Hard West

The AMD Ryzen 5 7400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 delivers a remarkably consistent experience in Hard West, a turn-based tactics title that leans more on raw geometry and draw calls than on modern shading effects. Across all tested resolutions and presets, the frame rates remain high, but the scaling pattern reveals a clear shift in bottleneck behavior as resolution increases. At 1080p, the CPU does much of the heavy lifting; at 4K, the GPU takes over, though neither component ever comes close to struggling in this title.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a steady decline as resolution climbs, which is expected, but the magnitude of that decline is unusually modest for a game of this genre. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo averages 261 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops that to 224 FPS, a reduction of roughly 14%. At 4K Low, the average falls to 120 FPS, which is 46% below the 1080p figure. That is a large absolute drop, but the final number remains far above what any display refresh rate would need for smooth play.

The pattern across presets tells a more interesting story. At 1080p, the gap between Low and Ultra is 90 FPS (261 vs. 171), which indicates that the GPU is still scaling with settings, but the CPU is not the limiting factor at the low end. At 1440p, the same comparison shows a 116 FPS difference (224 vs. 108), and at 4K, the gap widens to 63 FPS (120 vs. 57). The percentage drop from Low to Ultra grows from 34% at 1080p to 52% at 4K, suggesting that the RTX 4090’s shading and memory bandwidth are becoming more dominant at higher resolutions.

For the Medium preset, which is the only one with min and max FPS data, the scaling is particularly revealing. At 1080p Medium, the average is 243 FPS with a minimum of 206 and a maximum of 279. That min-to-max spread of 73 FPS shows some frame-time variance, but it is still well within playable territory. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 188 FPS, with the minimum at 160 and maximum at 216. The spread narrows to 56 FPS, which suggests that the GPU is smoothing out the frame delivery as resolution increases. At 4K Medium, the average is 99 FPS, with a minimum of 84 and a maximum of 113. Here, the spread is just 29 FPS, indicating that the workload has become more uniform.

What this scaling data says about the limiting component is straightforward. At 1080p, the CPU is the primary constraint in the Low preset, where the GPU has plenty of headroom; the 261 FPS figure is likely near the game’s engine limit for draw calls and logic updates. At 4K Ultra, the GPU is clearly the bottleneck, as the 57 FPS average is consistent with a heavy shading load on a 3840x2160 framebuffer. The fact that 4K Low still hits 120 FPS means that even at maximum resolution, the RTX 4090 is not fully taxed unless the preset is cranked up.

The implications for players are simple: this combo can handle any resolution and preset combination without dropping below 57 FPS in the worst case. The data shows no resolution where the average falls below 57 FPS, and the only preset that dips under 60 FPS is 4K Ultra. For a turn-based tactics game, where smoothness is less critical than in fast-paced shooters, even that 57 FPS average would be perfectly acceptable.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture, with a chip designated AD102. It carries 16,384 shading units, 512 texture mapping units, and 176 raster output pipelines. The boost clock is listed at 2520 MHz, with a base clock of 2235 MHz. Memory is 24 GB of GDDR6X on a 384-bit bus, delivering 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth. The transistor count is 76,300 million on a 609 mm² die, fabricated on TSMC’s 5 nm process.

In Hard West, the GPU’s role becomes more pronounced as settings increase. The measured FPS at 1080p Low is 261, which is essentially a CPU-bound result; the RTX 4090 is waiting for the Ryzen 5 7400F to feed it. At 1080p Ultra, the average drops to 171 FPS, which still leaves the GPU with significant headroom. The real test comes at 4K, where the 57 FPS average at Ultra shows that the 24 GB frame buffer and the 1.01 TB/s bandwidth are being utilized, but the game’s visual effects are not heavy enough to push the card anywhere near its limits.

Comparing to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks, the RTX 4090 scores an average of 60347 in the database’s aggregate metric. The Intel Arc Pro A60 matches at 60326 (0% delta), the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 is at 60140 (0.3% ahead), and the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M is at 61896 (2.5% ahead). The RTX 4090’s percentile rank among all GPUs is 88, which places it in the top tier but not the absolute top. In this specific game, the data shows that the GPU is rarely the limiting factor below 4K Ultra.

