Hard West

Hard West, a turn-based tactics title from 2015, responds predictably to the Intel Core i3-12100F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER pairing. The measured data reveals a system that is decidedly overqualified for the game’s demands, with performance scaling that points more toward GPU limitations at extreme settings than any CPU bottleneck. The benchmark results show a wide performance envelope, from 175.9 FPS at 1080p Low to a demanding 27.6 FPS at 4K Ultra, making the choice of settings and resolution the primary factor in the experience.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows provide a clear hierarchy for optimizing the experience. At 1920x1080, the High preset delivers 110.2 FPS, which is already far beyond the refresh rate of most standard monitors. Pushing to Ultra drops this to 83.3 FPS, a 24% reduction for what is likely a marginal visual gain in a game with a stylized, comic-book aesthetic. For most users at 1080p, the High preset offers the best balance, as the jump to Ultra sacrifices significant frame rate headroom without a proportional need for it in a turn-based genre that does not require twitch reflexes.

At 2560x1440, the High preset again stands out as the sweet spot. It produces 67.2 FPS, which is comfortably playable and retains the visual fidelity of the High settings. The Medium preset at 89 FPS is an alternative for those prioritizing smoothness, but the drop to High is not as punishing as the jump to Ultra. The Ultra preset at 1440p falls to 50 FPS, which is still functional for a tactical game, but the data suggests it is a steep cost for the extra effects. For 4K, the situation changes dramatically. High at 3840x2160 yields only 39 FPS, dipping into a range where even turn-based games feel less fluid. The Low preset at 59.7 FPS becomes the only viable option for a smooth 4K experience, highlighting that this resolution is not the intended domain for this combo.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is the decisive component in this pairing. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, is more than sufficient for a 2015 title like Hard West. The data indicates that memory capacity is not a limiting factor at any measured setting. The GPU’s clock speeds, with a base of 1605 MHz and a boost of 1770 MHz, are high, but the game’s age means it likely does not stress the Turing architecture’s advanced features.

The GPU’s influence is most apparent in the scaling from 1080p to 4K. The performance drop from 110.2 FPS to 39 FPS at High settings is a 65% reduction, which is a classic sign of pixel-throughput limitations. The RTX 2070 SUPER, with a pixel rate of 113.3 GPixel/s, is being asked to render four times as many pixels at 4K, and the measured data shows it cannot keep up at higher presets. The passmark G3D score of 18169, placing it in the 65th percentile, confirms it is a mid-to-high-tier card that is being pushed to its limits by the 4K resolution, not by the game’s complexity.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of 1699 tested combinations for Hard West, this pairing of the Core i3-12100F and RTX 2070 SUPER achieves a rank of 1048. This places it in the lower-middle portion of the rankings, which is a surprising result given the individual component strengths. The CPU itself sits in the 72nd percentile of all processors, and the GPU in the 65th percentile, yet their combined performance in this specific game is only in the 38th percentile (1048/1699). This suggests that Hard West is not heavily dependent on the raw multi-core or multi-threaded capabilities that this combo excels at, or that other tested configurations simply use higher-tier components.

The combo’s rank indicates that while this setup is competent, many other systems in the database deliver higher average frame rates. The data implies that for a game of this era, the choice of components matters less than the resolution and settings selected. The 1048 rank is a reminder that a strong CPU and GPU do not automatically translate to top-tier performance in a game that is likely limited by other factors, such as single-threaded engine performance or draw call overhead.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Hard West at 4K with high settings?

A: The data shows an average of 39 FPS at 3840x2160 with High settings. While technically playable, this is below the 60 FPS threshold and may feel less smooth. The Low preset at 4K achieves 59.7 FPS, which is a more consistent experience.

Q: What is the best preset for a 1440p monitor?

A: The High preset at 2560x1440 delivers an average of 67.2 FPS. This provides a good balance of visual quality and performance. The Ultra preset drops to 50 FPS, while Low jumps to 108 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU’s single-thread performance affect the game?

