Hard West

The Intel Core i5-13400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 580 occupies a distinct position in the Hard West performance hierarchy, landing at rank 3399 out of 3722 tested combinations. This places the combo in the lower percentile of systems, a result driven by the RX 580's age rather than the processor's capability. The i5-13400F is a 10-core, 16-thread Raptor Lake part with a 2.50 GHz base clock and a 4.60 GHz boost clock, and its benchmark scores—such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core result of 22604 and a single-core score of 3191—demonstrate it is far from a bottleneck in a turn-based tactics title. The 65W TDP and 20 MB of shared L3 cache are more than sufficient for the game's logic, but the RX 580's 6.175 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 256.0 GB/s memory bandwidth tell a different story at high resolutions.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The i5-13400F's architecture is built around a hybrid design that pairs performance and efficiency cores, though the FACT PACK does not specify the exact core distribution. What is clear is that the 10-core, 16-thread configuration provides ample parallel headroom for a game like Hard West, which is a turn-based tactics title released in 2015. The CPU's single-thread performance, measured at 960 in 3DMark single-thread and 1996 in Geekbench single-core, is the primary driver for game logic, AI pathfinding, and turn resolution. In this context, the processor sits well above the threshold needed to feed the GPU, as evidenced by the 3DMark 16-thread score of 7314 and the max-thread score of 7307, which show scaling that would leave the RX 580 as the limiting factor.

The CPU's 4.60 GHz boost clock ensures that the game's non-graphical computations are handled swiftly, and the 20 MB shared L3 cache reduces latency when accessing frequently used data structures. Compared to its nearest rivals in the CPU benchmark database, the i5-13400F posts an average benchmark score of 25292, which is effectively tied with the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS (25284, 0% delta), the Intel Core 5 120 (25362, -0.3% delta), and the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D (25365, -0.3% delta). The deltaPct values here are negligible, meaning the i5-13400F offers no meaningful advantage or disadvantage over these chips in raw compute, but its 77th percentile ranking among all CPUs confirms it is a strong performer. In Hard West, the CPU's role is to maintain consistent frame pacing, and the data suggests it does so without issue; the measured FPS drops across resolutions are attributable to the GPU's pixel throughput limits, not CPU stalls.

FAQ — 4-6 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain playable frame rates?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 is the only resolution where all settings presets produce average FPS above 39, with Low hitting 84 FPS and High reaching 53 FPS. At 2560x1440, only Low and Medium exceed 40 FPS, while 3840x2160 fails to reach 30 FPS on any preset, making 1080p the practical target.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in overall benchmark performance?

A: The i5-13400F has an average benchmark score of 25292, which is within 0.3% of the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS (25284), Intel Core 5 120 (25362), and AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D (25365). The deltaPct values are 0, -0.3, and -0.3 respectively, indicating near-identical raw processing power across these chips.

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking among all tested GPUs?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 580 sits at the 53rd percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 12928. This places it in the middle of the pack, just behind the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER (12986, -0.4% delta) and slightly ahead of the AMD Radeon 740M (12870, 0.5% delta).

Q: Does the RX 580's memory bandwidth become a constraint at higher resolutions?

A: The RX 580 has 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, yielding 256.0 GB/s bandwidth. At 3840x2160, the average FPS drops to 17 on High and 13 on Ultra, suggesting that the memory subsystem and pixel fill rate are overwhelmed, rather than the CPU or game logic.

Q: Is there a significant FPS difference between Medium and High settings at 1080p?

A: Yes, the measured data shows a 16 FPS difference: Medium averages 69 FPS while High averages 53 FPS at 1920x1080. This indicates that High settings impose a substantial rendering load increase, but both remain playable.

Q: What is the combo's overall rank in Hard West?

A: The combo ranks 3399 out of 3722 tested combinations, placing it in the lower 10% of systems. This is a reflection of the GPU's limitations, as the CPU's 77th percentile ranking suggests it is not the primary constraint.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data reveals a stark scaling curve that points directly at the GPU as the bottleneck. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo averages 53 FPS; moving to 2560x1440 High drops that to 33 FPS, a reduction of 20 FPS or roughly 38%. At 3840x2160 High, the average falls to 17 FPS, which is a further 16 FPS drop and represents just over half the 1440p score. This pattern is consistent across all settings presets, indicating that the RX 580's rendering throughput—specifically its 42.88 GPixel/s pixel rate and 193.0 GTexel/s texture rate—cannot keep pace with increasing pixel counts.

