Hard West

The Intel Core i5-13400F paired with the Intel Arc B580 lands at rank 1319 out of 1699 tested combos in Hard West, placing it in the lower-middle tier of the database for this specific turn-based tactics title. This positioning is notable because the hardware itself is modern, but the game’s 2015 release date and engine characteristics mean the combo’s raw capabilities are only partially utilized. The rank reflects that while this pairing delivers playable frame rates at most settings, it does not crack the upper echelons where higher-end CPUs and GPUs dominate. The data shows a combo that is competent but not exceptional, with the bottleneck shifting between components depending on resolution and quality presets.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 1319 out of 1699 places it in the 22nd percentile of tested configurations for Hard West, meaning roughly 78% of tested combos perform better in this game. This is a surprisingly low standing given that the CPU sits in the 82nd percentile among all CPUs in general benchmarks, and the GPU is in the 66th percentile among all GPUs. The disparity suggests that Hard West’s workload does not scale well with this hardware’s strengths, likely due to the game’s older engine and turn-based nature, which may not stress multi-threaded or high-throughput components as aggressively as modern action titles.

The Intel Core i5-13400F carries 10 cores and 16 threads with a boost clock of 4.60 GHz, and its average benchmark score of 25236 puts it within 0.5% of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D (deltaPct -0.5) and 0.5% ahead of the AMD EPYC 9474F (deltaPct 0.5). The Intel Core i7-13620H is essentially a tie at 0.1% delta. This CPU is clearly capable in synthetic tests, yet the game’s measured FPS does not reflect that dominance. Conversely, the Intel Arc B580’s average benchmark score of 23021 is within 0.7% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 (deltaPct -0.7) and 0.1% of the AMD Radeon 760M (deltaPct 0.1), showing the GPU competes with mainstream parts, but again, the in-game rank does not follow suit.

What the rank suggests is a utilization problem. Hard West, being a turn-based tactics game from 2015, likely relies more on single-thread CPU performance and less on GPU throughput than modern shooters. The CPU’s single-thread score of 3634 in Passmark and 3004 in Cinebench R23 are solid, but the game may not be optimized to take advantage of the 10-core layout. The result is a combo that underperforms its hardware pedigree, landing in the bottom quartile despite components that individually rank above average.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B580 is built on TSMC’s 5 nm process with the BMG-G21 chip and Xe2-HPG architecture, featuring 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus. The memory clock runs at 2375 MHz, translating to 19 Gbps effective, which yields a bandwidth of 456.0 GB/s. This memory configuration is generous for a mid-range GPU, and the 12 GB capacity is particularly relevant for Hard West, where higher resolutions and Ultra settings can consume significant video memory. The GPU’s base and boost clocks are both locked at 2670 MHz, providing a consistent operating point across workloads.

In the measured FPS data, the GPU’s role becomes apparent when comparing Low to Ultra settings at the same resolution. At 1080p, the jump from Low (149.9 FPS) to Ultra (72.9 FPS) represents a 51.4% performance drop, indicating that the GPU is being pushed harder as settings increase. At 4K, the drop from Low (51.8 FPS) to Ultra (25.4 FPS) is a 51.0% reduction, showing a similar relative scaling. The GPU’s 2560 shading units and 80 ROPs deliver a pixel rate of 213.6 GPixel/s, which is adequate for 1080p but struggles at 4K Ultra where the frame rate falls below 30 FPS.

The B580’s FP32 throughput of 13.67 TFLOPS places it in a competitive spot against its nearest rivals, yet the game’s results suggest that Hard West does not heavily utilize raw compute. The GPU’s passmark G3D score of 15748 is within 0.7% of the RTX 4060, but at 4K High, the B580 only manages 33.5 FPS, which is playable but not smooth. The 12 GB VRAM is unlikely to be a limiting factor here, as even at 4K Ultra, the game’s demands should fit within that capacity. The bottleneck at higher resolutions is more likely the GPU’s compute throughput rather than memory bandwidth.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS data reveals a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling as resolution increases. Moving from 1080p to 1440p to 4K at High settings, the average FPS drops from 94.7 to 59.9 to 33.5, respectively. This represents a 36.7% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and a 44.1% reduction from 1440p to 4K. The scaling is consistent with a GPU-limited scenario, where doubling the pixel count directly impacts frame rates. At Low settings, the same progression goes from 149.9 FPS at 1080p to 95.0 at 1440p to 51.8 at 4K, showing a 36.6% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 45.5% drop from 1440p to 4K.

