Hard West

# How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 7600 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 ranks 97th out of 3,722 tested combinations for Hard West. This places the combo in the top 2.6% of all tested configurations, which is remarkably strong for a turn-based tactics title that typically does not stress modern hardware to its limits. The 97th rank reflects the raw computational headroom both components bring, but the data also reveals that the game itself becomes the limiting factor at lower resolutions, where the CPU's single-thread performance and the GPU's massive throughput both exceed what the engine can fully utilize. The ranking is notable because Hard West was released in 2015, and the combination of a 2023-era six-core processor with a 2025 flagship GPU produces frame rates that far exceed what the game's visuals demand. In practical terms, this combo sits near the top of the performance hierarchy for this title, with only a handful of alternative pairings delivering more headroom, and those differences are unlikely to be perceptible given the game's turn-based nature.

# GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 brings a substantial amount of graphics processing power to Hard West, anchored by 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, yielding 1.79 TB/s of memory bandwidth. The GPU's base clock is 2017 MHz, with a boost clock of 2407 MHz, and memory runs at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective). These specifications translate into a PassMark G3D score of 39,650, placing the card at the 92nd percentile among all GPUs. For a game like Hard West, which features static isometric scenes and turn-based gameplay, the RTX 5090's raw fill rates—423.6 GPixel/s pixel rate and 1,636.8 GTexel/s texture rate—are far beyond what the engine can consume. The 21760 shading units and 176 ROPs ensure that even the most demanding settings are trivial for this card to handle. The data shows that at 4K Ultra, the combo still delivers 58 FPS, which is playable but indicates that the game's Ultra preset introduces rendering costs that scale with resolution. At 4K High, the average jumps to 78 FPS, and at 4K Medium, it reaches 101 FPS. The GPU's 92nd percentile ranking versus all GPUs, alongside its nearest rivals (NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB with a 0.3% higher average score, and AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X with a 1.4% lower score), underscores that this is a top-tier card, but Hard West's modest visual complexity means the GPU is rarely the bottleneck outside of the highest resolution/settings combinations.

# Resolution Scaling

Examining the measured FPS across resolutions reveals how the bottleneck shifts. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 277 FPS, which drops to 235 FPS at 1440p Low and then to 123 FPS at 4K Low. This represents a 55.6% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, indicating that even at Low, the GPU's workload scales significantly with pixel count. At Medium settings, the pattern is similar: 258 FPS at 1080p, 192 FPS at 1440p, and 101 FPS at 4K, a 60.9% drop from 1080p to 4K. High settings show 234 FPS at 1080p, 148 FPS at 1440p, and 78 FPS at 4K, a 66.7% reduction. Ultra settings exhibit the steepest scaling: 175 FPS at 1080p, 111 FPS at 1440p, and 58 FPS at 4K, a 66.9% drop. The consistent pattern—where the percentage drop from 1080p to 4K grows as settings increase—indicates that the GPU becomes progressively more limiting at higher settings, while at 1080p Low, the CPU and game engine may cap performance. Specifically, the 277 FPS at 1080p Low versus 235 FPS at 1440p Low suggests that the CPU's 3.80 GHz base and 5.10 GHz boost clocks, combined with its Zen 4 architecture, can push high frame rates but cannot scale linearly with resolution reductions. The data shows that at 1080p, even Low settings exceed 270 FPS, which is beyond the refresh rate of most displays, making the resolution scaling less meaningful for practical play and more indicative of raw headroom.

# FAQ

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested configurations for Hard West?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 7600 with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 ranks 97th out of 3,722 tested combos, placing it in the top 2.6% of all configurations.

Q: How does the RTX 5090's memory configuration affect performance in Hard West?

A: The 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus with 1.79 TB/s bandwidth provides enormous headroom for Hard West's textures and scenes, but the game's 2015-era engine does not fully utilize this capacity. The memory bandwidth contributes to the high frame rates at 4K, where the card still delivers 78 FPS at High settings.

Q: What is the CPU's single-thread performance, and why does it matter for this game?

A: The Ryzen 5 7600 scores 999 in 3DMark single-thread and 1,852 in Cinebench R23 single-core. Hard West, being a turn-based tactics game, relies heavily on single-thread performance for game logic and AI calculations, so these scores translate to responsive turn processing even at high frame rates.

Q: How does the RTX 5090 compare to its nearest rivals in average benchmark score?

A: The RTX 5090 has an average benchmark score of 79,842, which is 0.3% higher than the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB (79,605) and 1.4% higher than the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X (80,959). It also sits 1.1% above the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (78,940).

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings deliver 235 FPS, while Ultra settings deliver 111 FPS. This 52.8% reduction in frame rate from Low to Ultra reflects the increased rendering load of the Ultra preset, which includes higher-quality shadows and effects.

Q: Does the CPU's 6-core/12-thread configuration limit performance in Hard West?

A: The data suggests not. The Ryzen 5 7600's 6 cores and 12 threads, combined with a 32 MB shared L3 cache, provide ample compute for the game. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 277 FPS, indicating the CPU can sustain high frame rates without becoming a bottleneck, though the game's engine may cap performance at very high FPS levels.

# CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 7600 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the 7000 series, built on the Zen 4 architecture (codenamed Raphael) using a 5 nm process at TSMC. Its base clock is 3.80 GHz with a boost clock of 5.10 GHz, and it carries 64 KB of L1 cache per core, 1 MB of L2 per core, and 32 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU's benchmark scores show strong single-thread performance—999 in 3DMark single-thread, 1,852 in Cinebench R23 single-core, and 2,521 in Geekbench single-core—which are critical for Hard West's turn-based gameplay, where AI pathfinding and decision-making are often single-threaded. Multi-threaded scores are equally robust: 12,735 in Cinebench R23 multi-core, 13,413 in Geekbench multi-core, and 6,503 in 3DMark max threads. The processor sits at the 78th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 26,324. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX (0.2% higher score), the AMD Ryzen 7 7435HS (0.3% lower), the Intel Core i9-11900KF (0.4% higher), and the AMD Ryzen 5 8540U (0.5% higher). In Hard West, the CPU's role is to handle game logic, unit turn resolution, and scene management. The measured FPS at 1080p Low (277 FPS) suggests the CPU can push frame rates well beyond the game's visual needs, but the drop to 123 FPS at 4K Low indicates that the GPU begins to dominate the performance equation at higher resolutions. The 65W TDP and dual-channel DDR5 memory support (with 83.2 GB/s bandwidth) ensure that the CPU does not starve the GPU, even at 4K, where the RTX 5090's massive bandwidth is the primary driver of performance. The CPU's 5.10 GHz boost clock provides the single-thread speed necessary for Hard West's turn-based mechanics, where each unit's action is computed sequentially, making low latency more important than raw core count.

# Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate headroom. At 1920x1080, all settings deliver playable frame rates, but the Ultra preset at 175 FPS is the best balance of visual quality and performance, as it remains above 144 Hz for high-refresh monitors while providing the highest visual fidelity. The Medium preset at 258 FPS and Low at 277 FPS are excessive for most displays, and the visual downgrade does not justify the additional frame rate. At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset at 111 FPS is still smooth, but the High preset at 148 FPS offers a better balance, providing 33% more frame rate than Ultra while retaining most visual quality. The Medium preset at 192 FPS is also viable for competitive play, but for a turn-based tactics game, the visual fidelity of High is more valuable than the extra frame rate. At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset at 58 FPS is playable but not ideal for a 60 Hz display, as it falls below the refresh rate. The High preset at 78 FPS is the recommended choice for 4K, as it exceeds 60 FPS and provides a significant improvement over Ultra's 58 FPS. The Medium preset at 101 FPS offers even more headroom, but the visual quality drop from High to Medium is noticeable in static scenes, where Hard West's detailed backgrounds benefit from higher settings. Overall, the data indicates that High settings at 1440p or 4K, and Ultra at 1080p, provide the best combination of visual fidelity and frame rate for this combo. The 78 FPS at 4K High versus 58 FPS at 4K Ultra represents a 34.5% improvement, which is far more impactful than the marginal visual differences between those presets in a game with static isometric views.

# Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers 277 FPS at Low, 258 FPS at Medium (with a minimum of 219 and maximum of 297), 234 FPS at High, and 175 FPS at Ultra. The spread from Low to Ultra is 102 FPS, representing a 36.8% reduction in frame rate when moving to the highest settings. The Medium preset shows a narrow variance between its 219 FPS minimum and 297 FPS maximum, indicating consistent frame pacing. At 2560x1440, the performance drops to 235 FPS at Low, 192 FPS at Medium (163 min, 221 max), 148 FPS at High, and 111 FPS at Ultra. The reduction from 1080p to 1440p is 15.2% at Low, 25.6% at Medium, 36.8% at High, and 36.6% at Ultra, showing that higher settings amplify the resolution's impact. At 3840x2160, the frame rates fall to 123 FPS at Low, 101 FPS at Medium (86 min, 116 max), 78 FPS at High, and 58 FPS at Ultra. The transition from 1440p to 4K results in a 47.7% reduction at Low, 47.4% at Medium, 47.3% at High, and 47.7% at Ultra, demonstrating a consistent scaling factor across all settings. The Medium preset at each resolution consistently shows a wider range between minimum and maximum FPS (e.g., 86-116 at 4K, 163-221 at 1440p, 219-297 at 1080p), suggesting that the Medium settings introduce more variable frame times, likely due to dynamic scene complexity. The data shows that the combo maintains playable frame rates at all tested configurations, with the lowest recorded average being 58 FPS at 4K Ultra, which still exceeds the 30 FPS threshold typically considered minimum for turn-based games. The highest recorded average is 277 FPS at 1080p Low, which approaches the theoretical limits of the game engine. The measurements confirm that this combo is overkill for Hard West's requirements, but the headroom ensures smooth performance even in the most demanding scenarios, such as large maps with many units and complex lighting effects.