Hard West

# Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data for Hard West reveals a steep, predictable drop as resolution climbs from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 89.5 FPS at 1080p to 58.6 FPS at 1440p, then to 31.4 FPS at 4K. That represents a 34.5% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 46.4% reduction from 1440p to 4K. The scaling pattern is consistent across all four settings presets, which strongly suggests the rendering workload is scaling in a linear, resolution-bound manner.

The most telling observation is the behavior at Low settings. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 141.5 FPS — a figure that indicates the CPU and GPU are both contributing to a high ceiling. But at 4K Low, the average drops to 45.4 FPS. That is a 67.9% reduction in frame rate for a 4x increase in pixel count. If the CPU were the primary limiter, the 4K Low result would be much closer to the 1080p Low result, since lower settings reduce GPU load and shift the bottleneck toward the processor. Instead, the dramatic drop at 4K across every preset points to the GPU as the dominant constraint at higher resolutions.

Looking at the Ultra preset, the situation becomes even clearer. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 64.8 FPS; at 1440p Ultra, it falls to 45.1 FPS; at 4K Ultra, it bottoms out at 25 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is only 20.4 FPS (45.4 vs 25.0), whereas at 1080p the same settings gap is 76.7 FPS (141.5 vs 64.8). This compression of the settings range at higher resolutions is a classic signature of GPU-bound performance — when the pixel workload dominates, the difference between Low and Ultra shader complexity matters less relative to the fill-rate demand.

The data implies that at 1080p, the system has enough headroom that settings choices meaningfully affect performance. At 4K, however, the RTX 2060 is saturated regardless of preset, and the frame rate is dictated almost entirely by resolution. The 6 GB of GDDR6 memory and 192-bit bus width, with 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth, are likely contributing factors to this 4K ceiling, as the memory subsystem must feed an increasingly large frame buffer.

# CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 brings 6 cores and 12 threads to the pairing, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz. In Hard West, a turn-based tactics title from 2015, the CPU's role is less about sustaining high frame rates in dense action sequences and more about maintaining consistent turn processing and AI calculations. The benchmark data shows that at 1080p Low, the system reaches 141.5 FPS — a figure that suggests the CPU is not a limiting factor at lower resolutions, as the GPU is still capable of pushing well past 100 FPS.

The processor's benchmark scores provide context for its gaming performance. In Cinebench R23, the Ryzen 5 3600 scores 15045 in multi-core and 2124 in single-core. The single-thread score is particularly relevant for Hard West, since many turn-based games rely heavily on a single thread for game logic. The 3DMark single-thread score of 696 and 2-thread score of 1361 indicate modest per-thread performance that is adequate for a game of this era but not exceptional by modern standards.

The CPU's percentile ranking of 76 among all tested processors suggests it sits in the upper quartile, which aligns with its ability to feed the GPU at 1080p without bottlenecking. However, the data from the 4K results shows that the CPU is not the primary constraint at higher resolutions — the frame rate drops are far too steep to be explained by processor limitations. At 4K Low, the system delivers 45.4 FPS, which is still a playable rate, but it is the GPU that is clearly holding the system back.

The memory bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s from dual-channel DDR4 is sufficient for this workload, and the 32 MB shared L3 cache helps with game data locality. The CPU's nearest rivals include the Intel Core i5-11400 with an average benchmark score of 18150 (deltaPct -0.1), meaning the Ryzen 5 3600 is essentially performance-equivalent to that chip. This near-parity suggests that swapping the CPU for that rival would yield negligible gains in Hard West, further confirming that the GPU is the performance gate in this game.

# GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is built on the Turing architecture with 1920 shading units, 120 texture mapping units, and 48 ROPs. Its base clock is 1365 MHz with a boost clock of 1680 MHz. The 6 GB of GDDR6 memory runs at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) across a 192-bit bus, yielding 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth. These specifications place the GPU in the 58th percentile of all tested GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 16074.

In Hard West, the GPU's role is clearly decisive at higher resolutions. The measured FPS data shows the RTX 2060 handling 1080p High at 89.5 FPS, which is smooth, but struggling at 4K High with only 31.4 FPS. The 4K Ultra result of 25 FPS is particularly telling — it indicates that the GPU is fully saturated at that resolution and preset combination, and the frame rate falls below the commonly accepted 30 FPS threshold for playable performance.

The GPU's nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 7600S with an average score of 15996 (deltaPct 0.5) and the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M with 16351 (deltaPct -1.7). These deltas of less than 2% mean that swapping the RTX 2060 for any of these alternatives would produce virtually identical results in Hard West. The GPU is neither a standout performer nor a weak link within its peer group — it is simply a mid-range card that meets the demands of this game at 1080p and 1440p but falls short at 4K.

The 6 GB VRAM capacity deserves scrutiny when examining the 4K results. At 3840x2160, the frame buffer requirements increase substantially, and while Hard West is not a texture-heavy game by modern standards, the 4K Ultra preset likely pushes memory usage toward the 6 GB ceiling. The fact that 4K Low (45.4 FPS) is 81.6% faster than 4K Ultra (25 FPS) suggests that memory bandwidth and capacity are both contributing to the performance gap, as lower settings reduce both pixel and texture memory pressure.

