Hard West

Hard West, a turn-based tactics title from 2015, presents an interesting case study when paired with the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080. The measured FPS data reveals a system that is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions but becomes increasingly CPU-bound at 1080p, particularly on lower settings presets. This combination of a modern Zen 5 processor and a Blackwell architecture GPU produces a wide performance envelope, stretching from a highly playable 53 FPS at 4K Ultra to a staggering 333 FPS at 1080p Low, demonstrating the massive headroom available in this older title.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling across resolutions tells a clear story about where the bottleneck lies in this configuration. At 4K with High settings, the system produces an average of 71 FPS. Dropping to 1440p High increases the average to 135 FPS, a substantial 90% improvement. Moving further down to 1080p High yields 214 FPS, which is another 58% jump from the 1440p result. This pattern shows that the GPU is the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions, as the rendering load scales directly with pixel count.

However, the scaling curve flattens dramatically when examining the Low settings preset. At 4K Low, the average FPS is 113. At 1440p Low, it rises to 215 FPS, and at 1080p Low, it reaches 333 FPS. The jump from 4K to 1440p is an 90% increase, but the jump from 1440p to 1080p is only 55%. This diminishing return at 1080p suggests that the CPU is starting to become a more significant factor, as the RTX 5080 is capable of rendering frames faster than the Ryzen 7 9700F can feed it with draw calls and game logic updates.

The gap between the Low and Ultra presets also widens as resolution decreases. At 4K, the difference between Low (113 FPS) and Ultra (53 FPS) is 60 FPS. At 1440p, the difference is 114 FPS (215 vs 101 FPS). At 1080p, the gap expands to 173 FPS (333 vs 160 FPS). This widening gap indicates that at lower resolutions, the CPU has more headroom to execute the additional work required by higher settings presets, while at 4K, the GPU is so saturated that the extra CPU load from Ultra settings has less impact on the final frame rate.

Looking at the Medium preset, which is the only one with min and max FPS data, we can infer the frame time consistency. At 4K Medium, the average is 92 FPS with a minimum of 79 and maximum of 106. This 27 FPS spread represents a frame time variance that is noticeable but acceptable for a turn-based game. At 1440p Medium, the average jumps to 176 FPS with a min of 150 and max of 203, a 53 FPS spread. At 1080p Medium, the average is 278 FPS with a min of 237 and max of 320, an 83 FPS spread. The increasing variance at lower resolutions further supports the theory that CPU frame pacing becomes less consistent as the GPU finishes its work faster.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average FPS achievable with this combo?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 333, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset. This is a massive 62% higher than the 4K Low result of 113 FPS.

Q: How does the Ultra preset perform at 1440p compared to High at 4K?

A: At 2560x1440 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 101. This is 42% higher than the 4K High average of 71 FPS, making 1440p Ultra a viable option for players who prioritize visual fidelity while maintaining a high frame rate.

Q: Is the RTX 5080 the limiting factor at 1080p?

A: The data suggests not. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 333 FPS, but the scaling from 1440p Low (215 FPS) is only 55%, compared to the 90% jump from 4K Low (113 FPS) to 1440p Low. This diminishing return indicates the Ryzen 7 9700F is becoming the bottleneck at 1080p.

Q: What is the frame time variance like at 4K Medium?

A: The 4K Medium preset shows an average of 92 FPS with a minimum of 79 and a maximum of 106. This 27 FPS spread, or roughly 29% variance from the average, suggests moderate frame pacing fluctuations that are unlikely to be problematic in a turn-based tactical game.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested configurations in this game?

A: The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 ranks 98th out of 2949 tested combos for Hard West, placing it in the top 3.3% of all configurations.

Q: What is the performance difference between the High and Ultra presets at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the High preset averages 214 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 160 FPS. This represents a 25% performance cost for enabling Ultra settings over High, which is a significant trade-off for marginal visual gains in a game from 2015.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 combination achieves a rank of 98 out of 2949 tested combos in Hard West. This top 3.3% placement indicates that this is an exceptionally powerful pairing for this game, which is expected given the modern components running a title that predates them by a decade. The rank reflects the raw performance available, but the data also shows that this power is not always efficiently utilized, particularly at lower resolutions.

The GPU itself sits in the 87th percentile when compared to all GPUs in the benchmark database, with an average benchmark score of 56083. Its nearest rivals in the overall GPU rankings include the AMD Radeon 8060S, which scores 55757 (0.6% higher), and the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB, which scores 55698 (0.7% higher). On the CPU side, the Ryzen 7 9700F sits in the 94th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 69996. Its closest competitor is the Intel Core i7-14700KF, which scores 70163, a negligible 0.2% difference.

This rank of 98th suggests that while the combo is powerful, there are 97 other configurations that perform better in this specific game. Given that this is a 2015 turn-based tactics title, it is likely that some of these higher-ranked combos feature even more extreme CPU configurations that can better handle the single-threaded nature of older game engines, or perhaps they avoid the GPU bottleneck that this combo exhibits at higher resolutions. The data indicates that the ranking is a product of both components, but the specific balance of CPU and GPU power matters more than raw specifications alone.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the system delivers an average of 71 FPS on High settings. Reducing to Medium increases this to 92 FPS, with a minimum of 79 and maximum of 106. The Low preset pushes the average to 113 FPS, while the Ultra preset drops it to 53 FPS. This 60 FPS spread between the lowest and highest quality presets at 4K demonstrates the significant GPU workload scaling.

