Hard West

The Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 delivers a distinctive performance profile in Hard West, a turn-based tactics title from 2015. This combination of a quad-core Alder Lake processor and an Ada Lovelace GPU produces frame rates that range from highly competitive at 1080p to merely playable at 4K, with the data clearly indicating where each component’s influence begins and ends. The measured results place this combo at rank 934 out of 3722 tested combinations, a position that reflects strong overall capability but also reveals specific bottlenecks at higher resolutions and preset levels.

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 built on Intel’s Alder Lake architecture using a 10 nm process. Its base clock is 3.30 GHz with a boost up to 4.30 GHz, and it carries a 12 MB shared L3 cache alongside 1.25 MB L2 per core and 80 KB L1 per core. In synthetic benchmarks, this CPU scores 11860 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 1674 in single-core, with a Passmark multithread score of 14015 and a Passmark single-thread score of 3444. Its average benchmark score sits at 13494, placing it at the 68th percentile among all CPUs tested.

For a turn-based tactics game like Hard West, the CPU’s single-thread performance is often more relevant than raw multi-core throughput. The 12100F’s single-core Cinebench R20 score of 703 and Geekbench single-core score of 1932 indicate solid per-thread capability, which matters for game logic, pathfinding, and AI decision-making. The boost clock of 4.30 GHz provides responsive processing for these tasks, though the 4-core limitation means heavily threaded background workloads could compete for resources.

The nearest CPU rivals in aggregate benchmark scores include the Intel Core 3 N355 at 13492 (0% delta), the Intel Core i5-9500 at 13452 (0.3% ahead), the Intel Core 5 120UL at 13594 (0.7% behind), and the Intel Core i7-1250U at 13351 (1.1% ahead). These deltas are minimal, indicating that the 12100F’s overall CPU performance is tightly clustered with these alternatives)Skip to content. In gaming, the difference between these processors would be negligible in most scenarios, especially at higher resolutions where the GPU becomes the limiting factor.

The data shows that at 1080p Low settings, the combo achieves 244 FPS average, which suggests the CPU is capable of feeding the RTX 4070 with enough frames to saturate even a high-refresh display. However, at 4K Ultra, the average drops to 40 FPS, a figure that points to GPU limitation rather than CPU constraint. The CPU’s role in Hard West appears to be providing a stable baseline of processing power that never becomes the primary bottleneck at lower resolutions, but the quad-core design may limit performance in scenarios with numerous simultaneous unit actions or complex map states.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process from TSMC. It features 5888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, 64 ROPs, 46 RT cores, and 184 tensor cores. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1920 MHz with a boost clock of 2475 MHz, and its 12 GB of GDDR6X memory runs at 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective) across a 192-bit bus, yielding 504.2 GB/s of memory bandwidth. The card’s FP32 performance is 29.15 TFLOPS, and it has a TDP of 200 W.

In synthetic tests, the RTX 4070 scores 26927 in Passmark G3D, 154858 in Geekbench OpenCL, and 174152 in Geekbench Vulkan. Its average benchmark score is 37648, placing it at the 81st percentile among all GPUs. The nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Tesla P4 at 37628 (0.1% ahead), the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 at 37507 (0.4% ahead), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile at 38135 (1.3% behind), and the AMD Radeon PRO W6400 at 37157 (1.3% ahead). These close deltas suggest the RTX 4070 sits in a competitive performance tier, though its actual gaming performance in Hard West varies significantly with resolution and settings.

For Hard West, the GPU’s role becomes increasingly dominant as resolution rises. At 1080p, the RTX 4070 delivers between 121 FPS (Ultra) and 244 FPS (Low), indicating that even at maximum settings, the GPU has ample headroom. The 12 GB VRAM is more than sufficient for a 2015 turn-based title, which has modest texture and geometry requirements. The memory bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s ensures that data transfer to the GPU core is unlikely to be a constraint at any tested resolution.

At 1440p, the GPU’s workload increases, with average FPS ranging from 76 (Ultra) to 162 (Low). The drop from 1080p to 1440p is proportional to the increase in pixel count, confirming that the GPU is the scaling component. At 4K, the RTX 4070 shows its limits: High settings produce 54 FPS average, Medium 70 FPS, Low 85 FPS, and Ultra only 40 FPS. These figures indicate that while the GPU can handle 4K at lower presets, Ultra settings push it below the 60 FPS threshold, making it less suitable for that configuration.

