Hard West

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-12400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 places at rank 2950 out of 3722 tested combos for Hard West. That position, in the 21st percentile of all tested configurations, reflects a pairing that is clearly functional for this turn-based tactics title but sits well behind the upper echelon of systems. The data indicates this combo is not a top-tier performer, yet it remains entirely playable across most of the tested configurations.

The ranking context matters when interpreting the rest of the data. With the CPU sitting at the 72nd percentile among all processors and the GPU at the 58th percentile among all graphics cards, the combined system lands in a position where neither component is a standout, but together they form a coherent mid-range platform. The combo's rank is dragged down by the GPU's relative standing; the RTX 2060 is an end-of-life product from the GeForce 20-series, and its average benchmark score of 15290 places it nearly level with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 (deltaPct 0%), the AMD Radeon 680M (deltaPct 0.1%), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM (deltaPct 0.6%). That cluster of rival GPUs shows how tightly packed the performance envelope is around this card.

The CPU, meanwhile, performs significantly better in its own field. The Core i5-12400's average benchmark score of 18683 puts it just 0.1% behind the AMD EPYC 7643 and 0.7% behind the AMD Ryzen AI 5 330, while leading the Intel Core i3-14100F by 0.9%. This suggests the processor is not the limiting factor in most scenarios, which becomes evident when examining how frame rates scale across resolutions and settings. The combo's rank of 2950 out of 3722 is therefore more a reflection of the GPU's mid-pack standing than any CPU deficiency.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 brings 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, with memory clocked at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) and bandwidth rated at 336.0 GB/s. The GPU's base clock is 1365 MHz, boosting to 1680 MHz, and it houses 1920 shading units, 120 texture mapping units, and 48 raster output pipelines. Its 6.451 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 201.6 GTexel/s texture rate define its overall throughput capacity, which proves adequate for Hard West's turn-based rendering demands.

The card's memory configuration is particularly relevant for this game. At 1080p, the 6 GB frame buffer is sufficient even at Ultra settings, where the combo achieves 67 FPS on average. Moving to 1440p, the same Ultra preset drops to 43 FPS, and at 4K Ultra the system falls to 22 FPS. This degradation pattern aligns with the GPU's 58th percentile standing and its benchmark scores: a Passmark G3D score of 14111 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1242 indicate a card that handles moderate loads well but struggles with the pixel throughput required at higher resolutions. The GPU's nearest rivals — the GTX 580, Radeon 680M, RTX 3050 OEM, and RX 7600 — all sit within 0.8% of its average score, confirming that this is a performance tier where small differences separate cards.

The RTX 2060's DirectX 12 Ultimate support (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4 API compatibility mean it can run the game's rendering paths without issue. However, the data shows diminishing returns as resolution climbs. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 143 FPS, indicating the GPU is not the bottleneck at lower settings. By 4K Ultra, the 22 FPS result shows the card reaching its limits. The 160 W TDP and dual-slot design are consistent with a mid-range card that does not require extraordinary cooling, and the PCIe 3.0 x16 interface is adequate for this workload.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 provides 6 cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. Its cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 18 MB of shared L3. This Alder Lake-S architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process, supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory in dual-channel configuration, though the memory bandwidth figure is not specified in the data. The CPU's 65 W TDP and LGA 1700 socket make it a mainstream desktop part.

For Hard West, a turn-based tactics game, the CPU's workload is less demanding than in real-time genres. The 12 threads handle game logic, AI pathfinding, and unit animations without breaking a sweat. The CPU's benchmark results support this: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 15989 and single-core score of 2257, a Geekbench multi-core score of 8564 and single-core score of 1848, and a Passmark multi-thread score of 18747. The single-thread performance is particularly strong, with a Passmark single-thread score of 3456, which matters for games that rely on a primary simulation thread.

The CPU's percentile rank of 72 among all processors indicates it sits comfortably above the median. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen AI 5 330, scores 18811 on average, just 0.7% higher, while the Intel Core i7-1355U scores 18730, 0.3% higher. The data suggests the CPU is rarely the limiting factor in this combo. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 143 FPS, and even at 1080p Ultra it maintains 67 FPS — both results indicate the CPU can feed the GPU adequately. The bottleneck shifts to the GPU at higher resolutions, as evidenced by the frame rate drops from 1080p to 4K.

FAQ

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

A: The Intel Core i5-12400 with RTX 2060 ranks 2950 out of 3722 tested combos, placing it in the lower half of tested configurations.

Q: What is the difference in performance between this CPU and its closest rival?

A: The Core i5-12400 has an average benchmark score of 18683, which is 0.1% lower than the AMD EPYC 7643's 18697 and 0.3% lower than the Intel Core i7-1355U's 18730.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 compare to the RTX 3050 OEM?

