Hard West

The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 delivers solid turn-based tactics performance in Hard West, with measured frame rates that scale predictably from 1080p to 4K. At 1920x1080, the combo produces an average of 104 FPS on High settings, but this drops to 66 FPS at 2560x1440 and 34 FPS at 3840x2160. The dataset shows the CPU is never a meaningful constraint in this title, while the GPU becomes the decisive factor as resolution climbs. This analysis draws exclusively on the benchmark data recorded for this combination.

Resolution Scaling

Across the four presets recorded for this combination, the FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent. At Low settings, the average goes from 165 FPS at 1080p to 104 FPS at 1440p and to 55 FPS at 4K. That represents a 66.7% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 47.1% reduction from 1440p to 4K (the absolute difference of 49 FPS out of a base of 104). At High, the sequential averages are 104 FPS, 66 FPS, and 34 FPS, respectively. That is a decline of 36.5% between 1080p and 1440p, and a larger drop of 48.5% between 1440p and 4K. Medium shows the same pattern, with 135 FPS at 1080p, 86 FPS at 1440p, and 45 FPS at 4K. Ultra is the heaviest preset, but still continues the trend: 78 FPS, 49 FPS, and 26 FPS across the three resolutions.

The observed scaling strongly implicates the graphics card as the limiting component at higher resolutions. When the CPU is capable of delivering 165 FPS at 1080p Low, it is clearly not the ceiling for this headline. The jump from 1080p to 4K quadruples the pixel count, and the measured FPS scales almost inversely with that ratio, which is typical of GPU-bound loads. At 1080p the CPU can still push high frame rates, but at 4K the data points (e.g., 55 FPS on Low) indicate the RTX 5050 cannot keep up, even when the scene complexity is reduced. The game engine appears to be sensitive to pixel count, confirming a GPU-bound profile at the high-resolution end.

In relative terms, the scaling from 1080p to 1440p costs roughly 37% performance on High and Medium, while the scaling from 1440p to 4K costs an additional 50% on those same presets. The Ultra preset shows a milder drop (49 FPS down to 26 FPS, which is a 46.9% reduction), but the absolute values are already low from the start. The overall picture is that this CPU-GPU pair is tuned for 1080p and 1440p play, and the 4K performance is only marginally usable on the Low preset.

How This Combo Ranks

According to the array of tested combinations, this specific pairing achieves a combined rank of 2303 out of 3722 overall combos for Hard West. That places it just above the median, specifically at the 61.9 percentile of all configurations in the database. This means that 61.9% of tested CPU-GPU pairs produce lower or similar performance in this title. While not a top-tier configuration, it is comfortably mid-lower — which is to say, many weaker CPUs with stronger GPUs will outperform it at 1080p, but its strong CPU is wasted in this title because the GPU becomes the limiting factor early on.

The CPU itself is a elite part in the benchmark standings, sitting at the 91st percentile of all CPUs. Its average benchmark score is 51947, which places it within 0.2% of the AMD EPYC 8124P and 0.4% above the Intel Core i9-13900F. In single-threaded tests (3DMark single vs 2 threads, Cinebench R23 single core), it also high, but those scores are irrelevant for this title. The GPU, by contrast, ranks at the 66th percentile of all GPUs, with an average score of 21035. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL (delta -0.6%), the AMD Radeon HD 8970M (-1%), and the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT (+1.6%). These rivalries suggest that the RTX 5050 is a mid-tier card that is stronger than some legacy parts but below the top of the stack. That is precisely reflected in its performance in Hard W: at 4K it falls to the low 30s on High, and at 1080p Low it manages to reach 165 FPS, but still cannot reach even 180 FPS, which would be typical for a high-end GPU. The combo ranking of 2303/3722 is also aligned with the GPU's weaker relative position, as Hard W mostly asks the GPU to draw the scene, not the CPU to calculate.

FAQ

Q: What is the effective combat at 4K Ultra?

A: The recorded average is 26 FPS, with no min or max provided in the dataset for that preset combination.

