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 4090 combination shows a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-limited at higher resolutions, but which reveals significant CPU headroom at 1080p. The data indicates that the RTX 4090 is the primary bottleneck at 4K, where frame rates are constrained by pixel throughput, while the Ryzen 5 9600X demonstrates ample processing power to feed the GPU at lower resolutions. This pairing is ranked 73rd out of 3,722 tested combos for this game, placing it in the top 2% of configurations, and the measured frame rates confirm a highly capable system for this title, though the performance scaling pattern suggests that the GPU is the limiting factor in most scenarios.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear and predictable scaling pattern as resolution increases, with the most dramatic drop occurring between 1080p and 1440p, and a further significant decline moving to 4K. At 1080p with High settings, the system achieves 228 FPS, which drops to 144 FPS at 1440p (a 37% reduction) and then to 76 FPS at 4K (a 67% reduction from the 1080p baseline). This pattern strongly indicates that the RTX 4090 is the limiting component at higher resolutions, as the GPU's workload scales with pixel count while the CPU's workload remains relatively constant.

The scaling behavior becomes even more pronounced when examining the Low settings preset. At 1080p Low, the system produces 324 FPS, which is an exceptionally high frame rate that suggests the CPU is nearing its maximum output for this game. Moving to 1440p Low drops the average to 229 FPS, and at 4K Low the system still manages 120 FPS. The fact that 4K Low produces a higher frame rate than 1080p Ultra (171 FPS) versus the 4K Ultra result of 57 FPS underscores that the GPU is the dominant performance factor, as the settings level has a much larger impact on frame rates than resolution changes at the high end.

The most telling data point for identifying the bottleneck is the gap between Low and Ultra settings at each resolution. At 1080p, the difference between Low (324 FPS) and Ultra (171 FPS) is 153 FPS, a 47% reduction. At 1440p, the gap between Low (229 FPS) and Ultra (108 FPS) is 121 FPS, a 53% reduction. At 4K, the gap between Low (120 FPS) and Ultra (57 FPS) is 63 FPS, a 53% reduction. This consistent proportional drop across resolutions suggests that the GPU's shading and texture processing capabilities are the limiting factor, as the relative performance penalty for increasing settings remains constant regardless of resolution.

However, the absolute frame rates at 1080p Low (324 FPS) and even 1080p High (228 FPS) are high enough that the CPU's single-thread performance is likely becoming a secondary constraint. The Ryzen 5 9600X has a single-thread benchmark score of 1,253 in 3DMark, which is exceptionally strong, but the game's turn-based nature may limit how much parallelism can be extracted. The data suggests that at 1080p with lower settings, the system is approaching the practical ceiling for this CPU-GPU combination, with the CPU potentially limiting frame rates above 300 FPS.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Hard West with this CPU-GPU combination?

A: The data shows that 1440p High provides 144 FPS, which is a smooth and responsive experience, while 4K High drops to 76 FPS. For a balance of visual quality and frame rate, 1440p High is the sweet spot, as it delivers double the frame rate of 4K High with only a modest resolution reduction.

Q: How does the RTX 4090's performance in this game compare to its overall benchmark standing?

A: The RTX 4090 has an average benchmark score of 60,347 and ranks in the 88th percentile of all GPUs. In Hard West, the GPU produces 76 FPS at 4K High, which is a playable frame rate, but the benchmark data shows that the GPU is not being fully utilized at 1080p, where frame rates exceed 200 FPS.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 9600X a bottleneck for the RTX 4090 in this game?

A: At 1080p Low, the system reaches 324 FPS, which is likely near the CPU's maximum output for this title. However, at 4K and 1440p, the GPU is clearly the limiting factor, as frame rates scale proportionally with resolution and settings. The CPU's 81st percentile ranking among all CPUs and its strong single-thread score of 1,253 in 3DMark indicate it is not a significant bottleneck at standard gaming resolutions.

Q: What is the expected frame rate at 4K Ultra settings?

A: The measured data shows 57 FPS at 4K Ultra, which is the lowest result in the entire dataset. This is still playable for a turn-based tactics game, but it represents a significant drop from the 76 FPS at 4K High.

Q: How does this combination rank compared to other tested configurations?

A: This combo is ranked 73rd out of 3,722 tested combinations for Hard West, placing it in the top 2% of all configurations. This high ranking is consistent with the measured frame rates, which exceed 100 FPS at 1440p High and 200 FPS at 1080p High.

Q: Does the game benefit more from CPU or GPU upgrades based on this data?

A: The scaling pattern indicates that the GPU is the primary performance driver. Moving from 1080p High to 4K High reduces frame rates by 67%, while changing from High to Ultra settings at 4K reduces performance by an additional 25%. This suggests that the RTX 4090 is the bottleneck at higher resolutions, and further CPU upgrades would yield minimal gains.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 combination achieves a rank of 73 out of 3,722 tested combos for Hard West, which places it in the 98th percentile of all configurations. This ranking is exceptionally high, reflecting the raw performance of both components, but the data suggests that the RTX 4090 is the primary driver of this ranking, given the game's GPU-bound nature at most settings.

When examining the CPU's individual standing, the Ryzen 5 9600X has a percentile ranking of 81 among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 29,713. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755GE (29,656, +0.2% delta), AMD Ryzen 7 7840H (29,868, -0.5% delta), AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT (29,879, -0.6% delta), and AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS (29,955, -0.8% delta). These rivals are all within 1% of the Ryzen 5 9600X's average score, indicating that the CPU's performance is closely matched with several other processors in synthetic benchmarks.

