Hard West

# FAQ

Q: What is the measured performance of the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 combo in Hard West at 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, this combo achieves an average frame rate of 54.4 FPS. This is the lowest result across all tested settings at 4K, indicating that the Ultra preset places the heaviest load on the system.

Q: How does the CPU's multi-threaded performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Ryzen 9 5900X scores 33,150 in Cinebench R23 multicore. Its average benchmark score of 39,453 sits within 1% of the AMD EPYC 4245P (39,383, +0.2% delta) and the Intel Core i7-13700F (39,095, +0.9% delta), while trailing the Intel Core i7-13700 by 1% (39,857, -1% delta).

Q: What is the GPU's memory configuration and how does it influence Hard West performance?

A: The RTX 4090 features 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, delivering 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth. The memory clocks run at 1313 MHz with 21 Gbps effective speed. This large memory pool and high bandwidth help maintain consistent frame rates across all resolutions, with the frame rate dropping from 243.5 FPS at 1080p Low to 54.4 FPS at 4K Ultra.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested configurations in Hard West?

A: This combination ranks 77th out of 1,699 tested combos in Hard West, placing it in the top 5% of all configurations. The data confirms this is a high-end pairing with measured performance data rather than estimates.

Q: At which resolution does the combo achieve the highest frame rate?

A: The highest measured average is 243.5 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. At the same resolution, the Ultra preset still delivers 169.7 FPS, showing the GPU's headroom at 1080p.

Q: How does the CPU's single-thread performance compare to its multi-thread score?

A: The Ryzen 9 5900X posts a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4,680 versus 33,150 multicore, a ratio of roughly 7:1. Its 3DMark single-thread score of 941 (versus 10,075 max-thread) further illustrates that this 12-core/24-thread processor scales strongly with parallel workloads, which is relevant for turn-based tactics where AI calculations may utilize multiple threads.

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GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the dominant component in this combination for Hard West. Built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with the AD102 chip on a 5 nm process, this GPU carries 16,384 shading units, 512 TMUs, and 176 ROPs. The core clocks are listed with a base of 2235 MHz and a boost of 2520 MHz, while the 24 GB of GDDR6X memory operates at 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective) across a 384-bit interface, producing 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth.

These specifications translate directly into the measured frame rates. At 4K, the GPU's raw throughput is the limiting factor as settings increase: the average FPS drops from 121.7 at Low to 97.6 at Medium, then to 73.9 at High, and finally to 54.4 at Ultra. This progression shows a 55% reduction in frame rate from Low to Ultra at 3840x2160, demonstrating how the Ultra preset's additional shading and texture demands scale with the GPU's 82.58 TFLOPS FP32 compute capability.

The GPU's memory bandwidth becomes more critical at higher resolutions. At 2560x1440, the spread between Low (212.8 FPS) and Ultra (108.7 FPS) is narrower in percentage terms, while at 1920x1080 the GPU is never fully taxed, with even Ultra producing 169.7 FPS. The 1.01 TB/s bandwidth ensures that the 24 GB frame buffer does not become a bottleneck for texture-heavy scenes in this turn-based tactics title, where large static scenes may hold many assets in memory simultaneously.

The RTX 4090's benchmark percentile of 91% among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 66,473, places it near the top of the hierarchy. Its nearest rivals in the database—such as the NVIDIA Tesla T4 (66,733, -0.4% delta) and AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56 (67,097, -0.9% delta)—are all within 1.3% of its score, indicating that the 4090's performance is well-characterized. The GPU's pixel rate of 443.5 GPixel/s and texture rate of 1,290.2 GTexel/s are the physical attributes that drive the observed frame rates, particularly at 4K where fill-rate-bound effects matter most.

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CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 5900X provides the computational foundation for this combo. This 12-core, 24-thread processor from the 5000 series uses the Zen 3 architecture (Vermeer) on a 7 nm TSMC process. Its base clock of 3.70 GHz boosts to 4.80 GHz, and it carries 64 MB of L3 cache alongside 512 KB L2 and 64 KB L1 per core. The CPU supports DDR4 memory with dual-channel configuration and 51.2 GB/s bandwidth, and it connects via PCIe Gen 4.

