Hard West

Hard West, a turn-based tactics title from 2015, presents an interesting benchmark scenario for the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060. The measured data reveals a configuration that is heavily influenced by the graphics card at higher resolutions, yet demonstrates significant headroom in less demanding settings. The combination of a 16-core, 32-thread processor with a modern Ada Lovelace GPU produces a wide spectrum of frame rates, from highly playable at 1080p to marginally smooth at 4K, depending on the preset selected.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and clearly demonstrates the growing influence of the GPU as pixel count increases. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 115.4 FPS at 1920x1080 to 74.3 FPS at 2560x1440, a substantial reduction of 41.1 FPS. Pushing further to 3840x2160 yields just 40.3 FPS, which represents a 65% decrease from the 1080p result. This steep decline indicates that the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is becoming the primary limiting factor at 4K, as the workload shifts from CPU-bound logic to raw pixel throughput.

The scaling pattern is consistent across all quality presets. At Low settings, the frame rate drops from 185.9 FPS at 1080p to 118.5 FPS at 1440p, then to 64.9 FPS at 4K. The Medium preset follows a similar trajectory, going from 149.8 FPS down to 96.7 FPS and finally 52.6 FPS. The Ultra preset exhibits the most severe scaling, with 89.1 FPS at 1080p collapsing to 53.9 FPS at 1440p and a mere 27.1 FPS at 4K. These numbers suggest that while the CPU can easily feed the GPU at lower resolutions, the RTX 4060’s 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 128-bit bus width become bottlenecks when handling the higher pixel counts.

The data indicates that the transition from 1440p to 4K is particularly punishing, with average frame rate losses ranging from 45% at Low settings to 50% at Ultra settings. This is characteristic of a GPU that is well-suited for 1080p and capable at 1440p, but struggles to maintain playable frame rates at 4K with higher graphical fidelity. The RTX 4060’s 15.11 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 272.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth are simply insufficient for the demands of 4K rendering in this title, even with the relatively simple visuals of a turn-based tactics game.

Settings Recommendations

For users targeting a smooth 60 FPS experience, the benchmark results provide clear guidance. At 1920x1080, all four presets exceed this threshold, with even the demanding Ultra preset achieving 89.1 FPS. The High preset at 115.4 FPS offers an excellent balance, providing significantly better performance than Ultra while presumably maintaining a high level of visual quality. For those with 1440p displays, the High preset at 74.3 FPS is the recommended choice, as it stays comfortably above 60 FPS while the Ultra preset drops to 53.9 FPS, which may introduce noticeable stutter in a tactical game where precise unit positioning matters.

At 4K, the options are more limited. The High preset yields 40.3 FPS, which is below the ideal 60 FPS target but may be acceptable for a slower-paced turn-based game. The Medium preset at 52.6 FPS is arguably the best 4K option, offering a smoother experience while still maintaining a reasonable level of visual detail. Dropping to Low settings at 4K provides 64.9 FPS, which is the only 4K configuration that reaches the 60 FPS threshold, but it likely sacrifices too much visual fidelity for most players. The Ultra preset at 27.1 FPS is not recommended at any resolution above 1080p, as the frame rate becomes too low for comfortable gameplay.

The data suggests that the optimal experience depends heavily on the target resolution. At 1080p, High settings deliver the best combination of performance and visual quality, with the headroom to potentially enable additional features. At 1440p, High remains the sweet spot, while at 4K, users should consider Medium or Low settings to maintain playable frame rates. The 89.1 FPS result at 1080p Ultra indicates that the GPU can handle high detail settings at lower resolutions, but the steep performance penalty at higher resolutions makes it impractical to push beyond High at 1440p or above.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X is a formidable processor, featuring 16 cores and 32 threads based on the Zen 3 architecture. Its benchmark scores reflect this strength, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 38607 and a single-core score of 5450. The processor’s 3.40 GHz base clock and 4.90 GHz boost clock provide ample single-threaded performance for game logic, while the 64 MB of L3 cache helps reduce memory latency. In the context of Hard West, a turn-based tactics game, the CPU’s role is primarily to handle the game’s simulation and AI calculations, which are typically not massively parallel but do benefit from strong single-core performance.

