Hard West

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS for this combo at 4K Ultra settings?

A: The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D delivers an average of 62 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings in Hard West.

Q: How does the RTX 5090 D compare to its nearest rivals in overall GPU benchmarks?

A: The RTX 5090 D's average benchmark score is 77,712. It sits 1.1% above the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT (76,904) and 1.6% below the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (78,940), as well as 2.1% and 2.4% below the NVIDIA Tesla P100 variants.

Q: What is the CPU's multi-threaded performance relative to its closest competitors?

A: The Ryzen 9 7900X has an average benchmark score of 53,288. It is 0.2% ahead of the AMD EPYC 7313P, 0.6% ahead of the Intel Xeon 634, and 0.3% and 0.6% behind the Intel Xeon Phi 7290 and Intel Core i7-14700F, respectively.

Q: Does the data show a bigger FPS drop from 1440p to 4K or from 1080p to 1440p at High settings?

A: The drop from 1080p to 1440p at High settings is 91 FPS (from 249 to 158). The drop from 1440p to 4K at High settings is 75 FPS (from 158 to 83). So, the drop is larger going from 1080p to 1440p.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested combos in this game?

A: This specific combo ranks 21st out of 2,949 tested combinations in Hard West.

Q: What are the memory specifications of the GPU in this combo?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D features 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, with a bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s and an effective memory clock of 1750 MHz (28 Gbps).

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is the primary driver of frame rates in this test. Its 32 GB of GDDR7 memory is substantial, though the data shows that even at 4K Ultra settings, the game's memory footprint does not bottleneck the GPU. The GPU's base clock is 2017 MHz, boosting to 2407 MHz, and these clocks are consistent with the high frame rates observed. The GPU's memory bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s is a key factor in handling the higher resolutions.

Benchmark results indicate that the GPU's raw compute power is immense. Its FP32 performance is 104.8 TFLOPS, and its texture rate is 1,636.8 GTexel/s. These specs translate directly into the measured frame rates. At 1080p Low settings, the combo achieves 300 FPS, which is likely the ceiling for the game's engine or the measurement tool, not a limitation of the GPU. The GPU's 21,760 shading units and 680 texture mapping units provide the parallel processing capability needed for such high output.

The RTX 5090 D's 92.2 billion transistors on a 750 mm² die at a 5 nm process node allow for this level of performance. The GPU's passmark G3D score of 44,065 and its 92nd percentile ranking among all GPUs confirm its top-tier status. When the settings are raised from Low to Ultra at 4K, the average FPS drops from 131 to 62, a 53% reduction. This shows that the GPU is being tasked progressively harder, but even at its most demanding setting, it maintains a playable frame rate.

The GPU's role is clear: it is the component that scales with resolution and settings. The CPU's role is secondary, as the game's turn-based tactical nature does not require the same level of per-frame CPU work as a fast-paced shooter. The data shows a clear correlation between GPU load and frame rate, with the RTX 5090 D consistently delivering high averages across all tested configurations.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear pattern of performance scaling across the three resolutions tested. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 249 at 1920x1080 to 158 at 2560x1440, and then to 83 at 3840x2160. This represents a 36.5% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 47.5% drop from 1440p to 4K. The scaling is not linear, with the 4K resolution exacting a proportionally larger toll on the GPU.

At Low settings, the pattern is similar but with a different starting point. The combo achieves 300 FPS at 1080p, which drops to 251 at 1440p (a 16.3% reduction) and then to 131 at 4K (a 47.8% reduction from 1440p). The 300 FPS figure at 1080p Low suggests this is near the upper limit of what the game can produce, as it is a round number that could indicate a frame rate cap. The 4K Low result of 131 FPS is still very high, indicating that the GPU is not fully stressed at this setting.

The Medium settings row is the only one with min and max FPS data, providing additional insight. At 1080p Medium, the average is 279 FPS with a min of 237 and a max of 321. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 205 FPS with a min of 174 and a max of 236. At 4K Medium, the average is 108 FPS with a min of 92 and a max of 124. The variance between min and max FPS is relatively small, suggesting consistent frame pacing.

The resolution scaling analysis reveals that the limiting component is the GPU. The frame rate drops are directly proportional to the increase in pixel count. From 1080p to 4K, the pixel count quadruples, and the frame rate drops by roughly two-thirds at High settings (249 to 83). This is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario where the CPU has ample headroom. The 12-core Ryzen 9 7900X is likely not the bottleneck at any resolution, as the frame rate scaling follows the GPU's workload.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows provide a clear picture of how settings impact performance. At 1080p, all settings deliver high frame rates, with Low at 300 FPS, Medium at 279 FPS, High at 249 FPS, and Ultra at 187 FPS. The drop from High to Ultra is 62 FPS, which is the largest single-step reduction at this resolution. For players with 1080p displays, High settings offer a good balance, delivering 249 FPS while still providing quality visuals.

At 1440p, the data shows that Medium settings at 205 FPS is the sweet spot for high refresh rate monitors. High settings at 158 FPS is also excellent, and even Ultra at 118 FPS is very playable. The drop from Medium to High is 47 FPS, while the drop from High to Ultra is 40 FPS. For a 144Hz monitor, High settings provide the best experience, as it stays above the refresh rate with room to spare. Medium settings would be the choice for 165Hz or 240Hz displays.

