Hard West

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is an extreme pairing in Hard West, pitting a 2018 six-core processor against a flagship 2025 GPU. The measured results show this combination lands at rank 1075 out of 3722 tested combos, placing it in the top 29% of all systems tested for this turn-based tactics title. That percentile position is respectable but not dominant, which makes sense given the game’s age and CPU-bound nature. The Ryzen 5 2600’s average benchmark score of 21484 sits within 1.2% of rivals like the Intel Core Ultra 5 228V and Intel Xeon D-1746TER, indicating the processor is performing near its expected ceiling. However, the RTX 5090’s raw power is clearly being held back in this context—its 92nd percentile ranking among all GPUs (avg score 79842) suggests far more potential than this game can extract.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 1075 out of 3722 tested combinations places it in the 71st percentile overall—solidly above average but not elite. For a game released in 2015, this pairing is effectively overkill on the GPU side while the CPU represents a mid-range 2018 part. The data shows the Ryzen 5 2600 performs within 0.7% of the Intel Xeon D-1746TER and 1.2% of the AMD EPYC 9454 in synthetic benchmarks, meaning the CPU’s multi-threaded capability is consistent with those server-class parts. Yet in Hard West, the combination’s rank reflects the game’s modest demands; it does not scale to reward the RTX 5090’s full capabilities. The 1075th position out of 3722 means about 71% of tested combos score lower, but the top 29% outperform this pairing—likely systems with newer, faster CPUs that feed the GPU better in CPU-limited scenarios. This rank suggests the RTX 5090 is not the bottleneck; the Ryzen 5 2600’s Zen architecture, with its 3.90 GHz boost clock, limits how high frame rates can climb even when the GPU has headroom.

GPU Role

The RTX 5090 brings 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, yielding 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth and a boost clock of 2407 MHz. In Hard West, these specs are far beyond what the game needs—the title’s turn-based combat and static scenes do not stress memory bandwidth or fill-rate. The GPU’s 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 176 ROPs are effectively idle in many moments, as the game’s rendering load is light by modern standards. However, the measured FPS data shows the GPU still matters at higher resolutions; at 4K Ultra, the average drops to 58 FPS, which is the only sub-60 result across all tested settings. This indicates that at 4K with maximum settings, the RTX 5090 does begin to engage, but the 58 FPS average suggests the CPU is still the limiting factor—the GPU should handle far more, yet the Ryzen 5 2600’s single-thread performance (PassMark score 2239) cannot feed frames fast enough. The GPU’s 32 GB frame buffer is never a limitation here; even at 4K Ultra, the game would likely use a fraction of that memory, so the VRAM capacity is irrelevant to performance in this title.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of CPU limitation at lower resolutions and GPU engagement at 4K. From 1080p to 1440p, the average FPS drops are modest: at High settings, the 134 FPS at 1080p falls to 115 FPS at 1440p—a 14% reduction. From 1440p to 4K at High, the drop is steeper: 115 FPS to 78 FPS, a 32% reduction. This scaling suggests that at 1080p and 1440p, the Ryzen 5 2600 is the primary bottleneck, as the GPU has ample headroom and the frame rate is capped by CPU draw-call processing. At 4K, the GPU begins to take on more load, but even there, the 78 FPS High result is not indicative of the RTX 5090’s true potential—a newer CPU would likely push this higher. The Low settings tell a similar story: 158 FPS at 1080p, 136 FPS at 1440p, and 110 FPS at 4K. The 1080p-to-4K drop of 30% at Low settings is smaller than the 42% drop at High settings, which indicates that lowering settings reduces GPU load but does not remove the CPU cap. The limiting component is clearly the CPU across all resolutions, with the GPU only becoming a co-bottleneck at 4K Ultra, where the 58 FPS average shows the combination of CPU and GPU load finally saturates.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The full dataset provides exact numbers for each resolution and settings preset. At 1920x1080, the averages are: Low 158 FPS, Medium 148 FPS (with min 125 and max 170), High 134 FPS, and Ultra 121 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 37 FPS, or 23%, showing that settings have a moderate impact but the CPU keeps all presets above 120 FPS. At 2560x1440, the averages are: Low 136 FPS, Medium 127 FPS (min 108, max 146), High 115 FPS, and Ultra 104 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p averages about 15% across settings, consistent with a CPU-limited scenario where resolution increases GPU load but the CPU frame cap prevents large FPS loss. At 3840x2160, the averages are: Low 110 FPS, Medium 101 FPS (min 86, max 116), High 78 FPS, and Ultra 58 FPS. The 4K results show the widest spread—52 FPS from Low to Ultra, or 47%—indicating that at 4K, the GPU’s workload becomes significant enough that settings changes have a larger effect. Notably, the Medium preset at all resolutions has measured min and max values, providing the only frame-time variance data: at 1080p it ranges 125-170, at 1440p 108-146, and at 4K 86-116. These ranges suggest consistent frame pacing, with the 4K Medium range of 30 FPS indicating some stutter potential but nothing severe for a turn-based game. The Ultra preset at 4K averaging 58 FPS is the only result below 60, and it lacks min/max data, so frame drops could be more pronounced.

