Hard West

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X is an 8-core, 16-thread processor built on the Zen 2 architecture (Matisse) using a 7 nm process. It operates with a 3.60 GHz base clock and a 4.40 GHz boost clock, with a 65 W TDP. The CPU's 32 MB of L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support at 51.2 GB/s bandwidth provide a solid foundation for feeding the RTX 5080 in a turn-based tactics title like Hard West.

In synthetic benchmarks, the 3700X posts a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 19087 and a single-core score of 2694. Its Geekbench multi-core and single-core results are 8083 and 1672, respectively. The processor's PassMark multithread score of 22458 and single-thread score of 2656 place it in the 85th percentile among all CPUs tracked. This percentile ranking suggests the CPU is well above average for general compute workloads, though Hard West's turn-based nature typically does not demand extreme thread counts or sustained multi-core throughput.

The nearest rivals to the 3700X in aggregate benchmark score include the Intel Core i5-12600 (deltaPct -0.1), Intel Core i5-12600H (deltaPct -0.1), AMD Ryzen 5 5600XT (deltaPct 0.1), and AMD EPYC 7203P (deltaPct 0.2). These deltas are negligible, meaning the 3700X sits in a performance tier where a 0.1% difference separates it from its closest competitors. For Hard West, this means the CPU is unlikely to be a limiting factor in any meaningful way, as the game's logic and AI calculations are not particularly demanding compared to modern real-time strategy or simulation titles.

The measured FPS data for this combo indicates that at 1080p Low settings, the system achieves 186.7 FPS average, while at 1080p Ultra it reaches 145.8 FPS. The relatively small gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p (about 22%) suggests that the CPU is capable of maintaining high frame rates even when the GPU is under lighter load. At 4K Ultra, the average drops to 51.8 FPS, which points to the GPU becoming the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. The CPU's 16 threads and 8 physical cores ensure that background tasks and game logic do not introduce stutter in a turn-based context, where frame pacing is less critical than in fast-paced genres.

FAQ

Q: How does the Ryzen 7 3700X compare to its nearest rivals in overall benchmark performance?

A: The 3700X has an average benchmark score of 28631, which is within 0.2% of the Intel Core i5-12600 (28654), Intel Core i5-12600H (28666), AMD Ryzen 5 5600XT (28591), and AMD EPYC 7203P (28583). The deltaPct values range from -0.1 to 0.2, indicating that these processors are effectively tied in aggregate compute performance.

Q: What is the CPU's percentile ranking relative to all tested CPUs?

A: The Ryzen 7 3700X sits in the 85th percentile among all CPUs tracked in the database. This means it outperforms roughly 85% of all processors in the benchmark suite, placing it in the upper tier of desktop CPUs for general compute tasks.

Q: Does the RTX 5080's performance in Hard West vary significantly across settings at 1080p?

A: Yes. At 1080p, the average FPS ranges from 186.7 at Low settings to 145.8 at Ultra, with High at 161.4 and Medium at 177. The spread of roughly 41 FPS between Low and Ultra indicates that the GPU still has headroom even at lower settings, and the CPU can keep up with the frame rate demands.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested CPU-GPU combinations in Hard West?

A: The Ryzen 7 3700X + RTX 5080 combination ranks 336th out of 1699 tested combos in this game. This places it in the top 20% of all tested configurations, which is consistent with a high-end GPU paired with a mid-range to upper-mid-range CPU.

Q: What memory bandwidth does the CPU support, and does it matter for this game?

A: The CPU supports dual-channel DDR4 memory with a theoretical bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s. For a turn-based tactics game like Hard West, memory bandwidth is rarely a bottleneck, as the game's data footprint is modest and the CPU's 32 MB L3 cache can absorb repeated accesses to game state data.

Q: Is the RTX 5080 the primary limiting factor at 4K resolution?

A: The data strongly suggests yes. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 51.8, while at 1080p Ultra it is 145.8. The steep drop as resolution increases indicates that the GPU's rendering workload dominates performance, with the CPU not being the constraint at higher resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear trend of diminishing performance as resolution increases, which is typical for a GPU-bound scenario. At 1080p Low, the combo delivers 186.7 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low, the average drops to 160.1 FPS, a decrease of about 14%. At 4K Low, the average falls to 116.3 FPS, which is a 38% reduction from the 1080p Low figure. This pattern indicates that even at Low settings, the RTX 5080 is being pushed harder at higher resolutions, though the CPU still manages to feed it adequately.

