Hard West

# Hard West Performance Analysis: AMD Ryzen 5 5600F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070

This combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 produces a measured frame rate profile for Hard West that places it at rank 1256 out of 2949 tested combos, positioning it in the upper-middle portion of the database. The data indicates this pairing delivers playable performance across most settings and resolutions, with the RTX 3070 serving as the primary performance driver while the 6-core Ryzen 5 5600F provides sufficient compute headroom for this turn-based tactics title. Benchmark results show a clear performance hierarchy across the four tested settings presets, with frame rates scaling predictably from Ultra down to Low, and resolution scaling following expected patterns from 1080p through 4K. The measured FPS data, which is confirmed as actual test results rather than estimates, reveals that this combo excels at 1080p and 1440p but struggles to maintain high refresh rates at 4K on higher settings presets.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 1256th out of 2949 tested combinations in Hard West, placing it in the 57th percentile of all tested systems. This is a solid mid-pack result that reflects the RTX 3070’s position in the GPU hierarchy — the card sits at the 61st percentile among all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 17208. The CPU component, the Ryzen 5 5600F, ranks at the 85th percentile among all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 36945, indicating the processor is a relatively stronger component than the graphics card in this pairing. The combination of a high-percentile CPU with a mid-tier GPU explains why the overall combo ranking lands in the upper-middle range rather than near the top.

Looking at the GPU’s nearest rivals in the benchmark database, the RTX 3070’s average score of 17208 is nearly identical to the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT at 17083, a 0.7% difference. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 scores 17037 (1% lower), and the AMD Radeon HD 7970M scores 17019 (1.1% lower). The NVIDIA Tesla K40c scores higher at 17468, representing a 1.5% advantage over the RTX 3070. These narrow margins indicate the RTX 3070 sits in a tightly clustered performance band where small differences in synthetic benchmarks translate to meaningful variations in real-world gaming performance depending on the specific workload.

For the CPU, the Ryzen 5 5600F’s average score of 36945 places it within a hair of its nearest rivals. The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 scores 36938 (0% delta), the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D scores 37018 (-0.2% delta), the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 scores 37093 (-0.4% delta), and the Intel Core i9-12900T scores 37112 (-0.5% delta). These sub-1% differences demonstrate that the Ryzen 5 5600F is performance-competitive with a range of modern processors, including both AMD and Intel offerings across different market segments. In the context of Hard West, a turn-based tactics game that likely does not heavily stress multi-core performance, the CPU’s relative strength compared to its GPU counterpart suggests the processor is unlikely to be the bottleneck in most scenarios.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1500 MHz with a boost clock of 1725 MHz, and memory runs at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). These specifications place the RTX 3070 as a capable 1440p-class graphics card, which aligns with the measured performance in Hard West. The GPU’s 5888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, and 96 raster output pixels provide substantial compute resources, with a pixel rate of 165.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 317.4 GTexel/s. The card’s FP32 throughput of 20.31 TFLOPS indicates strong raw compute capability that benefits both traditional rasterization and the game’s visual effects.

In Hard West specifically, the RTX 3070’s memory configuration plays a critical role in performance scaling. At 4K resolution with Ultra settings, the combo achieves only 33 FPS average, while dropping to High settings yields 44 FPS. This pattern suggests the 8 GB VRAM capacity may be a limiting factor at higher resolutions with demanding settings, as the game likely requires more memory bandwidth and capacity than available. The transition from Medium (57 FPS at 4K) to High (44 FPS at 4K) represents a 13 FPS drop, while the jump from High to Ultra costs another 11 FPS. These steep penalties for higher settings at 4K indicate the GPU is the constraining component at this resolution.

The RTX 3070’s benchmark scores reinforce this interpretation. The GPU scores 22214 in Passmark G3D, placing it at the 61st percentile among all GPUs. Its DirectX 11 score of 182 and DirectX 12 score of 85 show significantly better performance in legacy APIs than in modern ones, which may influence how Hard West utilizes the hardware given the game’s 2015 release date. The GPU’s Vulkan score of 21022 and OpenCL score of 112821 indicate strong compute performance that could benefit game physics or AI calculations if the engine leverages these APIs. The DirectX 10 score of 150 and DirectX 9 score of 247 suggest the card handles older rendering paths efficiently, which is relevant for a game released in 2015.

Settings Recommendations

For 1080p gaming, the data shows that High settings provide the best balance of visual quality and performance stability. The combo achieves 133 FPS average at 1080p High, which is 34 FPS lower than Low (199 FPS) but only 40 FPS higher than Ultra (99 FPS). The Medium preset delivers 173 FPS, representing a 40 FPS improvement over High while losing some visual fidelity. For players with 60 Hz or 144 Hz displays, High settings at 1080p offer headroom above refresh rate targets while maintaining better image quality than Medium. The Ultra preset at 99 FPS remains playable but offers diminishing returns over High.

