Hard West

# FAQ

Q: What is the overall performance rank of the AMD Ryzen 5 4600G + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 combo in Hard West?

A: This combination ranks 1802 out of 2949 tested combos in the database for this game. That places it in the bottom half of all tested systems, though the game remains playable at most settings.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Ryzen 5 4600G has an average benchmark score of 17507, which is 0.1% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 5355GE and 0.6% ahead of the Intel Core 7 150U. It trails the AMD Ryzen 3 8300GE by 0.6% and the Intel Core i3-14100T by 0.8%. The processor sits at the 71st percentile among all CPUs.

Q: What is the GPU's standing relative to its closest competitors?

A: The RTX 5050 averages a benchmark score of 21035, placing it 1.6% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT. However, it lags behind the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL by 0.6%, the AMD Radeon HD 8970M by 1%, and the NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile by 1.6%. The GPU is at the 66th percentile among all GPUs.

Q: Which resolution/settings combination delivers the highest frame rate?

A: The maximum measured average FPS is 165 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. For a more balanced experience, Medium settings at 1920x1080 still deliver 135 FPS on average, with a minimum of 115 and maximum of 155 FPS.

Q: Is 4K gaming feasible with this hardware in Hard West?

A: At 3840x2160, the combo achieves 55 FPS on Low, 45 FPS on Medium (38 min, 52 max), 34 FPS on High, and only 26 FPS on Ultra. The 4K High and Ultra presets fall below the 60 FPS threshold, suggesting that 4K is only viable at Low or Medium settings.

Q: Does the data indicate a CPU or GPU bottleneck in this title?

A: The frame rate scaling from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 shows a 79% drop at High settings (from 104 to 34 FPS). This steep decline with resolution suggests the GPU becomes the primary limiter at higher pixel counts, while the 6-core CPU with 12 threads maintains adequate throughput at lower resolutions.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 4600G is built on the Zen 2 architecture with the Renoir codename, fabricated on a 7 nm process by TSMC. It features 6 cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz. The processor includes 8 MB of shared L3 cache, along with 64 KB of L1 and 512 KB of L2 cache per core. This configuration provides solid multi-threaded performance for a turn-based tactics title like Hard West, which typically relies more on single-thread responsiveness than massive parallel scaling.

In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 13593 and a single-core score of 1919. The Geekbench results show 6637 multi-core and 1460 single-core. These scores indicate a processor that handles the logical operations and AI calculations in turn-based gameplay without significant strain. The PassMark multithread score of 15992 and single-thread score of 2653 further confirm balanced capabilities. The 3DMark multi-threaded scores range from 1430 for 2 threads to 4889 for max threads, showing reasonable scaling as thread count increases.

The 65 W TDP and dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth are adequate for this game's requirements. The processor's percentile rank at 71 among all CPUs suggests it outperforms roughly two-thirds of alternatives. The nearest rival comparison shows a tightly clustered group: the Ryzen 3 PRO 5355GE is essentially identical at 0.1% delta, while the Intel Core i3-14100T trails by only 0.8%. This means the CPU is not a differentiator in this combo — it sits in a competitive mid-range bracket.

In the context of Hard West's measured FPS, the CPU's role appears secondary to the GPU. At 1920x1080 Low, the system reaches 165 FPS, which is well beyond the display refresh rate of most monitors. Even at 2560x1440 Low, the 104 FPS average indicates the CPU can feed frames efficiently at moderate resolutions. The frame pacing data from Medium settings (115 min at 1080p, 73 min at 1440p) suggests consistent processing capability without major hitches.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 employs the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with the GB207 chip, manufactured on a 5 nm process by TSMC. It packs 16,900 million transistors into a 149 mm² die, with 2560 shading units, 80 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. The GPU runs at a base clock of 2317 MHz and boosts to 2572 MHz, with memory operating at 2500 MHz (20 Gbps effective). The 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus provides 320.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

The GPU's compute capabilities include 13.17 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 20 ray tracing cores alongside 80 tensor cores. Pixel rate reaches 82.30 GPixel/s and texture rate hits 205.8 GTexel/s. The 130 W TDP with a suggested 300 W PSU makes it a moderate power consumer. The PCIe 5.0 x8 interface provides ample bandwidth for data transfer, and the dual-slot design with one 8-pin connector keeps installation straightforward.

In synthetic benchmarks, the RTX 5050 achieves a PassMark G3D score of 17326 and a PassMark GPU compute score of 9184. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test yields 2502, while Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan scores are 90334 and 89381, respectively. The percentile ranking at 66 indicates the GPU outperforms about two-thirds of all GPUs in the database. The nearest rival data shows the RTX 5050 sits 1.6% above the Radeon RX 5600 XT but below several older AMD and NVIDIA mobile parts, suggesting it occupies a specific performance niche.

For Hard West, the GPU's 8 GB VRAM is more than sufficient for a 2015 turn-based tactics title, even at 4K Ultra settings. The measured FPS data shows the GPU scales predictably with resolution. At 1080p, even Ultra settings hit 78 FPS, while 1440p Ultra drops to 49 FPS and 4K Ultra falls to 26 FPS. This pattern indicates the GPU becomes increasingly constrained as pixel count rises, particularly beyond 1440p. The 128-bit memory bus and 320 GB/s bandwidth likely contribute to this limitation at higher resolutions where texture bandwidth demand increases.

