Hard West

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Hard West with the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and Intel Arc B570 reveals a clear progression of performance degradation as resolution increases. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo produces an average of 84 FPS. Stepping up to 2560x1440 at High drops this to 53 FPS, a reduction of 31 FPS. Moving further to 3840x2160 at High, the average falls to 28 FPS, which is exactly half of the 1440p result and roughly one-third of the 1080p figure.

The pattern holds across all settings presets. With Low settings, the transition from 1080p to 1440p brings the average from 134 FPS down to 85 FPS, and then to 44 FPS at 4K. Medium settings show 110 FPS at 1080p, 69 FPS at 1440p, and 36 FPS at 4K. Ultra settings follow the same trajectory: 63 FPS at 1080p, 40 FPS at 1440p, and 21 FPS at 4K.

This scaling behavior indicates that the system becomes progressively more GPU-bound as resolution climbs. The frame rate drops are roughly proportional to the increase in pixel count, which is typical for a turn-based tactics title where CPU workload per frame is relatively modest. The Intel Arc B570's 10 GB GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus with 380.0 GB/s bandwidth appears sufficient for the data demands at all tested resolutions, as there are no anomalous collapses in performance that would suggest memory capacity or bandwidth bottlenecks.

The most telling indicator of the limiting component comes from the delta between 1080p and 4K at each preset. At Low settings, the 4K average is 44 FPS versus 134 FPS at 1080p — a 67% reduction. At Ultra, the drop is from 63 FPS to 21 FPS, a 67% reduction as well. This consistency across presets strongly suggests that the GPU's shading throughput, rather than any other subsystem, is the primary constraint at higher resolutions. The Arc B570's FP32 throughput of 11.52 TFLOPS and pixel rate of 200.0 GPixel/s are the relevant figures here, and the data shows those resources are increasingly taxed as pixel count rises.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570, built on the Xe2-HPG architecture with the BMG-G21 chip, operates at a fixed 2500 MHz for both base and boost clocks. The 2304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 80 render output units define its raw processing capacity. In Hard West, a turn-based tactics game from 2015, the GPU's role is primarily to render static or slowly changing scenes with occasional combat animations. The benchmark results reflect this: even the lowest measured average of 21 FPS at 4K Ultra is playable for the genre, though not ideal.

The memory configuration deserves attention. The Arc B570 ships with 10 GB of GDDR6 across a 160-bit bus, yielding 380.0 GB/s of bandwidth. At 3840x2160 Ultra, the average FPS of 21 with no reported minimum suggests the game is not exceeding the memory capacity. Had the 10 GB buffer been insufficient, the data would likely show severe frame time spikes or a much larger gap between High and Ultra at 4K. Instead, the 4K High average of 28 FPS and 4K Ultra average of 21 FPS represent a 25% performance penalty for the Ultra preset, which is consistent with increased shading load rather than memory pressure.

The GPU's compute potential is also worth examining. The PassMark G3D score of 14195 and GPU compute score of 7281 indicate solid general-purpose performance, but Hard West does not appear to leverage compute-heavy features. The DirectX 12 Ultimate support (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4 compatibility are present in the hardware, though the game's 2015 release date means it likely targets older API paths. The PassMark DirectX 11 score of 118 versus DirectX 12 score of 72 suggests the architecture performs relatively better on legacy APIs, which may benefit a game from this era.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows provide a clear picture of which settings presets deliver the best balance of visual quality and performance for this combo. At 1920x1080, all presets exceed 60 FPS except Ultra, which averages 63 FPS — still above the 60 FPS threshold. Low delivers 134 FPS, Medium 110 FPS, and High 84 FPS. For 1080p, High is the recommended preset: it maintains 84 FPS while offering substantially better visual fidelity than Medium or Low, and only trails Ultra by 21 FPS, which is unlikely to justify the additional rendering cost.

At 2560x1440, the picture changes. High averages 53 FPS, Medium 69 FPS, and Low 85 FPS. Ultra falls to 40 FPS. For a turn-based tactics game where precise frame timing is less critical than in fast-action genres, Medium at 69 FPS offers the best compromise. It provides a 16 FPS advantage over High while still delivering a more detailed image than Low. The Medium preset also has the only reported min/max range at this resolution: 59 FPS minimum and 80 FPS maximum, indicating stable frame delivery without significant dips.

At 3840x2160, none of the presets reach 60 FPS. Low averages 44 FPS, Medium 36 FPS, High 28 FPS, and Ultra 21 FPS. For 4K gaming on this combo, Low is the only preset that stays above 40 FPS. Medium at 36 FPS is playable for turn-based tactics, but the 8 FPS advantage of Low over Medium may be preferable for smoother camera panning. The data suggests that 4K Ultra should be avoided entirely, as the 21 FPS average falls below the threshold where even slower-paced games feel responsive.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X paired with the Intel Arc B570 ranks 2360 out of 2949 tested combos for Hard West, placing it in the lower 21st percentile of all configurations. This ranking reflects the GPU's mid-tier positioning: the Arc B570 sits at the 65th percentile among all GPUs, while the Ryzen 9 9900X is at the 92nd percentile among all CPUs. The disparity between CPU and GPU percentiles suggests that this combo is CPU-heavy in its balance, with the graphics card acting as the limiting factor in this game.

The GPU's nearest rivals provide context for its performance tier. The Arc B570's average benchmark score of 20556 is within 0.1% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (20534) and 0.1% below the Intel Arc A750 (20582). It also sits close to the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M (20480) and AMD Radeon R9 M390X (20662). These deltas — all under 0.5% — indicate that the Arc B570 is statistically indistinguishable from these competitors in aggregate benchmarks. However, in Hard West specifically, the measured FPS data shows the combo's overall rank is dragged down by the GPU's performance at higher resolutions.

