Hard West

# Hard West — Intel Core i5-10400F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080

This combination pairs a six-core Comet Lake CPU with an Ada Lovelace flagship GPU, and the measured results in Hard West show a system that is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions while still delivering playable frame rates across the board. The RTX 4080, with its 16 GB of GDDR6X memory and 716.8 GB/s of bandwidth, is clearly the dominant component in this pairing, but the i5-10400F's 12 threads and 4.30 GHz boost clock are sufficient to avoid becoming a bottleneck until frame rates climb toward the upper end of the 1080p spectrum interviews.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K at each preset reveals a clear pattern of GPU limitation. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 152 at 1920x1080 to 131 at 2560x1440, a reduction of approximately 14%, and then to 69 at 3840x2160, which represents a 47% drop from the 1440p result and a 55% drop from 1080p. This steep decline at 4K is characteristic of a game that is pushing the GPU's pixel throughput and memory bandwidth to their limits, rather than exposing any CPU constraint.

The Low preset shows a similar scaling pattern but with higher absolute numbers. The system delivers 180 FPS at 1080p, 155 FPS at 1440p, and 109 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are 14% from 1080p to 1440p and 30% from 1440p to 4K, which is less severe than the High preset's 47% drop over the same resolution range. This suggests that at Low settings, the game is less demanding on the GPU's shading resources, allowing the frame rate to scale more linearly with pixel count.

Medium settings exhibit the most consistent scaling behavior. The average FPS goes from 168 at 1080p to 144 at 1440p (a 14% drop) and then to 89 at 4K (a 38% drop from 1440p). The measured minimum and maximum values at Medium settings also provide insight: at 1080p, the range spans from 143 FPS to 193 FPS, while at 1440p it tightens to 122–166 FPS, and at 4K it narrows further to 76–103 FPS. This compression of the frame time variance at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU is becoming the consistent limiting factor.

Ultra settings produce the largest resolution sensitivity, with average FPS falling from 137 at 1080p to 98 at 1440p (a 28% drop) and then to 51 at 4K (a 48% drop from 1440p). The 4K Ultra result of 51 FPS is only marginally above the 50 FPS threshold that many players consider the minimum for smooth gameplay, and the gap between Ultra and High at 4K is substantial—18 FPS, or 26% lower. This suggests that Ultra settings impose a significant additional load on the GPU, likely through higher-quality shading and post-processing effects that scale poorly with resolution.

The overall interpretation is that this game is almost entirely GPU-bound at 4K across all settings, with the RTX 4080's 280.6 GPixel/s pixel rate and 761.5 GTexel/s texture rate being the primary determinants of performance. At 1080p, the frame rates are high enough that the CPU's single-thread performance, as evidenced by its 3dmark_single_thread score of 688 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1451, may begin to matter, but the data does not show any obvious CPU-related plateau at lower resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the Medium preset offers the best balance between visual quality and frame rate stability across all three resolutions. At 1080p, Medium delivers 168 FPS average with a minimum of 143 FPS, which is only 12 FPS below the Low preset's 180 FPS but provides a meaningful visual upgrade over Low. At 1440p, Medium produces 144 FPS average with a 122 FPS minimum, keeping the experience well above 120 FPS even in demanding scenes. At 4K, Medium drops to 89 FPS average with a 76 FPS minimum, which remains comfortably playable on high-refresh-rate displays.

The High preset is a reasonable alternative for users who prioritize visual fidelity over raw frame rate. At 1080p, High achieves 152 FPS, which is 16 FPS lower than Medium but still very smooth. At 1440p, High delivers 131 FPS, and at 4K it manages 69 FPS. The 4K High result is 20 FPS above the Ultra preset's 51 FPS, making High the highest-quality setting that maintains a stable 60+ FPS experience at 4K.

