Hard West

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 delivers a playable, though not exceptional, experience in Hard West. The data places this combination at rank 2324 out of 2949 tested combos, putting it in the 21st percentile overall. This suggests that while the hardware is fully capable of running the game, a significant majority of other tested configurations achieve higher frame rates. The ranking reflects a pairing where the GPU is the primary constraint at higher resolutions, while the CPU's substantial headroom becomes more relevant at 1080p.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's position at 2324 out of 2949 tested combinations places it firmly in the lower half of the performance distribution. With 2125 other combos performing better, this configuration is not designed for high-refresh-rate dominance in Hard West, particularly at higher resolutions where the GPU's limitations are most apparent. However, the rank is not catastrophic; it indicates a system that can run the game smoothly at medium settings across all tested resolutions, with the CPU providing a stable foundation that never becomes the bottleneck in the measured scenarios.

The ranking is heavily influenced by the RTX 2060's position in the GPU hierarchy. The GPU's average benchmark score of 15290 places it in the 58th percentile of all GPUs, with its nearest rivals being the GTX 580, Radeon 680M, RTX 3050 OEM, and RX 7600, all within 0.8% of its score. This tight clustering at the GPU's performance tier explains why the combo rank is not higher; the graphics card is the limiting factor in most scenes, and its modest performance relative to the CPU creates an imbalance that prevents the system from achieving higher frame rates at 1440p and 4K.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is the dominant component in determining Hard West's performance at higher resolutions. The GPU's 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s, which is sufficient for this turn-based tactic’s relatively modest texture requirements. The 1920 shading units, 120 TMUs, and 48 ROPs define the card's rasterization throughput, and the benchmark results show that this hardware is the ceiling for frame rates at 2560x1440 and above.

Operating at a base clock of 1365 MHz and a boost clock of 1680 MHz, the GPU's compute capability is measured at 6.451 TFLOPS for FP32 operations. This raw power is the primary driver of the observed frame rates. At 4K Ultra, the combination drops to 22 FPS, clearly indicating the GPU is overwhelmed by the pixel count and shader complexity. Even at 1080p Ultra, the card manages only 67 FPS, which is respectable but not stellar. The GPU's 30 RT cores and 240 Tensor cores are present but largely irrelevant for a game like Hard West, which does not utilize ray tracing or DLSS in the measured data. The 58th percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 15290, confirms that this is a mid-tier graphics solution that excels at 1080p and handles 1440p adequately, but struggles at 4K.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience, the data points to the Medium preset as the optimal balance between visual fidelity and performance across all resolutions. At 1080p, Medium delivers an average of 117 FPS with a minimum of 99 FPS and a maximum of 135 FPS, which is excellent for a turn-based game where smoothness is less critical than in action genres. This frame rate is 30 FPS higher than High settings at the same resolution, showing that the Medium preset avoids the more demanding effects that cost performance without proportional visual gains.

At 1440p, Medium yields an average of 74 FPS, with a minimum of 63 FPS, which is still smooth and playable. The jump from Medium to High at this resolution results in a drop to 57 FPS, a 17 FPS loss that may be noticeable in scenes with multiple characters and effects. For 4K, Medium is the highest playable preset, achieving 39 FPS on average, with a minimum of 33 FPS. While not ideal for fast-paced action, it is acceptable for the game's slower, tactical pacing. Low settings are only recommended for users prioritizing maximum frame rates over visuals, as it yields 143 FPS at 1080p and 90 FPS at 1440p, but the Medium preset offers significantly better graphical quality for a moderate performance cost.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates provide a complete picture of the hardware's capabilities across nine distinct configurations. At 1920x1080, the performance scales as follows: Low settings achieve 143 FPS on average, Medium reaches 117 FPS, High drops to 90 FPS, and Ultra is the most demanding at 67 FPS. The Medium preset shows a tight range with a minimum of 99 and a maximum of 135 FPS, indicating consistent frame pacing. High and Ultra at 1080p do not have recorded minimums or maximums, but their averages suggest they are smooth with occasional dips.

