Hard West

# CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700X is an 8-core, 16-thread processor built on the Zen 4 architecture, with a base clock of 4.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. This is a desktop part from the 7000 series, released in September 2022, and it sits on the AMD Socket AM5 platform with DDR5 memory support. The CPU's benchmark scores are strong: it achieves a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 30,325 and a single-core score of 4,281, which places it in the 89th percentile among all CPUs.

For a turn-based tactics game like Hard West, the CPU's role is less about raw frame-pushing and more about maintaining consistent turn processing and AI logic. The 8-core, 16-thread configuration provides substantial headroom for background tasks while the game runs. However, the measured FPS data suggests that Hard West is not heavily CPU-bound at most settings. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo hits 247.2 FPS, which is far beyond what any display would need. Even at 4K Ultra, the average drops to 38 FPS, indicating that the GPU becomes the limiting factor as resolution and quality increase.

The Ryzen 7 7700X's single-thread performance is particularly relevant here. Its Geekbench single-core score of 2,985 and Cinebench R20 single-core score of 1,798 show strong per-thread capability, which matters for games that rely on a primary simulation thread. The CPU's 32 MB of shared L3 cache, along with 1 MB of L2 per core, helps keep frequently accessed game data close at hand. Compared to its nearest rivals, the Ryzen 7 7700X is essentially neck-and-neck: it trails the Intel Core i5-13500 by just 0.4% in average benchmark score, and it leads the Intel Core Ultra 7 165H by 0.8%. This means that for Hard West, the CPU is unlikely to be the bottleneck unless the system is running at very low resolutions with minimal graphics settings.

# Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

The measured FPS data for Hard West across three resolutions and four quality presets reveals a clear pattern. At 1080p, all settings deliver playable frame rates, but the gap between presets is substantial. Low settings produce 247.2 FPS, Medium drops to 203.8 FPS, High comes in at 154.6 FPS, and Ultra falls to 115.1 FPS. The step from Medium to High costs about 49 FPS, while the step from High to Ultra costs another 39.5 FPS. For a turn-based tactics game, anything above 60 FPS is generally smooth, so even Ultra at 1080p is comfortable.

At 1440p, the same pattern holds but with lower absolute numbers. Low settings yield 153.8 FPS, Medium produces 127 FPS, High reaches 98.6 FPS, and Ultra drops to 72.8 FPS. The Ultra preset still clears the 60 FPS threshold, making it a viable choice for players with 1440p displays who prioritize visual fidelity. The drop from High to Ultra here is 25.8 FPS, which is noticeable but not game-breaking.

At 4K, the situation changes dramatically. Low settings manage 81.1 FPS, Medium drops to 70.1 FPS, High falls to 48.7 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 38 FPS. The High and Ultra presets at 4K fall below the 60 FPS mark, which may cause visible stutter in a turn-based game where camera pans and animations are frequent. The data suggests that the best experience at 4K is Medium, which stays above 70 FPS while still offering improved visuals over Low. For players who prioritize frame rate above all, Low at 4K is the safest choice, but Medium provides the best balance of visual quality and smoothness at this resolution.

# FAQ

Q: What is the combo's overall rank in Hard West?

A: The AMD Ryzen 7 7700X + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 combination ranks 501st out of 1,699 tested combos in this game, placing it in the upper third of all systems tested.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Ryzen 7 7700X has an average benchmark score of 34,313. It is 0.4% behind the Intel Core i5-13500 (34,175), 0.5% behind the Intel Core i7-12800HX (34,136), 0.8% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 7 165H (34,584), and 0.8% ahead of the AMD EPYC 4244P (34,599). These differences are negligible for gaming purposes.

Q: Can this system run Hard West at 4K Ultra?

A: Yes, but with a caveat. The measured average FPS at 4K Ultra is 38 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. For a turn-based tactics game, this may still be playable, but players who prefer smoother motion should consider the Medium preset, which delivers 70.1 FPS at 4K.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo?

A: At 1440p Ultra, the system achieves 72.8 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS standard. At 1080p Ultra, it reaches 115.1 FPS. The 1440p Ultra preset offers a strong balance of visual quality and performance, while 1080p provides higher headroom for competitive play or recording.

Q: How does the GPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RTX 3080 has an average benchmark score of 35,787. It is 0.2% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro Duo (35,860), 0.4% ahead of the AMD Radeon 880M (35,646), 0.9% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE (36,101), and 1% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Mobile (35,435). These are very close scores, indicating the RTX 3080 remains competitive.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at high settings?

A: At 4K Ultra, the FPS drops to 38, while at 1080p Ultra it is 115.1. This 3x resolution increase (from 1080p to 4K) results in a roughly 67% FPS drop, which points to the GPU as the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions and quality settings.

# How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700X + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 combination holds the 501st position out of 1,699 tested combos in Hard West. This rank places the system in the top 30% of all configurations tested, which is a solid showing for a mid-to-high-end pairing. The ranking reflects the overall balance of the system, and the data indicates that this combo is well-suited for Hard West's turn-based gameplay.

