Hard West

# Hard West with Intel Core i5-12400 + Intel Arc B370

The Intel Core i5-12400 paired with the Intel Arc B370 produces playable frame rates at 1080p in Hard West, but the experience degrades sharply as resolution increases. The data shows this combo ranks 2721st out of 2949 tested combinations, placing it in the bottom 8% of all systems. The Arc B370, which sits at the 5th percentile among all GPUs, is the clear limiting factor, while the i5-12400, a 72nd-percentile CPU, has ample headroom for this turn-based tactics title.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates reveal a steep performance cliff as resolution climbs from 1080p to 4K. At 1080p with High settings, the combo delivers 49 FPS average; at 1440p that drops to 31 FPS; and at 4K it falls to 16 FPS. This represents a 67% reduction from 1080p to 4K at High settings, indicating that the GPU is being overwhelmed by pixel throughput demands.

The Low settings row shows even more dramatic scaling behavior. At 1080p Low, the system produces 79 FPS, which is the highest frame rate recorded across all resolutions and settings. Dropping to 1440p Low yields 50 FPS, and 4K Low produces only 26 FPS. The 4K Low result is particularly telling: it falls below the 1080p Medium average of 64 FPS, and even below the 1440p High result of 31 FPS. This suggests that at 4K, even the lowest settings cannot compensate for the sheer pixel count the Arc B370 must process.

Medium settings provide the only complete data set with min and max frame rates. At 1080p Medium, the system averages 64 FPS with a range of 55 to 74 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 41 FPS with a range of 35 to 47 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average falls to 21 FPS with a range of 18 to 25 FPS. The frame time consistency, as indicated by the min-max spread, remains relatively stable across resolutions, but the absolute values become increasingly marginal.

Ultra settings are the most demanding, and the results are sobering. At 1080p Ultra, the system manages 37 FPS; at 1440p Ultra, 23 FPS; and at 4K Ultra, just 12 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is effectively unplayable, and even the 1440p Ultra result approaches the threshold where turn-based gameplay becomes visually stuttery. The scaling pattern across all four settings presets shows a consistent pattern: each resolution step roughly halves the frame rate, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario where fill rate and memory bandwidth are exhausted.

The limiting component is unambiguously the GPU. The Intel Arc B370 has only 20 ROPs and a 48.00 GPixel/s pixel rate, which explains why higher resolutions cause such dramatic frame rate collapses. The system shares memory between CPU and GPU ("System Shared" type), and bandwidth is listed as "System Dependent," meaning the memory subsystem cannot provide dedicated bandwidth relief at higher resolutions. The data indicates that 1080p is the only viable resolution for this combo, with 1440p being marginal at best and 4K being unusable across all settings.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is a mobile-class integrated GPU based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, built on Intel's 3 nm process. Its boost clock reaches 2400 MHz with a base clock of 300 MHz, and it contains 1280 shading units, 40 TMUs, and 20 ROPs. The GPU's FP32 throughput is 6.144 TFLOPS, and its texture rate is 96.00 GTexel/s. These specifications place it at the 5th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 1184 in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test.

The nearest rivals for the Arc B370 are all legacy or low-end parts. It scores 1184, which is 0.2% below the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186), 0.5% below the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190), and 0.7% below the AMD Radeon HD 7650M (1192). It sits 1.4% above the AMD FirePro M2000 (1168). These delta percentages indicate that the Arc B370 performs essentially at the level of graphics hardware from over a decade ago, which explains its inability to handle Hard West at higher resolutions.

The memory configuration is particularly problematic for gaming. The Arc B370 uses "System Shared" memory with a "System Shared" bus width and "System Dependent" bandwidth. This means the GPU must contend with the CPU for memory access, and there is no dedicated VRAM to provide consistent bandwidth. In a game like Hard West, which was released in 2015 and is not graphically demanding by modern standards, the shared memory architecture still bottlenecks performance because the GPU cannot access memory as efficiently as a discrete solution.

