Hard West

Resolution Scaling

The performance curve from 1080p to 4K reveals a system that is clearly GPU-limited at higher resolutions, but with enough headroom at 1080p to suggest the CPU is doing its part. At 1080p High settings, the combo delivers 133 FPS, which drops to 84 FPS at 1440p High and further to 44 FPS at 4K High. That represents a 37% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and a 67% reduction from 1080p to 4K. The scaling is not linear, which is typical for a game where pixel count drives the workload.

The most telling comparison comes from the Low settings preset. At 1080p Low, the system pushes 211 FPS, while at 4K Low it still manages 70 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 4K at Low settings is 67%, nearly identical to the High preset's drop. This consistency across presets suggests that the game's rendering pipeline scales predictably with resolution, regardless of the detail level. The GPU is the bottleneck at 4K in both cases, but the margin at 1080p Low (211 FPS) indicates the CPU is not holding back the frame rate at lower resolutions.

Medium settings show the most complete data, with minimum and maximum frame times recorded. At 1080p Medium, the average is 173 FPS with a minimum of 147 and maximum of 198. At 1440p Medium, the average falls to 109 FPS with a range of 93 to 126. At 4K Medium, the average is 57 FPS with a range of 49 to 66. The frame time consistency holds up well even as resolution increases, with the gap between minimum and maximum remaining proportionally similar. This indicates that the RTX 3070's memory subsystem is keeping up with the demands of higher resolutions without introducing stutter.

Ultra settings present the steepest curve. The 1080p Ultra average is 99 FPS, 1440p Ultra drops to 63 FPS, and 4K Ultra bottoms out at 33 FPS. The percentage drop from 1080p to 1440p is 36%, and from 1440p to 4K is 48%. The 4K Ultra result is the only configuration that falls below the 60 FPS threshold, making it the only truly demanding scenario in this dataset. For a turn-based tactics title like Hard West, even 33 FPS may be playable, but the data shows that 4K Ultra is the breaking point for this combination.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 is the primary driver of these results, and its specifications explain the observed scaling behavior. The GPU features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is sufficient for Hard West at 1080p and 1440p, as evidenced by the high frame rates, but the 4K Ultra result of 33 FPS suggests the memory bandwidth and capacity are being taxed at the highest settings.

Clock speeds play a significant role in the GPU's performance profile. The base clock is 1500 MHz with a boost clock of 1725 MHz. The memory runs at 1750 MHz, which translates to 14 Gbps effective. These clocks are consistent with the RTX 3070's position in the GeForce 30-series lineup, and the benchmark results confirm that the GPU operates within expected parameters. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3162 places the GPU in the 61st percentile of all GPUs, indicating solid but not exceptional performance relative to the broader market.

The GPU's compute capabilities are substantial. With 5888 shading units, 184 TMUs, and 96 ROPs, the RTX 3070 delivers 20.31 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. The texture rate of 317.4 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 165.6 GPixel/s are more than adequate for a turn-based tactics game, which typically has less demanding geometry than first-person shooters or open-world titles. The ray tracing cores (46) and tensor cores (184) are present but unlikely to be heavily utilized in Hard West, given the game's 2015 release date.

The nearest rival comparisons place the RTX 3070 in a competitive position. The AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT scores 0.7% higher on average, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 scores 1% higher. The AMD Radeon HD 7970M scores 1.1% higher, and the NVIDIA Tesla K40c scores 1.5% lower. These deltas are small, suggesting that the RTX 3070 is well-matched against its immediate competitors in synthetic benchmarks. However, the real-world game results show that the RTX 3070 can deliver playable frame rates at 4K in Hard West, which is a meaningful achievement for a GPU in the 61st percentile.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-13400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 ranks 1581 out of 3722 tested combos in Hard West. This places the combo in the 57.5th percentile of all combinations tested, meaning it outperforms more than half of the field. For a mid-range CPU paired with a mid-to-high-end GPU, this ranking is respectable and reflects the game's relatively modest hardware requirements.

The CPU itself sits in the 77th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 25292. Its nearest rivals are tightly clustered, with the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS matching the score exactly (0% delta), the Intel Core 5 120 scoring 0.3% lower, and the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D also scoring 0.3% lower. The AMD Ryzen 7 6800H scores 0.4% higher. This clustering indicates that the i5-13400F is right at the median of its performance class, with no significant advantage or disadvantage against direct competitors.