Ultra settings should be approached with caution. At 1080p, Ultra still delivers 137 FPS, which is acceptable, and at 1440p it reaches 98 FPS. However, at 4K, Ultra falls to 51 FPS average, which is below the 60 FPS standard that most modern displays target. The performance cost of Ultra over High is 15 FPS at 1080p, 33 FPS at 1440p, and 18 FPS at 4K, suggesting that Ultra's additional effects are not efficiently implemented at higher resolutions.

Low settings are only recommended for users seeking maximum frame rates on high-refresh-rate monitors. The 180 FPS at 1080p and 155 FPS at 1440p are the highest measured values in the entire dataset, but the visual compromise is significant. Given that Medium provides 168 FPS at 1080p and 144 FPS at 1440p—only 7% lower—the Medium preset is generally the superior choice.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is the clear performance driver in this configuration. Its 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus provides 716.8 GB/s of bandwidth, which is more than sufficient for a turn-based tactics game like Hard West that does not require loading massive textures. The GPU's 9728 shading units and 304 texture mapping units are the primary compute resources for this title, and their utilization scales directly with the resolution and preset level.

The GPU's boost clock of 2505 MHz and base clock of 2205 MHz are relatively high for a 40-series card, and the 48.74 TFLOPS of FP32 performance indicates substantial raw compute capability. However, the measured frame rates in Hard West at 4K Ultra (51 FPS) suggest that the game's rendering path is not fully utilizing this compute throughput, likely due to the game's 2015 release date and its DirectX 12 Ultimate support not being fully exploited.

The RTX 4080's benchmark scores provide context for its overall capability. Its Passmark G3D score of 34457 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6567 are strong, and its percentile ranking of 86 means it outperforms 86% of all GPUs in the database. The nearest rival is the RTX 4080 SUPER with an average score of 54209, a mere 0.1% difference, while the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X trails by 1.1% and the RX 6750 GRE 12 GB by 2.6%. These small deltas indicate that the RTX 4080 is positioned at a performance tier where minor architectural differences do not translate into large frame rate gaps in this game.

The GPU's 112 ROPs and 280.6 GPixel/s pixel rate are particularly relevant to Hard West's 4K performance, as the game's relatively simple geometry and effects are likely fill-rate limited at high resolutions. The 4K High result of 69 FPS and 4K Medium result of 89 FPS both point to the pixel pipeline being the constraining factor, rather than the CPU or memory subsystem.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates across all presets. Low settings produce 180 FPS average, which is the single highest measurement in the dataset. Medium follows at 168 FPS with a 143–193 FPS range, High at 152 FPS, and Ultra at 137 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 43 FPS, indicating that the preset level has a significant impact even at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but show a tighter spread. Low achieves 155 FPS, Medium 144 FPS with a 122–166 FPS range, High 131 FPS, and Ultra 98 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 57 FPS, which is proportionally larger than at 1080p, suggesting that the GPU's shading resources become more strained as pixel count increases.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates drop substantially. Low produces 109 FPS, Medium 89 FPS with a 76–103 FPS range, High 69 FPS, and Ultra 51 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 58 FPS, similar to 1440p, but the absolute values are much lower. The Medium preset's minimum of 76 FPS at 4K is notable because it exceeds the High preset's average of 69 FPS, reinforcing that preset selection has a larger impact on performance than resolution scaling at this level.

Comparing the Medium preset's measured minimum and maximum values across resolutions provides additional insight into frame pacing. At 1080p, the range is 143–193 FPS (a 35% spread from the average), at 1440p it is 122–166 FPS (a 31% spread), and at 4K it is 76–103 FPS (a 15% spread). The narrowing range at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU's frame time consistency improves when it is fully saturated, which is a common characteristic of GPU-bound scenarios.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-10400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 ranks 781 out of 3722 tested combos in Hard West, placing it in the top 21% of all configurations. This ranking is somewhat lower than the GPU's individual percentile of 86 and the CPU's percentile of 68, which suggests that the pairing is not optimally balanced for this particular game.

