Hard West

FAQ

Q: What is the overall performance rank of the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D + Intel Arc B390 combo in Hard West?

A: This combination ranks 2614th out of 2949 tested combos in Hard West, placing it in the lower percentile of all tested systems.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its nearest GPU rivals based on benchmark scores?

A: The Arc B390 scores 1482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, which is 1.3% above the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, 1.5% above the GeForce 800M, 2.5% above the GT 625 OEM, and 2.7% above the GT 710.

Q: What is the best average FPS achieved at 1080p with this combo?

A: The highest average FPS at 1920x1080 is 87 FPS, achieved with Low settings. Medium settings deliver 71 FPS, High delivers 55 FPS, and Ultra drops to 41 FPS.

Q: Does the game become unplayable at 4K resolution with this hardware?

A: At 3840x2160, the average FPS ranges from 14 FPS on Ultra to 29 FPS on Low. Even the best 4K result (Low settings) falls below 30 FPS, indicating marginal playability at that resolution.

Q: What is the CPU's single-thread performance relative to its multi-thread performance?

A: The Ryzen 7 9800X3D scores 2080 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 23230 in multi-core, showing strong scaling across cores. Its single-thread score ranks in the 87th percentile against all CPUs.

Q: How much FPS improvement is seen when dropping from 4K to 1080p at High settings?

A: At High settings, the average FPS rises from 18 FPS at 3840x2160 to 35 FPS at 2560x1440, and then to 55 FPS at 1920x1080 — a roughly 3x improvement from 4K to 1080p.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics processor based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, manufactured on Intel's 3 nm process node. It features 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 raster operation units, along with 12 ray tracing cores. The GPU operates at a base clock of 300 MHz and can boost to 2500 MHz, with a pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 120.0 GTexel/s. Its FP32 performance is rated at 7.680 TFLOPS, while FP16 performance reaches 15.36 TFLOPS at a 2:1 ratio.

The memory configuration is entirely system-shared, meaning the GPU draws from the host system's DDR5 memory rather than having dedicated VRAM. The memory bus width and bandwidth are listed as "System Shared" and "System Dependent" respectively, indicating that performance scales with the CPU's memory subsystem. The Ryzen 7 9800X3D supports dual-channel DDR5 with a memory bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s, which serves as the effective ceiling for the GPU's memory access.

In Hard West, the GPU's shared memory architecture has direct consequences. The game's measured FPS at 1080p shows a clear pattern: Low settings achieve 87 FPS, but Ultra settings drop to 41 FPS. This 46 FPS gap between the lowest and highest presets reflects the GPU's limited fill rate and shading resources. The Arc B390's 24 ROPs and 48 TMUs are modest figures, and the 60.00 GPixel/s pixel rate becomes a bottleneck when texture quality and lighting effects increase at higher presets.

The GPU's benchmark percentile of 9% against all GPUs positions it firmly in entry-level territory. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482 places it within 1.3% to 2.7% of several older NVIDIA GeForce parts, including the GT 520MX and GT 710. In a turn-based tactics game like Hard West, where rendering loads are moderate compared to fast-paced shooters, the Arc B390 can still produce playable frame rates at 1080p with adjusted settings, but the data shows it struggles to maintain smooth performance at higher resolutions or quality levels.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals how this combo scales across three resolutions: 1920x1080, 2560x1440, and 3840x2160. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 87 at 1080p to 55 at 1440p and further to 29 at 4K. This represents a 36.8% decrease from 1080p to 1440p, and a 47.3% decrease from 1440p to 4K. The pattern is consistent across all settings presets, but the magnitude of the drop varies.

At High settings, the averages are 55 FPS at 1080p, 35 FPS at 1440p, and 18 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 36.4%, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 48.6%. At Medium settings, which have min/max data available, the 1080p run averages 71 FPS with a min of 61 and max of 82. At 1440p, the average falls to 45 FPS with a min of 38 and max of 52, and at 4K it reaches 24 FPS with a min of 20 and max of 27.

The resolution scaling suggests that the GPU is the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions. The pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s and the system-shared memory bandwidth create a situation where increasing pixel count directly impacts performance. The fact that 4K Low (29 FPS) is still below 1080p Ultra (41 FPS) indicates that the GPU's raw rendering capacity is insufficient for 4K workloads regardless of quality settings.

The data also shows that the gap between Low and Ultra settings narrows at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the difference between Low (87 FPS) and Ultra (41 FPS) is 46 FPS. At 1440p, the difference shrinks to 29 FPS (55 vs 26). At 4K, it shrinks further to 15 FPS (29 vs 14). This pattern is typical of GPU-bound scenarios where the pixel fill rate becomes the dominant constraint, reducing the impact of quality settings on overall performance.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D + Intel Arc B390 combination ranks 2614th out of 2949 tested combos in Hard West. This places it in the bottom 12% of all tested systems, which aligns with the GPU's low benchmark percentile of 9%. The CPU, by contrast, is a high-end part with an 87th percentile ranking against all CPUs, but the combo's overall performance is dragged down by the integrated GPU.

The ranking position is consistent with the measured FPS data. At 1080p Medium, the combo achieves 71 FPS, which is playable but far from the top-tier results that would be expected from the top 12% of systems. The gap between the CPU's capability and the GPU's output is substantial — the Ryzen 7 9800X3D can push over 23,000 points in Cinebench R23 multi-core, but the Arc B390's 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1482 is in the single digits percentile.

