Hard West

The Intel Core i3-12100F pairs with the AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT in Hard West, a turn-based tactics title from 2015 that does not demand advanced hardware. This combo delivers playable frame rates across most settings, with the CPU’s four cores and eight threads proving sufficient for the game’s logic, while the GPU’s 12 GB of GDDR6 memory and 2560 shading units handle the visual load. The i3-12100F boosts to 4.30 GHz, and its 12 MB of shared L3 cache helps maintain consistent frame pacing in a genre where sudden camera movements and unit animations can cause hitches. The RX 6750 XT, built on RDNA 2.0 with a 7 nm process, offers 13.31 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, which is more than enough for a game of this era. Benchmark results confirm that at 1080p, the system is rarely the bottleneck, with even Ultra settings holding above 90 FPS, indicating the CPU’s single-thread strength is adequate for the game’s turn-based calculations.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i3-12100F is a 4-core, 8-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, running at a base clock of 3.30 GHz and boosting to 4.30 GHz. For Hard West, which relies on discrete turn-based logic rather than continuous physics simulations, the CPU’s role is to process AI decisions, pathfinding, and event triggers without stalling the GPU. The benchmark data shows that at 1080p Low, the combo reaches 194.5 FPS, which is nearly triple the 4K Ultra result of 28.4 FPS. This wide gap indicates that at lower resolutions, the CPU can feed frames quickly, but the GPU becomes the limiting factor as resolution climbs. The i3-12100F’s single-thread score of 893 in 3DMark single-thread and 1681 in Cinebench R23 single-core suggest strong per-core performance, which matters for a game that may not scale well across many threads. Its multithreaded scores, like 11912 in Cinebench R23 multi-core, are respectable for a quad-core, but Hard West likely doesn’t utilize all eight threads heavily, so the boost clock is more critical than core count. The processor sits in the 72nd percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 13516, placing it near the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX (deltaPct -0.1%) and Intel Core i7-7700K (deltaPct 1.8%). This suggests that while the CPU is not top-tier, it is competitive for this workload, and the measured FPS data supports that conclusion—at 1080p Medium, the combo still delivers 160.9 FPS, showing that the CPU is not holding back the GPU at mainstream settings.

FAQ — 4-6 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data

*Q: What is the maximum average FPS this combo achieves in Hard West?*

A: The highest recorded average is 194.5 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings, which drops to 91.6 FPS at Ultra, showing a significant performance range depending on quality presets.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in overall benchmark scores?

A: The i3-12100F has an average benchmark score of 13516, which is 0.4% higher than the Intel Core i7-1250U (13462) and 1.8% higher than the Intel Core i7-7700K (13280), but 0.1% lower than the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX (13534).

Q: Is the RX 6750 XT’s performance close to any other GPUs in the database?

A: The GPU’s average benchmark score is 35327, which is 0.2% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 5600M (35264) and 1.3% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 (35787), indicating it sits in a competitive mid-range tier.

Q: What FPS can be expected at 1440p with High settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with High settings, the measured average FPS is 76.7, which is comfortably above 60 FPS for smooth gameplay, while Ultra drops to 61.4 FPS.

Q: Does the combo maintain playable frame rates at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, only the Low preset (63.2 FPS) and Medium (51.7 FPS) are above 30 FPS; High (38.3 FPS) is borderline, and Ultra (28.4 FPS) falls below playable thresholds.

Q: What is the GPU’s percentile ranking among all tested GPUs?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT ranks in the 79th percentile of all GPUs, with a passmark G3D score of 20700, indicating it outperforms a majority of graphics cards in the database.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