Q: Which resolution and preset combination yields the highest measured frame rate?

A: The 1920x1080 Low preset achieves the highest average, at 165 FPS, per the measured data.

Q: Is the CPU fast enough to achieve 60 FPS with this graphics card?

Yes. The 16-core, 32-thread Ryzen 9 5950X is never the bottleneck in this game. For example, at 1080p Medium, the combo reaches 135 FPS, and at 1440p Low it hits 104 FPS, both well above 60 FPS.

Q: Can this combo deliver a steady 60 FPS at 1440p High?

A: Yes, the measured average at 2560x1440 High is 67.9 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold. The actual min and max were not recorded for that preset, but the average is a good indicator.

Q: What frame rate do I get at 4K Low?

A: The recorded average is 55 FPS at 3840x2160 Low, which is only slightly below the 60 FPS target. This is the closest 4K preset to being playable in a smooth manner.

Q: Does the CPU’s boost clock matter for Hard W?

While the CPU has a boost clock of 4.9 GHz, the data shows no gain from that boost because the game is GPU-limited at high resolutions. At 1080p Low, the average is 165 FPS, which suggests that the CPU can easily feed the render pipeline at that level, but the frame rates are still capped by the GPU even at Low.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table shows the complete set of average frame rates from the measured data, with min and max for the Medium preset only. For all other presets, only the average is available.

| Resolution | Low | Medium | High | Ultra |

|------------|-----|--------|------|-------|

| 1920x1080 | 104 | 135 (min 115, max 155) | 104 | 78 |

| 2560x1440 | 104 | 86 (min 73, max 98) | 66 | 49 |

| 3840x2160 | 55 | 45 (min 38, max 52) | 34 | 26 |

(Note: The table above reproduces the exact values from the `measuredFps` data. The `min` and `max` fields are only non-null for the Medium preset entries.)

At 1080p, the Low preset is the outlier at 165 FPS, while Medium and High both appear to be capped around 104-135 FPS, and Ultra drops to 78. The 1440p column shows a steady regression: 104 FPS on Low, 86 on Medium, 66 on High, and 49 on Ultra. The 4K row is the most demanding, with Low at 55, Medium at 45, High at 34, and Ultra at 26.

For the Medium preset, the recorded min and max values are 115/155 at 1080p, 73/98 at 1440p, and 38/52 at 4K. These ranges indicate a fairly stable experience at each resolution, with a spread of 40 FPS at 1080p, 35 FPS at 1440p, and 14 FPS at 4K. The narrowing range as resolution increases is consistent with the GPU being the bottleneck at high resolution; the GPU’s frame output is more consistent when it is saturated.

No min or max is given for other presets, so the averages must be treated as the primary performance indicator for those settings.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X is a 5000-series CPU based on Zen 3 (Vermeer) architecture, manufactured on a 7 nm TSMC process. It integrates 16 cores and 32 threads, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz. The L3 cache is 64 MB (combined) and the L1 cache per core is 64 KB. The CPU supports DDR4 memory with dual-channel bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s. The benchmark scores in the dataset highlight its strong single-thread and multi-thread capabilities: in Cinebench R23, it scores 26017 multi-core and 1614 single-core; in Geekbench it gets 2083 single-core and 15233 multi-core; in Passmark it hits a multithreading score of 45424 and a single-thread of 3470. The CPU has a percentile rating of 91, meaning it outperforms 91% of CPUs in the database, and its nearest benchmarks are within 0.7% of the Intel Core i7-14700 and 0.4% of the Core i7-13900F.

In Hard W, the CPU is clearly not the bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the 165 FPS average is far above the GPU’s ability to fill frames at that resolution, so the CPU is delivering more than enough geometry, physics, and logic per frame. The game is a turn-based tactic, which typically has light CPU load compared to real-time shooters. Given that the frame rate scales almost purely with resolution—the GPU’s share—it is reasonable to conclude that a 16-core CPU is overkill for this title; a 4-core or 6-core would likely produce similar results. However, the data shows that the 5950X can drive unusual 165 FPS at 1080p Low, which at least confirms the CPU does not limit even that high. The 64 MB of L3 cache and 32 MB of cache per CCX might help in turn-based loads, but no specific CPU-related performance despite this. The fact that the measured FPS at 4K High is only 34 while the CPU isn’t stressed suggests that the game engine does 4K accurately, and the GPU is the stranglehold.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rates, each resolution has a clear best preset.

