Hard West

Hard West on this platform is a GPU-bound experience at every resolution, but the Intel Arc B390's performance ceiling is so low that the Intel Core i5-14400F is never the limiting factor. The data shows a clear and consistent pattern: frame rates collapse as resolution increases, and the gap between Low and Ultra settings widens dramatically, confirming the integrated graphics unit is the bottleneck. At 1080p, the combo achieves playable frame rates, but 4K is effectively a slideshow, making this configuration suitable only for the lowest fidelity targets.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a stark resolution scaling curve that points directly at the GPU as the primary constraint. At 1080p with High settings, the platform averages 55 FPS, which drops to 35 FPS at 1440p and further collapses to 18 FPS at 4K. This represents a 36% performance loss from 1080p to 1440p and a 67% loss from 1080p to 4K. Such a steep decline with pixel count is the hallmark of a GPU that is running out of fill rate and shading power, not a CPU that is struggling to feed frames.

The pattern becomes even more pronounced when examining the Low settings preset. At 1080p Low, the system hits 87 FPS, which is the highest score recorded in the entire dataset. Moving to 1440p Low, the average drops to 55 FPS, a 37% reduction. At 4K Low, the system only manages 29 FPS, a 67% decline from the 1080p baseline. The fact that even at the lowest visual fidelity, 4K performance falls below 30 FPS demonstrates that the rendering pipeline is simply overwhelmed by the pixel count, regardless of the graphical load.

The scaling behavior indicates that Hard West is not particularly demanding on CPU resources, as the frame rate drops in near-perfect proportion to the increase in rendered pixels. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see a more moderate decline at higher resolutions because the CPU would still be able to prepare frames while the GPU struggles. Instead, the data shows that the Arc B390's compute units and memory bandwidth (System Shared) are saturated, making resolution the single most important factor in determining performance. The 4K Medium preset (24 FPS) and 4K Ultra preset (14 FPS) further illustrate this, with the latter being nearly unplayable and representing a 76% reduction from the 1080p Ultra score of 41 FPS.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. Its benchmark scores place it in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 32279, putting it in a statistical dead heat with its nearest rivals. It is within 0.5% of the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U (32233), Intel Core i9-11900 (32226), and AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS (32354), and 0.5% ahead of the Intel Core i7-12800H (32121). This level of performance is vastly more than what Hard West requires, as evidenced by the fact that the GPU becomes the limiting factor at every resolution tested.

Given the game's age (a turn-based tactics title from 2015), it is unlikely to leverage the full 16 threads or the high single-thread performance of the i5-14400F. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multicore score of 21645 and single-core score of 3055 suggest it can handle any game logic or AI computations with ease. However, the benchmark results show that the CPU is essentially idle in this scenario, as the FPS does not improve at lower resolutions where the CPU would need to work harder to keep up with a faster GPU. The fact that the 1080p Low preset (87 FPS) is the only score above 60 FPS indicates that even at the lowest GPU load, the CPU is not the limiting factor; it is simply waiting for the GPU to finish rendering each frame.

The CPU's 20 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel memory support (DDR4 or DDR5) are more than adequate for this workload. The processor's performance in data compression (315521 in Passmark) and integer math (81524) further proves its capability for any background tasks or game logic. In this specific combo, the CPU role is to provide a stable platform without introducing any frame pacing issues, which it does flawlessly. The data suggests that upgrading the GPU would yield significant performance gains while keeping the i5-14400F, as the CPU has ample headroom to support a more powerful graphics solution.

Settings Recommendations

The optimal settings for this configuration depend on the target resolution, but the data clearly indicates that 4K should be avoided entirely. At 4K, even the Low preset only reaches 29 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay in a turn-based tactics game where quick reactions are not required but fluid camera movement is still desirable. The 4K Medium preset (24 FPS) and 4K High preset (18 FPS) are playable in a technical sense but will feel sluggish, while 4K Ultra (14 FPS) is a non-starter.

For 1440p, the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance, with an average of 45 FPS and a minimum of 38 FPS, ensuring no significant frame drops. The High preset at 1440p (35 FPS) is playable but dips closer to the 30 FPS line, which may cause noticeable stutter during camera pans. The Low preset at 1440p (55 FPS) is the best choice for players prioritizing smoothness, as it offers a 22% improvement over Medium and a 57% improvement over High. The Ultra preset at 1440p (26 FPS) is not recommended, as it falls below the 30 FPS threshold and provides diminishing returns over High.

At 1080p, the Medium preset is the clear winner, delivering 71 FPS with a minimum of 61 FPS and a maximum of 82 FPS. This provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS for consistent gameplay. The High preset (55 FPS) is a viable alternative for those who want better visuals and are willing to accept a frame rate that is close to 60 FPS but not consistently above it. The Low preset (87 FPS) is the highest performance option and is ideal for competitive play or for users with high refresh rate monitors, though the visual fidelity loss is significant. The Ultra preset at 1080p (41 FPS) is not recommended, as the performance hit from High to Ultra is 25% while the visual improvements in a game like Hard West are typically minimal. The data suggests that Medium at 1080p is the "sweet spot" for this combo, offering a smooth experience without sacrificing the core visual identity of the game.

