Hard West

# How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 places at rank 492 out of 2,949 tested combinations in Hard West. This positions the combo in the top 17% of all tested systems, a strong showing for a turn-based tactics title that tends to favor CPU performance in AI and pathfinding calculations. The percentile ranking of the CPU at 92 and the GPU at 82 relative to all other components in the database suggests both pieces of hardware are operating near the upper echelon of current hardware, and the measured frame rates confirm this positioning.

The rank of 492 out of 2,949 is notable because it places this combo above the vast majority of alternatives, yet the game itself is not particularly demanding by modern standards. The data indicates that the bottleneck shifts depending on resolution and settings, with the GPU becoming more relevant at 4K Ultra while the CPU dominates at 1080p Low. Compared to other combos in the database, this pairing delivers a balanced experience, though the GPU's 82nd percentile ranking versus the CPU's 92nd percentile suggests the graphics card is the more limiting factor in scenarios where both are heavily utilized.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 features 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 672.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The memory clock runs at 1750 MHz, which translates to 28 Gbps effective, while the base clock sits at 2325 MHz and the boost clock reaches 2512 MHz. In Hard West, a game originally released in 2015, these specifications are more than sufficient to handle the visual load at most settings, but the data shows the GPU does become the limiting factor at higher resolutions and quality presets.

At 1080p Low, the RTX 5070 produces 274 FPS average, indicating the GPU is far from saturated. The shading units (6,144) and texture mapping units (192) are more than capable of handling the game's relatively modest geometry and texture requirements. However, at 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 43, which suggests the GPU's pixel rate of 201.0 GPixel/s and texture rate of 482.3 GTexel/s are being pushed to their limits by the combination of high resolution and maximum settings. The 80 ROPs appear to be the constraint at 4K Ultra, as the frame rate falls below the 60 FPS threshold that most users consider playable.

The GPU's 82nd percentile ranking versus all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 40,377, places it close to rivals such as the AMD Radeon Pro 580 (deltaPct 0.1) and the AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100 (deltaPct 0.8). The nearest rival above is the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 at -1.2 deltaPct, while the NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile sits at 2 deltaPct below. These comparisons indicate the RTX 5070 is positioned among mid-to-high-tier graphics cards, and in Hard West specifically, it delivers playable frame rates at all tested settings up to 4K High.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases. At 1080p High, the average FPS is 172, which drops to 109 at 1440p High, and further to 57 at 4K High. This represents a 37% decrease from 1080p to 1440p and a 48% decrease from 1440p to 4K. The scaling is not perfectly linear, which indicates the GPU is becoming progressively more taxed as pixel count increases.

Looking at the Low preset, the frame rates are 274 at 1080p, 173 at 1440p, and 91 at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 37%, while from 1440p to 4K it is 47%. This pattern is consistent across all settings, suggesting that the GPU is the primary limiting factor when resolution increases, regardless of quality preset. The CPU, with its 8 cores and 16 threads running at a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, is clearly capable of feeding the GPU enough data at lower resolutions, as evidenced by the 274 FPS at 1080p Low.

The Ultra preset shows the steepest degradation: 129 FPS at 1080p, 82 FPS at 1440p, and 43 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are 36% and 48%, respectively. At 4K Ultra, the frame rate falls below 60 FPS, making this combination of resolution and settings the only tested configuration where the experience becomes less fluid. The data suggests that the RTX 5070's 12 GB VRAM and 672.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for 4K High (57 FPS) but not for 4K Ultra (43 FPS), where the additional rendering overhead pushes the GPU past its comfortable operating range.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the Medium preset at 1440p delivers the best balance of visual quality and performance. The average FPS of 142 with a minimum of 121 and maximum of 163 ensures smooth gameplay even during complex turn-based sequences with multiple units on screen. This combination provides a 30% performance headroom above the 60 FPS threshold, allowing for consistent frame pacing without dips.

For users prioritizing maximum frame rates, the Low preset at 1080p delivers 274 FPS average, which is more than adequate for any display. However, given that Hard West is a turn-based tactics game where the visual detail contributes to the atmosphere, the Medium preset at 1440p offers a more compelling experience. The 4K High preset at 57 FPS is borderline playable but risks occasional dips below 60 FPS, which could be noticeable in a game that relies on smooth camera pans and unit animations.