The VRAM capacity of 24 GB is far more than Hard West requires. The game’s textures and geometry at 1080p or 1440p are unlikely to exceed 8 GB, so the extra memory sits idle. Even at 4K Ultra, the 24 GB buffer is likely underutilized, but it does provide a safety margin for any future titles or mods. The effective memory clock of 21 Gbps and the 384-bit bus give the card enough bandwidth to stream textures without any perceived stutter, as evidenced by the min FPS values at Medium being only slightly below the averages.

The RTX 4090’s shading capabilities, represented by its 82.58 TFLOPS FP32 compute, are not fully exercised in this turn-based title. The game’s rendering is likely dominated by simple forward rendering and minimal post-processing, which explains why the FPS stays high even at 4K. The pixel rate of 443.5 GPixel/s and texture rate of 1,290.2 GTexel/s are more than sufficient for the scene complexity in Hard West, which relies on static environments and sparse particle effects rather than dense volumetric lighting or ray tracing.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 7400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, codenamed Raphael. It operates on the AMD Socket AM5 platform and has a base clock of 3.70 GHz with a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. The cache hierarchy includes 64 KB of L1 per core, 1 MB of L2 per core, and 32 MB of shared L3. The CPU supports DDR5 memory with dual-channel configuration, offering 83.2 GB/s of bandwidth. It is fabricated on a 5 nm process with 6,570 million transistors on a 71 mm² die.

In Hard West, the CPU’s influence is most visible at 1080p, where the FPS numbers are dramatically higher than at 4K. At 1080p Low, the 261 FPS average suggests that the game’s logic and draw call submission are running at their limits, but the 6 cores and 12 threads are sufficient to keep the GPU fed. The boost clock of 4.70 GHz provides strong single-thread performance, which is critical for turn-based tactics games that often rely on a single main thread for game logic and AI calculations.

Synthetic benchmarks for the Ryzen 5 7400F show a multi-core score of 21,765 in Cinebench R23 and a single-core score of 3,072. In Passmark’s multi-thread test, it scores 25,645, and in single-thread, 3,689. The average benchmark score is 32,750, which places it in the 83rd percentile among all CPUs. Its nearest rivals are closely matched: the Intel Core i5-14600T scores 32,707 (0.1% behind), the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H scores 32,697 (0.2% behind), the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6850H scores 32,812 (0.2% ahead), and the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 360 scores 32,662 (0.3% behind). This tight grouping indicates that the 7400F is competitive with mid-range laptop and desktop parts from the same era.

For Hard West, the CPU’s 6 cores are more than adequate. The game’s turn-based nature means that most processing happens in discrete turns, with bursts of AI and pathfinding rather than continuous physics simulation. The 12 threads help with background tasks, but the single-core boost clock is what drives the high FPS at 1080p. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the CPU is the bottleneck, as the GPU is not being stressed; the 261 FPS is likely close to what the game’s engine can produce regardless of GPU.

At 1440p and 4K, the CPU’s role diminishes. The FPS drops are proportional to the increase in pixel count, which is a GPU-bound behavior. The Ryzen 5 7400F does not appear to limit the RTX 4090 at these resolutions, as the GPU has enough headroom to render the frames without waiting for the CPU. The memory bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s is sufficient for this game’s asset streaming, and the 32 MB L3 cache helps with quick access to frequently used data, though the game’s data set is small enough that this is unlikely to matter.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows provide clear guidance for optimal settings. At 1080p, the Ultra preset delivers 171 FPS, which is far above any display refresh rate. The High preset at 1080p gives 221 FPS, and Medium gives 243 FPS with a minimum of 206 FPS. The Low preset at 1080p reaches 261 FPS, but the visual quality loss is not worth the 90 FPS gain over Ultra.

At 1440p, the Ultra preset drops to 108 FPS, which is still excellent for a high-refresh monitor. High comes in at 144 FPS, and Medium at 188 FPS with a minimum of 160 FPS. Low reaches 224 FPS, but again, the visual trade-off is excessive. For a turn-based tactics game where you spend time examining the battlefield, the Ultra preset at 1440p provides the best balance, as the 108 FPS average is smooth and the visual fidelity is maximized.

At 4K, the decision becomes more nuanced. Ultra averages 57 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold that many players consider the baseline for smoothness. However, for a turn-based game, this is still playable, and the frame pacing is likely consistent. High at 4K gives 76 FPS, which is above 60 and provides a solid experience. Medium at 4K offers 99 FPS with a minimum of 84 FPS, which is the best balance of visual quality and performance at this resolution. Low at 4K hits 120 FPS, but the visual downgrade is significant.

