Hard West

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700G paired with the Intel Arc B580 produces a fascinating set of results in Hard West, a turn-based tactics title from 2015. The data suggests a system that is profoundly capable at mainstream resolutions but hits a hard wall when pushed to 4K, revealing a clear bottleneck that shifts depending on where you look. This analysis breaks down the measured frames to understand exactly where the limits lie.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings, signaling that the GPU becomes the dominant limiting factor at higher resolutions. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 94.6 FPS at 1920x1080 to 58.3 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of roughly 38%. Pushing further to 3840x2160 yields just 31.8 FPS, which is a 66% decline from the 1080p baseline. This pattern is not unique to High; it is mirrored across the board. At Low settings, the system delivers 150.1 FPS at 1080p, drops to 92.9 FPS at 1440p, and then plummets to 52.3 FPS at 4K. The scaling factor from 1440p to 4K is nearly identical in both cases, suggesting a consistent GPU compute or memory bandwidth limitation rather than a CPU constraint.

The data implies that the Arc B580’s 456.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth and 13.67 TFLOPS of FP32 performance are simply not enough to maintain high frame rates when the pixel count quadruples. The fact that the FPS at 4K Low (52.3) is still lower than the FPS at 1080p Ultra (73.3) is particularly telling. It indicates that even when graphical complexity is stripped away, the sheer number of pixels at 4K overwhelms the GPU. For a game like Hard West, which is not typically demanding by modern standards, this points to the Intel card being the definitive performance ceiling at 4K, while the CPU has ample headroom to spare.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B580’s specifications paint a picture of a mid-range performer that excels in lower-resolution scenarios. Its 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus is generous for a game from 2015, which likely means VRAM capacity is never a limiting factor. The memory clock is listed at 2375 MHz, translating to 19 Gbps effective, which contributes to that 456.0 GB/s bandwidth figure. In Hard West, the benchmark results show that this bandwidth is sufficient for smooth play at 1080p and 1440p, but the 4K results suggest the GPU’s raw processing power—its 2560 shading units and 80 ROPs—is what holds it back.

The GPU’s benchmark percentile (66th) and its average score of 23021 place it in the upper mid-range, with nearest rivals like the AMD Radeon 760M (deltaPct 0.1) and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 (deltaPct -0.7). The data shows that while the B580 is competitive with these cards in synthetic tests, its real-world performance in Hard West at 4K (31.8 FPS on High) is not ideal for a smooth experience. The pixel rate of 213.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 427.2 GTexel/s are high on paper, but they do not translate into playable 4K frame rates here. It is a clear signal that this GPU is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where its strengths are fully utilized without hitting the memory or compute wall.

How This Combo Ranks

In the grand database of tested combinations, this specific pairing of the Ryzen 7 5700G and Arc B580 ranks 1330 out of 1699 combos for Hard West. That places it in the lower half of all systems tested, which is surprising given the individual components’ respectable standings. The CPU ranks in the 83rd percentile among all processors, and the GPU sits in the 66th percentile, yet their combined performance in this title is below average. This discrepancy suggests that the game itself might not be well-optimized for this particular hardware configuration, or that the bottleneck shifts in an unusual way.

The rank of 1330 indicates that many other combinations, likely featuring stronger GPUs or different CPU-GPU pairings, achieve higher average frame rates. It is important to contextualize this: the combo’s 1080p High score of 94.6 FPS is solid, but the 4K High score of 31.8 FPS drags the overall average down significantly. When compared to other combos in the database, this system performs adequately at lower resolutions but fails to compete at higher ones. The data implies that if a user’s primary display is 1080p, this rank is misleading; however, for 4K enthusiasts, the ranking is a fair reflection of the hardware’s limitations.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a clear matrix of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the results are as follows: Low settings produce an average of 150.1 FPS, Medium yields 125.3 FPS, High achieves 94.6 FPS, and Ultra drops to 73.3 FPS. These numbers show a healthy scaling curve, with a 51% performance difference between Low and Ultra. At 2560x1440, the averages are 92.9 FPS for Low, 79.4 FPS for Medium, 58.3 FPS for High, and 43.1 FPS for Ultra. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is significant, but all settings remain playable, with even Ultra staying above 40 FPS.

