Hard West

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 delivers an exceptionally strong showing in Hard West, a turn-based tactics title from 2015. The data indicates that this combination is capable of obliterating even the most demanding settings at 4K, though the scaling patterns reveal a nuanced balance between the CPU and GPU depending on resolution and preset. This analysis breaks down the measured performance across resolutions, examines the roles of each component, and contextualizes the combo’s standing within the broader benchmark database.

Resolution Scaling

The performance delta between 1080p and 4K is stark, providing clear evidence of where the bottleneck shifts. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 314 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 at the same Low preset drops this to 207 FPS, a reduction of 107 FPS. Pushing further to 3840x2160 at Low yields 109 FPS, which is roughly half of the 1440p result. This steep decline—from 314 to 109 FPS—indicates that the GPU is becoming the primary limiting factor as pixel count rises.

The pattern holds across all settings. At High settings, the average FPS scales from 206 at 1080p, down to 131 at 1440p, and finally to 69 at 4K. The 4K High result represents a 66.5% drop from the 1080p figure. This is a classic sign of a GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions. The CPU, while powerful, is not the constraint here; the RTX 4080’s workload increases linearly with resolution, and the frame rates reflect that.

However, the Ultra preset tells a slightly different story. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 155 FPS. At 1440p Ultra, it falls to 98 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it bottoms out at 51 FPS. The gap between 1080p and 1440p Ultra is 57 FPS, while the gap between 1440p and 4K Ultra is 47 FPS. This suggests that at Ultra, the game’s additional visual effects—likely heavy on shading and post-processing—are taxing the GPU more uniformly across resolutions, even at 1080p. The 4K Ultra result of 51 FPS is the only data point that dips below the 60 FPS threshold, indicating that this is the first setting where the combo truly struggles to maintain high refresh rates.

The Medium preset offers the most granular data, with min and max FPS recorded. At 1080p Medium, the average is 269 FPS, with a min of 228 and a max of 309. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 170 FPS, with a min of 144 and a max of 195. At 4K Medium, the average is 89 FPS, with a min of 76 and a max of 103. The min-to-max spread widens at higher resolutions (81 FPS at 1080p, 51 FPS at 1440p, 27 FPS at 4K), suggesting that frame pacing becomes less consistent as the GPU load increases, although the absolute minimums remain playable.

In summary, the data shows that this combo is exceptionally strong at 1080p and 1440p, delivering triple-digit averages on all presets except 4K Ultra. The transition from 1440p to 4K is the most punishing, halving frame rates in most cases. This indicates that for 4K gaming, the RTX 4080 is the definitive limiting component, while at 1080p, the CPU’s headroom is vast, allowing the GPU to stretch its legs.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture and features 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s. Its base clock is 2205 MHz, with a boost clock of 2505 MHz. In Hard West, the GPU’s role is paramount, especially at higher resolutions and settings.

The 4K results are directly tied to the GPU’s capabilities. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS of 51 is a clear indication that the card is being pushed to its limits. This is a turn-based tactics game, not a fast-paced shooter, so 51 FPS is still perfectly playable, but it highlights that the RTX 4080 is not invincible. The 4K High result of 69 FPS is more comfortable, and the 4K Medium result of 89 FPS is excellent. The 4K Low result of 109 FPS shows that even at the lowest settings, the GPU is still the primary driver, as the frame rate is far below the 1080p Low figure of 314 FPS.

The GPU’s memory capacity of 16 GB is more than sufficient for Hard West, a game from 2015. The data does not indicate any memory-related stutters or limitations; the min FPS values at Medium settings (76 at 4K, 144 at 1440p, 228 at 1080p) are all within reasonable ranges, suggesting that VRAM is not a bottleneck.

The RTX 4080’s benchmark scores reinforce its position. Its PassMark G3D score is 34457, and its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 6567. These place it in the 86th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals in the database are the RTX 4080 SUPER (0.1% higher average score), the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X (1.1% higher), and the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (2.6% higher). The deltaPct values are small, indicating that the RTX 4080 is performance-competitive with these cards in synthetic tests, but the Hard West data shows it is more than capable in real-world gaming.

The GPU’s boost clock of 2505 MHz is relatively high, and the data suggests that it is being utilized effectively. At 1080p, the frame rates are so high (206 FPS at High) that the CPU is likely the limiting factor, but at 4K, the GPU’s raw compute power—48.74 TFLOPS FP32—is what determines the outcome. The 4K results are consistently lower than 1440p, confirming that the GPU is the dominant component in this resolution range.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D is an 8-core, 16-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge), manufactured on a 4 nm process. It has a base clock of 4.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.20 GHz. Its L3 cache is a substantial 96 MB shared, which is a defining feature of the X3D series. In Hard West, the CPU’s role is primarily to feed the GPU with enough data to maintain high frame rates, especially at lower resolutions.

At 1080p Low, the combo hits 314 FPS, which is an incredibly high number. This is where the CPU’s single-thread performance shines. The CPU’s Cinebench R23 single-core score is 2080, and its Geekbench single-core score is 2964. These scores indicate strong per-core performance, which is critical for a game like Hard West that may rely on a few threads for game logic and AI.

