Hard West

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 and Intel Arc B370 combination delivers playable frame rates at 1080p in Hard West, but the data shows a sharp performance cliff as resolution increases. The measured results indicate a system where the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, while the CPU provides sufficient headroom for the game's turn-based tactical mechanics.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is severe and reveals a clear limiting component. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 49 FPS at 1920x1080 to 31 FPS at 2560x1440, a 37% reduction. Moving to 3840x2160, the average drops further to 16 FPS, which is 67% lower than the 1080p result. This scaling pattern indicates that the Intel Arc B370's rendering throughput is exhausted well before reaching 4K resolution.

The Low settings row shows the same trend with even steeper relative declines. Starting at 79 FPS in 1080p, the average drops to 50 FPS at 1440p (37% loss) and then to 26 FPS at 4K (67% loss from 1080p). The consistency of these percentage drops across settings presets strongly suggests that the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth are the limiting factors, not the CPU. If the Ryzen 5 3600 were the constraint, the frame rate reductions would be less pronounced because lowering resolution reduces GPU load while keeping CPU workload relatively constant.

The Medium settings row provides additional insight through its min/max frame data. At 1080p Medium, the system averages 64 FPS with a minimum of 55 FPS and maximum of 74 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average is 41 FPS with a range of 35 to 47 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average falls to 21 FPS with a range of 18 to 25 FPS. The tight min/max ranges at each resolution indicate stable frame pacing with no sudden hitches, which is typical for a game that is not heavily threaded. The absolute frame rates, however, confirm that 4K is not a viable target for this combination in Hard West.

The Ultra settings row is the most demanding test and shows the full extent of the scaling problem. From 37 FPS at 1080p, the average drops to 23 FPS at 1440p and then to 12 FPS at 4K. This 68% reduction from 1080p to 4K mirrors the scaling seen at other presets, reinforcing that the Arc B370's compute resources are saturated. The data suggests that the GPU's 1280 shading units and 20 ROPs are simply insufficient for 4K rendering in this title, regardless of the CPU's capability.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 provides a solid foundation for Hard West, a turn-based tactics game that does not demand extreme single-thread performance. The CPU features 6 cores and 12 threads based on the Zen 2 architecture, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz. The 32 MB of shared L3 cache helps with game data locality, and the dual-channel DDR4 memory support at 51.2 GB/s bandwidth is adequate for this workload.

Benchmark data places the Ryzen 5 3600 at the 71st percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17035. Its nearest rivals show how close the competition is: the Intel Core i7-1260P scores 17007 (0.2% higher), the Intel Core i5-11400 scores 17067 (0.2% higher), and the AMD EPYC 7742 scores 16998 (0.2% lower). These deltas are negligible, meaning the 3600 is firmly in a performance tier where CPU bottlenecks are unlikely in a game like Hard West.

In multithreaded benchmarks, the 3600 achieves a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 15045 and a Passmark multithread score of 17700. Single-thread performance is also respectable, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2124 and a Geekbench single-core score of 1536. For a turn-based tactics game, the CPU's job is to manage game logic, pathfinding, and AI decisions, which typically scale with single-thread performance. The 3600's single-thread results are sufficient to avoid becoming the bottleneck, as evidenced by the measured FPS data where GPU load dominates at all resolutions.

The 3DMark results show a scaling pattern that matches the CPU's design. The 2-thread score is 1361, the 4-thread score is 2579, the 8-thread score is 3844, and the max-thread score is 4603. The near-linear scaling from 2 to 4 threads and then diminishing returns beyond 8 threads indicate that the CPU has ample headroom for games that primarily use a few cores. Hard West is not a heavily threaded title, so the 3600's 12 threads are more than sufficient. The CPU's 65 W TDP and 7 nm process node also mean it operates efficiently, but this does not directly translate to game performance.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Ryzen 5 3600 and Intel Arc B370 ranks 2721 out of 2949 tested combos in Hard West, placing it in the bottom 8% of all configurations. This low ranking is almost entirely attributable to the GPU's performance class, as the Arc B370 sits at the 5th percentile among all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 1184. The CPU's rank of 71st percentile is far higher, confirming that the pairing is unbalanced for this game.

The GPU's nearest rivals in the benchmark database illustrate its performance tier. The ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 scores 1186 (0.2% higher), the ATI Radeon HD 5770 scores 1190 (0.5% higher), and the AMD Radeon HD 7650M scores 1192 (0.7% higher). The AMD FirePro M2000 scores 1168 (1.4% lower). These are all legacy or low-end parts from a decade ago, which puts the Arc B370's performance in perspective. Despite being a modern chip with 3 nm process technology and Xe3-LPG architecture, its integrated graphics design limits its gaming capability.

