Hard West

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600 paired with the Intel Arc B390 presents a distinct performance envelope in Hard West, a turn-based tactics title from 2015. The measured data reveals that this combination is heavily constrained by the integrated graphics solution, with frame rates that scale predictably across resolutions and settings. This analysis examines the benchmark results across four settings presets and three resolutions, placing the combo’s standing within the broader database of tested configurations.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep, but the pattern is not uniform across all settings. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 87 FPS at 1920x1080 to 55 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 32 FPS, and then to 29 FPS at 3840x2160. That represents a 37% decline from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 47% decline from 1440p to 4K. The scaling is consistent with a GPU-bound workload, where pixel count becomes the dominant factor.

At High settings, the averages are 55 FPS at 1080p, 35 FPS at 1440p, and 18 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 20 FPS (36%), and from 1440p to 4K is 17 FPS (49%). Medium settings show 71 FPS at 1080p, 45 FPS at 1440p, and 24 FPS at 4K, with a 37% and 47% drop respectively. Ultra settings are the most demanding: 41 FPS at 1080p, 26 FPS at 1440p, and 14 FPS at 4K. The percentage declines are similar, around 37% and 46%, indicating that the relative cost of each resolution step is nearly constant regardless of preset.

The limiting component is clearly the Intel Arc B390. This is an integrated GPU (IGP) with a 3 nm process node, and its benchmark score places it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482 is only 1.3% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, and 2.7% higher than the GeForce GT 710. These are legacy entry-level discrete parts, yet the Arc B390 only marginally outperforms them. The data shows that even at 1080p Low, the combo cannot maintain a 90 FPS average, and at 4K Ultra, it falls to 14 FPS, which is effectively unplayable for any real-time interaction, though turn-based games may tolerate lower rates.

The scaling behavior suggests that the CPU, a 6-core/12-thread Ryzen 5 5600, is not the bottleneck. The Ryzen 5 5600 has a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, with 32 MB of shared L3 cache. Its benchmark scores are strong: Cinebench R23 multi-core at 18309 points, single-core at 2584 points, and a Passmark multi-thread score of 21541. The CPU ranks in the 74th percentile of all CPUs. If the CPU were limiting, we would expect the FPS to remain flat across resolutions, but the data shows a clear downward trend as resolution increases. This is the signature of a GPU-limited configuration.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested CPU and GPU combinations for Hard West, this pairing ranks 2614 out of 2949 combos. That places it in the bottom 11% of all tested configurations. The rank is poor, but it is important to contextualize this within the hardware involved. The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated part with a 9th percentile GPU score, while the Ryzen 5 5600 is a mid-range desktop CPU from 2022. The mismatch is stark: the CPU is capable of feeding far more frames, but the GPU cannot render them.

Comparing the GPU to its nearest rivals reinforces this. The Arc B390’s average benchmark score is 1482, which is within 1.5% of the NVIDIA GeForce 800M and within 2.5% of the GeForce GT 625 OEM. These are not GPUs designed for modern gaming at high settings. The combo rank reflects that reality. In a turn-based tactics game like Hard West, the frame rate is less critical than in an action title, but the data shows that even at 1080p Low, the average FPS is 87, which is acceptable but not exceptional. At 1080p Ultra, the average drops to 41 FPS, which is playable but with visible stutter potential.

The CPU’s nearest rivals provide another angle. The Ryzen 5 5600 has an average benchmark score of 20468, with the Intel Core Ultra 7 258V scoring 20454 (0.1% lower), the AMD Ryzen 5 8500G scoring 20425 (0.2% lower), and the AMD EPYC 9454P scoring 20422 (0.2% lower). This means the CPU is competitive with much newer and more expensive parts in synthetic workloads. Yet in Hard West, the GPU drags the overall combo down. The rank of 2614 is not a reflection of the CPU’s capability, but rather of the integrated GPU’s severe limitations.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is built on the Xe3-LPG architecture, specifically the Panther Lake chip, and is classified as an IGP with a slot width of "IGP" and a bus interface of "IGP". It has 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 raster output units. It also includes 12 ray tracing cores. The base clock is 300 MHz, with a boost clock of 2500 MHz. The memory configuration is "System Shared", meaning it uses the system’s main memory rather than dedicated VRAM. The memory bus is also "System Shared", and the bandwidth is "System Dependent".

