Hard West

FAQ

Q: What frame rate can this combo achieve at 1920x1080?

A: At 1080p, the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X with Intel Arc B370 delivers 79 FPS on Low settings, 64 FPS on Medium, 49 FPS on High, and 37 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset shows a measured range of 55–74 FPS.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B370 compare to its closest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B370's average benchmark score of 1184 places it 0.2% behind the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186), 0.5% behind the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190), and 1.4% ahead of the AMD FirePro M2000 (1168). It ranks in the 5th percentile of all GPUs.

Q: Is the Ryzen 7 5800X a strong processor relative to other CPUs?

A: The 5800X sits in the 81st percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 29123. It is effectively tied with the Intel Core Ultra 5 135H (29093, +0.1%), Intel Xeon Phi 7210 (29245, -0.4%), Intel Core i5-13500HX (29270, -0.5%), and AMD Ryzen 5 5600XT (28940, +0.6%).

Q: What is the best resolution for playable performance in Hard West?

A: 1920x1080 is the only resolution where all presets exceed 30 FPS. At 2560x1440, only Low (50 FPS) and Medium (41 FPS) remain comfortably playable, while High drops to 31 FPS. At 3840x2160, all presets fall below 30 FPS.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested system configurations?

A: The Ryzen 7 5800X + Intel Arc B370 combination ranks 2721 out of 2949 tested combos in Hard West, placing it in the bottom 8% of all configurations.

Q: What is the CPU's single-threaded performance like?

A: The 5800X scores 943 in 3DMark single-thread, 1574.5 in Cinebench R23 single-core, and 2032 in Geekbench single-core. Its PassMark single-thread score is 3445, and its 2-thread 3DMark score is 1846.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is an integrated graphics solution based on the Xe3-LPG architecture and Panther Lake chip, fabricated on Intel's 3 nm process. Its base clock runs at 300 MHz with a boost clock of 2400 MHz. The GPU has 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 20 raster output units, along with 10 ray tracing cores. Its pixel rate is 48.00 GPixel/s, texture rate is 96.00 GTexel/s, and FP32 compute reaches 6.144 TFLOPS.

Memory is system-shared, meaning the GPU draws from the CPU's DDR4 pool rather than having dedicated VRAM. The memory bus width and bandwidth are likewise system-dependent. This architecture makes the Arc B370 heavily reliant on the host CPU's memory subsystem. The Ryzen 7 5800X provides dual-channel DDR4 support with 51.2 GB/s of memory bandwidth, which is the effective ceiling for the GPU's data throughput.

The Arc B370's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 1184, placing it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are all older discrete parts: the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186, 0.2% faster), ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190, 0.5% faster), and AMD Radeon HD 7650M (1192, 0.7% faster). The only GPU it beats among its nearest rivals is the AMD FirePro M2000 (1168, 1.4% slower). This is an entry-level part by modern standards.

In Hard West, the GPU's limitations dominate at higher resolutions. At 3840x2160, the measured frame rates range from 12 FPS on Ultra to 26 FPS on Low. The 4K Ultra result of 12 FPS is barely a slideshow. Even at 2560x1440, Ultra dips to 23 FPS. The Arc B370's low RO count of 20 and shared memory architecture appear to bottleneck fill-rate-heavy scenarios, which explains the steep drop-off as resolution increases.

The boost clock of 2400 MHz is respectable for an integrated part, but the 25 W TDP and lack of dedicated VRAM constrain performance. The GPU's DirectX 12 Ultimate support (12_2) ensures feature compatibility with modern APIs, but Hard West is a 2015 title that does not stress advanced rendering features. The bottleneck is raw throughput, not feature support.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X is an 8-core, 16-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture (Vermeer), built on TSMC's 7 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. The cache hierarchy includes 64 KB of L1 per core, 512 KB of L2 per core, and 32 MB of shared L3. Its TDP is 105 W, and it supports PCIe Gen 4 with 20 lanes.

This CPU is a strong performer in general benchmarks. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score is 15476, with a single-core score of 1574.5. In Geekbench, it scores 11036 multicore and 2032 single-core. The PassMark multithread score is 27732, and its data encryption score is 21191. The 3DMark scores scale from 943 (single-thread) to 7586 (16-threads), showing solid multithreaded scaling.

The 5800X ranks in the 81st percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 29123. Its nearest rivals are all within 0.6%: the Intel Core Ultra 5 135H (29093, +0.1%), Intel Xeon Phi 7210 (29245, -0.4%), Intel Core i5-13500HX (29270, -0.5%), and AMD Ryzen 5 5600XT (28940, +0.6%). The 5800X's launch MSRP is $449.

In Hard West, a turn-based tactics game from 2015, the CPU's role is less demanding than in real-time genres. The game's logic is primarily turn-driven, with less continuous simulation than an RTS or action title. However, the 5800X's 8 cores and 16 threads ensure that any background tasks or AI computations do not bottleneck the frame rate.

The CPU's single-thread performance is particularly relevant. Hard West's engine, like most titles from its era, relies heavily on a few main threads. The 5800X's Cinebench R15 single-core score of 265.5 and 3DMark single-thread score of 943 indicate strong per-core performance. The 4.70 GHz boost clock helps maintain high frame rates even when the GPU is not the bottleneck.

