Hard West

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 combination delivers a playable but not exceptional experience in Hard West, ranking 1378th out of 1699 tested combos. This places the pairing in the lower half of the database, indicating that while the game runs, the GPU is a significant limiting factor at higher settings, and the system's overall performance profile is modest for this title.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 1378 out of 1699 places it in the 19th percentile of all tested configurations. This is a low position, suggesting that most other hardware pairings deliver better performance in Hard West. The data shows a clear pattern: the RTX 2060, while a capable 1080p card, struggles to maintain high frame rates at 4K, particularly on Ultra settings where the average FPS drops to 19.3.

The CPU, however, is a high-end part. The Ryzen 9 9900X sits in the 94th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 54450. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D (average score 54681, deltaPct -0.4) and the Intel Core i7-14700F (average score 54097, deltaPct 0.7). This indicates the processor is not the bottleneck in this pairing. The GPU, in contrast, is in the 58th percentile of all GPUs, with an average score of 16074. Its nearest rivals, such as the AMD Radeon RX 7600S (average score 15996, deltaPct 0.5), are closely matched, but the overall ranking shows that the graphics card is the weaker component in this specific game.

The data suggests that for a game like Hard West, which is turn-based and not graphically intensive, this rank is acceptable but far from ideal. The bottleneck is overwhelmingly the GPU, as evidenced by the steep performance drop when moving from 1080p to 4K. The CPU’s high benchmark scores are largely irrelevant to the final frame rates, which are capped by the graphics card’s capabilities.

FAQ

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

A: The 1920x1080 resolution provides the best experience. At 1080p, even the Ultra preset achieves an average of 69.2 FPS, and the Low preset reaches 140.8 FPS. This is the only resolution where all settings presets are comfortably playable.

Q: Is the RTX 2060 the bottleneck in this system?

A: Yes. The FPS drops significantly as resolution increases. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 19.3, while at 1440p Ultra it is 45.8 and at 1080p Ultra it is 69.2. This pattern indicates the GPU is the limiting component, as the CPU’s performance is far above what this game requires.

Q: How does the Ryzen 9 9900X compare to its closest rival?

A: The Ryzen 9 9900X has an average benchmark score of 54450. Its closest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D, scores 54681, which is a deltaPct of -0.4. This means the 9900X is essentially tied with the 9900X3D, being only 0.4% slower.

Q: Can this combo run Hard West at 4K?

A: It can run, but not well. At 4K High, the average FPS is 30.9, which is on the edge of playability. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 19.3, which is not a smooth experience. The 4K Low preset achieves 47.8 FPS, but this requires significant visual compromises.

Q: What is the performance difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 92.7 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 45.8 FPS. This is a 46.9 FPS difference, showing that the Ultra preset nearly halves the frame rate compared to Low.

Q: Is the RTX 2060 a high-performing GPU in general?

A: No. The RTX 2060 is in the 58th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 16074. This places it in the mid-range of graphics cards, and its performance in Hard West is consistent with that positioning.

Settings Recommendations

The data suggests that the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset achieves 116.9 FPS, which is significantly higher than the 93 FPS of High and the 69.2 FPS of Ultra. The jump from Medium to High costs 23.9 FPS, while the jump from High to Ultra costs another 23.8 FPS. These diminishing returns indicate that the visual improvements from Ultra are not worth the performance loss.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset is again the sweet spot, delivering 74.3 FPS. This is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold and only 18.4 FPS lower than the Low preset’s 92.7 FPS. In contrast, the High preset drops to 54.3 FPS, which is below the ideal smoothness threshold. At 4K, no preset is ideal, but Medium (41.1 FPS) is preferable to High (30.9 FPS) or Ultra (19.3 FPS).

For the best experience, players should use the Medium preset. It provides a frame rate that is more than double the Ultra preset at 1080p (116.9 vs 69.2 FPS) and maintains a playable experience at 1440p. The Ultra preset is only recommended for players with a strong preference for maximum visual fidelity, as it sacrifices significant performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data reveals a consistent pattern across all resolutions. At 1920x1080, the frame rates range from a high of 140.8 FPS on Low to a low of 69.2 FPS on Ultra. The High preset achieves 93 FPS, and the Medium preset achieves 116.9 FPS. This shows that the card is well-suited for 1080p gaming, with all presets exceeding 60 FPS.

