Hard West

The AMD Ryzen 5 7600 and Intel Arc B580 combination in Hard West presents a compelling case study in how a turn-based tactics title scales with modern hardware. The measured data reveals a system that is comfortably capable at mainstream resolutions, yet shows distinct performance ceilings that point directly at the GPU as the primary bottleneck when pushing towards 4K. This analysis breaks down the measured frames to understand where this pairing excels and where its limits lie.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent, clearly indicating a GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions. At 1080p with Ultra settings, the combo produces an average of 72.3 FPS. Moving to 1440p with the same preset, the average falls to 46 FPS, a reduction of roughly 36%. The jump to 4K Ultra is even more dramatic, with the average plummeting to 23.3 FPS, which is a further 49% drop from the 1440p figure. This pattern suggests that while the CPU has enough headroom to feed frames at lower resolutions, the Arc B580's rendering capabilities are overwhelmed as pixel count increases.

The scaling factor is even more pronounced when looking at the Low preset. At 1080p Low, the system achieves a very high 149.6 FPS. At 1440p Low, this falls to 94.9 FPS, a 37% reduction. At 4K Low, the average is 52.4 FPS, representing another 45% drop from 1440p. The fact that the percentage drops are so similar across both Low and Ultra settings suggests that the bottleneck is not related to specific graphical features like shadows or textures, but rather the sheer fill-rate and memory bandwidth demands of pushing more pixels. The GPU's 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus with 456.0 GB/s bandwidth is sufficient, but the 80 ROPs and 213.6 GPixel/s pixel rate are likely the limiting factors here.

Settings Recommendations

For a smooth experience at 4K, the data clearly points to the Low preset as the only viable option. The measured 52.4 FPS at 4K Low is playable, while the Medium preset's 38.8 FPS and High's 28.7 FPS fall below the threshold for comfortable gameplay. The jump from Low to Medium at 4K costs 13.6 FPS, a significant penalty for what is likely a modest visual improvement in a game from 2015.

At 1440p, the situation improves substantially. The High preset delivers a solid 58.2 FPS, which is a good balance of visual fidelity and performance. The Medium preset is even smoother at 81.2 FPS, and Low reaches 94.9 FPS. However, the Ultra preset at 1440p drops to 46 FPS, making it a less attractive option than High. For the best experience at this resolution, High is the recommended sweet spot, offering a significant visual upgrade over Medium with only a 23 FPS cost.

At 1080p, the system is clearly CPU-bound in the best way. Even the Ultra preset achieves a highly playable 72.3 FPS. The High preset at 97.3 FPS is exceptionally smooth, and Medium at 125.9 FPS is even better. Given the high frame rates, players can confidently use Ultra at 1080p, as the 72.3 FPS average is still well within the playable range for a turn-based title. The performance headroom at this resolution suggests the Ryzen 5 7600 is doing its job without breaking a sweat.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 7600 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture. Its benchmark scores indicate strong single-thread and multi-thread performance, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3246 and a multi-core score of 22992. The data shows that in Hard West, this CPU is not the limiting factor at 1080p, as the system can push well over 100 FPS on lower presets. The game, being a turn-based tactics title from 2015, likely does not have demanding multi-threaded workloads, so the CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads are more than sufficient.

The CPU's boost clock of 5.10 GHz likely plays a role in ensuring high minimum frame rates, even if they are not recorded in the data. The processor's percentile ranking of 83rd among all CPUs tested, with an average benchmark score of 26617, places it in a high-performance tier. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D, has a virtually identical average score (26574) with a deltaPct of 0.2%, indicating that the 7600 is on par with a top-tier gaming CPU from the previous generation. This means that in Hard West, the CPU is providing a stable, high-performance foundation that allows the GPU to be the sole determinant of frame rates at higher resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 7600 and Intel Arc B580 combination ranks 1328 out of 1699 tested combos in Hard West. This places it in the lower-middle portion of the database, which is an interesting result given the component specifications. The ranking suggests that while the individual parts are capable, their combined performance in this specific title is not exceptional compared to other pairings.

