Hard West

The AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 ranks in the 1574th position out of 2949 tested combinations for Hard West. This places the combo in the 47th percentile of all tested systems, indicating a mid-pack standing for this turn-based tactics title. The ranking suggests that while this hardware is competent, it does not dominate the leaderboard for this specific game, likely due to the game's age and the fact that many higher-ranked combinations feature more powerful desktop-class GPUs. The data shows a configuration that is well-balanced but not exceptional for Hard West, with the CPU and GPU each contributing meaningfully to the overall result.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination's rank of 1574 out of 2949 combos places it just below the median of tested systems. This positioning is notable because the CPU itself is a high-end mobile part, sitting at the 95th percentile among all CPUs in the database, while the GPU is a mid-to-high-end desktop card, ranking at the 81st percentile. The discrepancy between the component-level percentiles and the in-game rank suggests that Hard West does not heavily stress either component, and the game's performance ceiling is reached relatively quickly. The measured data confirms this, as the combo achieves playable frame rates at all tested resolutions, but the margins over lower-tier hardware are not as large as the component specs might imply.

In the context of the database, this combo sits between systems that likely feature more powerful GPUs with similar CPUs, and those with weaker CPUs but comparable graphics cards. The CPU's nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 9945WX and the AMD EPYC Embedded 8224P, both with average scores within 1.6% of the Ryzen AI Max+ 395. The Intel Core i9-14900K is only 1.7% ahead in average benchmark score, showing that the mobile Ryzen chip is competitive with top desktop processors in synthetic tests. However, for Hard West specifically, the game's low thread utilization means that the CPU's 16 cores and 32 threads are not fully leveraged, making the rank more dependent on GPU performance.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 serves as the primary rendering engine in this combo, and its specifications are well-suited for Hard West's graphical demands. The GPU features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. This memory configuration is more than sufficient for the game's textures and geometry, as evidenced by the measured frame rates even at 4K resolution. The GPU's base clock of 1920 MHz and boost clock of 2475 MHz, combined with 5888 shading units, deliver substantial rasterization performance. The Ada Lovelace architecture supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, which the game can leverage for modern rendering features.

In the context of Hard West, the GPU's role is dominant, as the game is not particularly CPU-intensive. The GPU's percentile ranking of 81 among all GPUs places it above the median, and its average benchmark score of 37648 is nearly identical to the NVIDIA Tesla P4 (0.1% delta) and the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (0.4% delta). The RTX 4070 is also 1.3% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile, indicating that desktop and mobile variants of similar-tier GPUs perform closely. The measured FPS data shows that the GPU's performance scales predictably with resolution and settings, confirming that it is the limiting factor at higher resolutions, particularly at 4K with Ultra settings.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates reveal a clear pattern of resolution scaling that identifies the GPU as the performance bottleneck. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 186 FPS, which drops to 118 FPS at 1440p and further to 62 FPS at 4K. This represents a 67% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, which is a significant drop but expected for a game that becomes more GPU-bound at higher resolutions. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows a 37% decrease in FPS, while the scaling from 1440p to 4K shows a 47% decrease, indicating that the GPU's memory bandwidth and compute capacity are being increasingly taxed.