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

Analyzing the measured FPS across resolutions reveals a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling. At 1080p High, the combo achieves 161 FPS average. Moving to 1440p High drops this to 102 FPS, a reduction of approximately 37%. At 4K High, the average falls to 54 FPS, which is roughly 47% lower than the 1440p figure and 66% lower than 1080p. This consistent decline with each resolution step indicates that the RTX 4070’s rendering capabilities are the primary constraint, rather than the CPU.

The Low settings preset shows a similar scaling trend. At 1080p Low, the average is 244 FPS. At 1440p Low, it drops to 162 FPS (a 34% reduction), and at 4K Low, it reaches 85 FPS (a 48% reduction from 1440p). The percentage drops are slightly less severe than at High settings, which suggests that at Low settings, the system is somewhat less GPU-bound, but the CPU still does not become the limiting factor. The fact that 4K Low (85 FPS) outperforms 4K High (54 FPS) by 57% reinforces that GPU load from higher-quality presets is the dominant variable.

Ultra settings show the most dramatic scaling. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 121 FPSasi. At 1440p Ultra, it falls to 76 FPS (a 37% reduction), and at 4K Ultra, it drops to 40 FPS (a 47% reduction from 1440p). The 4K Ultra result of 40 FPS is the lowest measured value across all configurations, demonstrating that this preset level combined with 4K resolution places the heaviest load on the GPU. The scaling pattern across all presets is remarkably consistent, with each resolution doubling (in pixel count) reducing FPS by roughly 35-50%, which is typical of a GPU-limited scenario.

The data also shows that the gap between Low and Ultra settings widens with resolution. At 1080p, the difference between Low (244 FPS) and Ultra (121 FPS) is 123 FPS. At 1440p, the difference narrows to 86 FPS (162 vs 76). At 4K, it narrows further to 45 FPS (85 vs 40). This indicates that as resolution increases, the absolute performance impact of preset quality diminishes, because the GPU is already working closer to its maximum capacity. The limiting component throughout is the GPU, with the CPU providing sufficient headroom even at 1080p Low where the frame rate exceeds 240 FPS.

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

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates across all presets. Low settings produce an average of 244 FPS, Medium settings achieve 210 FPS with a minimum of 178 FPS and maximum of 241 FPS, High settings reach 161 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 121 FPS. The Medium preset’s min-max range of 178-241 FPS shows some variability, but the average remains well above the 144 Hz refresh rate common on modern monitors. All 1080p results exceed 120 FPS, making this resolution ideal for high-refresh gaming.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain strong but show the expected decline. Low settings average 162 FPS, Medium settings average 133 FPS with a range of 113-153 FPS, High settings average 102 FPS, and Ultra settings average 76 FPS. The 1440p Medium result of 133 FPS is still sufficient for 120 Hz displays, while High at 102 FPS and Ultra at 76 FPS require either a 60 Hz or adaptive sync display to avoid tearing. The min FPS of 113 for Medium suggests that even in demanding scenes, the frame rate rarely drops below the 100 FPS mark.

At 3840x2160, the performance becomes more variable and the 60 FPS target becomes harder to hit at higher presets. Low settings average 85 FPS, Medium settings average 70 FPS with a range of 59-80 FPS, High settings average 54 FPS, and Ultra settings average 40 FPS. The Medium preset’s minimum of 59 FPS is just below the 60 FPS threshold, while High and Ultra fall significantly short. This makes 4K viable only at Low or Medium settings for a consistent experience, with Low being the only preset that comfortably exceeds 60 FPS.

The data reveals that the transition from 1440p to 4K causes the most significant performance loss. For example, High settings drop from 102 FPS at 1440p to 54 FPS at 4K, a loss of 48 FPS or 47%. Similarly, Ultra drops from 76 FPS to 40 FPS, a 36 FPS loss or 47%. These substantial reductions confirm that 4K is the most demanding resolution for this GPU, and that users targeting 4K will need to compromise on preset quality to maintain playable frame rates.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The Intel Core i3-12100F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination ranks 934 out of 3722 tested combos in Hard West, placing it in the top 25% of all configurations. This rank reflects the strong GPU performance that dominates in this turn-based tactics game, where CPU demands are relatively modest compared to fast-paced action titles. The ranking position suggests that this combo outperforms a majority of systems, but it is not among the elite configurations that would occupy the top percentile.