Moving to 2560x1440, the pattern shifts. Low settings still produce a high average of 90 FPS, while Medium maintains a solid 74 FPS with a range from 63 to 85 FPS. High settings drop to 57 FPS, which is borderline for some users, and Ultra falls to 43 FPS, which is playable but not ideal. At 3840x2160, the GPU's limitations become severe: Low settings average 47 FPS, Medium averages 39 FPS with a range of 33 to 45 FPS, High drops to 30 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 22 FPS. The 4K results clearly demonstrate that the RTX 2060 is not suited for this resolution at higher presets.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K reveals the GPU as the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. At Medium settings, the average FPS decreases from 117 at 1080p to 74 at 1440p, a 43 FPS drop, and further to 39 at 4K, a 35 FPS drop from 1440p. This represents a 67% reduction in performance from 1080p to 4K. At Low settings, the drop is from 143 to 47 FPS, a 96 FPS decrease, indicating that even at the lowest graphical settings, the GPU cannot maintain playable frame rates at 4K.

This scaling behavior points to the CPU being more than capable of feeding the GPU with data at all resolutions. The Ryzen 9 9900X3D has a boost clock of 5.50 GHz and 12 cores, which is far more than necessary for a turn-based tactics game. The CPU's single-thread performance, as measured by a 3dmark single-thread score of 1269, ensures that it is not the limiting factor. The data suggests that upgrading the GPU would yield significant frame rate improvements at 1440p and 4K, while the current CPU would remain the constant, non-limiting component in the system.

FAQ

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

A: Based on the measured data, 1920x1080 is the ideal resolution. At Medium settings, the combo achieves an average of 117 FPS, which is smooth and responsive. At 2560x1440, Medium still delivers a playable 74 FPS, but 4K is not recommended due to the GPU's limitations.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in this title?

A: Yes, but only at lower settings. At 4K Low, the average FPS is 47, and at Medium it drops to 39 FPS. High settings fall to 30 FPS, and Ultra is unplayable at 22 FPS. For a turn-based game, 4K Medium is acceptable, but it is not a smooth experience.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D has an average benchmark score of 54762, placing it 91st percentile among all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF, has an average score of 55093, which is 0.6% higher. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245K trails by 1.3%, and the Intel Xeon 6505P and Intel Core i7-14700F are 2% and 2.1% behind, respectively.

Q: Is the GPU a bottleneck for this processor?

A: Yes, the data confirms this. The GPU's average benchmark score of 15290 places it at the 58th percentile, while the CPU is at the 91st percentile. This disparity means the GPU is the limiting component in most gaming scenarios, especially at higher resolutions.

Q: What are the GPU's performance characteristics relative to its peers?

A: The RTX 2060 has an average benchmark score of 15290, which is nearly identical to the GTX 580 (15283, 0% delta). The Radeon 680M is 0.1% better, the RTX 3050 OEM is 0.6% better, and the RX 7600 is 0.8% better. This shows the RTX 2060 is at the bottom of its performance tier.

Q: What is the CPU's memory configuration?

A: The CPU supports DDR5 memory with a dual-channel bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s. It has a large L3 cache of 128 MB, which is beneficial for gaming performance.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D serves as a high-end foundation for this pairing, with performance that far exceeds the demands of Hard West. The processor features 12 cores and 24 threads, operating at a base clock of 4.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. This Zen 5 architecture, built on a 4 nm process, delivers exceptional single-thread performance, as evidenced by its 3dmark single-thread score of 1269 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 6739. The 128 MB of L3 cache is particularly beneficial for gaming, as it reduces memory latency and improves frame pacing.

In the context of Hard West, a turn-based tactics game, the CPU's role is relatively minor. The game's logic, AI, and pathfinding are not heavily multithreaded, meaning that the 12 cores are largely underutilized. However, the CPU's strong single-core performance ensures that the game's main thread is never starved, allowing the GPU to work at its full potential. The 3dmark 16-thread score of 12490 and multithread score of 13795 indicate significant headroom for other tasks, but in this game, the CPU is simply not a limiting factor. The data shows that the frame rate scales almost entirely with GPU load, confirming that the processor is more than sufficient for this title. The CPU's 91st percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 54762, further underscores that it is a premium component that will not hold back the system in Hard West or similar strategy games.