Hard West

Hard West is a turn-based tactics title where the AMD Ryzen 7 7700 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 combination delivers exceptional performance, but the data reveals that the GPU becomes the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions. The measured FPS shows a clear pattern: at 1080p the system is capable of frame rates well beyond display refresh rates, while 4K Ultra demands more from the graphics card than it can consistently provide. The combination ranks in the 82nd percentile of all tested configurations for this game, placing it firmly in the top tier of systems capable of running Hard West smoothly.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and tells a clear story about which component bottlenecks first. At 1080p with High settings, the system produces 172 FPS, but this drops to 109 FPS at 1440p and then to 57 FPS at 4K. This represents a 66.9% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K at High settings, which is a substantial hit that indicates the GPU is being pushed to its limits at the higher resolution.

The scaling pattern becomes even more pronounced when examining the Ultra preset. At 1080p Ultra, the system achieves 129 FPS, which falls to 82 FPS at 1440p and plummets to 43 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is particularly telling — 43 FPS is below the 60 FPS threshold that most users consider smooth for this genre. The gap between 1440p and 4K at Ultra settings is a 47.6% drop, which is steeper than the 36.4% drop from 1080p to 1440p. This non-linear degradation confirms that the RTX 5070's 12 GB of GDDR7 memory and 672.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for 1440p but become strained at 4K.

Interestingly, the Low preset shows the least severe scaling. The system delivers 274 FPS at 1080p, 173 FPS at 1440p, and 91 FPS at 4K. Even at 4K Low, the frame rate remains comfortably above 60 FPS, suggesting that when graphical load is minimized, the CPU and GPU combination can still handle the resolution without major issues. The 4K Low result is 52.9% lower than the 1080p Low result, which is the smallest relative drop across all presets. This indicates that the bottleneck shifts toward the GPU as settings increase, but the Ryzen 7 7700 with its 8 cores and 16 threads provides ample headroom for the game's turn-based logic.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Hard West at 4K with playable frame rates?

A: Yes, but only at lower presets. The data shows 4K High produces 57 FPS, while 4K Medium delivers 74 FPS with a minimum of 63 FPS. However, 4K Ultra drops to 43 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the system perform at 1440p, the middle ground resolution?

A: 1440p performance is strong across all presets. High settings yield 109 FPS, Medium produces 142 FPS with a minimum of 121 FPS, and even Ultra maintains 82 FPS. Only the Low preset breaks past 170 FPS, reaching 173 FPS.

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

A: The GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions and settings. At 1080p Low, the system hits 274 FPS, which far exceeds what the RTX 5070 can sustain at 4K Ultra (43 FPS). The 12 GB VRAM and 192-bit memory bus of the GPU are the primary constraints at 4K.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain a 60 FPS minimum?

A: At 1440p, every preset except Ultra maintains well above 60 FPS — even High produces 109 FPS. At 4K, only Medium (74 FPS average, 63 FPS minimum) and Low (91 FPS) stay above 60 FPS. For a guaranteed 60 FPS floor, 1440p is the safe choice.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested systems for Hard West?

A: The combination ranks 667 out of 3,722 tested combos, placing it in the top 17.9% of all configurations. This is a strong showing that reflects the high performance of both the Ryzen 7 7700 and the RTX 5070.

Q: What is the frame time consistency at different settings?

A: Only the Medium preset includes minimum and maximum FPS data across all resolutions. At 1080p, the range is 191–258 FPS; at 1440p, it narrows to 121–163 FPS; at 4K, it tightens to 63–86 FPS. This shows that higher resolutions produce more consistent frame pacing, albeit at lower average speeds.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 combination achieves a rank of 667 out of 3,722 tested combos for Hard West, placing it in the 82nd percentile of all systems. This is a robust result that puts the system in the top fifth of configurations tested, though it is not at the absolute peak of performance. The ranking reflects the balanced nature of this pairing: the CPU's 87th percentile ranking among all processors (with an average benchmark score of 40,081) and the GPU's 82nd percentile ranking (with an average score of 40,377) combine to produce a system that excels in this turn-based title.

The CPU sits in close competition with several rivals. The AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 has an average score of 40,048, just 0.1% behind the Ryzen 7 7700. The Intel Core 5 221E scores 40,144, a 0.2% deficit, while the AMD Ryzen 9 270 achieves 40,246, which is 0.4% lower. The Intel Core i9-13905H trails by 0.6% with a score of 40,313. These tight margins show that the Ryzen 7 7700 is competitively positioned in its class, with no single rival holding a decisive advantage.

