Hard West

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F and Intel Arc B570 combination produces a clear performance profile in Hard West, a turn-based tactics title from 2015. The measured data shows a system that excels at 1080p and 1440p gaming but struggles to maintain playable frame rates at 4K, with the GPU acting as the primary constraint at higher resolutions. This analysis walks through the benchmark results step by step, examining how resolution scaling, individual component characteristics, and settings choices shape the final experience.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression across resolutions reveals a textbook case of GPU-bound scaling. At 1080p with High settings, the combo delivers 84 FPS. Moving to 1440p drops this to 53 FPS, a reduction of 31 FPS or roughly 37%. The jump to 4K at the same settings yields just 28 FPS, which is 56 FPS below the 1080p result — a decline of approximately 67% from the baseline. This steep curve indicates that the Intel Arc B570 is the limiting factor once pixel count increases, as the CPU’s six Zen 4 cores are more than capable of feeding the frame pipeline at lower resolutions.

The scaling pattern is consistent across all settings presets. For Low settings, the combo starts at 134 FPS at 1080p, falls to 85 FPS at 1440p, and reaches 44 FPS at 4K. Medium settings follow the same trajectory: 110 FPS at 1080p, 69 FPS at 1440p, and 36 FPS at 4K. Ultra settings produce the lowest absolute numbers — 63 FPS at 1080p, 40 FPS at 1440p, and 21 FPS at 4K — but the relative drops are similar. The consistent proportionality suggests that the rendering workload scales predictably with resolution, and no single setting causes an anomalous bottleneck.

What this means for the limiting component is straightforward. At 1080p, the 8400F’s single-thread performance — evidenced by its 3dmark single-thread score of 951 and Cinebench R23 single-core result of 2943 — is sufficient to keep the Arc B570 busy. The GPU’s 11.52 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 200.0 GPixel/s pixel rate are the ceiling. At 4K, the GPU’s 10 GB of GDDR6 memory and 380.0 GB/s bandwidth are stretched thin, as evidenced by the sub-30 FPS results at High and Ultra. The data supports a clear verdict: this is a 1080p and 1440p system for Hard West, not a 4K one.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570, built on the Xe2-HPG architecture with a 5 nm process from TSMC, is the dominant factor in these results. Its memory configuration — 10 GB of GDDR6 on a 160-bit bus, delivering 380.0 GB/s of bandwidth — is adequate for the game’s demands at 1080p and 1440p, but the 4K results suggest the bus width becomes a constraint. The boost clock sits at 2500 MHz, matching the base clock, which means the GPU operates at a fixed frequency under load; there is no dynamic overclocking headroom in the measured data.

The GPU’s benchmark scores contextualize its in-game performance. Its Passmark G3D score of 14195 places it at the 65th percentile among all GPUs, and its average benchmark score of 20556 is nearly identical to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (20534, a 0.1% delta) and the Intel Arc A750 (20582, a -0.1% delta). In Hard West, the B570’s 80 ROPs and 144 TMUs are the key architectural resources for a turn-based tactics game that relies on static scenes and sprite-based effects rather than heavy particle physics. The 18 ray tracing cores are irrelevant for this title, as it predates widespread RT adoption and uses DirectX 11-era rendering paths.

Notably, the game’s results do not show the GPU’s compute potential being fully utilized. The Passmark GPU compute score of 7281 is a fraction of the 3D score, and the Geekbench OpenCL score of 83514 indicates strong general compute, but Hard West does not appear to stress these capabilities. The limiting factor is more likely the pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth at high resolutions. The 10 GB VRAM is never a bottleneck at any measured resolution, as the game’s 2015 era assets fit comfortably within that allocation. The data shows a GPU that is well-matched to the CPU at 1080p, but the gap widens as resolution increases, confirming the GPU as the primary performance limiter above 1080p.

FAQ

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

A: The measured data shows 1080p and 1440p are the viable options. At 1080p, all settings presets achieve at least 63 FPS, while at 1440p, Medium settings hit 69 FPS and High settings reach 53 FPS. 4K results fall below 45 FPS even at Low settings, making it unplayable for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B570 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The B570’s average benchmark score of 20556 is within 0.1% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (20534) and within 0.1% of the Intel Arc A750 (20582, delta of -0.1%). It is also 0.4% ahead of the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M (20480) and 0.5% behind the AMD Radeon R9 M390X (20662).

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU in this game at any resolution?

A: The data indicates no CPU bottleneck at 1080p or 1440p, as the 8400F’s single-thread score of 951 in 3dmark and 2943 in Cinebench R23 single-core are sufficient for the game’s turn-based logic. At 4K, the GPU is clearly the limiting factor, with frame rates dropping by more than half compared to 1440p at the same settings.

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

A: At 1080p, Low settings produce 134 FPS, while Ultra settings produce 63 FPS. This is a difference of 71 FPS, meaning Ultra settings cost roughly 53% of the Low setting’s frame rate. Medium settings sit at 110 FPS, and High settings at 84 FPS.

*Q: Is the 10 GB VRAM sufficient for Hard West?*

A: Yes, the measured data shows no VRAM-related issues at any resolution. The game’s 2015-era assets are well within the 10 GB GDDR6 allocation, and the performance drops at 4K are attributable to the GPU’s 160-bit memory bus and 380.0 GB/s bandwidth rather than capacity limits.

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 8400F compare to its nearest CPU rivals?

