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 143 FPS. At 1440p, all settings exceed 115 FPS. At 4K, all settings exceed 77 FPS.
The GeForce RTX 4090 is 279% above the recommended GPU (GeForce GTX 1060) for Red Dead Redemption 2. The Core i9-12900KF is 350% above the recommended CPU (Core i7-4770K).
Red Dead Redemption 2 supports: AFMF. This game does not have native DLSS 3 or FSR 3 Frame Generation support. AFMF is AMD-exclusive and not compatible with GeForce RTX 4090.
The Core i9-12900KF sets the FPS ceiling at 1080p (low/medium), 1440p (low/medium), while the GeForce RTX 4090 still has headroom. The FPS ceiling is closely matched at 1080p (high/ultra), 1440p (high/ultra), all 4k settings.
Approximated average price on current market:
Combo price: $1969. At 1080p Ultra, this combo delivers 143 FPS, equivalent to 0.07 FPS per dollar.
| Resolution | Low | Medium | High | Ultra |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1080p | 0.116 fps/$ | 0.101 fps/$ | 0.090 fps/$ | 0.073 fps/$ |
| 1440p | 0.080 fps/$ | 0.073 fps/$ | 0.069 fps/$ | 0.058 fps/$ |
| 4k | 0.054 fps/$ | 0.051 fps/$ | 0.047 fps/$ | 0.039 fps/$ |
* Table values represent FPS per Dollar (higher is better)
This section is based on estimated CPU/GPU FPS ceilings, not utilization percentages.
At 1440p low, the Core i9-12900KF sets the ceiling at about 160 FPS, while the GeForce RTX 4090 could reach 180 FPS. In this scenario, the CPU limits the GPU potential by 11% (FPS gap: 20 FPS). Overall distribution: CPU limits 4/12 cells, GPU limits 0/12, balanced 8/12.
The Core i9-12900KF and GeForce RTX 4090 stay close in effective frame-generation ceiling across most presets, so neither side consistently suppresses the other by a large margin.
| Resolution | Low | Medium | High | Ultra |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1080p (Full HD) | CPU Limits GPU 10% | CPU Limits GPU 8% | Balanced | Balanced |
| 1440p (2K QHD) | CPU Limits GPU 11% | CPU Limits GPU 7% | Balanced | Balanced |
| 4K (Ultra HD) | Balanced | Balanced | Balanced | Balanced |
We estimate the maximum FPS the processor can sustain and the maximum FPS the graphics card can sustain in each setting, then compare those limits directly.
Limit Factor formula: (stronger - weaker) / stronger. Example: if CPU ceiling is 200 FPS and GPU ceiling is 140 FPS, then GPU limits CPU by 30%.
CPU Limits GPU means the processor ceiling is lower. GPU Limits CPU means the graphics ceiling is lower. Balanced means the FPS ceilings are close enough that the gap is negligible.
A component can still be the FPS limiter without reaching 100% utilization. The displayed percentages are derived from FPS ceilings, not generic utilization heuristics.
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 350% above and your GPU is 279% above the recommended specs. Ultra settings at 1080p, or High at 1440p/4K.
+350%vsrecommended
+279%vsrecommended
+887%vsminimum
+539%vsminimum
Yes, the Core i9-12900KF paired with the GeForce RTX 4090 can run Red Dead Redemption 2 smoothly up to 4k achieving around 77 FPS at Ultra quality. Your GPU is 279% above the recommended specs, and your CPU is 350% above the recommended requirements.
This CPU + GPU combo costs approximately $1969 ($320 CPU (Rank #108 Value) + $1649 GPU (Rank #77 Value)). Your Core i9-12900KF provides phenomenal top-tier performance but at a premium enthusiast price. Since you are essentially at the ceiling of current hardware capabilities, there are no meaningful performance upgrades available. However, if you wanted a more cost-effective build that still delivers a great experience, you could theoretically step down to a high-end processor with a significantly better value rating. For example, the Ryzen 9 9950X is a great upgrade option for around $649 (Rank #5 for value).
Your Core i9-12900KF is already an incredibly powerful processor. While it's technically the first component to hit its limit (which is completely normal in state-of-the-art builds), there is no meaningful upgrade path that would drastically improve your Red Dead Redemption 2 performance right now. CPU fully utilized at: 1080p low, 1080p medium, 1440p low, 1440p medium.
Red Dead Redemption 2 currently only supports AFMF (AMD Fluid Motion Frames) for frame generation, which is an AMD-exclusive technology. Because you are using an NVIDIA GPU, you cannot use Frame Generation for this specific game. However, the game does support DLSS Upscaling and FSR Upscaling, which you should enable to render at a lower resolution and use AI to significantly boost your FPS without losing visual quality.
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 i9-12900KF 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.
