Hard West

The AMD Ryzen 5 7400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 combination delivers a remarkably smooth experience in Hard West, a turn-based tactics title from 2015. The measured data shows that this pairing is heavily skewed toward GPU-bound performance at higher resolutions, yet still offers triple-digit frame rates across most settings. The benchmark results indicate a system that can comfortably handle the game's demands, with the primary variable being the resolution and quality preset chosen by the user.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K reveals a clear and expected pattern of GPU dependency. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo produces an average of 206 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 drops this to 131 FPS, a reduction of 75 FPS (approximately 36%). The jump to 3840x2160 High yields 69 FPS, which is another 62 FPS lower than the 1440p result. This steep decline—from 206 to 131 to 69 FPS—demonstrates that the RTX 4080's rendering workload is scaling almost linearly with pixel count.

The data suggests that at 1080p, the CPU is likely providing headroom that the GPU cannot fully exploit, as the 4080 is capable of far more than 206 FPS in this older title. However, the 1440p and 4K results show the GPU becoming the limiting component. The gap between Low and Ultra settings at each resolution reinforces this: at 4K, Low produces 109 FPS while Ultra drops to 51 FPS, a 58 FPS swing that points directly to pixel and shading throughput constraints.

Interestingly, the scaling from Medium to High at 4K is modest (89 to 69 FPS), but the jump from High to Ultra is severe (69 to 51 FPS). This indicates that the Ultra preset likely introduces a significant graphical feature that disproportionately taxes the GPU, possibly related to shadow or post-processing effects. The measured minimum FPS data for Medium settings shows a tighter range at higher resolutions: 76-103 FPS at 4K versus 206-279 FPS at 1080p, suggesting that frame pacing becomes less consistent as resolution increases.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, the Medium preset at 2560x1440 appears to be the sweet spot. The data shows an average of 170 FPS with a minimum of 144 FPS, ensuring smooth playback on any high-refresh-rate monitor. This combination yields a frame rate that is 39 FPS higher than High at the same resolution, while the visual difference between Medium and High in a turn-based tactics game is likely minimal given the static nature of most scenes.

At 3840x2160, High is the recommended preset for a playable experience, averaging 69 FPS. While not triple-digit, this is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth motion. The Ultra preset at 4K, at 51 FPS, falls below that threshold and introduces the risk of noticeable stutter. Low at 4K provides 109 FPS but sacrifices too much visual quality for a game that benefits from atmospheric lighting and shadow details.

For users prioritizing maximum smoothness over visuals, 1080p Medium is the standout choice: 243 FPS average with a 206 FPS minimum. This effectively eliminates any possibility of frame rate dips, which is particularly relevant for a tactics game where precise cursor movement and camera panning can feel more responsive at higher refresh rates. The High preset at 1080p (206 FPS) is also viable, but Medium offers a 37 FPS advantage with only a modest visual compromise.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is the dominant component in this pairing for Hard West. Its 16 GB of GDDR6X memory across a 256-bit bus provides 716.8 GB/s of bandwidth, which is far more than this 2015 title requires. The data shows that memory capacity is not a limiting factor at any resolution, as even the 4K Ultra preset, which typically stresses VRAM, does not show signs of memory-related frame drops.

The GPU's clock speeds—2205 MHz base and 2505 MHz boost—are substantial, but the architecture's compute capabilities are what drive the results. With 9728 shading units and 76 RT cores, the RTX 4080 is overkill for a game that likely does not utilize ray tracing. The FP32 throughput of 48.74 TFLOPS explains why the card can push 261 FPS at 1080p Low: the raw shader power is immense for a title of this era.

The RTX 4080's benchmark percentile of 86 vs all GPUs places it near the top of the performance stack, and its nearest rival, the RTX 4080 SUPER, is only 0.1% different in average score. This means the measured FPS in Hard West is representative of a high-end GPU tier. The data implies that the GPU is rarely the bottleneck at 1080p, but becomes the clear limiter at 4K, where the Ultra preset's 51 FPS result shows the card working hard to maintain even that level.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the RTX 4080 delivers exceptional performance across all presets. The Low preset averages 261 FPS, which is the highest measured result for this combo. Medium follows closely at 243 FPS, with a minimum of 206 FPS and a maximum of 279 FPS. High drops to 206 FPS, while Ultra still maintains a strong 155 FPS. These numbers indicate that even the most demanding preset at 1080p leaves significant headroom on the table.

Moving to 2560x1440, the scores remain very playable but show the GPU starting to work. Low produces 207 FPS, Medium averages 170 FPS (minimum 144 FPS, maximum 195 FPS), High achieves 131 FPS, and Ultra settles at 98 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra at this resolution is 109 FPS, demonstrating a wide performance envelope depending on user preference.

