Hard West

# Hard West with AMD Ryzen 7 9700F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination delivers a surprisingly robust experience in Hard West, a turn-based tactics title from 2015. The measured frame rates range from a playable 40 FPS at 4K Ultra to a blistering 256 FPS at 1080p Low, placing this combo at rank 621 out of 2,949 tested configurations. What stands out immediately is the sheer headroom this pairing offers at lower resolutions, where the game's age and the hardware's modern capabilities combine to produce frame rates that far exceed display refresh rates. The data reveals a system that is heavily GPU-limited at 4K but increasingly CPU-bound as resolution drops, making it a versatile option for both high-fidelity and competitive play.

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

The resolution scaling pattern in Hard West reveals a textbook GPU-bound scenario at higher pixel counts, with the RTX 4070 becoming the primary constraint. At Ultra settings, the average frame rate drops from 121 FPS at 1080p to 76 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of 45 FPS or roughly 37%. Moving from 1440p to 4K Ultra further drops the average to 40 FPS, another 36 FPS or about 47% reduction. This steep decline with each resolution step indicates that the GPU is working near its limits at 4K, with the 12 GB GDDR6X memory and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth being pushed hard by the game's rendering demands.

At Medium settings, the scaling pattern shifts somewhat. The average frame rate at 1080p is 210 FPS, dropping to 133 FPS at 1440p (a 77 FPS or 37% reduction) and then to 70 FPS at 4K (a 63 FPS or 47% reduction). The consistency of these percentage drops across settings levels suggests that resolution scaling is largely independent of quality preset, pointing to a fixed rendering overhead per pixel that the GPU must process regardless of visual complexity.

The Low settings data tells a different story. Here, the 1080p average of 256 FPS drops to 162 FPS at 1440p (a 94 FPS or 37% reduction) and then to 85 FPS at 4K (a 77 FPS or 48% reduction). Interestingly, the absolute frame rates at 4K Low (85 FPS) are higher than 4K Medium (70 FPS) and 4K High (54 FPS), but the percentage drop from 1440p remains remarkably similar across all settings. This suggests that Hard West's rendering pipeline has a consistent per-pixel cost that scales linearly with resolution, independent of the quality settings applied.

The fact that even at 4K Low the system cannot reach 100+ FPS indicates that the RTX 4070's 29.15 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 158.4 GPixel/s pixel rate are the limiting factors at this resolution. The CPU, with its 8 cores and 16 threads running at a 5.50 GHz boost clock, appears to have ample headroom even at 1080p where frame rates exceed 250 FPS. This is further supported by the CPU's PassMark single-thread score of 4,691 and multithread score of 36,470, both of which place it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo maintain 60 FPS at 4K in Hard West?

A: At 4K Medium, the average frame rate is 70 FPS with a minimum of 59 FPS, so it can hold above 60 FPS in most scenes. However, at 4K High the average drops to 54 FPS, and at 4K Ultra it falls to 40 FPS, meaning higher presets will not sustain 60 FPS at this resolution.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 compare to its nearest rivals in benchmark scores?

A: The RTX 4070 has an average benchmark score of 37,648, placing it 0.1% ahead of the NVIDIA Tesla P4 (37,628), 0.4% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (37,507), 1.3% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile (38,135), and 1.3% ahead of the AMD Radeon PRO W6400 (37,157).

Q: What is the best resolution for high-refresh-rate gaming with this combo?

A: At 1080p, the system delivers 210 FPS on Medium and 256 FPS on Low, making it ideal for 144Hz or 240Hz displays. At 1440p, Medium settings still provide 133 FPS, which is sufficient for most high-refresh monitors.

Q: How does the Ryzen 7 9700F perform relative to competing CPUs?

A: The CPU has an average benchmark score of 69,996, which is 0.2% behind the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (69,875), 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core i7-14700KF (70,163), 0.7% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (69,515), and 0.9% ahead of the Intel Core i7-14700K (69,355).

Q: Does the game's frame rate scale linearly with resolution?

A: The data shows roughly consistent percentage drops across settings: about 37% from 1080p to 1440p and about 47-48% from 1440p to 4K. This consistency indicates linear per-pixel scaling, typical of a GPU-bound workload.

