Hard West

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600G paired with the Intel Arc B390 presents a peculiar case in Hard West, a turn-based tactics title from 2015. The benchmark data reveals a system that is severely constrained by its graphics component, with the CPU’s capabilities largely untapped at every settings level and resolution. This analysis examines the measured frame rates to understand where the bottleneck lies and what the experience actually looks like for a player.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and tells a clear story about the limiting component. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 87 at 1920x1080 to 55 at 2560x1440, then plunges to 29 at 3840x2160. That is a 37% reduction in performance from 1080p to 1440p, followed by a further 47% drop when moving to 4K. This scaling pattern is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario, where the rendering workload is increasing faster than the graphics processor can handle.

The situation becomes even more telling when examining the High preset. The average FPS at 1080p is 55, which drops to 35 at 1440p (a 36% decrease) and then to 18 at 4K (a 49% decrease from 1440p). The consistent percentage losses across resolutions indicate that the Intel Arc B390 is hitting its architectural limits. The data suggests that the GPU’s fill rate and shading capacity are the primary constraints, as the pixel count increases geometrically with each resolution step. The CPU, a Ryzen 5 5600G with 6 cores and 12 threads, is likely idle waiting for the GPU to finish each frame.

Interestingly, the Ultra preset shows the same pattern but at a lower absolute level. Starting at 41 FPS at 1080p, it drops to 26 at 1440p and then to 14 at 4K. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 46 FPS, but at 4K that gap shrinks to just 15 FPS. This compression of the settings range at higher resolutions further confirms that the GPU is the sole limiting factor. When the resolution is low enough for the GPU to keep up, the game’s settings have a noticeable impact; when the resolution is high, the GPU is so overwhelmed that the difference between presets becomes almost academic.

The data implies that the Arc B390 is not a suitable partner for 4K gaming in Hard West under any settings, and even 1440p requires compromises. The 1080p resolution is the only viable target for this combination, and even then, the highest presets push the hardware to its limits.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU/GPU combo in Hard West?*

A: The data indicates that 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the system achieves consistently playable frame rates. At this resolution, all four settings presets produce average FPS figures above 40, with Low reaching 87 FPS. The 2560x1440 and 3840x2160 resolutions result in averages that fall below 55 FPS even at Low settings.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 4K?

A: The loss is substantial across all presets. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 87 at 1080p to 29 at 4K, which is a 67% reduction. At High settings, the drop is from 55 to 18 FPS, a 67% reduction as well. The Ultra preset falls from 41 to 14 FPS, a 66% decrease. The consistent percentage loss strongly suggests a GPU bottleneck.

Q: Is the Ultra preset playable at 1080p?

A: The Ultra preset at 1920x1080 produces an average FPS of 41. While this is above the threshold for smooth gameplay in a turn-based tactics game, it is noticeably lower than the Medium preset’s 71 FPS. The data shows that Ultra provides a significantly higher workload for the GPU without a corresponding benefit in this genre.

Q: Does the CPU ever become a bottleneck in this game?

A: Based on the resolution scaling data, the CPU does not appear to be a limiting factor. The frame rate drops consistently with resolution, which is a classic sign of GPU limitation. The Ryzen 5 5600G’s 6 cores and 12 threads are more than sufficient for a game from 2015, and its benchmark scores, such as 10551 in Cinebench R23 multicore, indicate ample processing power.

Q: What is the difference in performance between Low and Ultra at the same resolution?

A: At 1080p, the difference between Low (87 FPS) and Ultra (41 FPS) is 46 FPS. At 1440p, the difference narrows to 29 FPS (55 vs 26). At 4K, the difference is just 15 FPS (29 vs 14). This shrinking gap at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU is becoming the sole limiting factor, making the settings less impactful.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 2614 out of 2949 total tested combos for this game. This places it in the bottom 11% of all configurations, which is consistent with the GPU’s low benchmark percentile of 9. The data suggests that most other tested systems perform significantly better.

Settings Recommendations

For a balance between visual quality and frame rate, the Medium preset at 1920x1080 stands out as the optimal choice. The measured average of 71 FPS is smooth and responsive, with a minimum of 61 FPS and a maximum of 82 FPS, indicating consistent performance without major dips. This preset provides a substantial improvement over High (55 FPS) while remaining far ahead of Ultra (41 FPS).

The Low preset at 1080p is the best option for maximizing frame rate, achieving 87 FPS. However, in a turn-based tactics game where reaction time is less critical, the visual fidelity loss may not be worth the extra 16 FPS over Medium. The Medium preset’s average of 71 FPS is already well above the refresh rate of most standard monitors, so the additional frames from Low are largely imperceptible.

