Hard West

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates across resolutions reveal a classic GPU-bound progression for this turn-based tactics title. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the AMD Ryzen 7 5700 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination delivers 164.1 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 drops that to 102.3 FPS, a reduction of roughly 38% from the 1080p figure. Stepping up to 3840x2160 further reduces the average to 50.9 FPS, which is about 69% lower than the 1080p result.

The scaling pattern becomes more pronounced when examining the Low preset. At 1080p Low, the system produces 236 FPS. At 1440p Low, it reaches 159.4 FPS — a 32.5% decline. At 4K Low, the average falls to 82.5 FPS, representing a 65% drop from 1080p. This steep falloff indicates that the GPU's pixel throughput becomes the limiting factor as resolution climbs, despite the RTX 4070's 158.4 GPixel/s pixel rate and 504.2 GB/s memory bandwidth.

The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic scaling. From 122.9 FPS at 1080p, it falls to 75.9 FPS at 1440p (a 38.2% decrease), then to 37.5 FPS at 4K (a 69.5% decrease from 1080p). The consistent ~38% drop between 1080p and 1440p across High, Medium, and Ultra presets suggests uniform scaling behavior tied to pixel count rather than settings-specific bottlenecks. The 4K Ultra result of 37.5 FPS is the only measured point below 40 FPS, indicating that the highest preset at maximum resolution pushes this combination to its practical limit for smooth gameplay.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the benchmark database, this specific CPU-GPU pairing achieves a combo rank of 468 out of 1,699 tested combinations. That places it in the 72nd percentile of all recorded combos, meaning roughly 28% of tested pairings outperform it. Given the RTX 4070's individual percentile ranking of 81 among all GPUs and the Ryzen 7 5700's percentile of 84 among all CPUs, the combo's relative standing is slightly lower than either component's solo percentile would suggest.

The GPU's nearest rivals provide context for its absolute performance. The RTX 4070's average benchmark score of 37,283 sits just 0.6% below the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56's 37,507. It also trails the NVIDIA GeForce MX570 A by 1.9% (38,008) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile by 2.2% (38,135). Conversely, it leads the AMD Radeon RX 5300M by 2.5% (36,371). These narrow margins indicate that the RTX 4070 sits in a tightly contested performance tier.

For the CPU, the Ryzen 7 5700's average benchmark score of 27,220 is nearly identical to its nearest rivals. It leads the Intel Core i9-9900K by 0.7% (27,043), the Intel Core i7-12700H by 0.8% (27,006), and the Intel Core i7-1370P by 0.8% (26,991). The AMD Ryzen AI 5 340 trails by 1.2% (26,909). These sub-2% deltas mean the processor choice among these four alternatives would have negligible impact on in-game frame rates.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance for optimizing the experience across different resolutions. At 1920x1080, every preset exceeds 120 FPS. The High preset's 164.1 FPS and Medium's 209.4 FPS both offer ample headroom, while Low reaches 236 FPS. Even Ultra maintains 122.9 FPS, so 1080p users can freely select Ultra without compromising smoothness.

At 2560x1440, the High preset delivers 102.3 FPS, which remains comfortably above standard 60 Hz refresh rates. Medium achieves 132.9 FPS, and Low reaches 159.4 FPS. Ultra drops to 75.9 FPS — still playable but noticeably lower. For 1440p displays with higher refresh rates, Medium offers the best balance between visual quality and frame rate, as it sits 30% above the High preset's already respectable figure.

At 3840x2160, the choices become more constrained. High produces 50.9 FPS, which is borderline for smooth gameplay on 60 Hz displays. Medium reaches 71.9 FPS, providing a more comfortable margin, while Low achieves 82.5 FPS. Ultra falls to 37.5 FPS, which will exhibit visible stuttering on most displays. For 4K users, Medium is the recommended preset, as it delivers a 41% improvement over High while retaining substantial visual fidelity.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete set of measured averages shows a consistent hierarchy across all three resolutions. At 1920x1080, the presets rank as follows: Low at 236 FPS, Medium at 209.4 FPS, High at 164.1 FPS, and Ultra at 122.9 FPS. The gap from Low to Ultra spans 113.1 FPS, or roughly a 48% reduction when moving from the lowest to highest quality settings.