The GPU's DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) support and Vulkan 1.4 compatibility are modern, but these API features do not translate into raw performance. The 10 ray tracing cores are present but largely irrelevant for a turn-based tactics game that does not utilize ray tracing. The pixel rate of 48.00 GPixel/s and texture rate of 96.00 GTexel/s are the specifications that matter most for a game like Hard West, and they are insufficient for resolutions above 1080p.

The 25 W TDP and IGP slot width indicate this is an integrated solution designed for power efficiency, not gaming performance. The lack of a launch MSRP field confirms that this GPU is not sold as a standalone product but rather as part of a mobile processor package. In the context of Hard West, the Arc B370 delivers exactly what its percentile ranking suggests: entry-level performance suitable only for 1080p gaming at medium-to-low settings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 is a 6-core, 12-thread desktop processor from the Core 12th Gen series, built on the Alder Lake architecture using Intel's 10 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, with 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 1.25 MB of L2 cache per core, and 18 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory in dual-channel configuration, and it has a 65 W TDP.

The i5-12400's benchmark results show strong multi-threaded performance relative to its class. In Cinebench R23, it scores 15989 in multi-core and 2257 in single-core. In Geekbench, it achieves 8564 multi-core and 1848 single-core. The PassMark multi-thread score is 18747, and the single-thread score is 3456. These results place the CPU at the 72nd percentile among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 18683.

Its nearest rivals in CPU benchmarks are all within 1% of its score. The AMD EPYC 7643 scores 18697, which is 0.1% above the i5-12400; the Intel Core i7-1355U scores 18730, 0.3% above; and the AMD Ryzen AI 5 330 scores 18811, 0.7% above. The Intel Core i3-14100F scores 18519, which is 0.9% below. These tight deltas indicate that the i5-12400 is a well-balanced mid-range CPU that competes favorably with much more expensive or newer parts.

In Hard West, the CPU role is secondary to the GPU, but the data still shows its capability. The game is turn-based, meaning that frame rate demands are lower than in real-time titles, but the CPU must still handle game logic, unit pathfinding, and AI calculations. The i5-12400's 12 threads and 18 MB of L3 cache are more than sufficient for these tasks. The 3DMark results show strong scaling from 2 threads (1692) to 16 threads (5873), with the max-thread score of 5890 indicating that the CPU can leverage all its cores effectively when needed.

The CPU's performance is not the bottleneck in any of the measured scenarios. At 1080p Low, the system produces 79 FPS, which is the highest measured value, and this is likely the ceiling of what the GPU can deliver rather than a CPU limitation. The difference between 1080p Low (79 FPS) and 1080p High (49 FPS) is 30 FPS, which is almost entirely attributable to GPU workload changes. The CPU's single-thread score of 2257 in Cinebench R23 and 910 in 3DMark single-thread confirms that it has sufficient per-core performance for game logic that is not heavily parallelized.

The i5-12400's launch MSRP is $199, and it was released on 2022-01-03. It supports PCIe Gen 5 with 16 lanes from the CPU, which provides ample bandwidth for any discrete GPU, though in this combo the GPU is integrated and shares the system memory bus. The CPU's 72nd-percentile ranking versus the GPU's 5th-percentile ranking creates a massive imbalance: the CPU is capable of far more than the GPU can deliver, meaning any performance upgrade path would involve adding a discrete graphics card rather than replacing the processor.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of Intel Core i5-12400 and Intel Arc B370 ranks 2721st out of 2949 tested combos in Hard West. This places the system in the bottom 7.7% of all configurations tested, which is consistent with the GPU's 5th-percentile ranking. The CPU's 72nd-percentile ranking does little to boost the overall position because the GPU is the limiting factor in every resolution and settings combination.

The rank position implies that 2720 other combinations deliver higher average frame rates in Hard West, and only 228 combos perform worse. This is a stark illustration of how a strong CPU cannot compensate for a weak GPU in a graphics-bound scenario. The data shows that the combo's best result (79 FPS at 1080p Low) is achievable by many other systems, but the combo's worst results (12 FPS at 4K Ultra) are among the lowest recorded.

