Hard West

# Hard West: AMD Ryzen 7 5700G + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060

This combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 5700G and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 delivers playable performance across most settings in Hard West, a turn-based tactics title from 2015. The data shows a system that is heavily GPU-limited at higher resolutions and quality presets, while the CPU provides ample headroom for the game's logic-heavy workloads. The measured frame rates across twelve resolution/settings combinations reveal a clear hierarchy of performance constraints, with the GPU becoming the bottleneck as pixel count and graphical fidelity increase.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K demonstrates a predictable and steep performance curve. At 1080p High, the combo produces 115.2 FPS, which drops to 74.6 FPS at 1440p High (−35.2%) and further to 38.3 FPS at 4K High (−66.7% from 1080p). This scaling pattern indicates that the RTX 4060's 8 GB GDDR6 memory and 128-bit bus are the primary limiting factors as resolution increases, since the pixel count quadruples from 1080p to 4K while the average frame rate does not halve proportionally.

The Low preset tells a similar story but with higher absolute numbers. At 1080p Low, the system delivers 186.9 FPS, falling to 115.5 FPS at 1440p Low and 60.3 FPS at 4K Low. The fact that 4K Low still achieves 60.3 FPS suggests that even at minimal graphical load, the GPU's raw throughput is sufficient for smooth gameplay, but the margin narrows considerably. The Medium preset shows 150 FPS at 1080p, 95.6 FPS at 1440p, and 51.3 FPS at 4K, while Ultra settings push the system hardest: 89.4 FPS at 1080p, 56.2 FPS at 1440p, and 27.2 FPS at 4K.

The delta between Low and Ultra at each resolution reveals the GPU's capacity. At 1080p, the spread is 97.5 FPS (from 186.9 to 89.4), indicating substantial headroom even at maximum settings. At 4K, the spread narrows to 33.1 FPS (from 60.3 to 27.2), showing that the GPU is saturated and cannot compensate for quality increases. This pattern confirms that the RTX 4060, with its 272.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 15.11 TFLOPS FP32 performance, is adequate for 1080p and 1440p gaming in Hard West but struggles to maintain 4K Ultra at playable rates.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700G provides 8 cores and 16 threads based on the Zen 3 architecture (Cezanne codename), with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and boost clock of 4.60 GHz. Its benchmark scores show strong multi-threaded performance: Cinebench R23 multicore reaches 20755 points, while single-core scores hit 2930 points. The 3DMark 16-thread test yields 6629 points, and the max-thread score is 6627, indicating that the CPU scales well with thread count.

In Hard West, a turn-based tactics game, the CPU handles game logic, AI calculations, and pathfinding. The 5700G's 16 MB L3 cache and 51.2 GB/s memory bandwidth (dual-channel DDR4) are sufficient for these workloads. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the system reaches 186.9 FPS, which suggests the CPU is not a limiting factor at lower graphical settings where the GPU has more headroom. However, the CPU's percentile ranking of 83rd among all CPUs indicates it is a solid mid-to-high performer, though not top-tier.

The nearest rivals in CPU benchmarks include the AMD Ryzen 7 6800U (avg score 25706, delta −0.3%), Intel Xeon D-2752TER (25532, delta +0.4%), Intel Core 5 210H (25490, delta +0.5%), and AMD Ryzen 5 7640U (25485, delta +0.6%). The 5700G's average benchmark score of 25626 places it within 0.3–0.6% of these competitors, indicating parity in general compute performance. For Hard West specifically, this CPU provides more than enough processing power to feed the RTX 4060 at most resolutions, as evidenced by the GPU-bound nature of frame rate scaling.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060, built on the Ada Lovelace architecture (AD107 chip) with a 5 nm process, features 3072 shading units, 96 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. Its boost clock of 2460 MHz and 8 GB GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus deliver 272.0 GB/s bandwidth. The GPU's compute capability is rated at 15.11 TFLOPS FP32, with 24 RT cores and 96 tensor cores for hardware-accelerated ray tracing and AI features.