At 1920x1080, all presets produce averages above 78 FPS, with Low hitting 165 FPS, Medium 135 FPS, Medium 1042, and Ultra 78. Since the game runs at 104 FPS on High and 78 on Ultra, players aiming for 60+ can use Ultra without issues. The Ultra preset averages 78 FPS, which is well above 60. For the smoothest experience, Low would give the highest refresher rate, but Ultra offers a balanced visual upgrade.

At 2560x1440, the High preset by default averages 66 FPS, which is above 60. Medium is also playable at 86 FPS. Ultra, however, drops to 49 FPS, which is below the smoothness threshold. Therefore, the optimal setting at 1440p is either Medium (86 FPS) or High (66 FPS). Base on visual fidelity, High yields a 33% . Less than 10% performance loss versus Medium .

At 3840x2160, a 60 FPS average is not attainable on any preset. The closest is Low with 55 FPS, which is a touch under 60. Medium averages 45 FPS, High 34 FPS, and Ultra 26 FPS. If the user is willing to tolerate a slightly sub-60 experience, Low may be the best option for playable frame rates. Optionally, one could run at 55 and drop some visual effects, but the dataset indicates Low is the only preset that goes within 5 of the target. For a comfortable experience, 1440p High is a safer choice cap at 60 FPS.

Given the drop percentages, we can estimate that all presets at 1080p are viable, while 1440p is human at Medium/High, and 4K is generally a low preset hold.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 is a Blackwell architecture GPU with a 204-bit GDDR6 memory bus and 320 GB/s bandwidth. It has 8 GB of GDDR6 and a base clock of 2317 MHz and boost of 2572 MHz. The board is bus US 300W PSU. The benchmark library shows the GPU has a percentile ranking of 60th among all GPUs, and an average score of 21035. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL (delta -0.6%) and the Radeon RX 5600 XT (+, 1.6%). The GPU’s 3DMark Stainless: a the TDP is 130, and it has 2560 shading units, 80 TMUs, and 32 ROPs.

The measured performance clearly shows that the RTX 5050 is the primary limit on higher resolutions with this CPU. At 4K, even Low settings cap to an average of 55 FPS, and the scaling with presets is steep: from Low (55) to Medium (45) and High (34) and Ultra (26). That is a 1.61% increase in frame time from Low to Ultra. The trend matches a GPU that is not enough to fill 8.3 million pixels at 4K with any visual detail. At 1440p, the card can more relaxed, reaching 104 FPS on Low and 86 on Medium, and still 66 on High. At 1080p, it gets strong output all the way up to 165 FPS on Low, which is the highest of any preset.

The 8 GB memory size is not a constraint in this older title; the GPU is computes performance limited. The 128‑bit bus and bandwidth of 320 GB/s are sufficient for this game’s textures, as shown by the small resolution scaling at 1440p. The 32 ROPs and 80 TMUs also handle the 2D bottleneck? The data indicates that the GPU is the bottleneck rather than memory bandwidth. The launch MSRP of the RTX 5050 is 249 USD.

The GPU’s relative ranking vs its nearest rivals in the database shows it sits between the Vega M GL and the Radeon RX 5600 XT, but the raw FPS numbers in Hard W are consistent with that position: the combo ranks at the 2133rd best out of 3722, which is above average? Actually 2303 rank is worse than average. That is in line with the GPU’s 66th percentile? Actually the GPU is at 66 percentile, which is better than 66 percent of GPUs. The combo rank is 2303 out of 3722 = 61.9% better. So the CPU helps a bit, but the GPU sets the ceiling.