Hard West

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 lands at rank 982 out of 1,699 tested combos for Hard West. That places this pairing almost exactly in the middle of the database — not a standout, but not a slouch either. The RTX 4060 sits at the 66th percentile among all GPUs, while the Ryzen 5 5500 ranks at the 79th percentile among all CPUs. The gap between those two percentiles hints at what the benchmark data confirms: this is a system where the graphics card is the primary constraint at higher resolutions, but the processor still has enough headroom to push very high frame rates at 1080p.

In synthetic workloads, the Ryzen 5 5500's average benchmark score of 20,875 puts it within a rounding error of its nearest rivals. The Intel Core i5-12500 scores 20,897, just 0.1% higher; the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 4655GE scores 20,900, also 0.1% higher; the AMD EPYC 7J13 scores 20,845, 0.1% lower; and the Intel Core i5-12600T scores 20,917, 0.2% higher. Practically speaking, this CPU trades blows with those parts. On the GPU side, the RTX 4060's average benchmark score of 23,181 is similarly tight against its rivals: the AMD Radeon RX 6600M scores 23,321 (0.6% higher), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti scores 23,338 (0.7% higher), the Intel Arc B580 scores 23,021 (0.7% lower), and the AMD Radeon 760M scores 22,999 (0.8% lower). These deltas are all within noise, so the measured FPS in Hard West comes down to the game itself rather than any synthetic advantage.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 5 5500 brings six cores and twelve threads based on the Zen 3 architecture, built on TSMC's 7 nm process. It runs at a 3.60 GHz base clock and boosts to 4.20 GHz. The 16 MB of L3 cache and 512 KB of L2 per core are typical for this generation. The processor supports DDR4 memory with dual-channel access and a memory bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s. Its PCIe interface is Gen 3, which matters for the GPU pairing here, though Hard West is not a bandwidth-hungry title.

In Hard West, a turn-based tactics game from 2015, the CPU's single-thread performance is the more relevant metric. The 3dmark single-thread score of 836 and the Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2,319 show this chip is capable but not exceptional. The passmark single-thread score of 3,058 reinforces that. The multi-threaded scores are strong for the class — Cinebench R23 multicore hits 16,429, and passmark multithread reaches 19,330 — but Hard West's turn-based logic does not heavily scale across many cores. The 3dmark 2-thread score of 1,645 versus the 4-thread score of 3,151 shows decent scaling in the first few threads, which is what matters most here.

The benchmark results indicate the CPU is not the bottleneck at lower resolutions. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo hits 186.4 FPS, which is far beyond what a turn-based tactics game needs. Even at 1080p Ultra, the system maintains 90.6 FPS. The CPU's 65 W TDP and socket AM4 compatibility make it an easy drop-in for existing builds, but the raw numbers suggest it has ample headroom for this game's modest processing demands.

GPU Role

The RTX 4060 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with the AD107 chip, manufactured on TSMC's 5 nm process. It packs 18,900 million transistors into a 159 mm² die. The GPU runs at a base clock of 1,830 MHz and boosts to 2,460 MHz. Memory is 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, delivering 272.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The card has 3,072 shading units, 96 texture mapping units, and 48 raster output units, along with 24 RT cores and 96 tensor cores. Its FP32 throughput is 15.11 TFLOPS, which is adequate for a game of Hard West's era.

The 8 GB VRAM capacity is not stressed by this 2015 title, even at 4K. The 128-bit memory bus and 272.0 GB/s bandwidth are modest by modern standards, but Hard West's visual complexity — mostly static scenes with character sprites and turn-based camera work — does not demand high memory throughput. The pixel rate of 118.1 GPixel/s and texture rate of 236.2 GTexel/s are more than enough for the game's rendering load.

