Hard West

# Hard West with AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090

This combination of AMD's 16-core Ryzen 9 8945HX mobile processor and NVIDIA's top-end RTX 4090 graphics card produces an interesting performance profile in Hard West, a turn-based tactics game originally released in November 2015. The benchmark data shows a system that delivers high frame rates across most settings, but with notable scaling limitations at higher resolutions. The combo ranks 586th out of 2,949 tested combinations, placing it in the top 20% of all tested systems for this title.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX is a 16-core, 32-thread mobile processor based on Zen 4 architecture, built on a 5nm process at TSMC. It operates with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, with a 55W TDP. This is a Dragon Range part designed for high-performance laptops, featuring 64 MB of L3 cache split across two chiplets, each with its own 71 mm² die. The CPU supports DDR5 memory on a dual-channel bus, providing 83.2 GB/s of bandwidth.

In synthetic benchmarks, the Ryzen 9 8945HX scores 42,713 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 6,030 in single-core, putting it at the 95th percentile of all CPUs. Its average benchmark score of 76,212 places it nearly identical to the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX, which scores 76,155 — a mere 0.1% difference. The AMD EPYC Embedded 8224P and AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 9945WX are also close rivals, with the EPYC 0.4% ahead and the Threadripper 0.4% behind. The Ryzen 9 9950X3D trails by 0.6%.

For Hard West, a turn-based tactics game, the CPU's role is primarily managing game logic, unit actions, and turn resolution rather than continuous simulation. The high multi-threaded performance (PassMark multi-thread score of 51,405) ensures that complex turns with multiple units on screen remain fluid. The single-thread score of 3,907 in PassMark is equally important, as turn-based games often serialize their decision-making processes. The boost clock of 5.40 GHz provides the headroom needed for any single-threaded bottlenecks that could emerge during AI calculations or pathfinding.

The measured frame rates suggest that at 1080p, the CPU is not the limiting factor — the system achieves 258 FPS on Low settings and 162 FPS on High, indicating that even the fastest GPU-bound scenarios leave CPU headroom. The 16 cores and 32 threads are overkill for a game of this era, but the high clocks ensure no stutter from thread scheduling or background tasks. The 64 MB L3 cache also benefits tile-based game data, reducing memory latency during map transitions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is a desktop-class GPU based on the AD102 chip, using Ada Lovelace architecture on a 5nm TSMC process. It features 16,384 shading units, 512 texture mapping units, and 176 ROPs, along with 128 RT cores and 512 tensor cores. The GPU runs at a base clock of 2235 MHz and boosts to 2520 MHz, with memory clocked at 1313 MHz effective (21 Gbps). It has 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, delivering 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth.

The RTX 4090 achieves a PassMark G3D score of 38,194 and an average benchmark score of 60,347, placing it at the 88th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals in the database are unusual — the Intel Arc Pro A60 matches it exactly at 60,326 (0% delta), while the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 is 0.3% behind. The AMD Radeon Pro W6600M is 2.5% ahead, and the AMD Radeon PRO V710 trails by 2.9%. These close scores reflect the database's mixed workload benchmarks rather than gaming-specific performance.

In Hard West, the GPU handles rendering of the game's stylized Wild West environments, character models, and visual effects. The 24 GB VRAM is far beyond what this 2015 title requires, meaning there is zero risk of texture streaming or memory capacity issues even at 4K Ultra settings. The 1.01 TB/s memory bandwidth ensures that even the highest resolution textures load instantly, with no pop-in or stutter.

The GPU's raw compute power (82.58 TFLOPS FP32) is massively underutilized by a turn-based tactics game, but the benchmark data shows it still scales predictably with resolution. At 4K Ultra, the GPU is clearly the bottleneck, as frame rates drop to 40 FPS average. This suggests that Hard West's Ultra preset includes effects that are not well-optimized for modern hardware, creating a GPU-bound scenario where even the RTX 4090 cannot maintain high frame rates.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals how this system scales from 1080p to 4K across four quality presets. Examining the High preset: at 1080p the system averages 162 FPS, at 1440p it drops to 103 FPS (a 36.4% reduction), and at 4K it falls to 54 FPS (a further 47.6% reduction from 1440p, or 66.7% from 1080p). This scaling pattern is characteristic of a heavily GPU-bound workload at higher resolutions.

