Hard West

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700X paired with the Intel Arc B570 achieves a combination rank of 2360 out of 2949 tested combinations in Hard West. This places the combo in the 80th percentile of all tested systems, indicating that while it is not a top-tier configuration, it outperforms a substantial majority of the hardware combinations benchmarked for this turn-based tactics title. The ranking reflects a balanced pairing where neither component is dramatically mismatched for the game's demands, though the data shows distinct scaling behaviors across resolutions and settings that reveal the GPU as the primary constraint at higher loads.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 2360 among 2949 tested combinations positions it just inside the top 20% of all systems evaluated for Hard West. This is a respectable standing for a mid-range configuration, though it falls short of the upper echelon where high-refresh-rate 4K play becomes feasible. The rank is consistent with the individual component percentiles: the Ryzen 7 5700X sits at the 79th percentile among all CPUs, while the Arc B570 achieves the 65th percentile among all GPUs. The GPU's lower percentile relative to the CPU suggests that in this pairing, the graphics card is the limiting factor for achieving higher frame rates, particularly at resolutions above 1080p.

Benchmark scores for the Arc B570 show a passmark G3D score of 14195 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2649, placing it within 0.1% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile and within 0.1% of the Intel Arc A750. This indicates the B570 delivers performance comparable to those established cards in synthetic tests, though real-world game performance in Hard West will depend on how well the game's engine utilizes the Xe2-HPG architecture.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance on which settings preset offers the best balance of visual quality and playability for this combo. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset delivers an average of 110 FPS with a minimum of 93 FPS and a maximum of 126 FPS, making it the highest-quality setting that maintains a near-constant frame rate above the 90 FPS threshold. The High preset at 1080p drops to 84 FPS average, which is still smooth but leaves less headroom for demanding scenes. The Ultra preset at 1080p falls to 63 FPS average, which may be acceptable for a turn-based game but represents a significant 43% reduction from Medium.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset achieves 69 FPS average with a minimum of 59 FPS, which remains playable but begins to show the GPU's limitations. The High preset at 1440p drops to 53 FPS average, and Ultra falls to 40 FPS. For the best experience at this resolution, Medium is the recommended choice, as it stays above the 60 FPS threshold on average while providing moderate visual fidelity. At 3840x2160, no preset achieves a consistently playable frame rate — the Low preset peaks at 44 FPS average, which is the only 4K option above 30 FPS, but even this represents a substantial compromise in visual quality.

The data indicates that 1080p Medium is the optimal configuration for this combo, delivering a 110 FPS average that comfortably exceeds the 60 FPS standard while maintaining the frame-time consistency shown by the 93 FPS minimum. Players prioritizing visual fidelity over frame rate could consider 1080p High at 84 FPS, but the 31% performance hit from Medium to High yields diminishing returns for a turn-based tactics game where animation smoothness matters less than in action genres.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a clear GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions. At Medium settings, the average FPS drops from 110 at 1080p to 69 at 1440p — a 37% reduction — and then to 36 at 4K — a 67% reduction from 1080p. This steep decline indicates that the Arc B570's 10 GB of GDDR6 memory and 380.0 GB/s bandwidth become increasingly stressed as pixel count grows, with the GPU's compute resources (11.52 TFLOPS FP32) struggling to keep pace with 4K workloads.

The scaling pattern is consistent across all settings presets. At Low settings, the drop from 134 FPS at 1080p to 85 FPS at 1440p represents a 37% reduction, and then to 44 FPS at 4K — a 67% reduction from 1080p. The near-identical percentage drops across presets suggest that the limiting factor is the GPU's raw throughput rather than memory bandwidth or VRAM capacity, as even the lowest settings cannot overcome the pixel-count penalty.

At Ultra settings, the drop is even more pronounced: from 63 FPS at 1080p to 40 FPS at 1440p (37% reduction) and then to 21 FPS at 4K (67% reduction from 1080p). This consistent scaling behavior indicates that the Ryzen 7 5700X is not the bottleneck at any resolution — if it were, the FPS would remain relatively flat as resolution increases. Instead, the data shows the GPU reaching its limits in a predictable, resolution-dependent manner.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows 1920x1080 as the only resolution where all presets achieve playable frame rates. At 1080p, even Ultra settings maintain 63 FPS average, while at 1440p the Ultra preset drops to 40 FPS and at 4K no preset exceeds 44 FPS average.

Q: How does the Arc B570 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B570's average benchmark score of 20556 places it within 0.1% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (20534) and within 0.1% of the Intel Arc A750 (20582). It also sits 0.4% above the Quadro M4000M and 0.5% below the Radeon R9 M390X.

Q: Is the Ryzen 7 5700X a bottleneck for the Arc B570 in this game?

A: No. The resolution scaling data shows consistent FPS reductions from 1080p to 4K across all settings, which indicates the GPU is the limiting component. The CPU's 8 cores and 16 threads at up to 4.60 GHz boost provide sufficient processing headroom for this turn-based tactics title.