The GPU's individual standing is even stronger, with an 88th percentile ranking among all GPUs and an average benchmark score of 60,347. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Arc Pro A60 (60,326, 0% delta), AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 (60,140, +0.3% delta), AMD Radeon Pro W6600M (61,896, -2.5% delta), and AMD Radeon PRO V710 (58,657, +2.9% delta). The RTX 4090's score is notably higher than most of these rivals, with the AMD Radeon PRO V710 being the closest competitor at 2.9% slower.

The combination of a top-2% overall rank with both components performing near their respective percentile standings suggests that this system is well-balanced for Hard West. The CPU's 81st percentile ranking and the GPU's 88th percentile ranking combine to produce a system that excels in this turn-based tactics title, where the GPU's raw rasterization power is more important than the CPU's multi-threaded capabilities.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers exceptional frame rates across all settings presets. The Low preset produces 324 FPS average, which is the highest measured result in the entire dataset. The Medium preset achieves 297 FPS average, with a minimum of 252 FPS and a maximum of 341 FPS, showing tight frame pacing. High settings drop to 228 FPS average, while Ultra settings produce 171 FPS average. These results indicate that at 1080p, the system has substantial headroom, with even the most demanding settings delivering frame rates well above the refresh rate of most monitors.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain highly playable but show the expected decline from the GPU's increased workload. The Low preset produces 229 FPS average, which is a 29% reduction from 1080p Low. Medium settings deliver 188 FPS average, with a minimum of 160 FPS and a maximum of 216 FPS. High settings produce 144 FPS average, which is a 37% reduction from the 1080p High result. Ultra settings at 1440p achieve 108 FPS average, which remains a smooth experience for a turn-based tactics game.

At 3840x2160, the system begins to show the GPU's limitations, though frame rates remain playable. The Low preset produces 120 FPS average, which is a 48% reduction from 1440p Low and a 63% reduction from 1080p Low. Medium settings deliver 99 FPS average, with a minimum of 84 FPS and a maximum of 113 FPS. High settings achieve 76 FPS average, which is a 47% reduction from the 1440p High result. Ultra settings at 4K produce 57 FPS average, which is the lowest measured result but still playable for this genre.

The Medium settings preset is the only one with complete min/max data across all resolutions, showing consistent frame pacing. At 1080p Medium, the range is 252-341 FPS, a 89 FPS spread. At 1440p Medium, the range narrows to 160-216 FPS, a 56 FPS spread. At 4K Medium, the range narrows further to 84-113 FPS, a 29 FPS spread. This narrowing range with increasing resolution indicates that the GPU becomes more consistently loaded at higher resolutions, reducing frame time variance.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 plays the dominant role in this game's performance, as evidenced by the scaling patterns across resolutions and settings. The GPU's 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus provides 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth, which is more than sufficient for Hard West's 2015-era textures and geometry. The memory clock runs at 1,313 MHz (21 Gbps effective), and the GPU operates at a base clock of 2,235 MHz with a boost clock of 2,520 MHz.

The GPU's compute capabilities are substantial, with 16,384 shading units, 512 texture mapping units, and 176 ROPs. The FP32 performance is rated at 82.58 TFLOPS, and the texture rate is 1,290.2 GTexel/s. These specifications translate to the measured performance in Hard West, where the GPU's raw pixel throughput is the limiting factor at 4K resolutions. The fact that frame rates scale nearly linearly with resolution (228 FPS at 1080p High vs. 76 FPS at 4K High, a 3x reduction for a 4x pixel increase) indicates that the GPU's fill rate is the primary constraint.

The RTX 4090's 88th percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 60,347, is consistent with its performance in this game. The GPU's nearest rival, the Intel Arc Pro A60, has a nearly identical average score (60,326, 0% delta), yet the RTX 4090's 24 GB of VRAM and higher bandwidth would provide advantages in more demanding titles. In Hard West, the GPU's performance is more than adequate, as even the most demanding 4K Ultra preset achieves 57 FPS.

The GPU's power characteristics, with a 450 W TDP and a suggested 850 W PSU, are not directly reflected in the game's performance data, but they are consistent with the high frame rates measured. The GPU's triple-slot design and 16-pin power connector are physical attributes that do not impact game performance but are relevant for system builders. The RTX 4090's end-of-life production status means it has been superseded by newer products, but in Hard West, its performance remains exemplary.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rates, the High settings preset at 1440p offers the best overall experience, delivering 144 FPS with a balance of visual quality and performance. This combination provides more than double the frame rate of 4K High (76 FPS) while maintaining a resolution that is sharp enough for most modern displays. The 1440p High result also exceeds the 4K Medium result of 99 FPS, suggesting that the resolution reduction is a more efficient way to gain performance than lowering settings at 4K.

For users with 1080p monitors, the Ultra settings preset at 171 FPS is the recommended choice, as it provides the highest visual quality while still maintaining a frame rate that exceeds most display refresh rates. The 1080p Medium preset at 297 FPS offers diminishing returns in frame rate for a significant visual quality reduction, making it less desirable than Ultra for users who prioritize image quality.

At 4K, the High settings preset at 76 FPS is the best option, as it provides a playable frame rate with good visual quality. The 4K Medium preset at 99 FPS is an alternative for users who prioritize frame rate over visual fidelity, while the 4K Ultra preset at 57 FPS is only recommended for users who accept lower frame rates for maximum visual quality. The 4K Low preset at 120 FPS is not recommended, as the visual quality reduction is substantial for a frame rate that is already achievable at Medium settings with better visuals.

The data suggests that the Medium settings preset provides the most stable frame pacing, as it is the only preset with complete min/max data across all resolutions. At 1440p Medium, the 160-216 FPS range indicates consistent performance, while at 4K Medium, the 84-113 FPS range shows acceptable variance for a turn-based tactics game. For users who value frame time consistency, the Medium preset at any resolution is a solid choice, though the High preset at 1440p offers a better balance of visual quality and performance.