Hard West

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D paired with the Intel Arc B580 delivers a peculiar performance curve in Hard West, a turn-based tactics title from 2015. The data shows this combo is capable of excellent frame rates at lower settings, but struggles to maintain playable performance at 4K with higher presets. This analysis breaks down the measured results, contextualizes them against the hardware's known capabilities, and provides practical settings guidance based strictly on the observed data.

FAQ

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

A: The measured data shows that 1920x1080 is the only resolution where all settings presets achieve an average of 73.9 FPS or higher. At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset drops to 42.7 FPS, while at 3840x2160, even the Low preset only reaches 48.6 FPS.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset averages 42.7 FPS, which is 15.8 FPS lower than the High preset's average of 58.5 FPS. The performance cost of Ultra is significant, representing roughly a 27% reduction in average frame rate compared to High.

*Q: Is the Intel Arc B580 capable of running Hard West at 4K?*

A: The data shows that 4K performance is marginal. At 3840x2160, the High preset averages 31.9 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages only 25.3 FPS. The Low preset achieves a more playable 48.6 FPS, but this requires substantial visual compromises.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Medium settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 151.9 FPS, while the Medium preset averages 122.4 FPS. This represents a 29.5 FPS difference, showing that moving from Low to Medium retains high performance while likely improving visual quality.

Q: How does the CPU's benchmark score relate to its gaming performance here?

A: The Ryzen 7 9800X3D has an average benchmark score of 37780, placing it in the 90th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the Intel Xeon 6353P, scores 37811 (0.1% higher), while the Intel Core i5-13600KF scores 38028 (0.7% higher), indicating the CPU is unlikely to be a bottleneck in this game.

Q: Does the GPU have sufficient VRAM for 4K Ultra settings?

A: The Intel Arc B580 has 12 GB of GDDR6 memory with a 192-bit bus and 456.0 GB/s bandwidth. The measured 25.3 FPS average at 4K Ultra suggests the GPU's compute capability, not VRAM capacity, is the limiting factor, as the game is from 2015 and likely does not require the full memory allocation.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B580's specifications directly shape its performance in Hard West. The GPU operates at a fixed 2670 MHz for both base and boost clocks, with memory running at 2375 MHz (19 Gbps effective). It carries 2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 80 render output units, delivering 13.67 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and a texture rate of 427.2 GTexel/s.

These compute resources translate into a distinct performance hierarchy across resolutions. At 1920x1080, the GPU shows strong headroom: the Low preset hits 151.9 FPS, and even Ultra maintains a solid 73.9 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows the GPU's bandwidth constraints beginning to appear. At 2560x1440, the High preset drops to 58.5 FPS, and Ultra falls to 42.7 FPS. The 456.0 GB/s memory bandwidth becomes a limiting factor as pixel count increases.

The 4K results reveal the GPU's practical ceiling for this title. At 3840x2160, the High preset averages 31.9 FPS, which is borderline for playable turn-based tactics. The Ultra preset's 25.3 FPS average is below the threshold for smooth interaction. The 12 GB VRAM capacity is not the issue; rather, the GPU's raw pixel throughput of 213.6 GPixel/s cannot keep pace with the demands of 4K rendering across all settings.

The GPU's overall benchmark profile places it in the 66th percentile of all GPUs, with an average score of 23021. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon 760M, scores 22999 (0.1% lower), while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 scores 23181 (0.7% higher). This confirms the B580 sits in a competitive mid-range tier, which aligns with its measured performance in Hard West.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of which settings presets deliver the best experience at each resolution. For 1920x1080, the High preset at 98.2 FPS offers an excellent balance. The Ultra preset at 73.9 FPS is also viable and likely provides the best visual fidelity without sacrificing smoothness. The Low preset at 151.9 FPS is excessive for a turn-based tactics game, while Medium at 122.4 FPS is a reasonable middle ground.

At 2560x1440, the High preset at 58.5 FPS is the recommended choice. It provides a solid frame rate that suits the genre's deliberate pacing. The Medium preset at 75.7 FPS is also strong if visual quality can be sacrificed. The Ultra preset at 42.7 FPS may be acceptable for some players, but the 15.8 FPS drop from High suggests diminishing returns. The Low preset at 94.4 FPS is unnecessary unless maximising frame rate is a priority.