Settings Recommendations

Examining the measured FPS rows, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution. At 1920x1080, all presets are playable: Low delivers 165 FPS, Medium 135 FPS (115 min, 155 max), High 104 FPS, and Ultra 78 FPS. For smooth gameplay on standard 60 Hz displays, High at 1080p offers a comfortable margin above the refresh rate while maintaining visual fidelity. For 144 Hz monitors, Medium at 135 FPS is the best balance, keeping frame pacing consistent with a minimum of 115 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the choices narrow. Low achieves 104 FPS, Medium 86 FPS (73 min, 98 max), and High 66 FPS, all above the 60 FPS threshold. Ultra drops to 49 FPS, which may cause noticeable stutter in a turn-based game but could still be acceptable for slower-paced play. The Medium preset is recommended for 1440p as it provides a 20 FPS buffer above 60 while maintaining better visual quality than Low.

For 3840x2160, only Low (55 FPS) and Medium (45 FPS, 38 min, 52 max) approach playability. High at 34 FPS and Ultra at 26 FPS fall below acceptable thresholds for most players. The Medium preset at 4K offers the best compromise, with the minimum of 38 FPS still remaining responsive enough for turn-based tactics. The data suggests that 4K gaming is possible but requires accepting lower visual fidelity.

Overall, the sweet spot for this combo is 1080p Medium or High, or 1440p Medium. These configurations maximize the balance between frame rate and visual quality based on the measured averages. The game's turn-based nature means that lower frame rates are more tolerable than in action titles, but the data still supports targeting at least 60 FPS for smooth camera movement and interface responsiveness.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 1802 out of 2949 tested combinations in Hard West, placing it in the 61st percentile from the bottom — meaning roughly 61% of tested combos perform better. This ranking reflects the mid-range positioning of both components. The CPU at the 71st percentile and GPU at the 66th percentile combine to produce a system that handles this 2015 title adequately but not spectacularly.

The rank distribution suggests that many other combinations achieve higher frame rates, likely due to more powerful GPUs or CPUs with better single-thread performance. The Ryzen 5 4600G's Zen 2 architecture, while competent, is not the latest generation, and the RTX 5050's 66th percentile GPU standing indicates it is a mid-tier performer. The delta between the CPU and its nearest rivals is minimal (all within 0.8%), so processor choice is unlikely to be the deciding factor in this rank.

The combo's performance in Hard West specifically benefits from the game's age and genre. Turn-based tactics typically have lower computational demands than real-time 3D games, which is why the system can achieve 165 FPS at 1080p Low. The rank of 1802 out of 2949 suggests that while many systems outperform this combo, a substantial number also perform worse, keeping it in a viable middle ground for this title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured averages show a clear progression: Low settings produce 165 FPS, Medium 135 FPS (with a range of 115 to 155), High 104 FPS, and Ultra 78 FPS. The 30 FPS spread between Low and Ultra indicates the GPU has headroom at this resolution, with even the highest preset maintaining playable frame rates.

At 2560x1440, the averages shift downward: Low delivers 104 FPS, Medium 86 FPS (73 to 98 range), High 66 FPS, and Ultra 49 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is approximately 37-40% across settings, consistent with the increased pixel count. The Medium preset's minimum of 73 FPS keeps it comfortably above 60.

At 3840x2160, the averages become more constrained: Low achieves 55 FPS, Medium 45 FPS (38 to 52 range), High 34 FPS, and Ultra 26 FPS. The 4K Ultra result of 26 FPS is the lowest measured value in the entire dataset, highlighting the GPU's limitations at this resolution. The Medium preset's range of 38 to 52 FPS shows variability that could affect gameplay smoothness.

The data reveals that the gap between Low and Ultra settings widens with resolution: 87 FPS difference at 1080p, 55 FPS at 1440p, and 29 FPS at 4K. This narrowing gap at higher resolutions indicates the GPU becomes the limiting factor, reducing the impact of graphical settings as pixel count dominates performance.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 illustrates the GPU's scaling characteristics. At High settings, the system drops from 104 FPS at 1080p to 66 FPS at 1440p (a 37% decrease) and then to 34 FPS at 4K (a 48% decrease from 1440p, 67% from 1080p). This non-linear scaling suggests that the 4K resolution places exponential pressure on the GPU's bandwidth and fill rate capabilities.

At Low settings, the scaling is similar: 165 FPS at 1080p, 104 FPS at 1440p (37% drop), and 55 FPS at 4K (47% drop from 1440p, 67% from 1080p). The consistency across settings indicates the resolution scaling is primarily a GPU limitation rather than a settings-dependent bottleneck. The RTX 5050's 128-bit memory bus and 320 GB/s bandwidth become increasingly strained as pixel count quadruples from 1080p to 4K.

The Medium preset shows a comparable pattern: 135 FPS at 1080p, 86 FPS at 1440p (36% drop), and 45 FPS at 4K (48% drop from 1440p, 67% from 1080p). The minimum frame rates follow this trend as well, with 115 at 1080p, 73 at 1440p, and 38 at 4K.

This scaling behavior points to the GPU as the limiting component at higher resolutions. The CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads maintain sufficient frame generation at all tested resolutions, as evidenced by the consistent percentage drops across settings. The data implies that players seeking 4K performance would need a GPU with greater memory bandwidth, while those content with 1080p or 1440p will find this combo delivers solid performance across all settings.