The combo rank of 2614 out of 2949 indicates that most other tested configurations outperform this pairing. This is not surprising given that the Arc B390 is an integrated GPU with a 80 W TDP and no dedicated memory. The CPU's nearest rivals in benchmark scores — the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840HS, Ryzen AI 9 365, Ryzen AI 7 450, and Ryzen 7 7700 — all have average scores within 0.8% of the 9800X3D, but none of those CPUs would be paired with such a weak GPU in a gaming context.

For a turn-based tactics game like Hard West, the combo's rank suggests that users would need to significantly lower expectations regarding graphical fidelity. The game's genre does not demand high frame rates for competitive play, but the data shows that even 1080p Ultra (41 FPS) is borderline, and 4K is largely unplayable across all settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080 resolution, the combo delivers its best performance. Low settings produce an average of 87 FPS, which is the highest measured result across all configurations. Medium settings average 71 FPS with a minimum of 61 and maximum of 82 FPS. High settings average 55 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 41 FPS. The step-down pattern from Low to Ultra is roughly linear, with each preset tier reducing the average by 14-16 FPS.

At 2560x1440 resolution, all averages decrease substantially. Low settings average 55 FPS, which is exactly the same as the 1080p High result. Medium settings average 45 FPS with a minimum of 38 and maximum of 52 FPS. High settings average 35 FPS, and Ultra settings average 26 FPS. The relative ordering remains consistent, but the gaps between presets narrow slightly.

At 3840x2160 resolution, the combo struggles to maintain playable frame rates. Low settings average 29 FPS, medium settings average 24 FPS with a minimum of 20 and maximum of 27 FPS, high settings average 18 FPS, and ultra settings average 14 FPS. None of these results reach the 30 FPS threshold that is often considered the minimum for acceptable gameplay, and the minimum FPS values suggest potential stuttering during busy scenes.

The Medium preset is the only one with complete min and max data across all three resolutions. At 1080p, the range is 61-82 FPS; at 1440p, it is 38-52 FPS; and at 4K, it is 20-27 FPS. This data shows that the frame time variance increases with resolution, as the GPU becomes more saturated and less able to maintain consistent output.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend heavily on the target resolution. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset (71 FPS average) offers the best balance between visual quality and performance. The High preset (55 FPS) is also playable and provides better visuals, but the 16 FPS difference between Medium and High may be noticeable in fast-moving scenes. Ultra at 1080p (41 FPS) is borderline but could be acceptable for a turn-based game where reaction time is less critical.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset (55 FPS) is the only option that maintains a comfortable frame rate. Medium (45 FPS) is still playable but approaches the lower end of smooth gameplay. High (35 FPS) and Ultra (26 FPS) are likely to feel sluggish, especially during camera panning or when multiple effects are on screen.

At 3840x2160, no preset achieves 30 FPS. Low (29 FPS) is the closest, but even this falls short. Users targeting 4K would need to accept sub-30 FPS performance or consider lowering the resolution. Given that the GPU's pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s is the limiting factor, the data suggests that 1080p Medium or 1440p Low are the most viable configurations for this hardware.

The min/max data for Medium settings provides additional insight. At 1080p, the 61 FPS minimum indicates that the combo can maintain a reasonable floor even during demanding moments. At 1440p, the 38 FPS minimum is still above 30 FPS, but at 4K, the 20 FPS minimum suggests noticeable hitches. For the smoothest experience, 1080p Medium is the recommended preset.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D is a high-end desktop processor with 8 cores and 16 threads, based on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge codename). It has a base clock of 4.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.20 GHz, with a TDP of 120 W. The CPU features 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 1 MB of L2 cache per core, and 96 MB of shared L3 cache. It supports DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration with a bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s.

In benchmark tests, the CPU scores 23230 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2080 in single-core. Its Geekbench scores are 18696 multi-core and 2964 single-core. The PassMark multi-thread score is 40009, and the single-thread score is 4430. These results place the CPU in the 87th percentile against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 39768.

The CPU's nearest rivals in terms of average score are the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840HS (39603, 0.4% higher), AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 (40048, 0.7% lower), AMD Ryzen AI 7 450 (39485, 0.7% higher), and AMD Ryzen 7 7700 (40081, 0.8% lower). These competitors are all within 1% of the 9800X3D's average score, indicating that CPU performance is not a differentiator in this combo's results.

In Hard West, the CPU's role is secondary to the GPU's limitations. The game is a turn-based tactics title from 2015, which does not heavily stress multi-core processors. The Ryzen 7 9800X3D's 16 threads and high boost clock are more than sufficient for this workload. The measured FPS data shows that GPU-bound behavior dominates — the resolution scaling and preset scaling patterns align with GPU limitations rather than CPU bottlenecks.

The CPU's 96 MB of L3 cache and high memory bandwidth (89.6 GB/s) provide a capable foundation for the system-shared GPU memory. However, the Arc B390's "System Dependent" bandwidth means that the GPU's memory performance is tied to the CPU's memory controller. In this pairing, the CPU provides ample memory bandwidth, but the GPU's limited shading units and ROPs prevent it from utilizing that bandwidth effectively in Hard West.