At 1080p Low, the combo hits 79 FPS, which suggests the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU well at lower resolutions where the GPU is less stressed. The CPU's memory bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s is also a factor, as the Arc B370's shared memory architecture depends on this throughput. The dual-channel DDR4 configuration is the best available for this socket.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data shows a clear pattern: resolution matters more than preset selection for this combo. At 3840x2160, even Low settings (26 FPS) fail to reach 30 FPS. Medium at 4K manages 21 FPS (18–25 range), which is still sub-30. High and Ultra at 4K are 16 FPS and 12 FPS respectively. No 4K preset is playable.

At 2560x1440, Low (50 FPS) and Medium (41 FPS, 35–47 range) are both playable. High drops to 31 FPS, which is borderline. Ultra at 23 FPS is not recommended. The sweet spot at 1440p is Medium, offering a 41 FPS average with a range that stays above 30 FPS.

At 1920x1080, all presets are technically playable, but the experience varies. Low (79 FPS) is very smooth. Medium (64 FPS, 55–74 range) is also smooth and likely offers better visuals. High (49 FPS) is acceptable but shows a significant drop from Medium. Ultra (37 FPS) is playable but approaches the lower threshold of comfort.

The best overall experience, per the data, is 1920x1080 with Medium settings. This provides a 64 FPS average with a minimum of 55 FPS, ensuring no drops below 30 FPS even in the worst measured frames. For users with 1440p displays, Medium at 2560x1440 (41 FPS average, 35 minimum) is the best compromise between visual quality and smoothness.

Ultra settings are not worth the cost at any resolution. The jump from Medium to Ultra costs 27 FPS at 1080p (64 to 37), 18 FPS at 1440p (41 to 23), and 9 FPS at 4K (21 to 12). The visual improvement in a turn-based tactics game is unlikely to justify halving the frame rate. High settings offer a middle ground, but Medium provides the best balance of performance and quality.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X + Intel Arc B370 combination ranks 2721 out of 2949 tested combos in Hard West. This places it in the bottom 7.7% of all configurations. The ranking reflects the GPU's severe limitations rather than the CPU's capabilities.

The 5800X is a high-end processor from 2020, but the Arc B370 is an integrated GPU with a 25 W TDP and system-shared memory. This pairing is inherently imbalanced: the CPU has enough compute power for modern titles, while the GPU struggles with even a 2015 turn-based game at higher resolutions.

The GPU's 5th percentile ranking among all GPUs is the primary driver of this combo's low position. The Arc B370's nearest rivals are all over a decade old, and its 1184 Steel Nomad score is a fraction of what modern discrete GPUs achieve. In Hard West, the GPU bottleneck manifests as poor scaling at higher resolutions, with 4K performance being effectively unplayable.

The combo's rank of 2721 suggests that most other tested configurations deliver better frame rates in Hard West. The 8% of combos that rank lower are likely those with even weaker integrated graphics or older CPUs. For a turn-based tactics game that is not graphically demanding by modern standards, this is a disappointing result.

The data indicates that the 5800X is not the limiting factor. Its 81st percentile CPU ranking and strong single-thread scores mean it can handle the game's logic without issue. The bottleneck is entirely the GPU's fill rate, memory bandwidth, and compute throughput. Users considering this combo for Hard West should expect to play at 1080p with Medium settings at best.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the measured results are as follows: Low averages 26 FPS, Medium averages 21 FPS (18–25 range), High averages 16 FPS, and Ultra averages 12 FPS. All 4K results fall below 30 FPS, making this resolution unsuitable for playable frame rates.

At 2560x1440, the results improve substantially: Low averages 50 FPS, Medium averages 41 FPS (35–47 range), High averages 31 FPS, and Ultra averages 23 FPS. The Medium preset is the only one at 1440p that maintains a minimum above 30 FPS, with a floor of 35 FPS.

At 1920x1080, the results are: Low averages 79 FPS, Medium averages 64 FPS (55–74 range), High averages 49 FPS, and Ultra averages 37 FPS. The Medium preset's range of 55–74 FPS shows consistent performance, while High and Ultra remain above 30 FPS but with lower headroom.

The scaling patterns reveal the GPU's limitations. From 1080p to 1440p, the average FPS drops by approximately 36–38% across presets. From 1440p to 4K, the drop is another 45–50%. This consistent degradation indicates a fill-rate or memory-bandwidth bottleneck rather than a compute limitation.

The difference between Low and Ultra at each resolution is also telling. At 1080p, the spread is 42 FPS (79 to 37). At 1440p, it is 27 FPS (50 to 23). At 4K, it is 14 FPS (26 to 12). The absolute gap narrows as resolution increases because the GPU becomes the limiting factor, making preset changes less impactful.

The minimum FPS data is only available for Medium presets: 18 FPS at 4K, 35 FPS at 1440p, and 55 FPS at 1080p. These figures suggest that Medium at 1080p is the only preset with a comfortable safety margin above 30 FPS. The lack of min/max data for other presets means the averages may conceal occasional dips, but the Medium variance data shows reasonable stability.