The High preset at 1080p, at 55 FPS, offers a middle ground but is not advisable. It provides a marginal visual improvement over Medium but at a 23% performance cost. The Ultra preset should be avoided at all resolutions. At 1080p, its 41 FPS average is below the comfort zone for many players, and at 1440p (26 FPS) and 4K (14 FPS), it becomes unplayable. The data suggests that the Arc B390’s 24 ROPs and 7.680 TFLOPS of FP32 performance are insufficient for the Ultra preset’s demands.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its best performance. The Low preset achieves an average of 87 FPS, with no minimum or maximum data provided. The Medium preset averages 71 FPS, with a minimum of 61 FPS and a maximum of 82 FPS. The High preset drops to an average of 55 FPS. The Ultra preset produces an average of 41 FPS, representing a 53% decrease from Low.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance degrades significantly. Low settings yield an average of 55 FPS, which is exactly the same as the High preset at 1080p, highlighting the cost of the higher resolution. Medium averages 45 FPS, with a minimum of 38 FPS and a maximum of 52 FPS. High averages 35 FPS. Ultra drops to 26 FPS, which is a 63% reduction from the 1080p Ultra score.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles to maintain playable frame rates. Low settings average 29 FPS. Medium averages 24 FPS, with a minimum of 20 FPS and a maximum of 27 FPS. High averages 18 FPS. Ultra averages just 14 FPS. The data shows that the Arc B390 is fundamentally unable to handle 4K rendering in this title, even with the lowest settings.

The pattern across all resolutions is consistent: Medium settings provide the best balance, offering a significant boost over High and Ultra while maintaining a robust frame rate. The lack of min/max data for Low, High, and Ultra presets limits the analysis of frame time consistency, but the average values are sufficient to draw conclusions about the overall performance envelope.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600G and the Intel Arc B390 ranks 2614 out of 2949 tested combos in Hard West. This places it in the 11th percentile of all configurations, a poor showing that is almost entirely attributable to the GPU. The CPU itself is not the issue; the Ryzen 5 5600G has a percentile rank of 74 against all CPUs, indicating it is a solid mid-range processor.

The GPU tells a different story. The Arc B390 has a percentile rank of just 9 against all GPUs, placing it in the bottom 10% of graphics processors. Its average benchmark score of 1482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad is comparable to the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463), a GPU from a much older generation. The nearest rivals for the GPU, such as the GeForce GT 710, have similar scores, confirming the Arc B390’s position at the very bottom of the performance spectrum.

The stark contrast between the CPU’s 74th percentile and the GPU’s 9th percentile creates a massive imbalance. The combo rank of 2614 reflects this bottleneck, as the system’s overall capability is dragged down by the graphics component. The data implies that any other GPU in the database would likely result in a higher combo rank, as the CPU has ample headroom to support a more powerful graphics card.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600G is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, codenamed Cezanne. It has a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, with a 65W TDP. For a turn-based tactics game like Hard West, which typically does not require high thread counts, this CPU is more than adequate. The single-thread performance, as measured by a Geekbench single-core score of 1801 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1409, is sufficient for the game’s logic and AI calculations.

The CPU’s multi-threaded capabilities are also strong, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 10551 and a Passmark multithread score of 19717. These scores indicate that the processor can handle any background tasks or game engine overhead without issue. The 16 MB of L3 cache provides ample room for game data, and the dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth is standard for the platform.

The benchmark data suggests that the CPU is never the limiting factor in this configuration. The frame rates scale directly with resolution, which is a GPU-driven characteristic. The CPU’s role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and game state information, and its 6 cores and 12 threads are more than capable of doing so at the frame rates observed. The CPU’s nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i3-1220P and AMD Ryzen 5 7530U, have similar average benchmark scores, indicating that this processor is not an outlier in either direction.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is the primary constraint in this system. It is based on the Xe3-LPG architecture and manufactured on a 3 nm process. The GPU has 1536 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 24 ROPs, with a boost clock of 2500 MHz. Its peak FP32 performance is 7.680 TFLOPS, which is modest for a modern GPU. The memory configuration is "System Shared," meaning it relies on the host system’s DDR4 RAM, which is a significant disadvantage for gaming performance.

The GPU’s percentile rank of 9 against all GPUs is a clear indicator of its low performance tier. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1482 is comparable to the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463), a GPU from the early 2010s. The nearest rivals, including the GeForce GT 625 OEM and GeForce GT 710, all have scores within a few percentage points, confirming that the Arc B390 is at the very bottom of the performance ladder.

In Hard West, this translates to the observed frame rates. The GPU’s 24 ROPs and 48 TMUs are insufficient to handle the pixel and texture processing demands at higher resolutions and settings. The 4K results, with averages between 14 and 29 FPS, show that the GPU is overwhelmed. Even at 1080p, the Ultra preset’s 41 FPS average suggests the GPU is struggling to maintain fluid performance. The data indicates that the Arc B390 is not designed for gaming workloads, and its performance in this title reflects that limitation. The system-shared memory bandwidth, which is "System Dependent," further hampers performance, as the GPU must compete with the CPU for memory access.