Hard West

Hard West is a turn-based tactics title from 2015, and the benchmark data for the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 reveals a fascinating performance profile that is heavily influenced by both the game’s age and the sheer power of this hardware combination. The measured frames per second (FPS) across resolutions and settings tell a clear story about where the bottlenecks lie, and the data suggests that this pairing is almost overkill for the title, yet still shows meaningful scaling that can inform settings choices.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic, but the pattern is not uniform across all settings, which is revealing. At Low settings, the average FPS at 1920x1080 is 296.6, dropping to 228.2 at 2560x1440, and then to 119.9 at 3840x2160. That is a 39.1% reduction from 1440p to 4K, and a 59.6% reduction from 1080p to 4K. This steep decline indicates that the RTX 4090 is being pushed harder at higher resolutions, but even at 4K Low, the frame rate remains above 100 FPS, suggesting the GPU is still not fully saturated.

Moving to High settings, the pattern shifts. At 1080p, the average is 226.9 FPS, falling to 144.7 at 1440p, and then to 76.4 at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 36.2%, but the drop from 1440p to 4K is 47.2%. This larger relative decline at higher resolution under High settings points to the GPU becoming a more significant limiting factor as both resolution and graphical complexity increase. At Ultra settings, the trend continues: 173.5 FPS at 1080p, 110.9 at 1440p, and 56.5 at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is the lowest in the entire dataset, and the 49.1% drop from 1440p to 4K underscores that the RTX 4090, while powerful, is facing a demanding workload at this extreme setting.

The data implies that at 1080p, the CPU is likely the primary limiter, especially at lower settings where the GPU has little trouble keeping up. As resolution rises, the load shifts to the GPU, and the FPS scaling reflects that transition. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 123.1 FPS, but at 4K, that gap narrows to 63.4 FPS, showing that the GPU’s ceiling is being approached.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The highest average FPS in the measured data is 296.6, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: How does the RTX 4090 perform at 4K Ultra in Hard West?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 56.5, which is the lowest result across all measured configurations.

Q: Is there a big difference between Medium and High settings at 1440p?

A: Yes, the data shows that at 2560x1440, Medium settings yield an average of 188.3 FPS, while High settings produce 144.7 FPS, a difference of 43.6 FPS.

Q: What is the combo’s rank among all tested combinations?

A: The comboRankInGame field indicates that this pairing ranks 26th out of 1699 tested combos in Hard West.

Q: Does the CPU have an integrated GPU?

A: Yes, the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X includes Radeon Graphics as its integrated graphics solution, but the benchmark data uses the discrete RTX 4090.

Q: What is the average benchmark score for the GPU?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 has an average benchmark score of 66473, placing it in the 91st percentile versus all GPUs.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is a monster of a GPU, built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process node. It packs 16,384 shading units, 512 texture mapping units, and 176 raster output pipelines, with a boost clock of 2520 MHz. Its 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus provides a massive 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth. These specifications suggest it should handle most games with ease, and the benchmark data for Hard West confirms this, but with nuances.

At 1080p Low, the GPU is clearly not the bottleneck, as the 296.6 FPS average is likely near the CPU’s limit. The GPU’s role becomes more pronounced at 4K, where the pixel throughput demands are higher. The RTX 4090’s FP32 performance of 82.58 TFLOPS is immense, but even this power is taxed when rendering at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, resulting in that 56.5 FPS average. The memory bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s is also a factor; at higher resolutions, the GPU needs to access more texture data, and the ample bandwidth helps maintain performance, but the data shows that the game’s engine still hits a wall.

The GPU’s percentile rank of 91 versus all GPUs, and its average benchmark score of 66473, places it in the top tier. Compared to its nearest rivals, it is only 0.4% behind the NVIDIA Tesla T4, 0.5% ahead of the NVIDIA Tesla P40, 0.9% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56, and 1.3% ahead of the NVIDIA Quadro P6000. These are all professional or data-center cards, which highlights that the RTX 4090 is in a unique class for gaming. In Hard West, the GPU’s influence is clear: it enables high frame rates at 1440p and playable frame rates at 4K, but the game’s age means that even at Ultra, the GPU is not always the sole limiting factor.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture for optimizing the experience in Hard West. At 1920x1080, even Ultra settings deliver an average of 173.5 FPS, which is far above the threshold for smooth gameplay. The jump from High to Ultra at 1080p is a 53.4 FPS reduction, but the absolute performance is still excellent. For most users at 1080p, Ultra settings are the best choice because the frame rate remains high, and the visual fidelity is maximized.

