Hard West

The AMD Ryzen 5 4600G paired with the Intel Arc B390 delivers playable performance in Hard West at lower resolutions, but the frame rate collapses as resolution increases. The data shows a clear pattern: the combo is capable of smooth gameplay at 1080p, struggles at 1440p, and becomes largely unplayable at 4K. This scaling behavior indicates that the integrated graphics solution is the primary bottleneck, with the CPU providing sufficient headroom for the game's turn-based tactical workload.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a steep performance cliff as resolution scales from 1080p to 4K. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo averages 55 FPS, which drops to 35 FPS at 2560x1440, and further declines to just 18 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 67% reduction in average frame rate from 1080p to 4K at High settings, a dramatic falloff that underscores the GPU's inability to handle the increased pixel count.

The scaling pattern becomes even more pronounced at lower settings. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 87 at 1080p to 55 at 1440p, and finally to 29 at 4K. This 58 FPS difference between the lowest and highest resolutions tested shows that even when the graphical load is minimized, the system still struggles to maintain acceptable frame rates at 4K. The Arc B390's system-shared memory architecture means that as resolution increases, the memory bandwidth demands grow exponentially, and the IGP simply cannot keep pace.

Medium settings tell a similar story, with averages of 71 FPS at 1080p, 45 FPS at 1440p, and 24 FPS at 4K. The minimum FPS at 1080p Medium is 61, which remains smooth, but at 1440p Medium the minimum drops to 38, and at 4K Medium it falls to 20. These minimums indicate that even the frame pacing suffers as the resolution increases, making the experience feel less stable at higher pixel counts.

Ultra settings are the most demanding, with averages of 41 FPS at 1080p, 26 FPS at 1440p, and just 14 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is particularly telling, as it shows the system is barely rendering frames at a slideshow pace. The data suggests that Hard West is highly sensitive to resolution scaling, and the Arc B390's 24 ROPs and 7.680 TFLOPS of FP32 compute are simply insufficient for 4K workloads.

The scaling behavior indicates that the GPU is the limiting component at all resolutions. The CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads are more than adequate for a turn-based tactics game, which typically relies on single-threaded performance for AI and game logic. The fact that the FPS drops by roughly half when moving from 1080p to 1440p, and then roughly halves again from 1440p to 4K, is a classic signature of a pixel-bound scenario where the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth are the constraining factors.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 4600G + Intel Arc B390 combo ranks 2614 out of 2949 tested combinations in Hard West, placing it in the bottom 11% of all systems benchmarked. This low ranking is consistent with the Arc B390's position in the GPU hierarchy, where it sits in the 9th percentile of all GPUs based on average benchmark scores. The combo's performance is heavily influenced by the GPU's limitations, as the CPU's 71st percentile ranking shows it is a relatively capable processor.

The GPU's nearest rivals in benchmark scores are all older NVIDIA parts, with the Arc B390 scoring 1482 in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test. This puts it 1.3% ahead of the GeForce GT 520MX, 1.5% ahead of the GeForce 800M, 2.5% ahead of the GeForce GT 625 OEM, and 2.7% ahead of the GeForce GT 710. These deltas are tiny, indicating that the Arc B390 performs at roughly the same level as these decade-old GPUs, which explains why the combo ranks so poorly in a modern game.

The CPU's nearest rivals in average benchmark score provide context for the processor's contribution. The Ryzen 5 4600G scores 17507 on average, which is 0.1% higher than the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 5355GE, 0.6% higher than the Intel Core 7 150U, 0.6% lower than the AMD Ryzen 3 8300GE, and 0.8% lower than the Intel Core i3-14100T. These are all closely matched processors, suggesting that the CPU is not the differentiator in this combo's ranking.

Given that the combo sits at 2614th place out of 2949, it is clear that the Arc B390 drags the overall performance down significantly. The CPU alone would likely rank much higher if paired with a discrete GPU, but the IGP's limitations cap the system's potential. The data shows that this combo is best suited for older or less demanding games, and Hard West from 2015 still presents a challenge at higher resolutions.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the combo achieves consistently playable frame rates. At 1080p, even Ultra settings average 41 FPS, while Low settings reach 87 FPS. At 1440p, only Low settings exceed 50 FPS, and at 4K, no settings configuration reaches 30 FPS.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B390 scores 1482 in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 benchmark, which is 1.3% higher than the GeForce GT 520MX, 1.5% higher than the GeForce 800M, 2.5% higher than the GeForce GT 625 OEM, and 2.7% higher than the GeForce GT 710. These are all very small performance differences.

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 5 4600G a bottleneck for the Arc B390 in this game?

A: No, the CPU is not the limiting factor. The Ryzen 5 4600G has 6 cores and 12 threads with a boost clock of 4.20 GHz, which is more than sufficient for Hard West's turn-based gameplay. The FPS scaling across resolutions shows that the GPU is the primary bottleneck.

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

A: At 1920x1080, the average FPS drops from 87 at Low settings to 41 at Ultra settings, a reduction of 46 FPS. This shows that the graphical settings have a significant impact on performance, but even at Ultra, the frame rate remains playable.

Q: Does the Arc B390 support modern graphics APIs for this game?

A: The Arc B390 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. Hard West was released in 2015 and primarily uses DirectX 11, but the GPU's driver compatibility with older APIs should allow the game to run.

Q: How does this combo's ranking compare to other tested systems?

