Hard West

The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination delivers a robust performance profile in Hard West, a turn-based tactics title from 2015. The measured data shows this pairing is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions and settings, while the CPU provides ample headroom for high frame rates at lower settings. The dataset includes 12 measured FPS points across three resolutions and four quality presets, offering a clear picture of how this hardware scales.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X is a 12-core, 24-thread processor from the 7000 series, based on the Zen 4 architecture (Raphael). It operates on a base clock of 4.70 GHz and can boost up to 5.60 GHz, with a 170 W TDP. The CPU's benchmark results place it in the 93rd percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 50556. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 5 235, scores 50598, a negligible 0.1% difference, meaning the 7900X is essentially tied with that part in synthetic tests.

For a game like Hard West, which is a turn-based tactics title, the CPU's role is less about sustaining massive multi-threaded workloads and more about delivering strong single-thread performance for game logic, pathfinding, and AI decision-making. The 7900X's single-thread capabilities are solid: it scores 6168 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 4238 in Passmark single-thread. With 64 MB of shared L3 cache, the processor has ample fast storage for the game's data structures.

In the measured FPS data, the CPU's headroom is most evident at 1080p with Low settings, where the average FPS reaches 259.2. This high frame rate indicates that the CPU is not a bottleneck at this level, as the GPU is able to push out frames well beyond typical display refresh rates. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 10972 and multi-thread score of 12536 further confirm the CPU's capacity to handle any background tasks or game threads without issue. The data suggests that the 7900X will not limit performance in Hard West at any tested resolution or setting, leaving the GPU as the primary performance determinant.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is the limiting component in most scenarios. It features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU has a base clock of 1920 MHz and a boost clock of 2475 MHz, with 5888 shading units and 64 ROPs. Its memory clock runs at 1313 MHz, effective 21 Gbps. The RTX 4070 sits in the 81st percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 37283. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56, scores 37507, which is 0.6% higher, making the RTX 4070 marginally slower in synthetic tests.

In Hard West, the GPU's performance directly scales with the quality preset. At 1080p, the RTX 4070 achieves 259.2 FPS on Low, 212.7 FPS on Medium, 159.9 FPS on High, and 123.5 FPS on Ultra. This progression shows a consistent performance drop as settings increase, indicating the GPU is handling the additional visual load. The 12 GB VRAM is sufficient for this title, as even at 4K Ultra, the game does not exceed memory capacity, as evidenced by the playable 43 FPS average.

The RTX 4070's texture rate of 455.4 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 158.4 GPixel/s are more than adequate for a game released in 2015. The GPU's DirectX 12 Ultimate support (12_2) is forward-looking, though Hard West likely uses older API paths, which the GPU handles with ease. The Passmark DirectX 11 score of 244 and DirectX 12 score of 103 suggest strong legacy API performance, relevant for this title's rendering engine. The data shows the RTX 4070 is the primary driver of FPS variance across settings, with CPU influence minimal.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is significant and reveals the GPU as the limiting component. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 159.9 at 1080p to 102.1 at 1440p, a reduction of 57.8 FPS, and then to 55.4 at 4K, a further drop of 46.7 FPS. This represents a 65% reduction from 1080p to 4K, which is a typical pattern for a GPU-bound scenario.

At Low settings, the scaling is more dramatic. The RTX 4070 produces 259.2 FPS at 1080p, 161.8 FPS at 1440p, and 85.5 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 97.4 FPS, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 76.3 FPS. The larger percentage loss at higher resolutions confirms that the GPU is the bottleneck, as pixel count increases faster than the GPU's fill rate can compensate.

Ultra settings show the steepest decline: 123.5 FPS at 1080p, 76.8 FPS at 1440p, and 43 FPS at 4K. The 1080p to 4K reduction is 80.5 FPS, a 65% drop. The data indicates that the CPU is not a constraint at any resolution, as even at 4K Ultra, the frame rate is limited by GPU compute and memory bandwidth, not CPU logic. The 7900X's high single-thread score of 1093 in 3DMark single-thread and 4238 in Passmark single-thread ensures it can feed the GPU with draw calls efficiently. The resolution scaling pattern is consistent and predictable, pointing to the RTX 4070 as the definitive performance limiter in this title.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal preset depends on the target resolution and desired smoothness. At 1080p, all presets exceed 120 FPS, with Low achieving 259.2 FPS, Medium 212.7 FPS, High 159.9 FPS, and Ultra 123.5 FPS. For a 144Hz display, Ultra is sufficient, but for a 240Hz display, High or lower is required. The data shows that Ultra at 1080p provides a 123.5 FPS average, which is smooth for most users.

At 1440p, the High preset delivers 102.1 FPS, which is ideal for a 144Hz monitor. Medium achieves 132.5 FPS, offering a buffer for demanding scenes, while Ultra drops to 76.8 FPS, still playable but with less headroom. Low at 161.8 FPS is excessive for most displays. For 1440p, the High preset is the best balance, as it provides a high frame rate without sacrificing visual fidelity.

At 4K, the situation changes. Ultra averages 43 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. High averages 55.4 FPS, closer to 60 but not quite there. Medium achieves 68.9 FPS, which is above 60 and represents the best playable option at 4K. Low at 85.5 FPS is smooth but visually stripped down. The recommendation is Medium at 4K, as it offers a playable frame rate while retaining some visual quality. Across all resolutions, the Medium preset provides a consistent performance uplift over High, with a 24% increase at 4K (68.9 vs 55.4 FPS), making it the most reliable choice for maintaining a smooth experience.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination ranks 379th out of 1699 tested combos in Hard West. This places it in the top 22% of all configurations tested. The rank reflects the GPU's 81st percentile standing, which is below the CPU's 93rd percentile, indicating that the GPU is the weaker link in this pairing for this specific game.

Compared to other combos, this rank is respectable but not top-tier. The RTX 4070's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks include the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (0.6% faster) and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile (2.2% faster), which suggests that similar GPU-based combos may perform slightly better in Hard West. However, the 7900X's strong CPU performance ensures that any bottleneck is purely GPU-side, meaning the combo's rank is driven by the RTX 4070's capabilities rather than CPU limitations.

The 379th rank out of 1699 combos indicates that there are 378 configurations that perform better, likely featuring higher-tier GPUs such as the RTX 4080 or RTX 4090. The data shows that this combo is well-suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where it delivers high frame rates, but it falls short of the top tier at 4K Ultra, where the 43 FPS average is below the 60 FPS target. The rank is a reflection of the GPU's mid-to-high-end positioning, not a deficiency in the CPU.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with High settings?

A: The combo achieves an average of 159.9 FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings, which is well above the 144 Hz refresh rate for most monitors.

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

A: The data shows the GPU is the limiting factor. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 43, while the CPU's single-thread performance is strong. The FPS drops consistently across resolutions, indicating GPU-bound performance.

*Q: Can this combo run Hard West at 4K with a smooth frame rate?*

A: At 4K, the Medium preset averages 68.9 FPS, which is above 60 FPS. High averages 55.4 FPS and Ultra averages 43 FPS, so Medium is the recommended preset for smooth 4K gameplay.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 4070 has an average benchmark score of 37283, while the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 scores 37507, which is 0.6% higher. The NVIDIA GeForce MX570 A scores 38008, 1.9% higher.

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

A: The combo ranks 379th out of 1699 tested combos, placing it in the top 22% of all configurations for Hard West.

Q: What is the maximum FPS achieved at 1080p?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 259.2 at 1080p with Low settings. This is the peak frame rate in the measured data.