Hard West

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 produces a highly capable configuration for Hard West, placing in the 536th position out of 1,699 tested combos. This puts the combo comfortably in the upper third of all tested configurations, though the pairing reveals a substantial imbalance: the RTX 4090 is a top-tier GPU while the Ryzen 5 2600 is a six-core processor from 2018. Benchmark results show that this CPU-GPU mismatch has a measurable impact on frame rates, particularly at lower resolutions where the processor’s age becomes more apparent. The data indicates a system that delivers smooth, playable performance across all tested settings, with the GPU typically shouldering most of the workload at higher resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

At rank 536 out of 1,699 tested combinations, this setup sits in the 68th percentile of all configurations tested for Hard West. This ranking reflects the RTX 4090’s raw power, but the Ryzen 5 2600 holds the combo back from the top tier. The CPU’s average benchmark score of 19,616 places it in the 77th percentile of all CPUs, which is respectable but far from flagship territory. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i5-11600KF at 19,740 (0.6% faster) and the Intel Core i7-10700F at 19,485 (0.7% slower), showing the Ryzen 5 2600 sits in a crowded mid-range performance band.

The GPU, by contrast, posts a benchmark average of 66,473, landing in the 91st percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are professional-grade cards like the NVIDIA Quadro P6000 at 67,320 (1.3% faster) and the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 at 67,097 (0.9% faster), underscoring that the RTX 4090 is operating at the extreme high end of the spectrum. The delta between the CPU and GPU performance percentiles (77 vs. 91) explains why the combo ranks lower than the GPU alone might suggest. In a turn-based tactics game like Hard West, which relies on CPU logic for unit positioning and AI, the Ryzen 5 2600’s 6 cores and 12 threads deliver enough throughput for smooth gameplay, but the data shows frame rates plateau at lower resolutions where CPU overhead becomes the limiting factor.

GPU Role

The RTX 4090 brings 24 GB of GDDR6X memory, a 384-bit bus, and 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth to Hard West. Its boost clock of 2,520 MHz and base clock of 2,235 MHz provide substantial headroom for the game’s visual effects, which include dynamic lighting and particle effects common to the tactical genre. The GPU’s 16,384 shading units and 176 ROPs handle Hard West’s art style with ease, and its 82.58 TFLOPS of FP32 performance ensures that even the most demanding scenes—such as multi-unit engagements with explosions—remain fluid.

The GPU’s 91st percentile ranking among all GPUs indicates it is overkill for a 2015 title like Hard West. The data confirms this: at 1080p Ultra, the combo reaches 119.5 FPS, while at 4K Ultra, it drops to 57.5 FPS. The 24 GB of VRAM is far more than the game requires, and the memory bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s means texture streaming and asset loading never become a bottleneck. However, the GPU’s 450 W TDP and triple-slot design indicate it was built for modern AAA titles, not a turn-based tactics game from the mid-2010s. The benchmark results show the RTX 4090 is the dominant component in this pairing, consistently delivering frame rates above 100 FPS at 1440p and above 75 FPS at 4K, even at High settings.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates reveal a clear pattern of GPU scaling as resolution increases, but with an important caveat at lower resolutions. Moving from 1080p to 1440p, the average FPS across all settings drops by approximately 12-15%. For example, at High settings, the combo goes from 132.5 FPS at 1080p to 116.3 FPS at 1440p, a 12.2% reduction. At 4K, the drop is more pronounced: High settings fall to 77 FPS, a 33.8% reduction from 1440p. This scaling behavior indicates the game becomes increasingly GPU-bound at higher resolutions, which plays to the RTX 4090’s strengths.

However, the data at 1080p tells a different story. The gap between Low (159 FPS) and Ultra (119.5 FPS) at 1080p is 39.5 FPS, while at 4K, the same settings gap is 53 FPS (110.5 vs. 57.5). This suggests that at 1080p, the Ryzen 5 2600 begins to bottleneck the system. The CPU’s 3.40 GHz base clock and 3.90 GHz boost clock, combined with its 16 MB shared L3 cache, limit how many frames the GPU can feed at lower resolutions. The fact that 1080p Low (159 FPS) is only 18.2% faster than 1080p Ultra (119.5 FPS) indicates the CPU is already near its ceiling, unable to fully utilize the RTX 4090’s headroom. At 4K, the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck, and the CPU’s limitations matter less, allowing the RTX 4090 to stretch its legs.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1080p, the combo delivers its highest frame rates, with Low settings reaching 159 FPS and Medium at 150.4 FPS. High settings hit 132.5 FPS, while Ultra dips to 119.5 FPS. The spread of 39.5 FPS between Low and Ultra shows that Hard West’s visual settings have a moderate impact on performance at this resolution. The fact that all settings exceed 119 FPS means the game is highly playable, but the CPU bottleneck is evident—the jump from Low to Medium only costs 8.6 FPS, while Medium to High costs 17.9 FPS, suggesting diminishing returns as the CPU struggles to keep up with the GPU.

