Hard West

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D delivers a performance profile in Hard West that is dominated by the GPU's sheer throughput, though the CPU’s architectural strengths ensure the frame pacing remains consistent across all tested resolutions. The data indicates a combination that is exceptionally well-suited for high-refresh-rate displays at 1440p and solid 4K performance, with the primary bottleneck shifting decisively to the graphics card as resolution increases. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS data, contextualizes the component roles, and provides clear guidance on optimal settings.

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

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700 is an 8-core, 16-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, operating with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. For a turn-based tactics title like Hard West, the computational demands are typically modest compared to real-time strategy or first-person shooters, but the data shows that this CPU provides a robust foundation that does not artificially cap the frame rates achieved by the RTX 5090 D. The processor’s 16 MB of L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support with a bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s are sufficient to feed the GPU’s data requests without introducing noticeable stutter.

In synthetic benchmarks, the Ryzen 7 5700 demonstrates a balanced multi-threaded and single-threaded profile. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 20655 and single-core score of 2916 indicate strong per-thread performance, which is often more critical than raw core count for game logic and AI pathfinding in turn-based scenarios. The processor’s percentile ranking against all CPUs is 78, placing it in the upper quartile, and its average benchmark score of 25517 is nearly identical to its closest rivals, such as the Intel Xeon D-2752TER, which scores 25530 (a delta of -0.1%), and the AMD Ryzen 5 7640U, which scores 25485 (a delta of 0.1%). This proximity in scores confirms that the CPU is not a performance outlier in either direction; it is a consistently capable mid-to-high-tier part.

Looking at the measured FPS, the CPU’s influence is most evident at 1080p, where the GPU is less stressed. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the average FPS reaches 233, which is the highest recorded in the entire dataset. This high ceiling suggests that the CPU can handle the game’s single-threaded overhead efficiently, allowing the RTX 5090 D to stretch its legs. However, the difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p is only 55 FPS (from 233 down to 178), which indicates that while the CPU is not a hard limit, the game’s engine begins to show diminishing returns on the highest preset. The processor’s 65W TDP and 7nm process node also mean it operates within a power envelope that doesn’t introduce thermal throttling risks in most standard configurations, ensuring consistent performance across long play sessions.

The data from the 3DMark tests further supports the CPU’s role. The score for 16 threads is 6628, while the max threads score is 6617, showing excellent scaling with full core utilization. The single-thread score of 901 is relatively lower in comparison, but for Hard West, which likely does not rely heavily on a single thread for physics or rendering, this is not a limiting factor. The Geekbench multicore score of 9959 and single-core score of 1907 align with the expected performance of a Zen 3 part, confirming that the processor is well-matched to the GPU in this specific game’s workload. The CPU’s ability to maintain high frame rates at lower resolutions, where the GPU has spare capacity, is the key takeaway here.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is a behemoth of a graphics card, featuring 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, yielding a massive bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s. Its base clock is 2017 MHz, with a boost clock of 2407 MHz, and the card is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with 21760 shading units. In the context of Hard West, a game from 2015, this GPU is severely over-provisioned, but the measured data reveals how its raw power translates to playable frame rates across all settings.

The GPU’s benchmark scores underscore its dominance. Its Passmark G3D score of 44065 and Geekbench Vulkan score of 376915 place it in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs. The average benchmark score of 77712 is notably higher than its nearest rivals, such as the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT, which scores 78940 (a delta of -1.6%), and the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB, which scores 79605 (a delta of -2.4%). While these deltas are small, they indicate that the RTX 5090 D is consistently at the top of the performance hierarchy, even when compared to data-center grade accelerators.

In Hard West, the GPU’s role becomes increasingly dominant as resolution scales up. At 4K (3840x2160), the average FPS drops from 131 at Low settings to 62 at Ultra settings, a reduction of 69 FPS. This dramatic scaling shows that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at this resolution, as the pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth are heavily taxed. The card’s 32 GB VRAM is far more than the game requires, but it ensures that there are no texture streaming issues or memory allocation stutters, even at Ultra settings. The 512-bit memory bus and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth are likely the reasons why the 4K Low preset still achieves 131 FPS, as the card can quickly fetch and process the necessary data.

