Hard West

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 combination delivers a playable experience in Hard West, but it is constrained heavily by resolution and settings. The data shows a system that is far more capable at 1080p than at 4K, with the GPU acting as the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, while the CPU’s strong multi-threaded performance ensures the game remains fluid at lower settings.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a predictable but steep decline in performance as resolution increases. At 1080p with High settings, the combo achieves 90.3 FPS, which drops to 58.5 FPS at 1440p, and further to 29.4 FPS at 4K. This represents a 67% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K, indicating that the RTX 2060 is the limiting component at higher resolutions. The GPU’s 6 GB of VRAM and 336.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth are simply not sufficient to maintain high frame rates at 4K, where pixel throughput demands are significantly higher.

The scaling pattern becomes more telling when examining the Low preset. At 1080p Low, the system hits 144.5 FPS, which is a 60% improvement over High settings. At 1440p Low, the frame rate is 90.7 FPS, and at 4K Low it is 45.3 FPS. The fact that even at 4K Low, the frame rate is nearly double that of 4K High (45.3 vs 29.4) confirms that the GPU is the primary constraint. The CPU’s 8 cores and 16 threads are capable of feeding the GPU at all resolutions, but the RTX 2060’s 1920 shading units and 6.451 TFLOPS FP32 performance become saturated as resolution climbs.

The data suggests that the sweet spot for this combo is 1440p, where the frame rate remains above 58 FPS on High settings. At 1080p, the system is clearly CPU-bound at Low settings, as evidenced by the 144.5 FPS cap, which is likely near the engine’s limit for a turn-based tactics title. At 4K, the system struggles even on Medium, with 38.6 FPS, making it borderline unplayable for smooth gameplay.

How This Combo Ranks

This hardware pairing ranks 1404 out of 1699 tested combos in Hard West, placing it in the bottom 17% of all configurations. This is a surprisingly low ranking for a system with a modern 8-core CPU, but it reflects the age and performance tier of the RTX 2060 relative to other GPUs in the database. The GPU’s percentile rank of 58 against all GPUs indicates it is mid-range, but in a game that is not heavily threaded, the CPU’s advantage is minimized.

The RTX 2060’s nearest rivals show a tight cluster of performance. It is 0.5% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 7600S and 1.8% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro W5500, but 1.7% behind both the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M and AMD Radeon Pro 5700. This means the GPU is essentially on par with other mid-range offerings from the same era, and its 58th percentile ranking confirms it is not a high-end part. The combo’s rank of 1404 is thus a direct consequence of the GPU’s mid-tier status, not a reflection of the CPU.

When considering the CPU alone, the Ryzen 7 7700 ranks in the 91st percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 40468. It is 0.1% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 7940H and 0.5% ahead of the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365, but 0.6% behind the Intel Core i9-13905H. This high CPU ranking does little to lift the overall combo rank, because Hard West is a turn-based tactics game that does not heavily utilize multi-threaded performance. The data indicates that the GPU is the dominant factor in determining the combo’s position.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700 is a Zen 4 architecture processor on the AM5 socket, featuring 8 cores and 16 threads with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. Its benchmark results are strong: it scores 29302 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 4136 in single-core, with a Passmark multi-thread score of 34470. These numbers place it in the 91st percentile of all CPUs, indicating it is a high-end processor for desktop workloads.

In Hard West, the CPU’s role is relatively minor due to the game’s turn-based nature. The 16 threads are unlikely to be fully utilized, as the game logic and AI calculations do not scale linearly across cores. The single-thread performance, however, is crucial for maintaining a stable frame rate. The 3DMark single-thread score of 1049 and Cinebench R15 single-core score of 416 suggest that the CPU is more than capable of handling the game’s main thread. The 32 MB of shared L3 cache also helps reduce latency for game data.

The fact that the system reaches 144.5 FPS at 1080p Low suggests the CPU is not a bottleneck at lower resolutions. The CPU’s 5.30 GHz boost clock and Zen 4 architecture provide ample single-threaded performance for a game released in 2015. The lack of a significant frame rate difference between 1080p High (90.3 FPS) and 1440p High (58.5 FPS) indicates that the GPU becomes the limiting factor quickly, while the CPU has headroom to spare.

FAQ

Q: Why does the frame rate drop so much from 1080p to 4K?

A: The RTX 2060’s 6 GB VRAM and 336.0 GB/s bandwidth are inadequate for 4K rendering. The GPU’s 6.451 TFLOPS FP32 performance is the bottleneck, causing the frame rate to fall from 90.3 FPS at 1080p High to 29.4 FPS at 4K High.

