Hard West

# Hard West Performance Analysis: Intel Core i5-11400F + AMD Radeon RX 7700

The combination of Intel Core i5-11400F and AMD Radeon RX 7700 delivers a playable experience in Hard West, a 2015 turn-based tactics title, with performance scaling predictably across resolutions and settings. This analysis uses measured frame rate data to examine how the CPU and GPU each contribute to the game's output, where bottlenecks appear, and which settings provide the most satisfying experience. The data reveals a system that remains remarkably capable at 1080p, shows clear GPU pressure at 4K, and offers a wide performance envelope depending on the preset chosen.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a pronounced performance drop as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160, which is expected behavior for a GPU-bound scenario. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 124 FPS at 1080p to 78 FPS at 1440p, then to 41 FPS at 4K. That represents a 37% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 47% drop from 1440p to 4K. The scaling pattern suggests the GPU is becoming the limiting factor at higher resolutions, as pixel count quadruples from 1080p to 4K while the frame rate barely maintains one-third of the original value.

The Low settings preset tells a similar story but with higher absolute numbers. At 1080p Low, the system produces 197 FPS, dropping to 125 FPS at 1440p, and then to 65 FPS at 4K. The relative decline from 1440p to 4K is 48%, nearly identical to the High preset's 47% drop. This consistency across settings indicates that resolution scaling is governed primarily by the GPU's rasterization throughput rather than by settings-specific effects. The RX 7700's 16 GB of GDDR6 memory and 624.1 GB/s bandwidth appear sufficient even at 4K, since the frame rate does not collapse catastrophically—it degrades linearly with pixel count.

Ultra settings at 4K produce only 31 FPS average, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay in most scenarios. The gap between Ultra and High at 4K is 10 FPS (31 vs. 41), while at 1080p the same settings gap is 31 FPS (93 vs. 124). This narrowing of the settings gap at higher resolutions reinforces that the GPU is fully saturated at 4K regardless of preset. The data implies that players targeting 4K should avoid Ultra entirely, as the visual uplift does not compensate for the frame rate penalty.

At 1440p, the scaling from Low to Ultra spans from 125 FPS down to 59 FPS, a range of 66 FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p delivers 102 FPS with a minimum of 87 FPS and maximum of 117 FPS, indicating stable frame times. The 4K Medium row shows 54 FPS average with a minimum of 46 FPS and maximum of 62 FPS, suggesting occasional dips below 50 FPS. This variance at 4K Medium points to scenes with heavier geometry or effects that stress the GPU further, while the 1080p Medium row (161 FPS average, 137 min, 186 max) shows proportionally smaller relative variance.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 serves as the primary performance driver in Hard West, particularly at higher resolutions. Its 16 GB GDDR6 memory operates at 2438 MHz (19.5 Gbps effective) across a 256-bit bus, yielding 624.1 GB/s of bandwidth. For a 2015 turn-based tactics title, this memory configuration is more than adequate, and the data shows no evidence of VRAM capacity or bandwidth constraints—even at 4K Ultra, the bottleneck is raw compute rather than memory throughput.

The GPU's boost clock of 2459 MHz and game clock of 2041 MHz provide the computational headroom visible in the 1080p results. At 1080p Low, the 197 FPS average suggests the GPU is not fully taxed, and the CPU may be approaching its limit. The architecture is RDNA 3.0 on a 5 nm process from TSMC, with 2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 96 render output units. These specifications translate to a pixel rate of 236.1 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 393.4 GTexel/s, which explains why the card handles 1080p with such ease.

The GPU benchmarks place the RX 7700 at the 58th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 15852. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon R9 370X (avgScore 15862, deltaPct -0.1), AMD Radeon RX 9060 (avgScore 16014, deltaPct -1.0), AMD Radeon Pro W5500 (avgScore 15679, deltaPct 1.1), and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti (avgScore 16129, deltaPct -1.7). Within 1.7% of the RTX 3060 Ti in aggregate benchmarks, the RX 7700's in-game performance at 1080p High (124 FPS) aligns with expectations for a mid-range card from the RX 7000 series.

