Hard West

Hard West is a turn-based tactics title from 2015, and this particular pairing—AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D—produces a dataset that is heavily skewed toward the GPU being the primary performance driver. The measured frames per second across all resolutions and settings are exceptionally high, indicating that the game’s engine is not demanding by modern standards. The data shows a clear hierarchy where visual quality presets have a more pronounced impact on frame rates than resolution changes, which is a classic sign of a GPU-bound scenario at the highest settings, but also reveals surprising CPU headroom at lower presets. This analysis will break down the measured FPS, provide actionable settings recommendations, and contextualize how this specific hardware combo ranks against other tested configurations.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the best experience balances visual fidelity with the high refresh rate potential of this hardware. At 1080p, the Ultra preset delivers an average of 187 FPS, which is already far beyond the refresh rate of most standard monitors. However, the step down to High at 1080p yields 212 FPS, a 25 FPS increase, while Medium provides 233 FPS and Low tops out at 250 FPS. Given that the game is a turn-based tactics title where precise frame timing is less critical than in fast-paced shooters, the Ultra preset at 1080p is entirely playable and offers the most complete visual package. The data does not show any min FPS for Ultra, but the average of 187 FPS suggests there is ample performance headroom.

For 1440p, the recommendation shifts. The High preset delivers 158 FPS, while Ultra drops to 118 FPS. The 40 FPS gap between these two settings is substantial, and for a 1440p monitor with a 144Hz or 165Hz refresh rate, High is the optimal choice. It maintains a frame rate that comfortably exceeds typical refresh rates while still providing a significant visual upgrade over Medium, which runs at 200 FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p has a measured min FPS of 170 and a max of 230, showing excellent frame consistency, but High’s average of 158 FPS is still high enough to avoid any perceptible stutter in a turn-based game. Ultra at 1440p, while playable, sacrifices too much average performance for marginal visual gains that are hard to discern in a game with this art style.

At 4K, the choice becomes more critical. The Ultra preset drops to 62 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold that many consider the minimum for smooth gameplay, though it is still playable for turn-based tactics. High, however, provides a much more comfortable 83 FPS average, which is a 34% improvement over Ultra. Medium offers 108 FPS, and Low runs at 131 FPS. For 4K, the High preset is the clear recommendation. It stays above 60 FPS with a solid margin, and the visual difference between High and Ultra is typically less noticeable at higher resolutions due to pixel density. The data shows that the RTX 5090 D is powerful enough to handle 4K High without issue, making Ultra an unnecessary risk for frame rate stability.

The overall consensus from the data is that High is the “sweet spot” preset for this combo across all resolutions. At 1080p, it provides 212 FPS; at 1440p, 158 FPS; and at 4K, 83 FPS. This preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance headroom. While Ultra is viable at 1080p and 1440p, the performance cost is disproportionately high compared to the visual benefit, especially when the game’s turn-based nature means you are not chasing every last frame.

FAQ

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT a bottleneck for the RTX 5090 D in Hard West?

A: The data does not indicate a significant CPU bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 250 FPS, and at 1440p Low it hits 215 FPS, showing that the CPU can feed the GPU at very high frame rates. The bottleneck becomes more apparent at 4K Ultra, where the GPU is likely the limiting factor, but the CPU’s performance is sufficient to avoid crippling frame drops.

Q: What is the performance difference between 1080p and 4K at the High preset?

A: At 1080p High, the average FPS is 212. At 4K High, the average FPS is 83. This represents a 61% reduction in frame rate when moving from 1080p to 4K, which is a substantial drop but still leaves the game running at a smooth and playable level.

Q: How does the RTX 5090 D’s performance in this game compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RTX 5090 D has an average benchmark score of 77712, which is 1.1% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT (76904) and 1.6% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (78940). This suggests that in general compute tasks, it is very closely matched with those GPUs, though game-specific performance can vary.

Q: Is the Ultra preset ever worth using with this hardware?

A: Yes, but only at 1080p and 1440p if you have a high refresh rate monitor and prioritize maximum visual fidelity. At 1080p Ultra, the average FPS is 187, and at 1440p Ultra it is 118. At 4K Ultra, the 62 FPS average makes it a less attractive option, and High is recommended instead.

Q: Does the game benefit from the CPU’s 8-core, 16-thread configuration?

A: Hard West is a turn-based tactics game, which typically does not scale well with many cores. However, the Ryzen 7 5800XT’s 8 cores and 16 threads ensure that background tasks and game logic do not cause frame drops. The CPU’s strong single-thread performance (a 3dmark single-thread score of 959) is more relevant for this genre than its multi-threaded capability.

Q: What is the combo’s overall ranking among all tested hardware combinations?

A: This specific combo ranks 87th out of 2949 tested combinations. This places it in the top 3% of all configurations, indicating that it is a high-performing pairing for this game, even though it is not the absolute top.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT is a Zen 3 (Vermeer) architecture CPU with 8 cores and 16 threads, base clocked at 3.80 GHz and boosting up to 4.80 GHz. In the context of Hard West, which is a turn-based tactics game, the CPU’s role is less about raw rendering power and more about maintaining a stable frame pipeline. The data shows that the CPU is capable of delivering very high frame rates at lower settings, as evidenced by the 250 FPS average at 1080p Low. This suggests that the game’s logic and unit pathfinding are not heavily taxing the processor.