The GPU's ranking is less impressive, sitting in the 61st percentile of all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 17208. The nearest rivals are again tightly packed, with the RX 7600 XT 0.7% higher, the GTX 690 1% higher, and the HD 7970M 1.1% higher. The Tesla K40c is 1.5% lower. The combo's overall rank of 1581 out of 3722 suggests that the pairing works well together, with neither component significantly bottlenecking the other in Hard West's specific workload.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its strongest results. Low settings produce an average of 211 FPS, which is the highest frame rate recorded in any configuration. Medium settings average 173 FPS with a minimum of 147 and maximum of 198. High settings average 133 FPS, and Ultra settings average 99 FPS. All four presets at 1080p clear the 60 FPS threshold by a wide margin, making this resolution entirely comfortable for the hardware.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains strong but shows expected degradation. Low settings average 133 FPS, a 37% drop from 1080p. Medium settings average 109 FPS with a range of 93 to 126. High settings average 84 FPS, and Ultra settings average 63 FPS. The Ultra result at 1440p is still above 60 FPS, which is notable for a demanding preset. The Medium preset's minimum of 93 FPS indicates that even in the most demanding scenes, the frame rate stays well above playable levels.

At 3840x2160, the results become more variable. Low settings average 70 FPS, which is playable. Medium settings average 57 FPS with a minimum of 49 and maximum of 66, putting the average just below the 60 FPS line. High settings average 44 FPS, and Ultra settings average 33 FPS. The 4K Medium result is the most interesting, as the minimum of 49 FPS suggests occasional dips that could be noticeable in fast-paced scenes, though Hard West's turn-based nature mitigates this concern.

The data shows a clear pattern: at 1080p, every preset is comfortably playable; at 1440p, only Ultra dips near the 60 FPS line; at 4K, only Low and Medium remain above the playability threshold. For players prioritizing visual quality, 1440p Ultra is the sweet spot, delivering 63 FPS. For those wanting the highest resolution, 4K Medium at 57 FPS is the best balance of fidelity and performance.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows 1440p Ultra averaging 63 FPS, which is the highest quality preset that remains above 60 FPS. At 4K, Medium settings average 57 FPS, which is playable but below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does the RTX 3070 compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 3070's average benchmark score is 17208. The AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT scores 0.7% higher, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 scores 1% higher, and the AMD Radeon HD 7970M scores 1.1% higher. The NVIDIA Tesla K40c scores 1.5% lower.

Q: Is the CPU holding back the GPU in this game?

A: At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 211 FPS, which suggests the CPU is not a bottleneck at lower resolutions. The consistent frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K indicates the GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

Q: What is the frame time consistency at Medium settings?

A: At 1080p Medium, the range is 147 to 198 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the range is 93 to 126 FPS. At 4K Medium, the range is 49 to 66 FPS. The relative consistency is maintained across resolutions.

Q: How does the i5-13400F rank among CPUs?

A: The CPU is in the 77th percentile of all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 25292. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS (0% delta), Intel Core 5 120 (-0.3%), AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D (-0.3%), and AMD Ryzen 7 6800H (0.4%).

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming?

A: Yes, but with caveats. At 4K Low, the average is 70 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average is 57 FPS. At 4K High, the average drops to 44 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it falls to 33 FPS. Medium settings at 4K are the practical limit for smooth gameplay.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-13400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process. Its base clock is 2.50 GHz with a boost clock of 4.60 GHz, and it carries a 65 W TDP. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 20 MB of shared L3 cache. This configuration provides strong multi-threaded performance, which is reflected in its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 22604 and Geekbench multicore score of 11068.

In Hard West, the CPU's role is less demanding than in real-time strategy or simulation games, given the turn-based nature of the title. The benchmark results support this: at 1080p Low, the combo reaches 211 FPS, which is likely near the game's engine limit rather than a CPU constraint. The single-thread performance is also solid, with a Geekbench single-core score of 1996 and a 3DMark single-thread score of 960. These scores indicate the CPU can handle the game's logical operations without becoming a bottleneck.

The CPU's 3DMark multi-threaded scores show good scaling: 7314 for 16 threads, 5591 for 8 threads, 3459 for 4 threads, and 1880 for 2 threads. This scaling pattern suggests the processor is efficient at distributing work across its cores, which is beneficial for games that use multiple threads for AI, pathfinding, and game logic. The PassMark multithread score of 25032 and physics score of 1437 further confirm the CPU's capability in threaded workloads.

The nearest rival comparisons for the CPU reveal a tightly contested market segment. The AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS matches the i5-13400F's average score exactly, while the Intel Core 5 120 and AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D are both 0.3% lower. The AMD Ryzen 7 6800H is 0.4% higher. These small deltas mean that in Hard West, the choice between these CPUs is unlikely to produce meaningful frame rate differences. The GPU is the dominant factor in this game's performance, as evidenced by the resolution scaling data.