Hard West

# Hard West Performance Analysis: AMD Ryzen 5 7400F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060

This combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 7400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 delivers a surprisingly broad range of performance across Hard West's four presets and three resolutions, with frame rates spanning from 29 FPS at 4K Ultra to 186 FPS at 1080p Low. The measured data reveals a game that is heavily resolution-bound, where the GPU becomes the dominant constraint at higher settings, while the CPU's 6-core, 12-thread configuration proves more than adequate at lower resolutions and presets.

Settings Recommendations

The data suggests that Medium settings offer the best balance between visual fidelity and playable frame rates across all three resolutions. At 1080p, Medium produces 152 FPS average, which is only 34 FPS below High (117 FPS) but a substantial 64 FPS above Ultra (88 FPS). The 129 FPS minimum at 1080p Medium indicates consistent frame delivery, whereas the minimums for other presets are not recorded, making Medium the only preset at this resolution with documented frame stability. At 1440p, Medium delivers 96 FPS average with a minimum of 82 FPS and maximum of 111 FPS, placing it comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold while High manages 74 FPS and Ultra falls to 55 FPS.

At 4K, the choice becomes more constrained. Medium is the only preset at this resolution with recorded minimum and maximum values (43 FPS and 58 FPS respectively), and its 51 FPS average is the only 4K result that approaches playability. High at 4K drops to 39 FPS, while Ultra bottoms out at 29 FPS. Low at 4K reaches 62 FPS, but this preset likely sacrifices too much visual quality for a turn-based tactics game where the art style and environmental details are central to the experience. The data indicates that Medium at 4K is the only reasonable option for players who prioritize visual quality, while 1440p Medium offers the best overall experience for those who want headroom above 60 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 7400F with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 ranks 1574 out of 2949 tested combinations in Hard West, placing it in the 47th percentile of all tested systems. This mid-pack positioning is notable given the hardware's specifications: the RTX 4060 sits at the 61st percentile among all GPUs, while the Ryzen 5 7400F achieves the 83rd percentile among all CPUs. The gap between component percentiles and the final combo rank suggests that Hard West's performance ceiling is dictated more by the GPU than the CPU, as the processor's high percentile ranking cannot compensate for the graphics card's mid-tier position.

The combo's rank relative to the component benchmarks reveals an interesting dynamic. The RTX 4060's nearest rival, the AMD Radeon HD 7790, has an average benchmark score that is within 0.2% (17666 vs 17639), yet the RTX 4060's modern architecture with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 272.0 GB/s bandwidth should theoretically handle Hard West's 2015-era engine with ease. The Ryzen 5 7400F's nearest rivals include the Intel Core i5-14600T (0.1% higher score) and AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6850H (0.2% lower), indicating the CPU is well-matched against contemporary competition. The fact that this combo still only reaches the 47th percentile in this game points to Hard West being more demanding on the GPU than typical turn-based tactics titles.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 272.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its boost clock of 2460 MHz and base clock of 1830 MHz are relatively high for a 115 W part, and the 3072 shading units operating at these clocks produce 15.11 TFLOPS of FP32 compute. These specifications translate to a Passmark G3D score of 19545, which places the GPU at the 61st percentile overall. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2302 provides a modern benchmark reference, though Hard West's 2015 release predates many of the features this GPU supports.

The measured frame rates across resolutions reveal how the GPU's memory bandwidth and compute capabilities interact with Hard West's rendering demands. At 1080p, the RTX 4060 delivers 186 FPS at Low settings, but this drops to 88 FPS at Ultra—a 53% reduction that suggests the GPU is being pushed harder by the Ultra preset's effects. The 8 GB VRAM capacity appears sufficient even at 4K, as the game runs at 51 FPS on Medium without indication of memory-related stuttering. The 128-bit memory bus, while narrower than some competitors, still provides enough bandwidth for this game's relatively modest texture and geometry requirements.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS dataset shows a clear progression across resolutions and settings. At 1080p, the frame rates range from 186 FPS (Low) to 88 FPS (Ultra), with Medium at 152 FPS and High at 117 FPS. The Medium preset records a minimum of 129 FPS and maximum of 175 FPS, indicating frame times are relatively consistent. High and Ultra do not have recorded minimums or maximums, but their averages suggest they maintain playable performance throughout.

At 1440p, the pattern holds but with lower absolute numbers: Low delivers 118 FPS, Medium 96 FPS (with 82 FPS minimum and 111 FPS maximum), High 74 FPS, and Ultra 55 FPS. The 1440p Medium result is particularly notable as it maintains a 82 FPS minimum, which is above the 60 FPS threshold that many players consider the baseline for smooth gameplay. The 1440p Ultra result of 55 FPS falls below this threshold, making it a borderline choice for players who prefer maximum visual quality.