The data suggests that the Medium preset is the sweet spot for this combo. At 1080p Medium, the average is 243 FPS with a minimum of 206, which is well above any display’s refresh rate. At 1440p Medium, the average is 188 FPS with a minimum of 160, still excellent. At 4K Medium, the average is 99 FPS with a minimum of 84, which provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS. The min and max values for Medium are the only ones recorded in the data, and they show that even in the worst case, the frame rate stays high enough to avoid any perceptible stutter.

Given the genre’s slower pacing, players could also choose Ultra at 1440p for the best visuals, as the 108 FPS average is more than sufficient. At 4K, the High preset at 76 FPS is a reasonable compromise, but Medium at 99 FPS is the recommended choice for those who prioritize smoothness without sacrificing too much detail. The Ultra preset at 4K should only be used if the player has a VRR display that can handle the 57 FPS average without tearing.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combos for Hard West, this pairing of the AMD Ryzen 5 7400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 ranks 114th out of 2,949 combinations. That places it in the top 4% of all tested systems, which is a strong result given the CPU’s mid-range positioning. The rank reflects the aggregate performance across all settings and resolutions, and the high FPS numbers at 1080p and 1440p contribute to this favorable standing.

The rank is notably higher than what the CPU’s individual percentile might suggest. The Ryzen 5 7400F sits in the 83rd percentile among all CPUs, while the RTX 4090 is in the 88th percentile among GPUs. The combination of a top-tier GPU with a competent mid-range CPU yields a system that is well-balanced for this game, where the GPU’s headroom compensates for any CPU limitations at higher resolutions. The fact that the combo ranks 114th out of 2,949 indicates that many other systems, likely with faster CPUs, do not outperform it significantly in Hard West because the game is not CPU-intensive enough to differentiate them.

The nearest rival CPU scores show that the 7400F is within 0.3% of its closest competitors in synthetic benchmarks. This means that swapping to a slightly faster CPU would not materially change the FPS in Hard West. The GPU’s nearest rivals in synthetic scores are also within 2.9% of the RTX 4090, but in this game, the actual measured FPS is more dependent on the specific driver and game engine optimizations, which the data shows are favorable for this combo.

The rank of 114 out of 2,949 also implies that there are 2,835 combos that rank below this one, which includes many systems with older GPUs or lower-end CPUs. The data confirms that this combo is more than sufficient for Hard West at any resolution, and the rank reflects that the system is in the upper tier of performance for this title. For players who own this hardware, the data indicates that there is no need to upgrade either component to achieve a better experience in this game.

FAQ

*Q: What is the maximum average FPS this combo achieves in Hard West?*

A: The highest recorded average FPS is 261, achieved at 1080p with the Low preset. At 4K Ultra, the average drops to 57 FPS.

Q: Is the RTX 4090 or the Ryzen 5 7400F the bottleneck at 4K Ultra?

A: The data shows that at 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 57, which is significantly lower than the 1080p Low figure of 261. This indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K Ultra, as the CPU’s workload does not scale with resolution.

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 7400F compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Ryzen 5 7400F has an average benchmark score of 32,750. The Intel Core i5-14600T scores 32,707 (0.1% behind), the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H scores 32,697 (0.2% behind), the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6850H scores 32,812 (0.2% ahead), and the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 360 scores 32,662 (0.3% behind).

Q: What is the best preset to use at 4K to stay above 60 FPS?

A: The Medium preset at 4K averages 99 FPS with a minimum of 84 FPS, so it stays well above 60 FPS. The High preset averages 76 FPS, which also stays above 60 FPS, but Medium provides a larger margin.

*Q: Does the 24 GB VRAM of the RTX 4090 matter for Hard West?*

A: The game’s visual complexity is low, so the 24 GB VRAM is likely underutilized in all tested settings. The data shows high FPS even at 4K, indicating that VRAM capacity is not a limiting factor for this title.

*Q: Where does this combo rank among all tested systems in Hard West?*

A: This combo ranks 114th out of 2,949 tested combinations, placing it in the top 4% of all systems. The rank reflects strong performance across all resolutions and presets.