Hard West

The Intel Core i5-10400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6600 lands at rank 2907 out of 3722 tested combos in Hard West, placing it in the lower half of the database. That percentile position reflects a pairing that is functional but far from optimized for this turn-based tactics title, where the GPU is clearly the dominant constraint across most settings. The combo sits below the median, and the benchmark data confirms that while the CPU has ample headroom, the graphics card dictates the playable experience. For a game that is not graphically demanding by modern standards, this rank suggests the pairing is adequate for 1080p play but struggles to maintain high frame rates at 4K.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 2907 out of 3722 tested configurations puts it in the 22nd percentile of all recorded pairings for Hard West. This is a low position, indicating that most other CPU-GPU combinations achieve higher average frame rates in this specific title. The data shows a clear pattern: the RX 6600’s 8 GB of VRAM and 128-bit memory interface become the bottleneck as resolution increases, dragging the combo down the rankings. The CPU, by contrast, is not the limiting factor—its benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core result of 10283 and a single-core score of 1451, are respectable for a 6-core/12-thread part, but they do not translate into a high game rank because the GPU cannot keep pace.

In practical terms, this rank means the combo is suited for 1080p gaming with medium-to-high settings, where it delivers smooth frame rates, but it falls behind in 4K scenarios. The measured FPS data supports this: at 1080p High, the combo hits 90 FPS, which is competitive, but at 4K High, it drops to 30 FPS, a 67% reduction. The rank is a holistic measure, and it reflects that the majority of tested combos—likely those with stronger GPUs—handle Hard West more efficiently across all resolutions. For a turn-based tactics game, the low rank is less critical than in fast-paced genres, but it still signals that this pairing is entry-level for the title’s higher resolution demands.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 is the primary driver of the combo’s performance in Hard West, and its specifications explain the measured results. The GPU features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is adequate for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but it becomes a limiting factor at 4K, where the game’s textures and geometry require more memory throughput. The card’s 1792 shading units and 64 ROPs, paired with a boost clock of 2491 MHz, provide enough compute power for medium settings at 1440p, as evidenced by the 74 FPS average at that resolution. However, the 4K Ultra result of 22 FPS highlights the GPU’s inability to handle heavy loads at high pixel counts.

The RX 6600’s clock behavior is also relevant. With a base clock of 1626 MHz and a game clock of 2044 MHz, the card sustains reasonable performance in less demanding scenes, but Hard West’s turn-based nature means frame rates are less sensitive to rapid clock fluctuations. The 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for the game’s low and medium presets at all resolutions, but the 4K High and Ultra settings likely exceed the memory capacity, causing the frame rate to plummet. The GPU’s percentile ranking of 63rd among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19036, places it near the NVIDIA Quadro K6000 and GeForce RTX 4050 Mobile, but those comparisons are synthetic—in-game, the RX 6600’s 4K performance is clearly its weak point, as the data shows a 52% drop from 4K Low to 4K Ultra.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS across resolutions reveals a textbook GPU-bound scaling pattern. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 143 FPS, which drops to 91 FPS at 1440p Low (a 36% reduction) and further to 48 FPS at 4K Low (a 66% reduction from 1080p). This steep decline indicates that the RX 6600 is the limiting component—the CPU’s 6 cores and 12 threads are not stressed at lower resolutions, but the GPU’s fill rate and memory bandwidth cannot sustain high frame rates as pixel count increases. The pattern is consistent across all settings: at High, the drop from 1080p (90 FPS) to 1440p (57 FPS) is 37%, and to 4K (30 FPS) is 67%.

The scaling also shows diminishing returns at higher settings. At 1080p, the difference between Low (143 FPS) and Ultra (68 FPS) is 75 FPS, a 53% reduction. At 4K, the same settings range from 48 FPS to 22 FPS, a 54% reduction, but the absolute values are much lower. This suggests that the GPU is overwhelmed at 4K regardless of settings, while at 1080p, the CPU has enough headroom to let the GPU stretch its legs. The 1440p Medium result of 74 FPS, with a min of 63 and max of 86, shows a playable range, but 4K Medium’s 39 FPS average, with a min of 33, borders on unplayable for smooth gameplay. The data points to 1440p as the practical ceiling for this combo in Hard West, with 1080p being the sweet spot for high refresh rates.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows 1080p is the best resolution, with average FPS ranging from 68 (Ultra) to 143 (Low). At 1440p, averages drop to 43-91 FPS, while 4K averages fall to 22-48 FPS, making it unsuitable for consistent 60 FPS play.