The CPU’s benchmark results are telling. It scores 23794 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 3359 in single-core. The single-core score is crucial for this genre, as turn-based games often rely on a single thread for game state updates and AI calculations. The CPU’s 3dmark single-thread score of 959 and 2-thread score of 1879 indicate that its single-thread performance is solid, which helps prevent AI turn calculations from causing hitches. However, the game’s frame rate is clearly more dependent on the GPU, as seen when comparing the 4K Ultra (62 FPS) to the 1080p Ultra (187 FPS) results.

The CPU’s 32 MB of shared L3 cache and 7 nm process node (with 4,150 million transistors) contribute to its efficiency, but for Hard West, the data suggests that the GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions and settings. At 4K, the gap between Low (131 FPS) and Ultra (62 FPS) is 69 FPS, which is a GPU-driven difference. At 1080p, the gap between Low (250 FPS) and Ultra (187 FPS) is only 63 FPS, showing that even at lower resolutions, the GPU is still doing most of the heavy lifting. The CPU’s 16 threads are likely underutilized, but their presence ensures that the system does not become CPU-bound in any scenario, which is a good thing for frame time consistency.

How This Combo Ranks

This combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is ranked 87th out of 2949 tested combos in Hard West. This places it in the 97th percentile, meaning it outperforms 97% of all other tested hardware pairings. This is an excellent result, though it is not the top configuration. The ranking indicates that this setup is overkill for Hard West, as the game is not particularly demanding, but the high rank reflects the sheer power of the RTX 5090 D.

To put this in perspective, the CPU’s nearest rivals in general benchmarks include the AMD Ryzen 7 7840H (with a deltaPct of 0) and the AMD Ryzen 5 9600X (with a deltaPct of 0.6). The GPU’s nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT (deltaPct of 1.1) and the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (deltaPct of -1.6). These rival comparisons are based on average benchmark scores, not game-specific performance. In Hard West, the combo’s rank of 87 suggests that while the individual components are powerful, there may be other combos that push even higher frame rates, likely with CPUs that have even stronger single-thread performance or GPUs that are better optimized for this specific title.

The high rank is primarily due to the RTX 5090 D’s immense power. The GPU has an average benchmark score of 77712, which is in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs. This is a top-tier card, and its performance in Hard West is consistent with its general capabilities. The CPU, with an average benchmark score of 29879 and being in the 81st percentile, is also strong, but it is not the main reason for the combo’s high ranking. The data suggests that if you were to pair this CPU with a less powerful GPU, the ranking would drop significantly, whereas pairing this GPU with a slightly weaker CPU would still result in a high rank.

Resolution Scaling

The data shows a clear and expected trend: as resolution increases, average FPS decreases. At the High preset, the average FPS goes from 212 at 1080p, to 158 at 1440p, and down to 83 at 4K. This is a 61% drop from 1080p to 4K, which is a significant reduction but not unexpected for a game that is not heavily optimized for high resolutions. The interesting part is how the scaling differs across presets.

At the Low preset, the FPS drops from 250 at 1080p to 215 at 1440p (a 14% decrease) and then to 131 at 4K (a 39% decrease from 1440p). This shows that at low settings, the GPU is able to maintain high frame rates, but the move to 4K still taxes it heavily. At the Ultra preset, the FPS drops from 187 at 1080p to 118 at 1440p (a 37% decrease) and then to 62 at 4K (a 47% decrease from 1440p). This suggests that at Ultra settings, the GPU is working much harder, and the resolution scaling has a more pronounced effect.

This scaling pattern indicates that the GPU is the limiting component at higher resolutions and settings. The RTX 5090 D, despite its power, is being pushed to its limits at 4K Ultra, where it only manages 62 FPS. At 1080p, the GPU has plenty of headroom, and the CPU is able to keep up, as evidenced by the high frame rates. The fact that the FPS drop from 1080p to 1440p is smaller (around 25-37% depending on the preset) than the drop from 1440p to 4K (around 39-47%) further confirms that the GPU is struggling with the pixel count at 4K, rather than the CPU being a bottleneck. This is a classic sign of a GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions, where the CPU’s capabilities are less relevant.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive look at performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the combo achieves its highest frame rates. With the Low preset, the average FPS is a very high 250. Moving to Medium, the average drops to 233 FPS, with a min of 198 and a max of 268. The High preset yields 212 FPS, and the Ultra preset drops to 187 FPS. All of these averages are well above 144Hz, meaning that even at Ultra, the game will run smoothly on high refresh rate monitors. The frame time consistency is not fully documented for all presets, but the Medium preset shows a spread of 70 FPS between min and max, indicating some variance.

At 2560x1440, the performance remains very strong. The Low preset averages 215 FPS, which is a 14% drop from 1080p Low. The Medium preset averages 200 FPS, with a min of 170 and a max of 230. The High preset averages 158 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 118 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra is 97 FPS, which is significant. This resolution is the sweet spot for this combo, as it allows for high frame rates with the High preset (158 FPS) while still providing excellent visual quality. The data shows that even at 1440p Ultra, the average FPS is above 100, making it a viable option for those who prioritize visuals over raw frame rate.

At 3840x2160 (4K), the performance drops considerably. The Low preset averages 131 FPS, which is still very playable. The Medium preset averages 108 FPS, with a min of 92 and a max of 124. The High preset averages 83 FPS, which is a comfortable margin above 60 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 62 FPS, which is right at the edge of what is considered smooth. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 69 FPS, which is the largest absolute drop across all resolutions. This data strongly suggests that 4K Ultra is not the best choice for this combo, as the High preset provides a 34% performance improvement while looking nearly as good. The Medium preset at 4K, with an average of 108 FPS, is a fantastic option for those who want high frame rates at 4K without sacrificing too much visual fidelity.