At 1440p, the frame rates remain consistently high. Low settings produce 134.8 FPS, Medium 126.8 FPS, High 116.3 FPS, and Ultra 106.5 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 28.3 FPS, indicating the GPU is beginning to take on more load. At this resolution, the RTX 4090’s 24 GB VRAM and 1.01 TB/s bandwidth are fully utilized, but the CPU still provides enough throughput to keep all settings above 106 FPS. The 1440p results show a smoother scaling curve, with each settings tier costing roughly 8-10 FPS, which is typical of a GPU-bound scenario.

At 4K, the frame rates drop more significantly. Low settings produce 110.5 FPS, Medium 99.3 FPS, High 77 FPS, and Ultra 57.5 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra widens to 53 FPS, and the gap between High and Ultra is 19.5 FPS, the largest single-tier drop in the entire dataset. This indicates that Ultra settings at 4K push the RTX 4090 to its limits, even for a game from 2015. The 4K results clearly show the GPU becoming the dominant bottleneck, as the CPU’s performance ceiling no longer constrains the frame rate.

Settings Recommendations

For players using this combo, the data suggests that High settings at 1440p—or even 4K—provide the best balance of visual quality and performance. At 1440p High, the combo achieves 116.3 FPS, which is smooth for a turn-based tactics game where reaction time is not critical. Upgrading to Ultra at 1440p costs 9.8 FPS (106.5 FPS), which is a reasonable trade-off for improved visual fidelity. However, at 4K, Ultra drops to 57.5 FPS, which is still playable but represents a 26% reduction from 4K High (77 FPS). Given that Hard West is a turn-based game, even 57.5 FPS is acceptable, but the data shows that 4K High offers a better experience with a 33.8% higher frame rate.

The most efficient settings tier is Medium at 4K, which delivers 99.3 FPS—a 29% improvement over High at the same resolution. This suggests that players seeking maximum resolution should consider Medium settings to maintain high frame rates. At 1080p, Ultra at 119.5 FPS is the best option for visual quality, as the CPU bottleneck prevents higher frame rates anyway. The data indicates that the combo is best utilized at 1440p or 4K, where the RTX 4090’s power is more fully realized, and the Ryzen 5 2600’s limitations are less apparent.

FAQ

Q: Is this combo overkill for Hard West?

A: Yes. The RTX 4090 is in the 91st percentile of all GPUs, while Hard West is a turn-based tactics game from 2015. The combo ranks 536th out of 1,699 tested, and even at 4K Ultra, it achieves 57.5 FPS, which is more than adequate for the genre.

Q: Which resolution provides the best experience?

A: 1440p High at 116.3 FPS offers the best balance of visual quality and performance. At 4K High, the frame rate drops to 77 FPS, which is still smooth, but 1440p provides a 51% higher frame rate.

Q: What is the biggest performance bottleneck in this setup?

A: At 1080p, the Ryzen 5 2600 is the limiting factor, as frame rates cap out around 159 FPS on Low settings. At 4K, the RTX 4090 becomes the bottleneck, with Ultra settings dropping to 57.5 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Ryzen 5 2600’s average benchmark score of 19,616 is 0.4% slower than the Intel Core i5-1345U (19,691) and 0.7% faster than the AMD Ryzen 5 7530U (19,508), placing it in a competitive mid-range band.

Q: Does the GPU’s 24 GB VRAM matter for this game?

A: No. Hard West does not require that much memory, and the 1.01 TB/s bandwidth is far beyond what the game needs. The VRAM is beneficial for other modern titles, but for Hard West, it has no measurable impact on performance.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra at 4K?

A: Low settings produce 110.5 FPS, while Ultra produces 57.5 FPS, a difference of 53 FPS. This is the largest settings gap in the dataset, indicating Ultra at 4K heavily taxes the GPU.