Hard West

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

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor built on the Zen 3 architecture (Cezanne codename) using a 7 nm process from TSMC. It runs at a 3.60 GHz base clock with a 4.20 GHz boost clock, and its 16 MB of L3 cache and 64 KB L1 per core shape how it feeds the RTX 4070 SUPER in Hard West. The CPU's benchmark profile places it in the 79th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 20875, sitting nearly dead even against the Intel Core i5-12500 (20897, deltaPct -0.1) and AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 4655GE (20900, deltaPct -0.1).

In single-threaded workloads, the Ryzen 5 5500 scores 836 in 3dmark_single_thread and 2319 in Cinebench R23 single-core. These numbers matter because Hard West is a turn-based tactics title from 2015, and its simulation logic — unit pathing, line-of-sight calculations, and turn resolution — is largely serialized. The game does not heavily leverage multi-threading; the 3dmark_16_threads score of 5386 versus the 3dmark_single_thread score of 836 shows that scaling beyond 4-8 threads is minimal, which aligns with a game engine that predates widespread multi-core optimization. The 4-thread score of 3151 and 8-thread score of 4593 represent the practical performance envelope for this title.

The processor's 65 W TDP and DDR4 memory support, with a dual-channel bus delivering 51.2 GB/s, are adequate for feeding a turn-based game where frame pacing is not highly sensitive to memory bandwidth. The Cezanne die, at 180 mm² with 10,700 million transistors, is a mature design, and its 7 nm process node ensures consistent boost behavior. The Cinebench R20 multicore score of 6900 and R23 multicore score of 16429 indicate that the CPU has headroom for background tasks, but in Hard West, the single-thread performance dominates. The PassMark single-thread score of 3058, paired with a multithread score of 19330, confirms that the Ryzen 5 5500 is not the bottleneck at lower resolutions — the GPU becomes the limiting factor only at higher settings and resolutions.

FAQ

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 5500 compare to its nearest CPU rivals in overall benchmark scores?

A: The Ryzen 5 5500 averages 20875 in benchmark scores. The Intel Core i5-12500 scores 20897 (0.1% higher), the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 4655GE scores 20900 (0.1% higher), and the AMD EPYC 7J13 scores 20845 (0.1% lower). The Intel Core i5-12600T scores 20917 (0.2% higher). These deltas are negligible, meaning the CPU's performance class is tightly packed.

Q: What is the best measured FPS for this combo at 1080p, and at which settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the average FPS is 217.7. The Medium preset yields 202.6 FPS, High yields 180.0 FPS, and Ultra drops to 133.9 FPS. The Low-to-Ultra spread is 83.8 FPS, showing that settings have a substantial impact even at 1080p.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 1440p at Ultra settings?

A: At 1920x1080 Ultra, the average FPS is 133.9. Moving to 2560x1440 Ultra, the average FPS drops to 84.5, a reduction of 49.4 FPS (approximately 37% lower). This indicates the GPU is becoming more stressed as pixel count rises.

Q: Does the RTX 4070 SUPER's VRAM capacity affect Hard West at 4K?

A: The GPU has 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus with 504.2 GB/s bandwidth. At 3840x2160 Ultra, the average FPS is 48.0, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. The VRAM is sufficient for this game, but the 4K Ultra result suggests the GPU's compute throughput, not memory capacity, is the limiting factor.

Q: What is the combo's ranking among all tested CPU+GPU pairings in Hard West?

A: This combination ranks 352nd out of 1699 tested combos, placing it in the top 20.7% of all configurations. This indicates a strong pairing for this title, though not top-tier.

Q: How does the CPU's multi-threaded performance compare to its single-threaded performance?

A: The 3dmark_max_threads score is 5411, while 3dmark_single_thread is 836, giving a ratio of about 6.5x. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 16429 versus single-core 2319 shows a 7.1x ratio. This scaling is typical for a 6-core, 12-thread part, but Hard West's engine does not exploit it fully.

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

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling as resolution increases. At 1920x1080 High, the average FPS is 180.0. Moving to 2560x1440 High, it drops to 112.0 — a reduction of 68.0 FPS (37.8% lower). At 3840x2160 High, the average FPS is 57.3, which is 122.7 FPS lower than 1080p High (68.2% reduction). This steep decline indicates that the RTX 4070 SUPER's rendering pipeline is the primary constraint at higher resolutions.

The Low settings tell a similar story. At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 217.7. At 1440p Low, it falls to 183.3 (−34.4 FPS, 15.8% lower). At 4K Low, it is 96.4 (−121.3 FPS, 55.7% lower). The smaller drop from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings suggests the CPU is still contributing meaningfully at lower pixel counts; the Ryzen 5 5500's single-thread performance (836 in 3dmark_single_thread) can keep up with the GPU when the GPU is under light load. However, at 4K, even Low settings push the GPU hard enough that the frame rate nearly halves.

Ultra settings amplify this effect. From 1080p Ultra (133.9 FPS) to 1440p Ultra (84.5 FPS), the drop is 49.4 FPS. From 1440p Ultra to 4K Ultra (48.0 FPS), the drop is 36.5 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 4K at Ultra is a 85.9 FPS loss (64.2% reduction). This is a steeper relative decline than at Low settings, confirming that the GPU's pixel throughput and memory bandwidth (504.2 GB/s) are being saturated by the 4K resolution combined with high-quality shading.

