Hard West

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate for this combo at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with Ultra settings, the Intel Core i3-12100F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 produce an average of 95.1 FPS. This drops to 59.1 FPS at 2560x1440 and further to 29.1 FPS at 3840x2160 under the same preset.

Q: How does the RTX 5060's average benchmark score compare to its closest rival?

A: The RTX 5060 has an average benchmark score of 30109, which places it essentially level with the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT, which scores 30097 with a deltaPct of 0. The RTX 5060 also sits 0.2% behind the AMD Radeon RX 570, which scores 30158.

Q: What is the CPU's percentile ranking among all processors?

A: The Intel Core i3-12100F ranks in the 72nd percentile among all CPUs. Its average benchmark score is 13516, putting it just 0.1% behind the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX, which scores 13534.

Q: Which settings preset delivers the highest average frame rate at 2560x1440?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset yields the highest measured average at 123.6 FPS. The Medium preset follows at 102.9 FPS, then High at 79.3 FPS, with Ultra being the slowest at 59.1 FPS.

Q: What is the GPU's memory configuration?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 features 8 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. The memory clock is 1750 MHz, which translates to 28 Gbps effective.

Q: How does the CPU's single-thread performance compare to its multi-thread performance?

A: The i3-12100F scores 1681 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 11912 in multi-core. In Geekbench, it achieves 2224 single-core and 7413 multi-core. The 3DMark single-thread score is 893, while the 4-thread score is 2859.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F is a 4-core, 8-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz, with a TDP of 58 W. This CPU sits in the 72nd percentile of all processors, demonstrating that its modest core count is offset by strong per-core performance.

In the context of Hard West, a turn-based tactics title, the CPU's role is primarily to maintain consistent frame pacing rather than to push extreme multi-threaded workloads. The benchmark data shows the i3-12100F delivers 123.7 FPS at 1080p High settings, indicating that the processor is not a limiting factor at this resolution. The 4-core design with 8 threads is sufficient for the game's logic, AI calculations, and turn resolution, which typically scale well with single-thread performance.

The CPU's cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 12 MB of shared L3 cache. This configuration supports the game's need for rapid access to frequently used data structures during combat sequences. The 3DMark benchmark results show a 4-thread score of 2859, which is close to the 8-thread score of 4026, suggesting that the game's workload may not fully utilize all available threads but benefits from the processor's strong single-core capabilities.

When compared to its nearest rivals, the i3-12100F is nearly indistinguishable in average score from the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX, trailing by just 0.1%. It also outperforms the Intel Core i7-7700K by 1.8% in average benchmark score, despite having half the cores of the older flagship. This indicates that the Alder Lake architecture's efficiency gains are significant for this type of workload.

The measured frame rates show a clear scaling pattern with resolution. At 1080p, the CPU can feed the GPU enough data to reach 196.5 FPS on Low settings, but this drops to 95.1 FPS on Ultra. At 1440p, the Ultra preset still achieves 59.1 FPS, indicating that the CPU maintains adequate performance headroom. The real bottleneck appears at 4K, where even High settings only yield 44.1 FPS, suggesting the GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear hierarchy of performance across presets and resolutions. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves 196.5 FPS, which is more than double the High preset's 123.7 FPS. The Medium preset delivers 160.7 FPS, offering a balanced trade-off between visual quality and performance. The Ultra preset drops to 95.1 FPS, which is still playable but represents a significant performance cost.

For 2560x1440, the Low preset delivers 123.6 FPS, while Medium achieves 102.9 FPS and High reaches 79.3 FPS. The Ultra preset falls to 59.1 FPS, which is on the edge of smooth gameplay for many users. Given that Medium at 1440p provides over 100 FPS, this appears to be the sweet spot for high-resolution gaming with this combo.

At 3840x2160, the situation changes dramatically. The Low preset yields 67.4 FPS, Medium drops to 53.7 FPS, and High falls to 44.1 FPS. The Ultra preset is nearly unplayable at 29.1 FPS. For 4K, the data suggests that Low or Medium settings are the only viable options, with Medium still providing a playable experience at 53.7 FPS.

The best overall experience per the measured rows appears to be the Medium preset at 1440p, which offers 102.9 FPS while maintaining a reasonable visual fidelity. This combination avoids the steep performance penalty of Ultra settings while delivering a smooth frame rate. At 1080p, Medium at 160.7 FPS is equally compelling, providing a high refresh rate experience without sacrificing too much visual quality. The Low preset, while fastest, may not be necessary given the ample headroom at lower resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i3-12100F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 ranks 828th out of 1699 tested combos in Hard West. This places it in the middle of the distribution, which is notable given the individual component rankings. The CPU sits in the 72nd percentile of all processors, while the GPU ranks in the 73rd percentile of all graphics cards, yet their combined performance in this specific game is more modest.

The ranking suggests that Hard West is not particularly demanding on either component, but the game's engine may not scale perfectly with the hardware. The GPU's average benchmark score of 30109 is nearly identical to the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT, which scores 30097, and the AMD Radeon RX 570, which scores 30158. This indicates that the RTX 5060's performance profile is well-matched to its rivals in synthetic benchmarks, but the in-game ranking reflects a more nuanced picture.

The mid-pack ranking of 828 out of 1699 combos implies that many other CPU-GPU pairings achieve better frame rates in Hard West. This could be due to the game's reliance on CPU single-thread performance, where the i3-12100F's 3DMark single-thread score of 893 is solid but not exceptional. The GPU's PassMark G3D score of 20891 is strong, but the game may not fully utilize the graphics card's capabilities, especially at lower resolutions where CPU overhead becomes more significant.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture using a 5 nm process at TSMC, featuring 21,900 million transistors on a 181 mm² die. The GPU has 3840 shading units, 120 TMUs, and 48 ROPs, with 30 RT cores and 120 tensor cores. Its base clock is 2280 MHz with a boost clock of 2497 MHz, delivering 19.18 TFLOPS of FP32 performance.

Memory configuration is critical for this game. The 8 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 128-bit bus provides 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is substantial for a card in this class. At 4K resolution with Ultra settings, the GPU's memory subsystem is likely stressed, as evidenced by the 29.1 FPS average. The game appears to require more memory bandwidth at higher resolutions, and the RTX 5060's bandwidth may be a limiting factor.

The GPU's PassMark scores show strong DirectX 11 performance (200) but lower DirectX 12 performance (77), which may explain the game's frame rate characteristics. Hard West, being a 2015 title, likely relies on older DirectX paths where the RTX 5060 performs well. The DirectX 10 score of 127 and DirectX 9 score of 225 indicate robust legacy API support.

At 1080p, the GPU is not the primary bottleneck, as frame rates range from 196.5 FPS on Low to 95.1 FPS on Ultra. The GPU's pixel rate of 119.9 GPixel/s and texture rate of 299.6 GTexel/s are sufficient for this resolution. However, at 4K, the GPU becomes the limiting factor, with even High settings only achieving 44.1 FPS. The 8 GB VRAM may also be a constraint at 4K, though the game's age suggests it may not require extensive texture memory.

The RTX 5060's average benchmark score of 30109 places it in the 73rd percentile of all GPUs, with nearest rivals including the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT (0% delta) and NVIDIA Tesla M60 (0.5% ahead). This consistency in synthetic benchmarks contrasts with the in-game performance, which suggests that Hard West's engine has specific optimization quirks that favor other hardware configurations.