Hard West

The Intel Core i5-11400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 combination delivers a highly capable experience in Hard West, a turn-based tactics title from 2015. The benchmark data shows this pairing is strongly GPU-bound at higher settings, with the CPU providing ample headroom across all tested resolutions. The combo ranks in the 765th position out of 1699 tested configurations, placing it in the upper-middle tier of all hardware pairings for this specific title.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the Rocket Lake architecture, built on Intel's 14 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, featuring a 12 MB shared L3 cache. This is a desktop-class chip with a 65W TDP, and its benchmark results indicate strong single-threaded and multi-threaded performance that far exceeds the demands of Hard West.

In synthetic tests, the i5-11400F scores 868 in 3dMark single-thread and 5652 in 3dMark max-threads, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 14372 and single-core score of 2029. These results place the CPU in the 75th percentile of all processors tested. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U with a near-identical average score (0% delta), the Intel Core i7-1260P and Core Ultra 7 164U both at -0.2%, and the Intel Core i5-1240U at +0.2%.

For Hard West, which is a turn-based tactics game that does not rely heavily on continuous physics or AI simulation, the CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads are more than sufficient. The game's logic is not computationally intensive enough to bottleneck this processor. The data confirms this: at 1080p Low settings, the combo achieves 213.2 FPS, which is primarily limited by the GPU's frame output rather than any CPU constraint. Even at 4K Ultra, where the GPU is heavily loaded, the CPU is not the limiting factor, as the 35.8 FPS result reflects the GPU's workload, not a lack of processing power.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 is based on the Ampere architecture, built on Samsung's 8 nm process with 17,400 million transistors. It features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU has 5888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, and 96 raster operation units, along with 46 ray tracing cores and 184 tensor cores. Its base clock is 1500 MHz with a boost clock of 1725 MHz.

In benchmark scores, the RTX 3070 achieves a Passmark G3D score of 22214 and a Geekbench OpenCL score of 123479, placing it in the 72nd percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD FirePro S7150 at -0.6%, AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT at +0.9%, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti at +1%, and AMD Radeon R9 M295X at -1.1%.

The GPU's role in Hard West is dominant across all settings and resolutions. The measured FPS data shows a clear pattern: as resolution increases, frame rates drop proportionally. At 1080p Low, the GPU produces 213.2 FPS, but at 4K Ultra, this falls to 35.8 FPS. This indicates that the RTX 3070 is the primary driver of performance. The 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for this 2015 title, as even at 4K Ultra, there is no evidence of memory-related stuttering or performance cliffs. The GPU's raw throughput, not its memory capacity, determines the frame rates observed.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling across resolutions reveals the GPU-bound nature of this combo. From 1080p to 1440p, the average FPS drops by roughly 37-38% across all settings. For example, at High settings, the drop is from 134.9 FPS to 85.4 FPS. From 1440p to 4K, the drop is even more pronounced, with High settings falling from 85.4 FPS to 41.9 FPS, a 51% reduction.

This scaling pattern is consistent with a GPU-limited scenario. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the FPS would remain relatively flat as resolution increases, since the CPU's workload stays constant. Instead, the data shows a near-linear decline in performance with pixel count, which is a classic sign of the RTX 3070 being the limiting component. At 1080p Low, the 213.2 FPS result is close to the practical ceiling for many displays, and at 4K Ultra, the 35.8 FPS is below the 60 FPS target, indicating the GPU is fully saturated. The transition from Low to Ultra at any resolution also shows a consistent 50-60% performance penalty, further confirming that the GPU, not the CPU, dictates the frame rate.

Settings Recommendations

For players targeting 60 FPS, the data suggests distinct settings based on resolution. At 1080p, the High preset delivers 134.9 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold, while Ultra at 99.3 FPS also provides a comfortable margin. At 1440p, High achieves 85.4 FPS, making it the best choice for a smooth experience without sacrificing visual quality; Medium at 110.7 FPS also works well, but High offers better fidelity at only a 23% performance cost. Ultra at 1440p drops to 62.9 FPS, which is still playable but close to the 60 FPS line.

At 4K, the situation changes. High settings produce 41.9 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target. Medium at 57.4 FPS is the closest to 60 FPS without crossing it, but it still falls short. Low at 71.9 FPS is the only 4K preset that exceeds 60 FPS, making it the recommended choice for players who prioritize frame rate over visual fidelity. Ultra at 4K is not recommended, as the 35.8 FPS result is noticeably choppy for a turn-based game. The best overall experience per the measured rows is the High preset at 1440p, which balances the 85.4 FPS performance with the visual improvements over Medium.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-11400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 ranks 765th out of 1699 tested combos in Hard West. This places it in the 45th percentile of all configurations, which is a solid mid-tier ranking. The ranking reflects the balance between the CPU and GPU: the i5-11400F is not a top-tier processor, and the RTX 3070 is an upper-midrange GPU, so their combined performance in this game falls in the middle of the distribution.

The ranking is likely influenced by the fact that Hard West is an older title that does not heavily utilize multi-threaded CPUs, meaning the i5-11400F's 6 cores are sufficient but not exceptional. Higher-ranked combos likely pair stronger GPUs with similar CPUs, or they use CPUs with higher clock speeds. However, the 765th rank out of 1699 still represents a configuration that delivers playable frame rates at all resolutions except 4K Ultra, as the measured data shows.

FAQ

*Q: Can this combo run Hard West at 60 FPS in 4K?*

A: No. The measured data shows that at 4K, only the Low preset exceeds 60 FPS with 71.9 FPS. Medium achieves 57.4 FPS, High manages 41.9 FPS, and Ultra drops to 35.8 FPS.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p gaming?

A: The High preset at 1440p delivers 85.4 FPS, which is the best balance of performance and visual quality. Ultra at 1440p drops to 62.9 FPS, while Medium offers 110.7 FPS.

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

A: The GPU is the bottleneck. The FPS scales significantly with resolution and settings, which is a clear sign of GPU limitation. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 213.2 FPS, indicating the CPU has ample headroom.

Q: How does the i5-11400F compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The i5-11400F has an average benchmark score of 17181, which is nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U (17189, 0% delta) and Intel Core i7-1260P (17212, -0.2% delta). It is slightly ahead of the Intel Core i5-1240U (17141, +0.2% delta).

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, the Low preset achieves 213.2 FPS, while Ultra achieves 99.3 FPS. This represents a 53% performance drop when moving from Low to Ultra.

Q: Is the RTX 3070's 8 GB VRAM sufficient for this game?

A: Yes. The measured data shows consistent performance across all settings without any indication of VRAM limitations. The 8 GB GDDR6 memory is more than adequate for this 2015 title, even at 4K Ultra.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080:

• Ultra: 99.3 FPS
• High: 134.9 FPS
• Medium: 173.5 FPS
• Low: 213.2 FPS

2560x1440:

• Ultra: 62.9 FPS
• High: 85.4 FPS
• Medium: 110.7 FPS
• Low: 132.6 FPS

3840x2160:

• Ultra: 35.8 FPS
• High: 41.9 FPS
• Medium: 57.4 FPS
• Low: 71.9 FPS

The data shows a consistent pattern: each step up in settings costs roughly 20-25% performance, and each step up in resolution costs approximately 35-40%. The RTX 3070 provides playable frame rates at all settings up to 1440p, and at 4K only the Low preset maintains a comfortable 60+ FPS.