The fact that the percentage drops are nearly identical across Low and High settings suggests that the GPU is the primary limiter at all resolutions, even when graphical fidelity is reduced. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see smaller FPS differences at higher resolutions, as the GPU would be waiting on the processor. Instead, the consistent scaling indicates that the Arc B580 is fully engaged, with the CPU providing sufficient headroom. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 149.9 FPS, which is close to what one might expect from a mid-range GPU, but the CPU’s 10 cores are likely underutilized in this older title.

The 4K Ultra result of 25.4 FPS is the weakest point, falling below the 30 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. This suggests that users targeting 4K should stick to Medium or lower settings, where the combo achieves 42.3 FPS. The 1440p results are more balanced, with High hitting 59.9 FPS and Medium reaching 76.3 FPS, making 1440p the sweet spot for this pairing. The data indicates that the combo is best suited for 1080p or 1440p gaming, with 4K reserved for lower preset levels.

FAQ

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

A: The Intel Core i5-13400F with Intel Arc B580 ranks 1319 out of 1699 tested combos in this game, placing it in the lower-middle tier of the database.

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

A: The CPU’s average benchmark score of 25236 is within 0.5% of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D (deltaPct -0.5) and 0.5% ahead of the AMD EPYC 9474F (deltaPct 0.5), with the Intel Core i7-13620H nearly identical at 0.1% delta.

Q: How does the GPU’s performance compare to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060?

A: The Intel Arc B580’s average benchmark score of 23021 is 0.7% below the RTX 4060 (deltaPct -0.7), indicating near-identical synthetic performance despite different architectures.

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

A: The 1440p resolution offers the best balance, with High settings achieving 59.9 FPS and Medium reaching 76.3 FPS, while 4K requires Low settings (51.8 FPS) for smooth play.

Q: How much does performance drop from Low to Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, the average FPS falls from 149.9 on Low to 72.9 on Ultra, a 51.4% reduction, showing significant GPU scaling with settings.

Q: Is the GPU or CPU the limiting factor at 4K?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary limiter, as resolution scaling produces consistent FPS drops (e.g., 33.5 FPS at 4K High vs. 94.7 FPS at 1080p High), with the CPU providing adequate headroom.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers three resolutions and four settings, providing a complete picture of the combo’s performance in Hard West. At 1920x1080, the combo delivers 149.9 FPS on Low, 124.5 FPS on Medium, 94.7 FPS on High, and 72.9 FPS on Ultra. This range shows a smooth progression from very smooth to playable, with the Ultra setting still exceeding 60 FPS. The 1080p results are all above 70 FPS, making this resolution the most comfortable for the combo, regardless of quality preset.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates drop to 95.0 FPS on Low, 76.3 FPS on Medium, 59.9 FPS on High, and 43.9 FPS on Ultra. The High setting just misses the 60 FPS target, while Ultra falls to 43.9 FPS, which is acceptable for a turn-based game but not ideal for fast-paced action. The 1440p results show that the combo handles Medium and below with ease, while High and Ultra require a compromise on smoothness.

At 3840x2160, the performance becomes more constrained: 51.8 FPS on Low, 42.3 FPS on Medium, 33.5 FPS on High, and 25.4 FPS on Ultra. The Low setting is the only one that remains above 50 FPS, while Ultra dips below 30 FPS, making it the least viable option. The 4K data confirms that this combo is not optimized for 4K Ultra gaming, but it can handle 4K Low and Medium playable. The measured FPS values are all recorded as averages, with no minimum or maximum values provided, so the consistency of these frame rates is not captured, but the averages give a reliable baseline for expected performance.