The CPU's average benchmark score of 14185 places it near several rivals with very small performance deltas. The Intel Xeon 6756E scores 14163 (0.2% lower), the AMD EPYC 7552 scores 14115 (0.5% lower), while the Intel Core 7 160UL scores 14232 (0.3% higher) and the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C scores 14277 (0.6% higher). These differences are within measurement noise, indicating that the i5-10400F's performance is well-established in this range.

The GPU's average benchmark score of 54247 is similarly close to its rivals, with the RTX 4080 SUPER at 54209 (0.1% higher) and the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X at 54828 (1.1% higher). The RX 6750 GRE 12 GB and Radeon 8060S are 2.6% and 2.7% higher, respectively. These tight margins mean that the specific GPU model is unlikely to be the differentiator in Hard West's frame rates; instead, the overall system configuration and driver implementation matter more.

The combo's rank of 781 out of 3722 suggests that many other CPU+GPU pairings achieve better results in this game. This is likely because Hard West is not particularly demanding on GPU resources, so the RTX 4080's raw power is not fully utilized, while the i5-10400F's six cores are sufficient for the game's turn-based logic. The result is a system that performs well but does not reach the top tier of tested combinations.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-10400F provides six physical 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 Hard West's requirements, as turn-based tactics games typically do not demand high memory bandwidth or large cache capacities.

The CPU's benchmark results reveal a moderate single-thread performance profile. Its 3dmark_single_thread score of 688 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1451 are mid-range for a desktop processor, while its multi-threaded scores (Cinebench R23 multicore of 10283 and Passmark multithread of 12115) show reasonable scaling across its 12 threads. The 3dmark_16_threads score of 4748 and 3dmark_max_threads score of 4735 are nearly identical, indicating that the CPU reaches its multi-threading limit quickly.

In Hard West, the CPU's role is primarily to handle game logic, AI pathfinding, and scene management during turn-based actions. The measured frame rates at 1080p Low (180 FPS) and 1080p Medium (168 FPS) are high enough that the CPU's single-thread performance could become a limiting factor in certain scenarios, but the data does not show any frame rate stagnation that would indicate a CPU bottleneck. The 3dmark_2_threads score of 1350 and 4_threads score of 2560 suggest that the game's main thread would be well-served by the CPU's boost clock of 4.30 GHz.

The CPU's 65 W TDP and 14 nm Comet Lake architecture are less efficient than newer designs, but this does not translate into a performance disadvantage in Hard West. The percentileVsAllCpus of 68 means the i5-10400F outperforms 68% of all CPUs in the database, which is a solid mid-pack position. Its nearest rivals include the Xeon 6756E and EPYC 7552, which are server-class parts with different performance characteristics, yet they score within 0.5% of the i5-10400F. This indicates that the CPU's performance is not a limiting factor in this game's frame rates.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo achieves in Hard West?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 180, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The next highest is 168 FPS at the same resolution with Medium settings.

Q: Can this system maintain 60 FPS at 4K with Ultra settings?

A: No. At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS drops to 51, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. To achieve 60+ FPS at 4K, you would need to use High settings, which deliver 69 FPS average.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 compare to its nearest rival in benchmark scores?

A: The RTX 4080 has an average benchmark score of 54247, while the RTX 4080 SUPER scores 54209, a 0.1% difference. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X is 1.1% higher, and the RX 6750 GRE 12 GB is 2.6% higher.

Q: What is the frame rate range at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: The measured range is 122 FPS minimum to 166 FPS maximum, with an average of 144 FPS. This is the only 1440p preset with recorded minimum and maximum values.

Q: What percentile does the i5-10400F rank among all CPUs?

A: The i5-10400F has a percentileVsAllCpus of 68, meaning it outperforms 68% of all CPUs in the database. Its average benchmark score is 14185.

Q: How does the combo's rank in Hard West compare to the GPU's individual rank?

A: The combo ranks 781 out of 3722 tested combinations (top 21%), while the RTX 4080 has a percentileVsAllGpus of 86. The lower combo rank indicates that the GPU's potential is not fully realized in this game.