Red Dead Redemption 2 Optimization [Part 1] Let's Greatly Improve PC Performance!

Red Dead Redemption 2 PC Optimization [Part 1]

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[Hardwareunboxed]

Part 2 will be coming later this week (if all goes to plan) covering the advanced settings. It takes a ton of work just to comprehensively cover and analyse the basic settings in games like this so we appreciate all the support!

[penumbrum]

**Sees my GTX 1060 running at max fan speed**
Me: "You're alright boah."

[klvngtz]

(For anybody who doesnt want to watch the entire video)
(Recommended settings for performance/resolution balance)
Texture Quality: Ultra
Isotrophic Filtering: 16x
Lighting Quality: Medium
Global Illumination: High
Shadow Quality: High
Far Shadow Quality: High
SSAO: Ultra
Reflection Quality: Medium
Mirror Quality: Ultra
Water Quality: Medium
Volumetrics: Medium
Particle Quality: Ultra
Tesselation: Ultra
TAA: Medium
FXAA: OFF
MSAA: OFF

[Chirrup...]

Texture Quality: Ultra
Isotropic Filtering: 16x
Lighting Quality: Medium
Global Illumination: High
Shadow Quality: High
Far Shadow Quality: High
SSAO: Ultra
Reflection Quality: Medium
Mirror Quality: Ultra
Water Quality: Medium
Volumetrics: Medium
Particle Quality: Ultra
Tesselation: Ultra
TAA: Medium
FXAA: OFF
MSAA: OFF

Near Volumetric Quality: Low
Far Volumetric Quality: Medium
Volumetric Lighting Quality: High
Unlocked Volumetric Raymarch Resolution: On
Particle Lighting Quality: Medium
Soft Shadows: High
Grass Shadows: Medium
Long Shadows: On
Full Resolution SSAO: Off
Water Refraction Quality: Medium
Water Reflection Quality: High
Water Physics Quality: High
TAA Sharpening: Any
Motion Blur: Off
Reflection MSAA: X2
Geometry Level of Detail: 3 of 5
Grass Level Detail: 4 of 10
Tree Quality: High
Parallax Occlusion Mapping Quality: Ultra
Decal Quality: Ultra
Fur Quality: High
Tree Tessellation) to OFF

[MaxAltair]

4:38 Initial Test Settings
5:05 Texture Quality
6:00 Anisotropic Filter
6:48 Lighting Quality
8:50 Global Illumination
9:12 Shadow Quality
10:08 Far Shadow Quality
10:34 Screen Ambient Oclussion (SSAO)
11:25 Reflection Quality
12:33 Mirror Quality
12:51 Water Quality
13:53 Volumetrics Quality
15:10 Particle Quality
15:17 Tesselation
15:55 Temporal AntiAliasing (TAA)
16:48 FXAA
17:05 MSAA

[dennisn.]

I love how rockstar has a secret mini-game in rdr2, the pc settings.

[MafiaboysWorld]

Tim goes on holiday...RDR2 is broken.
Tim comes back...RDR2 gets 40% boost. 👍

[pixel_vengeur]

I went from 10 to 14 FPS, thank you!

Jokes aside, all those optimisation guides are Heaven sent, thank you so much for them.

[thejanrodrigo]

This video is now getting recommended to ppl as rdr2 has finally been cracked.

[Haaskis]

Well done! From game breaking stuttering horror to smooth steady +60fps in every scenery/weather with great visuals. Definitely recommend testing these settings . Using 1080ti and i7-7700k.

[TwstTech]

Part 2 „rather sooner than later“ please 💪🏻💪🏻

[minecraftmike]

This video should be sponsored by Rockstar. Absolutely amazing, thank you so much.

[Marcy]

RDR2 Overall Recommended Graphical Settings:

Texture: Ultra; No significant gain
Anisotropic Filter: Ultra; No significant gain
Lighting Quality: Medium; 40% FPS increase!!
Global Illumination: Ultra; No significant FPS gain
Shadow Quality: High; 5% FPS increase, negligible visual difference
Far Shadow Quality: High; 0, 5% FPS increase, negligible visual difference
SSAO: Ultra | Off; 6% FPS increase, Not recommended, very noticeable visual difference
Reflection Quality: High; 16% FPS increase | Medium; 20% FPS increase, slight noticeable visual difference
Mirror Quality: Ultra
Water Quality: Medium; 15% FPS increase, slight noticeable visual difference
Volumetrics Quality: High; 5% FPS increase | Medium; 7% FPS increase, slight noticeable visual difference
Particle Quality: Ultra; No significant FPS gain
Tesselation: Ultra; No significant FPS gain
TAA: High | Medium; 1, 8% FPS increase
FXAA: Off; noticeable visual difference
MSAA: X2 = -16, 5% FPS | X4 = -31% FPS | X8 = -50% FPS | Use this if you have FPS to spare


Advanced Settings:

Near Volumetric Resolution: Medium; 6, 5% FPS increase
Far Volumetric Resolution: Ultra | Medium; 1% FPS increase
Volumetric Lighting: High; 3% FPS increase
Unlocked Volumetric Raymarch Resolution: On; No significant gain
Particle Lighting Quality: Ultra; No significant gain
Soft Shadows: High; 1, 5% FPS increase
Grass shadows: Medium; 1, 5% FPS increase
Long Shadows: On; No significant gain
Full Resolution Ambient Oclussion: Off; 3, 7% FPS increase, negligible visual difference
Water Refraction Quality: Medium; 7% FPS increase | Low, 8% FPS increase, negligible visual difference
Water Reflection Quality: High; 1, 5 FPS decrease, noticeable visual difference
Water physics: Half; 31% FPS increase compaired to Full, 3, 5% FPS increase compaired to 3/4
TAA Sharpening: Full; No gain
Motion blur: No significant difference. Use what you prefer.
Reflection MSAA: Medium with X4
Geometry Level of detail: 3 is recommended
Grass level of detail: 4 or 10. 4 = +1% FPS increase, negligible visual difference
Tree Quality: Ultra; No significant gain
Parallax Occlusion Mapping Quality: Ultra; No significant gain
Decal Quality: Ultra; No significant gain
Fur Quality: Ultra; No significant gain

[thirtyacres]

I'll never have to second guess any of my settings on RDR2 ever again. This to me is far more valuable than just taking someone's word on recommended settings. Understanding each setting and its impact gives me a peace of mind.

[gwynbleidd]

17:19 MSAA x8 is the best choice.
You can clearly see that it's the only setting that has a train.

[xBazilio]

It amazes me how diligently Tim does his work! With all that comparison shots and charts the information is invaluable. Thank you, Tim, for your hard work.

[sniper]

Oddly enough this really did improve FPS to the 80s and yet somehow it even looks better too....fucking genius man

[mcnasty]

Imagine having a 2080ti and having to turn settings to medium

[eisenrotz]

I really need this detailed optimization for Cyberpunk 2077.

[wow]

This is a fantastic overview of the settings and how it affects visual quality and performance. The ultra vs HUB optimized section is great. Please try and do that in your future videos too. Yours and Digital Foundry's video on the game optimization guide are the best ones out there. Great work Tim! Can't wait for part 2.