The CPU's nearest rivals show a similarly tight grouping. The Ryzen 9 9900X's average benchmark score of 57498 is 0.1% below the AMD EPYC 9015 (57555) and 0.2% above the AMD EPYC 7313 (57399). It sits 1.1% below the Intel Core i9-14900 (58115) and 1.4% below the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M (58323). This clustering suggests that the CPU is not the differentiating factor in this combo's ranking; rather, the GPU's mid-range positioning determines where the pair lands among the 2949 configurations.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU-GPU combo in Hard West?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 is the only resolution where all settings presets maintain playable frame rates. At 1080p, even Ultra averages 63 FPS, while Medium reaches 110 FPS and Low hits 134 FPS. At 1440p, only Low and Medium exceed 60 FPS, and at 4K, no preset reaches 60 FPS.

Q: How does the Arc B570's memory configuration affect Hard West performance?

A: The GPU has 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus with 380.0 GB/s bandwidth. The measured FPS data shows no signs of memory capacity exhaustion, as the scaling from High to Ultra at 4K (28 to 21 FPS) is consistent with increased shading load rather than memory swapping.

Q: Is the Ryzen 9 9900X holding back the Arc B570 in this game?

A: No. The CPU is at the 92nd percentile among all CPUs, and its benchmark scores (Cinebench R23 multicore 32172, single-core 2253) are far above what a turn-based tactics game from 2015 would require. The GPU, at the 65th percentile, is the limiting component.

Q: What settings preset provides the most stable frame delivery at 1440p?

A: Medium at 2560x1440 has the only reported min/max range (59 FPS minimum, 80 FPS maximum) among the tested rows. This indicates stable frame pacing with no dips below 59 FPS, making it the most consistent choice at this resolution.

Q: How does this combo compare to other tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 2360 out of 2949 tested combos for Hard West. The GPU's nearest rivals — RTX 3070 Mobile, Arc A750, Quadro M4000M, and R9 M390X — all score within 0.5% of the Arc B570 in average benchmarks, so results would likely be similar with any of these cards.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K Ultra settings in Hard West?

A: The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 Ultra is 21 FPS. This is below the 30 FPS threshold generally considered minimum for playable frame rates, so 4K Ultra is not recommended based on this data.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured averages are as follows: Low 134 FPS, Medium 110 FPS (with a min of 93 and max of 126), High 84 FPS, and Ultra 63 FPS. All presets at this resolution exceed 60 FPS, making 1080p the only resolution where every setting is playable.

At 2560x1440, the data shows: Low 85 FPS, Medium 69 FPS (min 59, max 80), High 53 FPS, and Ultra 40 FPS. The Medium preset is the only one with reported min/max values, and its 59 FPS minimum is just below the 60 FPS threshold, indicating near-consistent performance.

At 3840x2160, the averages are: Low 44 FPS, Medium 36 FPS (min 31, max 42), High 28 FPS, and Ultra 21 FPS. No preset at this resolution reaches 45 FPS, and the gap between Low and Ultra is 23 FPS, representing a 52% reduction in performance from the lowest to highest quality setting.

The Medium preset at each resolution shows the most complete data, with min/max values reported for all three resolutions. At 1080p, the range is 93 to 126 FPS (a 33 FPS spread). At 1440p, the range narrows to 59 to 80 FPS (a 21 FPS spread). At 4K, the range is 31 to 42 FPS (an 11 FPS spread). This narrowing range as resolution increases suggests that frame time variability decreases when the GPU becomes more consistently saturated.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge), manufactured on a 4 nm process at TSMC. It has a base clock of 4.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, with 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 1 MB of L2 cache per core, and 64 MB of L3 cache. The CPU's TDP is 120 W, and it supports DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration with 89.6 GB/s of bandwidth.

In Hard West, a turn-based tactics game released in 2015, the CPU's workload is primarily game logic, pathfinding, and AI decision-making. These tasks are typically single-threaded or lightly threaded, which plays to the Ryzen 9 9900X's strengths: its 3DMark single-thread score of 1286 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2253 place it well above the requirements of this era of game. The PassMark single-thread score of 4672 further confirms that the CPU has ample headroom for the game's computational demands.

The multithreaded capabilities are also robust, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 32172 and a Geekbench multicore score of 22174. However, Hard West is unlikely to utilize all 24 threads effectively. The PassMark physics score of 3381 and find prime numbers score of 436 are modest, but these represent synthetic workloads that do not directly map to game performance. The data from the measured FPS shows that the CPU is not a bottleneck at any resolution: even at 1080p Low, where the GPU is least stressed, the combo reaches 134 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS target. If the CPU were limiting, we would expect to see a cap on maximum frame rates regardless of resolution or settings, but the data shows no such cap.

The CPU's 92nd percentile ranking among all CPUs, combined with its nearest rivals being server-class parts (EPYC 9015, EPYC 7313) and high-end desktop chips (i9-14900, Xeon Platinum 8260M), confirms that this processor is not the limiting factor in this combo. The 12 cores and 24 threads provide substantial compute capacity, and the 5.60 GHz boost clock ensures responsive single-threaded performance for the game's decision-making loops. The data indicates that the Ryzen 9 9900X has significant headroom in Hard West, leaving the Intel Arc B570 as the clear performance ceiling for this pairing.