Hard West

# Hard West with AMD Ryzen 5 5600 + Intel Arc B580

This combo ranks 2,817th out of 3,722 tested CPU-GPU combinations for Hard West, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database. The pairing of AMD's 6-core Zen 3 processor with Intel's Battlemage GPU produces playable frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, but the data reveals a clear performance ceiling at 4K. The CPU sits at the 74th percentile among all processors, while the GPU ranks at the 68th percentile among all graphics cards, suggesting a balanced pairing where neither component dramatically outclasses the other.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 2,817 out of 3,722 tested combinations places this system in the 24th percentile of all tested pairings for Hard West. This is a modest result for a turn-based tactics title, which typically favors CPU performance over raw GPU throughput. The Ryzen 5 5600's 74th percentile standing among all CPUs indicates solid processing capability, while the Arc B580's 68th percentile GPU ranking shows slightly less relative strength. The delta between these two percentiles suggests the GPU is the more limiting factor in this configuration.

Looking at the CPU's nearest rivals, the Ryzen 5 5600 scores an average benchmark of 20,468, sitting just 0.1% above the Intel Core Ultra 7 258V (20,454) and 0.2% above both the AMD Ryzen 5 8500G (20,425) and AMD EPYC 9454P (20,422). The closest competitor, the AMD EPYC 7713, trails by 0.5% with a score of 20,363. These negligible deltas indicate the Ryzen 5 5600 is operating at a performance plateau where marginal differences between processors have minimal impact on gaming outcomes.

For the GPU, the Arc B580's average benchmark score of 23,021 places it 0.2% below the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP (23,061) and 0.7% below the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 (23,172). It sits 0.6% above the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (22,895) and 1% above the NVIDIA P106-100 (23,249, which is actually higher despite the positive deltaPct value). The GPU's 68th percentile ranking reflects a mid-tier position that aligns with the measured frame rates in Hard West.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Hard West?

A: The data shows 1080p delivers the most comfortable experience, with average frame rates ranging from 71 FPS on Ultra to 151 FPS on Low. At 1440p, averages span from 45 FPS on Ultra to 96 FPS on Low. The 4K results drop to 24-50 FPS depending on settings, making 1440p the highest resolution where High settings maintain a 60 FPS average.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest rivals?

A: The Ryzen 5 5600's average benchmark score of 20,468 is within 0.5% of all four nearest rivals listed. It edges out the Intel Core Ultra 7 258V by 0.1%, matches the AMD Ryzen 5 8500G and EPYC 9454P within 0.2%, and leads the EPYC 7713 by 0.5%. These differences are negligible for gaming performance.

Q: What is the GPU's relative performance position?

A: The Intel Arc B580 has an average benchmark score of 23,021, placing it 0.2% behind the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP and 0.7% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080. It outperforms the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 by 0.6% and the NVIDIA P106-100 by 1%. Its 68th percentile ranking among all GPUs indicates mid-tier positioning.

Q: Does the game scale well with settings at different resolutions?

A: The data shows consistent scaling across all three resolutions. At 1080p, going from Low to Ultra reduces average FPS from 151 to 71, a drop of 80 FPS. At 1440p, the range is 96 FPS on Low to 45 FPS on Ultra (51 FPS difference). At 4K, Low produces 50 FPS while Ultra drops to 24 FPS (26 FPS difference). The scaling factor remains relatively consistent, indicating balanced load distribution.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more likely to bottleneck this game?

A: Benchmark results indicate the GPU is the limiting factor. The GPU's 68th percentile ranking versus the CPU's 74th percentile, combined with the modest frame rates at 4K (24-50 FPS), suggest the Arc B580 cannot fully utilize the Ryzen 5 5600's processing capability at higher resolutions. The CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads are sufficient for turn-based tactics workloads.

Q: What is the frame time consistency like?

A: For Medium settings, where minimum and maximum FPS data is available, the variance is consistent across resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the range spans 105-143 FPS (38 FPS variance). At 1440p Medium, it spans 67-90 FPS (23 FPS variance). At 4K Medium, it spans 35-47 FPS (12 FPS variance). The tighter ranges at higher resolutions indicate more consistent frame pacing when GPU-bound.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear resolution scaling pattern that highlights the GPU as the primary constraint. Moving from 1080p to 1440p at High settings, the average frame rate drops from 95 FPS to 60 FPS, a 36.8% reduction. The same resolution step at Low settings shows a drop from 151 FPS to 96 FPS, a 36.4% decline. This consistent scaling factor across settings indicates pixel throughput is the dominant factor.

The transition from 1440p to 4K produces even more dramatic reductions. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 60 to 32, a 46.7% decrease. Low settings drop from 96 FPS to 50 FPS, a 47.9% reduction. The pixel count difference between 1440p and 4K is roughly 2.25x, but the measured FPS drops by less than half, suggesting some CPU limitation begins to emerge at lower settings.

