Hard West

Hard West, a turn-based tactics title from late 2015, presents an interesting benchmark scenario for the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 combination. The measured frame rates across resolutions and settings reveal a system that is heavily GPU-limited at higher graphical presets, yet shows signs of CPU influence at the most demanding configurations. This pairing, ranked 345th out of 1699 tested combinations for this game, delivers a broad spectrum of performance, from exceptionally high refresh-rate capability at 1080p to a playable, though not flawless, 4K experience.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial and clearly demonstrates where the bottleneck lies. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 172.5 FPS at 1920x1080 to 107.8 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 37.5%. Moving to 3840x2160, the frame rate drops further to 58.9 FPS, which is a 65.9% decrease from the 1080p figure. This steep decline is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario; the rendering workload at 4K is immense, overwhelming the RTX 5070's capabilities.

The scaling pattern confirms that the GeForce RTX 5070 is the primary limiting component at higher resolutions. The data shows a clear and consistent decrease in performance as pixel count increases, which is the expected behavior when the graphics card's fill rate and shading power are saturated. The RTX 5070, with its 80 ROPs and a pixel rate of 201.0 GPixel/s, is being pushed to its limits. The gap between 1440p and 4K is particularly wide, suggesting that the jump in pixel count from 3.7 million to 8.3 million is a significant hurdle for this GPU in Hard West. The benchmark results indicate that users targeting 4K will need to make compromises on settings, while 1440p offers a much more comfortable performance envelope.

GPU Role

The RTX 5070's specifications are central to interpreting its performance. It features 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 672.0 GB/s. This is a substantial amount of bandwidth for a game like Hard West, which is unlikely to be memory-bandwidth limited. The GPU's core configuration includes 6144 shading units and 192 texture mapping units, with a texture rate of 482.3 GTexel/s. These figures contribute to the card's raw processing power, which is more than sufficient for a title of this generation.

The GPU's clock speeds are also a factor. With a base clock of 2325 MHz and a boost clock of 2512 MHz, the card operates at high frequencies. The measured frame rates show that at 1080p and 1440p with Low and Medium settings, the GPU is able to produce very high frame rates, up to 247.1 FPS at 1080p Low. However, the scaling to 4K Ultra, which yields only 42.4 FPS, indicates that the card's compute and rasterization resources are fully engaged. The benchmark data suggests that while the RTX 5070 is a powerful GPU, its performance in Hard West is finite and the demanding nature of 4K Ultra settings proves to be a significant challenge. The GPU's 83rd percentile ranking among all GPUs is reflected in its ability to handle most scenarios, but the absolute top-end settings remain out of reach for smooth, high-refresh-rate play.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X is a high-end desktop processor built on the Zen 3 architecture, featuring 8 cores and 16 threads. With a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz, it provides strong single-threaded performance, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3327. This is crucial for turn-based tactics games, which often rely heavily on a single thread for game logic and AI calculations. The processor's multi-threaded capabilities are also robust, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 23571, but Hard West's gameplay is unlikely to fully utilize all 16 threads.

The CPU's role in this benchmark appears to be a supporting one, ensuring that the GPU is not starved of data. The high frame rates at 1080p, particularly at Low settings (247.1 FPS), suggest that the Ryzen 7 5800X is more than capable of feeding the RTX 5070 in less demanding scenes. However, the data hints at potential CPU limitations at the highest settings. The difference between 1440p High (107.8 FPS) and 1080p High (172.5 FPS) is 64.7 FPS, but the difference between 4K High (58.9 FPS) and 1440p High is 48.9 FPS. This narrowing of the performance gap as resolution increases points to the GPU becoming the sole bottleneck, freeing the CPU from being a constraint. The 5800X, ranking in the 84th percentile of all CPUs, provides a solid foundation. Its performance is closely matched by rivals like the AMD Ryzen 7 5800 and Intel Core i5-12600KF, which have average benchmark scores within 0.8% of the 5800X, indicating that this CPU is not an outlier in its class.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across the board. At 1920x1080, the system is exceptionally fast. Low settings produce an average of 247.1 FPS, while Medium and High settings yield 224.5 FPS and 172.5 FPS, respectively. Even at Ultra settings, the average frame rate is a very playable 131.2 FPS. This resolution is clearly where the RTX 5070 and Ryzen 7 5800X combination excels, offering high-refresh-rate performance even with maximum graphical fidelity.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains strong but shows the expected decline. Low settings average 176.9 FPS, which drops to 142.1 FPS at Medium and 107.8 FPS at High. Ultra settings are still smooth at 84 FPS. This is a sweet spot for the hardware, balancing visual quality with high frame rates. The step down from 1080p is significant, but 1440p remains a very viable option for competitive or visually rich play.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's limits are reached. Low settings average 90.4 FPS, which is still respectable. Medium settings drop to 75.8 FPS, and High settings fall to 58.9 FPS. Ultra settings are the most demanding, yielding an average of just 42.4 FPS. The data shows that 4K gaming with this hardware is possible, but users will need to select Medium or High settings to maintain a consistent 60 FPS experience.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for the RTX 5070 and Ryzen 7 5800X in Hard West?

A: Based on the measured data, 2560x1440 offers the best balance. At High settings, the system achieves 107.8 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold. 1920x1080 is also excellent, with 172.5 FPS at High, but 1440p provides a significant visual upgrade with only a manageable performance cost.

Q: Can this hardware run Hard West at 4K with high settings?

A: Yes, but with a caveat. At 3840x2160 with High settings, the average frame rate is 58.9 FPS, which is just shy of a locked 60 FPS. For a more comfortable margin, users could opt for Medium settings, which yield 75.8 FPS, or accept the slight compromise of High settings.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the main bottleneck in this game?

A: The benchmark results clearly indicate the GPU is the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions and settings. The steep FPS drops from 1080p to 4K are characteristic of a GPU-bound workload. The CPU's high single-threaded performance (Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3327) ensures it is not a constraint at most settings, but the GPU's 4K Ultra score of 42.4 FPS shows its limits.

Q: How does the RTX 5070 compare to other GPUs in this test?

A: The RTX 5070 has an average benchmark score of 41687 and ranks in the 83rd percentile of all GPUs. Its closest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090, has an average score of 41441, which is 0.6% lower, indicating comparable overall performance. This context helps explain why the 5070 handles most scenarios well but struggles with 4K Ultra settings.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the difference is substantial. Low settings average 247.1 FPS, while Ultra settings average 131.2 FPS. This represents a 46.9% reduction in frame rate when moving from the lowest to the highest graphical preset, showing the significant GPU workload increase from visual effects.

Q: How consistent is the performance across different settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the frame rate scales consistently with settings. The data shows a clear progression: Low at 176.9 FPS, Medium at 142.1 FPS, High at 107.8 FPS, and Ultra at 84 FPS. This smooth scaling suggests a well-balanced system where the GPU's workload increases predictably with each graphical enhancement.