settings drop to 73 FPS average. The spread between Low and Ultra is 89 FPS, representing a 54.9% reduction in frame rate from the lowest to highest quality preset.

At 2560x1440, the performance gap narrows slightly but remains substantial. Low settings achieve 121 FPS average, Medium settings deliver 90 FPS with a range of 77 to 104 FPS, High settings produce 75 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 54 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 67 FPS, or 55.4%, which is proportionally similar to the 1080p results. This consistency suggests that the CPU and GPU scaling behavior remains stable across these two resolutions.

At 3840x2160, the performance envelope compresses significantly. Low settings produce 80 FPS average, Medium settings deliver 60 FPS with a range of 51 to 69 FPS, High settings achieve 50 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 36 FPS. The total spread between Low and Ultra is 44 FPS, representing a 55.0% reduction. The Medium setting's minimum of 51 FPS indicates that even at this preset, frame times can dip below the 60 FPS threshold, making consistent smoothness challenging at 4K.

The Medium settings across all resolutions show the most complete data with min and max values. At 1080p, the range is 103 to 139 FPS around the 121 FPS average. At 1440p, the range is 77 to 104 FPS around the 90 FPS average. At 4K, the range is 51 to 69 FPS around the 60 FPS average. These ranges demonstrate that frame time variance increases relatively at higher resolutions, with the 4K range representing 30% of the average value compared to 29.8% at 1080p and 30.0% at 1440p.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 combination ranks 791 out of 3714 tested combos in Red Dead Redemption 2, placing it in the 78.7th percentile of all configurations. This ranking indicates that the combo performs above the median but does not reach the top tier of tested systems. The percentile position suggests that while the CPU and GPU are both capable components, their combination in this specific title does not yield exceptional results compared to other pairings in the database.

The ranking of 791 out of 3714 combos implies that approximately 2923 other configurations achieve better performance in this game. Given that the combo's CPU ranks in the 96th percentile against all CPUs and the GPU ranks in the 82nd percentile against all GPUs, the in-game ranking is lower than either component's individual percentile. This discrepancy suggests that Red Dead Redemption 2's performance is not solely determined by raw component capabilities, but also by how well the specific combination interacts with the game's engine and rendering pipeline.

The combo's position in the rankings can be contextualized by examining the individual components' benchmark scores. The CPU's average benchmark score of 84003 places it just 0.2% above the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, while the GPU's average score of 40377 places it within 2% of several rival cards. These narrow margins in synthetic benchmarks translate to similarly narrow performance differences in real-world gaming, which may explain why the combo ranks where it does relative to other configurations in the database.

The fact that this combination ranks in the top 21.3% of all tested combos is notable, but the gap to higher-ranked configurations likely stems from the GPU's mid-range positioning. With only 12 GB of VRAM and a 192-bit memory bus, the RTX 5070 may not provide the headroom required for Red Dead Redemption 2's most demanding settings, particularly at higher resolutions where memory bandwidth becomes critical.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus features 24 cores and 24 threads, with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.80 GHz. This configuration provides substantial multi-threaded capability, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 51731 and single-core score of 7303. The CPU's 36 MB of shared L3 cache and 3 MB per-core L2 cache contribute to its ability to handle the game's open-world streaming and AI workloads, though Red Dead Redemption 2 is not typically considered a CPU-intensive title.

The CPU's benchmark results show a strong balance between multi-threaded and single-threaded performance. The PassMark multi-thread score of 60860 and single-thread score of 4823 indicate that the processor can handle both heavily threaded workloads and latency-sensitive tasks. In the context of Red Dead Redemption 2, the single-thread performance is particularly relevant, as the game's main game logic and rendering thread often present a bottleneck at lower resolutions.

At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 162 FPS average, which suggests that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with sufficient draw calls and game state updates. The fact that 4K Low delivers 80 FPS while 1080p Low delivers 162 FPS indicates that the CPU is not the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions, but rather the GPU's rendering throughput. This is consistent with the resolution scaling analysis, which showed increasingly GPU-bound behavior at higher pixel counts.

The CPU's 125 W TDP and dual-channel DDR5 memory support with 115.2 GB/s bandwidth provide adequate memory throughput for the game's streaming requirements. The 20 PCIe Gen 5 lanes from the CPU ensure that the RTX 5070 can communicate with the processor without bandwidth constraints, which is essential for maintaining consistent frame delivery across all tested settings. The CPU's percentile ranking of 96 against all CPUs confirms its high-end positioning, though this does not always translate to proportional gaming performance gains.

Settings Recommendations

For users prioritizing maximum frame rates, the Low preset at 1920x1080 delivers the highest measured performance at 162 FPS average, making it suitable for high-refresh-rate displays. However, this comes at the cost of visual fidelity, which may not be acceptable for a visually rich title like Red Dead Redemption 2. The High preset at 1080p provides 101 FPS average, offering a more balanced experience with substantially improved visuals.

At 2560x1440, the High preset delivers 75 FPS average, which is playable on most displays and represents a good compromise between image quality and smoothness. The Medium preset at 1440p provides 90 FPS average with a minimum of 77 FPS, ensuring that frame times remain consistent even during demanding scenes. Users with 144 Hz displays may prefer Low settings at 1440p for the 121 FPS average, though the visual trade-offs are significant.

For 4K gaming, the Medium preset is the only setting that achieves exactly 60 FPS average, with a minimum of 51 FPS and maximum of 69 FPS. This makes it the recommended choice for users targeting 60 FPS at 4K, though the minimum frame rate indicates occasional dips below the target. Users who can tolerate lower frame rates may opt for High settings at 4K, which delivers 50 FPS average, while Ultra should be avoided due to its 36 FPS average.

The data suggests that the best overall experience is achieved at 2560x1440 with High settings, offering 75 FPS average. This configuration balances the GPU's capabilities with visual quality, avoiding the frame rate volatility seen at 4K while providing significantly better visuals than Low or Medium presets. For users with G-Sync or FreeSync displays, the Medium preset at 4K may provide a more consistent experience despite the 51 FPS minimum.