The RTX 5090 D’s architecture supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, which is relevant for modern implementations, but Hard West is an older title that may primarily use DirectX 11. The Passmark DirectX 11 score of 371 and DirectX 12 score of 219 show that the card is competent in both APIs, but the game’s engine likely doesn’t leverage the full feature set of the Blackwell architecture. Despite this, the raw throughput of the GPU ensures that even the most demanding settings are playable. At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset averages 118 FPS, which is a significant jump from the 62 FPS at 4K Ultra, indicating that the GPU’s performance scales linearly with the reduction in pixel count. The GPU’s nearest rivals, while close in synthetic benchmarks, do not match the RTX 5090 D’s real-world performance in this game, as evidenced by the measured FPS data.

FAQ — 4-6 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data

Q: What is the highest average FPS achieved by this CPU-GPU combo in Hard West?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 233, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: How does the combo’s performance at 4K Ultra compare to 4K Low?

A: At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 62, while at 4K Low, it is 131. This represents a 69 FPS drop, indicating that the GPU is heavily taxed by the Ultra preset.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the average FPS ranges from 200 at Low settings to 118 at Ultra settings. The high FPS at Low suggests the GPU is not fully utilized, but the scaling down to Ultra shows the GPU becomes the limiting factor as settings increase.

Q: What is the combo’s rank among all tested combinations for this game?

A: The combo ranks 132nd out of 2949 tested combinations, placing it in the top 5% of all systems.

Q: Does the CPU’s performance vary significantly from its nearest rivals?

A: No. The Ryzen 7 5700 has an average benchmark score of 25517, which is within 0.3% of its closest rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen 7 5825U (25446) and the AMD Ryzen 5 6600H (25550).

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded in the dataset, and at what settings?

A: The only minimum FPS values recorded are 92 at 4K Medium, 159 at 1440p Medium, and 185 at 1080p Medium, with no minimum values for other presets.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 5700 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D achieves a rank of 132 out of 2949 tested combos in Hard West. This places the system in the top 4.5% of all configurations, which is a strong showing given the age of the game and the fact that many modern high-end systems may not prioritize this title. The rank reflects the GPU’s raw power, as the CPU is a mid-range part; however, the data shows that this pairing is not held back by the processor.

To contextualize this rank, consider that the CPU’s percentile is 78, meaning it outperforms 78% of all CPUs, but its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks are closely matched. The GPU’s percentile is 92, indicating it outperforms 92% of all GPUs. The combination of a top-tier GPU with a solid upper-mid-tier CPU is synergistic for Hard West, as the game’s turn-based nature likely doesn’t create extreme CPU bottlenecks. The rank of 132 suggests that while there are 131 configurations that perform better, many of those likely feature even more powerful CPUs, which have minimal impact on this specific game’s frame rates.

The delta between the CPU’s rivals is negligible, with the Intel Xeon D-2752TER being 0.1% slower and the AMD Ryzen 5 7640U being 0.1% faster. This indicates that swapping the CPU for a comparable alternative would not meaningfully change the combo’s rank. Similarly, the GPU’s rivals, such as the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT, are within 1.6% in synthetic scores, but the RTX 5090 D’s real-world performance in Hard West is likely what pushes the combo to its 132nd position. The data suggests that the rank is primarily driven by the GPU’s ability to maintain high frame rates at 4K, which is a differentiator in a game that may be tested on various hardware.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the target resolution and refresh rate. For players using a 1080p display with a 240Hz refresh rate, the Low preset at 233 FPS is the only setting that can fully saturate such a high refresh rate, but the Medium preset at 217 FPS is also viable and offers better visual fidelity with only a 16 FPS loss. The High preset at 198 FPS is still playable but leaves some headroom unused. For 1440p, the Medium preset at 187 FPS is the sweet spot, as it provides a significant visual improvement over Low (200 FPS) while maintaining a frame rate well above the 144Hz threshold. The High preset at 158 FPS is also excellent for 144Hz displays, but the Ultra preset at 118 FPS is best suited for 60Hz or 120Hz monitors.