At 2560x1440, the ordering remains identical: Low at 159.4 FPS, Medium at 132.9 FPS, High at 102.3 FPS, and Ultra at 75.9 FPS. The spread narrows to 83.5 FPS between Low and Ultra. The Medium preset at 1440p (132.9 FPS) actually exceeds the High preset at 1080p (164.1 FPS) by a smaller margin than expected, showing how resolution interacts with settings to produce non-linear performance changes.

At 3840x2160, the pattern continues: Low at 82.5 FPS, Medium at 71.9 FPS, High at 50.9 FPS, and Ultra at 37.5 FPS. The spread compresses to 45 FPS between Low and Ultra. Notably, the 4K Low result (82.5 FPS) is nearly identical to the 1440p Ultra result (75.9 FPS), suggesting that resolution scaling and preset scaling have comparable impacts on this hardware combination. The 4K Medium figure of 71.9 FPS falls between the 1440p High (102.3 FPS) and Ultra (75.9 FPS) results, further illustrating the tradeoff between resolution and quality presets.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Hard West at 4K with Ultra settings?

A: The measured 4K Ultra average is 37.5 FPS. This falls below the 60 FPS threshold typically desired for smooth gameplay, though it remains technically playable. For better 4K performance, the Medium preset at 71.9 FPS is recommended.

Q: What is the best preset for 1440p gaming?

A: Medium at 132.9 FPS provides the highest frame rate among visually substantial presets. High at 102.3 FPS also works well, while Ultra at 75.9 FPS is acceptable but leaves less headroom for demanding scenes.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 4070's average score of 37,283 is 0.6% below the RX Vega 56, 1.9% below the MX570 A, and 2.2% below the RTX 4080 Mobile. It outperforms the RX 5300M by 2.5%.

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck in this game at 1080p?

A: At 1080p Low, the system reaches 236 FPS, which suggests the Ryzen 7 5700's 8 cores and 16 threads are not limiting performance at lower resolutions. The CPU's multicore score of 20,655 in Cinebench R23 indicates ample headroom for this turn-based tactics title.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 1080p with High settings?

A: The measured average is 164.1 FPS. This is well above 144 Hz refresh rates, making it suitable for high-refresh displays. Ultra at 122.9 FPS also exceeds 120 FPS for those prioritizing visual quality.

Q: How does the combo rank compare to its component percentiles?

A: The combo ranks 468th out of 1,699 combinations (72nd percentile). The GPU alone sits in the 81st percentile and the CPU in the 84th percentile, so the pairing underperforms relative to what each component's individual standing might suggest.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700 brings 8 cores and 16 threads based on the Zen 3 architecture, manufactured on TSMC's 7 nm process. Its base clock of 3.70 GHz boosts up to 4.60 GHz, with a 65 W TDP that keeps thermals modest. The CPU's 16 MB L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth provide adequate data throughput for this turn-based tactics genre.

Benchmark results show the CPU's multithreaded strength: Cinebench R23 multicore scores 20,655, while single-core reaches 2,916. The 3DMark tests reveal scaling from 1,762 (2 threads) to 6,617 (max threads), demonstrating that the processor efficiently utilizes its 16 threads. PassMark multithread scores 24,303, with single-thread at 3,296. These figures place the CPU in the 84th percentile of all processors.

For Hard West specifically, the game's turn-based nature means CPU demand is moderate. The 1080p Low result of 236 FPS suggests the CPU can feed the GPU far beyond typical display refresh rates. Even at 4K Ultra, where the GPU is clearly the limiting factor at 37.5 FPS, the CPU's 8 cores provide consistent frame pacing without signs of thread exhaustion. The processor's nearest rival, the Intel Core i9-9900K, scores just 0.7% lower on average, confirming that this AMD chip delivers competitive performance for gaming workloads despite its more modest 65 W power envelope.