Hard West

FAQ

Q: What is the measured average FPS for this combo at 1080p Ultra settings?

A: The Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti delivers an average of 123.4 FPS at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings in Hard West.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rival in average benchmark score?

A: The Core i3-12100F has an average benchmark score of 13516, which places it 0.1% behind the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX (13534) and 1.8% ahead of the Intel Core i7-7700K (13280).

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking among all tested graphics cards?

A: The RTX 3080 Ti sits in the 83rd percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 41224, placing it just 0.5% behind the RTX 3090 (41441) and 1.1% behind the RTX 5070 (41687).

Q: What is the largest FPS gap between settings at 4K resolution?

A: At 3840x2160, the spread from Low to Ultra is 48.8 FPS: Low runs at 86.6 FPS while Ultra drops to 37.8 FPS, with Medium at 71.9 FPS and High at 54.1 FPS.

Q: How many total combos does this configuration rank against in Hard West?

A: This combo ranks 421st out of 1699 tested combinations in the game, placing it in the upper quartile of all systems evaluated.

Q: Does the CPU's multi-threaded performance scale well from 2 to 4 threads?

A: The 3DMark scores show scaling from 1659 with 2 threads to 2859 with 4 threads (a 72.3% increase), and further to 4026 with 8 threads, indicating solid thread scaling up to the processor's 8-thread limit.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti is the dominant component in this pairing, and the data reflects that clearly. With 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, the card offers 912.4 GB/s of bandwidth — a figure that proves decisive for Hard West's higher preset levels. The GPU's 10240 shading units and 80 RT cores give it substantial raw throughput, evidenced by its 34.10 TFLOPS FP32 compute rating. These specifications translate directly into the measured frame rates: at 1080p Low, the combo hits 246.2 FPS, which is more than double the 123.4 FPS seen at Ultra.

The Ampere architecture's clock behavior matters here. The base clock of 1365 MHz boosts to 1665 MHz under load, and the memory runs at 19 Gbps effective. This boost behavior means the GPU can stretch its legs in less demanding scenes, which explains why the Low preset at 1080p approaches the 250 FPS mark. However, the card's 350 W TDP and 12-pin power connector indicate it is designed for sustained high output, not brief spikes.

What is notable is how the GPU's role shifts across settings. At Low presets, the frame rates suggest the RTX 3080 Ti is never the bottleneck — even at 4K, Low produces 86.6 FPS. The GPU's pixel rate of 186.5 GPixel/s and texture rate of 532.8 GTexel/s provide ample headroom for the game's turn-based tactical rendering, which typically involves static scenes with moderate geometric complexity. The real constraint emerges at Ultra settings, where the 37.8 FPS at 4K indicates the card is being pushed to its limits with full effects and higher-resolution assets.

The GPU's benchmark profile reinforces its position. With a PassMark G3D score of 26896 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 5077, the card ranks in the 83rd percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the RTX 3090, is only 0.5% ahead in average score — a margin so thin that Hard West's specific workload could favor either card depending on the scene. The RTX 3080 Ti's 28,300 million transistors on a 628 mm² die reflect a large, power-hungry design that prioritizes raw performance over efficiency, and the measured FPS data confirms this trade-off is worthwhile for high-refresh gameplay.

Resolution Scaling

The resolution scaling pattern in Hard West reveals a system that transitions from CPU-bound at 1080p to increasingly GPU-bound at 4K. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo produces 246.2 FPS, which is extraordinarily high and suggests the Core i3-12100F's 4 cores and 8 threads are the limiting factor at this point — no game scene can realistically need more than that frame rate, and the CPU's single-thread score of 893 in 3DMark and 1681 in Cinebench R23 indicate it can feed frames quickly but not infinitely.

Moving to 1440p, the drop is significant but not catastrophic. From 246.2 FPS at 1080p Low to 165.2 FPS at 1440p Low, the reduction is 32.9%, which aligns closely with the pixel count increase from 2.07 million to 3.69 million pixels (a 78.3% increase). The fact that FPS drops by a smaller percentage than the pixel count increase suggests the GPU still has headroom at 1440p Low. At High settings, the 1080p to 1440p transition goes from 160.6 FPS to 104.7 FPS, a 34.8% drop — again less than the pixel scaling would predict.

The 4K results tell a different story. At 3840x2160, the pixel count quadruples from 1080p, and the FPS drops reflect this more directly. Low settings fall from 246.2 to 86.6 FPS, a 64.8% reduction. Ultra settings fall from 123.4 to 37.8 FPS, a 69.4% reduction. These percentages are much closer to the theoretical 75% reduction from quadrupling pixels, indicating that at 4K, the RTX 3080 Ti's fill rate and memory bandwidth become the binding constraints.