The combo rank of 2721 out of 2949 means that 228 other tested combinations perform worse in Hard West. This is a poor result, but it is consistent with the GPU's 5th percentile standing. The data shows that the CPU is not the limiting factor in this ranking; if the CPU were the constraint, the combo rank would be closer to the CPU's 71st percentile. Instead, the GPU drags the entire system down to near-bottom-tier performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers playable frame rates across most settings. Low settings yield an average of 79 FPS, which is smooth for a turn-based game. Medium settings average 64 FPS with a minimum of 55 FPS and maximum of 74 FPS, providing a comfortable margin above typical 60 FPS targets. High settings average 49 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for those seeking consistent 60 FPS. Ultra settings drop to 37 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold but still usable for a tactical game where twitch reflexes are not required.

At 2560x1440, the performance becomes more constrained. Low settings average 50 FPS, which is still playable. Medium settings average 41 FPS with a range of 35 to 47 FPS, putting the minimum below the 60 FPS target. High settings average 31 FPS, and Ultra settings fall to 23 FPS. At this resolution, only Low and Medium settings provide adequately smooth gameplay, while High and Ultra are marginal.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles across the board. Low settings average 26 FPS, Medium settings average 21 FPS with a range of 18 to 25 FPS, High settings average 16 FPS, and Ultra settings average 12 FPS. None of these results meet the 30 FPS minimum that most players would consider acceptable for a playable experience. The 4K data clearly shows that the Arc B370 is not capable of rendering Hard West at this resolution, regardless of settings.

The Medium settings row is the only one with full min/max data across all three resolutions, and it shows consistent performance degradation. At 1080p, the 55 to 74 FPS range indicates a stable experience. At 1440p, the 35 to 47 FPS range shows a proportional drop. At 4K, the 18 to 25 FPS range confirms that even the lowest frame rates are below playability thresholds. The absence of min/max data for other settings rows suggests they were not measured with the same detail, but the averages provide sufficient information for analysis.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is the clear bottleneck in this system for Hard West. Its specifications reveal why: 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and only 20 ROPs. The pixel rate of 48.00 GPixel/s and texture rate of 96.00 GTexel/s are modest figures that explain the poor 4K performance. With a boost clock of 2400 MHz and a base clock of 300 MHz, the GPU's FP32 performance is 6.144 TFLOPS, which is low for modern gaming standards.

The GPU's memory configuration is "System Shared," meaning it uses the host system's memory rather than dedicated VRAM. This is a fundamental limitation for gaming, as shared memory reduces available bandwidth and introduces latency. The memory bandwidth is listed as "System Dependent," which means it varies based on the system configuration. In this case, the Ryzen 5 3600's dual-channel DDR4 at 51.2 GB/s is the available bandwidth, which is far below what dedicated graphics memory would provide.

The GPU's benchmark results are stark. It scores 1184 in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, placing it at the 5th percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are all legacy parts from the early 2010s, which underscores how far behind modern discrete GPUs it is. The ATI Radeon HD 5770 from 2009 scores 1190, which is 0.5% higher than the Arc B370. This comparison is damning for a chip released in 2026 with a 3 nm process.

In Hard West, the GPU's limited ROP count and shared memory bandwidth directly impact frame rates. The game's rendering at 4K requires significant fill rate, and the 20 ROPs cannot keep up. The 12.29 TFLOPS FP16 performance is not utilized in this game, as it likely relies on FP32 operations. The GPU's 25 W TDP indicates it is designed for low-power integrated use, not high-performance gaming.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience with this combination in Hard West, the data points clearly to 1080p with Medium settings as the optimal configuration. The Medium preset at 1080p delivers 64 FPS average with a minimum of 55 FPS and maximum of 74 FPS. This provides a stable frame rate that exceeds the 60 FPS target for most of the time and never drops below 55 FPS, ensuring smooth gameplay for a turn-based tactical title.

If higher visual fidelity is preferred, High settings at 1080p offers 49 FPS average, which is still playable. The 15 FPS drop from Medium to High is noticeable but not game-breaking for a genre that does not require fast reaction times. Ultra settings at 1080p, at 37 FPS, are not recommended because the visual improvement over High is typically marginal while the frame rate penalty is substantial.

At 1440p, the only viable options are Low settings (50 FPS) or Medium settings (41 FPS with a 35 to 47 FPS range). Low settings at 1440p provide the best combination of resolution and smoothness, while Medium settings are acceptable but may show occasional dips below 40 FPS. High and Ultra at 1440p are not recommended, as 31 FPS and 23 FPS respectively fail to provide a consistently smooth experience.

The 4K resolution should be avoided entirely with this GPU. Even Low settings at 26 FPS are below the 30 FPS playability threshold, and the 12 FPS Ultra result is essentially a slideshow. Players seeking 4K performance would need a different GPU, as the Arc B370's shared memory architecture and limited ROPs cannot handle the resolution in this game.

For players who prioritize frame rate stability, the 1080p Medium preset is the clear winner. The measured 55 FPS minimum ensures no dips below playability, and the 64 FPS average provides headroom for any minor scene-to-scene variation. The data shows that this setting offers the best balance of visual quality and performance for the Ryzen 5 3600 and Intel Arc B370 combination in Hard West.