Hard West

Hard West is a turn-based tactics title from 2015, and the benchmark data for the AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 combination shows a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at higher resolutions, yet capable of delivering extreme frame rates at 1080p. The measured results indicate this pairing ranks 182nd out of 2949 tested combos, placing it in the top 6.2% of all configurations, which is a strong showing for this specific title. The data reveals that the RTX 5080 is the primary driver of performance, with the CPU providing ample headroom, and the most significant performance gains from settings adjustments occur at 4K, where the GPU load is highest.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial and clearly illustrates the shift from a CPU-limited to a GPU-limited scenario. At the High preset, the average FPS falls from 210 at 1920x1080 to 135 at 2560x1440, and finally to 71 at 3840x2160. This represents a 35.7% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 47.4% reduction from 1440p to 4K. In total, moving from 1080p to 4K at High settings cuts the frame rate by 66.2%, which is a typical scaling curve for a high-end GPU like the RTX 5080, indicating that the graphics card is the limiting component at the higher resolutions.

The scaling pattern is consistent across all settings presets. At Low settings, the drop is from 248 FPS at 1080p to 213 FPS at 1440p and 113 FPS at 4K, a total reduction of 54.4%. At Medium, the figures are 231, 176, and 92 FPS, representing a 60.2% drop from 1080p to 4K. The Ultra preset shows the most significant absolute decline, going from 160 FPS at 1080p to 101 FPS at 1440p and 53 FPS at 4K, which is a 66.9% reduction. The fact that the percentage drop is relatively similar across presets suggests that the resolution scaling is consistent, and the GPU's workload scales predictably with pixel count.

The data also shows that the difference between 1080p and 1440p is less severe than the jump to 4K. For instance, at High settings, the gap between 1080p and 1440p is 75 FPS, while the gap between 1440p and 4K is 64 FPS. This indicates that the system has more headroom at 1440p, but the transition to 4K places a significant burden on the GPU, effectively halving the frame rate compared to 1440p in most cases. For a game like Hard West, which is a turn-based tactics title without fast-paced action, the 71 FPS at 4K High is perfectly playable, but the 53 FPS at 4K Ultra suggests that the most demanding settings are best reserved for lower resolutions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080, with its 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus, is clearly the dominant factor in these results. The GPU's memory bandwidth of 960.0 GB/s is substantial, and while Hard West is not a modern title with massive texture requirements, the data shows that the card's raw computational power is what drives the high frame rates. The boost clock of 2617 MHz, combined with 10752 shading units, allows the card to process the game's scenes efficiently, as evidenced by the high FPS at 1080p and 1440p.

The RTX 5080's performance relative to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks reinforces its position. In the PassMark G3D benchmark, the GPU scores 36565, which is 0.6% ahead of the AMD Radeon 8060S and 0.7% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB. It is 2.3% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X. However, it trails the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE by 2.2%. This indicates that the RTX 5080 is a top-tier performer, but the gap to the nearest competitors is narrow, suggesting that in a game like Hard West, the differences might be minimal.

The GPU's 16 GB VRAM is more than sufficient for this game, and there is no indication from the data that VRAM capacity is a limiting factor at any resolution or settings level. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra (53 FPS) is likely due to the sheer compute load of the Ultra preset, not memory constraints. The GPU's 84 RT cores and 336 tensor cores are present, but Hard West is not a title that utilizes ray tracing or DLSS, so these features are irrelevant to the measured performance. The card's high pixel rate of 293.1 GPixel/s and texture rate of 879.3 GTexel/s are more relevant, as they directly impact the ability to fill the screen at 4K.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1440p with High settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 2560x1440 with the High preset is 135 FPS.

Q: How much faster is the RTX 5080 compared to the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB?

A: According to the PassMark G3D benchmark, the RTX 5080 scores 36565, which is 0.7% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB's score.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 4K resolution?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck at 3840x2160. The frame rate drops significantly from 1440p to 4K, and the RTX 5080 is the component responsible for rendering the higher pixel count.

Q: What is the best settings preset for a 60 FPS target at 4K?

A: The High preset at 3840x2160 achieves an average of 71 FPS, which is above 60 FPS. The Medium preset also achieves 92 FPS, while the Ultra preset drops to 53 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target.

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 7500X3D compare to the Intel Core i9-13950HX in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Ryzen 5 7500X3D has an average benchmark score of 44573, which is 0.5% higher than the Intel Core i9-13950HX's score of 44342.