The pattern across all presets is consistent: resolution scaling is steepest at Ultra and least steep at Low. This makes sense given the GPU's 912.4 GB/s bandwidth — at 4K Ultra, the card must move significantly more data per frame, and the 12 GB VRAM capacity becomes relevant for storing higher-resolution textures. The measured data shows that 1440p High at 104.7 FPS is the sweet spot for maintaining high frame rates, while 4K Ultra at 37.8 FPS is only suitable for turn-based play where twitch response is not required.

How This Combo Ranks

This configuration ranks 421st out of 1699 tested combos in Hard West, which places it in the top 24.8% of all systems. Given the RTX 3080 Ti's 83rd percentile GPU ranking and the Core i3-12100F's 72nd percentile CPU ranking, the combo performs slightly better than either component's individual percentile would suggest — a sign that the game benefits more from GPU throughput than CPU single-thread performance.

The rank is particularly impressive when considering the CPU's modest specs. The i3-12100F has only 4 cores and 8 threads, with a 58 W TDP and no overclocking support (locked multiplier). Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 11912 and single-core score of 1681 show it is a capable budget processor, but not a high-end part. The fact that this combo still reaches the upper quartile indicates that Hard West is not heavily CPU-threaded — the game's turn-based nature likely means most frames are rendered without complex physics or AI calculations happening simultaneously.

The GPU carries this ranking. The RTX 3080 Ti's average benchmark score of 41224 places it within 0.5% of the RTX 3090, and its PassMark G3D score of 26896 is substantial. In Hard West, where the visual fidelity is determined primarily by resolution and preset settings rather than dynamic scene complexity, the GPU's raw fill rate and bandwidth dominate performance. The 421st rank out of 1699 is a strong result for a pairing that includes a sub-$100 CPU (launch MSRP $97), though the GPU's launch MSRP of 1,199 USD indicates where the real investment lies.

Compared to the nearest CPU rivals, the i3-12100F's position is solid but not exceptional. It trails the Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX by 0.1% and the Core i7-1250U by 0.4%, but leads the Core i3-10105 by 0.6% and the Core i7-7700K by 1.8%. These margins are small enough that motherboard choice, memory speed, and cooling could easily swing the ranking in either direction. For Hard West specifically, the combo rank demonstrates that the RTX 3080 Ti can compensate for CPU limitations in a game that does not demand high thread counts.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data offers clear guidance for optimizing the experience in Hard West. At 1080p, even Ultra settings produce 123.4 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay and sufficient for most high-refresh monitors. The Low preset at 246.2 FPS and Medium at 210.3 FPS provide no practical benefit beyond bragging rights, as the difference between 123.4 and 246.2 FPS is imperceptible on standard 144 Hz displays. For 1080p users, Ultra is the recommended setting — it delivers the best visual quality without compromising frame rate.

At 1440p, the calculus shifts slightly. High settings produce 104.7 FPS, which remains excellent for competitive or immersive play. Ultra drops to 74.8 FPS, which is still playable but begins to approach the threshold where frame pacing becomes noticeable in a turn-based tactical game. Medium at 131.7 FPS and Low at 165.2 FPS are both excellent, but the visual degradation from High to Medium is rarely worth the extra 27 FPS. The recommendation for 1440p is High: it balances the 104.7 FPS average with the best visual fidelity short of Ultra, and the 29.9 FPS gap from High to Ultra suggests diminishing returns on the latter.

The 4K results present a more nuanced picture. Ultra at 37.8 FPS is too low for comfortable play, even for turn-based tactics where reaction time is not critical — the frame pacing will feel stuttery during camera pans and unit animations. High at 54.1 FPS is borderline; it is playable but not smooth. Medium at 71.9 FPS is the clear sweet spot for 4K, providing a stable frame rate that exceeds 60 FPS while maintaining acceptable visual quality. Low at 86.6 FPS is the choice for maximum smoothness, but the visual trade-offs at 4K resolution are more apparent than at lower resolutions.

The data suggests that the best overall experience is 1440p High, which at 104.7 FPS offers a combination of high frame rate and strong visual fidelity. For users with 1080p displays, Ultra is the obvious choice. For 4K users, Medium provides the best balance. The measured rows indicate that the RTX 3080 Ti has sufficient headroom to run Hard West at high settings across all resolutions, with the CPU never becoming a limiting factor — even at 1080p Low, the 246.2 FPS result demonstrates that the i3-12100F can feed frames as fast as the GPU can render them.