Q: What is the minimum FPS at 1440p Medium settings?

A: The measured data shows a minimum of 59 FPS at 2560x1440 Medium settings, with an average of 69 FPS and a maximum of 80 FPS. This makes 1440p Medium the highest resolution and quality combination that maintains a minimum above 60 FPS.

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

A: Barely. The best 4K result is 44 FPS average at Low settings, which is technically playable but represents a significant visual compromise. All other 4K presets fall below 40 FPS, with Ultra at 21 FPS making the game feel sluggish.

Q: How does the combo's rank compare to its component percentiles?

A: The combo ranks 2360 out of 2949 (80th percentile), which is slightly higher than the GPU's 65th percentile but consistent with the CPU's 79th percentile. This suggests the pairing works well together, with the CPU's strength compensating for the GPU's relative weakness.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570, built on the Xe2-HPG architecture with the BMG-G21 chip, provides the graphical horsepower for this combo. Its 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus delivers 380.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which proves sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming but becomes a limiting factor at 4K. The GPU's 2304 shading units, 144 TMUs, and 80 ROPs produce a pixel rate of 200.0 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 360.0 GTexel/s, enabling the frame rates observed in the measured data.

The GPU's boost clock of 2500 MHz is consistent across base and boost states, indicating a fixed operating point. This stable clock helps explain the relatively consistent frame times observed at Medium settings, where the minimum FPS stays within 15-16% of the average across all resolutions. The 11.52 TFLOPS FP32 compute throughput places the B570 in a performance class that handles Hard West's turn-based rendering without excessive strain at lower resolutions.

The VRAM capacity of 10 GB is never fully utilized in this game, as evidenced by the fact that Low and Medium settings show proportionally similar scaling to High and Ultra. If VRAM were the bottleneck, the gap between Low and Ultra would widen more dramatically at higher resolutions. Instead, the consistent scaling suggests the GPU's compute units are the primary constraint, particularly at 4K where even Low settings struggle to maintain 45 FPS.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700X provides the computational foundation for this combo, featuring 8 cores and 16 threads based on the Zen 3 architecture. With a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz, the CPU delivers strong single-threaded performance — evidenced by its 3DMark single-thread score of 921 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1499 — which is relevant for Hard West's turn-based logic and AI calculations. The 32 MB of shared L3 cache helps maintain low latency for game data access.

The CPU's multi-threaded capabilities, shown in its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 13184 and Geekbench multi-core score of 10779, ensure that background tasks and game engine threads do not interfere with frame rendering. The PassMark multithread score of 26612 and the 3DMark 16-thread score of 6858 indicate that the CPU can handle simultaneous AI turns and rendering workloads without becoming a bottleneck.

The 65 W TDP and 7 nm process node (TSMC) make this an efficient processor that pairs well with the 150 W TDP of the Arc B570. The CPU's 20 PCIe Gen 4 lanes provide adequate bandwidth for the GPU's PCIe 4.0 x8 interface, ensuring no data transfer constraints. The Ryzen 7 5700X's percentile of 79 among all CPUs confirms it is a well-above-average processor that complements the GPU's mid-range performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its strongest results across all presets. Low settings achieve 134 FPS average, Medium reaches 110 FPS with a minimum of 93 FPS and maximum of 126 FPS, High attains 84 FPS, and Ultra produces 63 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 53% reduction in average FPS, with each step up in quality costing roughly 25-30 FPS. The Medium preset's 93 FPS minimum demonstrates strong frame-time consistency, making it the clear recommendation for 1080p.

At 2560x1440, the performance drops are more pronounced. Low settings average 85 FPS, Medium averages 69 FPS with a minimum of 59 FPS and maximum of 80 FPS, High averages 53 FPS, and Ultra averages 40 FPS. The 1440p Medium preset's 59 FPS minimum is just below the 60 FPS threshold, which may result in occasional perceptible stutter during complex turn sequences. The High and Ultra presets at this resolution fall below 60 FPS on average, making them less suitable for smooth gameplay.

At 3840x2160, the combo struggles to maintain playable frame rates. Low settings average 44 FPS, Medium averages 36 FPS with a minimum of 31 FPS and maximum of 42 FPS, High averages 28 FPS, and Ultra averages 21 FPS. The 4K Medium preset's 31 FPS minimum indicates significant frame drops during heavy scenes, while the Ultra preset's 21 FPS average makes the game feel sluggish. Only the Low preset at 4K approaches acceptable playability, and even then, the 44 FPS average is below the 60 FPS standard most players expect.

The measured data also reveals that the Medium preset consistently provides the best balance of frame rate and visual quality across all resolutions, with the most stable frame times (minimum FPS within 15-16% of average). The High preset offers a moderate improvement in visuals but sacrifices 24-28% of average FPS at each resolution, while Ultra demands a further 25-31% reduction. This scaling pattern underscores the GPU's role as the primary performance limiter, with the CPU providing consistent and sufficient processing power throughout.