At 2560x1440, the situation is more nuanced. High settings produce 144.7 FPS, which is ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors. Ultra settings drop to 110.9 FPS, which is still playable but represents a 23.4% performance hit. Medium settings offer 188.3 FPS, but the visual difference between Medium and High is often worth the 43.6 FPS trade-off. The data suggests that High is the sweet spot at 1440p, providing a balanced combination of visual quality and performance.

At 3840x2160, the recommendations change again. Ultra settings yield 56.5 FPS, which is borderline for a smooth experience, especially if the user has a 60 Hz display. High settings improve this to 76.4 FPS, which is more comfortable. Medium settings offer 96.9 FPS, and Low settings hit 119.9 FPS. For 4K, the data indicates that High is the best preset for a quality experience, as it provides a significant improvement over Ultra without the performance penalty. Medium is a viable alternative for those who prioritize frame rate, but High offers the best balance of visual quality and smoothness.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The full dataset from the FACT PACK provides a detailed look at performance across all measured configurations. At 1920x1080, the average FPS values are as follows: Low settings hit 296.6, Medium settings reach 277.1, High settings achieve 226.9, and Ultra settings produce 173.5. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a steady decline, with the largest single drop occurring between High and Ultra, a difference of 53.4 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages are 228.2 for Low, 188.3 for Medium, 144.7 for High, and 110.9 for Ultra. The relative gaps between settings are consistent, with Low to Medium being a 39.9 FPS drop, Medium to High a 43.6 FPS drop, and High to Ultra a 33.8 FPS drop. This suggests that the settings scale predictably at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the averages are 119.9 for Low, 96.9 for Medium, 76.4 for High, and 56.5 for Ultra. The drop from Low to Medium is 23.0 FPS, Medium to High is 20.5 FPS, and High to Ultra is 19.9 FPS. The performance degradation is more uniform at 4K, indicating that the GPU is the dominant factor at this resolution. The 4K Ultra result of 56.5 FPS is the only measured average below 60 FPS, highlighting the demanding nature of this configuration.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700X is a 7000-series processor with 8 cores and 16 threads, based on the Zen 4 architecture codenamed Raphael. It has a base clock of 4.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, with 32 MB of shared L3 cache. Its single-thread and multi-thread performance is strong, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 scores of 4281 for single-core and 30325 for multi-core. The CPU also has a 3DMark single-thread score of 1090 and a max-thread score of 8852.

In Hard West, the CPU’s role is most apparent at lower resolutions and settings. At 1080p Low, the 296.6 FPS average is likely close to the CPU’s limit, as the RTX 4090 is not being fully utilized. The CPU’s high boost clock of 5.40 GHz is beneficial for this game, which likely relies on single-thread performance for game logic and AI calculations. The turn-based tactics genre often involves complex pathfinding and decision-making, which can be CPU-intensive.

The CPU’s percentile rank of 89 versus all CPUs, and its average benchmark score of 34313, places it well above average. Compared to its nearest rivals, it is 0.4% ahead of the Intel Core i5-13500, 0.5% ahead of the Intel Core i7-12800HX, 0.8% behind the Intel Core Ultra 7 165H, and 0.8% behind the AMD EPYC 4244P. These are all capable processors, but the Ryzen 7 7700X holds its own. In Hard West, the CPU’s performance is sufficient to avoid being a major bottleneck at higher resolutions, but it does cap frame rates at 1080p, where the GPU could otherwise push even higher numbers.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 ranks 26th out of 1699 tested combos in Hard West, placing it in the top 1.5% of all configurations. This is a strong showing, but it is not the absolute top, which suggests that other combinations may offer slightly better performance in this specific title. The rank is a holistic measure that accounts for both CPU and GPU performance, and the data indicates that this pairing is exceptionally well-suited for Hard West.

Given the CPU’s 89th percentile and the GPU’s 91st percentile, one might expect a higher overall rank, but the game’s engine may favor different hardware characteristics. The RTX 4090’s nearest rivals are all professional cards, which are not typically used for gaming, so the rank is likely influenced by the CPU’s performance relative to other high-end processors. The 26th position out of 1699 reflects the overall capability of this combo, and the measured FPS data confirms that it delivers excellent performance across all resolutions and settings. The data shows that this is a top-tier configuration for Hard West, with the only significant compromise being the 4K Ultra setting, which still maintains a playable frame rate.