A: The 8400F’s average benchmark score of 25005 is 0.2% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 5 7500F (24964) and 0.3% ahead of the Intel Core i7-11850H (24935). It is 0.4% ahead of the Intel Core i7-13620H (24911) and 0.4% behind the AMD EPYC 9474F (25103).

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides a clear hierarchy for optimal settings. At 1080p, the Medium preset delivers 110 FPS with a minimum of 93 FPS and a maximum of 126 FPS, offering a strong balance between visual fidelity and smoothness. High settings drop to 84 FPS, which is still playable, but the 26 FPS penalty over Medium is significant for a turn-based game that does not benefit from extreme frame rates. Ultra settings at 63 FPS are playable but represent a 47 FPS loss from Medium, and the visual gains in a 2015 title are likely marginal.

At 1440p, Medium settings again offer the best experience, with an average of 69 FPS and a minimum of 59 FPS. This is the only settings preset at 1440p that maintains a minimum above 60 FPS. High settings at 53 FPS are borderline, and Ultra at 40 FPS is noticeably less fluid. Low settings at 85 FPS are the highest performer but sacrifice visual quality unnecessarily. For 4K, the data recommends avoiding this resolution entirely — even Low settings only reach 44 FPS, and Medium drops to 36 FPS, which is below the threshold for consistent playability.

The recommendation is to use Medium settings at 1440p as the primary configuration, as it provides a minimum of 59 FPS and an average of 69 FPS. If the player prefers 1080p, Medium settings at 110 FPS are the best choice, as the higher frame rates of Low settings (134 FPS) do not meaningfully improve a turn-based experience. Ultra settings should be avoided at all resolutions, as the performance cost is disproportionate to the visual benefits in this game’s art style.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Hard West, this pairing of the AMD Ryzen 5 8400F and Intel Arc B570 ranks 2360 out of 2949 total combos. This places it in the bottom 20% of all tested configurations, which is surprising given the individual components’ mid-range positions. The CPU’s percentile rank of 77 among all processors and the GPU’s percentile rank of 65 among all GPUs suggest that each part is above average, but the combined result in this specific game is below the median.

The discrepancy can be attributed to the game’s age and rendering style. Hard West was released in 2015, and its engine is likely optimized for older hardware architectures. Modern GPUs like the Arc B570 with Xe2-HPG architecture may not be efficiently utilized by the game’s DirectX 11-era code paths, despite the GPU’s strong raw benchmark scores. The combo rank of 2360 indicates that many other pairings — likely with older, more compatible GPUs — achieve better frame rates in this title. However, the rank is not catastrophic, and the measured frame rates at 1080p and 1440p are still perfectly playable, so the low rank reflects relative positioning rather than absolute failure.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers three resolutions and four settings presets, with 12 total data points. At 3840x2160, the results are consistently low: Low settings average 44 FPS, Medium averages 36 FPS with a minimum of 31 and maximum of 42, High averages 28 FPS, and Ultra averages 21 FPS. These numbers confirm that 4K is not viable for smooth gameplay, with even the lowest settings failing to reach 45 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the results improve substantially. Low settings average 85 FPS, Medium averages 69 FPS with a minimum of 59 and maximum of 80, High averages 53 FPS, and Ultra averages 40 FPS. The Medium preset’s minimum of 59 FPS is the only 1440p configuration that stays above the 60 FPS threshold for the entire measurement period. At 1920x1080, the combo performs best: Low settings average 134 FPS, Medium averages 110 FPS with a minimum of 93 and maximum of 126, High averages 84 FPS, and Ultra averages 63 FPS.

The full breakdown shows a consistent pattern where each resolution increase from 1080p to 1440p costs roughly 35-40% of the frame rate, and each increase from 1440p to 4K costs another 50-60%. Medium settings consistently provide the best balance, with the 1080p Medium result of 110 FPS being the second-highest average in the entire dataset, trailing only the 1080p Low result of 134 FPS.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F, based on the Zen 4 architecture with the Phoenix codename, provides the processing foundation for this combo. Its six cores and 12 threads operate at a base clock of 4.20 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The 4 nm TSMC process node and 25,000 million transistors on a 178 mm² die give it strong single-thread performance, which is critical for a turn-based tactics game where the CPU must handle AI pathfinding and turn logic between frames.

The CPU’s benchmark scores illustrate its capability. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 20851 and single-core score of 2943 indicate a processor that excels at both multithreaded and single-threaded workloads. The 3dmark results are similarly strong, with a max-thread score of 6165 and a single-thread score of 951. In Hard West, the CPU’s role is not to push high frame rates but to ensure consistent frame pacing during complex turns, and the data shows no evidence of CPU-induced stuttering or frame drops at any resolution.

The CPU’s nearest rivals further contextualize its performance. Its average benchmark score of 25005 is nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen 5 7500F (24964, 0.2% delta) and the Intel Core i7-11850H (24935, 0.3% delta). This means the 8400F is squarely in the middle of the pack for its performance class, and its 77th percentile ranking among all CPUs confirms it is a capable processor. In this game, the CPU is not the limiting factor — the measured frame rates at 1080p and 1440p are high enough that any CPU bottleneck would manifest as inconsistent frame times, which the data does not show. The 8400F’s 16 MB of shared L3 cache and 83.2 GB/s memory bandwidth provide ample headroom for the game’s data access patterns, making the GPU the clear performance limiter in this pairing.