Reset
A reset is accomplished by holding the RST pin high for at least two machine cycles (24 oscillator periods), while the oscillator is running. To insure a good power-up reset, the RST pin must be high long enough to allow the oscillator time to start up (normally a few milliseconds) plus two machine cycles.
Both R-C options yield very close result at the same magnitude order, and complies to timing requirement stated for RST pin at most 51 cores ( e.g. ) .
You'll find in the datasheet that CMOS 8051 (all recent types) can work without a pulldown resistor and only 1 µF capacitor. In other words, any RC combination that achieves a reasonable delay will be fine.