Hard West

# Hard West with Intel Core i5-14400F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050

The Intel Core i5-14400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 delivers a playable experience across most of Hard West's settings, but the data reveals a clear pattern: this turn-based tactics title is far more demanding at 4K than its 2015 release date might suggest. The combo ranks 1802nd out of 2949 tested combinations in this game, placing it in the lower-middle tier of the database. The RTX 5050, with its 8 GB GDDR6 memory and boost clock of 2572 MHz, handles 1080p and 1440p comfortably, but the 4K Ultra preset drops to 26 FPS average, indicating the GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with Medium settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with Medium settings is 135 FPS, with a minimum of 115 FPS and a maximum of 155 FPS. This represents a smooth experience for the turn-based gameplay.

Q: How does the RTX 5050 compare to its nearest GPU rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 5050's average benchmark score is 21035, placing it 0.6% behind the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL (21153), 1% behind the AMD Radeon HD 8970M (21237), 1.6% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT (20713), and 1.6% behind the NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile (21379).

Q: What is the CPU's multi-core performance relative to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core i5-14400F scores 32279 in average benchmark score, which is 0.1% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U (32233), 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core i9-11900 (32226), 0.2% behind the AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS (32354), and 0.5% ahead of the Intel Core i7-12800H (32121).

Q: Does the combo achieve 60 FPS at 4K resolution?

A: No. At 3840x2160, the highest average FPS recorded is 55 FPS on Low settings. The Medium preset drops to 45 FPS, High to 34 FPS, and Ultra to 26 FPS. None of the 4K presets reach the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: What is the CPU's boost clock and how many cores does it have?

A: The Intel Core i5-14400F has 10 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. Its L3 cache is 20 MB shared.

Q: What is the launch MSRP of the RTX 5050?

A: The launch MSRP is $249 USD for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050, which uses the GB207 chip on a 5 nm process node from TSMC.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with the GB207 chip, manufactured on a 5 nm process by TSMC. It contains 16,900 million transistors on a 149 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 113.4M per mm². The GPU features 2560 shading units, 80 texture mapping units, 32 ROPs, 20 ray tracing cores, and 80 tensor cores. Its base clock is 2317 MHz, boosting to 2572 MHz, with memory running at 2500 MHz (20 Gbps effective).

The memory subsystem consists of 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 320.0 GB/s. This memory configuration proves adequate for Hard West at 1080p and 1440p, but the 4K results suggest the 8 GB capacity and 128-bit bus become bottlenecks. The pixel rate is 82.30 GPixel/s and the texture rate is 205.8 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance at 13.17 TFLOPS. The GPU has a TDP of 130 W, requires a 300 W suggested PSU, and uses a single 8-pin power connector.

In Hard West specifically, the GPU's role is most evident in the scaling from Low to Ultra settings. At 1440p, the jump from Low (104 FPS) to Ultra (49 FPS) represents a 53% performance drop, while at 1080p the drop from Low (165 FPS) to Ultra (78 FPS) is a 53% reduction as well. The RTX 5050's benchmark scores—including 17326 in Passmark G3D and 2502 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12—indicate it ranks in the 66th percentile of all GPUs, positioning it as a mid-range part that struggles with the most demanding presets in this game.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a consistent pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases, which points to the GPU being the dominant limiting component. From 1080p to 1440p, the average FPS drops by roughly 37% across all settings: High goes from 104 to 66 FPS, Low from 165 to 104 FPS, Medium from 135 to 86 FPS, and Ultra from 78 to 49 FPS. This scaling is approximately linear with the pixel count increase, which is typical for a GPU-bound scenario.

The transition from 1440p to 4K is even more punishing. High settings drop from 66 to 34 FPS (a 48% reduction), Low from 104 to 55 FPS (47% reduction), Medium from 86 to 45 FPS (48% reduction), and Ultra from 49 to 26 FPS (47% reduction). The fact that the percentage drop is nearly identical across all settings suggests the RTX 5050's raw pixel throughput is the limiting factor, rather than any specific setting's features.

The CPU's role in this scaling is minimal. The Core i5-14400F, with its 10 cores and 16 threads boosting to 4.70 GHz, provides ample processing power for a turn-based tactics game. The CPU's benchmarks—21645 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 3055 in single-core—indicate it ranks in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 165 FPS, which shows the CPU is not holding back the GPU at lower resolutions. However, the consistent percentage drops across resolutions confirm that Hard West's rendering load scales with pixel count, and the RTX 5050 cannot maintain playable framerates at 4K Ultra.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the RTX 5050 delivers strong performance across all presets. Low settings produce an average of 165 FPS, which is the highest measurement in the entire dataset. Medium settings yield 135 FPS average with a minimum of 115 FPS and maximum of 155 FPS. High settings drop to 104 FPS average, and Ultra settings produce 78 FPS average. All 1080p presets exceed the 60 FPS threshold, making this resolution the sweet spot for the combo.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance remains playable but with clear degradation. Low settings deliver 104 FPS average, Medium produces 86 FPS with a minimum of 73 FPS and maximum of 98 FPS, High drops to 66 FPS, and Ultra falls to 49 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 73 FPS indicates the combo can maintain smooth gameplay even during demanding scenes, but the Ultra preset's 49 FPS average falls below the 60 FPS target.

