Hard West

# Hard West with AMD Ryzen 7 9700F + Intel Arc B580

Hard West, a turn-based tactics title from 2015, proves surprisingly demanding at higher presets on this AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and Intel Arc B580 pairing. The measured frame rates reveal a system that excels at 1080p and 1440p, but stumbles at 4K. This combination sits at rank 2221 out of 2949 tested combos in this game, placing it in the lower-mid portion of the database. The data shows a clear ceiling: the Arc B580 delivers playable performance at mainstream resolutions, but the gap between Low and Ultra settings widens dramatically as resolution climbs.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep across all settings, indicating that the Arc B580's 12 GB frame buffer and 192-bit memory bus become limiting factors at higher pixel counts. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 95 at 1080p to 60 at 1440p, then plummets to 32 at 4K. That represents a 37% loss going from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 47% drop from 1440p to 4K. The scaling is not linear; the 4K penalty is disproportionately harsh, suggesting the GPU is running out of memory bandwidth or fill rate headroom.

Low settings tell a similar story but with higher absolute numbers. The average FPS at 1080p Low is 151, dropping to 96 at 1440p, and then to 50 at 4K. The percentage declines are roughly consistent with High settings, but the absolute 4K result of 50 FPS is still below the 60 FPS threshold that many consider smooth. Medium settings, which include min and max FPS data, show a 124 average at 1080p with a minimum of 105 and maximum of 143. At 1440p Medium, the average falls to 79 with a 67 minimum and 90 maximum. At 4K Medium, the average is 41 with a 35 minimum and 47 maximum.

Ultra settings are the most punishing. The 1080p Ultra average is 71 FPS, which is playable, but 1440p Ultra drops to 45, and 4K Ultra falls to just 24 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is essentially unplayable for any real-time interaction, though turn-based games can tolerate lower frame rates. The scaling pattern indicates that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck at 4K; the GPU is. At 1080p, the Ryzen 7 9700F with its 8 cores and 16 threads can feed the Arc B580 adequately, but at 4K, the GPU's raw throughput is insufficient to maintain high frame rates regardless of the CPU's capability.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B580, built on the Xe2-HPG architecture with the BMG-G21 chip, has a base and boost clock of 2670 MHz. Its 12 GB of GDDR6 memory runs at 2375 MHz, delivering 19 Gbps effective and 456.0 GB/s of bandwidth across a 192-bit bus. These specifications are modest by modern standards, and the benchmark data confirms that the GPU is the limiting component at higher resolutions. The FP32 throughput of 13.67 TFLOPS and the texture rate of 427.2 GTexel/s are adequate for 1080p, but the 4K results show that the card cannot sustain the fill rate required for 3840x2160.

The GPU's percentile ranking among all GPUs is 68, and its average benchmark score is 23021. Its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks include the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP with an average score of 23061 (a delta of -0.2%), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 at 22895 (delta 0.6%), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 at 23172 (delta -0.7%). These deltas are all within 1%, meaning the Arc B580 performs nearly identically to these very different cards in synthetic tests. However, in Hard West specifically, the measured FPS reveals that the card's real-world performance is more nuanced. The 4K Ultra result of 24 FPS is consistent with a card that trails the RTX 3080 in raw rasterization, despite their similar synthetic scores.

The VRAM capacity of 12 GB is not the issue at 4K; the bandwidth is. Hard West is not a texture-heavy game by 2015 standards, but the 456.0 GB/s bandwidth is shared across the 192-bit bus, and at 4K the memory controller becomes saturated. The fact that 4K Low (50 FPS) nearly doubles 4K Ultra (24 FPS) suggests that the GPU's shading units are the primary constraint, not VRAM capacity. The card's 2560 shading units and 80 ROPs are insufficient for 4K Ultra, but they handle 1080p Ultra at 71 FPS without issue.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F is a Zen 5 part (Granite Ridge) with 8 cores and 16 threads, running at a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. It has a 65 W TDP and supports DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration with 89.6 GB/s of bandwidth. The CPU's benchmark scores are strong: a passmark_multithread score of 36470, a passmark_single_thread score of 4691, and a passmark_physics score of 2122. Its percentile ranking among all CPUs is 94, indicating it outperforms the vast majority of processors.

In Hard West, a turn-based tactics game, the CPU's role is less critical than in fast-paced shooters, but the data still shows its influence. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 151 FPS, which is likely near the CPU's maximum frame delivery for this game. The fact that 1080p Medium (124 FPS) and 1080p High (95 FPS) are lower suggests the GPU is still the primary limiter, but the CPU's single-thread performance is sufficient to avoid bottlenecking at these settings. The nearest CPU rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX with an average score of 69875 (delta 0.2%), the Intel Core i7-14700KF at 70163 (delta -0.2%), and the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X at 69515 (delta 0.7%). These deltas are all under 1%, meaning the 9700F trades blows with these high-end parts.