A: The Core i3-12100F has a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1681. Hard West, being a turn-based tactics game from 2015, likely relies on single-threaded performance for game logic. The data shows no CPU bottleneck, as frame rates scale smoothly with resolution changes, indicating the GPU is the limiting factor.

Q: Is the 8 GB of VRAM on the RTX 2070 SUPER sufficient for this game?

A: The measured data shows no indication of VRAM limitations. The GPU’s 8 GB of GDDR6 memory is far more than what a 2015 title would require, even at 4K Ultra settings.

Q: What frame rate can be expected at 1080p with Ultra settings?

A: The benchmark shows an average of 83.3 FPS at 1920x1080 with the Ultra preset. This is a high frame rate that is well-suited for any standard 1080p display.

Q: Why is the performance at 4K Ultra so low?

A: The data shows 27.6 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings. This is due to the massive pixel count and the GPU’s finite pixel throughput, which is more of a factor than the game’s CPU demands.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS data reveals a predictable and steep decline as resolution increases, which is a hallmark of a GPU-bound scenario. At 1080p High, the system produces 110.2 FPS. Moving to 1440p High drops this to 67.2 FPS, a 39% reduction. Scaling to 4K High further reduces the frame rate to 39 FPS, a 42% drop from 1440p. This pattern of roughly halving performance with each doubling of pixel count is consistent across the presets.

This scaling behavior is significant because it indicates the CPU is not the limiting factor. If the Core i3-12100F were the bottleneck, the frame rates would remain relatively flat as resolution increased, since the CPU workload would stay the same. Instead, the data shows a steep decline, proving that the RTX 2070 SUPER is working harder to fill the additional pixels. The gap between Low and Ultra settings also widens at higher resolutions, with a 53% difference at 1080p (175.9 vs 83.3) growing to a 54% difference at 4K (59.7 vs 27.6), further emphasizing the GPU’s struggle at the highest pixel counts.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F, with its 4 cores and 8 threads, appears to be more than adequate for Hard West. The CPU’s benchmark scores are strong, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 11912 and a single-core score of 1681. The game’s turn-based nature likely means it does not leverage many threads, so the i3’s 8 threads are sufficient. The data shows no evidence of a CPU bottleneck, as the frame rates are consistently high at lower resolutions and only fall when the GPU’s pixel-pushing limits are reached.

The CPU’s 12 MB of shared L3 cache and high boost clock of 4.30 GHz provide ample single-thread performance for game logic and AI calculations. The fact that the combo ranks 1048 out of 1699 suggests that while the CPU is not a hindrance, it is also not a differentiator. Other CPUs with higher core counts or newer architectures may offer marginal gains, but for this specific title, the i3-12100F ensures the RTX 2070 SUPER is not waiting on data. The closest rivals in CPU benchmarks, such as the Intel Core i7-7700K with a 1.8% higher average score, would likely show very similar in-game results, confirming that the CPU is not the primary driver of performance here.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete set of measured data provides a detailed picture of the combo’s performance across all configurations.

At 1920x1080, the frame rates are exceptionally high. The Low preset yields an average of 175.9 FPS, which is an excellent result. Medium produces 140 FPS, and High delivers 110.2 FPS. The Ultra preset is the most demanding at 1080p, but still maintains a strong 83.3 FPS average. This resolution is clearly the sweet spot for this hardware, with all presets offering a playable experience.

At 2560x1440, the performance remains strong but begins to show strain. The Low preset achieves 108 FPS, and Medium follows at 89 FPS. The High preset drops to 67.2 FPS, which is still smooth. The Ultra preset falls to 50 FPS, which is at the edge of what many consider acceptable for a smooth experience, though it remains playable for a tactical game.

At 3840x2160, the RTX 2070 SUPER is heavily taxed. The Low preset is the only configuration to exceed 60 FPS, with an average of 59.7 FPS. Medium drops to 46.3 FPS, and High falls further to 39 FPS. The Ultra preset is the most punishing, with an average of just 27.6 FPS. This resolution is not recommended for this combo, especially at higher settings, as the frame rates dip into a range that can make even turn-based actions feel sluggish.