Hard West

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 delivers a robust experience in Hard West, a turn-based tactics title from 2015. The data shows this combination ranks 466th out of 1699 tested combos, placing it in the upper quartile of systems. Across all resolutions tested, the combo maintains playable framerates, with performance scaling predictably from 1080p to 4K. The following analysis breaks down the measured results, settings behavior, and the distinct roles played by the CPU and GPU in this specific game.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution to play Hard West with this hardware?*

A: The data shows 1920x1080 provides the highest framerates, with an average of 232 FPS at Low settings and 119 FPS at Ultra. At 2560x1440, the average drops to 162.7 FPS on Low and 75.7 FPS on Ultra. For 4K, the averages are 84.7 FPS on Low and 41.8 FPS on Ultra.

Q: How does the RTX 4070's memory configuration affect 4K performance?

A: The RTX 4070 has 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. The 4K results show a steep drop from Medium (70.2 FPS) to Ultra (41.8 FPS), suggesting that the higher settings at this resolution place considerable demand on memory throughput, though the 12 GB capacity is not exceeded.

Q: Is the Ryzen 7 5800X3D a bottleneck in this game?

A: Benchmark data indicates the CPU is not a limiting factor. The processor scores 24,063 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 3,397 in single-core tests. At 1080p, the framerate reaches 232 FPS on Low, which is well above typical display refresh rates, showing the CPU can feed the GPU efficiently even at lower resolutions.

Q: What settings preset provides the smoothest experience at 4K?

A: The measured data shows that High settings at 3840x2160 yield an average of 55.6 FPS. This is the only 4K preset that stays above the 50 FPS threshold. Low settings reach 84.7 FPS but sacrifice visual quality, while Medium (70.2 FPS) and Ultra (41.8 FPS) bracket the High preset.

Q: How does this combo compare to other systems in the database?

A: The combo ranks 466th out of 1699 tested combinations, placing it in the 73rd percentile of all tested systems. This ranking reflects the balance between the 8-core CPU and the mid-range GPU, which together handle Hard West without severe framerate drops.

Q: What is the framerate difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p?

A: The measured data shows a difference of 87 FPS. Low settings average 162.7 FPS, while Ultra settings average 75.7 FPS. This represents a 53% reduction in framerate when moving from the lowest to the highest preset.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance for optimal settings. At 1920x1080, all presets are playable, with even Ultra averaging 119 FPS. The jump from High (161.9 FPS) to Ultra (119 FPS) is a 27% decrease, making High the recommended preset for 1080p if visual fidelity is secondary to raw framerate.

At 2560x1440, the trade-off becomes more pronounced. High settings produce 99.9 FPS, which is excellent for most displays. Medium settings yield 134.1 FPS, offering a 34% improvement over High while presumably maintaining decent visuals. Ultra drops to 75.7 FPS, which is still playable but represents a 24% reduction from High. For 1440p, Medium provides the best balance between framerate headroom and visual quality.

At 3840x2160, the options narrow significantly. Ultra averages 41.8 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay. High settings reach 55.6 FPS, which is marginally below 60 but acceptable for a turn-based game. Medium hits 70.2 FPS, providing a comfortable buffer. Low settings reach 84.7 FPS but strip away most visual effects. The data suggests Medium is the optimal 4K preset, as it maintains fluid motion while retaining more detail than Low.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 plays the primary role in determining framerates at higher resolutions. With 5,888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs, the GPU has substantial raw compute capacity. The 12 GB of GDDR6X memory operates at 1313 MHz, providing 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth across a 192-bit interface. The boost clock of 2475 MHz allows the card to sustain high throughput during demanding scenes.

The GPU's percentile ranking (81st among all GPUs) reflects its mid-to-high-end positioning. In Hard West, the GPU's influence grows with resolution. At 1080p, the difference between Low (232 FPS) and Ultra (119 FPS) is 113 FPS, showing that even at lower resolutions, graphics settings significantly impact performance. At 4K, the same comparison shows a 42.9 FPS difference (84.7 vs 41.8), indicating that the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck at higher pixel counts.

