Hard West

# Hard West with Intel Core i5-13400F + Intel Arc B390

This combination of the Intel Core i5-13400F and Intel Arc B390 produces results that are firmly at the lower end of the measured spectrum for Hard West, a turn-based tactics title from 2015. The combo ranks 2614th out of 2949 tested configurations, placing it in the bottom 11% of all systems benchmarked in this game. The data reveals a system that is heavily constrained by its graphics component, with the Intel Arc B390's integrated-class performance creating a consistent bottleneck across all resolution and settings combinations. The CPU, by contrast, demonstrates ample headroom that never becomes the limiting factor in any measured scenario.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a steep and predictable decline as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 55 FPS at 1080p to 35 FPS at 1440p, a 36% reduction, and then further to 18 FPS at 4K, representing a 67% drop from the 1080p baseline. This pattern of degradation is consistent with a graphics-bound workload where the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth become increasingly insufficient at higher pixel counts.

The scaling behavior at Low settings is particularly revealing. The system achieves 87 FPS at 1080p, which drops to 55 FPS at 1440p (a 37% decrease) and 29 FPS at 4K (a 67% decrease). The proportional losses are nearly identical to those seen at High settings, which indicates that the bottleneck is not related to shading complexity or texture throughput but rather to the fundamental pixel-processing capabilities of the Intel Arc B390. Even when the render load is minimized through Low settings, the GPU cannot maintain playable frame rates at 4K, suggesting that the 24 ROPs and 60.00 GPixel/s pixel rate are the primary limiting factors.

The Medium settings row provides the only complete min/max data in the entire dataset. At 4K, the system averages 24 FPS with a minimum of 20 FPS and maximum of 27 FPS, a narrow band that indicates consistent performance without major frame-time spikes. At 1440p Medium, the average rises to 45 FPS with a spread from 38 to 52 FPS, and at 1080p Medium, the average reaches 71 FPS with a range of 61 to 82 FPS. This tight clustering of frame times across all three resolutions suggests that the game's turn-based nature does not introduce unpredictable rendering spikes, and the performance variance is driven almost entirely by resolution-dependent pixel workload.

Ultra settings produce the most dramatic scaling penalty. The system manages 41 FPS at 1080p, 26 FPS at 1440p, and only 14 FPS at 4K. The jump from 1080p to 1440p costs 37% of the frame rate, while the jump to 4K costs 66% relative to 1080p. These percentage losses mirror those seen at other settings presets, reinforcing that the scaling behavior is resolution-dominated rather than settings-dominated. The data shows no scenario where the CPU becomes the limiting component during resolution scaling; the consistent proportional drops across all settings point squarely at the GPU as the performance ceiling.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-13400F brings substantial processing capability to this pairing, with 10 cores, 16 threads, and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. Its benchmark results place it in the 77th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 25292. In synthetic tests, the processor achieves 22604 points in Cinebench R23 multicore and 3191 points in the single-core variant, demonstrating strong performance for both threaded and lightly-threaded workloads. The 3DMark results show scaling from 1880 at 2 threads to 7314 at 16 threads, indicating efficient multi-threading that reaches near-peak performance by 8 threads (5591) and only marginal gains beyond that (7307 at max threads).

In the context of Hard West, a turn-based tactics title, the CPU requirements are modest relative to the raw compute available. The game's rendering workload, even at 1080p Low where the system achieves 87 FPS, does not appear to stress the processor to its limits. The fact that frame rates scale so predictably with resolution and settings — with no anomalous dips that would suggest CPU thread bottlenecks or scheduling issues — indicates that the i5-13400F is never the limiting component in any measured configuration. The processor's 20 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel memory support for both DDR4 and DDR5 provide ample bandwidth for the game's data access patterns.

The nearest CPU rivals in the benchmark database show how tightly grouped the i5-13400F is with other mid-range processors. The AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS matches its average score at 25284, a 0% delta, while the Intel Core 5 120 and AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D come in at 25362 and 25365 respectively, both showing a -0.3% delta relative to the i5-13400F's score. The AMD Ryzen 7 6800H trails slightly with 25201, a 0.4% delta. This clustering suggests that any of these CPUs would deliver near-identical performance in Hard West, and the differences measured in this game would be negligible compared to the GPU's dominant influence.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate this combination achieves in Hard West?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 87, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This is the only configuration in the dataset that exceeds the 80 FPS threshold.

Q: Can this system run Hard West at 4K resolution?

A: Yes, but only at Low settings does it exceed 30 FPS, averaging 29 FPS. At Medium settings it drops to 24 FPS, High settings yield 18 FPS, and Ultra settings produce just 14 FPS. None of the 4K configurations reach a smooth 60 FPS.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B390 has a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482, placing it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. It outperforms the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX by 1.3%, the GeForce 800M by 1.5%, the GeForce GT 625 OEM by 2.5%, and the GeForce GT 710 by 2.7%.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the system averages 87 FPS on Low settings and 41 FPS on Ultra settings, meaning Ultra delivers 53% lower performance than Low. The Medium setting achieves 71 FPS, and High reaches 55 FPS.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU limit performance in this game?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. The Intel Core i5-13400F ranks in the 77th percentile among CPUs, while the Intel Arc B390 ranks in the 9th percentile among GPUs. Frame rates scale consistently with resolution and settings, a hallmark of GPU-bound performance.

Q: What is this system's overall ranking among tested combos for Hard West?

A: The combination ranks 2614th out of 2949 tested configurations, placing it in the bottom 11% of all systems benchmarked in this game.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system demonstrates its best performance across all settings. Low settings deliver an average of 87 FPS, making this the only settings/resolution pair that approaches high-refresh-rate territory. Medium settings achieve 71 FPS with a minimum of 61 FPS and maximum of 82 FPS, providing a stable experience that stays above 60 FPS throughout the measured window. High settings reduce the average to 55 FPS, and Ultra settings drop further to 41 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra at 1080p shows a steady decline of 16 FPS per step from Low to Medium, then 16 FPS from Medium to High, and 14 FPS from High to Ultra.

