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 and consistent performance curve as resolution climbs, but the shape of that curve is more telling than the raw numbers. At 1080p with Low settings, this combo delivers 179.8 FPS. Moving to 1440p drops that to 117 FPS, and at 4K it falls to 62.2 FPS. That represents a 34.9% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 46.8% reduction from 1440p to 4K. These are not linear declines — the scaling is super-linear, which is the classic signature of a GPU-bound workload at higher resolutions.

The pattern holds across every settings preset. At High settings, the progression is 116.3 FPS (1080p) → 75.8 FPS (1440p) → 38.7 FPS (4K). The drop from 1440p to 4K is a 48.9% loss, while the drop from 1080p to 1440p is 34.8%. At Ultra, the story is even more dramatic: 91.1 FPS at 1080p, 55.8 FPS at 1440p, and only 26.7 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is less than a third of the 1080p Low result, showing that Hard West's rendering load scales aggressively with pixel count.

What does this imply about the limiting component? The fact that FPS drops by roughly half when pixel count quadruples (1080p to 4K) indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect to see much smaller FPS differences between resolutions, because the CPU workload would remain largely constant regardless of resolution. The data shows the opposite: resolution changes produce outsized FPS swings, which points squarely at the RTX 4060's rasterization throughput as the constraining resource. At 1080p Low, the CPU may still have headroom, but by 4K Ultra, the GPU is clearly stretched to its limits.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

This specific pairing of AMD Ryzen 5 3600 with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 ranks 1004 out of 1699 tested combos in Hard West. That places it in the bottom 41% of all tested configurations — a middling result that might surprise given the individual component specs. The rank suggests that Hard West is not particularly demanding on modern hardware, and many older or lower-tier combos can achieve similar or better performance.

The rank of 1004 is especially interesting when contextualized against the component benchmarks. The Ryzen 5 3600 sits at the 76th percentile among all CPUs, and the RTX 4060 sits at the 66th percentile among all GPUs. Yet, when combined, they land well below the median combo rank in this game. This tells us that Hard West's performance profile does not reward high-end components proportionally — it's likely a game that scales more with raw single-thread performance or specific GPU features, rather than multi-core muscle or raw shader throughput.

Looking at the nearest rivals for each component, the CPU's closest competitor is the Intel Core i5-11400, which has an average benchmark score just 0.1% higher. The GPU's nearest rival is the AMD Radeon RX 6600M, which scores 0.6% higher on average. Yet these deltas are tiny and unlikely to change the combo's ranking materially. The data shows that within this combo's neighborhood, small benchmark differences do not translate into meaningful FPS differences in Hard West — the game's performance ceiling appears to be governed more by its own engine characteristics than by raw component headroom.

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

The RTX 4060 brings 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, with a memory bandwidth of 272.0 GB/s. Its boost clock is rated at 2460 MHz, and it features 3072 shading units. These specs position it as a mid-range Ada Lovelace part, and the measured FPS data in Hard West reflects that positioning — capable but not overwhelming.

The 8 GB VRAM buffer is worth examining in relation to the 4K results. At 4K Ultra, the combo manages only 26.7 FPS, which is a playable-but-not-smooth experience for a turn-based tactics game. The question is whether this is a VRAM limitation or a raw compute limitation. Given that the game launched in 2015, it's unlikely that 8 GB is fully saturated even at 4K Ultra — the game's textures and geometry are from an era when 2-4 GB was typical. The more likely culprit is the GPU's shader throughput, which at 15.11 TFLOPS FP32 is respectable but not high-end. The data supports this: at 1440p Ultra, the RTX 4060 delivers 55.8 FPS, while at 4K Ultra it drops to 26.7 FPS — a 52.2% reduction that far exceeds what a VRAM capacity issue would cause.

The clock behavior also matters. The base clock of 1830 MHz with a boost of 2460 MHz is a wide boost range, which means the GPU will aggressively try to clock up under load. In a turn-based tactics game like Hard West, where frame times can be irregular due to camera pans and effects, the boost algorithm may not always hit peak clocks, potentially explaining why the 4K results are lower than a simple linear extrapolation from 1080p would predict. The data suggests that for smooth 4K play, users would need to drop settings to Medium or Low, where the GPU can maintain higher sustained clocks.

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

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its best results across all settings. Low settings produce 179.8 FPS, Medium yields 150.7 FPS, High achieves 116.3 FPS, and Ultra drops to 91.1 FPS. All four presets are comfortably above 90 FPS, meaning even Ultra at 1080p provides a smooth experience for turn-based tactics, which typically doesn't require high refresh rates but benefits from consistent frame pacing.

Moving to 2560x1440, the numbers are still strong but show a clear step down. Low settings hit 117 FPS, Medium reaches 97.4 FPS, High manages 75.8 FPS, and Ultra falls to 55.8 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 61.2 FPS, which is a larger absolute spread than at 1080p (88.7 FPS gap). This widening gap indicates that the GPU is becoming more of a limiting factor as resolution increases, and settings have a proportionally larger impact on final performance.