The memory bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s appears sufficient for this game's needs. The 4K Ultra result of 41.8 FPS suggests that the GPU's compute resources, rather than memory capacity, are the limiting factor at the highest settings. The card's 29.15 TFLOPS FP32 performance provides ample compute for a turn-based tactics title, but the Ultra preset at 4K still exceeds what the GPU can render in real time.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination holds the 466th position out of 1,699 tested combos in Hard West. This places the system in the top 27% of all configurations in the database. The ranking reflects a balanced pairing where neither component dramatically bottlenecks the other.

The CPU's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks provide context for its performance tier. The AMD EPYC 8024P scores 26,555 (0.1% higher), the Intel Core i9-11900K scores 26,546 (0.1% higher), and the AMD Ryzen 5 7600 scores 26,617 (0.2% higher). The Ryzen 7 5800X3D's average benchmark score of 26,574 sits within a narrow band of these competitors, showing that CPU performance is consistent with other high-end desktop processors.

The GPU's nearest rivals show a similar pattern. The AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 scores 37,507 (0.6% higher), while the NVIDIA GeForce MX570 A scores 38,008 (1.9% higher). The RTX 4070's average benchmark score of 37,283 places it slightly below these rivals, yet its real-world performance in Hard West is strong enough to achieve the 466th combo ranking. The delta percentages indicate that synthetic benchmarks do not perfectly predict gaming performance, as the RTX 4070's architecture is optimized for newer workloads.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D brings 8 cores and 16 threads based on the Zen 3 architecture, codenamed Vermeer. The processor runs at a base clock of 3.40 GHz and boosts up to 4.50 GHz. The 96 MB of shared L3 cache is a defining feature, providing substantial memory for game logic and asset streaming. The CPU's 105 W TDP and dual-channel DDR4 memory support (51.2 GB/s bandwidth) round out the package.

In Hard West, a turn-based tactics game, the CPU's role is primarily to handle game logic, unit AI, and pathfinding calculations. The 3DMark results show strong multithreaded performance (7,299 for 16 threads) and respectable single-thread scores (884 for single-thread). The Cinebench R20 single-core score of 1,426 indicates that the CPU can handle the per-thread workloads common in strategy games.

The CPU's impact on framerates is most visible at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 232 FPS, which is likely near the CPU's frame generation limit. At 1440p Low, the framerate drops to 162.7 FPS, showing that the GPU begins to take over as the limiting factor. The 4K Low result of 84.7 FPS further demonstrates that the CPU maintains adequate frame pacing even when the GPU is heavily loaded.

The 8-core, 16-thread configuration is well-suited for Hard West, which may not utilize all threads but benefits from the high single-thread performance. The 3DMark 8-thread score of 5,906 shows that the CPU scales well with moderate thread counts, ensuring smooth performance during complex turn calculations.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured framerates are consistently high. Low settings average 232 FPS, Medium settings average 209.4 FPS, High settings average 161.9 FPS, and Ultra settings average 119 FPS. The progression shows a 48.7% reduction from Low to Ultra, with the most significant drop occurring between Medium and High (47.5 FPS).

At 2560x1440, the averages are 162.7 FPS (Low), 134.1 FPS (Medium), 99.9 FPS (High), and 75.7 FPS (Ultra). The percentage decrease from Low to Ultra is 53.5%, which is slightly steeper than at 1080p. The gap between High and Ultra narrows to 24.2 FPS, suggesting diminishing returns at the highest preset.

At 3840x2160, the averages are 84.7 FPS (Low), 70.2 FPS (Medium), 55.6 FPS (High), and 41.8 FPS (Ultra). This represents a 50.6% reduction from Low to Ultra. The framerate at High (55.6 FPS) is just below the 60 FPS target, while Medium (70.2 FPS) provides a comfortable margin. The data shows that 4K Ultra is not viable for consistent 60 FPS gameplay with this hardware, but Medium and High offer playable experiences.

The resolution scaling pattern is consistent across settings. Moving from 1080p to 1440p reduces framerates by approximately 30-36% depending on the preset. Moving from 1440p to 4K reduces framerates by an additional 45-48%. This scaling suggests that the GPU's memory bandwidth and compute resources are the primary constraints at higher resolutions, while the CPU maintains adequate performance throughout.