Hard West

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700 pairs an 8-core, 16-thread Zen 3 design with a 3.70 GHz base and 4.60 GHz boost clock. For a turn-based tactics title like Hard West, this is a substantial amount of processing headroom. The CPU’s benchmark data reinforces this: its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 20655 and single-core score of 2916 indicate strong throughput that prevents the processor from becoming a bottleneck in most scenarios. The 16 MB of L3 cache and 7 nm process node also contribute to efficient instruction handling. In the context of this game, the CPU’s job is to manage the game logic, AI pathfinding, and turn calculations. The data suggests it performs this admirably, as the measured frame rates scale consistently with graphics settings, implying the GPU is the primary variable in performance. The Ryzen 7 5700 sits at the 84th percentile among all tested CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 27220. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i9-9900K, scores 27043, a delta of 0.7%, meaning the Ryzen 7 5700 is effectively on par with that high-end desktop part. Similarly, it is 0.8% ahead of the Intel Core i7-12700H and 1.2% ahead of the AMD Ryzen AI 5 340. This shows that despite being a mid-generation release, the CPU’s raw compute capabilities are competitive with other strong processors, ensuring that it is not the weak link in this configuration.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 combination ranks 1402 out of 1699 tested combos for Hard West. This places it in the lower-middle tier of all possible pairings, which is a direct result of the GPU’s age and class rather than a failure of the CPU. The RTX 2060 is an end-of-life product, and its performance ceiling is the limiting factor here. While the CPU is performing at a high percentile relative to its peers, the GPU sits at the 58th percentile among all tested GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 16074. The data shows that this combo is not intended for maximum fidelity or high refresh rates at demanding resolutions. Instead, it is a pairing that will deliver playable frame rates at standard settings. The rank suggests that in a database of over 1600 other configurations, a significant portion of them will outperform this one in Hard West. However, the ranking also indicates that the combo is far from the bottom, meaning it is a viable, if not spectacular, option for this specific title. The GPU’s nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 7600S, scores 15996, a delta of 0.5%, showing the RTX 2060 is right in the mix with other mid-range parts of its era.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear and predictable pattern in how this combo scales from 1080p to 4K. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 142.3 FPS, which is a very high frame rate. Moving to 1440p Low drops that to 88.9 FPS, a reduction of roughly 38%. At 4K Low, the average FPS falls to 44.4, which is another significant drop. This scaling indicates that the RTX 2060 is being pushed progressively harder as the pixel count increases. At 1080p, the CPU has enough headroom to feed the GPU, but as resolution climbs, the GPU’s rendering workload becomes the dominant constraint. The same pattern holds for High settings: 88.6 FPS at 1080p, 57.4 FPS at 1440p, and 31.6 FPS at 4K. The frame rate drops by approximately 35% from 1080p to 1440p and then by another 45% from 1440p to 4K. This steep decline at 4K confirms that the RTX 2060’s 6 GB of VRAM and its compute capabilities are simply insufficient to maintain a smooth experience at that resolution. The limiting component is unambiguously the GPU; the CPU’s performance remains consistent across these scenarios, and the GPU’s inability to keep up is the sole reason for the FPS drops.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The benchmark results provide exact average FPS figures across four settings presets and three resolutions. At 1920x1080, the combo delivers 142.3 FPS on Low, 118.7 FPS on Medium, 88.6 FPS on High, and 69.4 FPS on Ultra. These numbers show a steady and expected decline as visual fidelity increases, with a 49% difference between Low and Ultra. At 2560x1440, the scores are 88.9 FPS on Low, 76.7 FPS on Medium, 57.4 FPS on High, and 45.4 FPS on Ultra. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows slightly to about 49% as well, but the overall headroom is reduced. At 3840x2160, the performance takes a hard hit: 44.4 FPS on Low, 36.9 FPS on Medium, 31.6 FPS on High, and 20.4 FPS on Ultra. The Ultra preset at 4K is the only configuration that falls below the 30 FPS threshold, making it effectively unplayable for a smooth experience. The data shows that the combo can handle 1080p and 1440p well across all settings, but 4K is only viable on Low or Medium settings if you are willing to accept lower frame rates. The jump from Medium to High at 4K costs 5.3 FPS, while the jump from High to Ultra costs 11.2 FPS, indicating that the Ultra preset is disproportionately demanding.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is the defining component in this pairing. It is a Turing-architecture GPU built on a 12 nm process, with a base clock of 1365 MHz and a boost clock of 1680 MHz. Its memory configuration includes 6 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s. This is a modest amount of VRAM by modern standards, and it becomes a limiting factor at higher resolutions. The GPU’s compute capabilities are rated at 6.451 TFLOPS for FP32, which is adequate for a game like Hard West that is not graphically intensive. However, the GPU’s percentile ranking of 58 and its average benchmark score of 16074 show that it is an older, mid-range part. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M, scores 16351, a delta of -1.7%, meaning the RTX 2060 is slightly slower than that professional mobile part. The data shows that the GPU is the reason for the combo’s lower rank; it is the bottleneck. The 6 GB of VRAM is sufficient for 1080p and likely 1440p, but at 4K, the texture data and frame buffer requirements strain the memory capacity, contributing to the significant FPS drops. The boost clock of 1680 MHz helps sustain performance in lighter scenes, but the hardware is simply outclassed by the demands of 4K rendering.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the optimal experience for this combo depends heavily on your target resolution. For 1920x1080, the High preset at 88.6 FPS is the best balance of visual quality and performance. It provides a smooth frame rate that is well above the 60 FPS threshold, while still offering a substantial improvement over Medium’s 118.7 FPS. Ultra at 1080p is also viable at 69.4 FPS, but the visual gains over High are often marginal in a turn-based game, making High the more efficient choice. At 2560x1440, the Medium preset at 76.7 FPS is the recommended starting point. It delivers a fluid experience and keeps the GPU from being overworked. High at 1440p drops to 57.4 FPS, which is still playable but sacrifices the smoothness that Medium provides. For those who prioritize visual fidelity over raw frame rate, High is acceptable, but Medium is the safer pick for consistent performance. At 3840x2160, the options are limited. The Low preset at 44.4 FPS is the only setting that provides a comfortably playable frame rate. Medium at 36.9 FPS is borderline, and High at 31.6 FPS is on the edge of playability. Ultra at 20.4 FPS should be avoided. For 4K, Low or Medium is the practical limit for this GPU. The data indicates that this combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where it can deliver high frame rates on most presets, and that 4K should only be attempted with significant settings compromises.