At High settings, the pattern is similar but with lower absolute frame rates. The combo delivers 117 FPS at 1080p, 74 FPS at 1440p, and 39 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are 37% from 1080p to 1440p and 47% from 1440p to 4K, mirroring the Low settings scaling. This consistency suggests that the GPU's performance characteristics are uniform across settings, and the game's rendering workload scales linearly with pixel count. The Ultra settings show the most dramatic drop, with 88 FPS at 1080p, 55 FPS at 1440p, and only 29 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is the only measured configuration that falls below 30 FPS, indicating that this is the point where the GPU's capabilities are exceeded.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the combo's performance across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the combo achieves its highest frame rates, with 186 FPS at Low settings, 152 FPS at Medium, 117 FPS at High, and 88 FPS at Ultra. The Medium settings row includes measured minimum and maximum values of 129 and 175 FPS respectively, showing a frame time consistency that indicates smooth gameplay. The jump from Low to Medium is a 22% reduction, while the jump from Medium to High is a 30% reduction, and from High to Ultra is a 33% reduction. These diminishing returns are typical for increasingly demanding settings.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates are lower but still highly playable. Low settings produce 118 FPS, Medium produces 96 FPS (with min/max of 82 and 111 FPS), High produces 74 FPS, and Ultra produces 55 FPS. The percentage drops from 1080p to 1440p are 37% for Low, 37% for Medium, 37% for High, and 37% for Ultra, showing a consistent scaling factor. The Medium settings at 1440p show a minimum of 82 FPS, which is still well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth play, suggesting that this resolution/settings combination is a sweet spot for the combo.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates drop further, with 62 FPS at Low, 51 FPS at Medium (min/max of 43 and 58 FPS), 39 FPS at High, and 29 FPS at Ultra. The 4K Low setting is the only 4K configuration that maintains an average above 60 FPS, while Medium stays above 50 FPS. The High setting at 39 FPS is playable but not ideal for fast-paced action, and Ultra at 29 FPS is borderline unplayable for most users. The data shows that 4K requires careful settings selection to maintain playable frame rates, with the GPU's 12 GB VRAM and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth being sufficient for the game's needs at these resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For 1080p, the Ultra preset at 88 FPS provides the best visual quality while maintaining a frame rate well above the 60 FPS threshold. This makes it the recommended choice for users with 1080p displays, as the visual fidelity improvements are significant and the frame rate remains smooth. For users prioritizing maximum frame rates, the Low preset at 186 FPS will take full advantage of high-refresh-rate monitors, but the visual trade-off is substantial.

For 1440p, the High preset at 74 FPS offers the best balance of visual quality and performance. The Medium preset at 96 FPS is also viable and provides higher frame rates with only a modest reduction in visual fidelity, but High is the recommended choice for users who want the best image quality without sacrificing smoothness. The Ultra preset at 55 FPS is playable but falls below the 60 FPS threshold, making it less ideal for users sensitive to frame rate fluctuations. The data suggests that High at 1440p is the sweet spot, as it maintains a comfortable margin above 60 FPS while delivering the majority of the visual enhancements.

For 4K, the Low preset at 62 FPS is the only configuration that consistently maintains an average above 60 FPS, making it the recommended choice for users with 4K displays. The Medium preset at 51 FPS is a viable alternative for users who prioritize visual quality over frame rate, but the 43 FPS minimum indicates that there may be noticeable dips during intense scenes. The High preset at 39 FPS is playable for turn-based tactics, where frame rate is less critical than in action games, but it is not recommended for users who prefer a smooth experience. The Ultra preset at 29 FPS should be avoided, as it falls below the 30 FPS threshold that is generally considered the minimum for playability.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 plays a supporting role in Hard West, as the game is not heavily threaded and relies primarily on single-core performance. The CPU features 16 cores and 32 threads based on the Zen 5 architecture, with a base clock of 3.00 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz. This configuration is overkill for Hard West, which likely uses only a few threads for game logic and AI. The CPU's 64 MB of shared L3 cache provides ample memory for the game's data, but the game's modest requirements mean that the CPU is rarely the bottleneck.

The CPU's benchmark scores confirm its high-end positioning. In Cinebench R23, the CPU scores 35314 in multi-core and 2044 in single-core, with the single-core score being particularly relevant for gaming. The Geekbench scores of 20992 multi-core and 2464 single-core further validate the CPU's capabilities. The PassMark multithread score of 54934 and single-thread score of 4147 indicate strong performance in both workloads. The CPU's percentile ranking of 95 among all CPUs places it in the top 5% of processors, which is reflected in its ability to keep up with the RTX 4070 in games.

However, the measured FPS data shows that the CPU's performance is not the limiting factor in Hard West. The frame rates scale consistently with GPU settings and resolution, which indicates that the GPU is the primary constraint. The CPU's 16 cores and 32 threads provide ample headroom for the game's AI calculations and turn-based logic, and the high boost clock of 5.10 GHz ensures that single-threaded tasks are handled quickly. The CPU's 256.0 GB/s memory bandwidth, enabled by quad-channel LPDDR5X support, ensures that data can be fed to the GPU without bottlenecks. Overall, the CPU is more than sufficient for Hard West, and its high-end specifications ensure that it will not hold back the GPU in this or any other game.