This lack of dedicated VRAM is a critical factor. In Hard West, the game’s textures and geometry must be stored in the shared system memory, which competes with the CPU for bandwidth. The Ryzen 5 5600 supports dual-channel DDR4 with a memory bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s, but the GPU’s access to that bandwidth is not optimized for graphics workloads. The pixel rate is 60.00 GPixel/s, and the texture rate is 120.0 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance of 7.680 TFLOPS. These numbers are modest for a modern GPU, even an integrated one.

The measured FPS data reflects this. At 1080p Medium, the average is 71 FPS with a minimum of 61 FPS and a maximum of 82 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average is 45 FPS with a minimum of 38 FPS and a maximum of 52 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average is 24 FPS with a minimum of 20 FPS and a maximum of 27 FPS. The tight range between minimum and maximum FPS at Medium settings suggests that the GPU is consistently hitting its performance ceiling, with no sudden drops caused by CPU stalls. This is typical of a GPU that is fully saturated.

The GPU’s 9th percentile ranking among all GPUs is a clear indicator of its position. It is not a gaming part by any stretch. The fact that it supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4 is irrelevant if the raw throughput is insufficient. The boost clock of 2500 MHz is high for an integrated solution, but the small number of execution units limits its real-world output. For Hard West, the GPU is the primary limiter across all tested settings and resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

Given the measured data, the optimal setting for this combo depends on the target resolution. At 1080p, the Low preset delivers 87 FPS average, which is the highest measured across any configuration. This is the only setting at 1080p that breaks the 80 FPS barrier. Medium delivers 71 FPS, High delivers 55 FPS, and Ultra delivers 41 FPS. For a turn-based tactics game, 41 FPS at Ultra is technically playable, but the jump from Ultra to Low is a 46 FPS difference, which is substantial. The data suggests that Low or Medium at 1080p provides the most comfortable experience, with Medium offering a better visual balance at 71 FPS.

At 1440p, the Low preset delivers 55 FPS, which is the only setting at this resolution that reaches 60 FPS territory. Medium delivers 45 FPS, High delivers 35 FPS, and Ultra drops to 26 FPS. For 1440p, Low is the recommended preset, as it maintains a playable frame rate while still providing a higher resolution than 1080p. Medium is a secondary option if visual fidelity is prioritized, but the 10 FPS difference between Low and Medium may be noticeable in scenes with heavy particle effects.

At 4K, no setting achieves a playable frame rate by conventional standards. Low delivers 29 FPS, Medium delivers 24 FPS, High delivers 18 FPS, and Ultra delivers 14 FPS. Even the Low preset at 4K is below 30 FPS, which is generally considered the minimum for smooth gameplay. Given that Hard West is turn-based, lower frame rates are more tolerable than in real-time games, but the data indicates that 4K is not a viable option for this combo. Users with a 4K display should either run the game at a lower resolution or accept the Low preset’s 29 FPS average.

The best overall experience per the measured rows is 1080p with the Medium preset. It provides 71 FPS average, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold, and it offers a better visual quality than Low. The minimum FPS at 1080p Medium is 61 FPS, meaning there are no dips below 60 FPS in the measured range. This is the only resolution and settings combination where the minimum FPS stays above 60. For users who prefer higher settings, 1080p High at 55 FPS is acceptable, but it introduces the risk of occasional drops below 60 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The full dataset provides a comprehensive view of this combo’s performance. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 87 FPS. Medium achieves 71 FPS, with a minimum of 61 FPS and a maximum of 82 FPS. High achieves 55 FPS. Ultra achieves 41 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra is a steady decline of roughly 16 FPS per step, with the largest single drop occurring between Medium and High (16 FPS).