The CPU’s multi-threaded capabilities are also robust, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 23230 and a PassMark multithread score of 40009. However, the data shows that at 1080p, the CPU is not the bottleneck. The frame rates at 1080p across all settings (314 Low, 269 Medium, 206 High, 155 Ultra) are all above 150 FPS, suggesting that the CPU can easily handle the game’s logic at these frame rates. The drop from 1080p Ultra (155 FPS) to 1440p Ultra (98 FPS) is significant, but this is due to the GPU’s increased workload, not a CPU limitation.

The 8 cores and 16 threads are more than adequate for a turn-based tactics game. Hard West is not a heavily threaded title, so the CPU’s 3DMark scores are more indicative of its general capability. Its 3DMark single-thread score is 1212, and its 16-thread score is 10081. These scores place the CPU in the 87th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840HS (0.4% higher average score) and the AMD Ryzen 7 7700 (0.8% lower average score). The deltas are minimal, indicating that the 9800X3D is a top-tier processor.

The CPU’s L3 cache of 96 MB is likely a significant contributor to its performance in games. While the FACT PACK does not provide specific gaming benchmarks for the CPU, the high cache size is designed to reduce memory latency, which can be beneficial in scenarios where the game engine needs to access data frequently. In Hard West, this likely helps maintain consistent frame times, as evidenced by the relatively tight min-to-max spreads at Medium settings (e.g., 228-309 at 1080p).

In summary, the CPU is not the limiting factor in this combo for Hard West. At 1080p, the GPU is the bottleneck, but the CPU’s strong single-thread performance ensures that it can keep up with even the highest frame rates. At 4K, the CPU is effectively idle, as the GPU’s workload dominates.

FAQ

*Q: What is the highest average FPS achieved by this combo in Hard West?*

A: The highest average FPS is 314, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

*Q: Is this combo capable of running Hard West at 4K with playable frame rates?*

A: Yes, at 4K Medium, the average FPS is 89, and at 4K High, it is 69. The only setting that falls below 60 FPS is 4K Ultra, which averages 51 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU’s performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Ryzen 7 9800X3D has an average benchmark score of 39768, which is 0.4% higher than the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840HS and 0.8% higher than the AMD Ryzen 7 7700. It is 0.7% lower than the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365.

Q: What is the GPU’s memory configuration, and does it matter for this game?

A: The RTX 4080 has 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus with 716.8 GB/s bandwidth. This configuration is more than sufficient for Hard West, as the game’s data does not indicate any VRAM limitations.

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

A: The combo ranks 203rd out of 3722 tested combinations, placing it in the top 5.5% of all combos.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between 1080p High and 4K High?

A: The average FPS at 1080p High is 206, while at 4K High it is 69, representing a 137 FPS drop when moving to 4K.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database for Hard West, this specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 achieves a rank of 203 out of 3722 tested combos. This ranking places it in the top 5.5% of all systems tested, which is a strong indicator of its high-end status. The rank is a composite measure that accounts for all measured FPS data points across resolutions and settings.

Given that the combo produces an average of 314 FPS at 1080p Low, it is clear that it is not limited by the CPU. The fact that it drops to 51 FPS at 4K Ultra suggests that the GPU is the limiting factor at the highest settings. However, a rank of 203 implies that there are 202 other combos that perform better, likely featuring more powerful GPUs or CPUs. The delta between this combo and the top-ranked ones is not provided, but the percentile data for the individual components (CPU at 87th, GPU at 86th) suggests that while both are high-end, they are not the absolute pinnacle of performance.

The rank is particularly impressive considering the game’s age. Hard West was released in 2015, and modern hardware is expected to handle it easily. The fact that this combo still ranks in the top 5.5% indicates that the database includes many other high-end systems, but this pairing is clearly capable of delivering excellent performance. For context, the CPU’s nearest rivals have average scores within 1% of its own, and the GPU’s nearest rivals are within 3%, so the competition is tight. A rank of 203 out of 3722 is a solid result, suggesting that users with this combo will have no trouble achieving high frame rates in Hard West, even at 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following data is directly measured for this combo in Hard West. All figures are averages unless otherwise noted.

1920x1080 (1080p)

• Low: 314 FPS average.
• Medium: 269 FPS average, with a minimum of 228 FPS and a maximum of 309 FPS.
• High: 206 FPS average.
• Ultra: 155 FPS average.

2560x1440 (1440p)

• Low: 207 FPS average.
• Medium: 170 FPS average, with a minimum of 144 FPS and a maximum of 195 FPS.
• High: 131 FPS average.
• Ultra: 98 FPS average.

3840x2160 (4K)

• Low: 109 FPS average.
• Medium: 89 FPS average, with a minimum of 76 FPS and a maximum of 103 FPS.
• High: 69 FPS average.
• Ultra: 51 FPS average.

The data shows a consistent degradation in performance as resolution increases. At 1080p, all settings exceed 150 FPS, making it ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors. At 1440p, the Ultra preset is the only one that falls below 100 FPS, but it still averages 98 FPS. At 4K, the Ultra preset is the sole setting that drops below 60 FPS, while the other presets remain playable. The Medium preset at each resolution provides the most stable frame pacing, with the tightest min-to-max ranges relative to the average, indicating that this setting offers a good balance between visual fidelity and performance.