At 3840x2160, the RTX 5050 struggles to maintain playable framerates. Low settings produce 55 FPS average, which is close to but not above 60 FPS. Medium settings yield 45 FPS average with a minimum of 38 FPS and maximum of 52 FPS. High settings drop to 34 FPS, and Ultra settings produce just 26 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 38 FPS suggests noticeable stuttering may occur during intense moments. None of the 4K presets achieve a consistently smooth experience.

The data shows that the Medium preset at 1080p offers the best balance of performance and quality, with 135 FPS average and a minimum of 115 FPS. At 1440p, the Medium preset's 86 FPS average with a 73 FPS minimum is the most reliable option for higher resolution gameplay. For 4K, Low settings at 55 FPS average are the only viable option, though still below the 60 FPS target.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F belongs to the Core 14th Gen series, based on the Raptor Lake architecture (specifically Raptor Lake-R refresh). It is manufactured on Intel's 10 nm process with a die size of 215 mm² and fits the Intel Socket 1700. The CPU has 10 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. Its cache hierarchy includes 80 KB L1 per core, 1.25 MB L2 per core, and 20 MB shared L3 cache. The CPU supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory in dual-channel configuration, with ECC memory support enabled.

In Hard West, the CPU's role is secondary to the GPU, as evidenced by the resolution scaling data. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21645 and single-core score of 3055 demonstrate strong processing power. Its Passmark multi-thread score of 25470 and single-thread score of 3701 further confirm its capability. The CPU ranks in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 32279.

The nearest CPU rivals show remarkably similar performance. The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U scores 32233 (0.1% behind), the Intel Core i9-11900 scores 32226 (0.2% behind), the AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS scores 32354 (0.2% ahead), and the Intel Core i7-12800H scores 32121 (0.5% behind). This tight grouping suggests the i5-14400F provides competitive processing power for Hard West's turn-based logic, pathfinding, and AI computations.

The fact that the combo achieves 165 FPS at 1080p Low indicates the CPU is not a bottleneck at lower resolutions. Even at 4K, where the GPU is clearly the limiting factor, the CPU's 10 cores and 4.70 GHz boost clock ensure the game's simulation and logic layers run without CPU-induced frame drops. The CPU's Passmark physics score of 1523 and floating-point math score of 61319 further support its capability for the game's calculations.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the Medium preset at 1920x1080 provides the best overall experience. With an average of 135 FPS and a minimum of 115 FPS, this configuration offers a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS threshold while maintaining visual quality. The maximum of 155 FPS indicates headroom for demanding scenes. For players prioritizing maximum frame rates, the Low preset at 1080p delivers 165 FPS average, but the visual compromise may not be worth the 30 FPS gain over Medium.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset is the recommended choice. The 86 FPS average with a 73 FPS minimum ensures smooth gameplay, while the 98 FPS maximum shows the combo can handle less demanding scenarios without issue. The High preset at 1440p drops to 66 FPS average, which is playable but leaves less margin for frame drops. The Ultra preset at 1440p falls to 49 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target and not recommended.

For 4K resolution, the data suggests that only Low settings are viable. The 55 FPS average at 3840x2160 Low is close to the 60 FPS target but does not quite reach it. The Medium preset at 4K drops to 45 FPS average with a 38 FPS minimum, which could result in noticeable stuttering. High and Ultra presets at 4K produce 34 FPS and 26 FPS respectively, which are not playable for most users. Given these results, 4K gaming with this combo requires accepting either Low settings or a sub-60 FPS experience.

The pattern across resolutions indicates that the RTX 5050's 8 GB GDDR6 memory and 320.0 GB/s bandwidth are the limiting factors at higher settings. The Medium preset's performance at 1080p and 1440p suggests it is the optimal balance for this hardware combination, providing both visual fidelity and smooth gameplay.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-14400F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 combination ranks 1802nd out of 2949 tested combos in Hard West, placing it in the 61st percentile of all configurations in the database. This mid-tier ranking reflects the RTX 5050's position as a 66th-percentile GPU paired with an 83rd-percentile CPU, where the GPU's limitations at 4K drag down the overall ranking.

The combo's ranking is influenced more by the GPU than the CPU. The RTX 5050's nearest GPU rivals—the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL, AMD Radeon HD 8970M, AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT, and NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile—all score within 1.6% of the RTX 5050 in average benchmark score, suggesting similar gaming performance. The CPU's nearest rivals are even closer in score, with all four falling within 0.5% of the i5-14400F's average benchmark score.

In the context of Hard West, the combo's 1802nd rank out of 2949 indicates it outperforms roughly 39% of tested configurations. This is consistent with the measured FPS data, which shows strong 1080p performance and adequate 1440p performance, but weak 4K performance. The game's turn-based nature means that frame rates above 60 FPS are not strictly necessary for enjoyable gameplay, so the combo's 1080p Medium performance at 135 FPS provides a comfortable experience.

The ranking also reflects the hardware's overall balance. The i5-14400F's strong multi-threaded performance (21645 in Cinebench R23) ensures the game's AI and simulation layers run smoothly, while the RTX 5050's 13.17 TFLOPS FP32 performance handles the rendering load at lower resolutions. However, the 4K results demonstrate that this combo is not designed for ultra-high-resolution gaming, and users should target 1080p or 1440p for the best experience.