Hard West

Settings Recommendations

For Hard West with the AMD Ryzen 5 8400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 combination, the data shows a clear sweet spot at Medium settings across all resolutions. At 1080p, Medium delivers 117 FPS average with a minimum of 99 FPS, which keeps the turn-based tactical gameplay smooth while leaving headroom for busy on-screen action. The jump from Medium to High costs 27 FPS at 1080p (117 to 90), and the jump to Ultra costs another 23 FPS (90 to 67). That is a steep 50 FPS difference between Medium and Ultra at 1080p, suggesting the Ultra preset is punishing for what is likely a marginal visual gain in a genre that does not demand twitch reflexes.

At 1440p, Medium remains the best recommendation. The 74 FPS average with a 63 FPS minimum is the only preset at this resolution that consistently stays above 60 FPS. High drops to 57 FPS average, which is playable but will dip into the 50s during heavier scenes. Low at 1440p hits 90 FPS, but the visual quality trade-off is unnecessary when Medium is only 16 FPS slower and provides a substantially better image. For 4K, the situation changes—the data shows Medium is the highest playable option at 39 FPS average, while High sits at 30 FPS and Ultra falls to 22 FPS. If 4K is the target, Medium is the only realistic choice, and even then expect a sub-60 experience.

The measured rows indicate that Low settings are rarely worth using below 4K. At 1080p, Low gives 143 FPS versus Medium's 117 FPS—a 26 FPS gain that will be imperceptible on most displays and certainly not worth the visual degradation. At 1440p, the gap narrows to 16 FPS (90 vs 74), still not compelling. The recommendation is Medium for 1080p and 1440p, and Medium as the ceiling for 4K if you accept the frame rate, or Low at 47 FPS if you need more responsiveness.

GPU Role

The RTX 2060 is the primary performance limiter in this pairing, and the data supports that conclusion clearly. The GPU carries 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus with 336.0 GB/s bandwidth, with a boost clock of 1680 MHz and a base clock of 1365 MHz. Its compute capability is 6.451 TFLOPS FP32, which is modest by current standards. The GPU sits at the 58th percentile among all GPUs in the database, with an average benchmark score of 15290. Its nearest rivals include the GTX 580 at 15283 (0% delta), the Radeon 680M at 15270 (0.1% ahead), the RTX 3050 OEM at 15199 (0.6% ahead), and the RX 7600 at 15171 (0.8% ahead). The RTX 2060 essentially trades blows with these parts, meaning it is a mid-range card that will struggle with demanding titles.

In Hard West, the GPU's role is evident from the frame rate scaling. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 143 FPS, which indicates the CPU can feed the GPU well at lower loads. But as settings increase, the GPU becomes the bottleneck. The 6 GB VRAM is adequate for this game at 1080p and 1440p, but the 4K Ultra result of 22 FPS suggests the GPU is overwhelmed by the combination of resolution and settings. The memory bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s is sufficient for the game's turn-based visuals, yet the raw shading power—1920 shading units and 48 ROPs—limits how fast the card can push pixels at high resolutions.

The RTX 2060's 12 nm Turing architecture with 30 RT cores and 240 tensor cores is technically capable of ray tracing, but Hard West does not appear to leverage those features based on the measured results. The data shows the GPU's PassMark G3D score of 14111, which is respectable, but the 4K Ultra frame rate of 22 FPS indicates the card is at its absolute limit. The gap between 4K Medium (39 FPS) and 4K High (30 FPS) is 9 FPS, while the gap between 1440p Medium (74 FPS) and 1440p High (57 FPS) is 17 FPS—the GPU's performance curve flattens as resolution increases, confirming it is the limiting component.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate data shows a steep drop as resolution increases, which is classic GPU-bound behavior. At Medium settings, the progression is 117 FPS at 1080p, 74 FPS at 1440p, and 39 FPS at 4K. That is a 43 FPS loss from 1080p to 1440p (a 37% reduction) and another 35 FPS loss from 1440p to 4K (a 47% reduction). The 4K result is less than a third of the 1080p result, indicating the GPU is struggling with pixel throughput. For High settings, the drop is 90 FPS at 1080p to 57 FPS at 1440p (a 33 FPS loss) to 30 FPS at 4K (another 27 FPS loss). Low settings show 143 FPS at 1080p, 90 FPS at 1440p, and 47 FPS at 4K.

The scaling pattern reveals that the CPU is not the limiting factor at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, 143 FPS is achieved, which is high enough to suggest the Ryzen 5 8400F is keeping up. But by 1440p, the frame rates drop proportionally with pixel count, and by 4K, the GPU is clearly the bottleneck. The fact that 4K Low (47 FPS) is lower than 1080p Ultra (67 FPS) is telling—resolution is taxing the GPU more than settings at the high end. This suggests that if you are playing at 1080p, you can push settings high without much penalty, but at 4K, even Low settings will not get you to 60 FPS.

The delta between settings at each resolution also shrinks as resolution increases. At 1080p, the spread from Low to Ultra is 76 FPS (143 to 67). At 1440p, the spread is 47 FPS (90 to 43). At 4K, the spread is only 25 FPS (47 to 22). This narrowing indicates that at 4K, the GPU is so saturated that changing settings has diminishing returns—the pixel fill rate becomes the wall. For players wanting the best experience, this means 1080p is the resolution where the RTX 2060 can flex its capabilities, while 4K requires accepting a compromised experience.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Hard West at 60 FPS on 1080p?

A: Yes, at 1080p Medium the average is 117 FPS with a minimum of 99 FPS, and at High the average is 90 FPS. Even Ultra maintains 67 FPS average, so 60 FPS is achievable at all settings on 1080p.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p gameplay?

