Hard West

The Intel Core i5-11400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 delivers a compelling performance profile for Hard West, a turn-based tactics title from 2015. The benchmark data shows this combination ranking 490th out of 1699 tested combos, placing it in the upper third of all systems. Across the twelve measured data points, this setup demonstrates a clear ability to handle the game at high frame rates, though the relationship between resolution, settings, and performance reveals interesting bottlenecks. The RTX 4070’s 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth provide ample headroom, while the i5-11400F’s six cores and 12 threads appear sufficient for the genre’s typically moderate CPU demands. The following analysis breaks down the measured FPS data, component roles, and settings recommendations based strictly on the provided facts.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for the highest average FPS?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 213.3, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is followed closely by 195.9 FPS at 1920x1080 Medium and 164.3 FPS at 2560x1440 Low.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 compare to its nearest rival in benchmark scores?

A: The RTX 4070 has an average benchmark score of 37283, while its closest rival, the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56, scores 37507. This makes the RTX 4070 0.6% slower than that rival, though it is 2.5% faster than the AMD Radeon RX 5300M.

Q: What is the CPU’s percentile ranking among all processors?

A: The Intel Core i5-11400F ranks in the 75th percentile against all CPUs, indicating it performs better than three-quarters of the processors in the database. Its average benchmark score is 17181.

Q: Does the data show a bigger FPS drop from 1080p to 1440p or from 1440p to 4K?

A: The data shows the FPS drop from 1440p to 4K is significantly larger. For example, at High settings, 2560x1440 yields 104.4 FPS, while 3840x2160 yields 52.8 FPS, a 51.6 FPS drop. From 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 at High, the drop is from 160.8 to 104.4 FPS, a 56.4 FPS drop.

Q: How much faster is the RTX 4070 in the Passmark G3D test compared to its DirectX 12 score?

A: The RTX 4070 scores 26927 in the Passmark G3D test, which is a general 3D graphics benchmark, while it scores only 103 in the Passmark DirectX 12 test. This indicates the G3D score is roughly 261 times higher than the specific DirectX 12 score.

Q: What is the launch MSRP for the CPU and GPU in this combo?

A: The Intel Core i5-11400F has a launch MSRP of $157, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 has a launch MSRP of 599 USD.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is the dominant component in this pairing for Hard West. Its 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus provides a 504.2 GB/s memory bandwidth, which is substantial for a 2015 turn-based title. This memory capacity is far beyond what the game likely requires, meaning texture streaming and large asset loads are unlikely to be a limiting factor at any tested setting. The GPU’s base clock of 1920 MHz and boost clock of 2475 MHz are high, and the 5888 shading units provide ample raw compute power. In the measured data, the GPU’s influence is clear in the scaling between settings; at 1920x1080, moving from Low to Ultra drops the average FPS from 213.3 to 118.8, a difference of 94.5 FPS. This significant reduction at higher settings indicates the GPU is being pushed harder, but even at 4K Ultra, the 41.8 FPS average remains playable for a strategy game.

The RTX 4070’s benchmark scores further contextualize its performance. It ranks in the 81st percentile of all GPUs, with an average score of 37283. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56, scores 37507, making the RTX 4070 0.6% slower in that aggregate measure. However, this aggregate score includes various tests; in specific workloads, the RTX 4070’s architecture may differ. The GPU’s Passmark G3D score of 26927 is particularly high, while its DirectX 12 score of 103 is low, suggesting the card’s strengths may lie in older APIs that Hard West likely uses. The data shows that at 4K High, the RTX 4070 achieves 52.8 FPS, which is 11 FPS higher than the 4K Ultra result, indicating the Ultra preset imposes a heavier load on the GPU’s shader and ROP throughput.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F plays a supporting role in Hard West, but its specifications are more than adequate for this turn-based tactics game. With 6 cores and 12 threads, it offers substantial parallel processing capability, which is beneficial for game logic, AI calculations, and unit pathfinding that occur in such titles. The CPU’s base clock of 2.60 GHz and boost clock of 4.40 GHz are solid for single-threaded performance, which is often critical for frame pacing in strategy games. The 12 MB of shared L3 cache provides a decent buffer for frequently accessed game data. In the benchmark results, the CPU’s 3DMark single-thread score is 868, and its Cinebench R23 single-core score is 2029, indicating competent per-core performance. The multi-threaded scores are also respectable, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 14372.

