Hard West

The AMD Ryzen 9 5900X paired with the Intel Arc B370 presents a challenging performance profile in Hard West. The data indicates a 12-core, 24-thread CPU paired with a 25 W integrated-class GPU, resulting in a combination that ranks at 2721 out of 2949 tested combos. This pairing produces playable frame rates only at lower resolutions and settings, with the integrated GPU being the primary bottleneck in this turn-based tactics title.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data for this combination reveals a clear trade-off between visual fidelity and playability. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 79 FPS, which is the only configuration that approaches high-refresh-rate territory. The Medium preset at 1080p drops to 64 FPS, still playable but with a 15 FPS penalty for moderate visual improvements. The High preset at 1080p averages 49 FPS, which is borderline for smooth gameplay, while Ultra at 1080p falls to 37 FPS, making it the least desirable option at this resolution.

For the best experience per the measured rows, the Low preset at 1920x1080 is the clear recommendation. It provides the highest average frame rate of 79 FPS, ensuring smooth turn-based gameplay without stutter. The Medium preset at 1080p is a viable alternative for users who prioritize visual quality over raw frame rate, as 64 FPS remains above the 60 FPS threshold. However, the data shows that at 1440p, even the Low preset only achieves 50 FPS, while at 4K, the Low preset averages just 26 FPS. This suggests that users should stick to 1080p for any consistent playability.

The Ultra preset is effectively unusable at all resolutions, with averages of 37 FPS at 1080p, 23 FPS at 1440p, and 12 FPS at 4K. The High preset offers a middle ground but still struggles at higher resolutions, with 49 FPS at 1080p, 31 FPS at 1440p, and 16 FPS at 4K. Given the turn-based nature of Hard West, the 79 FPS at Low/1080p is the optimal choice, as it maximizes responsiveness while the genre tolerates lower visual fidelity without impacting gameplay mechanics.

How This Combo Ranks

The comboRankInGame places this pairing at 2721 out of 2949 tested combinations, putting it in the bottom 8% of all tested hardware configurations for Hard West. This ranking reflects the significant disparity between the CPU's capabilities and the GPU's limitations. The Ryzen 9 5900X is a high-end desktop processor with an 87th percentile ranking among all CPUs, but the Arc B370 sits at just the 5th percentile among all GPUs, and this imbalance is clearly reflected in the game's performance.

The data suggests that this combo is severely GPU-bound in Hard West, as the CPU's substantial multi-threading and single-thread performance cannot compensate for the integrated GPU's low output. The combination's rank of 2721 indicates that most other tested combos, including those with much weaker CPUs paired with modest discrete GPUs, outperform this setup. The Arc B370's nearest rivals include the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 and ATI Radeon HD 5770, with deltaPct values of -0.2% and -0.5% respectively, showing that this GPU performs at a level comparable to early-2010s discrete graphics solutions.

For context, the CPU's nearest rivals in general benchmarks include the Intel Core Ultra 7 366H and Intel Core Ultra 7 356H, with deltaPct values of 0.3% and 0.4%, meaning the Ryzen 9 5900X performs within 0.5% of these processors. However, this CPU strength is irrelevant in Hard West when paired with the Arc B370, as the GPU becomes the limiting factor at every resolution and settings combination tested. The 2721st rank out of 2949 combos indicates that users would need to significantly upgrade the GPU to see meaningful improvements in this game.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is an integrated graphics processor based on the Xe3-LPG architecture with a Panther Lake chip. Its specifications reveal a GPU designed for low power consumption rather than gaming performance, with a TDP of just 25 W and a slot width of IGP. The base clock runs at 300 MHz, boosting to 2400 MHz, which provides a peak FP32 performance of 6.144 TFLOPS. The GPU has 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 20 raster output units, along with 10 ray tracing cores.

In Hard West, the GPU's role is clearly the dominant factor in determining frame rates. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the GPU manages 79 FPS, but this drops precipitously as resolution increases. At 4K Low, the average falls to 26 FPS, representing a 67% performance loss from 1080p. The GPU's memory configuration is "System Shared," meaning it relies on system RAM rather than dedicated VRAM, which further limits its performance in texture-heavy scenes.

The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 benchmark score of 1184 places this GPU at the 5th percentile among all GPUs, with nearest rivals including the ATI Radeon HD 5770 and AMD Radeon HD 7650M. This confirms that the Arc B370 is not a gaming-oriented part, and Hard West results reflect this. The GPU's 20 ROPs and 40 TMUs are insufficient for high-resolution rendering, as evidenced by the 12 FPS average at 4K Ultra. The 2400 MHz boost clock provides some computational power, but the system-shared memory bandwidth, listed as "System Dependent," likely becomes a bottleneck at higher resolutions and settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured data shows a clear progression across settings. The Low preset averages 79 FPS, which is the highest recorded for this combination. Medium drops to 64 FPS with a minimum of 55 FPS and maximum of 74 FPS, indicating some frame time variance. High averages 49 FPS, while Ultra falls to 37 FPS. This 42 FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p demonstrates the GPU's limited headroom for visual enhancements.

At 2560x1440, the performance drops significantly. Low averages 50 FPS, which is playable but 29 FPS lower than at 1080p. Medium averages 41 FPS with a range of 35 to 47 FPS, while High averages 31 FPS and Ultra drops to 23 FPS. The 1440p data shows that only the Low preset maintains an average above 48 FPS, and the frame rate range at Medium suggests inconsistent performance that could affect turn-based gameplay pacing.