A: Medium is the only preset that consistently stays above 60 FPS, with a 74 FPS average and 63 FPS minimum. High drops to 57 FPS average, which is playable but may dip below 60 during heavy scenes. Low runs at 90 FPS but sacrifices visual quality unnecessarily.

Q: Is 4K gaming viable with the RTX 2060 in this game?

A: Only at Low or Medium settings. Low averages 47 FPS and Medium averages 39 FPS, both below 60 FPS. High runs at 30 FPS and Ultra at 22 FPS, which are not smooth experiences. If 4K is required, expect to play at Low or Medium with reduced frame rates.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 compare to its nearest rival GPUs?

A: The RTX 2060's average benchmark score is 15290, which is essentially tied with the GTX 580 (15283, 0% delta) and Radeon 680M (15270, 0.1% ahead). It is slightly ahead of the RTX 3050 OEM (15199, 0.6% ahead of the 2060) and RX 7600 (15171, 0.8% ahead of the 2060). The differences are negligible.

Q: What is the CPU's performance relative to its nearest rivals?

A: The Ryzen 5 8400F has an average benchmark score of 25005, which is 0.2% above the Ryzen 5 7500F (24964), 0.3% above the Core i7-11850H (24935), 0.4% above the Core i7-13620H (24911), and 0.4% below the EPYC 9474F (25103). It sits at the 77th percentile among all CPUs.

Q: Does the game bottleneck on the CPU or GPU at 1080p?

A: At 1080p Low, the system reaches 143 FPS, which indicates the CPU can drive high frame rates. The GPU becomes the bottleneck as settings increase—the drop from Low to Ultra at 1080p is 76 FPS, showing the GPU's limits. The CPU is not the constraint at this resolution.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on Zen 4 architecture (Phoenix codename) on a 4 nm TSMC process. It has a base clock of 4.20 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz, with 16 MB of shared L3 cache and 1 MB L2 per core. The CPU's average benchmark score is 25005, placing it at the 77th percentile among all CPUs. Its nearest rivals are all within 0.4% of its score: the Ryzen 5 7500F (24964, 0.2% behind), Core i7-11850H (24935, 0.3% behind), Core i7-13620H (24911, 0.4% behind), and EPYC 9474F (25103, 0.4% ahead). This is a tightly clustered group, meaning the 8400F is a solid mid-range performer.

In Hard West, the CPU's role is secondary to the GPU, as the data shows. At 1080p Low, the 143 FPS average demonstrates that the 6 cores and 12 threads are sufficient to feed the RTX 2060 at lower settings. The CPU's single-thread performance—a 3DMark single-thread score of 951 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2943—is strong for a turn-based tactics game that likely relies on single-threaded logic for AI and game state calculations. The multi-thread score of 20851 in Cinebench R23 shows the CPU has headroom for background tasks, but Hard West's genre does not typically demand heavy multi-threading.

The CPU's boost clock of 4.70 GHz is the key metric for this game. Turn-based tactics often have moments of intense computation when processing enemy turns or environmental effects, and the high boost clock helps keep those hitches minimal. The data shows no min FPS values for Low and High presets, but the Medium preset min FPS values (99 FPS at 1080p, 63 FPS at 1440p, 33 FPS at 4K) indicate the CPU is not causing frame drops—the drops align with GPU load. The 65 W TDP is modest, and the 4 nm process keeps thermals in check, though the CPU does not have integrated graphics, so the RTX 2060 is mandatory for display output.

The Ryzen 5 8400F's memory bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s with DDR5 support is more than adequate for this game. The L3 cache of 16 MB is shared across all cores, which is sufficient for the game's data sets. The CPU's 3DMark 16-thread score of 6091 and max-thread score of 6165 show that scaling beyond 8 threads is minimal (5275 for 8 threads), meaning Hard West likely uses fewer threads. The PassMark multi-thread score of 24389 and single-thread score of 3685 reinforce that this CPU is well-balanced for gaming workloads, but in this specific game, it is not the bottleneck.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1080p (1920x1080): The best performance is at Low settings with 143 FPS average. Medium settings deliver 117 FPS average with a minimum of 99 FPS and maximum of 135 FPS, providing a smooth experience with better visuals. High settings drop to 90 FPS average, still comfortable for 60 Hz displays. Ultra settings yield 67 FPS average, which is the minimum recommended for smooth play. The spread from Low to Ultra is 76 FPS, showing the GPU's sensitivity to settings at this resolution.

1440p (2560x1440): Low settings run at 90 FPS average, which is excellent for a higher resolution. Medium settings maintain 74 FPS average with a minimum of 63 FPS and maximum of 85 FPS, keeping above 60 FPS consistently. High settings fall to 57 FPS average, which is playable but will dip below 60 FPS during intensive scenes. Ultra settings drop to 43 FPS average, which is not ideal for smooth gameplay. The spread from Low to Ultra is 47 FPS, narrower than at 1080p, indicating the GPU is becoming more constrained.

4K (3840x2160): Low settings produce 47 FPS average, which is the only 4K preset that approaches playability. Medium settings average 39 FPS with a minimum of 33 FPS and maximum of 45 FPS, which is a borderline experience. High settings drop to 30 FPS average, and Ultra settings fall to 22 FPS average—both are too low for comfortable play. The spread from Low to Ultra is only 25 FPS, showing that at 4K, the GPU is so heavily loaded that settings changes have limited impact.

The measured data shows a consistent pattern: the RTX 2060 can handle Hard West at 1080p with any settings, at 1440p with Medium or below for 60 FPS, and at 4K only with Low or Medium at reduced frame rates. The combo rank of 2950 out of 3722 combinations places this system in the lower-mid range for this game, which aligns with the GPU's 58th percentile standing. The Ryzen 5 8400F is not the limiting factor—the data shows the GPU is the component that determines playability across resolutions and settings.