Hard West

The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, code-named Raphael, and built on a 5 nm process by TSMC. Its base clock is 4.70 GHz with a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, and it carries a 64 MB shared L3 cache alongside 1 MB of L2 cache per core. For a turn-based tactics title like Hard West, the CPU’s role is less about raw frame-pushing and more about maintaining consistent frame pacing and handling game logic overhead. The 7900X’s single-thread performance, as indicated by its 3DMark single-thread score of 1093 and Geekbench single-core score of 2952, ensures that the game’s decision-making and turn calculations are processed swiftly. Multi-threaded capabilities are ample, with Cinebench R23 multi-core reaching 43695 and Passmark multithread scoring 51406, but Hard West is not expected to leverage all 24 threads heavily. The processor’s 170 W TDP and DDR5 dual-channel memory support with 83.2 GB/s bandwidth provide a robust foundation; however, the data indicates that at higher resolutions, the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck. The CPU’s percentile rank against all CPUs is 93, placing it firmly in the high-performance tier, with nearest rivals like the Intel Core i9-13980HX trailing by 0.8% in average benchmark score. This margin is negligible in real-world gaming, meaning the 7900X is unlikely to be the limiting factor in Hard West.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Hard West, the pairing of the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER achieves a rank of 72 out of 1699 total combos. This places the system in the top 4.2% of all tested configurations, indicating exceptional performance for this title. The rank reflects the synergy between the CPU and GPU, where the 7900X’s high single-thread throughput complements the RTX 4080 SUPER’s immense rendering power. Compared to other combos in the database, this system outperforms the vast majority, with only 71 configurations delivering higher average frame rates. The RTX 4080 SUPER itself holds the 88th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 53610. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT, scores 53489, a delta of 0.2%, meaning the 4080 SUPER is essentially tied with that card in synthetic tests but pulls ahead in real gaming scenarios due to driver optimizations and feature set. The CPU’s nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 5 235, scores 50598, a negligible 0.1% difference, confirming that the 7900X is not leaving performance on the table. This combo’s rank confirms balanced component selection, where neither the CPU nor the GPU introduces a significant bottleneck at the resolutions tested.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Hard West reveals a clear pattern of scaling across resolutions, with the RTX 4080 SUPER’s load increasing as pixel count rises. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves 302.2 FPS, which drops to 207.4 FPS at High and 151.3 FPS at Ultra. This progression shows that at 1080p, the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU enough frames, but the GPU’s rendering load still dictates the final output. Moving to 1440p, the Low setting yields 208.6 FPS, a 31% reduction from 1080p Low, while Ultra drops to 99.8 FPS, a 34% decrease from 1080p Ultra. At 4K, the scaling becomes more pronounced: Low settings produce 109.7 FPS, Medium 86.9 FPS, High 66.3 FPS, and Ultra 53.9 FPS. The drop from 1080p Ultra (151.3 FPS) to 4K Ultra (53.9 FPS) represents a 64% reduction, indicating that the GPU is the primary limiting component at higher resolutions. Conversely, the difference between 1080p Low (302.2 FPS) and 4K Low (109.7 FPS) is 64%, which is nearly identical, suggesting that even at Low settings, the GPU’s fill rate and memory bandwidth are the constraining factors. The CPU’s performance headroom is evident: at 1080p Low, the system exceeds 300 FPS, a threshold where even the fastest CPUs would struggle to maintain frame pacing, yet the 7900X manages it, confirming its capability. The data shows that for this combo, the GPU is the bottleneck across all tested settings, with the CPU providing ample overhead.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for Hard West is comprehensive, covering three resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the system delivers 302.2 FPS on Low, 268.9 FPS on Medium, 207.4 FPS on High, and 151.3 FPS on Ultra. These numbers indicate that the RTX 4080 SUPER is never stressed at 1080p, even at Ultra settings, where the frame rate remains well above 144 Hz, suitable for high-refresh-rate monitors. The gap between Low and Ultra is 150.9 FPS, a 50% reduction, showing that quality settings have a significant impact on GPU load. Moving to 2560x1440, the Low setting produces 208.6 FPS, Medium 172 FPS, High 130.2 FPS, and Ultra 99.8 FPS. Here, the Ultra preset dips below 100 FPS, but the system still delivers smooth gameplay for a tactics title, where frame rates above 60 FPS are more than sufficient. The reduction from 1080p to 1440p averages 31% across all settings, which is consistent with the increase in pixel count (from 2.07 million to 3.69 million, a 78% increase, though the FPS drop is less, indicating some CPU or memory bandwidth headroom). At 3840x2160, the Low setting yields 109.7 FPS, Medium 86.9 FPS, High 66.3 FPS, and Ultra 53.9 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K is the only configuration that dips below 60 FPS, which is a critical threshold for smooth gameplay, but it remains playable. The scaling from Medium to Ultra at 4K is a 38% drop (86.9 to 53.9 FPS), while from Low to Ultra it is a 51% drop (109.7 to 53.9 FPS). The data shows that the RTX 4080 SUPER’s 16 GB of GDDR6X memory and 736.3 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for 4K, but the game’s Ultra settings impose a heavy load on the GPU’s shading units and ROPs.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture, using the AD103 chip fabricated on a 5 nm process by TSMC. It features 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 736.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU has 10240 shading units, 320 TMUs, and 112 ROPs, with 80 RT cores and 320 tensor cores. Its base clock is 2295 MHz with a boost clock of 2550 MHz, and memory runs at 1438 MHz (23 Gbps effective). The FP32 performance is 52.22 TFLOPS, and the pixel rate is 285.6 GPixel/s. In Hard West, the GPU’s role is dominant, as evidenced by the resolution scaling analysis. The card’s average benchmark score of 53610 puts it in the 88th percentile of all GPUs, with its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT, scoring 53489, a 0.2% delta. The RTX 4080 SUPER’s performance is consistent across synthetic tests, with a Passmark G3D score of 34245 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6600. For a turn-based tactics game, the GPU’s raw compute power is overkill, but it ensures that even at 4K Ultra, the frame rate only dips to 53.9 FPS, which is acceptable for the genre. The card’s 320 W TDP and triple-slot design indicate high power requirements, but the data shows it delivers the expected performance. The GPU’s 16 GB VRAM is more than sufficient for Hard West, as the game’s textures and geometry do not stress memory capacity, but the bandwidth is crucial for 4K rendering. The RTX 4080 SUPER’s end-of-life production status suggests it is a last-generation product, yet its performance remains competitive, as indicated by its rank among all GPUs. In this combo, the GPU is the definitive performance driver, with the CPU providing ample support to avoid any bottleneck.