At 3840x2160, the results are largely unplayable. Low averages 26 FPS, Medium averages 21 FPS with a range of 18 to 25 FPS, High averages 16 FPS, and Ultra averages just 12 FPS. The 4K data indicates that this combination cannot handle 4K rendering in Hard West at any settings level, with even the lowest preset failing to reach 30 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K shows a minimum of 18 FPS, which would result in noticeable stuttering during gameplay.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and reveals the limiting component. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 79 at 1080p to 50 at 1440p, a 37% decrease, and then to 26 at 4K, a further 48% decrease from 1440p. This scaling pattern indicates that the GPU is heavily resolution-bound, as the pixel count increases from approximately 2 million at 1080p to 8.3 million at 4K, a 4x increase, while the FPS drops by only 67% from 79 to 26.

The data suggests that the Arc B370's system-shared memory and limited ROP count cannot keep up with the increased pixel throughput at higher resolutions. The 12 FPS at 4K Ultra represents the worst-case scenario, with the GPU clearly struggling to fill frames. The CPU's role in this scaling is minimal, as the Ryzen 9 5900X has ample single-thread performance for turn-based tactics, with a Geekbench single-core score of 2083 and a 3DMark single-thread score of 941. The bottleneck is unequivocally the GPU, as the resolution scaling shows a consistent pattern of FPS halving every time resolution roughly doubles.

The 1080p to 4K scaling also highlights the GPU's memory bandwidth limitations. With "System Shared" memory and bandwidth listed as "System Dependent," the Arc B370 likely saturates its available memory bandwidth at higher resolutions, leading to the sub-30 FPS results at 4K. The 48.00 GPixel/s pixel rate and 96.00 GTexel/s texture rate are insufficient for 4K rendering, confirming that the GPU is the limiting factor in this pairing.

FAQ

Q: Why does the Low preset at 1080p provide 79 FPS, but Ultra at 4K only achieves 12 FPS?

A: The Arc B370's system-shared memory and limited pixel throughput cause a dramatic performance drop as resolution increases. The 4x pixel count at 4K overwhelms the GPU's 20 ROPs, reducing the average frame rate from 79 to 12, a 85% decrease.

*Q: Is the Ryzen 9 5900X bottlenecking the Arc B370 in Hard West?*

A: No, the data indicates the GPU is the limiting component. The CPU's 12-core, 24-thread configuration provides ample processing power for this turn-based tactics title, as evidenced by its 87th percentile ranking among all CPUs, while the GPU ranks at just the 5th percentile.

Q: What is the best settings preset for this combination at 1440p?

A: The Low preset at 1440p averages 50 FPS, which is the only playable option at this resolution. Medium averages 41 FPS, High averages 31 FPS, and Ultra drops to 23 FPS, all below the 48 FPS threshold for smooth turn-based gameplay.

Q: How does the Arc B370 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B370 scores 1184 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, which is 0.2% lower than the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 and 0.5% lower than the ATI Radeon HD 5770. This places it at the 5th percentile among all GPUs, indicating performance comparable to early-2010s discrete graphics.

Q: Does the 105 W TDP of the CPU affect the GPU's performance?

A: The CPU's 105 W TDP is irrelevant to the GPU's performance in this game. The Arc B370's 25 W TDP and integrated nature mean it operates independently, and the measured FPS data shows the GPU is the sole bottleneck, regardless of CPU power draw.

Q: Can this combination achieve 60 FPS at any settings?

A: Yes, the Low preset at 1920x1080 averages 79 FPS, exceeding the 60 FPS threshold. The Medium preset at 1080p averages 64 FPS, also above 60 FPS. No other resolution or settings combination in the measured data reaches 60 FPS.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 5900X is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, codenamed Vermeer, manufactured on a 7 nm TSMC process. It has a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.80 GHz, with 64 MB of L3 cache. The CPU's benchmark scores show strong multi-threaded performance, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 16262 and a 3DMark max threads score of 10075. Single-thread performance is also solid, with a Geekbench single-core score of 2083 and a 3DMark single-thread score of 941.

In Hard West, the CPU's role is largely secondary to the GPU, as the game's turn-based mechanics do not require high frame rates for competitive advantage. However, the data shows that the CPU's 4.80 GHz boost clock and 64 MB L3 cache help maintain consistent frame times at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combination achieves 79 FPS, which suggests the CPU can feed the GPU adequately at this resolution. The CPU's 87th percentile ranking among all CPUs indicates it performs within 0.5% of rivals like the Intel Core Ultra 7 366H and Intel Core Ultra 7 356H, demonstrating that the processor is not a limiting factor.

The CPU's 12 cores and 24 threads are overkill for Hard West, which is a turn-based tactics game that likely utilizes only a few threads. This is reflected in the benchmark results, where the CPU's 3DMark 2-thread score of 1852 and 4-thread score of 3588 show moderate scaling. The 64 MB L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth provide ample memory bandwidth for the system-shared GPU, but the GPU's own limitations prevent any CPU advantage from translating into higher frame rates at higher resolutions. The CPU's role is to prevent bottlenecks, and the data shows it succeeds, as the FPS drops are entirely attributable to GPU resolution scaling.