Hard West

The Intel Core i5-10400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 occupies the 973rd position out of 1,699 tested combinations for Hard West, placing it in the lower-middle tier of the database. This rank reflects a pairing where the CPU, which sits at the 73rd percentile against all processors, is matched with a GPU at the 66th percentile, yet the turn-based tactical genre of the game means the overall standing is more about consistent frame delivery than raw component dominance. The data indicates a system that is entirely playable but not exceptional, with the measured results showing a clear performance ceiling that is dictated more by graphical settings than by processor headroom.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s 973rd-place finish out of 1,699 tested configurations places it just past the midpoint of the database, indicating that a majority of other hardware pairings deliver higher average frame rates in Hard West. This ranking is not a reflection of a weak individual component, as the CPU’s average benchmark score of 14,168 places it within 1.2% of rivals like the AMD Ryzen Embedded V2546 and Intel Core i5-8500, but rather a consequence of the GPU’s mid-tier standing. The RTX 4060’s average benchmark score of 23,181 is nearly identical to that of the Intel Arc B580, which trails by only 0.7%, and the AMD Radeon RX 6600M, which leads by 0.6%, suggesting the graphics card is the limiting factor in this partnership for achieving higher frame rates. The CPU’s nearest rivals, including the AMD EPYC 7552 with a 0.4% higher score, show that the processor is not a bottleneck in this context, as even a slightly faster CPU would likely not move the combo’s rank significantly given the GPU’s performance ceiling. The data shows that for Hard West, this combination is sufficient for smooth gameplay at most settings, but the rank indicates there is substantial room for improvement by pairing the CPU with a stronger GPU, which would likely push the combo into a higher percentile.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 brings 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 272.0 GB/s, which is a critical factor for Hard West’s texture-heavy scenes. The GPU’s boost clock of 2460 MHz, combined with its 15.11 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, drives the measured frame rates, and the data shows that this card’s 66th percentile standing against all GPUs is consistent with its mid-range positioning. In practical terms, the GPU’s role is most evident in the scaling of performance from Low to Ultra settings, where the average FPS at 1080p drops from 182 to 90.5, a reduction that highlights how the card’s 3,072 shading units handle increased graphical loads. The RTX 4060’s nearest rival, the GTX 780 Ti, has an average score that is 0.7% higher, yet the newer architecture’s features, such as 24 RT cores and 96 tensor cores, do not directly influence these results since Hard West does not utilize ray tracing or DLSS in the measured data. The GPU’s 8 GB frame buffer is sufficient for 4K at Medium settings, where it still manages 49.5 FPS, but at Ultra it falls to 28 FPS, indicating that the memory capacity is adequate while the compute throughput becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions and settings.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience per the measured rows, the Medium preset at 2560x1440 offers the most balanced outcome, delivering 98.5 FPS, which is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold while still providing a visual upgrade over Low settings, which hit 120.9 FPS at the same resolution. At 1920x1080, the High preset at 119.2 FPS is the recommended choice, as it nearly doubles the frame rate of Ultra (90.5 FPS) while still offering improved fidelity over Medium (150.7 FPS), though players prioritizing maximum smoothness should consider Low at 182 FPS. The data suggests that Ultra is not a practical option at any resolution, as it drops to 28 FPS at 4K and only reaches 55.9 FPS at 1440p, which is below the ideal threshold for a tactical game where turn-based actions benefit from steady, high frame rates. For 4K displays, the Low preset at 64.4 FPS is the only setting that consistently maintains playability, while Medium at 49.5 FPS is borderline and High at 39.2 FPS is likely too choppy for a comfortable experience. The measured results indicate that Medium or High at 1440p provides the best visual-to-performance ratio, and 1080p High is the sweet spot for users with standard monitors.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the RTX 4060 delivers a wide spread of performance, with Low settings producing an average of 182 FPS, Medium at 150.7 FPS, High at 119.2 FPS, and Ultra at 90.5 FPS. This resolution shows the GPU’s full potential, with even Ultra exceeding 90 FPS, making 1080p the most flexible option for all settings. Moving to 2560x1440, the averages drop to 120.9 FPS on Low, 98.5 FPS on Medium, 76.7 FPS on High, and 55.9 FPS on Ultra, representing a clear step down where Ultra becomes less viable for a smooth experience. At 3840x2160, the performance degrades further: Low yields 64.4 FPS, Medium 49.5 FPS, High 39.2 FPS, and Ultra 28 FPS, with the latter two being effectively unplayable for most users. The data shows a consistent pattern where the gap between Low and Ultra narrows as resolution increases, with a 91.5 FPS difference at 1080p but only a 36.4 FPS difference at 4K, indicating that the GPU becomes the sole bottleneck at higher resolutions, regardless of setting. Notably, the RTX 4060’s performance at 1080p Low (182 FPS) is roughly equal to its 1440p Low (120.9 FPS) and 4K Low (64.4 FPS), showing a linear scaling that reflects the card’s memory bandwidth limitations.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 results in a performance drop of approximately 34% across all settings, with Low going from 182 to 120.9 FPS and Ultra from 90.5 to 55.9 FPS, indicating that the GPU is still the primary driver at this step. However, the jump from 1440p to 3840x2160 is more severe, with Low falling to 64.4 FPS (a 47% reduction) and Ultra to 28 FPS (a 50% reduction), which suggests that the RTX 4060’s 128-bit memory bus and 272.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient to maintain frame rates at 4K. The data reveals that the limiting component shifts from the CPU at lower resolutions to the GPU at higher ones, as the i5-10400F’s 12 threads and 4.30 GHz boost clock are more than adequate for the turn-based logic of Hard West, which does not require high processor throughput. At 1080p, the CPU’s headroom is evident, as the frame rates exceed 180 FPS on Low, but at 4K, the GPU’s compute power caps performance at 64.4 FPS even on Low, confirming that the graphics card is the bottleneck. The scaling pattern shows that users with 1440p monitors will see a balanced experience, while 4K users must accept Low settings to stay above 60 FPS, and the CPU’s 73rd percentile ranking against all CPUs supports the conclusion that it is not the constraint in this configuration.

FAQ

Q: What is the combo’s overall rank in Hard West?

A: The Intel Core i5-10400F and RTX 4060 combination ranks 973rd out of 1,699 tested combos, placing it in the lower-middle tier of the database.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The i5-10400F’s average benchmark score of 14,168 is 0.4% lower than the AMD EPYC 7552 and 1.1% lower than the Intel Core i5-8500, showing it is closely matched with these alternatives.

Q: Can this system handle Hard West at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, only the Low preset achieves a playable average of 64.4 FPS, while Medium dips to 49.5 FPS and High and Ultra fall to 39.2 and 28 FPS, respectively.

Q: What is the best setting for a 1440p monitor?

A: The Medium preset at 2560x1440 yields 98.5 FPS, which is the highest frame rate that still provides a visual upgrade over Low (120.9 FPS), making it the optimal choice.

Q: How does the GPU’s performance compare to its closest rival?

A: The RTX 4060’s average score of 23,181 is 0.7% higher than the Intel Arc B580 and 0.6% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 6600M, indicating near-identical performance.

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

A: The data shows the GPU is the bottleneck, especially at higher resolutions, as the CPU’s 12 threads and 4.30 GHz boost clock are sufficient for the turn-based gameplay, while the GPU’s performance drops significantly from 1080p to 4K.