Red Dead Redemption 2
A masterpiece of the RAGE engine, heavily taxing the GPU with volumetric lighting and water physics. Interestingly, it has relatively low CPU utilization compared to its graphical demands. Be prepared for a massive 150GB install size.
Actual FPS may vary based on RAM speed, background processes, and other system factors
Performance Report
At 1080p, all quality settings exceed 129 FPS. At 1440p, all settings exceed 96 FPS. At 4K, all settings exceed 70 FPS.
The GeForce RTX 4090 is 279% above the recommended GPU (GeForce GTX 1060) for Red Dead Redemption 2. The Core 5 120 is 138% above the recommended CPU (Core i7-4770K).
The Core 5 120 sets the FPS ceiling at 1080p (low/medium/high), 1440p (low/medium/high), 4k low, while the GeForce RTX 4090 still has headroom. The FPS ceiling is closely matched at 1080p ultra, 1440p ultra, 4k (medium/high/ultra).
Approximated average price on current market:
Combo price: $1989. At 1080p Ultra, this combo delivers 129 FPS, equivalent to 0.06 FPS per dollar.
| Resolution | Low | Medium | High | Ultra |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1080p | 0.088 fps/$ | 0.082 fps/$ | 0.072 fps/$ | 0.065 fps/$ |
| 1440p | 0.066 fps/$ | 0.061 fps/$ | 0.054 fps/$ | 0.048 fps/$ |
| 4k | 0.050 fps/$ | 0.046 fps/$ | 0.041 fps/$ | 0.035 fps/$ |
* Table values represent FPS per Dollar (higher is better)
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This chart answers a simple question: which upgrade is more likely to increase FPS first? In this case, the answer is more often the CPU.
The largest gap appears at 1080p Low, where the Core 5 120 reaches about 199 FPS, while the GeForce RTX 4090 still has headroom up to roughly 271 FPS.
That means the Core 5 120 is hitting its performance ceiling first, leaving a 27% gap versus the GeForce RTX 4090's available headroom in the most unbalanced scenario. Across all tested settings, this pairing is CPU-limited in 7 out of 12 cases, with 0 GPU-limited and 5 balanced results.
Overall, this is a CPU-leaning combination in this game.
The Core 5 120 is more often the limiting part in this game, so a CPU upgrade is somewhat more likely to deliver the bigger FPS gain than a GPU upgrade.
This chart shows which upgrade is more likely to unlock more FPS in each tested setting. The lower line represents the part that reaches its limit first. When the CPU and GPU lines stay close together, the system is more balanced. When the gap widens, one component is more clearly holding the other back. Hover any setting to inspect it.
The lower line is the current limiter. The closer the two lines are, the more balanced the CPU and GPU are for this game.
Each line represents an estimated FPS ceiling for one component, rather than live usage alone.
To estimate the CPU ceiling, we pair the Core 5 120 with GeForce RTX 5090, our current GPU anchor. To estimate the GPU ceiling, we pair the GeForce RTX 4090 with Ryzen 9 9950X3D, our current CPU anchor.
The lower line indicates the current limiter, since that component reaches its FPS ceiling first. In most scenarios, that is also the part most likely to deliver the bigger performance uplift if upgraded first.
The percentage shown represents the gap between the two ceilings. In practical terms, it shows how much of the stronger component's potential is left unused because the weaker one becomes the bottleneck first.
See how your processor and graphics card compare against the game official minimum and recommended system specs. The placement of your hardware is calculated using relative synthetic performance scores to help you gauge overall playability.
Your CPU is 138% above and your GPU is 279% above the recommended specs. Ultra settings at 1080p, or High at 1440p/4K.
+138%vsrecommended
+279%vsrecommended
+422%vsminimum
+539%vsminimum
Yes, the Core 5 120 paired with the GeForce RTX 4090 can run Red Dead Redemption 2 smoothly up to 4k achieving around 70 FPS at Ultra quality. Your GPU is 279% above the recommended specs, and your CPU is 138% above the recommended requirements.
This CPU + GPU combo costs approximately $1,989 ($340 CPU + $1,649 GPU). Since the CPU is the main limiting factor, investing in a stronger processor will improve your framerates and overall value. For example, the Ryzen 9 9950X is a great upgrade option for around $649 (Rank #4 for value).
For Red Dead Redemption 2, upgrading the CPU would usually improve performance first. In the Performance Limiter Analysis, the Core 5 120 is the side that most often caps the frame rate, while the GeForce RTX 4090 still has additional headroom in the tested presets. The main bottleneck appears on the CPU side. The largest gap shows up at 1080p Low, where the CPU reaches about 199 FPS while the GPU still has headroom up to roughly 271 FPS. Across all tested settings, the distribution is 0/12 GPU-limited, 7/12 CPU-limited, and 5/12 balanced.
Red Dead Redemption 2 does not currently support Frame Generation technologies like DLSS 3 or FSR 3. Your performance is based entirely on native rendering. If the game adds support in a future update, newer GPUs will benefit the most.
Red Dead Redemption 2 requires at minimum a Core i5-2500K (CPU) and GeForce GTX 770 (GPU) with 8 GB RAM and 150 GB storage. For the recommended experience, you need a Core i7-4770K and GeForce GTX 1060 with 12 GB RAM. Your Core 5 120 and GeForce RTX 4090 both exceed the recommended specs, so you're well-positioned for a great experience.
These Red Dead Redemption 2 FPS results are not arbitrary numbers. They come from calculations informed by thousands of real gaming benchmarks, and the typical accuracy range is around 10% to 15%. That makes them far more useful than generic FPS calculators that simply invent values without a benchmark foundation. Actual in-game performance can still vary with drivers, updates, RAM configuration, cooling, and the exact scene being rendered.
Performance estimates are based on synthetic benchmarks and hardware capabilities.
Results may vary based on drivers, OS, and background processes.
