Hard West

# Hard West — AMD Ryzen 5 9600X + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070

The benchmark data for Hard West with the AMD Ryzen 5 9600X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 reveals a system that is dramatically overqualified for a turn-based tactics title from 2015, yet the performance scaling tells a nuanced story about where the bottlenecks lie. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 278.1 FPS, which collapses to 41.8 FPS at 4K Ultra — a 6.7x performance gap that suggests the GPU becomes the dominant constraint as resolution and settings increase. This pairing ranks 293rd out of 1,699 tested combinations, placing it in the top 17% of all configs tested for this game, though the absolute numbers reveal that Hard West's engine does not fully exploit the hardware's capabilities.

Resolution Scaling

The resolution scaling pattern in Hard West reveals a classic GPU-bound progression, but with some unusual characteristics. Moving from 1080p High (177 FPS) to 1440p High (107.8 FPS) represents a 39% performance drop, while the jump from 1440p High to 4K High (58.6 FPS) costs another 46%. This steepening decline indicates that the RTX 5070's rendering pipeline becomes progressively more stressed as pixel count increases. The 4K Ultra result of 41.8 FPS is particularly telling — it suggests that the combination of 4K resolution plus the most demanding settings creates a workload that overwhelms the GPU's capabilities, even though this is a 2015 turn-based game.

The data shows an interesting anomaly at 1080p: the difference between Low (278.1 FPS) and High (177 FPS) is a 36% reduction, but the gap between High and Ultra (131.3 FPS) is only another 26%. This non-linear scaling hints that Hard West's Ultra preset introduces effects that are disproportionately expensive at lower resolutions where the CPU can still feed frames quickly. At 4K, the scaling is more linear — Low (90.4 FPS), Medium (76.1 FPS), High (58.6 FPS), Ultra (41.8 FPS) — which is the signature of a purely GPU-limited scenario. The implication is that players targeting 60 FPS can achieve it at 4K High, but must drop to Medium (76.1 FPS) or Low (90.4 FPS) for comfortable headroom.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 5 9600X brings six Zen 5 cores with twelve threads, a base clock of 3.90 GHz, and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. Its benchmark profile shows strong single-thread performance — a Geekbench single-core score of 3,363 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3,603 — which matters for Hard West's turn-based tactics engine that likely relies on a primary simulation thread. The CPU's 3DMark single-thread score of 1,253 and passmark single-thread score of 4,570 both land in the upper percentile for desktop processors (85th percentile overall), suggesting the CPU is rarely the limiting factor.

The multicore results are equally robust: Cinebench R23 multicore hits 25,525, Geekbench multicore reaches 15,182, and the 3DMark max-threads score is 7,590. However, Hard West's genre — turn-based tactics — typically does not scale well across many threads, so the 12-thread capability may be underutilized. The nearest rival data places the 9600X within 0.5% of the Intel Core i5-13490F (delta 0.3%), AMD Ryzen 5 230 (0.3%), and AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS (-0.4%), indicating that CPU choice in this class has negligible impact on the game's frame rates. The 32 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR5 memory support (89.6 GB/s bandwidth) provide ample bandwidth for the game's data structures, but the 1080p Low result of 278.1 FPS suggests the CPU can push well beyond typical display refresh rates.

GPU Role

The RTX 5070 is the clear performance driver in this configuration, and its specifications explain the scaling behavior observed. With 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus delivering 672.0 GB/s bandwidth, the GPU has ample memory capacity for Hard West's modest textures and geometry. The boost clock of 2512 MHz and 6,144 shading units provide substantial raw compute — 30.87 TFLOPS FP32 — which is far beyond what a 2015 turn-based title requires. The GPU's 83rd percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 41,687, places it near the RTX 3090 (delta 0.6%) and slightly above the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 (delta 0.2%).

The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 5,077 and Passmark G3D score of 29,137 confirm the GPU's modern capabilities, but Hard West's age means it likely does not utilize features like ray tracing (48 RT cores) or tensor cores (192 Tensor Cores). The measured FPS data shows the GPU becoming the bottleneck at 4K Ultra (41.8 FPS), where the 192-bit memory bus and 12 GB VRAM are taxed by the combination of high resolution and intensive settings. Interestingly, the 4K Low result of 90.4 FPS demonstrates that the GPU can handle 4K when settings are reduced, indicating that the Ultra preset's specific effects — possibly heavy post-processing or shadow quality — are disproportionately expensive on this architecture.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination ranks 293rd out of 1,699 tested combos for Hard West, placing it in the 82nd percentile of all configurations tested. This ranking is notably lower than the individual component percentiles (CPU at 85th, GPU at 83rd), which suggests that Hard West's engine does not fully reward the hardware's capabilities. The rank implies that many cheaper or older combinations achieve comparable or better performance in this specific game, likely because turn-based tactics titles are not demanding enough to differentiate high-end components.