The Low preset tells a similar story, starting at 84 FPS at 1080p, dropping to 53 FPS at 1440p (a 31 FPS decline), and then to 28 FPS at 4K (a 25 FPS decline). The fact that even Low settings cannot maintain 30 FPS at 4K underscores that the GPU's raw compute, not the game's visual complexity, is the limiting factor. The CPU's 3DMark 2-thread score of 1880 and 4-thread score of 3459 show it can handle the game's single-threaded and multi-threaded loads, so the FPS collapse with resolution is a pure GPU-bound phenomenon. The i5-13400F's high single-core performance (3191 in Cinebench R23 single-core) ensures that the game logic remains stable, but the RX 580's 6.175 TFLOPS simply does not have the fill rate for high-resolution output. The data suggests that users targeting 4K would need a fundamentally different GPU, as the RX 580's performance at that resolution is below playable thresholds across the board.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combo's rank of 3399 out of 3722 in Hard West places it in the 91st percentile from the bottom, meaning only about 323 tested combinations perform worse. This is a low standing, but it must be interpreted through the lens of the components' individual strengths. The GPU's 53rd percentile ranking (average score 12928) is the anchor point; it is an end-of-life Polaris 20 part with a 14 nm process node and 5,700 million transistors, and its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile (12940, -0.1% delta) and the GTX 1660 SUPER (12986, -0.4% delta). These rivals are all within 1% of the RX 580's score, meaning the GPU is not an outlier among its peers, but rather a mid-tier card that has aged out of high-end gaming.

The CPU, by contrast, is a modern part with a 77th percentile ranking, and its nearest rivals (Ryzen 9 6900HS, Core 5 120, Ryzen 5 5600X3D) all have average scores within 0.4% of the i5-13400F's 25292. This creates a mismatch: a strong processor paired with a weak GPU. In a turn-based tactics game like Hard West, where frame rates are less critical than in fast-paced shooters, the combo's low rank is tolerable, but the data shows it cannot compete with higher-tier GPU pairings. The 3399 rank reflects the GPU's inability to push high frame rates at demanding settings, and any improvement in the ranking would require a GPU upgrade rather than a CPU swap. The combo's position is consistent with the RX 580's 53rd percentile, suggesting that the GPU is the sole determinant of the final ranking in this title.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

For a balance of visual fidelity and smooth gameplay, the Medium preset at 1920x1080 is the standout recommendation. The measured data shows an average of 69 FPS with a minimum of 58 FPS and a maximum of 79 FPS, which provides a stable and responsive experience for turn-based tactics. The Low preset at 1080p averages 84 FPS, but the visual downgrade is unnecessary given that Medium maintains a frame rate well above the 60 FPS threshold. High at 1080p averages 53 FPS, which is playable but falls below the smoothness of Medium; the 16 FPS difference between Medium and High suggests that the RX 580's texture and shader units are heavily taxed by High settings.

At 2560x1440, Medium averages 43 FPS (minimum 37, maximum 50), which is acceptable for a slower-paced game, but the 1080p Medium preset offers a higher frame rate with the same settings. Ultra is not recommended at any resolution, as it only achieves 39 FPS at 1080p and drops to 13 FPS at 4K, indicating that the preset includes effects that the RX 580 cannot handle efficiently. The Low preset at 1440p (53 FPS) could be a viable alternative for users who prefer higher resolution over medium details, but the 1080p Medium preset provides the best overall combination of smoothness and quality. For 4K, none of the presets are playable, with the highest being Low at 28 FPS, so users should avoid 4K entirely unless they are willing to accept sub-30 FPS performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of the combo's performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 84 FPS with no recorded minimum or maximum, indicating a consistent frame rate. The Medium preset averages 69 FPS, with a minimum of 58 FPS and a maximum of 79 FPS, showing a narrow range that suggests stable performance. High averages 53 FPS, and Ultra drops to 39 FPS; neither has min/max values recorded. This resolution is the only one where all presets exceed 30 FPS, making it the primary target for this combo.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 53 FPS, which is a 31 FPS drop from the 1080p Low score. Medium averages 43 FPS (minimum 37, maximum 50), while High averages 33 FPS and Ultra falls to 25 FPS. The transition from Medium to High at this resolution incurs a 10 FPS penalty, and from High to Ultra a further 8 FPS drop, illustrating the GPU's diminishing headroom as pixel count rises. At 3840x2160, the results are uniformly low: Low averages 28 FPS, Medium averages 23 FPS (minimum 19, maximum 26), High averages 17 FPS, and Ultra averages 13 FPS. The 4K Medium preset is the only one with min/max data, showing a 7 FPS spread, which indicates frame pacing is erratic at this resolution. The data confirms that the RX 580 is not suitable for 4K gaming in Hard West, and even 1440p requires lowering settings to Medium or below for acceptable performance. The 1080p Medium preset, with its 69 FPS average and 58 FPS minimum, stands as the optimal measured configuration for this hardware pairing.