The intermediate resolution of 1440p shows the balance point. At High settings, 112.0 FPS is comfortably playable, and at Low settings, 183.3 FPS is exceptionally smooth. The 4K results, particularly Ultra at 48.0 FPS, fall below the 60 FPS target, indicating that for this game, the RTX 4070 SUPER is not fully sufficient for 4K Ultra. The data suggests that the limiting component shifts from CPU at 1080p Low (where the CPU's single-thread score of 836 matters) to GPU at 4K Ultra (where the GPU's 35.48 TFLOPS FP32 compute is the ceiling).

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

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: 217.7 FPS average
• Medium: 202.6 FPS average
• High: 180.0 FPS average
• Ultra: 133.9 FPS average

At 1080p, all settings exceed 130 FPS, with Low providing a 83.8 FPS margin over Ultra. The gap between Medium and High is 22.6 FPS, while the High-to-Ultra gap is 46.1 FPS, showing that Ultra settings impose a disproportionately heavy load. The data shows that even at Ultra, the combo is far from CPU-bound; the Ryzen 5 5500's 3dmark_16_threads score of 5386 and single-thread score of 836 are not limiting factors here.

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: 183.3 FPS average
• Medium: 149.7 FPS average
• High: 112.0 FPS average
• Ultra: 84.5 FPS average

At 1440p, the spread between Low and Ultra is 98.8 FPS. The Medium-to-High drop is 37.7 FPS, and the High-to-Ultra drop is 27.5 FPS. This resolution demonstrates the GPU's scaling behavior: each settings tier increases pixel work and shading complexity, and the RTX 4070 SUPER's 198.0 GPixel/s pixel rate and 554.4 GTexel/s texture rate are being exercised more fully. The 84.5 FPS at Ultra is still smooth for a turn-based tactics game.

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: 96.4 FPS average
• Medium: 79.8 FPS average
• High: 57.3 FPS average
• Ultra: 48.0 FPS average

At 4K, the combo transitions from playable to marginal. Low at 96.4 FPS is fine, but Ultra at 48.0 FPS is below the 60 FPS standard. The Medium-to-High drop is 22.5 FPS, and the High-to-Ultra drop is 9.3 FPS — a smaller absolute difference than at lower resolutions, indicating that the GPU is approaching its throughput ceiling. The 12 GB VRAM and 192-bit bus with 504.2 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for Hard West's textures, but the 80 ROPs and 35.48 TFLOPS FP32 compute are the limiting factors at 4K Ultra.

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

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with the AD104 chip, fabricated on a 5 nm process by TSMC. It packs 35,800 million transistors on a 294 mm² die, with a transistor density of 121.8M per mm². The GPU's base clock is 1980 MHz, boosting to 2475 MHz, and its memory runs at 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective). This configuration produces a 504.2 GB/s memory bandwidth on a 192-bit bus, paired with 12 GB of GDDR6X VRAM.

The GPU's compute capabilities are substantial: 7168 shading units, 224 TMUs, and 80 ROPs. It delivers 35.48 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 35.48 TFLOPS of FP16 (1:1 ratio). Ray tracing is handled by 56 RT cores, and 224 tensor cores accelerate AI workloads. The pixel rate of 198.0 GPixel/s and texture rate of 554.4 GTexel/s directly influence Hard West's rendering of 2D sprites and 3D environments. In benchmark terms, the GPU scores 29995 in PassMark G3D and 4627 in 3dmark_steel_nomad_dx12, placing it in the 84th percentile among all GPUs.

The nearest rivals show tight competition. The NVIDIA RTX A6000 scores 42653 (0.2% higher), the AMD Radeon RX 7650 GRE scores 42723 (0.3% higher), and the AMD Radeon Pro 580X scores 41991 (1.4% lower). The NVIDIA Tesla M40 scores 41897 (1.6% lower). These deltas are small, meaning the RTX 4070 SUPER's average benchmark score of 42576 is representative of its class.

In Hard West, the GPU's role becomes evident through the measured FPS at different settings. At 1080p Low, the 217.7 FPS result is likely near the engine's frame cap or CPU limit, as the GPU's compute is underutilized. At 4K Ultra, the 48.0 FPS result aligns with the GPU's FP32 throughput being saturated — the game's shading and post-processing effects at Ultra settings demand more than the 35.48 TFLOPS can deliver at 8.3 million pixels. The 12 GB VRAM is never a constraint, as Hard West's 2015-era textures fit comfortably within the 504.2 GB/s memory bandwidth and 12 GB capacity.

The GPU's memory clock of 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective) and the 192-bit bus are well-matched for the game's data transfer needs; the 504.2 GB/s bandwidth provides ample headroom even at 4K. The 80 ROPs are the most likely bottleneck at 4K Ultra, as the pixel fill rate of 198.0 GPixel/s translates to roughly 23.8 pixels per clock at 4K — a challenging workload for a turn-based game with high-resolution textures and effects. The 224 TMUs, with their 554.4 GTexel/s texture rate, handle Hard West's environmental detail without issue. Overall, the data shows the RTX 4070 SUPER is a strong pairing for the Ryzen 5 5500, delivering excellent 1080p and 1440p performance, with 4K Ultra being the only setting where the combination falls short of 60 FPS.