Hard West

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F paired with the Intel Arc B570 presents a specific performance profile in Hard West, a 2015 turn-based tactics title. The measured frame rates across five resolutions and four quality presets reveal a system that is heavily constrained by graphical load at higher resolutions, while showing strong CPU headroom at 1080p. This analysis breaks down the data to show exactly where this combo excels and where it falls short.

Resolution Scaling

The most telling metric in this dataset is how average frame rates collapse as resolution increases. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces 134 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops this to 85 FPS, a reduction of 36.6%. The jump to 4K Low yields 44 FPS, which is 67.2% below the 1080p Low figure. This steep decline indicates the Intel Arc B570 is the primary bottleneck once pixel count rises, as the CPU's workload does not scale with resolution in a turn-based title.

The pattern holds across all settings tiers. For High settings, the progression is 84 FPS at 1080p, falling to 53 FPS at 1440p, and finally 28 FPS at 4K. Each resolution step cuts performance by roughly 35-47%. The Medium preset shows a similar curve: 110 FPS at 1080p, 69 FPS at 1440p, and 36 FPS at 4K. Ultra settings are the most demanding, starting at 63 FPS at 1080p and dropping to 40 FPS at 1440p, then bottoming out at 21 FPS at 4K.

What does this scaling tell us? The delta between 1080p and 1440p is consistent (roughly 36-38% loss), while the delta between 1440p and 4K is steeper (roughly 47-48% loss). This non-linear degradation points to the GPU's memory bandwidth and pixel throughput becoming exhausted at 4K. The Arc B570 has 380.0 GB/s of bandwidth and a pixel rate of 200.0 GPixel/s, which are adequate for 1080p but insufficient for the 8.3 million pixels of 4K, especially with the game's turn-based rendering overhead. The CPU, with 8 cores and 16 threads, is not the limiting factor here; the frame rate drops are purely a function of GPU pixel workload.

How This Combo Ranks

In the global database of tested combinations for Hard West, this specific pairing of the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and Intel Arc B570 ranks 2360 out of 2949 tested combos. That places it in the 20th percentile of all systems tested for this game, meaning roughly 80% of other CPU-GPU pairings deliver higher average frame rates. This is a low ranking, but it must be interpreted in context: the ranking is dominated by high-end configurations with much stronger GPUs.

The GPU's own benchmarks help explain this position. The Arc B570 sits in the 65th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 20556. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (deltaPct 0.1, meaning the Arc is 0.1% faster) and the Intel Arc A750 (deltaPct -0.1, meaning the Arc is 0.1% slower). This places the B570 as a mid-range performer. The CPU, however, is far more capable: the Ryzen 7 9700F is in the 94th percentile of all CPUs, with an average score of 69996. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (0.2% faster) and the Intel Core i7-14700KF (0.2% slower).

The mismatch is clear: a top-6% CPU paired with a mid-tier GPU. In Hard West, which is not a multi-threaded stress test, the CPU's headroom goes unused, and the GPU's limitations drag the combo down to the 2360th rank. If the GPU were swapped for something in the 90th percentile, this ranking would change dramatically. As tested, the data shows a system that is well-balanced for CPU-heavy workloads but under-equipped for GPU-bound scenarios at high resolutions.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution to play Hard West with this combo?*

A: Based on measured data, 1920x1080 is the only resolution where all settings presets remain playable. At 1080p, even Ultra settings hit 63 FPS, while Low reaches 134 FPS. At 1440p, High (53 FPS) and Medium (69 FPS) are acceptable, but Ultra drops to 40 FPS. At 4K, only Low (44 FPS) is near playable, while Ultra falls to 21 FPS.

Q: How does the Arc B570 compare to its closest GPU rivals?

A: In aggregate benchmarks, the Intel Arc B570 has an average score of 20556. It is 0.1% faster than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile and 0.1% slower than the Intel Arc A750. It also sits 0.4% above the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M and 0.5% below the AMD Radeon R9 M390X. These deltas are negligible, placing them in the same performance tier.

Q: Is the Ryzen 7 9700F a bottleneck for this game?

A: Not based on the resolution scaling data. The frame rate drops from 1080p to 4K are consistent with a GPU bottleneck. The CPU's single-threaded Passmark score is 4691, and its multithreaded score is 36470, both far above what a turn-based tactics game from 2015 requires. The CPU's 94th percentile ranking confirms it is not the limiting component.

Q: What is the frame time consistency like at 1440p Medium?

A: The 1440p Medium preset reports an average of 69 FPS with a minimum of 59 FPS and a maximum of 80 FPS. This 21 FPS spread indicates moderate variance, but the minimum of 59 FPS stays above the 60 FPS threshold for a smooth experience. At 1080p Medium, the spread is 33 FPS (93 min, 126 max), which is a wider range but still maintains a high floor.

Q: How does this combo rank against all tested systems?

A: This specific CPU-GPU pairing ranks 2360 out of 2949 tested combos for Hard West. This puts it in the bottom 20% of all tested systems. The ranking reflects the GPU's mid-tier performance, as the CPU is in the top 6% of all CPUs.

Q: Does the 4K Ultra setting provide any usable performance?