The GPU's average benchmark score of 23021 places it in the 66th percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rival is the AMD Radeon 760M (score 22999, deltaPct 0.1%). This indicates the B580's raw compute power is comparable to an integrated graphics solution, which is surprising. However, the B580's dedicated 12 GB of VRAM and higher bandwidth likely give it an edge in real-world gaming scenarios. The combo's rank suggests that many other CPU-GPU pairings outperform it in this game, likely due to the B580's relatively low standing among discrete GPUs. The 4K performance, which is below 30 FPS on High and Ultra presets, is a major contributor to this low ranking, as higher resolution performance is heavily weighted in the overall ranking methodology.

FAQ

*Q: Can this system run Hard West at 4K with playable frame rates?*

A: Yes, but only with the Low preset, where it achieves an average of 52.4 FPS. The Medium (38.8 FPS) and High (28.7 FPS) presets fall below the generally accepted 30 FPS playable threshold.

Q: What is the best setting for a 1440p monitor?

A: The High preset offers the best balance, with a solid 58.2 FPS average. The Medium preset is smoother at 81.2 FPS, but High provides a better visual experience for only a 23 FPS cost.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the main bottleneck at 1080p?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the main bottleneck, but not in a limiting way. At 1080p Ultra, the system still achieves 72.3 FPS, suggesting the CPU has ample headroom. The CPU's high single-thread performance (3246 in Cinebench R23) ensures it is not a hindrance.

Q: How does the Arc B580 compare to its closest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: In the provided data, the Arc B580 has an average benchmark score of 23021. Its closest rival is the AMD Radeon 760M with a score of 22999, a deltaPct of 0.1%. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is also close, with a score of 23181 and a deltaPct of -0.7%.

Q: What is the performance difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 1080p?

A: The difference is significant. The Low preset averages 149.6 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 72.3 FPS. This represents a performance reduction of over 50% when moving from the lowest to the highest quality settings.

Q: Does the game benefit from the CPU's multi-threading capabilities?

A: The measured data does not explicitly show multi-thread scaling. However, the CPU's multi-core score of 22992 in Cinebench R23 is strong. Given the game's age and genre, it is likely that a few cores are sufficient, and the high boost clock of 5.10 GHz is more valuable for maintaining consistent frame times.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its best performance. The Low preset achieves an average of 149.6 FPS. The Medium preset follows with 125.9 FPS, and the High preset with 97.3 FPS. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, yielding an average of 72.3 FPS.

At 2560x1440, performance scales down predictably. The Low preset averages 94.9 FPS. The Medium preset reaches 81.2 FPS, and the High preset produces 58.2 FPS. The Ultra preset falls to an average of 46 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the clear limiting factor. The Low preset averages 52.4 FPS. The Medium preset drops to 38.8 FPS, and the High preset to 28.7 FPS. The Ultra preset is the most taxing, with a low average of 23.3 FPS.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B580 is based on the Xe2-HPG architecture and features 2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 80 ROPs. Its peak FP32 performance is 13.67 TFLOPS. The data shows that in Hard West, the GPU's performance scales with pixel count, highlighting its 80 ROPs and 213.6 GPixel/s pixel rate as key specifications. The GPU's 12 GB of GDDR6 memory is ample for this title, but the 456.0 GB/s of bandwidth is not enough to prevent a significant performance drop at 4K.

The GPU's benchmark scores show a mixed profile. Its Passmark G3D score is 15748, but its DirectX 11 score is only 128, which is a concerning metric for a game like Hard West that likely relies on an older DirectX API. The GPU's percentile ranking of 66th is modest, and its average benchmark score of 23021 is nearly identical to the integrated AMD Radeon 760M (deltaPct 0.1%). This suggests that while the B580 has dedicated hardware and a large memory pool, its raw compute performance does not massively outclass integrated solutions in synthetic tests. In practice, the game's performance at 1080p is excellent, but the scaling to 4K is poor, confirming that the GPU's fill-rate capabilities are the primary constraint in this pairing.