At 4K, the choice becomes more critical. Ultra settings produce an average of 62 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. However, the lack of min FPS data for Ultra means we cannot confirm the worst-case frame times. Medium settings at 108 FPS provide a more comfortable margin, with a min FPS of 92, ensuring that even the slowest frames stay well above 60 FPS. High settings at 83 FPS is a middle ground, but the absence of min FPS data makes it harder to recommend definitively.

The best experience per the measured rows is Medium settings at 4K. This preset delivers 108 FPS average with a 92 FPS minimum, which is a substantial margin above the 60 FPS target. The step from Low to Medium at 4K is only 23 FPS (131 to 108), but the visual quality improvement is likely significant. Given that the game is turn-based, the importance of ultra-high frame rates is diminished, making a stable 100+ FPS at Medium settings the most comfortable option. For players who prioritize visuals over frame rate, Ultra at 62 FPS is viable, but the data suggests Medium is the more robust choice.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D combination ranks 21st out of 2,949 tested combos in Hard West. This places it in the top 0.7% of all tested configurations. The rank indicates that this combo is among the fastest for this specific game, though it is not the absolute top performer. The top 20 combos likely feature even more specialized or higher-clocked components, but the data does not specify what those are.

The combo's high rank is consistent with the individual component rankings. The CPU has a 91st percentile ranking among all CPUs, and the GPU has a 92nd percentile ranking among all GPUs. The combo's 21st place finish suggests that the combination of these two high-percentile parts works well together in Hard West. The game's turn-based tactical genre typically does not require extreme CPU performance, so the GPU's capabilities are the primary driver of this high rank.

It is worth remembering the combo rank is game-specific. A different game might place this combo in a different position, depending on how it utilizes the CPU and GPU. The data for Hard West shows that the combination is well-balanced, with neither component significantly bottlenecking the other. The 21st rank out of 2,949 combos is an impressive result, placing this configuration in the top 1% of all tested systems for this game. The measured FPS data supports this ranking, with high frame rates even at the most demanding settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a detailed look at performance across all resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the combo delivers an average of 300 FPS at Low settings, 279 FPS at Medium, 249 FPS at High, and 187 FPS at Ultra. The Medium setting row includes min and max FPS values of 237 and 321, respectively. The 300 FPS cap at Low settings suggests the game engine has a frame rate limit, as this is a round number that appears only at 1080p Low.

At 2560x1440, the average FPS is 251 at Low, 205 at Medium, 158 at High, and 118 at Ultra. The Medium setting row shows a min of 174 and a max of 236. The progression from Low to Ultra at 1440p is a drop of 133 FPS (251 to 118), representing a 53% reduction. The step from Medium to High is 47 FPS, which is the largest single-step drop at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the average FPS is 131 at Low, 108 at Medium, 83 at High, and 62 at Ultra. The Medium setting row shows a min of 92 and a max of 124. The drop from Low to Ultra at 4K is 69 FPS (131 to 62), a 52.7% reduction. The step from High to Ultra is 21 FPS, which is the smallest single-step drop at this resolution, indicating that the GPU is becoming more saturated.

Across all resolutions, the Medium setting consistently provides the only available min/max data. This allows for a more complete picture of frame time consistency. At 1080p Medium, the min is 237 and the max is 321, a spread of 84 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the min is 174 and the max is 236, a spread of 62 FPS. At 4K Medium, the min is 92 and the max is 124, a spread of 32 FPS. The narrowing spread at higher resolutions suggests the GPU's workload is more consistent, reducing frame time variance.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 7900X is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, codenamed Raphael. It has a base clock of 4.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. This high clock speed, combined with the 12 cores, makes it a powerful processor for both single-threaded and multi-threaded workloads. The CPU's 64 MB of shared L3 cache and 1 MB of L2 cache per core provide ample data storage for game logic.

In Hard West, a turn-based tactical game, the CPU's role is to handle game state calculations, AI decisions, and pathfinding. These tasks are typically not as demanding as those in real-time strategy or first-person shooters. The benchmark data shows that the CPU has significant headroom, as frame rates are primarily limited by the GPU. The 3DMark scores for the CPU show strong multi-threaded performance, with a 16-thread score of 10,972 and a max-thread score of 12,536. The single-thread score of 1,093 indicates strong per-core performance.

The CPU's Cinebench R23 scores of 29,300 multi-core and 2,016.5 single-core further confirm its capabilities. The Geekbench scores of 19,267 multi-core and 2,617 single-core are also strong. These benchmark results suggest that the CPU is not a bottleneck in this game, as the frame rates scale with GPU load. The CPU's 170W TDP and 5 nm process node from TSMC allow for high clock speeds without excessive power consumption.

The Ryzen 9 7900X's nearest rivals in terms of average benchmark score are the AMD EPYC 7313P, Intel Xeon Phi 7290, Intel Xeon 634, and Intel Core i7-14700F. The deltas are all within 0.6%, indicating that these processors have similar overall performance. However, in this game, the CPU is not the limiting factor, so the differences between these processors would likely not be noticeable in frame rates. The CPU's 91st percentile ranking among all CPUs confirms its high performance level, but the game's results are more indicative of GPU performance.