However, the measured frame rates indicate that the CPU is rarely the bottleneck in this configuration. At 1080p Low settings, the system achieves 185.9 FPS, which suggests the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU far beyond what the RTX 4060 can render at higher resolutions. The fact that the frame rate drops by over 65% when moving from 1080p to 4K at High settings confirms that the GPU is the limiting factor in most scenarios. The 5950X’s PassMark single-thread score of 3470 and Geekbench single-core score of 2211 indicate strong per-core performance, which is sufficient for this game’s requirements.

The processor’s 3DMark scores further illustrate its capabilities, with a single-thread score of 944 and a 2-thread score of 1856. These numbers suggest that even if the game were to utilize only a couple of cores, the 5950X would still provide ample performance. The 16-core configuration is likely overkill for Hard West, but it ensures that no CPU-related stutters occur, even with background tasks running. The processor’s 93rd percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 49062, places it among the top performers, and its nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-14600K, shows a negligible 0.2% difference in average score.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, this pairing of the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 ranks 990th out of 1699 combos for Hard West. This places it in the lower half of all tested configurations, which is somewhat surprising given the individual strengths of both components. The ranking suggests that while the CPU is exceptionally powerful, the GPU’s limitations at higher resolutions drag down the overall performance score for this specific game. The RTX 4060’s 66th percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 23181, indicates it is a mid-range graphics card, and its nearest rivals, such as the AMD Radeon RX 6600M and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti, show similar performance levels with delta percentages of -0.6% and -0.7%, respectively.

The combo’s rank of 990 out of 1699 means that roughly 58% of tested combinations perform better in Hard West. This is likely due to the game’s relatively low graphical demands, which allow even older or less powerful GPUs to achieve high frame rates at lower resolutions. The RTX 4060’s performance at 1080p is excellent, but its 4K performance is lackluster compared to higher-tier GPUs that would rank higher in this database. The CPU’s contribution to the ranking is minimal, as the 5950X is unlikely to be a bottleneck in any scenario, but the GPU’s mid-range positioning limits the combo’s overall standing.

When compared to other combinations that might feature a less powerful CPU but a more powerful GPU, this setup would likely fall behind in 4K benchmarks but excel in CPU-intensive tasks. The data shows that the RTX 4060’s PassMark G3D score of 19545 and 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 2302 are respectable for its class, but they do not place it among the top-tier GPUs. Consequently, the combo rank reflects a balanced but not exceptional pairing for Hard West, where the GPU’s limitations at high resolutions are the primary factor in its mid-pack positioning.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for a 60 FPS experience?

A: At 1920x1080, all presets exceed 60 FPS, with High achieving 115.4 FPS. At 2560x1440, the High preset delivers 74.3 FPS, which is the recommended choice. At 3840x2160, only the Low preset reaches 64.9 FPS, while Medium provides 52.6 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 4060 perform at 4K in this game?

A: The RTX 4060 struggles at 4K, with the High preset averaging 40.3 FPS, Medium at 52.6 FPS, and Ultra at just 27.1 FPS. The Low preset achieves 64.9 FPS, making it the only 4K option that hits the 60 FPS target.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this configuration?

A: The GPU is the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions. The frame rate drops from 185.9 FPS at 1080p Low to 64.9 FPS at 4K Low, indicating the CPU can easily handle the game’s demands while the GPU struggles with pixel throughput.

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

A: This combination ranks 990th out of 1699 tested combos for Hard West, placing it in the lower half of all configurations. The CPU’s 93rd percentile ranking is offset by the GPU’s 66th percentile ranking.

Q: What is the performance difference between High and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the High preset averages 74.3 FPS, while Ultra drops to 53.9 FPS. This 20.4 FPS difference represents a 27.5% reduction in performance for the higher quality preset.

Q: Does the processor’s 16-core configuration provide any benefit in this game?

A: The 16-core configuration is likely overkill for Hard West, as the game’s turn-based mechanics are not heavily multithreaded. However, the CPU’s strong single-core performance, evidenced by a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 5450, ensures no CPU bottlenecks occur.