The Ultra preset at 1440p produces 82 FPS average, which is playable but represents a 42% performance penalty compared to Medium at the same resolution. Given that the visual difference between Medium and Ultra in a 2015 turn-based title is likely subtle, the Medium preset at 1440p is the recommended choice. At 1080p, the Ultra preset at 129 FPS is also viable for users who want maximum settings without sacrificing smoothness, but the Medium preset at 1080p with 224 FPS average provides a more comfortable margin.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Hard West?

A: The data shows that 1440p Medium delivers 142 FPS average with a minimum of 121 FPS, offering the best combination of visual fidelity and performance. At 4K High the average drops to 57 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the RTX 5070 perform at 4K in this game?

A: At 4K High the average FPS is 57, at 4K Medium it is 74, at 4K Low it is 91, and at 4K Ultra it drops to 43. Only the 4K Ultra preset falls below the 60 FPS playable threshold, while 4K High is borderline.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1080p Low?

A: At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 274, which is extremely high. The CPU's 8 cores and 16 threads with a boost clock of 5.60 GHz are clearly capable of driving this frame rate, indicating the GPU is not the bottleneck at this resolution and settings combination.

Q: What is the frame time consistency at 1440p Medium?

A: The measured data shows a minimum FPS of 121 and a maximum of 163 at 1440p Medium, with an average of 142. This indicates a variance of 42 FPS between the lowest and highest frames, which is acceptable for a turn-based tactics game.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested systems?

A: This combo ranks 492 out of 2,949 tested combinations in Hard West, placing it in the top 17% of all tested systems. The CPU ranks in the 92nd percentile and the GPU in the 82nd percentile relative to all components in the database.

Q: Does the game utilize the CPU's multi-core capabilities?

A: The CPU has 8 cores and 16 threads, and the PassMark multithread score of 41,318 indicates strong multi-threaded performance. The high frame rates at 1080p Low (274 FPS) suggest the game benefits from the CPU's capability, though the title is from 2015 and may not fully utilize all 16 threads.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D is a Zen 5 architecture processor built on a 4 nm process at TSMC, featuring 8 cores and 16 threads. The base clock is 4.70 GHz with a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, and it includes 96 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU's TDP is 120 W, and it supports DDR5 memory with a dual-channel bus providing 89.6 GB/s of bandwidth. In Hard West, the CPU's role is critical for handling the game's AI decision-making and turn-based logic, which can be computationally intensive when many units are active on the map.

The benchmark data shows the CPU scoring 22,807 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 2,228 in single-core, with a PassMark single-thread score of 4,704. The CPU's percentile ranking of 92 versus all CPUs places it well above average, and the nearest rivals include the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M (deltaPct 0.1), Intel Xeon w5-2545 (deltaPct -0.2), Intel Core i9-14900 (deltaPct 0.5), and AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 470 (deltaPct -0.7). These comparisons show the 9850X3D is competitive with high-end server and desktop processors.

In the context of Hard West, the CPU's performance is evident in the high frame rates at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the average FPS of 274 demonstrates that the CPU is not a bottleneck, as the GPU is capable of rendering frames faster than the game logic can produce them. The 96 MB L3 cache is particularly beneficial for turn-based tactics games, where frequently accessed game state data can be cached locally, reducing memory latency. The CPU's 4 nm process and 8,315 million transistors contribute to its efficiency, though the game does not appear to push the processor to its limits given the frame rates achieved.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS across settings are: Low at 274, Medium at 224 with a minimum of 191 and maximum of 258, High at 172, and Ultra at 129. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 53% reduction in frame rate, from 274 down to 129, which is expected as the GPU takes on more rendering work. The Medium preset provides a 30% improvement over High, while Ultra represents a 25% decrease from High.

At 2560x1440, the average FPS values are: Low at 173, Medium at 142 with a minimum of 121 and maximum of 163, High at 109, and Ultra at 82. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows a 37% reduction at Low, 37% at Medium, 37% at High, and 36% at Ultra. This consistent reduction indicates that the GPU is the primary factor in performance scaling across resolutions.

At 3840x2160, the average FPS values are: Low at 91, Medium at 74 with a minimum of 63 and maximum of 86, High at 57, and Ultra at 43. The 4K Medium preset is the only 4K configuration with a reported minimum FPS, at 63, which stays above the 60 FPS threshold. The 4K High and Ultra presets fall below this threshold, making them less suitable for consistent gameplay. The overall pattern shows that the RTX 5070 is most comfortable at 1080p and 1440p, while 4K requires lower settings to maintain playable frame rates.