Red Dead Redemption 2 PC Performance Review and Optimisation Guide
Low, Medium, High and Ultra – Do our custom presets look good?  Â
When creating our custom graphical presets for Red Dead Redemption 2, we made a few assumptions. First, we assumed that PC gamers would be using 4GB+ graphics cards, which are commonplace today on both the new and used market. Next, we did the logical thing and didn’t use Red Dead Redemption 2’s lower texture settings. This is a Performance Analysis and Optimisation Guide after all.Â
Anyone that says that Red Dead Redemption II looks like garbage at settings under high are forgetting rule number 1 of PC game performance optimisation. If the performance cost is practically free, enable it. If your GPU has enough VRAM, you will be able to run Red Dead Redemption 2 with Ultra textures, and that will keep the game looking great, even with most other settings set to low.Â
We also opted to keep TAA set to medium, as this eliminates seemingly all jagged/stairstep edges from Red Dead Redemption 2. This removes the aliased, gamey look that many other modern games have. We feel that this setting is worthy of being added to our Custom Low Preset for Red Dead Redemption 2, given its low performance cost and its impact on the game’s visuals. More information on our custom graphics presets is available on page 2.Â
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As we continue to up Red Dead Redemption 2’s visuals, we can see that each additional setting is having an impact on the game’s framerate. 1440p high is enough to push our RX 5700 Red Devil below 60FPS at times. This is where we need to weight up performance cost vs graphical impact. Yes, higher settings will look better, but if it comes at the cost of smoothness, I’d rather use lower settings and enjoy a higher framerate.Â
(Custom Medium VS Custom High)
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Between our custom High and Ultra settings, you will be hard-pressed to notice any major differences in a lot of scenes, which is strange given the 10FPS hit that RDR2’s high settings inflict on our RX 5700 Red Devil.Â