At 4K, the recommendations shift dramatically. The Low preset at 131 FPS is ideal for high-refresh-rate 4K displays, but the Medium preset at 108 FPS is a better balance of quality and performance, with a minimum FPS of 92 ensuring smooth gameplay. The High preset at 83 FPS is acceptable for 60Hz displays but may feel slightly less fluid. The Ultra preset at 62 FPS is the most visually demanding, but it is playable on a 60Hz screen, though the data shows a significant drop from High. For the best overall experience, the Medium preset at 1440p or 4K offers the most compelling combination of frame rate and visual quality, as it consistently delivers high averages with recorded minimums that prevent stutter. The Ultra preset at 1080p (178 FPS) is also a strong choice for players who prioritize image quality, as it still exceeds the refresh rate of most standard monitors.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest performance. The Low preset achieves an average of 233 FPS, while the Medium preset averages 217 FPS, with a minimum of 185 FPS and a maximum of 250 FPS. The High preset averages 198 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 178 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra represents a 55 FPS drop, which is the smallest relative decrease across all resolutions, indicating that the GPU is not fully saturated at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains exceptionally high. The Low preset averages 200 FPS, while the Medium preset averages 187 FPS, with a minimum of 159 FPS and a maximum of 215 FPS. The High preset averages 158 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 118 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra is 82 FPS, showing a more pronounced impact of the increased pixel count and settings on the GPU. The minimum FPS at Medium is 159, which is still well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

At 3840x2160, the performance scales down significantly. The Low preset averages 131 FPS, while the Medium preset averages 108 FPS, with a minimum of 92 FPS and a maximum of 124 FPS. The High preset averages 83 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 62 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra is 69 FPS, which is substantial, but even the Ultra preset remains playable. The data shows a clear trend: as resolution increases, the gap between Low and Ultra widens, confirming the GPU’s role as the primary bottleneck at higher pixel counts.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The scaling of FPS from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic pattern of GPU-bound performance. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 233 at 1080p to 200 at 1440p (a 14% reduction) and then to 131 at 4K (a 44% reduction from 1440p). This steep decline at 4K is a clear indicator that the RTX 5090 D is being pushed to its limits by the sheer number of pixels, despite its massive memory bandwidth and 32 GB of VRAM. The game’s assets are likely simple enough that VRAM capacity is not a factor, but the GPU’s pixel fill rate and shader processing power are fully engaged.

At Medium settings, the FPS drops from 217 at 1080p to 187 at 1440p (a 14% reduction) and then to 108 at 4K (a 42% reduction from 1440p). This pattern is similar to Low, suggesting that the additional visual effects at Medium do not disproportionately strain the GPU; the bottleneck is still resolution-driven. At High settings, the FPS drops from 198 at 1080p to 158 at 1440p (a 20% reduction) and then to 83 at 4K (a 47% reduction from 1440p). The larger drop at High indicates that the added shader complexity is beginning to interact with the resolution scaling.

At Ultra settings, the FPS drops from 178 at 1080p to 118 at 1440p (a 34% reduction) and then to 62 at 4K (a 47% reduction from 1440p). The significant drop from 1080p to 1440p at Ultra (60 FPS) compared to Low (33 FPS) highlights that the Ultra preset is more demanding on the GPU’s compute units. The fact that the 4K Ultra score is 62 FPS, which is barely above the 60 FPS threshold, shows that this combination is at the edge of playability at the highest settings. The data clearly indicates that the CPU is not the limiting factor, as the FPS scales consistently with resolution and settings, which is a hallmark of GPU-bound performance. The Ryzen 7 5700’s role is to provide a stable platform, and its impact is only visible at 1080p Low, where the GPU has spare capacity and the CPU must work harder to feed frames.