The data indicates the limiting component shifts based on resolution. At 1080p, the CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads can feed the GPU adequately, allowing frame rates up to 151 FPS on Low settings. At 4K, the GPU's rendering throughput becomes the hard ceiling, with even Low settings capped at 50 FPS. The Arc B580's 12 GB of GDDR6 memory and 456.0 GB/s bandwidth appear sufficient for all tested configurations, as no memory-related stuttering is evident in the min/max FPS data for Medium settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its strongest results. Low settings produce an average of 151 FPS, Medium settings reach 124 FPS with a range of 105-143 FPS, High settings achieve 95 FPS, and Ultra settings maintain 71 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra spans 80 FPS, showing significant headroom for players who prioritize frame rate over visual fidelity.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance scales down proportionally. Low settings average 96 FPS, Medium settings produce 79 FPS with a range of 67-90 FPS, High settings hit exactly 60 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 45 FPS. The 60 FPS average at High settings represents the threshold for smooth gameplay, while Ultra requires accepting a sub-60 experience.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck. Low settings average 50 FPS, Medium settings produce 41 FPS with a range of 35-47 FPS, High settings drop to 32 FPS, and Ultra settings bottom out at 24 FPS. None of the 4K configurations reach 60 FPS, indicating this resolution is only viable for players willing to accept compromised frame rates.

The Medium settings data provides the most complete picture of frame time consistency. The 1080p Medium range of 105-143 FPS shows a 38 FPS spread, while 1440p Medium spans 67-90 FPS (23 FPS spread), and 4K Medium spans 35-47 FPS (12 FPS spread). The narrowing range at higher resolutions suggests the system becomes more frame-time stable when the GPU is fully saturated.

Settings Recommendations

For 1080p gameplay, Ultra settings at 71 FPS average provide excellent visual quality while maintaining smooth performance. Players seeking higher refresh rates can drop to High settings for 95 FPS or Medium for 124 FPS with minimal visual compromise. Low settings at 151 FPS serve competitive or frame-rate-maximizing scenarios, though the turn-based nature of Hard West makes this less critical.

At 1440p, High settings at exactly 60 FPS represent the optimal balance between visual fidelity and smoothness. Medium settings at 79 FPS offer additional headroom for demanding scenes, while Ultra at 45 FPS requires accepting noticeable frame rate drops. The 60 FPS average at High makes this the recommended preset for 1440p displays.

For 4K, no settings level achieves 60 FPS. Low settings at 50 FPS provide the most playable experience, while Medium at 41 FPS offers better visuals with a 9 FPS penalty. High and Ultra settings at 32 FPS and 24 FPS respectively are difficult to recommend, as the frame rate drops below the threshold for comfortable turn-based gameplay. Players with 4K displays should consider running at 1440p with High settings for the best experience.

The data suggests that Medium settings offer the most consistent frame pacing across all resolutions, as evidenced by the available min/max FPS values. The 1080p Medium range of 105-143 FPS and 1440p Medium range of 67-90 FPS both maintain positive experiences, while 4K Medium's 35-47 FPS range shows the GPU struggling to maintain consistent output at this resolution.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600 brings 6 cores and 12 threads based on the Zen 3 architecture, operating at a base clock of 3.50 GHz with a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. This 5000-series processor uses the AMD Socket AM4 platform and features a 65 W TDP, making it a power-efficient choice for gaming systems. The 7 nm process node from TSMC houses 4,150 million transistors on a 74 mm² die.

Cinebench R23 results show a multicore score of 18,309 and a single-core score of 2,584, indicating strong single-thread performance that benefits game logic. The 3DMark results demonstrate scaling from 1,737 (2 threads) to 5,659 (max threads), with 4-thread and 8-thread scores of 3,313 and 4,798 respectively. The Ryzen 5 5600's 32 MB shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth provide adequate data throughput for gaming workloads.

In Hard West, the CPU's role is relatively modest given the turn-based gameplay. The 6-core, 12-thread configuration handles the game's AI and pathfinding calculations without issue, as evidenced by the high frame rates at 1080p Low settings (151 FPS). The CPU's 74th percentile ranking among all processors places it well above the GPU's 68th percentile, confirming that processing power is not the limiting factor in this pairing.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B580 uses the Xe2-HPG architecture on TSMC's 5 nm process, featuring 19,600 million transistors on a 272 mm² die. The GPU operates at a base and boost clock of 2670 MHz, with memory running at 2375 MHz (19 Gbps effective). Its 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus provides 456.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which proves sufficient for all tested settings in Hard West.

The GPU's compute capabilities include 2,560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 80 raster output pipelines, producing 213.6 GPixel/s pixel rate and 427.2 GTexel/s texture rate. FP32 performance reaches 13.67 TFLOPS, while FP16 doubles to 27.34 TFLOPS. The 20 ray tracing cores support DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4 APIs.

Benchmark results show the Arc B580 achieves a Passmark G3D score of 15,748 and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 109,672. Its 68th percentile ranking among all GPUs places it below the CPU's 74th percentile, confirming the GPU as the bottleneck in this configuration. The 190 W TDP and 450 W suggested PSU requirement indicate this is a mid-range power draw, consistent with its performance tier.

The measured FPS data reveals the GPU's limitations at higher resolutions. While 1080p delivers 71-151 FPS across settings, 1440p drops to 45-96 FPS, and 4K struggles at 24-50 FPS. The Arc B580's 12 GB VRAM capacity is never stressed in Hard West, as the game's turn-based visuals do not require extensive texture memory. The GPU's 2670 MHz clock remains constant, suggesting thermal throttling is not a factor in the measured results.