Hard West

The Intel Core i5-13400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 delivers a playable experience in Hard West, but the data clearly shows that Ultra settings are the breaking point. The combo ranks 1374th out of 1699 tested combinations, placing it in the lower-mid tier of the database. Benchmark results indicate that this system is best suited for Medium and High settings at 1080p, where it achieves smooth frame rates, while 4K resolution is only viable at Low settings.

FAQ

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

A: 1920x1080 is the most consistent choice. The measured FPS shows 92.2 at High, 118 at Medium, and 144.8 at Low, all of which are smooth. At 2560x1440, performance drops to 59.4 at High, which is acceptable but less comfortable.

Q: Can this system handle Ultra settings?

A: Only at 1080p, where it averages 67.4 FPS. At 2560x1440, Ultra drops to 43.1 FPS, and at 3840x2160, it falls to a slideshow-like 23.5 FPS. The data suggests avoiding Ultra above 1080p.

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

A: The GPU sits at the 58th percentile of all GPUs. Its average benchmark score is 16074, which is within 1.8% of the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 (15786) and 0.5% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 7600S (15996). It is 1.7% behind the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M (16351).

Q: What is the CPU's performance standing?

A: The Core i5-13400F is in the 82nd percentile of all CPUs. Its average benchmark score is 25236, which is effectively tied with the Intel Core i7-13620H (25201, 0.1% ahead) and the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D (25365, 0.5% behind).

Q: Is the 6 GB VRAM a limitation in this game?

A: The data does not directly measure VRAM usage. However, the RTX 2060's 6 GB of GDDR6 memory with a 336.0 GB/s bandwidth is paired with the game's results. The sharp FPS drop from 1080p to 4K at High settings (92.2 to 27.7) suggests memory bandwidth or capacity is a limiting factor at higher resolutions.

Q: What is the FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p?

A: The gap is substantial. Low averages 91.2 FPS, while Ultra averages 43.1 FPS. That is a reduction of 48.1 FPS, or roughly 53% less performance when moving to the highest preset.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is a Turing-architecture GPU with a base clock of 1365 MHz and a boost clock of 1680 MHz. It has 1920 shading units, 120 texture mapping units, and 48 ROPs. The memory subsystem is 6 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s. These specifications place the GPU at the 58th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 16074.

In Hard West, the GPU's role is evident in the scaling of FPS across settings. At 1080p, the GPU is the primary driver of performance, with the difference between Low (144.8 FPS) and Ultra (67.4 FPS) showing a clear dependence on GPU workload. The RTX 2060's FP32 performance of 6.451 TFLOPS is sufficient for the game's turn-based tactical rendering, but the data shows that the Ultra preset demands more than the GPU can deliver at higher resolutions. The pixel rate of 80.64 GPixel/s and texture rate of 201.6 GTexel/s are likely bottlenecks when pushing 3840x2160, where even High settings only manage 27.7 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-13400F and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 ranks 1374th out of 1699 tested combos in Hard West. This places the system in the bottom 20% of all configurations tested. The rank reflects a pairing where the CPU is relatively strong — in the 82nd percentile — but the GPU is only in the 58th percentile. This imbalance means the GPU is the limiting factor in most scenarios, particularly at higher resolutions and settings.

Compared to other combos, this system is not a high-end performer. The data suggests it is a mid-range setup that can handle 1080p gaming well but struggles to maintain high frame rates at 1440p or 4K. The rank of 1374 is a verdict on the overall balance: the CPU has headroom that the GPU cannot utilize in this title, especially when the graphics load increases.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets.

At 1920x1080, the system performs best:

• Low: 144.8 FPS
• Medium: 118 FPS
• High: 92.2 FPS
• Ultra: 67.4 FPS

At 2560x1440, performance drops noticeably:

• Low: 91.2 FPS
• Medium: 75.1 FPS
• High: 59.4 FPS
• Ultra: 43.1 FPS

At 3840x2160, the system struggles:

• Low: 46.6 FPS
• Medium: 37.7 FPS
• High: 27.7 FPS
• Ultra: 23.5 FPS

The data shows a consistent pattern: each settings tier reduces FPS by a significant margin. At 1080p, the drop from Low to Ultra is 77.4 FPS, indicating a heavy GPU workload. At 4K, the same drop is only 23.1 FPS, but the baseline is already low, making even Low settings barely playable at 46.6 FPS.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the system's limitations. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 92.2 at 1080p to 59.4 at 1440p, then to 27.7 at 4K. This represents a 70% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K. At Low settings, the drop is from 144.8 to 91.2 to 46.6, a 68% reduction.

This scaling pattern indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting component. The CPU, with 10 cores and 16 threads, is capable of feeding the GPU at lower resolutions, but as pixel count increases, the RTX 2060's compute and memory bandwidth become saturated. The 4K results, where even Low settings only reach 46.6 FPS, show that the GPU cannot keep up with the rendering demands. The 6 GB VRAM and 336.0 GB/s bandwidth are likely insufficient for 4K textures and shading, causing the sharp performance cliff.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-13400F is a Raptor Lake-S architecture processor with 10 cores and 16 threads. It has a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. The CPU's cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 20 MB of shared L3. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 21279 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 3004 in single-core, placing it in the 82nd percentile of all CPUs.

In Hard West, a turn-based tactics game, the CPU's role is less demanding than in real-time strategy or action titles. The high single-thread performance, evidenced by a 3dmark_single_thread score of 960, ensures that game logic and AI processing are handled efficiently. The multi-threaded performance, with a 3dmark_max_threads score of 7307, provides headroom for background tasks. However, the data shows that the CPU is not the bottleneck; the GPU is. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 144.8 FPS, which suggests the CPU can push frames well beyond what the GPU can render at higher settings. The CPU's performance is effectively tied with rivals like the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D, which is 0.5% faster in average benchmark score.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows point to a clear hierarchy for the best experience. For 1080p, the High preset at 92.2 FPS is the optimal balance of visual quality and smoothness. Medium at 118 FPS is also excellent if a higher frame rate is preferred, but High offers a better visual experience without sacrificing playability. Ultra at 67.4 FPS is playable but pushes the GPU to its limit, leaving little headroom for complex scenes.

For 1440p, the Low preset at 91.2 FPS is the only way to maintain a high frame rate. Medium at 75.1 FPS is acceptable, but High at 59.4 FPS is borderline for a turn-based game. Ultra at 43.1 FPS is not recommended, as the frame rate dips below the comfort threshold.

For 4K, the Low preset at 46.6 FPS is the only viable option. Medium at 37.7 FPS and High at 27.7 FPS are too low for a consistent experience, and Ultra at 23.5 FPS is effectively unplayable. The data suggests that 4K is not a target resolution for this combo, and users should stick to 1080p or 1440p for the best results. The verdict is clear: prioritize resolution over settings, and use High at 1080p as the default recommendation.