Hard West

# Hard West — AMD Ryzen 7 5700G + Intel Arc B390

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700G paired with the Intel Arc B390 delivers playable frame rates at 1080p in Hard West, but the combination falls apart at higher resolutions, ranking 2614th out of 2949 tested combos in this game. The data shows a turn-based tactics title that is surprisingly demanding on the GPU, with the Arc B390’s modest compute capabilities becoming the primary bottleneck as resolution increases. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 87 FPS average, comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold, but at 4K Ultra it drops to just 14 FPS, making the experience essentially unplayable. The Ryzen 7 5700G, with its 8 cores and 16 threads, provides ample CPU headroom for this genre, but the GPU’s 9th percentile ranking among all GPUs clearly limits overall performance.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this hardware in Hard West?

A: The measured data shows 1080p Low delivers the highest average frame rate at 87 FPS, followed by 1080p Medium at 71 FPS and 1080p High at 55 FPS. For a smoother experience with better visuals, 1440p Low achieves 55 FPS, while 4K is only viable at Low settings with 29 FPS.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B390 scores 1482 in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 benchmark, placing it just 1.3% above the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, 1.5% above the GeForce 800M, 2.5% above the GT 625 OEM, and 2.7% above the GT 710. This places the GPU in the 9th percentile of all GPUs.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The GPU is clearly the limiting factor. The Ryzen 7 5700G ranks in the 79th percentile among all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 27051, while the Arc B390 ranks in the 9th percentile. As resolution increases from 1080p to 4K, frame rates drop dramatically, indicating GPU-bound performance.

Q: What frame rates can I expect at 1080p with Ultra settings?

A: At 1080p Ultra, the combo produces an average of 41 FPS. This is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, though it remains playable for a turn-based strategy title where twitch reflexes are less critical.

Q: How does the Ryzen 7 5700G perform in synthetic CPU benchmarks?

A: The CPU achieves a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 12830.5 and a single-core score of 1494. Its 3DMark scores scale from 899 in single-thread tests to 6629 in 16-thread tests, with a PassMark multithread score of 24419.

Q: Is the Arc B390's performance consistent with its hardware specifications?

A: The GPU features 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 raster output units, with a boost clock of 2500 MHz. Its FP32 throughput is 7.680 TFLOPS, and its 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1482 aligns with its low percentile ranking relative to all GPUs.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390's role in Hard West is defined by its modest graphics compute capabilities. With a boost clock of 2500 MHz and a base clock of 300 MHz, the GPU operates with 1536 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 24 ROPs. The pixel rate is 60.00 GPixel/s and the texture rate is 120.0 GTexel/s, figures that help explain the frame rates observed in the benchmark data.

The memory configuration is entirely system-shared, with no dedicated VRAM. The memory type, bus width, and bandwidth are all listed as "System Shared" or "System Dependent," meaning the GPU relies on the system's DDR4 memory through the Ryzen 7 5700G's dual-channel controller. This shared memory architecture can introduce latency and bandwidth constraints, particularly at higher resolutions where memory pressure increases.

The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482 places it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are all legacy NVIDIA parts: the GT 520MX (1463, 1.3% slower), GeForce 800M (1460, 1.5% slower), GT 625 OEM (1446, 2.5% slower), and GT 710 (1443, 2.7% slower). This context is critical for interpreting Hard West results — the Arc B390 is performing at a level comparable to decade-old entry-level discrete graphics.

In the context of this turn-based tactics game, the GPU's limitations manifest clearly. At 1080p Low, the GPU can push 87 FPS, suggesting the game's visual demands are moderate at lower settings. However, as settings increase to Medium (71 FPS), High (55 FPS), and Ultra (41 FPS), the GPU's fill rate and shader throughput become increasingly stressed. The 24 ROPs limit pixel output, and the 48 TMUs constrain texture filtering, making high-resolution, high-settings play impractical.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic GPU-bound scenario. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 87 at 1080p to 55 at 1440p (a 37% reduction) and then to 29 at 4K (a 67% reduction from 1080p). This steep decline indicates that the GPU's pixel throughput is the bottleneck, as the number of pixels increases 4x from 1080p to 4K.

At High settings, the scaling is even more pronounced: 55 FPS at 1080p drops to 35 FPS at 1440p (36% reduction) and then to 18 FPS at 4K (67% reduction). The Ultra settings show the most severe degradation: 41 FPS at 1080p falls to 26 FPS at 1440p (37% reduction) and finally to 14 FPS at 4K (66% reduction). The consistency of these percentage drops across settings suggests that resolution is the dominant factor, not the specific graphics settings.

The data indicates that the CPU is not limiting performance at any resolution. The Ryzen 7 5700G's 8-core, 16-thread configuration with a boost clock of 4.60 GHz provides more than enough processing power for a turn-based tactics game, even at 1080p Low where the GPU is producing 87 FPS. The CPU's 79th percentile ranking and its nearest rival comparisons (within 0.6% of the Intel Core i9-9900K, AMD Ryzen AI 7 445, Intel Core i5-14400T, and Intel Core i7-1370P) confirm it is a high-performing part.