At 4K, the performance envelope tightens considerably. Low produces 62 FPS, Medium 51 FPS (with 43 FPS minimum and 58 FPS maximum), High 39 FPS, and Ultra 29 FPS. The 4K Medium result is the only 4K preset that maintains an average above 50 FPS, while the Ultra preset's 29 FPS makes it effectively unplayable for most users. The data shows that 4K requires significant settings compromises, with the jump from Medium to High costing 12 FPS and the jump from High to Ultra costing another 10 FPS.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1080p to 1440p to 4K reveals a consistent pattern of frame rate reduction that points to GPU-bound performance. Moving from 1080p to 1440p at Medium settings reduces the average FPS from 152 to 96, a 37% decrease. The further jump from 1440p to 4K at Medium reduces FPS from 96 to 51, a 47% decrease. These reductions are roughly proportional to the increase in pixel count: 1440p has 1.78 times the pixels of 1080p, and 4K has 2.25 times the pixels of 1440p.

The scaling behavior differs across settings presets. At Low settings, the 1080p to 1440p drop is from 186 to 118 FPS (37% decrease), and the 1440p to 4K drop is from 118 to 62 FPS (47% decrease). At Ultra settings, the 1080p to 1440p drop is from 88 to 55 FPS (38% decrease), and the 1440p to 4K drop is from 55 to 29 FPS (47% decrease). The consistency of these percentages across presets indicates that Hard West's rendering load scales predictably with resolution, and the RTX 4060's performance is the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions.

This scaling pattern strongly suggests the GPU is the bottleneck at 1440p and 4K. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect to see diminishing frame rate drops at higher resolutions, as the CPU would already be saturated at 1080p. Instead, the linear relationship between pixel count and FPS reduction indicates the GPU's fill rate and bandwidth are being fully utilized. At 1080p, however, the CPU may begin to play a larger role, as the 186 FPS Low result approaches the practical limits of the Ryzen 5 7400F's single-thread performance.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 7400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, manufactured on TSMC's 5 nm process. Its base clock of 3.70 GHz and boost clock of 4.70 GHz position it as a strong mid-range desktop chip, and its 32 MB of shared L3 cache helps with memory latency-sensitive workloads. The 65 W TDP indicates efficient power delivery, and the DDR5 memory support with 83.2 GB/s bandwidth provides ample data throughput for gaming.

In Hard West, the CPU's role appears secondary to the GPU at higher resolutions, but its performance characteristics matter at 1080p. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21765 and single-core score of 3072 show strong computational capability, with the Passmark single-thread score of 3689 confirming solid per-core performance. The nearest rivals in CPU benchmarks—the Intel Core i5-14600T (0.1% higher average score) and AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6850H (0.2% lower)—all cluster within 0.3% of the Ryzen 5 7400F's average benchmark score of 32750, indicating the CPU is well-positioned among its peers.

The 186 FPS result at 1080p Low suggests the CPU can feed the GPU sufficiently at lower resolutions. However, the 88 FPS at 1080p Ultra, which is a 53% reduction from Low, shows that the GPU becomes increasingly strained as settings increase. The CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads are likely sufficient for Hard West's turn-based gameplay, which typically does not require extensive multi-threading, but the 4.70 GHz boost clock ensures responsive single-threaded performance for game logic and AI calculations.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this hardware in Hard West?

A: The data shows 1440p Medium provides the best balance, delivering 96 FPS average with a minimum of 82 FPS and maximum of 111 FPS. This combination maintains frame rates above 60 FPS while offering better visual quality than Low settings.

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

A: Yes, but only at Medium settings, which produces 51 FPS average with a minimum of 43 FPS. The 4K Ultra preset drops to 29 FPS, while 4K High manages 39 FPS, making Medium the only viable 4K option for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the RTX 4060 compare to its nearest GPU rivals in this game?

A: The RTX 4060 has an average benchmark score of 17639, which is within 0.2% of the AMD Radeon HD 7790 (17666) and 0.3% of the AMD Radeon 780M (17588). The RTX 4060's 61st percentile ranking among all GPUs reflects its mid-tier positioning.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 7400F sufficient for this game's CPU requirements?

A: The CPU's strong single-thread performance (3072 in Cinebench R23 single-core) and 6-core/12-thread configuration appear more than adequate. The 83rd percentile ranking among all CPUs, combined with the 186 FPS result at 1080p Low, indicates the processor is not a limiting factor in most scenarios.

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

A: At Medium settings, the average FPS drops from 152 at 1080p to 96 at 1440p and then to 51 at 4K. This represents a 37% decrease from 1080p to 1440p and a 47% decrease from 1440p to 4K, showing the GPU's performance scales predictably with pixel count.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to all tested combinations in Hard West?

A: The combination ranks 1574 out of 2949 tested combos, placing it in the 47th percentile. This mid-pack ranking is notable because the CPU ranks in the 83rd percentile, suggesting the GPU's 61st percentile ranking is the limiting factor for overall performance in this game.