A: No. The 4K Ultra preset yields an average of 21 FPS, which is below the 24 FPS threshold for basic motion fluidity and far below the 30 FPS standard for playable. The 4K High preset (28 FPS) is also marginal, while 4K Medium (36 FPS) is the lowest 4K preset that approaches playability.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides a complete matrix of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. All figures are average FPS unless otherwise noted.

1920x1080:

• Low: 134 FPS
• Medium: 110 FPS (min 93, max 126)
• High: 84 FPS
• Ultra: 63 FPS

2560x1440:

• Low: 85 FPS
• Medium: 69 FPS (min 59, max 80)
• High: 53 FPS
• Ultra: 40 FPS

3840x2160:

• Low: 44 FPS
• Medium: 36 FPS (min 31, max 42)
• High: 28 FPS
• Ultra: 21 FPS

The 1080p row is the only one where every preset clears 60 FPS. The 1440p row offers a usable range from Medium to High, with Low providing a high refresh rate option. The 4K row is constrained to Low and Medium for any reasonable frame rate. The minimum FPS data is only available for Medium presets, showing 93 FPS at 1080p, 59 FPS at 1440p, and 31 FPS at 4K. This suggests that the Medium preset has the most consistent frame pacing, as it is the only tier with recorded minimums across all resolutions.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570 is the determining factor in this combo's Hard West performance. Its architecture is Xe2-HPG on a 5 nm TSMC process, with 19,600 million transistors on a 272 mm² die. The GPU has 2304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 80 raster output pipelines. The clock is fixed at 2500 MHz for both base and boost, which is a modest frequency for this class. The memory subsystem consists of 10 GB of GDDR6 on a 160-bit bus, yielding 380.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

In Hard West, the GPU's role is to render 2D sprites and simple 3D environments, which are not particularly demanding. However, the resolution scaling data shows that the B570's pixel throughput (200.0 GPixel/s) and texture rate (360.0 GTexel/s) are the limiting factors at 4K. At 1080p, the GPU delivers 134 FPS on Low, indicating it is underutilized. At 4K, the same settings produce only 44 FPS, a 67% drop, which aligns with the 4x increase in pixel count. The GPU's 65th percentile ranking among all GPUs, with a Passmark G3D score of 14195, confirms it is a mid-range part that cannot maintain high frame rates at 4K without significant settings reductions.

The GPU memory of 10 GB is sufficient for Hard West, as the game's texture sizes are modest. The 380.0 GB/s bandwidth is also adequate for 1080p and 1440p, but the 4K results suggest that memory bandwidth becomes a constraint at higher pixel counts. The GPU's compute performance (7281 in Passmark GPU Compute) is not relevant to this game's rendering workload.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F is a high-end desktop processor that is overqualified for Hard West. It has 8 cores and 16 threads, based on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge), with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. The 4 nm TSMC process node houses 8,315 million transistors on a 70.6 mm² die. The cache hierarchy is generous: 80 KB L1 per core, 1 MB L2 per core, and 32 MB shared L3.

In this game, the CPU's single-threaded performance is paramount, as turn-based tactics typically rely on a single main thread for game logic. The 9700F's Passmark single-thread score is 4691, which is strong. Its multithreaded score is 36470, placing it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs. The nearest rivals in aggregate benchmarking are the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (0.2% faster) and the Intel Core i7-14700KF (0.2% slower), both of which are high-end parts.

The measured FPS data shows no CPU bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 134 FPS, which is likely the game's engine limit or a VSync cap rather than a CPU limitation. Even at 4K Ultra (21 FPS), the CPU is still not the constraint; the GPU is. The CPU's 65W TDP and DDR5 memory support (89.6 GB/s bandwidth) are more than enough for this title. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU's floating-point math score is 77955 and integer math is 120788, both indicating massive headroom for a game that primarily uses basic logic operations.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the optimal experience depends on the target resolution.

For 1080p, the Ultra preset at 63 FPS is the best choice. It provides the highest visual quality while maintaining a frame rate above 60 FPS. If a player prefers higher refresh rates, the High preset at 84 FPS or even Medium at 110 FPS are excellent alternatives. The Low preset at 134 FPS offers no visual benefit for a turn-based game, so it is not recommended.

For 1440p, the Medium preset is the sweet spot. It delivers 69 FPS with a minimum of 59 FPS, ensuring a mostly smooth experience. The High preset at 53 FPS is acceptable but falls below the 60 FPS threshold. The Ultra preset at 40 FPS is playable but not ideal. The Low preset at 85 FPS is viable for those who prioritize frame rate over visuals, but Medium provides a better balance.

For 4K, the situation is constrained. The Medium preset at 36 FPS is the only setting that approaches playability, with a minimum of 31 FPS. The Low preset at 44 FPS is also viable, but the visual degradation may be noticeable. High (28 FPS) and Ultra (21 FPS) are not recommended due to sub-30 FPS averages.

The data suggests that the Medium preset is the most consistent across all resolutions, as it is the only one with recorded minimum FPS values (93 at 1080p, 59 at 1440p, 31 at 4K). This indicates that Medium has the most stable frame pacing. For the best overall experience, users should run 1080p Ultra for maximum quality, or 1440p Medium for a balance of resolution and smoothness. 4K is only viable on Low or Medium settings, and even then, the frame rates are marginal for a game that does not require fast reaction times.