The CPU's 32 MB of shared L3 cache and 1 MB L2 per core are ample for a game like Hard West, which likely has modest cache requirements. The 8-core, 16-thread configuration is overkill for a turn-based title, but it ensures that any background tasks or AI computation do not cause frame time spikes. The measured FPS at 1080p High (95) and 1440p High (60) show a consistent drop that aligns with GPU load, not CPU limitation. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect the 1080p and 1440p results to be closer together. The data indicates the Ryzen 7 9700F provides ample headroom, and the Arc B580 is the component that determines the final frame rate.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows provide clear guidance for optimal settings. At 1080p, the High preset delivers 95 FPS on average, which is smooth for a turn-based game. The Medium preset offers 124 FPS, and Low offers 151 FPS. The Ultra preset drops to 71 FPS, which is still playable but not significantly better visually given the game's age. For most users with a 1080p display, the High preset is the sweet spot: it maintains a high frame rate while presumably offering improved visual quality over Medium. The 1440p results show that High is still viable at 60 FPS, making it the recommended choice for 1440p users. Medium at 1440p offers 79 FPS, which is smoother but may sacrifice visual fidelity.

At 4K, the situation is more challenging. The High preset at 32 FPS is below the 60 FPS target, and even Low at 50 FPS is not ideal. The Medium preset at 41 FPS with a minimum of 35 FPS may be marginally playable for a turn-based game, but it is not a comfortable experience. The Ultra preset at 24 FPS is not recommended under any circumstances. For 4K users, the Low preset is the only option that approaches playability, and even then, the 50 FPS average is not smooth. The data suggests that this combination is not suited for 4K gaming in Hard West, and users should stick to 1080p or 1440p for a better experience.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and Intel Arc B580 ranks 2221 out of 2949 tested combos in Hard West. This places it in the 25th percentile of all tested systems, meaning roughly 75% of configurations perform better in this game. The ranking is surprising given the CPU's high percentile (94) and the GPU's respectable percentile (68). The low combo rank suggests that the Arc B580's driver overhead or specific architectural inefficiencies in Hard West are holding back the system. The synthetic benchmarks show the GPU is close to the RTX 3080, but in Hard West, the measured FPS at 4K Ultra (24) is far below what an RTX 3080 would likely achieve.

The combo rank indicates that other pairings, even with weaker CPUs, may deliver better frame rates in this specific title. The 2949 total combos represent a wide range of hardware, and the 2221 rank suggests that users with this specific CPU-GPU pairing are getting middling performance. The gap between the GPU's synthetic score (which rivals the RTX 3080) and its in-game performance highlights a potential driver or optimization issue for Battlemage architecture in older titles. Hard West, released in 2015, predates the Arc series by nearly a decade, and the Xe2-HPG architecture may not be fully optimized for this generation of game engines.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following are the exact measured frame rates for each resolution and settings combination:

1920x1080 (1080p)

• Low: 151 FPS average
• Medium: 124 FPS average, 105 FPS minimum, 143 FPS maximum
• High: 95 FPS average
• Ultra: 71 FPS average

2560x1440 (1440p)

• Low: 96 FPS average
• Medium: 79 FPS average, 67 FPS minimum, 90 FPS maximum
• High: 60 FPS average
• Ultra: 45 FPS average

3840x2160 (4K)

• Low: 50 FPS average
• Medium: 41 FPS average, 35 FPS minimum, 47 FPS maximum
• High: 32 FPS average
• Ultra: 24 FPS average

The Medium settings rows include min and max FPS data, which provides insight into frame time consistency. At 1080p Medium, the 105 to 143 FPS range shows a 38 FPS spread, indicating some variance but generally smooth performance. At 1440p Medium, the 67 to 90 FPS range has a 23 FPS spread, which is tighter in relative terms. At 4K Medium, the 35 to 47 FPS range has a 12 FPS spread, showing that while the average is low, the frame pacing is relatively stable. This consistency is typical for a turn-based game where rendering loads are more predictable than in action titles.

The scaling from Low to Ultra at each resolution is instructive. At 1080p, the drop from Low (151) to Ultra (71) is a 53% reduction. At 1440p, Low (96) to Ultra (45) is a 53% reduction as well. At 4K, Low (50) to Ultra (24) is a 52% reduction. The consistency of this drop across resolutions suggests that the Ultra preset's additional effects (likely shadows, lighting, and post-processing) impose a proportional cost regardless of pixel count. The absolute numbers, however, show that 4K Ultra is untenable, 1440p Ultra is borderline, and only 1080p Ultra approaches acceptable performance. The data overall points to a system that is best utilized at 1080p with High or Ultra settings, or 1440p with Medium or High settings, while 4K should be avoided unless the user is willing to accept Low settings and sub-60 FPS.