At 2560x1440, the performance falls into a range that is marginal for smooth gameplay. Low settings produce 55 FPS, which is playable but no longer reaches the 60 FPS threshold. Medium settings average 45 FPS with a range of 38 to 52 FPS, showing that even the best-case frame times stay below the 60 FPS mark. High settings average 35 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 26 FPS. The step-down pattern at 1440p is similar to 1080p: 10 FPS from Low to Medium, 10 FPS from Medium to High, and 9 FPS from High to Ultra.

At 3840x2160, all settings yield sub-30 FPS averages. Low settings achieve 29 FPS, which is the only 4K configuration that approaches playability. Medium settings average 24 FPS with a minimum of 20 FPS and maximum of 27 FPS. High settings drop to 18 FPS, and Ultra settings bottom out at 14 FPS. The deltas between settings at 4K are compressed: 5 FPS from Low to Medium, 6 FPS from Medium to High, and 4 FPS from High to Ultra. This compression suggests that at 4K, the GPU is so heavily saturated that even reducing settings yields diminishing returns, as the pixel fill rate becomes the dominant constraint.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 2614 out of 2949 tested combinations places it in the 11th percentile of all systems tested in Hard West. This low ranking is driven almost entirely by the Intel Arc B390, which sits in the 9th percentile of all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 1482. The GPU's nearest rivals — the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, GeForce 800M, GeForce GT 625 OEM, and GeForce GT 710 — are all legacy or entry-level parts from previous generations, and the Arc B390 only edges them out by margins of 1.3% to 2.7%. This places the graphics component in territory that is fundamentally unsuited for modern gaming at higher resolutions.

The CPU, by contrast, is a strong performer that would typically be paired with a much more capable GPU. The i5-13400F's 77th percentile ranking among CPUs means it outperforms the vast majority of processors in the database. In the context of this specific combo, however, the CPU's capabilities are largely wasted, as the GPU cannot translate the processor's headroom into additional frame rates. The measured FPS data confirms this: no configuration in the dataset shows signs of CPU limitation, and the performance ceiling is consistently set by the GPU.

The 2949 total combos tested in Hard West represent a wide range of hardware pairings, and this particular combination falls into the lower tier. The 11th percentile ranking means that roughly 89% of tested systems deliver better performance in this game. For a turn-based tactics title from 2015, this level of performance is notably low, as even older and less capable CPUs paired with modest discrete GPUs would likely outperform this integrated-graphics-class solution.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the optimal experience for this system is at 1920x1080 with Medium settings. This configuration delivers 71 FPS average with a minimum of 61 FPS and maximum of 82 FPS, providing the best balance of visual quality and smoothness. The minimum frame rate staying above 60 FPS ensures consistent gameplay without noticeable hitches, which is particularly important for a turn-based tactics game where camera movements and unit animations should remain fluid.

At 1080p, Low settings offer a higher average of 87 FPS, but the visual quality reduction may not be worthwhile given that Medium maintains a comfortable margin above 60 FPS. High settings at 1080p drop to 55 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold and may introduce perceptible stutter during scene transitions. Ultra settings at 1080p produce 41 FPS, which is playable for a turn-based game but represents a significant visual-to-performance tradeoff.

At 1440p, the best option is Low settings with 55 FPS average, which remains above the 30 FPS playability floor but below the 60 FPS smoothness threshold. Medium settings at 1440p average 45 FPS with a minimum of 38 FPS, which is acceptable for the genre but not ideal. At 4K, Low settings with 29 FPS is the only configuration that approaches playable territory, though the sub-30 FPS average will result in noticeable choppiness. For players prioritizing visual fidelity over frame rate, the 1080p Ultra setting at 41 FPS is the highest-quality option that remains within playable bounds.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is the primary performance limiter in this system. Its specifications reveal a part designed for low-power integrated use rather than discrete gaming performance: a 3 nm Panther Lake chip with Xe3-LPG architecture, 1536 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 24 ROPs. The base clock of 300 MHz and boost clock of 2500 MHz produce a pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 120.0 GTexel/s, with FP32 compute of 7.680 TFLOPS. The GPU uses system-shared memory, which means its bandwidth is system-dependent and adds another layer of variability to performance.

In the context of Hard West, these specifications are insufficient for high-resolution gaming. The 24 ROPs are the likely culprit for the steep resolution scaling, as the number of pixels to fill quadruples from 1080p to 4K, and the GPU's fill rate cannot keep pace. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482 places the Arc B390 in the 9th percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rivals are all entry-level NVIDIA parts from the GT 700 and 800 series era. The GPU's deltaPct values against these rivals — 1.3% faster than the GT 520MX, 1.5% faster than the GeForce 800M, 2.5% faster than the GT 625 OEM, and 2.7% faster than the GT 710 — underscore how close it sits to the absolute bottom of the GPU performance hierarchy.

The measured FPS data reflects this GPU's limitations precisely. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 87 FPS, which is the only configuration that approaches smooth performance. Every other settings/resolution combination falls below 60 FPS, and the majority of configurations sit below 45 FPS. The GPU's system-shared memory architecture means that as resolution increases, the memory bandwidth demands also increase, potentially causing performance to degrade even faster than the raw pixel count would suggest. However, the consistent scaling patterns in the data indicate that the bottleneck remains the pixel processing pipeline rather than memory bandwidth, as the proportional drop from 1080p to 1440p and 4K is uniform across all settings presets.