Q: What is the lowest average frame rate recorded in the entire dataset?

A: The lowest average FPS is 53, which occurs at 3840x2160 resolution with the Ultra settings preset.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 combination achieves a rank of 182 out of 2949 tested combos in Hard West. This places the system in the top 6.2% of all configurations tested, which is an excellent result. The high ranking is expected given the caliber of the GPU, which is a top-tier Blackwell 2.0 architecture card, and the capable Ryzen 5 processor. The data suggests that this combo is more than sufficient for Hard West, and it should handle the game with ease at any resolution.

The CPU's synthetic benchmark scores are competitive with its nearest rivals. With an average benchmark score of 44573, the Ryzen 5 7500X3D is 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra X9 388H, 0.5% ahead of the Intel Core i9-13950HX, and 0.6% ahead of the AMD Ryzen AI Max 385. It trails the Intel Core i5-14600 by 0.7%. These margins are minimal, indicating that the CPU is not a differentiator in this game, and its performance is in line with other high-end processors. The CPU's 96 MB of shared L3 cache and 6 cores with 12 threads are ample for a turn-based strategy title.

In the context of the full dataset, the 182nd rank is notable because it shows that the combination is not just fast, but consistently fast across the board. The GPU's 87th percentile versus all GPUs and the CPU's 89th percentile versus all CPUs are both high, and when combined, they produce a system that is well-balanced for gaming. The fact that the combo ranks in the top 6.2% indicates that there are only 181 other tested configurations that can beat it in this specific game, which is a strong endorsement of its capabilities.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings preset depends on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For players aiming for the highest visual fidelity at 4K, the High preset is the best choice, as it delivers an average of 71 FPS, which is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold. The Ultra preset at 4K drops to 53 FPS, which may be acceptable for a turn-based game, but the 18 FPS gain from High to Ultra is not worth the performance hit for most users. The Medium preset at 4K delivers 92 FPS, which is a significant bump, but the visual difference between Medium and High is often noticeable.

At 1440p, the Ultra preset is the recommended choice, as it achieves an average of 101 FPS. This provides a high level of visual detail while maintaining a smooth frame rate above 100 FPS. The High preset at 1440p reaches 135 FPS, which is excellent for high-refresh-rate monitors, but the Ultra preset offers a better balance of quality and performance. The Medium preset at 1440p hits 176 FPS, which is overkill for most displays and sacrifices visual quality.

At 1080p, the Ultra preset is the clear winner, delivering 160 FPS. This is more than enough for any monitor, and it provides the best possible visual experience. The High preset at 1080p reaches 210 FPS, which is also excellent, but the Ultra preset's 160 FPS is still far above the refresh rate of most standard monitors. The Low and Medium presets at 1080p (248 and 231 FPS respectively) offer no practical benefit, as the Ultra preset is already so fast. In summary, for a balance of visual quality and performance, the data recommends High at 4K, Ultra at 1440p, and Ultra at 1080p.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete set of measured average frame rates is as follows:

1920x1080:

• Low: 248 FPS
• Medium: 231 FPS (min 196, max 266)
• High: 210 FPS
• Ultra: 160 FPS

2560x1440:

• Low: 213 FPS
• Medium: 176 FPS (min 150, max 203)
• High: 135 FPS
• Ultra: 101 FPS

3840x2160:

• Low: 113 FPS
• Medium: 92 FPS (min 79, max 106)
• High: 71 FPS
• Ultra: 53 FPS

The data shows a clear hierarchy across all resolutions, with Low being the fastest and Ultra being the slowest. The Medium preset is the only one with recorded minimum and maximum FPS values, showing a variance of 27 FPS at 1080p, 53 FPS at 1440p, and 27 FPS at 4K. This indicates that the Medium preset has some frame pacing variability, but the averages are still very high.

The most striking observation is the performance at 1080p, where even the Ultra preset maintains 160 FPS. This suggests that the RTX 5080 is heavily underutilized at this resolution, and the CPU is likely the limiting factor. However, the Ryzen 5 7500X3D is still able to feed the GPU enough data to achieve these high frame rates. The 4K Ultra result of 53 FPS is the only measurement below 60 FPS, and it represents the most demanding scenario in the dataset. This breakdown confirms that the system is exceptionally well-suited for Hard West at all settings, with the only caveat being a preference for High over Ultra at 4K if a strict 60 FPS target is desired.