The 3840x2160 results tell a different story. Low settings produce 52.3 FPS, which is playable, but Medium drops to 43.5 FPS, High falls to 31.8 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 22.7 FPS. The step from Medium to High at 4K is a 27% performance loss, which is substantial. The data shows that no setting at 4K reaches the 60 FPS threshold, and only Low and Medium manage to stay above the 30 FPS playability line. The frame rates are consistent across the board, with no min or max FPS recorded, indicating stable performance without major stutters, but the averages themselves are the primary concern.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Hard West?*

A: The data shows 1920x1080 is the optimal resolution. At High settings, it achieves 94.6 FPS, and even Ultra maintains 73.3 FPS, providing a smooth experience.

*Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Hard West?*

A: Only at Low settings, where it reaches 52.3 FPS. Medium is borderline at 43.5 FPS, while High and Ultra fall below 32 FPS, which is not ideal for consistent play.

Q: How does the Arc B580 compare to its closest rival, the RTX 4060?

A: The benchmark data shows the Arc B580 has an average score of 23021, while the RTX 4060 scores 23181, a delta of -0.7%. This indicates they are nearly identical in overall synthetic performance.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, the GPU is likely the limiting factor, as the CPU’s high multi-threaded scores (20755 in Cinebench R23) suggest it has ample headroom. The 150.1 FPS at Low settings is likely near the GPU’s maximum output.

Q: What is the FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings produce 92.9 FPS, while Ultra produces 43.1 FPS. This is a performance drop of about 54% when moving to the highest preset.

Q: Does the game utilize the CPU’s 8 cores effectively?

A: The data does not provide direct CPU utilization metrics for the game. However, given that the CPU scores 6627 in 3dmark_max_threads and the game is from 2015, it is likely that the 8 cores and 16 threads are more than sufficient, with the GPU being the primary constraint.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the optimal experience for this combo depends heavily on the target resolution. For 1920x1080, the High preset at 94.6 FPS offers the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, though Ultra at 73.3 FPS is also viable for users who prioritize graphics over a higher refresh rate. At 2560x1440, the Medium preset (79.4 FPS) is the recommended choice, as it provides a significant visual upgrade over Low while staying well above 60 FPS. The High preset at 58.3 FPS is borderline; it is playable but may exhibit minor dips on more demanding scenes.

For 3840x2160, the recommendations become more restrictive. The Low preset (52.3 FPS) is the only setting that provides a consistently smooth experience, though it sacrifices visual quality. Medium (43.5 FPS) is acceptable for users who prefer a better image and can tolerate lower frame rates. High (31.8 FPS) and Ultra (22.7 FPS) are not recommended, as they fall below the 30 FPS threshold that is generally considered the minimum for a playable experience. The data suggests that users with a 4K display should either stick to 1080p with High settings or accept the visual downgrade to Low at native 4K.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700G is a Zen 3 architecture processor with 8 cores and 16 threads, running at a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. Its benchmark scores are robust, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 20755 and a single-core score of 2930. In Hard West, a turn-based tactics game that relies more on logic and unit management than real-time physics, the CPU’s role is likely minimal. The high single-thread performance is beneficial for game logic, but the data shows that the GPU is the primary driver of frame rates.

The CPU’s 16 MB of L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support (51.2 GB/s bandwidth) are more than adequate for this title. The fact that the combo ranks 1330 out of 1699 suggests that the CPU is not the weak link; rather, it is the GPU that limits the system’s overall ranking. The 5700G’s integrated Radeon Vega 8 graphics are irrelevant here, as the discrete Arc B580 handles all rendering. The benchmark results for the CPU, such as a Passmark multithread score of 24419, indicate it has far more processing power than Hard West requires. In this scenario, the CPU is effectively waiting for the GPU to catch up, especially at higher resolutions where pixel throughput becomes the bottleneck.