The DirectX API support includes 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, which ensures compatibility with Hard West's rendering requirements. The measured PassMark scores—DirectX 9 at 261, DirectX 10 at 92, DirectX 11 at 186, and DirectX 12 at 96—reveal that the card's performance varies significantly across API generations. Hard West, released in 2015, likely uses an older DirectX path, and the strong DirectX 9 score suggests the card excels in legacy rendering workloads.

FAQ

Q: What is the playable frame rate at 4K with this combination?

A: At 4K resolution, the system averages 41 FPS on High settings, 54 FPS on Medium (with a minimum of 46 FPS), and 65 FPS on Low. Ultra settings drop to 31 FPS average. For smooth gameplay at 4K, Medium settings provide the best balance, while Low ensures consistent frame rates above 60 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU's single-thread performance affect this game?

A: The Intel Core i5-11400F scores 868 in 3DMark single-thread and 2024 in Cinebench R23 single-core. Hard West, as a turn-based tactics title, likely benefits from strong single-thread performance for game logic and AI calculations. The data shows the CPU can sustain 197 FPS at 1080p Low, indicating no severe single-thread bottleneck at standard frame rates.

Q: Is 16 GB of VRAM necessary for this game?

A: The RX 7700's 16 GB GDDR6 memory is far beyond what Hard West requires. The game's 2015 release date and turn-based nature mean texture loads are modest. No measured data suggests VRAM limitations at any resolution or settings combination tested.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Medium and High at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Medium averages 102 FPS (minimum 87 FPS, maximum 117 FPS), while High averages 78 FPS. The 24 FPS gap indicates that High settings add significant GPU workload, likely from increased shadow quality or post-processing effects.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations in Hard West?

A: This CPU-GPU combination ranks 1331 out of 2949 tested combos, placing it in the 55th percentile. This mid-pack position reflects the balanced but not top-tier nature of the hardware for this specific game.

Q: Does the 4K Ultra preset ever reach playable frame rates?

A: No. The 4K Ultra setting averages just 31 FPS, which is below the generally accepted 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay. Even with the RX 7700's powerful specifications, Hard West at 4K Ultra remains a slideshow.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system demonstrates its peak performance. The Low preset delivers an average of 197 FPS, which is the highest measured value across all resolutions and settings. Medium at 1080p produces 161 FPS average with a minimum of 137 FPS and maximum of 186 FPS, showing tight frame pacing. High at 1080p averages 124 FPS, while Ultra drops to 93 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra at 1080p shows a 104 FPS range, indicating that settings have a substantial impact on performance at this resolution. The minimum FPS of 137 at Medium suggests that even in demanding scenes, the system maintains high frame rates.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance scales down notably. Low averages 125 FPS, Medium 102 FPS (minimum 87 FPS, maximum 117 FPS), High 78 FPS, and Ultra 59 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 87 FPS still provides a comfortable experience, while Ultra's 59 FPS average sits just below the 60 FPS threshold. The gap between 1080p and 1440p at each settings tier is substantial: 72 FPS difference at Low, 59 FPS at Medium, 46 FPS at High, and 34 FPS at Ultra. This diminishing gap at higher settings indicates that the GPU workload becomes more uniform as settings increase.

At 3840x2160, the system's limitations become apparent. Low averages 65 FPS, Medium 54 FPS (minimum 46 FPS, maximum 62 FPS), High 41 FPS, and Ultra 31 FPS. The Medium preset is the only one that approaches playable territory, though its minimum of 46 FPS reveals occasional stutters. The 4K results show that the RX 7700, despite its 16 GB VRAM and 624.1 GB/s bandwidth, cannot maintain high frame rates at this resolution with demanding settings. The data indicates that 4K gaming with this combo requires Low or Medium settings for a playable experience.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F provides six cores and twelve threads, with a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. This Rocket Lake processor, built on Intel's 14 nm process, features 12 MB of shared L3 cache and 512 KB of L2 cache per core. Its memory support is DDR4 with dual-channel configuration, offering 51.2 GB/s of memory bandwidth. For a turn-based tactics game like Hard West, which likely does not scale well beyond a few threads, the CPU's single-thread performance is more relevant than its multicore throughput.