At 1440p, the recommended settings shift to Medium or High depending on refresh rate priorities. The Medium preset delivers 109 FPS average with a minimum of 93 FPS and maximum of 126 FPS, providing smooth gameplay on 100 Hz or 120 Hz displays. High settings at 1440p produce 84 FPS average, which is adequate for 60 Hz displays but may feel less smooth on higher refresh rate monitors. Low settings at 1440p reach 133 FPS, but the visual quality reduction is substantial for only a 24 FPS gain over Medium. Ultra at 1440p drops to 63 FPS, which is below the 72 FPS threshold often considered minimum for smooth gameplay on 144 Hz displays.

For 4K resolution, the data suggests Medium settings are the practical ceiling for playable performance. The Medium preset achieves 57 FPS average with a minimum of 49 FPS and maximum of 66 FPS, which is acceptable for 60 Hz displays but may experience occasional dips below 50 FPS. High settings at 4K produce 44 FPS, which is marginally playable but not ideal for action sequences. Low settings at 4K reach 70 FPS, providing the smoothest 4K experience but with significantly reduced visual quality. Ultra at 4K is not recommended, as 33 FPS average falls below acceptable playability thresholds for most users. The measured data indicates that Medium at 4K represents the best trade-off between visual fidelity and frame rate for this combo.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080 resolution, the combo demonstrates strong performance across all settings presets. Low settings produce 199 FPS average, the highest measured result in the entire dataset. Medium settings deliver 173 FPS average with a minimum of 147 FPS and maximum of 198 FPS, showing consistent frame delivery. High settings achieve 133 FPS average, while Ultra settings produce 99 FPS average. The scaling from Low to Ultra shows a 100 FPS drop, representing a 50% reduction in frame rate. The gap between Medium and High is 40 FPS, while the gap between High and Ultra is 34 FPS, indicating that each step up in settings carries a significant performance cost at 1080p.

At 2560x1440 resolution, the performance profile shifts downward as expected. Low settings produce 133 FPS average, which is 66 FPS lower than the same settings at 1080p. Medium settings deliver 109 FPS average with a minimum of 93 FPS and maximum of 126 FPS, showing a 64 FPS reduction compared to 1080p Medium. High settings achieve 84 FPS average, a 49 FPS drop from 1080p High. Ultra settings produce 63 FPS average, a 36 FPS reduction from 1080p Ultra. The performance deltas between settings at 1440p are 24 FPS from Low to Medium, 25 FPS from Medium to High, and 21 FPS from High to Ultra, showing relatively consistent scaling.

At 3840x2160 resolution, the combo’s performance drops substantially. Low settings produce 70 FPS average, which is 63 FPS lower than 1080p Low and 63 FPS lower than 1440p Low. Medium settings deliver 57 FPS average with a minimum of 49 FPS and maximum of 66 FPS, representing a 116 FPS drop from 1080p Medium and a 52 FPS drop from 1440p Medium. High settings achieve 44 FPS average, an 89 FPS reduction from 1080p High and a 40 FPS reduction from 1440p High. Ultra settings produce 33 FPS average, a 66 FPS drop from 1080p Ultra and a 30 FPS drop from 1440p Ultra. The performance deltas between settings at 4K are 13 FPS from Low to Medium, 13 FPS from Medium to High, and 11 FPS from High to Ultra, showing compressed scaling as the GPU becomes the limiting factor.

Resolution Scaling

The resolution scaling pattern reveals important insights about the limiting component in this combo. From 1080p to 1440p, the frame rate drops by approximately 33% across all settings: Low goes from 199 to 133 FPS (66 FPS drop), Medium from 173 to 109 FPS (64 FPS drop), High from 133 to 84 FPS (49 FPS drop), and Ultra from 99 to 63 FPS (36 FPS drop). The percentage reductions range from 36% for Ultra to 33% for Low, indicating relatively consistent scaling behavior. This suggests the GPU is beginning to become the primary constraint at 1440p, though the CPU still provides adequate support.

From 1440p to 4K, the frame rate drops become more severe. Low goes from 133 to 70 FPS (63 FPS drop, 47% reduction), Medium from 109 to 57 FPS (52 FPS drop, 48% reduction), High from 84 to 44 FPS (40 FPS drop, 48% reduction), and Ultra from 63 to 33 FPS (30 FPS drop, 48% reduction). The consistent 47-48% reduction across all settings indicates that the GPU is now the clear limiting factor at 4K, as the pixel count increase from 1440p to 4K (2.25x more pixels) overwhelms the RTX 3070’s capabilities. The CPU’s role diminishes at this resolution because the graphics workload dominates the frame time.