# How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 3600 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 ranks 1382 out of 1699 tested combos in Hard West. This places the pairing in the bottom 18.7% of all configurations tested for this game. The rank is sobering when considering the individual component performance — the CPU sits at the 76th percentile and the GPU at the 58th percentile, yet the combined result is well below the median.

This discrepancy suggests that the game's performance profile does not favor this particular pairing. Hard West, being a turn-based tactics title, may not scale well with the multi-threaded capabilities of the Ryzen 5 3600, and the RTX 2060's mid-range GPU performance is the binding constraint. The rank of 1382 out of 1699 indicates that most other tested combos deliver higher average frame rates, likely because they pair stronger GPUs with CPUs that are sufficient for this game's modest CPU demands.

The data implies that the combo is balanced in the sense that neither component is drastically over- or under-powered relative to the other, but the overall performance ceiling is limited by the GPU. At 1080p, the combo delivers playable frame rates across all settings, but at 4K, it falls short of 30 FPS on the Ultra preset. The rank reflects this — a mid-tier result for a mid-tier pairing, with the GPU being the primary factor preventing a higher placement.

# Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS values are as follows: Low delivers 141.5 FPS, Medium delivers 118.1 FPS, High delivers 89.5 FPS, and Ultra delivers 64.8 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 76.7 FPS, which shows that settings choices have a significant impact at this resolution. The step-down from Low to Medium is 23.4 FPS, from Medium to High is 28.6 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 24.7 FPS. The consistent deltas indicate that each settings tier adds a similar computational burden.

At 2560x1440, the averages are: Low at 92.7 FPS, Medium at 72 FPS, High at 58.6 FPS, and Ultra at 45.1 FPS. The spread narrows to 47.6 FPS from Low to Ultra. The percentage drop from 1080p to 1440p is 34.5% for Low, 39.0% for Medium, 34.5% for High, and 30.4% for Ultra. The Ultra preset shows the smallest relative drop, which is counterintuitive but suggests that at 1440p, the Ultra settings are already pushing the GPU close to its limits, so the resolution increase has a relatively smaller marginal effect.

At 3840x2160, the averages are: Low at 45.4 FPS, Medium at 41.4 FPS, High at 31.4 FPS, and Ultra at 25 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is just 20.4 FPS. The drop from 1440p to 4K is 51.0% for Low, 42.5% for Medium, 46.4% for High, and 44.6% for Ultra. The 4K Low result of 45.4 FPS is the only 4K configuration that exceeds 40 FPS, and the 4K Ultra result of 25 FPS is the only configuration across all resolutions and settings that falls below 25 FPS.

# Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution. At 1920x1080, the High preset at 89.5 FPS offers the best balance between visual quality and performance — it is 24.7 FPS slower than Ultra's 64.8 FPS is actually faster, but High provides a 38.1% improvement over Ultra's 64.8 FPS while still maintaining a smooth frame rate well above 60 FPS. The Medium preset at 118.1 FPS is viable for players prioritizing frame rate, but High's 89.5 FPS is likely indistinguishable from Medium in terms of smoothness on most displays.

At 2560x1440, the High preset at 58.6 FPS is the recommended choice, as it stays just under 60 FPS while delivering solid visual quality. The Medium preset at 72 FPS is also acceptable if the user prefers a higher frame rate buffer, but the gap between Medium and High is only 13.4 FPS, making High the better visual value. The Ultra preset at 45.1 FPS is playable for turn-based tactics, where frame rate dips are less noticeable than in fast-paced genres, but it is not ideal.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset at 45.4 FPS is the only configuration that provides a consistently playable experience above 40 FPS. The Medium preset at 41.4 FPS is close, but the High preset at 31.4 FPS and Ultra at 25 FPS fall below the 30 FPS threshold that many consider the minimum for acceptable gameplay. For 4K, the data suggests that players should either accept Low settings for smoother performance or consider that this GPU is not well-suited for 4K in this game.

# FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Hard West with this combo?

A: The data shows 1920x1080 with High settings delivers 89.5 FPS, which is the best balance of visual quality and smoothness. At 1440p, High still achieves 58.6 FPS, but 4K results drop below 32 FPS for High settings.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 ranks 1382 out of 1699 tested combos in Hard West, placing it in the bottom 18.7% of all pairings tested for this game.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 4K?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary limiter at 4K, as frame rates drop from 45.4 FPS at Low to 25 FPS at Ultra — a 45.0% reduction that is characteristic of GPU saturation, while the CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads are sufficient for the game's turn-based logic.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, Low delivers 141.5 FPS while Ultra delivers 64.8 FPS, a difference of 76.7 FPS or a 54.2% reduction from Low to Ultra.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 2060 has an average benchmark score of 16074, which is within 1.8% of its nearest rivals — the AMD Radeon RX 7600S (15996, deltaPct 0.5) and the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M (16351, deltaPct -1.7).

Q: Is 4K Ultra playable with this setup?

A: No, the measured 4K Ultra average is 25 FPS, which falls below the 30 FPS threshold typically considered the minimum for playable performance. The 4K Low preset at 45.4 FPS is the only 4K configuration that exceeds 40 FPS.