For Hard West, a turn-based tactics title from 2015, the CPU's role is primarily in managing game logic, AI pathfinding, and unit state calculations between turns. The benchmark data shows that the CPU's multi-threaded capability is substantial: Cinebench R23 multicore scores 33,150, while the single-core score is 4,680. This asymmetry is typical for the 12-core design, but the single-thread performance of 4,680 is still strong enough to handle the sequential portions of game logic.

The CPU's 3DMark scores further illustrate its scaling: 1,852 for 2 threads, 3,588 for 4 threads, 6,601 for 8 threads, and 10,075 for max threads. The near-linear scaling from 2 to 8 threads suggests that game engines leveraging multiple cores for parallel AI updates would benefit, although Hard West's age means it may not fully utilize all 24 threads. The PassMark multi-thread score of 39,002 and physics score of 1,994 provide additional context for compute-bound scenarios.

The Ryzen 9 5900X ranks in the 90th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 39,453. Its nearest rivals are tightly clustered: the AMD EPYC 4245P (39,383, +0.2% delta), AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8845HS (39,747, -0.7% delta), Intel Core i7-13700F (39,095, +0.9% delta), and Intel Core i7-13700 (39,857, -1% delta). All deltas are within 1%, meaning the CPU is essentially tied with these alternatives in aggregate performance. For Hard West specifically, the CPU is unlikely to be the bottleneck at any resolution, as evidenced by the GPU-bound frame rate scaling across settings.

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Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance for optimal settings. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset delivers 169.7 FPS, which is already far above any display refresh rate likely to be used. The Medium preset (229.2 FPS) and High preset (207.3 FPS) offer diminishing returns, so Ultra is the recommended choice at this resolution for maximum visual fidelity without sacrificing smoothness.

At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset produces 108.7 FPS, which is still comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold for most monitors. The High preset (143.4 FPS) provides a 32% improvement over Ultra, making it a strong alternative for players using high-refresh-rate 1440p displays. The Medium preset (186.5 FPS) is excessive for most use cases, and Low (212.8 FPS) does not meaningfully improve the experience over Medium.

At 3840x2160, the situation changes. The Ultra preset drops to 54.4 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay on standard 4K displays. The High preset (73.9 FPS) restores a comfortable margin above 60 FPS, while Medium (97.6 FPS) and Low (121.7 FPS) provide progressively larger headroom. For 4K users, the High preset is the recommended balance, as it maintains a smooth frame rate while preserving most visual quality. The data shows a 36% frame rate penalty from High to Ultra at 4K, which is substantial for a turn-based title where camera panning and unit animations benefit from consistency.

Across all resolutions, the Medium preset offers the best compromise between visual quality and performance, never dropping below 97.6 FPS even at 4K. However, given the GPU's capability, High at 4K or Ultra at 1440p are the most sensible defaults for this hardware.

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How This Combo Ranks

This configuration ranks 77th out of 1,699 tested combos in Hard West, placing it in the top 4.5% of all combinations. This rank reflects the pairing's overall capability, with the RTX 4090's 91st percentile GPU score (average 66,473) and the Ryzen 9 5900X's 90th percentile CPU score (average 39,453) combining to produce strong results.

The ranking is notable for what it implies about the game's demands. Hard West, as a 2015 turn-based tactics title, is not particularly demanding by modern standards. Yet this combo still only reaches 54.4 FPS at 4K Ultra, indicating that the Ultra preset includes visual effects that are heavy even for the RTX 4090. The fact that 76 other combos rank higher suggests that some configurations—likely with even newer CPUs or GPUs—can achieve higher frame rates in this title, though the differences may be marginal given the game's age.

The combo's position relative to other tested configurations is further contextualized by the GPU's nearest rivals. The RTX 4090's average benchmark score of 66,473 is within 1.3% of the Tesla T4, Tesla P40, Radeon Pro Vega 56, and Quadro P6000, all of which are data-center or professional cards. This indicates that the 4090's gaming performance is well above average, and the 77th rank likely reflects the game's engine limitations at very high frame rates rather than hardware deficiencies.

The measured data confirms this is a top-tier combination. At 1080p, the lowest setting still produces 243.5 FPS, and even the most demanding 4K Ultra setting maintains a playable 54.4 FPS. The rank of 77 out of 1,699 combos, combined with the percentile scores, establishes this pairing as one of the fastest configurations tested for this game, with the primary caveat being that Hard West's age means the hardware is substantially over-provisioned for most settings.