Hard West

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600G and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 pairing delivers a strong showing in Hard West, a Turn-Based Tactics title from 2015. The data measured for this combo shows a system that is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions while offering exceptional headroom at 1080p. The CPU’s six Zen 3 cores and 12 threads, running at a base clock of 3.90 GHz and boosting to 4.40 GHz, are more than sufficient for a genre that rarely stresses processor threads. Meanwhile, the RTX 3070’s Ampere architecture, with 5888 shading units and 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, provides the raw throughput needed to push frame rates well past the refresh rates of most monitors. The benchmark results indicate that this combo is a versatile performer, though its ranking among 3722 tested combos suggests that the processor, which sits at the 74th percentile among all CPUs, may hold back the GPU in some scenarios.

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

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600G is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, fabricated on a 7 nm process at TSMC. Its base clock of 3.90 GHz and boost clock of 4.40 GHz are respectable for a chip released in April 2021, and its 16 MB of L3 cache is standard for the generation. In Hard West, a turn-based tactics game where the action is often paused or grid-based, the CPU’s workload is modest. The game does not require the high thread counts typical of real-time strategy titles, so the 5600G’s 12 threads are rarely saturated. The data shows that even at 1080p Low settings, where the CPU would typically be the limiting factor, the combo still achieves 246 FPS, indicating that the processor has ample headroom.

The CPU’s benchmark scores corroborate this. In Cinebench R23, it scores 10551 multi-core and 1409 single-core, while in PassMark’s multithread test it reaches 19717. These numbers place it just ahead of the Intel Core i3-1220P (by 0.1%) and slightly behind the Intel Core Ultra 7 256V (by 0.1%) in average benchmark score. The 5600G’s single-thread performance, as measured by 3DMark’s single-thread test at 872, is adequate for the game’s logic and AI routines)Skip. Given that the game’s minimum FPS values are only recorded for Medium settings (e.g., 187 FPS at 1080p), the CPU is never the bottleneck; the frame drops that do occur are more likely tied to GPU load spikes during visual effects. The processor’s integrated Radeon Vega 7 graphics are irrelevant here since a discrete RTX 3070 is present, but the 5600G’s 65W TDP and dual-channel DDR4 memory support (with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth) keep system stability predictable.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

The measured FPS data for Hard West spans four presets—Low, Medium, High, and Ultra—across three resolutions. The sweet spot for this combo is clearly the High preset at 1440p, where the average FPS is 92. This is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold and offers a significant visual upgrade over Medium without the steep performance penalty of Ultra. At 1080p, High delivers 146 FPS, which is ideal for high-refresh-rate displays; however, the jump to Medium at 220 FPS shows that the GPU is not fully taxed, suggesting that players could enable higher settings for minimal visual difference. For those with 4K displays, High is the only viable option, producing 48 FPS, which is playable for a turn-based game but not fluid. Ultra at 4K drops to 35 FPS, which is below the playable threshold for most users. The Low preset is unnecessary unless targeting maximum refresh rates, as it yields 246 FPS at 1080p and 199 FPS at 1440p, but it sacrifices too much visual fidelity for a game that is not twitch-based.

The Medium preset offers the best balance of consistency, with recorded minimum FPS values of 187 at 1080p, 126 at 1440p, and 66 at 4K. These minimums indicate that Medium is the only setting where frame pacing remains stable across all resolutions, making it the recommended choice for 4K users who want to avoid dips below 60 FPS. At 1080p, the High preset’s 146 FPS average is still well above the 60 FPS floor, and the lack of recorded minimums for High suggests it is stable enough. The data indicates that the Ultra preset is not worth the performance cost; the 107 FPS at 1080p is only marginally better than High’s 146 FPS in terms of smoothness, and the 68 FPS at 1440p is on the edge of acceptability. For most players, High at 1080p or 1440p provides the best experience, while Medium is the fallback for 4K.

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

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic GPU-bound scenario. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 146 at 1080p to 92 at 1440p (a 37% reduction) and then to 48 at 4K (a 48% reduction from 1440p). This halving of frame rates with each resolution tier is typical of a system where the RTX 3070 is the primary constraint. The CPU’s performance does not degrade with resolution, as its workload remains constant; thus, the 26% drop from 1080p to 1440p and the subsequent 48% drop to 4K are attributable to the GPU’s fill rate and memory bandwidth. The RTX 3070’s 448.0 GB/s bandwidth and 165.6 GPixel/s pixel rate are being pushed to their limits at 4K, especially with the game’s High preset.