At Ultra settings, the scaling is more pronounced. From 1080p Ultra (145.8 FPS) to 1440p Ultra (103.4 FPS), the drop is about 29%. From 1440p Ultra to 4K Ultra (51.8 FPS), the reduction is roughly 50%. This dramatic falloff at 4K Ultra suggests that the GPU is the limiting component, as the pixel count quadruples from 1080p to 4K, and the RTX 5080's rendering capabilities are stressed to their limits in this game.

The gap between Low and Ultra settings narrows as resolution increases. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 40.9 FPS (186.7 vs 145.8). At 1440p, the gap shrinks to 56.7 FPS (160.1 vs 103.4), and at 4K, the gap is 64.5 FPS (116.3 vs 51.8). This widening gap at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU workload increases disproportionately with settings, and the CPU's role becomes less significant as the GPU takes longer to render each frame.

The data shows that this combo is well-balanced for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where frame rates remain above 100 FPS even at Ultra settings. At 4K, the system can still maintain playable frame rates at Medium (94.7 FPS) and High (71.3 FPS), but Ultra dips below 60 FPS. This suggests that for Hard West, users aiming for 4K Ultra should consider lowering settings or accepting a sub-60 FPS experience.

How This Combo Ranks

The Ryzen 7 3700X + RTX 5080 combination ranks 336th out of 1699 tested combos in Hard West. This ranking places it in the top 19.8% of all configurations tested. Given that the RTX 5080 is a current-generation flagship GPU, the rank might seem lower than expected, but it reflects the CPU's mid-range positioning relative to other processors paired with high-end graphics cards.

The CPU's 85th percentile ranking among all CPUs and the GPU's 89th percentile ranking among all GPUs suggest that the combo is composed of two components that are each above average. However, the combo rank of 336 indicates that there are 335 other combinations that achieve higher average FPS in this game. This is likely due to the fact that many of those combos pair the RTX 5080 with newer, higher-clocked CPUs that can extract slightly more performance at lower resolutions.

The deltaPct values for the CPU's nearest rivals are all within 0.2%, meaning that swapping the 3700X for an Intel Core i5-12600 or AMD Ryzen 5 5600XT would result in negligible performance differences in aggregate benchmarks. In Hard West specifically, the measured FPS data shows that the GPU is the dominant factor at higher resolutions, so the CPU's rank among its peers is less impactful at 4K than at 1080p.

The combo's rank of 336 out of 1699 means it outperforms roughly 80% of tested combinations. This is a solid result for a mid-range CPU paired with a high-end GPU, and it indicates that the 3700X does not significantly hold back the RTX 5080 in this particular game. The rank would likely be higher in GPU-bound scenarios, but in a turn-based tactics game with modest CPU demands, the GPU has ample room to stretch its legs.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers the following average FPS by settings:

• Low: 186.7 FPS
• Medium: 177 FPS
• High: 161.4 FPS
• Ultra: 145.8 FPS

The spread from Low to Ultra is 40.9 FPS, with each step up in settings costing roughly 10-16 FPS. The smallest drop is between Low and Medium (9.7 FPS), while the largest is between High and Ultra (15.6 FPS). This suggests that Ultra settings impose a significant additional load on the GPU compared to High.

At 2560x1440, the average FPS values are:

• Low: 160.1 FPS
• Medium: 152.7 FPS
• High: 137 FPS
• Ultra: 103.4 FPS

The gap between Low and Ultra widens to 56.7 FPS at this resolution. The drop from High to Ultra is particularly steep at 33.6 FPS, indicating that Ultra settings at 1440p stress the GPU considerably. Medium and Low are closer together, with only a 7.4 FPS difference.

At 3840x2160, the average FPS values are:

• Low: 116.3 FPS
• Medium: 94.7 FPS
• High: 71.3 FPS
• Ultra: 51.8 FPS

The pattern continues with a widening gap between settings. Low to Medium drops by 21.6 FPS, Medium to High by 23.4 FPS, and High to Ultra by 19.5 FPS. The 4K Ultra result of 51.8 FPS is the only sub-60 FPS figure in the entire dataset, confirming that this is the most demanding configuration.

Comparing across resolutions at the same settings, the scaling is consistent. At Low, the drop from 1080p to 4K is 70.4 FPS (from 186.7 to 116.3). At Ultra, the drop is 94 FPS (from 145.8 to 51.8). The larger absolute drop at Ultra settings indicates that the GPU's rendering workload scales non-linearly with both resolution and settings, making 4K Ultra the most punishing combination. The data shows that this combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where it can maintain high frame rates across all settings, while 4K requires settings management to stay above 60 FPS.