FAQ

*Q: Is the RTX 5090 overkill for Hard West with this CPU?*

A: Yes, in the sense that the Ryzen 5 2600 limits performance. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 158 FPS, but the RTX 5090’s synthetic average score of 79842 (92nd percentile) is far beyond what this game requires. The CPU’s PassMark single-thread score of 2239 is the more relevant metric for this title’s turn-based logic, and it caps frame rates well below the GPU’s potential.

*Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Hard West?*

A: 1440p offers the best balance. At 1440p High, the average is 115 FPS, which is 37 FPS higher than 4K High (78 FPS) and only 19 FPS lower than 1080p High (134 FPS). The 1440p Medium preset (127 FPS) is also strong, with a min of 108 FPS ensuring smooth gameplay. 4K is playable but only at Low (110 FPS) or Medium (101 FPS), while Ultra drops to 58 FPS.

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 2600 compare to its nearest rivals for this game?

A: The CPU’s average benchmark score of 21484 is 0.2% above the Intel Core Ultra 5 228V (21440) and 0.5% above the Intel Core i9-11900H (21367). It trails the Intel Xeon D-1746TER (21635) by 0.7%. These differences are negligible, meaning any of these CPUs would perform nearly identically in Hard West.

*Q: Does the RTX 5090’s 32 GB VRAM matter for Hard West?*

A: No. The game is from 2015 and does not require large memory allocations. The measured FPS data shows no VRAM-related issues at any resolution or setting, even at 4K Ultra where the average is 58 FPS. The 32 GB capacity is irrelevant to this title’s performance; the bandwidth (1.79 TB/s) and clock speed (2407 MHz boost) are what matter, and even those are underutilized.

Q: What is the impact of settings on frame rates at 4K?

A: The settings have the largest impact at 4K. Low averages 110 FPS, Medium 101 FPS, High 78 FPS, and Ultra 58 FPS. The 52 FPS difference between Low and Ultra (47%) shows that GPU load becomes a factor at this resolution, unlike at 1080p where the difference is only 37 FPS (23%). This is the only resolution where the RTX 5090’s workload meaningfully affects results.

Q: Is the combo rank of 1075 out of 3722 good?

A: It is above average but not exceptional. The 1075th rank means approximately 71% of tested combos perform worse, but 29% perform better. Given that the RTX 5090 is a top-tier GPU, the rank is dragged down by the CPU’s age. The Ryzen 5 2600’s 75th percentile ranking among all CPUs (avg score 21484) is solid but not elite, and this shows in the combination’s overall position.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience, the Medium preset at any resolution provides the most consistent performance. At 1080p Medium, the average is 148 FPS with a min of 125 FPS, which is smooth and responsive. At 1440p Medium, the average is 127 FPS with a min of 108 FPS—still well above 60 FPS and visually sharper. The Medium preset at 4K averages 101 FPS with a min of 86 FPS, making it the only 4K preset that combines high frame rates with acceptable frame pacing. If you prioritize visual fidelity, the High preset is viable at 1080p (134 FPS) and 1440p (115 FPS), but at 4K High drops to 78 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for a turn-based game where you might want smooth camera panning. The Ultra preset is only recommended at 1080p (121 FPS) or 1440p (104 FPS); at 4K Ultra, the 58 FPS average risks dipping below 60, and without min/max data, there is potential for stutter. For most users, the Medium preset at 1440p offers the best combination of visual quality and frame rate headroom, as the 127 FPS average (min 108) leaves plenty of margin above the 60 FPS threshold. If you own a 4K display, use Medium (101 FPS) rather than High (78 FPS) or Ultra (58 FPS), as the visual difference between Medium and High is unlikely to justify the 23 FPS loss, and Ultra’s 58 FPS average is too close to the edge. The Low preset is unnecessary at any resolution, as even the weakest measured result (4K Low at 110 FPS) exceeds what the game needs for smooth play.