Hard West

Hard West is a turn-based tactics title from 2015, and the benchmark data for the AMD Ryzen 5 9600X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 combination reveals a system that is heavily constrained by the graphics card at higher resolutions, yet capable of extreme frame rates at 1080p. The measured results show a clear pattern of scaling that shifts from a CPU-bound scenario at low settings to a GPU-bound one as resolution and graphical fidelity increase.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 tells a definitive story about where the bottleneck lies. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 210.6 FPS, which drops to 131.1 FPS at High and 101.9 FPS at Ultra. This is a massive 51.6% reduction from Low to Ultra at the same resolution, indicating that the GPU is already being taxed significantly by the graphical preset even at the lowest resolution. The jump to 2560x1440 shows a further decline, with the Low preset averaging 132 FPS and Ultra dropping to 61.1 FPS. The most dramatic scaling occurs at 4K, where the Ultra preset manages only 33.3 FPS, while Low produces a playable 68.5 FPS.

The data implies that the RTX 3070 is the limiting component for most of the tested configurations. The 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are likely saturated at 4K, particularly with higher detail levels. The fact that 4K Ultra (33.3 FPS) is less than a third of 1080p Low (210.6 FPS) suggests a non-linear scaling that points to memory bandwidth and pixel throughput becoming critical. The CPU, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, appears to have ample headroom, as evidenced by the very high frame rates at 1080p Low where the CPU is more likely to be the primary driver. The data suggests that for a smooth 60 FPS experience, users should target 1440p with Medium settings (106.3 FPS) or 4K with Low settings (68.5 FPS), as the GPU simply cannot maintain high frame rates at 4K Ultra.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate this combo achieves?

A: The highest average frame rate in the measured data is 210.6 FPS, which occurs at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: Is this combination capable of 60 FPS gaming at 4K?

A: Yes, but only with the Low settings preset, which averages 68.5 FPS at 3840x2160. The Medium preset drops to 55.6 FPS, and High and Ultra fall below 60 FPS at 43.8 and 33.3 FPS respectively.

Q: How much of a performance hit does enabling Ultra settings at 1440p cause compared to High?

A: At 2560x1440, the average frame rate drops from 83.2 FPS on High to 61.1 FPS on Ultra, a decrease of 22.1 FPS or roughly 26.6% lower performance.

Q: Which resolution and settings combination offers the best balance of visual quality and frame rate?

A: The data indicates that 2560x1440 with Medium settings provides a strong balance, delivering 106.3 FPS while still offering improved visual fidelity over 1080p. For users prioritizing 4K, Low settings at 68.5 FPS is the only option that clears the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does the RTX 3070's performance in this game compare to its nearest rival?

A: The RTX 3070 has an average benchmark score of 28238, which is 0.9% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT and 1% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti. It is 0.6% lower than the AMD FirePro S7150.

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 9600X's multi-threaded performance compare to the Intel Core i5-13490F?

A: The Ryzen 5 9600X has an average benchmark score of 28246, which is 0.3% higher than the Intel Core i5-13490F's average score of 28173.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture, with a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. Its benchmark results show strong single-thread performance, with a 3dmark single-thread score of 1253 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3603. This is particularly relevant for a turn-based tactics game like Hard West, where game logic and AI calculations often rely on single-threaded performance. The CPU's 32 MB of shared L3 cache and support for DDR5 memory with 89.6 GB/s bandwidth help ensure that data is fed to the GPU efficiently.

The percentile ranking of 85 against all CPUs indicates that this processor is in the top 15% of all tested CPUs, putting it in a strong position to avoid being a bottleneck. The nearest rival data reinforces this: the Ryzen 5 9600X is statistically tied with the Intel Core i5-13490F (0.3% faster) and the AMD Ryzen 5 230 (0.3% faster), while being 0.4% slower than the AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS and 0.5% slower than the Intel Core i5-14500T. These tiny deltas suggest that any of these CPUs would deliver nearly identical performance in this game.

Given that the measured frame rates at 1080p Low reach 210.6 FPS, it is evident that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU far more frames than the graphics card can render at higher settings. The data implies that the 9600X is not the limiting factor in this combo, even at 1080p with high refresh rates. The processor's 65W TDP and efficient 4nm process from TSMC also suggest it can maintain its boost clocks without thermal throttling, which would otherwise impact performance in longer gaming sessions.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Hard West, this pairing of the AMD Ryzen 5 9600X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 ranks 795th out of 1699 combos. This places it in the 47th percentile of all tested systems, meaning roughly half of all tested combinations perform better and half perform worse. Given the hardware involved, this mid-pack ranking is somewhat surprising, as the RTX 3070 is a capable card that sits in the 72nd percentile of all GPUs, and the CPU is in the 85th percentile of all CPUs.