FAQ

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

A: Technically yes, but the experience is poor. The highest 4K score is 29 FPS on Low settings, with Medium at 24 FPS, High at 18 FPS, and Ultra at 14 FPS. For a turn-based game, 29 FPS might be tolerable, but it is not recommended for a comfortable experience.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo?

A: 1080p is the only resolution where the system consistently exceeds 60 FPS, with the Low preset hitting 87 FPS and the Medium preset hitting 71 FPS. 1440p is playable on Medium (45 FPS), but 4K should be avoided unless the player accepts sub-30 FPS performance.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its nearest rivals in this game?

A: The Arc B390's average benchmark score of 1482 places it just 1.3% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463), 1.5% ahead of the GeForce 800M (1460), 2.5% ahead of the GT 625 OEM (1446), and 2.7% ahead of the GT 710 (1443). All of these are entry-level GPUs, indicating the Arc B390 is in the lowest performance tier.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-14400F a bottleneck for the Intel Arc B390?

A: No. The benchmark data shows that frame rates drop proportionally with resolution increases, which is a classic sign of a GPU bottleneck. The CPU's performance (83rd percentile) is far superior to the GPU's (9th percentile), so the i5-14400F has ample headroom.

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

A: At 1080p, Low settings yield an average of 87 FPS, while Ultra settings yield an average of 41 FPS. This is a 53% performance reduction for the highest visual quality. The Medium preset (71 FPS) offers a better balance, being only 18% slower than Low while providing significantly better graphics.

Q: Should I play on Medium or High settings at 1440p?

A: Medium is the safer choice, with an average of 45 FPS and a minimum of 38 FPS. High settings drop the average to 35 FPS, which is closer to the 30 FPS threshold and may result in more noticeable frame time spikes.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is the dominant factor in this system's performance, and its limitations are the sole reason for the low frame rates observed. The GPU is an integrated part (IGP) based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, built on a 3 nm process, with a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2500 MHz. It features 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 ROPs, along with 12 ray tracing cores. Its theoretical peak performance is 7.680 TFLOPS for FP32 operations, with a texture rate of 120.0 GTexel/s and a pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s. However, the data shows that these specifications are not sufficient for Hard West at higher resolutions.

The GPU's benchmark score in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 is 1482, which places it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. This is a very low ranking, and its nearest rivals are all older, entry-level parts: the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463), GeForce 800M (1460), GT 625 OEM (1446), and GT 710 (1443). The Arc B390 is only 1.3% faster than the GT 520MX, indicating that it is at the very bottom of the performance spectrum. This is further reflected in the measured FPS, where the system struggles to maintain 60 FPS even at 1080p Low.

A critical aspect of this GPU is its memory configuration. The Arc B390 uses "System Shared" memory, meaning it has no dedicated VRAM and relies on the system's main memory. The memory bandwidth is listed as "System Dependent," which means performance is heavily influenced by the system's RAM speed and configuration. In this case, the Intel Core i5-14400F supports dual-channel DDR4 or DDR5, but the lack of dedicated VRAM likely contributes to the poor scaling at 4K, where the GPU needs to access large amounts of data for textures and framebuffers. The shared memory architecture also explains why the GPU's performance degrades so severely when resolution increases, as the memory bus becomes a bottleneck.

The GPU's TDP of 80 W and its integrated nature mean it is not a discrete card, but rather a part of the processor package or a separate chip on the same board. This limits its power delivery and cooling, further capping its performance. The data shows that the GPU is the clear limiting component, as the CPU is vastly more powerful (83rd percentile vs. 9th percentile). To improve performance in Hard West, the only viable path is to use a system with a more powerful discrete GPU, as the Arc B390 cannot handle the game's demands at 1440p or 4K with acceptable frame rates.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete dataset provides a detailed look at how the system performs across all nine resolution and settings combinations. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves the highest average FPS at 87, followed by Medium at 71 FPS (with a minimum of 61 and a maximum of 82), High at 55 FPS, and Ultra at 41 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a steady decline, with Ultra being 53% slower than Low. The Medium preset's minimum of 61 FPS ensures that the experience stays above the 60 FPS threshold, making it the most reliable option for smooth gameplay at 1080p.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance drops significantly across all settings. The Low preset averages 55 FPS, which is a 37% reduction from the 1080p Low score. The Medium preset averages 45 FPS (minimum 38, maximum 52), providing a playable experience but with more variance than at 1080p. The High preset drops to 35 FPS, and the Ultra preset falls to 26 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 53%, identical to the percentage difference at 1080p, suggesting that the settings have a consistent relative impact on performance regardless of resolution.

At 3840x2160, the system is severely challenged. The Low preset averages 29 FPS, which is the only 4K score above 25 FPS. The Medium preset averages 24 FPS (minimum 20, maximum 27), the High preset averages 18 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 14 FPS. The 4K Ultra score represents just 16% of the 1080p Low score, illustrating the massive performance cost of rendering four times the pixels. The data shows that the Arc B390 is only capable of delivering a smooth experience (60 FPS or above) at 1080p with Low or Medium settings, and even at 1440p, the player must accept a frame rate in the 35-55 FPS range. For anyone using this combo, the recommended path is to stick to 1080p Medium for the best balance of visuals and performance, as 1440p and 4K do not offer a consistent experience.