The data reveals that this ranking is driven by the 4K Ultra result (41.8 FPS) and the 4K High result (58.6 FPS) pulling down the overall average. At 1080p and 1440p, the combo delivers excellent frame rates (131.3–278.1 FPS at 1080p, 82.9–172.7 FPS at 1440p), but the 4K results are merely adequate. This suggests that the combo's rank would improve substantially if the game were played at lower resolutions, but the 1,699-combo dataset includes many configurations that handle 4K Ultra better, likely due to larger memory buses or more VRAM. The 12 GB VRAM on the RTX 5070 is sufficient for most scenarios, but the 192-bit bus may limit performance in memory-bandwidth-intensive scenarios at 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The full measured dataset provides a comprehensive picture of performance across twelve configurations. At 1920x1080, the results range from 278.1 FPS (Low) to 131.3 FPS (Ultra), with Medium at 229.9 FPS and High at 177 FPS. These numbers indicate that 1080p is entirely CPU-limited at Low settings, where the 5.40 GHz boost clock of the 9600X can drive the engine to its maximum frame output.

Moving to 2560x1440, the results show 172.7 FPS (Low), 146.1 FPS (Medium), 107.8 FPS (High), and 82.9 FPS (Ultra). The 1440p Low result is still above 170 FPS, demonstrating that the GPU has considerable headroom at this resolution. The 1440p Ultra result of 82.9 FPS is the first configuration that approaches the 60 FPS threshold, but it remains comfortably above it.

At 3840x2160, the results are 90.4 FPS (Low), 76.1 FPS (Medium), 58.6 FPS (High), and 41.8 FPS (Ultra). The 4K Low result is notable — it exceeds the 4K High result by 54%, indicating that the Low preset's reduced effects allow the GPU to render 4K at playable frame rates. The 4K Ultra result is the only configuration below 60 FPS, and it falls short by 30%, which is significant for a game of this genre where smooth camera panning and unit animations benefit from high frame rates.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Hard West?

A: The data shows excellent performance at 1440p, where even Ultra settings achieve 82.9 FPS. The 1440p High setting (107.8 FPS) provides the best balance of visual quality and frame rate, while 4K High (58.6 FPS) is playable but near the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: Can this system handle 4K Ultra in Hard West?

A: The 4K Ultra result is 41.8 FPS, which is below the standard 60 FPS target. Players seeking 4K should use High settings (58.6 FPS) or Medium settings (76.1 FPS) for smoother performance.

Q: Why is the 1080p Low result so high at 278.1 FPS?

A: At 1080p Low, the game's rendering demands are minimal, allowing the RTX 5070 to output frames as fast as the CPU can process them. The Ryzen 5 9600X's 5.40 GHz boost clock and strong single-thread performance enable this high frame rate.

Q: How does the RTX 5070 compare to its nearest rivals in GPU benchmarks?

A: The RTX 5070's average benchmark score of 41,687 is within 0.7% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 (delta 0.6%) and 0.2% above the AMD Radeon Pro 5300. The NVIDIA Tesla M40 is 0.5% slower, and the AMD Radeon Pro 580X is 0.7% slower.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck at 4K Ultra?

A: The 4K Ultra result of 41.8 FPS, combined with the 4K Low result of 90.4 FPS, indicates the GPU is the bottleneck at 4K Ultra. The CPU's performance is sufficient to drive higher frame rates, as evidenced by the 1080p Low result of 278.1 FPS.

Q: What is the combo's overall ranking for Hard West?

A: The combo ranks 293rd out of 1,699 tested combinations, placing it in the top 17% of all configurations. This rank is lower than the individual component percentiles, suggesting the game does not fully utilize the hardware's capabilities.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance for optimal settings. For players with 1080p displays, the Ultra preset (131.3 FPS) is the best choice — it delivers the highest visual quality while maintaining frame rates well above 120 FPS. The High preset (177 FPS) offers even more headroom for high-refresh-rate displays but sacrifices some visual effects. At 1440p, the High preset (107.8 FPS) is the recommended balance, as it provides smooth gameplay with good visual fidelity; the Ultra preset (82.9 FPS) is also viable for those prioritizing image quality, and it remains comfortably above 60 FPS.

For 4K displays, the Medium preset (76.1 FPS) is the best experience per the measured rows — it delivers smooth frame rates and moderate visual quality, while the High preset (58.6 FPS) is acceptable but hovers near the 60 FPS threshold. The Ultra preset (41.8 FPS) is not recommended at 4K, as the frame rate drops below playable levels for a tactics game where smooth animations and camera control matter. The Low preset at 4K (90.4 FPS) is a viable option for players who prioritize frame rate over visuals, but the Medium preset offers a better balance of quality and performance. Overall, the data indicates that this combo handles Hard West best at 1440p, where all settings presets produce frame rates above 80 FPS.