Hard West

# Hard West — Intel Core i5-12400F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060

The combination of Intel's 6-core/12-thread Core i5-12400F and NVIDIA's Turing-based RTX 2060 delivers a playable experience across most of Hard West's settings, though 4K Ultra remains a struggle. The measured frame rates show a system that scales predictably with resolution and quality presets, with the GPU acting as the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions while the CPU holds its own at 1080p. This pairing ranks 2950th out of 3722 tested combos in this game, placing it in the lower-middle tier of the database, which is consistent with a GPU that sits at the 58th percentile of all GPUs and a CPU at the 73rd percentile.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings, indicating that the RTX 2060's rendering pipeline becomes the limiting factor as pixel count rises. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 143 at 1920x1080 to 90 at 2560x1440—a 37% reduction—and then to 47 at 3840x2160, which is a further 48% drop. This near-halving of performance at each resolution step is typical of a GPU that is saturating its memory bandwidth and shader throughput, rather than a CPU limitation.

At Medium settings, the pattern is similar: 117 FPS at 1080p, 74 FPS at 1440p, and 39 FPS at 4K. The 1440p result represents a 37% decline from 1080p, while 4K is 47% slower than 1440p. High settings show 90 FPS at 1080p, 57 FPS at 1440p, and 30 FPS at 4K—the 4K figure being exactly half the 1440p result. Ultra settings are the most demanding, with 67 FPS at 1080p, 43 FPS at 1440p, and just 22 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra framerate is only 33% of the 1080p Ultra result, demonstrating that the RTX 2060's 6 GB GDDR6 memory and 192-bit bus are overwhelmed at this resolution.

The scaling behavior suggests that Hard West is largely GPU-bound beyond 1080p. At 1920x1080, the gap between Low (143 FPS) and Ultra (67 FPS) is a 53% performance hit, which is a modest range for a turn-based tactics title. At 4K, the same settings span from 47 FPS to 22 FPS—a 53% reduction as well, showing that the GPU's workload scales nearly linearly with quality settings at this resolution. The 1440p Medium row includes a minimum of 63 FPS and maximum of 85 FPS, while the 1080p Medium row spans 99 to 135 FPS, indicating some frame-time variance but no severe hitches.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. Its 18 MB of shared L3 cache and per-core L2 cache of 1.25 MB provide adequate data locality for Hard West's turn-based logic, which typically relies on single-threaded game logic with occasional multi-threaded background tasks. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU scores 909 in 3DMark single-thread and 5912 in 3DMark max threads, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 12380 and single-core score of 1680.

Hard West is a turn-based tactics game from 2015, and its engine does not heavily tax modern multi-core processors. The 12400F's 12 threads are more than sufficient for the game's AI and pathfinding calculations, which are rarely parallelized beyond a few threads. The CPU's Passmark single-thread score of 3481 and multi-thread score of 19433 indicate strong per-core performance, which matters more for this genre than raw core counts. The processor's 65W TDP and dual-channel DDR4/DDR5 memory support are standard for a desktop chip, and the 4.40 GHz boost clock ensures that the game's primary thread can run at high frequency when needed.

The CPU's percentile rank of 73rd among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19039, places it just above the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS (19047, 0% delta) and Intel Core 3 201E (19056, -0.1%), and slightly below the Intel Core i5-1335U (18982, 0.3%) and AMD EPYC 7773X (18979, 0.3%). These near-identical scores suggest that the 12400F is a well-balanced mid-range processor that will not bottleneck the RTX 2060 in Hard West at any resolution. The measured frame rates at 1080p Low (143 FPS) approach the display refresh rate limit for many monitors, and the fact that the 4K Low result (47 FPS) is not dramatically lower than the 1440p Low result (90 FPS) in proportional terms indicates that the CPU is keeping up with the GPU's output.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal experience depends on the target resolution and the user's preference for visual fidelity versus frame rate smoothness. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset delivers 117 FPS average with a minimum of 99 FPS and maximum of 135 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold and provides headroom for frame-time spikes. High settings at 1080p drop to 90 FPS average, which is still very smooth, but Medium offers a 30% performance increase over High while likely showing minimal visual differences in a turn-based game with static camera angles.

For 2560x1440, Medium is the recommended preset, offering 74 FPS average with a 63 FPS minimum and 85 FPS maximum. This is the only 1440p setting that consistently stays above 60 FPS. High at 1440p averages 57 FPS, which is playable but may exhibit occasional dips below 60, while Low (90 FPS) is smooth but sacrifices visual quality. Ultra at 1440p averages 43 FPS, which is not ideal for a game that benefits from smooth camera panning and unit animations.

At 3840x2160, no preset achieves a locked 60 FPS. Medium averages 39 FPS with a minimum of 33 FPS, which is borderline playable for a turn-based game where reaction time is not critical. Low averages 47 FPS, which is the highest 4K result, but the visual downgrade may not be worth the 20% improvement over Medium. High and Ultra at 4K average 30 FPS and 22 FPS respectively, making them unsuitable for even casual play. For 4K users, the Low preset is the only viable option, and even then, the 47 FPS average suggests a suboptimal experience. The 1080p Medium setting is the sweet spot for this combo, offering the best balance of frame rate consistency and visual quality.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-12400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 ranks 2950th out of 3722 tested combos in Hard West, placing it in the 21st percentile of all tested configurations. This rank reflects the RTX 2060's position as a mid-range GPU that was released in 2019 and is now end-of-life, with a 58th percentile rank among all GPUs. The GPU's average benchmark score of 15290 places it nearly identical to the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 (15283, 0% delta), AMD Radeon 680M (15270, 0.1% delta), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM (15199, 0.6% delta), and AMD Radeon RX 7600 (15171, 0.8% delta). This tight cluster suggests that the RTX 2060 is at the bottom of the modern GPU performance range, and its 6 GB VRAM capacity is a limiting factor for 4K gaming.

