Hard West

The data for Hard West with the AMD Ryzen 5 8400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER reveals a pairing where the graphics card becomes the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, while the CPU's strong single-threaded performance ensures high frame rates at 1080p. This combination demonstrates a clear performance hierarchy across the three tested resolutions, with the measured results indicating a system that is well-balanced for 1440p gaming but struggles to maintain playable frame rates at 4K under demanding settings.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a dramatic and consistent drop as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 109 FPS at 1080p to 69 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of 40 FPS, and then further down to 36 FPS at 4K. This progression reveals that the RTX 2070 SUPER's rendering capabilities are being saturated at higher pixel counts. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p represents a 36.7% decrease in performance, while moving from 1440p to 4K results in a 47.8% drop. This steeper decline at 4K strongly suggests that the GPU's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and its 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are becoming limiting factors, as the game demands more memory and fill rate at higher resolutions.

The Low settings data paints an even clearer picture of the CPU's capability. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 173 FPS, indicating that the Ryzen 5 8400F is capable of feeding the GPU with enough frames at lower resolutions. However, at 4K with Low settings, the average drops to 57 FPS, a 67% reduction from the 1080p result. This pattern is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario at 4K, where the graphics card's raw processing power, measured at 9.062 TFLOPS FP32, becomes the limiting component. The fact that even at Low settings the 4K frame rate remains below 60 FPS confirms that the RTX 2070 SUPER, with its 2560 shading units and 64 ROPs, cannot maintain high performance at this resolution regardless of graphical complexity.

The Medium settings data provides further insight into the scaling behavior. At 1080p, Medium settings yield 141 FPS, dropping to 90 FPS at 1440p and 47 FPS at 4K. The minimum FPS values recorded at Medium settings are 120 at 1080p, 76 at 1440p, and 40 at 4K. These minimums indicate that even the less demanding Medium preset cannot prevent frame rate drops at 4K, reinforcing the conclusion that the GPU is the primary constraint at this resolution. The performance scaling between resolutions follows an almost linear pattern for each settings tier, which is typical for a game that is not heavily CPU-dependent at higher resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 8400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER ranks 2164 out of 3722 tested combinations for Hard West. This places the combo in the 42nd percentile of all tested systems, indicating that it performs below the median for this specific game. The rank suggests that while this pairing is capable of running the game, it is not optimized for maximum performance relative to other hardware combinations in the database.

This ranking is particularly interesting given the individual component benchmarks. The CPU's percentileVsAllCpus is 77, meaning it outperforms 77% of all tested CPUs, while the GPU's percentileVsAllGpus is 65. The combo's lower overall rank of 42nd percentile suggests that the game's performance is more heavily influenced by the GPU than the CPU, and that other combinations with similar or better GPU performance achieve higher rankings. The data implies that the RTX 2070 SUPER, despite being a solid mid-range card, is not sufficient to push this combo into the upper echelons of the rankings for this turn-based tactics title.

When comparing to the GPU's nearest rivals, the performance difference is minimal. The RTX 2070 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 20282, which is 1% lower than the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M and 1.2% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile. The Intel Arc B570 and Intel Arc A750 score 1.3% and 1.5% higher respectively. These small deltas suggest that the GPU's performance in Hard West would be nearly identical to these rivals, and the combo ranking would likely remain similar if any of these alternatives were paired with the same CPU. The CPU's nearest rivals, including the AMD Ryzen 5 7500F and Intel Core i7-13620H, all have average scores within 0.4% of the 8400F, further emphasizing that the bottleneck lies with the GPU rather than the processor.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, codenamed Phoenix, manufactured on a 4 nm process by TSMC. Its base clock of 4.20 GHz and boost clock of 4.70 GHz provide strong single-threaded performance, as evidenced by its 3dmark_single_thread score of 951 and cinebench_r23_singlecore score of 2943. These scores indicate that the CPU excels at tasks requiring high clock speeds and efficient instruction processing, which is particularly relevant for turn-based tactics games like Hard West that may rely on single-threaded game logic and AI calculations.

The CPU's multi-threaded capabilities are also robust, with a cinebench_r23_multicore score of 20851 and a passmark_multithread score of 24389. The 3dmark_max_threads score of 6165 shows that the processor can effectively utilize its 12 threads when needed. However, for Hard West, the benchmark data suggests that the game does not heavily leverage multi-threading, as the frame rate differences between Low and High settings at the same resolution are more pronounced than what would be expected from CPU-bound scenarios. At 1080p, the difference between Low (173 FPS) and High (109 FPS) is 64 FPS, which is a 37% reduction, indicating that the GPU is doing most of the work even at lower resolutions.

The CPU's 16 MB of shared L3 cache and 1 MB L2 cache per core provide adequate data locality for game assets, and its dual-channel DDR5 memory support with 83.2 GB/s bandwidth ensures that memory bandwidth is not a limiting factor. The processor's 65 W TDP and 4 nm process node contribute to its efficiency, allowing it to maintain high clock speeds without thermal throttling. The benchmark results show that the 8400F is more than capable of handling Hard West's CPU demands, as evidenced by the high frame rates achieved at 1080p, where the CPU is more likely to be the limiting component. The 3dmark_2_threads score of 1874 and 3dmark_4_threads score of 3563 suggest that the CPU can handle the game's threading requirements with headroom to spare.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1080p with High settings for this combo?