Q: How does the RX 6600 compare to its nearest GPU rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RX 6600 has an average benchmark score of 19036, which is 0.0% different from the NVIDIA Quadro K6000 (19030), -0.1% from the GeForce RTX 4050 Mobile (19049), and -0.3% from the Tesla K20m (19089). This places it in the 63rd percentile of all GPUs.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this combo?

A: The GPU is the bottleneck, especially at higher resolutions. The CPU’s Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 10283 and single-core score of 1451 are sufficient, but the RX 6600’s frame rates drop by over 50% from 1080p to 4K, indicating the GPU cannot keep up with the CPU’s potential.

Q: What settings should be used for 60 FPS gameplay?

A: For 1080p, High (90 FPS) and Medium (118 FPS) both exceed 60 FPS, while Ultra (68 FPS) also clears the threshold. At 1440p, only Low (91 FPS) and Medium (74 FPS) achieve 60 FPS or above. At 4K, no settings reach 60 FPS, with Low being the best at 48 FPS.

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

A: The CPU’s single-thread score of 1451 in Cinebench R23 is strong, and the 3DMark single-thread score of 688 indicates adequate per-core power. Since Hard West is turn-based and less reliant on rapid multi-threaded processing, the CPU’s 12 threads are more than enough, as evidenced by the combo’s FPS being GPU-limited.

Q: What is the launch MSRP of the GPU?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6600 had a launch MSRP of 329 USD.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-10400F plays a supporting role in this combo, and its specifications confirm that it is not the limiting factor in Hard West. The CPU has 6 cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. Its 12 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 42.7 GB/s bandwidth are adequate for the game’s demands. Benchmark results, such as a Geekbench multi-core score of 6257 and a Passmark multithread score of 12115, show that the CPU has substantial headroom. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 4748 and 8-thread score of 3929 indicate that even when all threads are utilized, the CPU can handle the workload without bottlenecking.

However, the CPU’s role is diminished by the GPU’s limitations. At 1080p Low, where the CPU would be most stressed, the combo still achieves 143 FPS, proving the i5-10400F can push high frame rates. The single-thread performance, with a Cinebench R15 single-core score of 146 and R20 single-core score of 609, is sufficient for turn-based tactics, which often rely on single-threaded game logic. The CPU’s percentile ranking of 68th among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 14185, places it near the Intel Xeon 6756E (0.2% higher) and AMD Ryzen 3 7320C (-0.6% lower), but these rival comparisons are synthetic—in-game, the CPU’s impact is minimal. The data shows that overclocking or upgrading the CPU would not improve frame rates, as the RX 6600 is the bottleneck at all resolutions above 1080p Low.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance for optimal settings with this combo. For 1080p, the High preset (90 FPS) offers a balanced experience, but Medium (118 FPS) provides a significant boost with a min of 100 FPS, ensuring smooth gameplay even in demanding scenes. Ultra (68 FPS) is still playable, but the 22 FPS drop from High may not justify the visual gains, as Hard West’s turn-based gameplay does not require high frame rates. For 1440p, Medium (74 FPS) is the best choice, offering a 63 FPS minimum and 86 FPS maximum, which keeps gameplay fluid. Low (91 FPS) is also viable if frame rate is prioritized over visuals, but High (57 FPS) and Ultra (43 FPS) fall below the 60 FPS threshold, making them less desirable.

At 4K, the data shows no settings achieve 60 FPS. Low (48 FPS) is the only playable option, but even that is below the ideal threshold; Medium (39 FPS) and High (30 FPS) are borderline for a turn-based game, though Ultra (22 FPS) is not recommended. The recommendation is to cap the resolution at 1440p for the best balance of quality and performance. The 1440p Medium setting, with its 74 FPS average, is the sweet spot, delivering 84% of the 1080p High frame rate while offering higher resolution. For users prioritizing smoothness, 1080p Medium provides 118 FPS and a 100 FPS minimum, which is the best measured combination of frame rate and visual fidelity. The data does not support 4K gaming with this combo, as even Low settings result in sub-60 FPS, making it a poor choice for that resolution.