The discrepancy between the individual component rankings and the combo ranking suggests that the game's engine or the specific test configuration may not fully leverage the hardware's potential. Hard West is a turn-based tactics game from 2015, which may not be optimized for modern multi-core processors or take advantage of the RTX 3070's features like ray tracing or DLSS. The combo ranking indicates that while the components are individually strong, their combined performance in this specific title is merely average. This could be due to the game being more dependent on single-threaded performance or having a frame rate cap, despite the data showing high FPS numbers. The fact that the RTX 3070's nearest rivals include the GTX 980 Ti, a card from a previous generation, suggests that Hard West's rendering demands are not particularly heavy on modern GPU features.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070, based on the Ampere architecture and GA104 chip, is the primary driver of visual performance in this combo. With 5888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, and 96 raster output units, it has substantial raw compute power. The card's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is a critical specification for high-resolution gaming. The benchmark data shows that this memory configuration struggles at 4K with high detail settings, as the frame rate drops from 68.5 FPS at Low to 33.3 FPS at Ultra.

The GPU's boost clock of 1725 MHz and base clock of 1500 MHz contribute to its 20.31 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. This compute capability is more than sufficient for a turn-based tactics game, where the visual complexity is typically lower than in fast-paced shooters or open-world titles. However, the pixel rate of 165.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 317.4 GTexel/s become limiting factors at 4K, particularly when higher quality textures and effects are enabled. The measured FPS data confirms this: at 4K, the difference between Low and Ultra settings is a 51.4% reduction in performance (68.5 to 33.3 FPS).

The GPU's nearest rivals in the benchmark database include the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT (0.9% slower), NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti (1% slower), AMD FirePro S7150 (0.6% faster), and AMD Radeon R9 M295X (1.1% faster). These comparisons show that the RTX 3070 is competitive with cards from both previous and current generations, but its 8 GB memory capacity appears to be a limiting factor at 4K in this game. The data suggests that for Hard West, the GPU is the clear bottleneck at resolutions above 1080p, and users with 4K displays would need to significantly reduce settings to achieve playable frame rates.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete dataset of measured FPS shows a clear hierarchy across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the system delivers 210.6 FPS on Low, 174.6 FPS on Medium, 131.1 FPS on High, and 101.9 FPS on Ultra. This represents a 51.6% drop from Low to Ultra, indicating that even at 1080p, the GPU is being pushed harder as settings increase. The 1440p results show 132 FPS on Low, 106.3 FPS on Medium, 83.2 FPS on High, and 61.1 FPS on Ultra. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1440p is a 53.7% reduction, which is similar to the 1080p pattern.

At 4K, the performance takes a significant hit. The Low preset averages 68.5 FPS, which is the only 4K configuration that exceeds 60 FPS. Medium drops to 55.6 FPS, High to 43.8 FPS, and Ultra plummets to 33.3 FPS. The difference between 1080p Low (210.6 FPS) and 4K Ultra (33.3 FPS) is a dramatic 84.2% reduction, highlighting the enormous GPU workload increase at higher resolutions. The data shows a consistent pattern: the RTX 3070 can handle 1080p and 1440p with ease, but 4K requires substantial compromises. The jump from 1440p to 4K at the same settings (e.g., High: 83.2 to 43.8 FPS) represents a 47.4% decrease, which is more severe than the drop from 1080p to 1440p (131.1 to 83.2 FPS, a 36.5% decrease). This suggests that the 4K resolution pushes the GPU's memory bandwidth and fill rate to their limits.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the optimal settings depend heavily on the user's display resolution and frame rate target. For 1080p displays, the Ultra preset at 101.9 FPS is clearly the best choice, as it provides the highest visual quality while still maintaining a frame rate well above 60 FPS. Even the most demanding 1080p configuration is far from the GPU's limits, so there is no reason to compromise on settings. For 1440p, the Medium preset at 106.3 FPS offers an excellent balance, but High at 83.2 FPS is also a strong option for those who prioritize image quality over raw frame rate. The Ultra preset at 61.1 FPS is playable but leaves little headroom for demanding scenes.

For 4K displays, the situation is more constrained. The Low preset at 68.5 FPS is the only configuration that provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS, but it sacrifices significant visual fidelity. The Medium preset at 55.6 FPS is a reasonable compromise for users who prefer smoother gameplay over maximum detail, but it falls short of the 60 FPS target. The High and Ultra presets at 43.8 and 33.3 FPS respectively are not recommended for a consistently smooth experience, as the frame rate drops would be noticeable in a turn-based strategy game where camera pans and animations are common. The data suggests that for 4K, users should accept the Low preset, or alternatively, consider lowering the resolution to 1440p to enjoy higher detail settings. The benchmark results indicate that this combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where it can deliver high frame rates with all settings maxed out.