A: The combo ranks 2614 out of 2949 tested combinations in Hard West, placing it in the bottom 11% of all systems. This low ranking is driven by the Arc B390's 9th percentile GPU score, while the CPU's 71st percentile score is relatively respectable.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its best performance. Low settings produce an average of 87 FPS, which is smooth and responsive. Medium settings reduce the average to 71 FPS, with a minimum of 61 FPS and a maximum of 82 FPS, indicating stable frame delivery. High settings average 55 FPS, which is still playable for a turn-based game. Ultra settings drop the average to 41 FPS, which is acceptable but may show minor stutters in busy scenes.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance degrades noticeably. Low settings average 55 FPS, which is just at the edge of smoothness. Medium settings average 45 FPS, with a minimum of 38 FPS and a maximum of 52 FPS. High settings drop to 35 FPS, which is borderline for real-time action but tolerable for turn-based play. Ultra settings average only 26 FPS, which is below the threshold for comfortable gameplay.

At 3840x2160, the combo struggles to maintain playable frame rates. Low settings average 29 FPS, which is choppy. Medium settings average 24 FPS, with a minimum of 20 FPS and a maximum of 27 FPS, indicating severe frame pacing issues. High settings drop to 18 FPS, and Ultra settings average just 14 FPS. None of the 4K configurations provide a playable experience, and even the lowest settings fail to reach 30 FPS.

The data shows that the combo is best suited for 1080p gaming, where it can handle even Ultra settings at over 40 FPS. For 1440p, only Low settings are recommended, and 4K should be avoided entirely. The lack of min and max FPS data for most configurations makes it difficult to assess frame consistency, but the available data at Medium settings shows that the frame range narrows as resolution increases, suggesting the GPU is being pushed harder.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics processor based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, built on Intel's 3 nm process node. It features 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 raster output units, along with 12 ray tracing cores. The GPU operates at a base clock of 300 MHz and boosts up to 2500 MHz, delivering a FP32 performance of 7.680 TFLOPS and a pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s.

The most significant limitation of the Arc B390 is its memory configuration. The GPU uses System Shared memory, meaning it relies on the CPU's DDR4 memory rather than dedicated VRAM. The memory bus width is also System Shared, and the bandwidth is listed as System Dependent. This architecture means that the GPU's performance is heavily influenced by the system memory speed and capacity, which can cause bottlenecks in memory-intensive scenarios like higher resolutions.

The GPU's benchmark results are underwhelming, with a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482. This places the Arc B390 in the 9th percentile of all GPUs, with nearest rivals being older NVIDIA parts like the GeForce GT 520MX and GeForce 800M. The deltaPct values show that the Arc B390 is only marginally faster than these legacy GPUs, which explains its poor performance in Hard West at higher resolutions.

The GPU's role in Hard West is critical, as the game's performance scaling across resolutions directly correlates with the Arc B390's fill rate and memory bandwidth constraints. At 1080p, the GPU can manage to render frames at acceptable rates, but as the pixel count increases, the system-shared memory becomes a severe bottleneck. The 24 ROPs limit the pixel throughput, and the 7.680 TFLOPS of compute power is insufficient for 4K rendering.

The fact that the GPU supports DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4 suggests it is architecturally modern, but the actual performance is constrained by its integrated nature. The 80 W TDP and IGP form factor mean it shares thermal and power resources with the CPU, which can further limit sustained performance. The data clearly shows that the Arc B390 is designed for light gaming at lower resolutions, not for demanding titles at high pixel counts.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 4600G is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 2 architecture, codenamed Renoir. It operates at a base clock of 3.70 GHz and boosts up to 4.20 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The CPU features a 7 nm process node and a total L3 cache of 8 MB shared across all cores, with 64 KB of L1 and 512 KB of L2 per core. This configuration provides solid multi-threaded performance for its class, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 13593 and single-core score of 1919.

In Hard West, a turn-based tactics game, the CPU's role is primarily focused on game logic, AI decision-making, and unit pathfinding. The data indicates that the Ryzen 5 4600G is more than capable of handling these tasks, as the frame rate scaling is dominated by GPU performance rather than CPU limitations. The CPU's 71st percentile ranking among all CPUs further confirms that it is not a weak link in this combo.

The CPU's nearest rivals in average benchmark score include the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 5355GE, AMD Ryzen 3 8300GE, Intel Core 7 150U, and Intel Core i3-14100T. The deltaPct values range from -0.8% to 0.6%, indicating that the Ryzen 5 4600G performs within a narrow band of these comparable processors. This suggests that swapping the CPU for any of these rivals would likely produce similar frame rates in Hard West, given the same GPU.

The CPU's 12 threads and 4.20 GHz boost clock provide ample headroom for Hard West's workload, which is not heavily multi-threaded. The single-threaded performance, as measured by Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1919 and Geekbench single-core score of 1460, is sufficient for the game's turn-based mechanics. The PassMark single-thread score of 2653 further supports this conclusion.

The CPU's 8 MB of shared L3 cache is adequate for the game's data requirements, and the dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth provides enough memory throughput for the integrated GPU. However, the fact that the Arc B390 shares this system memory means that the CPU's memory bandwidth is also consumed by the GPU, potentially impacting CPU performance in memory-intensive scenarios. Despite this, the data shows that the CPU maintains solid performance, and the combo's low ranking is almost entirely attributable to the GPU's limitations.