Q: Is there a significant difference between High and Ultra settings at the same resolution?

A: Yes. At 1080p, High averages 161 FPS while Ultra averages 121 FPS, a 40 FPS difference. At 1440p, the gap widens to 26 FPS (102 vs 76), and at 4K it narrows to 14 FPS (54 vs 40), suggesting diminishing returns from Ultra settings as resolution increases.

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

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 brings 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. In Hard West, a turn-based tactics game with relatively modest texture requirements, this memory configuration proves more than sufficient. The 4K Ultra result of 40 FPS is not a VRAM capacity issue but rather a raw compute limitation, as the GPU's 5 nm AD104 chip with 35,800 million transistors and 29.15 TFLOPS FP32 performance is being fully utilized at this resolution and preset.

The GPU's clock speeds of 1,920 MHz base and 2,475 MHz boost are effectively leveraged in the game's rendering pipeline. The pixel rate of 158.4 GPixel/s and texture rate of 455.4 GTexel/s directly influence how quickly the game can fill the screen with rendered frames. At 4K, the 8.3 million pixels per frame (3840x2160) demand significant pixel throughput, and the observed frame rates suggest the GPU is operating near its peak capabilities.

The RTX 4070's benchmark results provide context for its in-game performance. Its PassMark G3D score of 26,927 and average benchmark score of 37,648 place it in the 81st percentile of all GPUs. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3,854 indicates solid DirectX 12 performance, though Hard West's 2015 release date means it may not fully leverage modern API features. The GPU's DirectX 12 Ultimate support and Vulkan 1.4 compatibility are future-proofing features, but the game's age means it likely runs on older rendering paths.

The 200 W TDP and 550 W suggested PSU indicate this is a power-efficient card for its performance class. The 16-pin power connector and dual-slot design make it a straightforward installation for most systems. In Hard West specifically, the GPU's 64 ROPs and 184 TMUs are the key throughput units, and the data shows they are well-balanced for this workload, with no single bottleneck causing anomalous frame rate behavior.

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

At 1920x1080, the system demonstrates exceptional performance across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 256 FPS, Medium delivers 210 FPS with a minimum of 178 and maximum of 241, High achieves 161 FPS, and Ultra drops to 121 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 135 FPS, representing a 53% reduction in performance when maxing out all visual features. Even at Ultra, the 121 FPS average is well above the 60 FPS threshold, making 1080p a resolution where the user can freely choose any preset without concern for playability.

At 2560x1440, the performance remains strong but shows the GPU starting to feel the load. Low averages 162 FPS, Medium 133 FPS (min 113, max 153), High 102 FPS, and Ultra 76 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra is 86 FPS, or 53%, mirroring the 1080p scaling. The Medium settings result of 133 FPS with a 113 FPS minimum indicates that even the lowest dips stay comfortably above 100 FPS, making 1440p Medium an excellent choice for high-refresh-rate gaming.

At 3840x2160, the performance becomes more constrained. Low averages 85 FPS, Medium 70 FPS (min 59, max 80), High 54 FPS, and Ultra 40 FPS. The Medium settings minimum of 59 FPS is just below the 60 FPS target, suggesting occasional dips below smooth gameplay thresholds. The Ultra preset at 40 FPS is borderline for playability, especially in a turn-based tactics game where frame timing is less critical than in fast-paced genres, but it will not feel fluid on high-refresh displays.

The progression across resolutions follows a clear pattern: each doubling of pixel count (1080p to 4K is 4x pixels) results in roughly a 60-75% reduction in frame rate, depending on settings. This is consistent with a GPU-bound workload where the RTX 4070's compute resources are the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combination of AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 achieves a rank of 621 out of 2,949 tested combos in Hard West, placing it in the top 21% of all configurations. This ranking reflects the system's ability to deliver high frame rates across most resolution and settings combinations, particularly at 1080p and 1440p where it excels.