The Low preset shows similar scaling: 258 FPS at 1080p, 163 FPS at 1440p (a 36.8% drop), and 86 FPS at 4K (a 47.2% drop from 1440p, or 66.7% from 1080p). The percentage drops are nearly identical between Low and High, indicating that the resolution scaling factor is consistent regardless of settings — the GPU load increases proportionally with pixel count.

The Medium preset shows slightly different behavior: 211 FPS at 1080p, 134 FPS at 1440p (a 36.5% drop), and 70 FPS at 4K (a 47.8% drop from 1440p). The Ultra preset has the most severe scaling: 122 FPS at 1080p, 77 FPS at 1440p (a 36.9% drop), and 40 FPS at 4K (a 48.1% drop from 1440p). The consistent ~37% drop from 1080p to 1440p and ~48% drop from 1440p to 4K across all presets strongly indicates that the scaling is purely pixel-driven, with no CPU bottleneck emerging at lower resolutions.

The limiting component analysis: at 1080p, the system reaches 258 FPS on Low, which is likely near or at the display refresh rate for most monitors. At 4K Ultra, the 40 FPS average shows the GPU is fully saturated. The fact that 1080p Low (258 FPS) is 6.45 times faster than 4K Ultra (40 FPS) demonstrates that the RTX 4090's performance scales almost linearly with pixel count, confirming the GPU as the primary constraint at all resolutions above 1080p.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers exceptionally high frame rates across all settings. Low settings average 258 FPS, Medium averages 211 FPS with a minimum of 179 and maximum of 243, High averages 162 FPS, and Ultra averages 122 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 136 FPS, representing a 52.7% reduction from Low to Ultra. This shows that Hard West's Ultra preset is significantly more demanding than Low, but even at Ultra, the system remains well above 60 FPS.

At 2560x1440, performance remains strong but shows expected reductions. Low averages 163 FPS, Medium averages 134 FPS (minimum 114, maximum 154), High averages 103 FPS, and Ultra averages 77 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 114 FPS indicates that even during demanding scenes, the system stays comfortably above 100 FPS. The Ultra preset at 77 FPS is still smooth for a turn-based game, but the drop from 122 FPS at 1080p shows the resolution cost.

At 3840x2160, performance becomes more variable. Low averages 86 FPS, Medium averages 70 FPS (minimum 60, maximum 81), High averages 54 FPS, and Ultra averages 40 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 60 FPS is notable — it suggests that the 4K Medium settings are right at the edge of maintaining a consistent 60 FPS experience. The High preset at 54 FPS and Ultra at 40 FPS both fall below the 60 FPS threshold, indicating that 4K players need to make compromises.

Comparing settings at each resolution: at 1080p, the step from Low to Medium costs 47 FPS, from Medium to High costs 49 FPS, and from High to Ultra costs 40 FPS. At 1440p, the step costs are 29 FPS, 31 FPS, and 26 FPS respectively. At 4K, the step costs are 16 FPS, 16 FPS, and 14 FPS. The diminishing absolute differences at higher resolutions confirm that the GPU is progressively more saturated, with each settings tier having less headroom to absorb.

FAQ

Q: Is this system capable of running Hard West at 4K with smooth gameplay?

A: Yes, but only on Medium settings, which average 70 FPS with a minimum of 60 FPS. High settings average 54 FPS and Ultra averages 40 FPS, both below the 60 FPS threshold. Low settings average 86 FPS, providing headroom above 60 FPS.

Q: How does the Ryzen 9 8945HX compare to its closest CPU rivals?

A: The Ryzen 9 8945HX has an average benchmark score of 76,212, which is 0.1% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX (76,155), 0.4% higher than the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 9945WX (76,513), and 0.6% higher than the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D (75,779). The AMD EPYC Embedded 8224P is 0.4% higher at 76,492.

