I've got an 11th Gen Intel Core i5-11400F, paired with a Radeon RX 7700 XT and 16GB of RAM, running on a Gigabyte B560 DS3H AC-Y1 motherboard. Lately, I've been experiencing some frustrating stuttering and freezing in Red Dead Redemption 2, especially when moving around in the game. According to Task Manager, my CPU is hitting 100% usage. I'm wondering if I should upgrade my CPU or possibly the motherboard as well? And how can I find suitable replacements if I decide to upgrade?
5 Answers
Are you using an SSD or NVMe drive for your games? Running at lower resolutions tends to put more strain on the CPU. If you're currently on 1080p, consider testing 1440p to see if that improves the experience.
If you're leaning towards an upgrade, I suggest swapping the CPU first. Stick with a 10th or 11th Gen Intel chip since you're on a B560 motherboard. Check Gigabyte’s site for a list of compatible CPUs to find a good match.
Honestly, if your system's specs are decent, you should be able to enjoy the game without too much hassle. Sometimes people worry too much about 'bottlenecking.' Just play and see how it feels! Hold off on upgrades unless things get really bad.
Before considering a CPU upgrade, check your GPU usage while playing RDR2. If it's maxed out above 90%, then you're probably looking at a graphics card bottleneck instead of the CPU holding you back.
Your rig should handle RDR2 fine, so I'm curious about the specific issues you're facing. What's the problem with your game? With those specs, you shouldn't be struggling too much.
I've got an SSD and I'm already playing at 1440p.