Given that the RTX 4070 sits at the 81st percentile among GPUs and the i3-12100F at the 68th percentile among CPUs, the combo’s overall rank of 934 is slightly lower than what the GPU percentile alone would suggest. This is likely due to the CPU’s lower relative standing, which can limit performance in CPU-bound scenarios. However, in Hard West, the data indicates that the GPU is the primary driver of frame rates, so the combo’s rank is more influenced by the RTX 4070’s capabilities than the i3-12100F’s.

Compared to other combos in the database, this system’s rank of 934 out of 3722 means that approximately 75% of tested configurations perform worse, while 25% perform better. The better-performing combos likely feature higher-end CPUs or GPUs, but the gap may be small given the game’s modest requirements. The combination’s ability to exceed 240 FPS at 1080p Low and maintain 121 FPS at 1080p Ultra suggests that it is well-suited for high-refresh 1080p gaming, which is a common use case.

The rank also indicates that this combo is not optimized for 4K Ultra gaming, as the 40 FPS result at that setting pulls the overall ranking down. However, for users prioritizing 1080p or 1440p gameplay, the combo’s performance is strong, and its rank of 934 reflects that it can handle these resolutions with ease. The data does not specify how much higher the rank would be if only 1080p results were considered, but the measured FPS values suggest it would be substantially better.

FAQ

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

A: Based on the measured data, 1920x1080 is the strongest resolution, with all presets exceeding 120 FPS. At 1440p, High and Ultra also remain above 76 FPS, while 4K only exceeds 60 FPS at Low settings (85 FPS).

Q: Can this combo handle 4K Ultra settings in Hard West?

A: No. The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 Ultra is 40 FPS, which is well below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. Users would need to drop to Medium or Low settings for a playable 4K experience.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 4070 has an average benchmark score of 37648, which is 0.1% behind the NVIDIA Tesla P4, 0.4% behind the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56, 1.3% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile, and 1.3% ahead of the AMD Radeon PRO W6400.

Q: What is the CPU’s performance percentile and how does it compare to rivals?

A: The i3-12100F is at the 68th percentile among all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core 3 N355, has a nearly identical average score (13492 vs 13494, 0% delta), while the Intel Core i5-9500 is 0.3% ahead.

Q: What are the minimum FPS values recorded at Medium settings?

A: At 1080p Medium, the minimum is 178 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the minimum is 113 FPS. At 4K Medium, the minimum is 59 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The data shows that the GPU is the limiting factor, as FPS scales consistently with resolution and preset quality. The CPU’s performance is sufficient to avoid bottlenecking, even at 1080p Low where the average exceeds 240 FPS.

Settings Recommendations

For users prioritizing maximum frame rates at 1080p, the Low preset delivers 244 FPS average, which is ideal for 240 Hz displays. However, Medium settings at 210 FPS offer a better visual quality per frame while still exceeding 200 FPS, making it the recommended preset for high-refresh 1080p gaming. High settings at 161 FPS remain excellent for 144 Hz monitors, while Ultra at 121 FPS is still sufficient for 120 Hz displays but offers the best visual fidelity.

At 1440p, the Medium preset provides the best balance, with 133 FPS average and a minimum of 113 FPS that keeps the experience smooth on 120 Hz and 144 Hz monitors. High settings at 102 FPS are suitable for 100 Hz displays, while Ultra at 76 FPS may cause noticeable frame drops on higher refresh screens. The Low preset at 162 FPS is excessive for most 1440p monitors, but it demonstrates the GPU’s headroom at this resolution.

For 4K gaming, the data strongly recommends Low settings, which achieve 85 FPS average and remain above 60 FPS consistently. Medium settings at 70 FPS are also playable, but the minimum of 59 FPS means occasional dips below 60 FPS. High settings at 54 FPS and Ultra at 40 FPS are not recommended for a smooth experience. Given that Hard West is a turn-based tactics game, the visual improvements from higher presets may be less critical than in fast-paced titles, making Low or Medium at 4K the optimal choice for maintaining frame rate stability. For the best overall experience, 1440p Medium appears to offer the optimal combination of visual quality and performance, with an average of 133 FPS and no minimum below 113 FPS.