The overall scaling from 1080p to 4K shows reductions of 65% for Low (199 to 70 FPS), 67% for Medium (173 to 57 FPS), 67% for High (133 to 44 FPS), and 67% for Ultra (99 to 33 FPS). These consistent percentages across settings presets suggest that resolution scaling is independent of graphics quality settings, which is expected when the GPU is the bottleneck. The fact that the percentage drop is nearly identical across all settings indicates that Hard West scales predictably with resolution, and the RTX 3070’s 8 GB VRAM and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth become increasingly strained as pixel count rises.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600F provides 6 cores and 12 threads based on the Zen 3 architecture, with a base clock of 3.00 GHz and a boost clock of 4.00 GHz. The processor features 64 KB of L1 cache per core, 512 KB of L2 cache per core, and 32 MB of shared L3 cache, totaling a substantial cache hierarchy that benefits game workloads. The CPU supports DDR4 memory with dual-channel configuration, providing 51.2 GB/s of memory bandwidth. Its TDP of 65 W indicates efficient operation, and the processor uses the AMD Socket AM4 platform with PCIe Gen 4 support.

In synthetic benchmarks, the Ryzen 5 5600F demonstrates strong single-threaded and multi-threaded performance. The Passmark single-thread score is 2872, placing it in the upper tier of processors for lightly-threaded workloads. The multi-thread score of 19236 shows capable parallel performance, while the physics score of 1043 suggests adequate computational throughput for game physics calculations. The integer math score of 59339 and floating point math score of 34548 indicate robust general-purpose compute capabilities. Data compression (232836) and encryption (13839) scores show strong memory and computational performance, though these are less relevant for gaming.

For Hard West, a turn-based tactics game, the CPU demands are likely moderate rather than extreme. The game’s turn-based nature means that frame rate is less dependent on CPU performance than in real-time action games, as the game logic processes actions discretely rather than continuously. The Ryzen 5 5600F’s 6 cores and 12 threads provide ample headroom for the game’s AI, pathfinding, and turn resolution logic. The boost clock of 4.00 GHz ensures responsive single-threaded performance for game logic that may be largely single-threaded. The CPU’s 85th percentile ranking among all CPUs suggests it exceeds the requirements for this game, meaning the GPU is the primary determinant of frame rate in most scenarios.

The CPU’s performance relative to its nearest rivals reinforces its capability. With an average benchmark score of 36945, the Ryzen 5 5600F is statistically tied with the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 (36938), AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D (37018), AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 (37093), and Intel Core i9-12900T (37112). The maximum delta among these rivals is 0.5%, indicating that any of these processors would perform similarly in Hard West. This suggests that the CPU choice has minimal impact on the game’s frame rate, and the RTX 3070’s performance characteristics dominate the measured results.

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1080p gaming with this combo?

A: High settings at 1080p deliver 133 FPS average, which is 40 FPS lower than Medium (173 FPS) but provides better visual quality. Ultra produces 99 FPS, so High offers the best balance for most users. Low reaches 199 FPS but sacrifices significant visual fidelity.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Hard West?

A: Yes, but with limitations. Medium settings at 4K achieve 57 FPS average with a minimum of 49 FPS, which is playable but not consistently smooth. Low settings reach 70 FPS, while High drops to 44 FPS and Ultra falls to 33 FPS. Medium is the recommended 4K preset for playable performance.

Q: How does the RTX 3070 compare to its closest rivals?

A: The RTX 3070’s average benchmark score of 17208 is 0.7% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT (17083), 1% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 (17037), and 1.1% higher than the AMD Radeon HD 7970M (17019). The NVIDIA Tesla K40c scores 1.5% higher at 17468.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 5600F a bottleneck for the RTX 3070 in Hard West?

A: No. The CPU ranks at the 85th percentile among all processors with an average score of 36945, while the GPU sits at the 61st percentile. The CPU’s 6 cores and 12 threads with a 4.00 GHz boost clock provide ample performance for this turn-based tactics game, making the GPU the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between 1080p and 4K at High settings?

A: At High settings, 1080p produces 133 FPS average, 1440p produces 84 FPS, and 4K produces 44 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 4K is 89 FPS, representing a 67% reduction. This indicates the GPU becomes the primary constraint as resolution increases.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested systems?

A: The combo ranks 1256th out of 2949 tested combinations in Hard West, placing it in the upper-middle portion of the database. This ranking reflects the RTX 3070’s mid-tier position and the Ryzen 5 5600F’s strong CPU performance.