At 3840x2160, the combo struggles to maintain high frame rates. Low settings produce 62.2 FPS, Medium drops to 48.8 FPS, High falls to 38.7 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 26.7 FPS. The Low-to-Ultra gap at 4K is 35.5 FPS, which is narrower in absolute terms than at lower resolutions, but the relative impact is severe — Ultra delivers only 42.9% of the FPS of Low at 4K. This suggests that at 4K, even modest settings changes have outsized effects on the GPU's ability to keep up, and users targeting 60 FPS will need to stick with Low or Medium.

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

For 1080p users, the data clearly supports Ultra settings as the best choice. At 91.1 FPS, Ultra provides a smooth experience with maximum visual fidelity, and the drop from Low (179.8 FPS) is more than acceptable given that Hard West is a turn-based game where sub-100 FPS is not a competitive disadvantage. The 116.3 FPS at High is also excellent, but Ultra's 91.1 FPS is still well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, so there's little reason to sacrifice visual quality.

At 1440p, the recommendation depends on the user's refresh rate. For a 60 Hz display, Ultra at 55.8 FPS is borderline but likely acceptable for turn-based gameplay, though High at 75.8 FPS provides more headroom and smoother camera movement. For 144 Hz displays, Medium at 97.4 FPS is the sweet spot — it stays above 90 FPS while offering better visuals than Low. Low at 117 FPS is the only preset that fully saturates a 120 Hz display, but Medium's 97.4 FPS is close enough that the visual uplift likely outweighs the marginal frame rate loss.

At 4K, the data paints a clearer picture. Ultra at 26.7 FPS is not recommended — it's below 30 FPS and will feel sluggish even for turn-based play. High at 38.7 FPS is playable but not ideal. Medium at 48.8 FPS provides a reasonable compromise, and Low at 62.2 FPS is the only preset that comfortably exceeds 60 FPS. For 4K users, Low settings are the pragmatic choice if smoothness is the priority, while Medium offers a middle ground for those who want better visuals without dropping below 45 FPS.

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

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on Zen 2 architecture, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz. Its 32 MB of shared L3 cache and 7 nm process node make it a solid mid-range CPU, but the measured FPS data in Hard West suggests that its role is secondary to the GPU in this game.

The CPU's benchmark scores are respectable: Cinebench R23 multicore is 15045, single-core is 2124, and 3DMark max threads is 4603. The single-thread performance is particularly relevant for Hard West, which, as a 2015 turn-based tactics title, likely relies on a single main thread for game logic. The 2124 single-core score in Cinebench R23 indicates decent single-thread performance, but it's not exceptional compared to newer CPUs. This could explain why the combo ranks only 1004 out of 1699 — the CPU may be limiting FPS when the GPU is not fully saturated, such as at 1080p Low where the combo hits 179.8 FPS.

The nearest rival data reinforces this interpretation. The Intel Core i5-11400 has an average benchmark score 0.1% higher, and the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS is 0.2% higher. These are negligible differences in raw compute, but in Hard West, where the CPU may be the bottleneck at low resolutions, even small single-thread performance differences could shift FPS. The fact that the combo ranks in the bottom 41% despite both components being above the 66th percentile in their respective benchmark pools suggests that Hard West's CPU demands are modest, and the Ryzen 5 3600's 6 cores and 12 threads are more than sufficient — the real constraint is likely the GPU's ability to feed frames at higher settings.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo achieve 60 FPS at 4K in Hard West?

A: Yes, but only with Low settings. At 3840x2160 with Low settings, the measured average FPS is 62.2. Medium drops to 48.8 FPS, High to 38.7 FPS, and Ultra falls to 26.7 FPS.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p gaming?

A: For 1440p, Medium settings at 97.4 FPS offer the best balance of visual quality and performance. High runs at 75.8 FPS and Ultra at 55.8 FPS, while Low reaches 117 FPS but with reduced visual fidelity.

Q: How does the RTX 4060's VRAM affect performance in this game?

A: The RTX 4060 has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus with 272.0 GB/s bandwidth. In Hard West, the 4K Ultra result of 26.7 FPS is more likely due to shader throughput than VRAM capacity, given the game's 2015 release date and modest texture requirements.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 3600 a bottleneck for the RTX 4060 in this game?

A: The data suggests the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, but the CPU may limit FPS at 1080p Low where the combo hits 179.8 FPS. The CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads with a 4.20 GHz boost clock provide adequate single-thread performance for a turn-based tactics title.

Q: What is the combo's ranking among all tested configurations?

A: This combo ranks 1004 out of 1699 tested combos in Hard West. This places it in the bottom 41% of tested configurations, which is lower than the individual component percentiles (76th for CPU, 66th for GPU) might suggest.

Q: How much FPS do you lose going from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: At High settings, the combo delivers 116.3 FPS at 1080p, 75.8 FPS at 1440p, and 38.7 FPS at 4K. The total drop from 1080p to 4K is 77.6 FPS, representing a 66.7% reduction.