Hard West

The Intel Core i5-12400 and Intel Arc B570 combination delivers a playable but not exceptional experience in Hard West, ranking in the 20th percentile of all tested configurations. The data shows that this pairing is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions, with the Arc B570’s 10 GB VRAM and 2500 MHz boost clock proving sufficient for the game’s modest demands, while the i5-12400’s 6 cores and 12 threads provide ample headroom at lower settings. The sweet spot is 1080p Medium, where the combo achieves 110 FPS average, but 4K Ultra drops to just 21 FPS, indicating that this setup is best suited for 1080p or 1440p gaming.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Hard West?*

A: The measured data shows 1920x1080 is the strongest choice, with all settings presets delivering at least 63 FPS average. At 2560x1440, the combo remains playable on Low (85 FPS) and Medium (69 FPS), but 3840x2160 falls below 45 FPS on every preset except Low.

Q: How does the Arc B570 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B570’s average benchmark score of 20556 is nearly identical to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (20534, +0.1% delta) and the Intel Arc A750 (20582, -0.1% delta). It sits 0.4% ahead of the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M and 0.5% behind the AMD Radeon R9 M390X.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-12400 a bottleneck for this game?

A: No. The i5-12400’s multi-threaded performance (Cinebench R23 multicore score of 15989) far exceeds what Hard West requires. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 134 FPS average, suggesting the CPU is not limiting frame rates. Its 72nd percentile ranking among all CPUs confirms strong overall capability.

Q: What is the worst-performing preset for this setup?

A: 3840x2160 Ultra yields only 21 FPS average, which is unplayable. Even at 2560x1440, Ultra drops to 40 FPS, making it the weakest preset at every resolution tested. The gap between Ultra and High is substantial: 7 FPS at 1080p, 13 FPS at 1440p, and 7 FPS at 4K.

Q: Does the Arc B570’s 10 GB VRAM cause issues at 4K?

A: The data does not indicate VRAM-specific problems, but the performance collapse at 3840x2160 (28 FPS on High, 21 FPS on Ultra) suggests the GPU’s 160-bit bus and 380.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for 4K rendering. The 10 GB GDDR6 capacity is likely adequate, but raw throughput is the limiting factor.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested systems?

A: It ranks 2360th out of 2949 combinations, placing it in the lower 20% of the database. This is consistent with the Arc B570’s 65th percentile GPU ranking and the i5-12400’s 72nd percentile CPU ranking, though the game’s older engine (2015 release) does not heavily stress modern hardware.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570, built on the Xe2-HPG architecture with 2304 shading units, is the primary determinant of performance in Hard West. Its 2500 MHz base and boost clocks are identical, indicating a fixed clock profile that sustains consistent output. The 10 GB GDDR6 memory across a 160-bit bus delivers 380.0 GB/s bandwidth, which proves adequate for 1080p and 1440p but severely limits 4K performance.

At 1920x1080, the GPU handles all presets with ease: Low hits 134 FPS, Medium 110 FPS, High 84 FPS, and Ultra 63 FPS. The step from Low to Medium costs 24 FPS (17.9% reduction), while High to Ultra costs 21 FPS (25% reduction). This scaling indicates that the GPU’s 11.52 TFLOPS FP32 compute is well-matched to the game’s turn-based visuals, which rely more on draw calls than complex shaders.

The 2560x1440 results show a steeper drop: Low 85 FPS, Medium 69 FPS, High 53 FPS, Ultra 40 FPS. The 1440p pixel count (3.7 million) is 78% higher than 1080p (2.1 million), and the GPU’s fill rate of 200.0 GPixel/s becomes a bottleneck. At 3840x2160, the 8.3 million pixels overwhelm the GPU: Low 44 FPS, Medium 36 FPS, High 28 FPS, Ultra 21 FPS. These numbers align with the pixel-rate limitation, as each resolution step roughly halves the frame rate when comparing equivalent settings.

The Arc B570’s nearest rivals—the RTX 3070 Mobile and Arc A750—post nearly identical average scores (20534 and 20582 respectively), but the measured FPS in Hard West suggests the B570’s 150 W TDP and dual-slot cooler sustain its boost clock without thermal throttling. The GPU’s PCIe 4.0 x8 interface is sufficient for this game’s data transfer needs, as evidenced by the consistent frame times at 1080p Medium (93 FPS minimum, 126 FPS maximum).

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 2360 out of 2949 tested configurations places it in the 20th percentile, meaning 80% of systems outperform it in Hard West. This low ranking is surprising given the individual component scores—the i5-12400 sits in the 72nd percentile of all CPUs, and the Arc B570 in the 65th percentile of all GPUs. The discrepancy suggests that Hard West’s 2015 engine does not leverage modern hardware efficiently, or that the measured FPS data captures a specific bottleneck.

Comparing to the GPU’s nearest rivals, the Arc B570 matches the RTX 3070 Mobile and Arc A750 in raw synthetic benchmarks, yet the combo ranking implies these alternatives would also struggle with the same game. The i5-12400’s nearest CPU rivals—the AMD EPYC 7643 (-0.1% delta), Intel Core i7-1355U (-0.3% delta), and AMD Ryzen AI 5 330 (-0.7% delta)—all have average scores within 1% of each other, confirming that the CPU is not a differentiator here.