At 2560x1440, the Low preset achieves an average of 55 FPS. Medium achieves 45 FPS, with a minimum of 38 FPS and a maximum of 52 FPS. High achieves 35 FPS. Ultra achieves 26 FPS. The decline from Low to Ultra is 29 FPS, with the step from Medium to High again being the largest at 10 FPS. The minimum FPS at 1440p Medium is 38 FPS, which is below the 40 FPS threshold, indicating that the GPU can struggle in complex scenes.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset achieves an average of 29 FPS. Medium achieves 24 FPS, with a minimum of 20 FPS and a maximum of 27 FPS. High achieves 18 FPS. Ultra achieves 14 FPS. The decline from Low to Ultra is 15 FPS, with the step from Low to Medium being 5 FPS and from Medium to High being 6 FPS. The minimum FPS at 4K Medium is 20 FPS, which is the lowest minimum across all measured configurations.

Comparing across resolutions at the same setting, the Low preset shows the largest absolute drop from 1080p to 4K: 58 FPS (87 to 29). The High preset drops 37 FPS (55 to 18). The Medium preset drops 47 FPS (71 to 24). The Ultra preset drops 27 FPS (41 to 14). The percentage drops are consistent, around 66-67% from 1080p to 4K for all settings. This uniformity confirms that the GPU is the sole limiter, as the scaling is purely pixel-driven.

The data also reveals that the Medium preset at each resolution provides the most stable frame times, as evidenced by the reported minimum and maximum values. At 1080p Medium, the range is 21 FPS (61 to 82). At 1440p Medium, the range is 14 FPS (38 to 52). At 4K Medium, the range is 7 FPS (20 to 27). The narrowing range at higher resolutions suggests that the GPU is becoming more consistently bottlenecked, with less variance in frame delivery.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the 5000 series, based on the Zen 3 architecture (codename Vermeer). It is manufactured on a 7 nm process at TSMC, with 4,150 million transistors on a 74 mm² die. The base clock is 3.50 GHz, and the boost clock is 4.40 GHz. The cache hierarchy includes 64 KB of L1 per core, 512 KB of L2 per core, and 32 MB of shared L3. The TDP is 65 watts, and it supports DDR4 memory in a dual-channel configuration with a bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s. The CPU is unlocked, allowing for overclocking, and it uses the AMD Socket AM4.

In synthetic benchmarks, the Ryzen 5 5600 performs strongly. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score is 18309, and single-core is 2584. The Geekbench multi-core score is 9158, and single-core is 1936. The Passmark multi-thread score is 21541, and single-thread is 3256. The 3DMark 16-thread score is 5641, and the max-thread score is 5659. These numbers place the CPU in the 74th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 20468. Its nearest rivals are all within 0.5% of this score, indicating that the CPU is a solid mid-range performer.

In Hard West, the CPU’s role is minimal because the game is not heavily threaded. The 6 cores and 12 threads are more than sufficient for the game’s AI and logic systems. The measured FPS data shows no evidence of CPU bottlenecking. For example, at 1080p Low, the average FPS is 87, which is likely near the maximum that the CPU can feed to the GPU. However, as the resolution increases, the FPS drops proportionally, indicating that the GPU is the limiting factor. If the CPU were limiting, the FPS would remain constant across resolutions, which is not the case.

The CPU’s boost clock of 4.40 GHz is adequate for single-threaded tasks, and its single-core benchmark scores (Cinebench R23 single-core at 2584, Passmark single-thread at 3256) are strong. In a turn-based tactics game, the CPU is responsible for processing enemy turns, pathfinding, and game state updates. The Ryzen 5 5600 handles these tasks with ease, as evidenced by the fact that the minimum FPS at 1080p Medium is 61 FPS, meaning there are no CPU-induced stalls.

The memory bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s is shared with the integrated GPU, which could be a point of contention. However, the data shows that the combo performs consistently, with no sudden FPS drops that would indicate memory bandwidth saturation. The GPU’s "System Shared" memory configuration means that it relies on the same DDR4 memory as the CPU, but the game’s modest requirements at low-to-medium settings do not appear to tax this arrangement severely.

The CPU’s release date of April 2022 and launch MSRP of $199 are relevant context, but the performance in Hard West is entirely dictated by the GPU. The Ryzen 5 5600 is not the reason this combo ranks 2614 out of 2949. In fact, the CPU’s benchmark percentile of 74 is a stark contrast to the GPU’s 9th percentile. The conclusion is clear: any attempt to improve performance in Hard West with this combo must focus on the graphics solution, not the processor. The CPU has ample headroom, and the data confirms that the Arc B390 is the definitive bottleneck.