Hard West

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700G and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination delivers a highly capable experience in Hard West, a turn-based tactics title from 2015. The measured data shows this pairing is far more than sufficient for the game's demands, with performance scaling predictably across resolutions and settings. The RTX 4070's 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 192-bit bus provide ample headroom, while the 8-core, 16-thread Ryzen 7 5700G with a 4.60 GHz boost clock ensures the CPU is rarely a bottleneck. The benchmark results are ranked 467 out of 1699 tested combinations, placing this setup in the upper tier of configurations for this specific title.

Settings Recommendations

The data reveals a clear hierarchy in performance across the four available presets. At 1080p, the Low preset achieves an average of 234.3 FPS, while Medium delivers 208.3 FPS, High hits 163 FPS, and Ultra drops to 119.3 FPS. The step from Low to Medium costs roughly 11% performance, while the jump from Medium to High costs about 22%, and High to Ultra costs another 27%. For players prioritizing smoothness, the High preset at 1080p is the sweet spot, offering 163 FPS average—well above the 144 Hz refresh rate of most gaming monitors—while retaining substantial visual quality over Medium.

At 1440p, the pattern holds but with lower absolute numbers. High averages 99.7 FPS, which is still excellent for a turn-based game, while Medium achieves 131.9 FPS and Low reaches 164 FPS. Ultra drops to 76.8 FPS. The 1440p High preset is the recommended choice here, as it maintains a comfortable margin above 60 FPS while providing the best balance of detail and performance. At 4K, the situation becomes more demanding. High averages 55.7 FPS, which is playable but close to the 60 FPS threshold. Medium at 69 FPS is the better option for 4K, providing a smoother experience without the visual degradation of Low (84 FPS) or the heavy cost of Ultra (40.5 FPS).

The overall recommendation is to use High settings for 1080p and 1440p, as it provides the best performance-per-visual-quality ratio without pushing the hardware unnecessarily. For 4K, Medium is the optimal preset, as it stays above 60 FPS while retaining acceptable detail levels. Ultra is only advisable for players who prioritize maximum fidelity over frame rate, and even then, the 40.5 FPS average at 4K may feel sluggish for some.

FAQ

*Q: Can this system run Hard West at 4K resolution smoothly?*

A: Yes, but with caveats. The Medium preset at 3840x2160 achieves an average of 69 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS standard for smooth gameplay. High at 4K averages 55.7 FPS, which is playable but slightly below 60. Ultra at 4K drops to 40.5 FPS, making it less ideal for consistent performance.

*Q: How does the RTX 4070's 12 GB VRAM impact Hard West performance?*

A: The 12 GB of GDDR6X memory with a 504.2 GB/s bandwidth is more than sufficient for Hard West, a turn-based tactics game that is not VRAM-intensive. The data shows no signs of memory-related bottlenecks at any resolution or setting, as the frame rates scale consistently with GPU load rather than hitting a VRAM ceiling.

Q: Is the Ryzen 7 5700G a bottleneck for the RTX 4070 in this game?

A: At lower resolutions like 1080p, the CPU can become more relevant, but the data shows the system still achieves 163 FPS at High and 234.3 FPS at Low. At 1440p and 4K, the GPU becomes the primary limiting factor, as evidenced by the larger FPS drops when increasing resolution. The 8-core, 16-thread processor with a 3.80 GHz base and 4.60 GHz boost clock is sufficient for this title.

Q: What is the performance difference between High and Ultra settings?

A: At 1080p, High averages 163 FPS while Ultra averages 119.3 FPS, a difference of 43.7 FPS (about 27%). At 1440p, the gap is 22.9 FPS (99.7 vs 76.8), and at 4K, it is 15.2 FPS (55.7 vs 40.5). Ultra consistently costs roughly a quarter to a third of the frame rate compared to High.

Q: How does this system compare to other CPUs in benchmark scores?

A: The Ryzen 7 5700G has an average benchmark score of 25626, placing it in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs. It is 0.3% behind the AMD Ryzen 7 6800U (25706), 0.4% ahead of the Intel Xeon D-2752TER (25532), 0.5% ahead of the Intel Core 5 210H (25490), and 0.6% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 5 7640U (25485). These are marginal differences, indicating the CPU is competitive with recent mid-range parts.

Q: What is the RTX 4070's standing relative to other GPUs?

A: The RTX 4070 has an average benchmark score of 37283, placing it in the 81st percentile of all GPUs. It is 0.6% behind the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (37507), 1.9% behind the NVIDIA GeForce MX570 A (38008), 2.2% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile (38135), and 2.5% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 5300M (36371). The differences are small, showing the GPU is well-positioned among its peers.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is the primary driver of performance in Hard West, especially at higher resolutions. Its 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus provides a 504.2 GB/s bandwidth, which is far beyond what this turn-based tactics title requires. The GPU's boost clock of 2475 MHz (base 1920 MHz) ensures high frame rates even at 4K, though the data shows that Ultra settings at 3840x2160 push the card to its limits with an average of 40.5 FPS.

