Hard West

Hard West, a turn-based tactics title from 2015, is measured here with an Intel Core i5-10400F and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti. The data set includes average FPS at three resolutions and four quality presets, along with synthetic benchmarks for both components. The combo ranks 765th out of 1699 tested combinations.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS shows a clear downward trend as resolution increases, across all four presets. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 142.5 at 1920x1080 to 87.4 at 2560x1440, and further to 48.5 at 3840x2160. The Low preset follows a similar pattern: 178.1 at 1080p, 139.6 at 1440p, and 73.5 at 4K. Medium settings yield 168 at 1080p, 113.1 at 1440p, and 57.6 at 4K, while Ultra drops from 108 at 1080p to 68.7 at 1440p and 34.5 at 4K.

The magnitude of the drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial for every preset. For High, the 4K average is less than half of the 1080p value; for Low, the 4K average is roughly 41% of the 1080p figure (73.5 vs. 178.1). This consistent scaling with pixel count indicates that the rendering workload is the dominant factor at higher resolutions. The GPU, with its 8 GB GDDR6X memory and 256-bit bus, is likely the limiting component when resolution increases, as the CPU's role in a turn-based tactics game is typically less demanding than in fast-paced action titles.

The spread between presets also narrows at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 70.1 FPS (178.1 vs. 108), while at 4K the same gap is 39 FPS (73.5 vs. 34.5). This suggests that the GPU becomes more saturated as resolution rises, reducing the relative impact of quality settings. At 4K, only the Low preset maintains an average above 60 FPS; Medium falls slightly below at 57.6, and High and Ultra are well under that threshold. For 1440p, all presets exceed 60 FPS, with Medium at 113.1 and High at 87.4. At 1080p, even Ultra stays above 100 FPS, indicating that the combo is well-suited for high-refresh-rate displays at that resolution.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-10400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the Comet Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. It has 12 MB of shared L3 cache and a TDP of 65 W. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU achieves a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 10297 and a single-core score of 1453. Its Geekbench multicore score is 5783, with a single-core score of 1454. The Passmark multithread score is 12115, and the single-thread score is 2541.

The CPU's average benchmark score is 14168, placing it in the 73rd percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals are tightly clustered: the AMD EPYC 7552 scores 14115 (0.4% lower), the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C scores 14277 (0.8% higher), the Intel Core i5-8500 scores 14332 (1.1% higher), and the AMD Ryzen Embedded V2546 scores 14336 (1.2% higher). This indicates that the i5-10400F sits in a narrow performance band, with no single rival more than 1.2% away.

For Hard West, a turn-based tactics game, the CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads are likely sufficient, as the genre does not typically stress many threads. The high frame rates at 1080p Low (178.1) suggest that the CPU is not a bottleneck at lower resolutions, where the GPU can deliver high output. The single-thread performance, as measured by Cinebench R23 (1453), is strong and should handle the game's logic and AI without issue. The boost clock of 4.30 GHz further supports responsive single-threaded workloads. While the game's specific CPU usage is not measured, the combination of a capable 6-core processor and a high-end GPU yields frame rates that are limited by resolution and quality settings rather than by the CPU.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p Ultra?

A: The average FPS at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings is 108.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested combos?

A: This combo is ranked 765th out of 1699 tested combinations.

Q: What is the GPU's memory size and type?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti has 8 GB of GDDR6X memory.

Q: What is the CPU's boost clock?

A: The Intel Core i5-10400F has a boost clock of 4.30 GHz.

Q: What is the GPU's TDP?

A: The RTX 3070 Ti has a TDP of 290 W.

Q: What is the CPU's Cinebench R23 multicore score?

A: The i5-10400F scores 10297 in Cinebench R23 multicore.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance for each resolution. At 1080p, all presets deliver high frame rates: Low at 178.1, Medium at 168, High at 142.5, and Ultra at 108. The Ultra preset remains above 100 FPS, making it a viable choice for users who prioritize visual quality without sacrificing smoothness. For those with high-refresh-rate displays, the High preset at 142.5 FPS offers a substantial margin over 60 Hz, while Medium at 168 FPS is even higher. The Low preset, at 178.1 FPS, is the fastest but likely reduces visual fidelity.

At 1440p, the High preset achieves 87.4 FPS, which is comfortably above 60. Medium is higher at 113.1 FPS, and Ultra drops to 68.7 FPS, still playable. The Low preset reaches 139.6 FPS. For a balance between quality and frame rate, High is a strong recommendation, as it stays well above 60 FPS while offering a higher quality tier than Medium. If maximum frame rate is desired, Medium at 113.1 FPS is the better choice.

At 4K, the situation changes. Only the Low preset exceeds 60 FPS, with an average of 73.5. Medium falls to 57.6, High to 48.5, and Ultra to 34.5. For a playable experience at 4K, the Low preset is the only option that maintains a consistent 60+ FPS average. Users who can tolerate lower frame rates might consider Medium at 57.6, but the data shows that High and Ultra are not suitable for smooth gameplay at this resolution. The GPU's 8 GB memory and 608.3 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for 4K, but the rendering load at Ultra is too heavy for this combo.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 765th out of 1699 tested combinations, placing it in the upper-middle portion of the distribution. The CPU is in the 73rd percentile of all CPUs, and the GPU is in the 74th percentile of all GPUs, indicating that both components are above average relative to their respective pools. The GPU's average benchmark score is 30849, with nearest rivals including the AMD Radeon RX 590 GME (30755, 0.3% lower) and the AMD Radeon RX 6700 (31112, 0.8% higher). The CPU's average score of 14168 is within 1.2% of its nearest rivals, as noted earlier.

The rank of 765 suggests that many other combinations deliver higher frame rates in Hard West, but the measured FPS at 1080p High (142.5) and 1440p High (87.4) demonstrate that this setup is capable of strong performance in this game. The combination of a 6-core/12-thread CPU and a high-end Ampere GPU provides a balanced platform for turn-based tactics, where the GPU is the primary driver of resolution scaling. The data shows that the combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K requiring a reduction to Low settings to maintain playable frame rates.