Looking at the CPU's performance relative to its peers, the Ryzen 7 7700X's 89th percentile standing among all CPUs suggests that the processor is not holding back the system. Its nearest rivals — the Intel Core i5-13500, Intel Core i7-12800HX, Intel Core Ultra 7 165H, and AMD EPYC 4244P — all have average scores within 1% of the Ryzen, meaning any of these CPUs would likely produce similar FPS results in Hard West. The GPU, meanwhile, sits in the 80th percentile among all GPUs, with its nearest rivals also within a 1% margin. This suggests that the combo's rank is driven more by the GPU's performance at higher resolutions than by any CPU limitation.

The fact that this system ranks 501st out of 1,699 combos — despite having a top-10% CPU and a top-20% GPU — implies that Hard West is not particularly demanding on either component. The game's turn-based nature means that the rendering load is relatively light compared to real-time action titles, and the measured FPS numbers confirm this: even at 4K with Low settings, the system manages 81.1 FPS. The rank is likely influenced by the fact that many other tested combos include more powerful GPUs, which push higher frame rates at 4K Ultra where this system drops to 38 FPS.

# GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 is built on the Ampere architecture with the GA102 chip, manufactured on Samsung's 8 nm process. It features 10 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 320-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 760.3 GB/s. The GPU has 8,704 shading units, 272 texture mapping units, and 96 render output units, with a boost clock of 1710 MHz. These specifications place the RTX 3080 in the 80th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 35,787.

In Hard West, the RTX 3080's role is clear from the measured FPS data: it is the primary driver of performance at higher resolutions and quality settings. The GPU's 10 GB of VRAM is more than sufficient for a game from 2015, and the 760.3 GB/s bandwidth ensures that texture streaming and memory-heavy scenes do not cause stutters. The measured FPS at 1080p ranges from 247.2 FPS on Low to 115.1 FPS on Ultra, showing that the GPU has ample headroom even at the highest quality preset for this resolution.

The RTX 3080's nearest rivals — the AMD Radeon Pro Duo, AMD Radeon 880M, AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE, and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Mobile — all have average benchmark scores within 1% of the RTX 3080. This indicates that the GPU's performance in Hard West is representative of its class, and the FPS numbers are unlikely to vary significantly with a different GPU of similar standing. The GPU's 320 W TDP and 700 W suggested PSU requirement are worth noting for system builders, but these are not directly tied to in-game performance metrics.

# Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The measured FPS data for the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 combo in Hard West covers three resolutions and four quality presets, providing a comprehensive picture of performance.

At 1920x1080, the system delivers:

• Low: 247.2 FPS
• Medium: 203.8 FPS
• High: 154.6 FPS
• Ultra: 115.1 FPS

These numbers show that even the most demanding preset at 1080p is well above the 60 FPS threshold, meaning players can max out the game's settings without performance concerns. The step from Low to Medium costs 43.4 FPS, from Medium to High costs 49.2 FPS, and from High to Ultra costs 39.5 FPS. The consistency of these drops suggests that each quality tier adds a similar level of rendering load.

At 2560x1440, the measured averages are:

• Low: 153.8 FPS
• Medium: 127 FPS
• High: 98.6 FPS
• Ultra: 72.8 FPS

The 1440p results show a more pronounced effect of quality settings, with the Ultra preset dropping to 72.8 FPS. This is still above 60 FPS, but the margin is thinner than at 1080p. The drop from High to Ultra is 25.8 FPS, which is the largest single-step decline at this resolution, suggesting that the Ultra preset includes features that are particularly taxing on the GPU.

At 3840x2160, the system produces:

• Low: 81.1 FPS
• Medium: 70.1 FPS
• High: 48.7 FPS
• Ultra: 38 FPS

The 4K results reveal the GPU's limits. Low and Medium presets stay above 60 FPS, but High and Ultra fall below this threshold. The drop from Medium to High is 21.4 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 10.7 FPS. This pattern indicates that at 4K, the GPU becomes the bottleneck, and players must choose between visual fidelity and frame rate.

# Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K provides insight into which component is limiting performance. At Low settings, the system goes from 247.2 FPS at 1080p to 153.8 FPS at 1440p (a 37.8% drop) and then to 81.1 FPS at 4K (a 47.3% drop from 1440p). This scaling is roughly proportional to the pixel count increase: 1080p has about 2.07 million pixels, 1440p has about 3.69 million, and 4K has about 8.29 million. The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is 67.2%, which is close to the 75% pixel increase, indicating that the GPU is the primary limiter even at Low settings.

At Ultra settings, the scaling is steeper: 115.1 FPS at 1080p, 72.8 FPS at 1440p (a 36.7% drop), and 38 FPS at 4K (a 47.8% drop from 1440p). The overall drop from 1080p Ultra to 4K Ultra is 67%, which mirrors the Low setting pattern. This consistency suggests that the GPU's rendering load is the dominant factor across all quality presets, and the CPU is not introducing a bottleneck at any resolution.

The data implies that for Hard West, the RTX 3080 is the limiting component at higher resolutions, while the Ryzen 7 7700X provides more than enough processing power. The fact that the FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is nearly identical (around 67%) regardless of quality preset reinforces this conclusion. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see a smaller FPS drop at lower resolutions where the GPU has more headroom, but the consistent scaling indicates that the GPU is always the constraint. This is good news for players with 1440p displays, as the system can handle Ultra settings at this resolution with 72.8 FPS, and it also means that upgrading to a more powerful GPU would yield significant gains at 4K, where the current card falls short of 60 FPS at High settings.