At 3840x2160, the data reveals the GPU's limits. Low still manages 109 FPS, but Medium drops to 89 FPS (76-103 FPS range), High to 69 FPS, and Ultra to 51 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra at 4K shows a 58 FPS reduction, with the step from High to Ultra being the most punishing at 18 FPS. The minimum FPS data for 4K Medium (76 FPS) suggests that even the "safe" preset can dip below 80 FPS in demanding scenes.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 283rd out of 3722 tested combinations in Hard West, placing it in the top 7.6% of all systems. This is a strong result, though not top-tier, which makes sense given that the RTX 4080 is end-of-life and the Ryzen 5 7400F, while capable, is not the fastest CPU available. The rank suggests that many other combos with higher-end CPUs or newer GPUs push past this pairing in this specific title.

The CPU's benchmark percentile of 83 vs all CPUs, with an average score of 32750, places it just 0.1% behind the Intel Core i5-14600T and 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H. These rival CPUs are comparable in synthetic benchmarks, but the data indicates that in Hard West, the GPU is the primary driver of the rank. The RTX 4080's 86th percentile GPU score, with a 0.1% delta to the RTX 4080 SUPER, means this combo's rank is largely determined by the GPU's strong but not class-leading position.

The rank of 283 implies that there are 282 combos that achieve higher FPS in this game. Given the measured data, those combos likely feature GPUs like the RTX 4090 or newer 50-series cards, or possibly CPUs with higher single-thread performance that help at 1080p. The 3722 total combos tested means this system outperforms 3439 other configurations, solidifying its position as a high-end performer for this title.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 with Medium settings provides 170 FPS average and 144 FPS minimum, making it the best balance of smoothness and visual quality. 1080p offers higher frame rates (up to 261 FPS on Low), while 4K is limited to 69 FPS on High.

*Q: Can this system handle 4K Ultra settings in Hard West?*

A: Yes, but just barely. The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 Ultra is 51 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold for perfectly smooth motion. It is technically playable but may feel less responsive compared to lower presets.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 compare to its closest rival in this game?

A: The RTX 4080's average benchmark score is 54247, which is 0.1% higher than the RTX 4080 SUPER (54209). In Hard West, this translates to near-identical performance, meaning the measured FPS is representative of both cards.

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck at 1080p?

A: The data suggests yes. At 1080p High, the combo produces 206 FPS, but the GPU is capable of more. The CPU's single-thread score of 309 in Cinebench R15 and 3689 in Passmark indicates it can handle the game's logic, but the frame rates plateau suggests the CPU may limit ultra-high FPS scenarios.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p?

A: The measured difference is 109 FPS. Low averages 207 FPS while Ultra averages 98 FPS. This wide gap allows users to choose between maximum frame rates or maximum visual fidelity.

Q: Does the 16 GB VRAM matter for this game?

A: No, not in the measured data. The 16 GB GDDR6X memory is far more than Hard West requires, as evidenced by the consistent frame rates across resolutions. The game likely uses less than 4 GB, so VRAM is not a limiting factor.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 7400F plays a supporting role in this combo, providing sufficient processing power without bottlenecking the GPU at most settings. Its 6 cores and 12 threads, based on Zen 4 architecture, are more than adequate for a turn-based tactics game that is not heavily threaded. The CPU's boost clock of 4.70 GHz helps in single-threaded tasks, which is crucial for game logic and AI calculations in this genre.

The CPU's benchmark scores reveal its capability: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21765 and a single-core score of 3072. These numbers place it in the 83rd percentile vs all CPUs, with the nearest rival being the Intel Core i5-14600T at a 0.1% delta. This means the Ryzen 5 7400F is not a top-tier processor, but it is well above average, and for Hard West, it is more than sufficient.

The data implies that at 1080p, the CPU may be the limiting factor for achieving the highest possible frame rates. The jump from 261 FPS on Low to 206 FPS on High at 1080p suggests that the GPU is still the primary driver, but the CPU's single-thread performance of 3689 in Passmark could cap frame rates in scenes with many units or complex pathfinding. At 1440p and 4K, the CPU is clearly not a bottleneck, as the GPU's workload dominates the rendering time.

The CPU's memory bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s and DDR5 support are adequate for feeding the RTX 4080, but for a game from 2015, these specifications are largely irrelevant. The CPU's 32 MB of L3 cache helps with game asset streaming, but the turn-based nature of Hard West means there are no rapid-fire texture loads. Overall, the Ryzen 5 7400F provides a stable foundation that allows the RTX 4080 to shine, with the data showing that the GPU is the star of this pairing for this title.