The CPU’s role is most evident in the lower-resolution results where the GPU is less stressed. At 1920x1080 Low, the system achieves 213.3 FPS, which is high but not extremely so, suggesting the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU without becoming a major bottleneck. However, at 2560x1440 Low, the FPS drops to 164.3, a 49 FPS reduction, which is more likely due to the GPU’s pixel processing load. The i5-11400F ranks in the 75th percentile against all CPUs, with an average score of 17181. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U, scores 17189, a 0% difference, indicating they are statistically identical in aggregate benchmarks. This CPU’s performance is sufficient for Hard West, as the game’s turn-based nature means that even at 4K Ultra with 41.8 FPS, the experience remains fluid enough for tactical decision-making.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-11400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination ranks 490th out of 1699 tested combos in Hard West. This places the system in the top 29% of all tested configurations, which is a strong showing given the game’s age and the hardware’s modern characteristics. The rank of 490 suggests that while this combo is powerful, there are many systems that achieve higher average FPS, likely with more recent high-end CPUs and GPUs. However, the measured data shows that this combo can exceed 200 FPS at 1080p Low, which is far beyond the refresh rate of most monitors. The rank is influenced by the aggregate performance across all settings and resolutions, and the data indicates that this combo performs admirably, particularly at 1440p. At 2560x1440 High, the 104.4 FPS average is smooth, and at Ultra, the 73.5 FPS is still very playable.

In the context of the database, a rank of 490 out of 1699 means this combo is better than 1209 other combinations. This percentile position is consistent with the individual component rankings: the CPU is in the 75th percentile and the GPU is in the 81st percentile. The combo’s rank is slightly lower than either component’s individual percentile, which could indicate that Hard West is not perfectly optimized to leverage the full potential of this hardware pairing. Alternatively, it may reflect that the game’s engine is more sensitive to single-thread CPU performance than to the GPU’s raw power. The data shows that the highest FPS is achieved at 1080p Low (213.3 FPS), but the gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 94.5 FPS, suggesting that the GPU is the primary driver of frame rate variations, while the CPU maintains a consistent baseline.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the user’s priority for frame rate versus visual fidelity. For players with a 60 Hz display, the 3840x2160 High setting, which yields 52.8 FPS, is slightly below the refresh rate, so 4K Medium at 73 FPS would be a better choice for a smoother experience. At 2560x1440, all settings are viable, with Low at 164.3 FPS, Medium at 132.7 FPS, High at 104.4 FPS, and Ultra at 73.5 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p provides the best visual quality while still maintaining a frame rate above 70, which is ideal for a turn-based game where responsiveness is less critical than in action titles. For 1920x1080, the Medium setting at 195.9 FPS offers a good balance, though High at 160.8 FPS is also excellent. The data suggests that the Ultra preset is the most demanding, with the largest FPS drop from Medium at every resolution. For example, at 1080p, Ultra is 77.1 FPS slower than Medium, and at 4K, it is 31.2 FPS slower than Medium. Therefore, the recommended preset for the best experience would be High at 4K for visual quality, or Medium at 1440p for a high frame rate with good detail.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across three resolutions and four settings. At 1920x1080, the average FPS ranges from 213.3 at Low to 118.8 at Ultra. The Medium setting achieves 195.9 FPS, and High achieves 160.8 FPS. The progression is not linear; the drop from Low to Medium is 17.4 FPS, from Medium to High is 35.1 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 42 FPS. This indicates that the Ultra preset imposes a significantly heavier load on the GPU. At 2560x1440, the results are 164.3 FPS at Low, 132.7 FPS at Medium, 104.4 FPS at High, and 73.5 FPS at Ultra. The FPS drops between settings are more consistent here, with a 31.6 FPS difference between Low and Medium, a 28.3 FPS difference between Medium and High, and a 30.9 FPS difference between High and Ultra. At 3840x2160, the performance is 85.1 FPS at Low, 73 FPS at Medium, 52.8 FPS at High, and 41.8 FPS at Ultra. The drop from Low to Medium is 12.1 FPS, from Medium to High is 20.2 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 11 FPS, showing that Ultra is particularly demanding at 4K.

Resolution Scaling

The data reveals how FPS scales with resolution, which highlights the limiting component. At Low settings, the average FPS across resolutions is 213.3 at 1080p, 164.3 at 1440p, and 85.1 at 4K. This represents a 23% decrease from 1080p to 1440p, and a 48% decrease from 1440p to 4K. The large drop at 4K indicates that the GPU is the primary bottleneck, as the pixel count quadruples from 1080p to 4K, requiring significantly more fill rate and memory bandwidth. At Ultra settings, the FPS is 118.8 at 1080p, 73.5 at 1440p, and 41.8 at 4K. The percentage drops are 38% from 1080p to 1440p, and 43% from 1440p to 4K. This shows that at Ultra, the GPU is heavily loaded even at 1080p, and the scaling to 4K is less dramatic in relative terms but still severe. The RTX 4070’s memory bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s is likely the limiting factor at 4K, as the higher resolution demands more data throughput. The CPU’s role is less pronounced in resolution scaling; the i5-11400F’s performance remains constant, so the FPS differences are almost entirely attributable to the GPU’s rendering load. The data implies that for this combo, 1440p is the sweet spot where the CPU and GPU are balanced, while 4K pushes the GPU to its limits.