A: The RTX 2060's average benchmark score of 15290 is 0.6% higher than the RTX 3050 OEM's 15199, making them effectively equivalent in performance.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: The combo achieves an average of 74 FPS at 2560x1440 with Medium settings, with a minimum of 63 FPS and a maximum of 85 FPS.

Q: Is the GPU or CPU the bottleneck at 4K resolution?

A: The data shows the GPU becomes the limiting factor at 3840x2160, as average frame rates drop from 47 FPS at Low to 22 FPS at Ultra, while the CPU's strong single-thread scores indicate it is not the constraint.

Q: What is the launch MSRP of the CPU?

A: The Intel Core i5-12400 has a launch MSRP of $199.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a clear picture of where the bottleneck lies. At 1080p High, the combo produces 90 FPS; at 1440p High, it drops to 57 FPS; and at 4K High, it falls to 30 FPS. That represents a 67% reduction from 1080p to 4K at High settings, which is a steep decline but consistent with the GPU's mid-range standing. The pattern is similar across other settings: Low goes from 143 FPS at 1080p to 90 FPS at 1440p to 47 FPS at 4K, while Medium goes from 117 to 74 to 39, and Ultra goes from 67 to 43 to 22.

The resolution scaling data indicates that the GPU is the primary constraint as resolution increases. At 1080p, the system has headroom — even at Ultra, it maintains 67 FPS, suggesting the CPU can push more frames if the GPU allows. By 4K, the GPU's pixel throughput limits the system, with the 22 FPS at Ultra being the lowest result in the dataset. The RTX 2060's 336.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth and 80.64 GPixel/s pixel rate are simply insufficient for 4K Ultra in this title.

The step from 1080p to 1440p shows a moderate drop (roughly 37% at High), while the step from 1440p to 4K shows a more severe drop (roughly 47% at High). This nonlinear scaling is typical of a GPU that handles 1440p reasonably but struggles with the 4K pixel count. The CPU's role remains constant across resolutions, as its 6 cores and 12 threads at up to 4.40 GHz boost clock do not change their workload based on resolution. The measured data thus isolates the GPU as the scaling bottleneck.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rates, the optimal balance between visual quality and performance depends on the target resolution. At 1920x1080, the High preset delivers 90 FPS on average, which is smooth for a turn-based tactics game, while Medium offers 117 FPS and Low reaches 143 FPS. The Ultra preset at 67 FPS is still playable, but the 23 FPS difference between High and Ultra at 1080p suggests diminishing returns for the extra visual fidelity. For most users at 1080p, High is the recommended setting, as it provides a solid frame rate without the performance cost of Ultra.

At 2560x1440, the recommendation shifts. High produces 57 FPS, which is adequate but not ideal, while Medium hits 74 FPS with a minimum of 63 FPS — a safer margin for maintaining smooth gameplay. Low at 90 FPS is the smoothest option, but the visual compromise may not be necessary given the genre's slower pace. For 1440p, Medium is the best choice, as it offers a comfortable average and a minimum above 60 FPS. Ultra at 43 FPS is playable but may feel less responsive during camera pans or effect-heavy scenes.

At 3840x2160, the options are limited. Low at 47 FPS is the only setting that approaches playability, while Medium at 39 FPS and High at 30 FPS are marginal. Ultra at 22 FPS is not recommended for any serious play. For 4K, Low is the only viable preset, and even then, the 47 FPS average may dip during intense sequences. The data clearly shows that this combo is not designed for 4K gaming, and users targeting that resolution should consider lower settings or a GPU upgrade.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its best results. Low settings produce an average of 143 FPS, Medium reaches 117 FPS with a minimum of 99 and a maximum of 135, High hits 90 FPS, and Ultra drops to 67 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 76 FPS, showing that settings have a substantial impact at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the numbers scale down. Low averages 90 FPS, Medium averages 74 FPS (with a minimum of 63 and a maximum of 85), High averages 57 FPS, and Ultra averages 43 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 47 FPS, indicating the GPU is starting to become a limiting factor.

At 3840x2160, the results are the weakest. Low averages 47 FPS, Medium averages 39 FPS (with a minimum of 33 and a maximum of 45), High averages 30 FPS, and Ultra averages 22 FPS. Only Low maintains an average above 30 FPS, and even that is marginal. The minimum FPS data is only available for Medium settings at each resolution, showing 99 FPS at 1080p, 63 FPS at 1440p, and 33 FPS at 4K, which gives some indication of frame pacing stability.

The overall trend is consistent: the combo performs best at 1080p, with playable results at 1440p, and struggles at 4K. The RTX 2060's 6 GB VRAM and 192-bit memory bus are sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but the 4K results confirm the card's limitations. The CPU's consistent performance across resolutions, as indicated by its benchmark scores, means the system's frame rate is governed almost entirely by GPU load at higher settings.