At Low settings, the scaling is even more pronounced: 246 FPS at 1080p, 199 FPS at 1440p (a 19% drop), and 104 FPS at 4K (a 48% drop). The 1080p Low result at 246 FPS suggests that the CPU could handle even higher frame rates if the GPU were faster, but the RTX 3070’s ceiling is reached around 246 FPS in this title. The 4K Low result of 104 FPS still exceeds the 60 FPS target, proving that the GPU is not the bottleneck at lower settings, but rather the game’s engine or driver overhead. The Medium preset shows a similar pattern: 220 FPS at 1080p, 148 FPS at 1440p, and 77 FPS at 4K)Skip. The minimum FPS values for Medium (187 at 1080p, 126 at 1440p, 66 at 4K) indicate that the GPU’s frame pacing becomes less consistent as resolution increases, but the 4K minimum of 66 FPS is still playable. This data confirms that the RTX 3070 is the limiting component at higher resolutions, while the 5600G has enough headroom to feed it at lower settings.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

This specific CPU-GPU combo ranks 774th out of 3722 tested combinations in Hard West, placing it in the top 21% of all systems. This is a strong result, especially considering that the RTX 3070 sits at the 61st percentile among all GPUs, while the 5600G is at the 74th percentile among CPUs. The combo’s rank suggests that the pairing is well-matched for this game, though the CPU’s higher percentile relative to the GPU indicates that the processor is slightly more capable than the graphics card in this context. The 774th rank means that roughly 20% of tested combos outperform it, likely featuring higher-end GPUs like the RTX 3080 or RX 6800 XT, but it also means that the 5600G + RTX 3070 outperforms the vast majority of systems tested.

The GPU’s nearest rivals provide context: the RTX 3070’s average benchmark score of 17208 is 0.7% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT and 1% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690, but it is 1.5% lower than the NVIDIA Tesla K40c. These deltas are minimal, suggesting that the RTX 3070 is in a tightly contested performance tier. The CPU’s rivals, including the Intel Core i3-1220P and AMD Ryzen 5 7530U, are within 0.4% of the 5600G’s average score, meaning that the processor choice has little impact on the combo’s ranking. The 774th rank out of 3722 is therefore driven primarily by the GPU’s performance, and the data indicates that for a turn-based tactics game like Hard West, this combo offers more than enough power to run the game at high settings with high frame rates, even if it is not in the top percentile.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Hard West with this combo?

A: The data indicates that 1440p High is the optimal balance, delivering 92 FPS average. 1080p High offers 146 FPS for higher refresh rates, while 4K High drops to 48 FPS, which is still playable for turn-based tactics.

Q: Why does the Ultra setting perform so poorly at 4K?

A: At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 35, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. The RTX 3070’s 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient to handle the Ultra preset’s texture and effect loads at that resolution, making it the only setting where the GPU is severely bottlenecked.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 5600G bottlenecking the RTX 3070?

A: The CPU’s performance ceiling appears higher than the GPU’s, as evidenced by 1080p Low reaching 246 FPS. The 5600G’s Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 10551 and single-core score of 1409 indicate it has enough headroom to avoid bottlenecking the RTX 3070 in this game.

Q: How does this combo compare to similar systems?

A: The combo ranks 774th out of 3722 tested combos, placing it in the top 21%. The RTX 3070’s average benchmark score is nearly identical to the RX 7600 XT (0.7% higher) and GTX 690 (1% higher), but 1.5% lower than the Tesla K40c.

Q: What is the minimum FPS for this combo at 1440p?

A: The only recorded minimum FPS at 1440p is for the Medium preset, which is 126 FPS. This is well above the 60 FPS target, indicating that frame pacing is stable at this resolution for Medium settings.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming at Medium settings?

A: Yes, the 4K Medium preset produces 77 FPS average with a 66 FPS minimum, making it the only 4K setting that maintains a playable frame rate above 60 FPS. High and Ultra at 4K fall below that threshold.

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

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across all settings and resolutions. At 1920x1080, the combo achieves 246 FPS on Low, 220 FPS on Medium, 146 FPS on High, and 107 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset has a minimum FPS of 187 and a maximum of 254, showing a wide variance but still high overall performance. At 2560x1440, the averages are 199 FPS on Low, 148 FPS on Medium, 92 FPS on High, and 68 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset at 1440p records a minimum of 126 FPS and a maximum of 170. At 3840x2160, the performance drops significantly: Low averages 104 FPS, Medium averages 77 FPS, High averages 48 FPS, and Ultra averages 35 FPS. The only minimum FPS recorded at 4K is for Medium, at 66 FPS, with a maximum of 89 FPS.

These numbers illustrate the scaling pattern. From 1080p to 1440p, the average FPS drops by approximately 19% on Low, 33% on Medium, 37% on High, and 36% on Ultra. From 1440p to 4K, the drops are more severe: 48% on Low, 48% on Medium, 48% on High, and 49% on Ultra. This consistent 48% reduction at higher resolutions confirms that the RTX 3070’s memory bandwidth and pixel throughput are the limiting factors. The data also shows that the High preset is the only one where the 4K average (48 FPS) falls below the 60 FPS threshold, while the Ultra preset at 4K (35 FPS) is the only setting that dips below 40 FPS. The Low preset at 4K still provides 104 FPS, which is more than adequate for turn-based gameplay, but the visual quality trade-off is substantial. For players prioritizing frame rate, 1080p Medium or High offers the best experience, while 1440p High is the recommended balance of fidelity and performance.