Q: Is the Ryzen 7 7700 a good match for this game?

A: Yes, but its performance is underutilized. The CPU ranks in the 91st percentile overall, but Hard West does not heavily use multi-threading. The 8 cores and 16 threads are more than sufficient, but the GPU becomes the limiting factor beyond 1080p.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo?

A: 1440p is the sweet spot. The system achieves 58.5 FPS on High settings, which is playable, while 4K struggles on all presets, with the highest frame rate being 45.3 FPS on Low.

Q: How does this combo compare to similar hardware?

A: The GPU is 0.5% faster than the AMD Radeon RX 7600S and 1.8% faster than the AMD Radeon Pro W5500, but 1.7% slower than the AMD Radeon Pro 5700. The CPU is 0.1% faster than the AMD Ryzen 9 7940H.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU limit performance more?

A: The GPU is the primary limit at resolutions above 1080p. The CPU can push 144.5 FPS at 1080p Low, but the GPU cannot maintain high frame rates at 4K, confirming the GPU is the bottleneck.

Q: Is this a high-ranking combo?

A: No, it ranks 1404 out of 1699 combos, placing it in the bottom 17%. This is due to the RTX 2060’s mid-tier status (58th percentile), not the CPU’s performance.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is a Turing architecture GPU with a TU106 chip, manufactured on a 12 nm process. It features 1920 shading units, 120 texture mapping units, and 48 raster output units, with 30 RT cores and 240 tensor cores. Its base clock is 1365 MHz, boosting to 1680 MHz, and it has 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU’s Passmark G3D score is 14111, placing it in the 58th percentile of all GPUs.

In Hard West, the GPU’s role is to handle the game’s lighting, shadows, and particle effects. The data shows that the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K, where the frame rate on Ultra is just 21.3 FPS and on High is 29.4 FPS. The GPU’s 6 GB VRAM is likely a constraint at 4K, as the game may require more memory for high-resolution textures. At 1440p, the GPU performs better, with 58.5 FPS on High, but still struggles on Ultra at 43 FPS.

The GPU’s compute performance, with a Passmark GPU compute score of 5488, is not a major factor in this turn-based game. The Geekbench OpenCL score of 71278 and Vulkan score of 67425 show the GPU is capable, but the game’s engine likely relies on traditional rasterization. The RTX 2060’s 6.451 TFLOPS FP32 performance is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but not for 4K, where the pixel fill rate of 80.64 GPixel/s is overwhelmed.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance on the optimal settings for this combo. At 1080p, the High preset delivers 90.3 FPS, which is smooth and visually appealing. The Medium preset at 116.2 FPS offers a higher frame rate with a modest visual trade-off, while Low at 144.5 FPS is the maximum performance option. The Ultra preset at 67.4 FPS is playable but offers diminishing returns over High.

For 1440p, the High preset at 58.5 FPS is the recommended choice, as it provides a good balance of visual quality and performance. The Medium preset at 75.2 FPS is also viable for players who prefer higher frame rates, while Low at 90.7 FPS is the smoothest option. The Ultra preset at 43 FPS should be avoided, as it dips below the 45 FPS threshold for comfortable gameplay.

At 4K, the system is not capable of a consistent 60 FPS experience. The Low preset at 45.3 FPS is the only playable option, while Medium at 38.6 FPS and High at 29.4 FPS are too choppy. The Ultra preset at 21.3 FPS is unplayable. Therefore, the best experience is achieved at 1080p with High settings, which offers a solid 90.3 FPS, or at 1440p with High settings for a sharper image at 58.5 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The exact measured frame rates are as follows. At 1920x1080, the system achieves 144.5 FPS on Low, 116.2 FPS on Medium, 90.3 FPS on High, and 67.4 FPS on Ultra. At 2560x1440, the frame rates are 90.7 FPS on Low, 75.2 FPS on Medium, 58.5 FPS on High, and 43 FPS on Ultra. At 3840x2160, the frame rates drop to 45.3 FPS on Low, 38.6 FPS on Medium, 29.4 FPS on High, and 21.3 FPS on Ultra.

These numbers highlight a clear pattern: the RTX 2060 can deliver high frame rates at 1080p, with the Low preset nearly hitting 145 FPS, but it struggles to maintain 60 FPS at 1440p on High. The 4K results are consistently below 50 FPS, even on Low, confirming that this resolution is not viable for this hardware combo. The data provides a definitive guide for players: stick to 1080p or 1440p, and use the High preset for the best balance of visual quality and performance.