Moving to 2560x1440, the High preset achieves 135 FPS, which is a 90% improvement over the 4K High result. Medium settings at 1440p yield 176 FPS, with a minimum of 150 and maximum of 203. The Low preset reaches 215 FPS, while Ultra still manages a respectable 101 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 114 FPS, which is nearly double the spread seen at 4K.

At 1920x1080, the performance becomes exceptional. High settings produce 214 FPS, which is already higher than the 4K Low result. Medium settings push this to 278 FPS, with a minimum of 237 and a maximum of 320. The Low preset hits 333 FPS, while Ultra remains above 1440p Ultra at 160 FPS. The 173 FPS spread between Low and Ultra at 1080p highlights the CPU's ability to drive higher settings without as much GPU constraint.

The Medium preset is the only one with complete min/max data across all resolutions. The frame time variance, measured as the difference between max and min FPS, increases from 27 FPS at 4K to 83 FPS at 1080p. This suggests that as resolution decreases, the system becomes less consistent in frame delivery, likely due to the CPU struggling to maintain a steady frame pace when the GPU is not the limiting factor.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F is an 8-core, 16-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture, codenamed Granite Ridge. It has a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, with a 65W TDP. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1 MB of L2 per core, and 32 MB of shared L3 cache. This configuration is built on a 4nm process with 8,315 million transistors on a 70.6 mm² die.

In the PassMark benchmarks, the CPU scores 4691 in single-thread performance and 36470 in multithread performance. It achieves 120788 in integer math and 77955 in floating point math. The nearest CPU rival, the Intel Core i7-14700KF, has an average benchmark score of 70163, which is 0.2% higher than the Ryzen's 69996. This places the two processors in a statistical tie, with the Ryzen 7 9700F also trading blows with the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (0.2% lower) and the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (0.7% higher).

For a game like Hard West, which is turn-based and likely relies heavily on single-threaded performance for AI and game logic, the Ryzen 7 9700F's strong single-thread score of 4691 is crucial. The high boost clock of 5.50 GHz helps ensure that the CPU can keep up with the RTX 5080 at lower resolutions. The data supports this, as the FPS scaling from 1440p to 1080p shows diminishing returns, indicating the CPU is nearing its limit at 1080p Low with 333 FPS. The 8 cores and 16 threads provide ample headroom for background tasks and any multithreaded aspects of the game engine.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear picture of the optimal settings for different priorities. For players with a 4K display who want the best visual experience, the High preset at 71 FPS is the recommended choice, as it offers a smooth frame rate while maintaining good visual quality. The Ultra preset drops to 53 FPS, which is still playable for a turn-based game but represents a 25% performance penalty for what is likely a minimal visual improvement in a game from 2015.

For 1440p displays, the High preset at 135 FPS offers an excellent balance of visual fidelity and performance. Players who prioritize frame rate above all else can drop to Low settings for 215 FPS, but this is likely unnecessary for a turn-based tactical game where reaction time is less critical. The Medium preset at 176 FPS is a strong middle ground, offering smooth performance with better visual quality than Low.

At 1080p, the system is powerful enough to run Ultra settings at 160 FPS, which is the recommended choice for maximum visual quality for most users. However, the data shows that the CPU is beginning to bottleneck at this resolution, as evidenced by the diminishing returns from 1440p to 1080p. For competitive play or players who want the absolute highest frame rate, the Low preset at 333 FPS is available, but the practical benefit over Ultra is questionable for this genre.

The Medium preset across all resolutions shows the most consistent frame time data, with min and max values recorded. This suggests that Medium may offer the most stable experience, even if it doesn't maximize visual quality. For players who experience any stuttering, the Medium preset's tighter frame time variance could be the safer choice.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 is a formidable GPU based on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture, built on a 5nm process. It features 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU has 10752 shading units, 336 texture mapping units, and 112 raster output units, with 84 ray tracing cores and 336 tensor cores. The base clock is 2295 MHz, boosting to 2617 MHz, and the memory runs at 1875 MHz (30 Gbps effective). The card has a 360W TDP and requires a 750W PSU.

In the PassMark G3D benchmark, the RTX 5080 scores 36565, placing it in the 87th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon 8060S, which scores 55757 (0.6% higher), and the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE, which scores 57367 (2.2% higher). The average benchmark score for the RTX 5080 is 56083, with a strong showing in Geekbench Vulkan at 255450 and OpenCL at 235901.

In Hard West, the GPU's role is evident in the resolution scaling. The 4K results clearly show the GPU is the limiting factor, with the FPS dropping from 113 at Low to 53 at Ultra. The 16 GB of VRAM is more than sufficient for this game, even at 4K Ultra, as the game's textures are unlikely to exceed a fraction of this capacity. The high memory bandwidth of 960 GB/s ensures that texture streaming is not a bottleneck, even at high resolutions.

The RTX 5080's performance in this game is strong, but the data suggests that it is overkill for 1080p gaming, where the CPU becomes the limiting factor. At 4K, the GPU is still capable of delivering playable frame rates at High settings, but the Ultra preset pushes it to 53 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold favored by many players. This indicates that for a game from 2015, the RTX 5080 is more than sufficient, and players could potentially run this title at 4K High on much less powerful hardware.