A: The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings is 109 FPS. This indicates that the combo can easily handle 1080p gaming with high graphical fidelity, as the frame rate is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

*Q: Is this combination capable of 4K gaming in Hard West?*

A: The data shows average FPS of 36 at High settings and 27 at Ultra settings for 3840x2160 resolution. These frame rates are below the generally accepted 60 FPS standard for smooth gameplay, indicating that 4K gaming is not practical with this combo unless settings are lowered to Medium (47 FPS) or Low (57 FPS), which still fall short of 60 FPS.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested combinations?

A: This combo ranks 2164 out of 3722 tested combinations for Hard West, placing it in the 42nd percentile. This means that 42% of tested combos perform worse, while 58% perform better, indicating that this pairing is below average for this specific game.

Q: What is the CPU's single-threaded performance score?

A: The CPU's 3dmark_single_thread score is 951, and its cinebench_r23_singlecore score is 2943. These scores demonstrate strong single-threaded performance, which is beneficial for games that rely heavily on single-core processing for game logic.

Q: What is the GPU's memory configuration?

A: The RTX 2070 SUPER has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory with a 256-bit bus width and a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. The memory clock is 1750 MHz, which translates to 14 Gbps effective. This memory configuration is adequate for 1080p and 1440p gaming but becomes a limiting factor at 4K.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo based on the measured data?

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 with High settings achieves an average of 69 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold. This makes 1440p the highest resolution at which the combo can maintain smooth gameplay with High settings. At 1080p, the combo achieves 109 FPS at High settings, providing even more headroom.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is built on the Turing architecture with a TU104 chip, manufactured on a 12 nm process by TSMC. Its 2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 64 ROPs provide a solid foundation for rasterized rendering, while its 40 RT cores and 320 tensor cores offer hardware-accelerated ray tracing and AI features, though these are less relevant for Hard West's turn-based tactics gameplay. The GPU's base clock of 1605 MHz and boost clock of 1770 MHz, combined with its 9.062 TFLOPS FP32 performance, determine its raw rendering speed.

The GPU's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory with a 256-bit bus and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth is a critical specification for this game. At 1080p, the combo achieves frame rates ranging from 81 FPS at Ultra settings to 173 FPS at Low settings, indicating that the GPU has sufficient memory bandwidth and capacity for this resolution. At 1440p, the frame rates range from 52 FPS at Ultra to 109 FPS at Low, showing that the GPU's memory subsystem begins to feel more pressure. At 4K, the frame rates drop to 27 FPS at Ultra and 57 FPS at Low, which suggests that the 8 GB VRAM capacity and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient to handle the increased texture and buffer demands at this resolution.

The GPU's benchmark results provide context for its performance. Its passmark_g3d score of 18169 and 3dmark_steel_nomad_dx12 score of 1651 indicate that it is a capable mid-range card, but its percentileVsAllGpus of 65 shows that it is outperformed by 35% of tested GPUs. The nearest rivals, including the Intel Arc A750 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile, all score within 1.5% of the RTX 2070 SUPER, suggesting that its performance class is well established. The GPU's 215 W TDP and dual-slot design require a 550 W power supply, which is a moderate requirement for a card of this performance level. The PCIe 3.0 x16 interface, while older, does not bottleneck this GPU in Hard West, as evidenced by the high frame rates achieved at lower resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1920x1080, all settings presets deliver playable frame rates, with High settings providing 109 FPS and Medium delivering 141 FPS. However, for the best balance of visual quality and performance, High settings at 1080p are recommended, as they achieve nearly double the 60 FPS threshold while offering superior graphical fidelity compared to Medium.

At 2560x1440, High settings yield 69 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS standard, making this the recommended preset for this resolution. The Medium preset achieves 90 FPS, but the visual improvement from Medium to High is generally worth the 21 FPS reduction, as the game remains smooth. Ultra settings at 1440p drop to 52 FPS, which may be acceptable for some players but falls below the 60 FPS threshold, so it is not recommended for a consistently smooth experience.

For 3840x2160, none of the settings presets achieve 60 FPS. The highest average FPS is 57 at Low settings, followed by 47 at Medium and 36 at High. If 4K is a priority, Low settings provide the most playable experience, but even this comes with a significant visual compromise. The data suggests that this combo is not well-suited for 4K gaming in Hard West, and players should either lower the resolution to 1440p or consider a GPU upgrade. The Medium settings at 4K provide the best balance of visual quality and performance among the 4K options, with a minimum FPS of 40 and a maximum of 54, but the average of 47 FPS still falls short of ideal smoothness.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across all resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset achieves an average of 81 FPS, while High delivers 109 FPS. The Medium preset records an average of 141 FPS with a minimum of 120 and maximum of 163, offering the best combination of smoothness and visual quality at this resolution. Low settings achieve an impressive 173 FPS, demonstrating the CPU's capability to drive high frame rates when the GPU is not heavily burdened.

At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset averages 52 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. High settings achieve 69 FPS, providing a comfortable margin above 60 FPS. The Medium preset records 90 FPS with a minimum of 76 and maximum of 103, making it the most fluid option at this resolution. Low settings reach 109 FPS, showing that the combo can still deliver high frame rates at 1440p when graphical complexity is reduced.

At 3840x2160, the performance drops significantly across all presets. Ultra settings average 27 FPS, which is largely unplayable. High settings achieve 36 FPS, while Medium records 47 FPS with a minimum of 40 and maximum of 54. Low settings reach 57 FPS, coming closest to the 60 FPS target but still falling short. The data clearly shows a linear relationship between resolution and performance, with each step up in resolution resulting in a substantial frame rate reduction. The 4K results, even at Low settings, highlight the GPU's limitations, as the 8 GB VRAM and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth cannot sustain high performance at this pixel density.