The GPU's percentile ranking of 66 among all GPUs tells the story: this is a mid-pack card. Its passmark G3D score of 19,545 and 3dmark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2,302 are respectable but not class-leading. The data shows that the RTX 4060 becomes the limiting factor as resolution climbs, particularly at 4K where even Medium settings dip below 60 FPS. At 1080p, the GPU has plenty of headroom, but the scaling curve from 1080p to 4K reveals its boundaries.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured results are clean and consistent across three resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the combo delivers 186.4 FPS on Low, 149.4 FPS on Medium, 119.1 FPS on High, and 90.6 FPS on Ultra. These are all well above playable thresholds. The jump from Low to Ultra costs roughly 96 FPS, or about 51% of the Low figure.

Stepping up to 2560x1440, the numbers drop predictably: 115.5 FPS on Low, 95.2 FPS on Medium, 76.7 FPS on High, and 53.9 FPS on Ultra. The Ultra preset at 1440p is the first time this combo falls below 60 FPS. The drop from 1080p Ultra to 1440p Ultra is 36.7 FPS, a 40% reduction.

At 3840x2160, the pattern continues but with sharper declines. Low settings yield 60.2 FPS, Medium drops to 53.9 FPS, High falls to 39.0 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 30.9 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra at 4K is 29.3 FPS — a 49% reduction. These numbers show a system that is comfortable at 1080p, acceptable at 1440p with the right settings, and struggling at 4K unless you drop to Low.

Resolution Scaling

The scaling behavior from 1080p to 4K reveals where the bottleneck lives. At Low settings, the FPS drops from 186.4 at 1080p to 115.5 at 1440p (a 38% reduction) and then to 60.2 at 4K (a 68% reduction from 1080p). At Ultra settings, the drop is from 90.6 at 1080p to 53.9 at 1440p (a 41% reduction) and then to 30.9 at 4K (a 66% reduction from 1080p). The consistency of these percentage drops across settings points squarely at the GPU as the limiting component — if the CPU were the constraint, the frame rate would stay flatter as resolution increases.

The 4K Low result of 60.2 FPS is telling. It shows the GPU can just barely handle 4K when the rendering load is minimized. The 4K Ultra result of 30.9 FPS is below the threshold for smooth play, even in a turn-based game where pacing is less critical. The 1440p Ultra result of 53.9 FPS mirrors the 4K Medium result of 53.9 FPS exactly — an interesting coincidence that suggests the GPU hits a similar rendering ceiling at those two configurations.

The CPU's high single-thread scores and the game's age mean the processor is never the limiting factor here. At 1080p Low, the system is pushing nearly 200 FPS, which is far beyond what the game logic requires. The GPU's mid-pack percentile and the sharp resolution scaling confirm that the RTX 4060 is the component to watch if you plan to play at higher resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

For 1080p displays, the data supports running Ultra without hesitation. The 90.6 FPS average at 1080p Ultra is smooth, and the game's turn-based nature means even occasional dips would not harm the experience. If you prefer higher frame rates for camera panning or just want extra headroom, the High preset at 119.1 FPS is the sweet spot — it delivers 31% more FPS than Ultra while the visual difference in a tactics game is likely minimal.

At 1440p, the choice depends on your tolerance for frame rate. High settings at 76.7 FPS are perfectly playable and likely the best balance. Medium at 95.2 FPS is also viable if you want more margin. Ultra at 53.9 FPS is borderline — playable in a turn-based context but not ideal. Low at 115.5 FPS is unnecessary unless you are chasing maximum frame rates.

At 4K, the recommendation is straightforward: stick to Low settings. The 60.2 FPS average on Low is the only 4K preset that clears the 60 FPS bar. Medium at 53.9 FPS is acceptable if you prefer better visuals and can tolerate slightly lower frame rates. High at 39.0 FPS and Ultra at 30.9 FPS are below the threshold for comfortable play, even for a slower-paced tactics game. The 4K Low result is the only configuration that delivers a smooth experience at that resolution.

The overall best experience for this combo is 1080p Ultra or 1440p High, depending on your monitor. The system has enough CPU headroom to avoid stutter, and the GPU is well-matched to the game's demands at those settings. At 4K, lower your expectations and stick to Low or Medium.