Red Dead Redemption 2: A Grueling 4 FPS Experience
Many gamers believe that a smooth 60+ FPS isn’t essential for enjoying sprawling open-world adventures like Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption 2. Perhaps a dip to 30 FPS is tolerable for such cinematic masterpieces? Well, Danish YouTuber Mongo TV recently went viral, showcasing a truly challenging experience: ‘enjoying’ RDR2 at a glacial 4 FPS.
In his video, Mongo TV attributes the poor performance to his aging laptop, equipped with an Nvidia GTX 1050 Ti 4GB. He reported taking “over 12 hours” to complete the introductory missions in the snowy mountains (Chapter One: Colter). For context, most players complete this section in roughly 1 hour 45 minutes to 3 hours. That means Mongo TV’s playthrough is approximately 6 times slower than average!
The Slowest Ride in the West
While the game itself runs in normal time, navigating the world at 4 FPS must be incredibly frustrating due to the unresponsive controls. Gaming stats sites estimate a typical Red Dead Redemption 2 playthrough takes around 78.5 hours. At Mongo TV’s pace, finishing the game could take a staggering 471 hours!
Before continuing his journey, a little game settings tuning could drastically improve the experience. Mongo TV’s laptop features an Intel Core i5-8300H processor and a GTX 1050 Ti with 4GB of VRAM.
Is an Upgrade Necessary?
Mongo TV ends his video description with a question: “Should I give up on these great games for now, and then wait until I eventually get a faster gamer PC, with a better graphics card, than my very old GeForce TI 1050 4GB?” However, a new laptop isn’t necessarily the answer.
His current hardware actually exceeds Red Dead Redemption 2’s minimum specifications. Rockstar recommends an Intel Core i5-2500K / AMD FX 6300, 8GB of RAM, and a GeForce GTX 770 2GB / Radeon R9 280 3GB. Mongo TV’s CPU is a significant upgrade over those minimums, boasting 4 cores/8 threads and a boost clock up to 4GHz.
Troubleshooting the Performance Issues
Several factors could be contributing to the low frame rate. First, ensure the game is utilizing the dedicated GTX 1050 Ti and not the integrated Intel UHD Graphics 630. A quick check in the system settings should confirm this.
Second, optimizing the game settings is crucial. Updating to the latest GeForce drivers and utilizing the one-button optimization feature within the Nvidia App are excellent starting points. There are also numerous optimization guides available online that can help fine-tune the settings for optimal performance.
Mongo TV, hosted by John, has created over 62,000 videos in the past 11 years, demonstrating a clear passion for gaming. Hopefully, with a few tweaks, he can enjoy Red Dead Redemption 2 at a more playable frame rate.