The combo's rank is likely dragged down by the 4K Ultra result, which averages only 22 FPS. In a game like Hard West, where the turn-based nature means that frame rate drops are less punishing than in action titles, the 2950th rank may be more acceptable than it would be in a fast-paced shooter. However, compared to combos with newer GPUs like the RTX 3050 OEM or RX 7600, which have similar average benchmark scores, the RTX 2060's older architecture and smaller VRAM footprint contribute to its lower in-game rank. The CPU's 73rd percentile rank is not the limiting factor here; the GPU's 58th percentile rank is more indicative of the combo's overall standing.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is built on the Turing architecture with a TU106 chip, manufactured on a 12 nm process at TSMC. It features 1920 shading units, 120 texture mapping units, and 48 raster output units, along with 30 RT cores and 240 tensor cores. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1365 MHz and a boost clock of 1680 MHz, with 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus providing 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its 160W TDP and single 8-pin power connector are modest, and the card's 229 mm length makes it suitable for most mid-tower cases.

In Hard West, the RTX 2060's performance is heavily influenced by its memory subsystem. The 6 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p at most settings, but at 4K, the game's texture and geometry demands likely exceed the available memory, causing the observed 53% performance drop from Medium to Ultra at that resolution. The GPU's FP32 throughput of 6.451 TFLOPS and pixel rate of 80.64 GPixel/s are adequate for a turn-based tactics game, which does not require the high fill rates of modern first-person shooters. The 14 Gbps effective memory speed is a bottleneck at 4K, as evidenced by the 22 FPS Ultra result.

The RTX 2060's DirectX 12 Ultimate support and Vulkan 1.4 compatibility are more than sufficient for Hard West, a 2015 title that likely uses DirectX 11. The GPU's Passmark DirectX 11 score of 110 and DirectX 12 score of 53 indicate that it performs better under older APIs, which aligns with the game's era. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1242 is low but irrelevant for this game. The GPU's 58th percentile rank, with an average benchmark score of 15290, places it at the lower end of the GeForce 20-series, and its end-of-life production status means that no further driver optimizations are likely.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Hard West at 4K?

A: Yes, but only at Low settings, which averages 47 FPS. Medium averages 39 FPS, High averages 30 FPS, and Ultra averages 22 FPS, making the higher presets impractical for smooth play.

Q: What is the best resolution for this hardware?

A: 1920x1080 is the optimal resolution. At Medium settings, the combo delivers 117 FPS average with a minimum of 99 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold and provides a smooth experience.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 2060's average benchmark score of 15290 is within 0.8% of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 (15283), AMD Radeon 680M (15270), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM (15199), and AMD Radeon RX 7600 (15171), showing no significant performance gap.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in Hard West?

A: The GPU is the primary bottleneck at resolutions above 1080p. The CPU's 73rd percentile rank and high single-thread scores (909 in 3DMark single-thread) ensure it is not limiting frame rates, while the RTX 2060's 58th percentile rank and 6 GB VRAM struggle at 4K.

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

A: The measured average is 57 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target. Medium is recommended for 1440p, as it averages 74 FPS with a minimum of 63 FPS.

Q: How much performance drops from 1080p to 4K at Medium settings?

A: The average FPS falls from 117 at 1920x1080 to 74 at 2560x1440 (a 37% drop) and then to 39 at 3840x2160 (a 47% drop from 1440p), representing a total 67% reduction from 1080p to 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers the highest average FPS at 143, with no recorded minimum or maximum values. Medium averages 117 FPS with a minimum of 99 and maximum of 135. High averages 90 FPS, and Ultra averages 67 FPS. All 1080p settings are playable, with even the most demanding preset staying above 60 FPS.

At 2560x1440, Low averages 90 FPS, Medium averages 74 FPS with a minimum of 63 and maximum of 85, High averages 57 FPS, and Ultra averages 43 FPS. The Medium preset is the only one that maintains an average above 60 FPS, while High and Ultra fall below the threshold.

At 3840x2160, Low averages 47 FPS, Medium averages 39 FPS with a minimum of 33 and maximum of 45, High averages 30 FPS, and Ultra averages 22 FPS. The minimum FPS of 33 at Medium indicates that even the playable presets can dip to near-unplayable levels during intense scenes.

The data shows a consistent pattern: each resolution step halves the frame rate at equivalent settings, and each quality preset increase costs roughly 20-30% performance at a given resolution. The 1080p Medium row, with its 99-135 FPS range, is the most stable configuration, while the 4K Medium row, with its 33-45 FPS range, exhibits the highest variance. For turn-based tactics, where player input is not time-critical, the 4K Low preset's 47 FPS average might be acceptable, but the 1440p Medium preset's 74 FPS average with a 63 FPS minimum is the recommended balance of visual quality and frame rate stability.