The rank of 2360 suggests that most tested combos use higher-end GPUs, as the Arc B570’s 65th percentile places it below the median of all GPUs. For a turn-based tactics game, the ranking may also reflect that many users test with older, less demanding hardware, which ironically achieves better FPS due to lower overhead. The data indicates that this combo is mid-tier at best for Hard West, suitable for 1080p but not competitive at higher resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers three resolutions and four settings presets, providing 12 data points. At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its best performance: Low averages 134 FPS, Medium 110 FPS, High 84 FPS, and Ultra 63 FPS. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 93 FPS and maximum of 126 FPS, indicating stable frame pacing with a 33 FPS variance. These numbers suggest that 1080p is the intended resolution for this hardware, with even Ultra remaining playable.

At 2560x1440, performance drops significantly: Low 85 FPS, Medium 69 FPS, High 53 FPS, Ultra 40 FPS. The Medium preset’s minimum of 59 FPS and maximum of 80 FPS show a 21 FPS variance, which is tighter than the 1080p Medium variance. This suggests that at 1440p, the GPU is more consistently loaded, avoiding the frame time spikes seen at lower resolutions. High and Ultra at 1440p fall below 60 FPS, which many users would consider suboptimal for smooth gameplay.

At 3840x2160, the combo struggles: Low 44 FPS, Medium 36 FPS, High 28 FPS, Ultra 21 FPS. Only Low approaches playability, and even that is below the 60 FPS target. The Medium preset’s minimum of 31 FPS and maximum of 42 FPS show an 11 FPS variance, which is proportionally larger relative to the average. The drop from Low to Medium at 4K is 8 FPS (18.2%), from Medium to High is 8 FPS (22.2%), and from High to Ultra is 7 FPS (25%), showing that each settings tier has a similar absolute cost.

Comparing resolutions at the same settings: Low at 1080p (134 FPS) vs 1440p (85 FPS) shows a 36.6% reduction, while 1440p vs 4K (44 FPS) shows a 48.2% reduction. This nonlinear scaling confirms that the GPU’s pixel throughput is the primary constraint, as each resolution doubling roughly halves the frame rate.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience per the measured rows, 1920x1080 Medium is the optimal balance. It delivers 110 FPS average with a 93 FPS minimum, ensuring no drops below the 90 FPS threshold that many users find smooth. The jump to High costs 26 FPS (23.6%) for marginal visual gains, while dropping to Low gains 24 FPS (21.8%) but sacrifices noticeable detail. At 1080p, Ultra is playable at 63 FPS but offers diminishing returns over High.

At 2560x1440, Medium is the only preset that maintains a 60+ FPS average (69 FPS), with Low at 85 FPS being the safest choice for high-refresh displays. High at 53 FPS and Ultra at 40 FPS are playable for turn-based tactics, where frame rate is less critical than in action games, but they risk stutter during camera pans or effects. The 1440p Medium minimum of 59 FPS is borderline, but the turn-based pacing means this is acceptable.

At 3840x2160, no preset achieves 60 FPS. Low at 44 FPS is the only option for a responsive experience, but even this may feel sluggish. Medium at 36 FPS is playable for patient players, while High (28 FPS) and Ultra (21 FPS) are not recommended. For 4K, the data suggests this combo is unsuitable, and users should either lower the resolution to 1440p or accept sub-30 FPS frame rates.

The most efficient settings path is 1080p Medium, which maximizes the FPS-to-visual-quality ratio. If users prioritize frame rate, 1080p Low at 134 FPS is the ceiling, but the 24 FPS gain over Medium is unlikely to be perceptually significant in a turn-based game. For those with 1440p monitors, Medium is the recommendation, while 4K users should consider this combo inadequate.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400, with 6 cores and 12 threads, provides ample processing power for Hard West. Its base clock of 2.50 GHz and boost clock of 4.40 GHz, combined with 18 MB of shared L3 cache, ensure that the game’s AI and pathfinding calculations run without bottlenecking the GPU. The CPU’s Cinebench R23 multicore score of 15989 and single-core score of 2257 indicate strong performance for a game that likely uses only 2-4 threads.

The CPU’s 72nd percentile ranking among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 18683, places it comfortably above the median. Its nearest rivals—the AMD EPYC 7643 (18697, -0.1%), Intel Core i7-1355U (18730, -0.3%), and AMD Ryzen AI 5 330 (18811, -0.7%)—are all within 1% of its score, confirming that the i5-12400 is a mid-range performer that does not limit this game.

Evidence of CPU headroom appears in the FPS data: at 1080p Low, the combo hits 134 FPS, which is likely near the game’s engine limit or the GPU’s ceiling, not a CPU constraint. The 3DMark single-thread score of 910 and 2-thread score of 1692 show that the CPU can handle the game’s primary thread, while the 16-thread score of 5873 provides surplus capacity for background tasks. The 65 W TDP and 10 nm process node ensure thermal stability, preventing clock throttling during extended sessions.

Memory support for DDR4 and DDR5, with dual-channel configuration, gives the CPU flexibility, though the game’s low memory requirements (dating from 2015) mean that even modest RAM speeds suffice. The integrated UHD Graphics 730 is irrelevant for this combo, as the Arc B570 handles all rendering, but its presence allows for diagnostic testing without the discrete GPU. Overall, the i5-12400 is a capable partner that neither helps nor hinders the Arc B570’s performance in Hard West, leaving the GPU as the sole determinant of frame rates.