Q: What is the best resolution for maximizing frame rate with this combo?

A: At 1080p, the system delivers over 120 FPS on all settings, with Low reaching 258 FPS. For players prioritizing maximum smoothness, 1080p Low or Medium provides the highest frame rates. For balanced visuals, 1440p Medium at 134 FPS offers a strong compromise between resolution and performance.

Q: Does the RTX 4090's 24 GB VRAM matter for Hard West?

A: The benchmark data shows no VRAM-related bottlenecks at any resolution or settings combination. The 24 GB capacity and 1.01 TB/s bandwidth exceed the requirements of this 2015 turn-based tactics title, as evidenced by consistent frame rates without stutter or texture pop-in in the measured data.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested systems for Hard West?

A: The combination ranks 586th out of 2,949 tested combos, placing it in the top 20% of all systems. This ranking reflects that while the hardware is very capable, Hard West's age and optimization mean that many lower-end systems can also achieve playable frame rates, narrowing the relative advantage of this high-end setup.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 4K Ultra settings?

A: The benchmark data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. At 4K Ultra, the system averages 40 FPS, and the resolution scaling pattern (consistent ~37% drops from 1080p to 1440p, ~48% drops from 1440p to 4K) shows purely pixel-driven performance. The CPU's high single-thread and multi-thread scores are sufficient to avoid bottlenecking at any resolution.

Settings Recommendations

The optimal settings depend on the target resolution. At 1080p, the Medium preset provides an excellent balance — 211 FPS average with a minimum of 179 FPS, ensuring no perceptible frame drops during complex turn animations. The Ultra preset at 122 FPS is also viable, but the 89 FPS difference between Medium and Ultra may not justify the visual gains in a turn-based game where action is not fast-paced.

At 1440p, the Medium preset again stands out with 134 FPS average and a 114 FPS minimum. This provides a comfortable margin above 100 FPS while maintaining solid visual quality. The High preset at 103 FPS is also playable, but the Medium preset's higher minimum frame rate makes it the safer choice for consistent performance. Ultra at 77 FPS is acceptable but begins to approach the point where frame pacing could become noticeable.

At 4K, the Medium preset is the clear recommendation — 70 FPS average with a minimum of 60 FPS, which is just at the threshold of smooth gameplay. The Low preset at 86 FPS offers more headroom, but the visual compromise may be significant on a large 4K display. High at 54 FPS and Ultra at 40 FPS are below the 60 FPS target and should be avoided unless the player prioritizes visual fidelity over frame rate. The data shows that Medium at 4K is the only preset that maintains a minimum of 60 FPS, making it the definitive choice for this resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 combination ranks 586th out of 2,949 tested combos for Hard West, placing it in the 80th percentile of all systems tested. This is a strong result, but not the top-tier ranking one might expect given the premium hardware. The explanation lies in Hard West's nature as a 2015 turn-based tactics game — it is not graphically demanding by modern standards, so the gap between this high-end system and more modest hardware narrows significantly.

The RTX 4090's 88th percentile GPU ranking and the Ryzen 9 8945HX's 95th percentile CPU ranking are both excellent, but the game's low requirements mean that many mid-range systems can achieve similar frame rates. At 1080p, for example, the system's 258 FPS on Low settings is far beyond what any display can show, making the extra performance irrelevant in practice. The combo's ranking reflects that Hard West rewards balanced systems more than raw extremes.

The system's strengths are most apparent at 4K, where the RTX 4090's 24 GB VRAM and 1.01 TB/s bandwidth ensure no memory constraints, and the CPU's high clocks prevent any logic bottlenecks. At 4K Medium, the 70 FPS average with a 60 FPS minimum is a solid result that many weaker GPU combos would struggle to match. The rank of 586 out of 2,949 (top 20%) is therefore a fair assessment — this is a very capable system for Hard West, but the game's age limits the practical advantage of such high-end hardware.