In Hard West, the GPU's role is primarily rasterization, as this 2015 title does not utilize ray tracing. The measured frame rates show that the RTX 4060 performs admirably at 1080p and 1440p. At 1080p Ultra, the system achieves 89.4 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. At 1440p Ultra, 56.2 FPS is borderline but playable, while 4K Ultra at 27.2 FPS is not recommended for a fluid experience.

The GPU's benchmark scores place it in the 66th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 23181. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 6600M (avg score 23321, delta −0.6%), NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti (23338, delta −0.7%), Intel Arc B580 (23021, delta +0.7%), and AMD Radeon 760M (22999, delta +0.8%). The RTX 4060 sits within 0.6–0.8% of these competitors, showing that it is evenly matched with mid-range GPUs from previous generations. The passmark G3D score of 19545 and DirectX 12 score of 76 indicate solid DirectX 12 support, which Hard West can leverage for improved draw call efficiency.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution/settings combination for this system in Hard West?

A: The data shows that 1080p High delivers 115.2 FPS, and 1440p High achieves 74.6 FPS, both well above smooth gameplay thresholds. For maximum quality, 1080p Ultra at 89.4 FPS is the best balance of fidelity and performance.

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

A: At 4K Low, the system achieves 60.3 FPS, which is playable, but 4K High drops to 38.3 FPS and 4K Ultra falls to 27.2 FPS. The RTX 4060's 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit bus are insufficient for high-quality 4K in this title.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest competitors?

A: The Ryzen 7 5700G has an average benchmark score of 25626, which is within 0.3% of the AMD Ryzen 7 6800U (25706) and within 0.6% of the AMD Ryzen 5 7640U (25485). This indicates near-identical general compute performance among these processors.

Q: Is the RTX 4060 a significant upgrade over older GPUs for this game?

A: The RTX 4060's benchmark scores place it within 0.7% of the GTX 780 Ti (23338) and within 0.6% of the RX 6600M (23321). The performance is competitive with these older cards, though the RTX 4060 offers newer feature support.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 1440p Medium settings?

A: The measured data shows 95.6 FPS at 1440p Medium, which is excellent for smooth gameplay. Even at 1440p Ultra, the system maintains 56.2 FPS, which is near the 60 FPS target.

Q: Does the system show any CPU bottleneck at lower resolutions?

A: At 1080p Low, the system reaches 186.9 FPS, indicating the CPU can sustain high frame rates. The 5700G's 8-core/16-thread configuration with 16 MB L3 cache is more than sufficient for Hard West's turn-based mechanics, and the frame rate scaling suggests GPU dominance in all tested scenarios.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 5700G and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 ranks 1003rd out of 1699 tested combinations in Hard West. This places it in the lower-middle portion of the database, which is somewhat surprising given the individual component performance. The CPU's 83rd percentile and GPU's 66th percentile rankings suggest that both components are mid-range, and their combined performance reflects this positioning.

The rank of 1003 out of 1699 means that 696 combinations perform better in this specific game. This indicates that while the system delivers playable performance at 1080p and 1440p, it is not optimized for Hard West's specific requirements compared to other hardware pairings. The GPU's 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit bus likely contribute to its lower rank, as turn-based tactics games often benefit from higher memory bandwidth for texture-heavy scenes.

However, the measured frame rates show that this rank does not translate to poor gameplay. At 1080p High (115.2 FPS) and 1440p High (74.6 FPS), the system provides excellent performance. The rank of 1003rd reflects the broader benchmark database, which includes systems with more powerful GPUs and CPUs. For a mid-range desktop configuration, the 5700G + RTX 4060 pairing offers a balanced experience in Hard West, with the CPU providing ample headroom and the GPU handling most graphical workloads effectively. The data suggests that users seeking higher 4K performance would need to consider a more powerful GPU, as the current configuration is clearly GPU-limited at that resolution.