The practical implication is that users should target 1080p for playable frame rates, with 1440p Low being the highest resolution that maintains 55 FPS. 4K is only marginally playable at Low settings with 29 FPS, and even that falls below the 30 FPS threshold often considered minimum for acceptable gameplay.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured frame rates show a clear progression across settings. Low settings produce an average of 87 FPS, which represents the best performance point for this combo. Medium settings yield 71 FPS average with a minimum of 61 FPS and maximum of 82 FPS, indicating consistent performance within a narrow band. High settings drop to 55 FPS average, and Ultra settings fall to 41 FPS average. All 1080p settings produce frame rates that are playable for a turn-based title, though Ultra dips below the 60 FPS smoothness threshold.

At 2560x1440, performance degrades notably. Low settings maintain 55 FPS average, which is still acceptable. Medium settings produce 45 FPS average with a range of 38 to 52 FPS, showing wider variance that could be noticeable during camera pans or effects-heavy turns. High settings fall to 35 FPS average, and Ultra drops to 26 FPS average. The 1440p Ultra result of 26 FPS is marginal, potentially causing noticeable stutter in a game that benefits from smooth camera movement.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly overwhelmed. Low settings produce 29 FPS average, which is below the 30 FPS minimum for comfortable play. Medium settings yield 24 FPS average with a 20-27 FPS range, High settings drop to 18 FPS, and Ultra settings bottom out at 14 FPS average. None of the 4K results are genuinely playable, and the frame rates suggest the GPU is operating at its absolute limits.

The minimum FPS data is only available for Medium settings at each resolution: 61 FPS at 1080p, 38 FPS at 1440p, and 20 FPS at 4K. These minimums are closer to the averages than typical GPU-bound scenarios, suggesting the game's turn-based nature produces relatively stable frame pacing rather than sudden spikes of load.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of AMD Ryzen 7 5700G and Intel Arc B390 ranks 2614th out of 2949 tested combos in Hard West, placing it in the bottom 11% of all tested systems. This ranking reflects the GPU's severe performance limitation rather than any CPU deficiency, as the Ryzen 7 5700G is a capable processor in its own right.

The GPU's 9th percentile ranking among all GPUs is the primary driver of this poor combo position. The Arc B390's 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1482 places it alongside NVIDIA's GT 520MX (1463), GeForce 800M (1460), GT 625 OEM (1446), and GT 710 (1443) — all legacy entry-level parts that would struggle with modern gaming loads. In Hard West, a 2015 turn-based tactics title, the GPU can manage 1080p Low at 87 FPS, but this is the ceiling for smooth performance.

The CPU's contribution to this combo is positive. The Ryzen 7 5700G ranks in the 79th percentile of all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 27051, and its nearest rivals are within 0.6% of its performance: the Intel Core i9-9900K (27097, 0.2% faster), AMD Ryzen AI 7 445 (26936, 0.4% slower), Intel Core i5-14400T (27166, 0.4% faster), and Intel Core i7-1370P (26900, 0.6% slower). This CPU is not the bottleneck in any of the measured scenarios.

The combination's rank suggests that users seeking better Hard West performance should prioritize GPU upgrades. The CPU has sufficient headroom to support a significantly faster graphics card, and the data shows that the GPU is the sole constraint across all resolutions and settings. The 2614th ranking out of 2949 combos indicates that most other tested systems achieve better frame rates, primarily due to more capable GPUs.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700G is a 5000-series processor built on the Zen 3 architecture with the Cezanne codename, manufactured on TSMC's 7 nm process. It features 8 cores and 16 threads with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. The CPU has a 65 W TDP and supports DDR4 memory through a dual-channel interface with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth.

In Hard West, the CPU's role is to handle game logic, AI decisions, and unit pathfinding, which are typical CPU-intensive tasks in turn-based tactics. The 8-core, 16-thread configuration provides substantial parallel processing capability, and the benchmark data confirms the CPU is not a limiting factor. The 3DMark scores scale effectively from 899 in single-thread tests to 6629 in 16-thread tests, showing strong multi-threading efficiency.

The CPU's synthetic benchmarks further demonstrate its capability. Cinebench R23 multicore score of 12830.5 and single-core score of 1494 indicate solid performance, while Geekbench scores of 9950 multicore and 1894 single-core corroborate this. PassMark results show 24419 in multithread tests, with exceptional data compression performance at 318262 and floating-point math at 51296.

The CPU's percentile ranking of 79th among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 27051, places it in a competitive position relative to its nearest rivals. The Intel Core i9-9900K, a high-end desktop processor from an earlier generation, scores 27097 — just 0.2% higher. The AMD Ryzen AI 7 445 scores 26936 (0.4% lower), and the Intel Core i5-14400T scores 27166 (0.4% higher). This tight clustering indicates the Ryzen 7 5700G is performing at the expected level for its class.

Given that Hard West is a turn-based game without demanding real-time physics or large-scale simulation, the CPU's 8 cores and 16 threads are more than sufficient. The game's frame rates at 1080p Low (87 FPS) are well within the CPU's capability, and even at 4K Ultra (14 FPS), the bottleneck is entirely on the GPU side. The CPU's integrated Radeon Vega 8 graphics are not utilized in this configuration, as the system uses the discrete Intel Arc B390.