At 2560x1440, performance drops noticeably. The Low preset averages 92.7 FPS, which is still smooth. The Medium preset achieves 74.3 FPS, and the High preset drops to 54.3 FPS. The Ultra preset falls to 45.8 FPS. This suggests that 1440p is viable for Low and Medium settings, but High and Ultra require sacrifices.

At 3840x2160, the RTX 2060 struggles significantly. The Low preset is the only one that approaches playability, with an average of 47.8 FPS. The Medium preset drops to 41.1 FPS, High falls to 30.9 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 19.3 FPS. This data confirms that 4K is not a practical resolution for this GPU in Hard West, even on lower settings.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K is steep and reveals the GPU-bound nature of this system. From 1080p to 1440p, the average FPS drops by approximately 34% across all settings. For example, at High settings, the FPS goes from 93 at 1080p to 54.3 at 1440p. From 1440p to 4K, the drop is even more severe, with the High preset falling from 54.3 to 30.9 FPS, a 43% reduction.

The most dramatic scaling is seen at Ultra settings. At 1080p, the Ultra preset achieves 69.2 FPS. At 4K Ultra, it plummets to 19.3 FPS, a 72% reduction in frame rate. This indicates that the RTX 2060’s 6 GB of VRAM and memory bandwidth are quickly overwhelmed by the increased pixel count. The 336.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 192-bit bus are insufficient for 4K workloads.

This scaling behavior strongly suggests the GPU is the limiting component. A CPU-bound system would show a more linear scaling curve, but the exponential drop in FPS at higher resolutions is characteristic of a graphics card reaching its limits. The Ryzen 9 9900X, with its high single-thread score of 6555 in Cinebench R23, is clearly not the constraint here.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 9 9900X is a high-end desktop processor with 12 cores and 24 threads, based on the Zen 5 architecture. Its base clock is 4.40 GHz, and it boosts to 5.60 GHz. The CPU’s benchmark scores are exceptional, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 46438 and a single-core score of 6555. It also achieves a Geekbench multicore score of 19827 and a single-core score of 3341.

In Hard West, a turn-based tactics game, the CPU’s role is minimal. The game does not require high thread counts, and the 12 cores are largely unused. The data shows that the CPU is not a bottleneck, as the frame rates are consistently limited by the GPU. For instance, at 1080p Low, the game hits 140.8 FPS, but this is still below what the CPU could theoretically support.

The CPU’s 64 MB of shared L3 cache and 1 MB L2 cache per core provide ample headroom for game logic, but the game’s performance is dictated by the GPU. The Ryzen 9 9900X’s 94th percentile ranking and average benchmark score of 54450 confirm that it is far more powerful than necessary for this title. The processor’s launch MSRP of $499 reflects its high-end positioning, but for Hard West, this power is largely untapped.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is a mid-range graphics card from the Turing architecture, featuring 1920 shading units and 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus. Its memory bandwidth is 336.0 GB/s, and it has a base clock of 1365 MHz with a boost clock of 1680 MHz. The card’s benchmark scores show a PassMark G3D score of 14111 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1242.

In Hard West, the GPU is the primary determinant of performance. The data shows that the card’s 6 GB of VRAM is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but it struggles at 4K. The 4K Ultra preset averages only 19.3 FPS, indicating that the card’s memory bandwidth and compute power are inadequate for that resolution. The card’s FP32 performance of 6.451 TFLOPS is also a limiting factor for higher settings.

The RTX 2060’s 58th percentile ranking and average benchmark score of 16074 place it in the lower-middle tier of graphics cards. Its nearest rivals, such as the AMD Radeon RX 7600S (average score 15996, deltaPct 0.5) and AMD Radeon Pro 5600M (average score 16351, deltaPct -1.7), show that it is closely matched with similar mid-range parts. For Hard West, the GPU’s limitations are most pronounced at 4K, where even the Low preset only achieves 47.8 FPS. The card’s 160 W TDP and dual-slot design are typical for this class, but the performance data clearly shows that it is best used at 1080p.