On the GPU side, the RTX 5070's nearest rivals show similar parity. The AMD Radeon Pro 580 scores 40,318, a mere 0.1% difference. The AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100 comes in at 40,063, 0.8% behind, while the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 leads by 1.2% with 40,870. The NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile trails by 2.0% with a score of 39,568. These comparisons indicate that the RTX 5070 performs reliably at its tier, and the in-game rank of 667 out of 3,722 reflects this solid, if not class-leading, position.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates across all presets. Low settings produce an average of 274 FPS, which is an excellent result for high-refresh-rate monitors. Medium settings achieve 224 FPS with a minimum of 191 and a maximum of 258, showing strong consistency. High settings drop to 172 FPS, still comfortably above any common refresh rate. Ultra settings produce 129 FPS, which remains highly playable and demonstrates that even the most demanding preset at 1080p does not challenge this hardware significantly.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain strong but show the expected decline. Low settings produce 173 FPS, which is a 36.9% reduction from the 1080p result. Medium settings achieve 142 FPS with a minimum of 121 and a maximum of 163, maintaining the smooth gameplay experience. High settings deliver 109 FPS, which is still ideal for 1440p gaming on most displays. Ultra settings produce 82 FPS, a 36.4% drop from 1080p Ultra, but this remains above the 60 FPS threshold and is perfectly playable.

At 3840x2160, the limitations of the RTX 5070 become apparent. Low settings produce 91 FPS, which is the only preset at this resolution to stay above 90 FPS. Medium settings deliver 74 FPS with a minimum of 63 and a maximum of 86, providing a playable experience with some headroom. High settings drop to 57 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target and may cause noticeable stutter in a turn-based game. Ultra settings produce 43 FPS, which is the weakest result in the entire dataset and indicates that 4K Ultra is not a viable configuration for this combo.

The pattern across all resolutions is consistent: the gap between Low and Ultra widens as resolution increases. At 1080p, the difference between Low (274 FPS) and Ultra (129 FPS) is 145 FPS. At 1440p, this gap narrows to 91 FPS (173 vs. 82). At 4K, it narrows further to 48 FPS (91 vs. 43). This convergence at higher resolutions confirms that the GPU becomes the dominant constraint, as the CPU has sufficient headroom to process the game's logic regardless of graphical settings.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 plays a critical role in determining the frame rates in Hard West, particularly at higher resolutions. The GPU features 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 672.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is adequate for 1080p and 1440p gameplay but becomes a limiting factor at 4K, where the larger frame buffers and higher texture loads demand more memory bandwidth than the card can efficiently provide.

The GPU's clock speeds — 2325 MHz base and 2512 MHz boost — are relatively modest for a 50-series card, but they are sufficient for a game like Hard West that does not rely on intensive real-time rendering. The card's 6,144 shading units and 80 ROPs provide ample pixel processing power, as evidenced by the strong 1080p and 1440p results. However, the 4K Ultra result of 43 FPS suggests that the card's 30.87 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is not enough to maintain high frame rates when all visual effects are enabled at maximum resolution.

The RTX 5070's memory bandwidth of 672.0 GB/s is a key differentiator between the 1440p and 4K results. At 1440p, the card's memory subsystem can feed the shading units efficiently, allowing for 82 FPS at Ultra settings. At 4K, the same settings cause the frame rate to drop to 43 FPS, indicating that the memory bus becomes saturated. The 12 GB VRAM capacity is not the issue — Hard West's texture requirements are modest for a 2015 title — but the combination of higher resolution and Ultra settings pushes the memory bandwidth to its limits.

The GPU's benchmark scores place it in the 82nd percentile of all graphics cards, with an average score of 40,377. This is a solid result that aligns with its in-game performance. The card's nearest rivals show minimal performance differences, with the AMD Radeon Pro 580 just 0.1% behind and the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 just 1.2% ahead. These tight margins suggest that the RTX 5070 is well-positioned in its performance tier, but it does not have the headroom to overcome the 4K Ultra challenge in Hard West.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual quality and performance, the data points to Medium settings at 1440p as the sweet spot for this combo. At 1440p Medium, the system produces 142 FPS with a minimum of 121 FPS and a maximum of 163 FPS, providing a smooth and consistent experience. The minimum FPS of 121 ensures that even the most demanding scenes in Hard West will not drop below playable levels, and the average of 142 FPS is well above the 60 FPS target for most displays.

If the priority is maximum visual fidelity, High settings at 1440p is the recommended choice. This preset delivers 109 FPS, which remains highly playable while offering improved graphical details over Medium. The 109 FPS result is a 23.2% reduction from Medium, but the visual upgrade may be worth the trade-off for players who prioritize image quality over raw frame rates. At 4K, the only presets that maintain a playable frame rate are Medium (74 FPS) and Low (91 FPS). The 4K Medium result includes a minimum of 63 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS threshold, making it the recommended 4K option for a balance of quality and performance.

For players with high-refresh-rate monitors at 1080p, the Ultra preset at 129 FPS is the best choice, as it provides the highest visual quality while still exceeding 120 FPS. The 1080p High preset at 172 FPS is also excellent for 165 Hz displays, but Ultra offers a better visual experience at a marginal frame rate cost. The 4K Ultra preset should be avoided entirely, as the 43 FPS result is below the playable threshold for most users, and the visual difference between Ultra and High at 4K is unlikely to justify the 32.6% performance penalty.