Comparing the combo's performance to what the CPU alone suggests is possible, the i5-12400 is clearly not the constraint. The CPU's nearest rivals in benchmark scores are all within 1% of its average score, and these rivals would likely produce nearly identical results in Hard West when paired with the same GPU. The GPU's nearest rivals, all legacy parts from over a decade ago, confirm that this combo's ranking is driven entirely by the graphics subsystem.

The rank of 2721 out of 2949 also indicates that this combo is not viable for 1080p gaming at high refresh rates, and it is certainly not suitable for 1440p or 4K gaming. The measured frame rates at 1080p Medium (64 FPS) and 1080p High (49 FPS) are adequate for turn-based tactics, but the system has no headroom for future titles that are more demanding. In the context of Hard West specifically, the combo's rank reflects its ability to handle the game at lower resolutions but not at higher ones.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rates, the optimal settings for this combo are 1080p with Medium or High presets. At 1080p Medium, the system delivers 64 FPS average with a range of 55 to 74 FPS, which provides smooth gameplay for a turn-based title. At 1080p High, the average drops to 49 FPS, which is still playable but with less margin. The difference between Medium and High is 15 FPS, which is a meaningful trade-off for visual fidelity.

The 1080p Low preset produces 79 FPS, which is the highest frame rate available, but it sacrifices visual quality unnecessarily given that Medium still achieves a comfortable 64 FPS. The 1080p Ultra preset drops to 37 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold that many players prefer, and the visual improvement over High is likely minimal for a 2015 turn-based tactics game. Therefore, Medium is the recommended preset for the best balance of frame rate and visual quality.

At 1440p, the system is borderline. The 1440p Medium preset delivers 41 FPS average with a range of 35 to 47 FPS, which is playable for turn-based gameplay but noticeably less smooth than 1080p. The 1440p Low preset achieves 50 FPS, which is acceptable, but the visual downgrade is significant. The 1440p High (31 FPS) and 1440p Ultra (23 FPS) presets are both below the playable threshold for most users. If 1440p is the target resolution, Low or Medium settings are the only viable options.

At 4K, no settings preset is playable. The best 4K result is 26 FPS at Low settings, which is below the minimum for smooth gameplay, and the 4K Medium (21 FPS), 4K High (16 FPS), and 4K Ultra (12 FPS) results are all well below acceptable levels. The data unequivocally shows that 4K is not a viable resolution for this combo in Hard West, regardless of settings. Users should stick to 1080p for the best experience, with Medium being the recommended preset and High as a viable alternative if visual fidelity is prioritized over frame rate smoothness.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Hard West at 1080p with playable frame rates?

A: Yes. The data shows 1080p Medium produces 64 FPS average with a range of 55 to 74 FPS, and 1080p High produces 49 FPS. Both are playable for a turn-based tactics game.

Q: What is the best settings preset for this combo?

A: The 1080p Medium preset is recommended, as it delivers 64 FPS average while maintaining visual quality. The 1080p Low preset offers 79 FPS but with reduced visuals, while 1080p Ultra drops to 37 FPS.

Q: Is this system capable of 4K gaming in Hard West?

A: No. The best 4K result is 26 FPS at Low settings, with Medium at 21 FPS, High at 16 FPS, and Ultra at 12 FPS. All 4K presets are below playable thresholds.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B370 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B370 scores 1184 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, which is 0.2% below the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186), 0.5% below the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190), and 0.7% below the AMD Radeon HD 7650M (1192).

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-12400 the bottleneck in this system?

A: No. The CPU ranks at the 72nd percentile among all processors, while the GPU ranks at the 5th percentile. The GPU is the limiting factor in every resolution and settings combination.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between 1080p and 1440p at Medium settings?

A: At 1080p Medium, the system averages 64 FPS with a range of 55 to 74 FPS. At 1440p Medium, it averages 41 FPS with a range of 35 to 47 FPS, representing a 23 FPS drop.