This specific combination of the Intel Core i3-12100F and AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT ranks 876th out of 1699 tested combos in Hard West, placing it in the middle of the pack. The percentile position suggests that while this setup is not a top-tier performer, it is far from the bottom, and the measured FPS data confirms it can handle the game well at most resolutions. The rank of 876 means there are 875 combinations that achieve higher average FPS, likely including setups with more powerful GPUs or CPUs, but also that 823 combos perform worse. For a turn-based tactics game, this mid-pack ranking is acceptable because the genre does not demand high refresh rates; a stable 60 FPS is often sufficient. The CPU’s 72nd percentile ranking among all CPUs and the GPU’s 79th percentile among all GPUs both contribute to this combo’s overall standing. What is notable is that the combo’s rank (876) is lower than either component’s individual percentile would suggest, which indicates that the pairing may be imbalanced—the CPU is slightly weaker relative to the GPU, potentially limiting performance in CPU-bound scenarios. However, in Hard West, the measured FPS at 1080p (126.1 FPS High) shows the combo is capable of exceeding typical monitor refresh rates, so the rank reflects competition from more balanced or higher-end pairings rather than a fundamental flaw.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of how this combo scales across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the average FPS ranges from 194.5 on Low to 91.6 on Ultra, with Medium at 160.9 and High at 126.1. These numbers indicate that at 1080p, the GPU has ample headroom, and even Ultra settings deliver close to 92 FPS, which is smooth for most displays. Moving to 2560x1440, the averages drop to 126.4 on Low, 100.4 on Medium, 76.7 on High, and 61.4 on Ultra. The 1440p Ultra result is still playable, but the drop from High to Ultra (76.7 to 61.4 FPS) is a 20% reduction, suggesting that Ultra settings impose a significant load on the GPU. At 3840x2160, the performance becomes more constrained: Low averages 63.2 FPS, Medium 51.7 FPS, High 38.3 FPS, and Ultra 28.4 FPS. The 4K results show that only Low settings stay above the 60 FPS threshold, while High and Ultra fall below 40 FPS, making them less ideal for a smooth experience. The progression from 1080p to 4K at each settings tier shows a consistent decline, but the magnitude varies—for example, Low settings drop from 194.5 to 63.2 FPS (a 67% reduction), while Ultra drops from 91.6 to 28.4 FPS (a 69% reduction). This consistency suggests that the GPU is the primary scaling factor, as the CPU’s performance remains constant across resolutions.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals that the AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT is the bottleneck in this pairing, especially at higher resolutions. At 1080p High, the combo delivers 126.1 FPS, which drops to 76.7 FPS at 1440p (a 39% reduction) and then to 38.3 FPS at 4K (a 50% reduction from 1440p). This pattern is typical of a GPU-bound scenario, where increasing pixel count directly impacts the rendering load. The CPU’s role becomes less relevant as resolution rises because the GPU takes longer to render each frame, allowing the CPU to stay ahead. The fact that at 1080p Low (194.5 FPS) the CPU still manages to feed the GPU suggests that the i3-12100F is sufficient for this game; if the CPU were the limiting factor, we would see a plateau at lower resolutions, but instead, FPS continues to rise as settings drop. At 4K, the Low preset (63.2 FPS) is nearly identical to the 1440p Ultra (61.4 FPS), indicating that the GPU’s fill rate is the determining factor. The RX 6750 XT’s 432.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 166.4 GPixel/s pixel rate are adequate for 1440p but struggle at 4K with higher settings, as evidenced by the sub-40 FPS results at 4K High and Ultra. This analysis confirms that for Hard West, the GPU is the limiting component across all settings, and the CPU is not holding back performance at any resolution.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Based on the measured FPS, the best settings depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For 1080p, the Ultra preset at 91.6 FPS is the best choice for visual fidelity without sacrificing smoothness, as it remains well above 60 FPS. If a player prefers maximum frame rates, the Low preset at 194.5 FPS is overkill for most monitors, so Medium (160.9 FPS) or High (126.1 FPS) offer a balanced experience. At 1440p, the High preset at 76.7 FPS is the sweet spot, providing good detail while staying above 60 FPS; the Ultra preset at 61.4 FPS is still playable but leaves little headroom for demanding scenes. The Medium preset at 100.4 FPS is also viable if smoother motion is preferred. For 4K, the Low preset at 63.2 FPS is the only option that consistently exceeds 60 FPS, making it the recommended choice for playable performance. The Medium preset at 51.7 FPS is acceptable for slower-paced turn-based gameplay, but High (38.3 FPS) and Ultra (28.4 FPS) should be avoided as they fall below the 30 FPS threshold that is often considered the minimum for playability. In summary, for this combo, the High preset at 1080p (126.1 FPS) and 1440p (76.7 FPS) offers the best combination of visual quality and performance, while 4K users should stick to Low (63.2 FPS) to maintain a smooth experience. The data shows that turning down from Ultra to High provides a significant FPS boost (from 91.6 to 126.1 at 1080p, a 38% increase) with minimal visual impact, making it the practical recommendation for most users.