The GPU's 5888 shading units and 64 ROPs handle the game's sprite-based visuals and particle effects without strain. The measured FPS at 1080p High (163 FPS) and 1440p High (99.7 FPS) indicates the card is operating well within its capabilities, with the 4K results (55.7 FPS at High) representing the most demanding scenario. The RTX 4070's percentile rank of 81 against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 37283, places it comfortably above the median, and its nearest rivals—the RX Vega 56, MX570 A, RTX 4080 Mobile, and RX 5300M—show performance deltas of less than 3%, reinforcing that this is a mid-to-high-tier GPU.

The memory clock of 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective) contributes to the high bandwidth, which is more than adequate for Hard West. There is no evidence of texture streaming or memory capacity issues in the measured data; the FPS scales predictably with resolution, indicating that the GPU's compute and memory subsystems are well balanced for this workload. The RTX 4070's Ada Lovelace architecture, built on a 5 nm process with 35,800 million transistors, provides the efficiency and raw power needed to maintain high frame rates across all tested configurations.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the RTX 4070 delivers exceptional performance across all settings. Low averages 234.3 FPS, Medium 208.3 FPS, High 163 FPS, and Ultra 119.3 FPS. This represents a performance range where even the most demanding preset remains well above the refresh rates of most monitors, making 1080p a resolution where the GPU is rarely stressed. The step from Ultra to High saves 43.7 FPS, which is substantial and suggests that High is the practical ceiling for smooth gameplay at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates drop but remain strong. Low averages 164 FPS, Medium 131.9 FPS, High 99.7 FPS, and Ultra 76.8 FPS. The 1440p results show a similar pattern to 1080p but with roughly 30-40% lower absolute values. The High preset here is still comfortably above 60 FPS and even approaches 100 FPS, providing an excellent experience for players with 144 Hz monitors. Ultra at 76.8 FPS is also playable, though the 22.9 FPS gap from High suggests diminishing returns on visual fidelity.

At 3840x2160, the GPU begins to show its limits. Low averages 84 FPS, Medium 69 FPS, High 55.7 FPS, and Ultra 40.5 FPS. The 4K results highlight a clear division: Low and Medium remain above 60 FPS, while High dips below and Ultra struggles to maintain 40 FPS. This indicates that 4K gaming with this setup requires careful setting selection, with Medium being the highest preset that guarantees smooth performance. The 28.5 FPS difference between Medium (69) and High (55.7) at 4K is significant, showing that the GPU's compute resources are being taxed heavily by the higher resolution.

The data also reveals that the RTX 4070's performance scales nearly linearly with resolution at each setting. For example, at High, the FPS drops from 163 at 1080p to 99.7 at 1440p (a 39% reduction) and then to 55.7 at 4K (a 44% reduction from 1440p). This consistent scaling suggests the GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions, with the Ryzen 7 5700G providing adequate support without introducing CPU-bound bottlenecks.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1080p to 4K provides clear insight into which component is the limiting factor. At High settings, the FPS drops from 163 at 1920x1080 to 99.7 at 2560x1440, a reduction of 63.3 FPS (39%). Moving from 1440p to 4K at High, the FPS falls from 99.7 to 55.7, a drop of 44 FPS (44%). This increasing percentage loss as resolution rises is the classic signature of a GPU-bound scenario. The RTX 4070's rendering load grows quadratically with pixel count, and the 12 GB VRAM and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient, but the GPU's compute throughput becomes the constraint.

At Low settings, the scaling is even more pronounced: 234.3 FPS at 1080p drops to 164 FPS at 1440p (a 30% reduction) and then to 84 FPS at 4K (a 49% reduction from 1440p). The larger percentage drops at Low settings indicate that the CPU is not the bottleneck, as the frame rates are still high enough to be limited by the GPU's ability to process frames. If the CPU were the constraint, the FPS would plateau at higher resolutions rather than continue dropping.

Ultra settings show the steepest decline: 119.3 FPS at 1080p, 76.8 FPS at 1440p (a 36% drop), and 40.5 FPS at 4K (a 47% drop from 1440p). This pattern confirms that the RTX 4070 is the primary limiting component across all resolutions, with the Ryzen 7 5700G's 8 cores and 16 threads providing sufficient headroom. The CPU's benchmark scores—including a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 20755 and a single-core score of 2930—indicate it can handle the game's logic and AI without becoming a bottleneck, even at 1080p where the GPU is less taxed.

The data suggests that for players targeting 4K, reducing settings from Ultra to Medium yields a 28.5 FPS improvement (from 40.5 to 69 FPS), which is a 70% increase in frame rate. Similarly, at 1440p, dropping from Ultra to High provides a 22.9 FPS gain (from 76.8 to 99.7), a 30% improvement. These results indicate that the RTX 4070 is best utilized at 1440p High or 4K Medium, where it delivers a balanced experience without excessive graphical compromises.