The CPU benchmarks show a 3DMark single-thread score of 868 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2024. These figures place the i5-11400F's single-thread capability at a level that should comfortably handle Hard West's game logic. The multicore results—Cinebench R23 multicore at 14340 and Geekbench multicore at 7737—demonstrate strong overall processing power, though the game's turn-based nature means the extra cores remain largely idle during normal gameplay.

The CPU's percentile rank is 71 among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17177. Its nearest rivals include the AMD EPYC 7H12 (deltaPct 0.3), Intel Core i5-12450H (deltaPct -0.4), AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G (deltaPct -0.6), and Intel Core Ultra 7 164U (deltaPct 0.6). This clustering within 1% suggests the i5-11400F performs similarly to a wide range of processors from different generations and segments.

In the context of Hard West performance, the CPU's role becomes evident when examining the 1080p Low result of 197 FPS. This high frame rate suggests the CPU can feed the GPU with enough draw calls to reach nearly 200 FPS, but the GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher settings and resolutions. The fact that 4K Low (65 FPS) is dramatically lower than 1080p Low (197 FPS) confirms the GPU-bound nature of the game at high resolutions. The CPU's 65 W TDP and 14 nm process node indicate efficient operation, though the architecture is now considered end-of-life with production status listed as such.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience with this hardware, the Medium preset at 1440p appears to be the sweet spot. The measured data shows 102 FPS average with a minimum of 87 FPS, providing smooth gameplay with minimal drops. The 1440p Medium settings likely offer a good balance of visual quality and performance, and the minimum FPS of 87 ensures that even the most demanding scenes remain fluid. At 1080p, Medium delivers 161 FPS average (minimum 137 FPS), which is excellent for high-refresh-rate monitors, though the visual gains from higher settings may be worth exploring.

Players with 1080p displays can reasonably use High settings at 124 FPS average, as this provides strong visuals without sacrificing smoothness. The Ultra preset at 1080p (93 FPS) is also playable, but the 31 FPS penalty over High suggests diminishing returns from the extra effects. For those with 1440p monitors, High at 78 FPS is acceptable, but Medium's 102 FPS provides more headroom for demanding scenes. The 4K resolution should be avoided for quality settings, as even Medium (54 FPS average, 46 FPS minimum) struggles to maintain consistent frame rates.

The data indicates that the Low preset, while achieving high frame rates (197 FPS at 1080p, 125 FPS at 1440p, 65 FPS at 4K), sacrifices too much visual fidelity for a game that is turn-based and not action-heavy. The Medium preset at 1440p provides the best compromise between visual quality and performance, with the minimum FPS of 87 ensuring no noticeable stutters. For players prioritizing frame rate above all else, 1080p Low at 197 FPS offers maximum smoothness, though this may be unnecessary for a turn-based tactics title.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific configuration of Intel Core i5-11400F and AMD Radeon RX 7700 ranks 1331 out of 2949 tested combos in Hard West, placing it at approximately the 45th percentile from the top. This mid-pack ranking reflects the balanced nature of the hardware—neither component is a top-tier performer, but the combination delivers solid frame rates at mainstream resolutions. The CPU's 71st percentile ranking among all CPUs is higher than the GPU's 58th percentile, suggesting the processor is relatively stronger than the graphics card in this pairing.

The combo's ranking is influenced by the game's moderate system requirements. Hard West, released in 2015, does not demand the latest hardware, so many lower-end combinations can achieve playable frame rates. This compression of performance at the top means that the RX 7700's 58th percentile GPU ranking translates to a similar game-specific ranking. The 2949 tested combos indicate a broad database, and the 1331 rank places this system in the upper half of all tested configurations.

The GPU's nearest rivals provide context for its performance. The RX 7700's average benchmark score of 15852 is nearly identical to the Radeon R9 370X (15862, deltaPct -0.1) and within 1.7% of the RTX 3060 Ti (16129). This clustering suggests that the RX 7700 performs similarly to a range of graphics cards from different eras, with the game's frame rates reflecting this mid-pack standing. The CPU's rivals show similarly tight clustering, with all four nearest competitors within 1% of the i5-11400F's average score. The combination of two mid-pack components results in a mid-pack overall ranking, which the measured FPS data confirms—the system excels at 1080p and 1440p Medium, but cannot compete with top-tier configurations at 4K Ultra.