The rank of 621 is noteworthy given the game's 2015 release date, as many newer and more powerful combinations may be bottlenecked by the game's engine in ways that this pairing avoids. The Ryzen 7 9700F's strong single-thread performance (PassMark single-thread score of 4,691) and the RTX 4070's balanced compute capabilities appear to complement each other well in this title.

The percentile ranking of 94 for the CPU and 81 for the GPU suggests that this combo sits at the high end of tested hardware. However, the combo rank of 621 out of 2,949 (about 79th percentile) is lower than either component's individual percentile, indicating that other factors such as memory configuration, motherboard, or driver optimization may influence Hard West's performance more than raw component strength.

The nearest CPU rivals, including the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (0.2% ahead) and Intel Core i7-14700KF (0.2% behind), have nearly identical average benchmark scores, suggesting that CPU choice within this performance tier has minimal impact on Hard West's frame rates. Similarly, the GPU's nearest rivals, such as the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile (1.3% ahead), show that the RTX 4070 is well-positioned in its performance class.

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

For the best overall experience, Medium settings at 2560x1440 provide the optimal balance of visual quality and performance. The 133 FPS average with a 113 FPS minimum ensures smooth gameplay even in the most demanding scenes, while the 153 FPS maximum shows there is headroom for brief spikes. This preset offers a 30% improvement over High settings (102 FPS) while maintaining a 57 FPS advantage over Ultra (76 FPS) at the same resolution.

At 1920x1080, Medium settings at 210 FPS are the clear recommendation for competitive play or high-refresh displays. The 178 FPS minimum guarantees that even the most intense moments stay well above 144 Hz, and the 241 FPS maximum approaches the limits of most gaming monitors. For those seeking maximum visual fidelity at 1080p, Ultra at 121 FPS remains a viable choice, though the 40 FPS drop from Medium may not be justified by the visual improvements in a turn-based tactics game.

At 3840x2160, Medium settings at 70 FPS are the only preset that reliably approaches 60 FPS gameplay. The 59 FPS minimum is borderline, but for a turn-based genre where precise input timing is less critical, this is acceptable. High at 54 FPS and Ultra at 40 FPS are playable but may feel less responsive, making Medium the recommended choice for 4K displays. For users prioritizing smoothness over visual quality, Low at 85 FPS provides the best frame rate at this resolution, though the visual downgrade may be significant.

The data suggests that Medium is the "sweet spot" preset across all resolutions, offering the most consistent performance relative to the visual quality delivered. This is particularly true at 4K, where the jump from Medium to High costs 16 FPS (23% reduction) for what is likely a modest visual improvement.

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

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F's 8 cores and 16 threads, based on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge), provide substantial processing power for Hard West's game logic and AI calculations. The base clock of 3.80 GHz and boost clock of 5.50 GHz ensure that single-threaded performance is excellent, as evidenced by the PassMark single-thread score of 4,691. This is crucial for a turn-based tactics game where the CPU must process unit movements, pathfinding, and combat calculations in discrete turns.

The CPU's 32 MB of shared L3 cache and 1 MB L2 cache per core provide fast access to frequently used game data. The PassMark data compression score of 421,988 and integer math score of 120,788 indicate strong general-purpose computing capability, while the floating-point math score of 77,955 suggests the CPU can handle complex physics calculations if the game engine requires them. The extended instructions score of 33,688 shows good support for modern instruction sets that may be leveraged by the game's code.

The CPU's performance relative to rivals is remarkably close, with the nearest competitor (Intel Core i7-14700KF) being just 0.2% ahead in average benchmark score. This indicates that Hard West's performance is not particularly sensitive to CPU choice within this performance tier, and the Ryzen 7 9700F's 94th percentile ranking ensures it will not bottleneck the RTX 4070 in this game.

The 65 W TDP and 4 nm process node (TSMC) make this a highly efficient processor, which is beneficial for sustained performance in longer gaming sessions. The DDR5 memory support with dual-channel configuration and 89.6 GB/s bandwidth ensures fast data transfer between CPU and system memory, which is important for loading game assets and handling turn-based state changes. The PCIe Gen 5 interface with 24 lanes provides ample bandwidth for the RTX 4070's PCIe 4.0 x16 connection, though the game's age means it likely does not fully utilize this bandwidth.