Ahead of Red Dead Redemption 2's launch today, Nvidia used the in-game benchmarking tool to figure out which of its GPUs were needed to hit 60 fps on high settings at different resolutions. Rockstar recommends a GTX 1060, but it doesn't look like that's going to cut it.
For 1920x1080, Nvidia recommends an RTX 2060, but if you want to bump the detail level past high, it recommends an RTX 2070 or RTX 2070 Super. The latter will also get you over 60 fps at 2560x1440, too, but Nvidia says you'll need the beefy RTX 2080 Ti if you want to bump the settings up to ultra. If you're unsure whether your card qualifies, here's our GPU hierarchy.
If you want 60 fps at 4K, you'll need to reduce the settings even on a 2080 Ti, which is one of the best graphics cards available. To see Red Dead Redemption 2 at its very best, you might just have to stomach a lower framerate. Nvidia also recommends upscaling to 4K from a lower resolution.
While the requirements seem pretty steep, these are just what Nvidia considers the ideal GPUs to hit 60 fps or more, so other Nvidia GPUs may be perfectly capable of getting you to 60 fps on high. As good as it looks, some dips into the 50s aren't a big sacrifice, and there are also likely a few settings you can reduce to medium without losing too much visual fidelity.
For a broader look at Red Dead Redemption 2's settings, performance and recommended GPUs, keep an eye out for performance analysis. And if you think you might need to upgrade, well, the Black Friday graphics card deals are coming later in November.