For 3840x2160, the options are more constrained. The High preset at 31.9 FPS is playable but not ideal for extended sessions. The Low preset at 48.6 FPS offers the most stable experience at 4K, though it requires significant visual compromises. The Ultra preset at 25.3 FPS is not recommended, as the frame rate dips below what most players would consider comfortable. The Medium preset at 40 FPS represents a compromise but still falls short of the smoothness found at lower resolutions.

In practical terms, the best experience with this combo is at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings, which achieves 73.9 FPS, or at 2560x1440 with High settings, which achieves 58.5 FPS. Both options provide a responsive turn-based tactics experience without visual compromises.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D and Intel Arc B580 ranks 1336 out of 1699 tested combos for Hard West. This places it in the lower-middle portion of the database, which may seem surprising given the hardware's individual strengths. However, the ranking reflects the game's specific demands and the GPU's limitations at higher resolutions.

The CPU is a strong performer, with a 90th percentile standing among all CPUs. Its average benchmark score of 37780 is nearly identical to its nearest rivals: the Intel Xeon 6353P at 37811 (0.1% higher), the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 at 37831 (0.1% higher), the Intel Core i9-13900HK at 38020 (0.6% higher), and the Intel Core i5-13600KF at 38028 (0.7% higher). This suggests the CPU is not holding back the combo in any meaningful way.

The GPU, however, is a mid-range part. Its 66th percentile ranking and average score of 23021 place it close to the AMD Radeon 760M (0.1% lower) and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 (0.7% higher). The combo's overall rank indicates that the B580's performance in Hard West is adequate but not exceptional, particularly when compared to stronger GPU pairings. The rank of 1336 out of 1699 suggests that many other hardware combinations achieve better results in this game, likely due to more powerful graphics cards.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D provides substantial processing headroom for Hard West. With 8 cores and 16 threads, a base clock of 4.70 GHz, and a boost clock of 5.20 GHz, it is well-equipped for the game's turn-based logic. The CPU's 96 MB of shared L3 cache and 4 nm process node contribute to its strong benchmark results, including a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 34004 and a single-core score of 4800.

In Hard West, the CPU's role is primarily to manage game state calculations, AI decision-making, and entity updates. The measured FPS data shows the CPU is not a bottleneck at any resolution. At 1920x1080 Low, the combo achieves 151.9 FPS, which is well above the GPU's ability to render frames at higher settings. The CPU's PassMark multithread score of 40009 and single-thread score of 4430 indicate it can handle the game's processing demands without issue.

The CPU's benchmark profile places it in the 90th percentile, with an average score of 37780. Its nearest rivals show negligible performance differences: the Intel Xeon 6353P is 0.1% higher, and the Intel Core i5-13600KF is 0.7% higher. This means the Ryzen 7 9800X3D is performing exactly as expected, and any FPS limitations in Hard West are attributable to the GPU.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for this combo covers three resolutions and four settings presets each, providing a complete performance picture.

At 3840x2160, the results are as follows:

• Low: 48.6 FPS average
• Medium: 40 FPS average
• High: 31.9 FPS average
• Ultra: 25.3 FPS average

The 4K scaling shows a steep drop-off: moving from Low to Medium costs 8.6 FPS, Medium to High costs 8.1 FPS, and High to Ultra costs 6.6 FPS. The total span from Low to Ultra is 23.3 FPS, indicating that each settings tier has a meaningful impact on rendering load.

At 2560x1440, the results improve significantly:

• Low: 94.4 FPS average
• Medium: 75.7 FPS average
• High: 58.5 FPS average
• Ultra: 42.7 FPS average

The 1440p scaling shows a similar pattern, with a 18.7 FPS drop from Low to Medium, 17.2 FPS from Medium to High, and 15.8 FPS from High to Ultra. The total span is 51.7 FPS, demonstrating that the GPU's performance is highly sensitive to settings at this resolution.

At 1920x1080, the results are the most favourable:

• Low: 151.9 FPS average
• Medium: 122.4 FPS average
• High: 98.2 FPS average
• Ultra: 73.9 FPS average

The 1080p scaling shows a 29.5 FPS drop from Low to Medium, 24.2 FPS from Medium to High, and 24.3 FPS from High to Ultra. The total span is 78 FPS, giving players a wide range of options depending on their refresh rate and visual preferences.

Across all resolutions, the data shows that the Intel Arc B580 provides playable frame rates up to 1440p with High settings, and 1080p with Ultra settings. The 4K resolution is only viable with Low settings, and even then, the 48.6 FPS average leaves little headroom. The CPU's consistent performance across all tests confirms it is not a limiting factor in any configuration.