Hard West

The Intel Core i5-14400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 ranks 57th out of 1699 tested combos in Hard West, placing it in the top 3.4% of all configurations. This is a strong result for a turn-based tactics title, indicating that the pairing delivers top-tier performance headroom. The ranking reflects not just raw GPU power but also the CPU's ability to feed frames in a genre that, while not graphically intense by modern standards, still benefits from high minimum frame pacing. The data shows this combo is positioned well above the median, making it a high-end option for players who want maximum settings at high resolutions without compromise.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's 57th place out of 1699 configurations places it in the 96.6th percentile, which is a decisive endorsement of its capability. This is not a mid-pack result; it is a top-tier finish that puts the system ahead of the vast majority of tested hardware pairings. The ranking suggests that the RTX 5080's substantial compute resources are being effectively utilized, and the i5-14400F is not acting as a bottleneck. In a game like Hard West, where the action is turn-based and the visual load is moderate, this combo's rank is more about ensuring absolute smoothness and enabling maxed-out settings at 4K than about chasing ultra-high refresh rates. The data implies that the pairing is overqualified for the game's demands, but that overqualification translates into a flawless experience. The delta between this combo and the rest of the field is significant; only 56 other combinations out of 1699 outperform it, which speaks to the balance of the 10-core, 16-thread CPU and the 16 GB GDDR7 graphics card.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications directly explain the measured FPS. It comes with 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This is ample for Hard West's textures and assets, even at 4K. The GPU's boost clock of 2617 MHz and base clock of 2295 MHz, combined with 10752 shading units, provide the raw shader throughput needed to push high pixel rates. The data shows the GPU's pixel rate is 293.1 GPixel/s and texture rate is 879.3 GTexel/s, which are the engines driving the frame rates in this game. Its 89th percentile ranking among all GPUs further cements its role as a top-tier part. In Hard West, the GPU's workload scales directly with resolution and settings, and the measured FPS reflects that. The 16 GB frame buffer is particularly relevant at 4K Ultra, where the game's asset loading can tax smaller memory pools; here, there is no such concern. The RTX 5080's FP32 throughput of 56.28 TFLOPS also ensures that any compute-heavy effects are handled without stutter.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling across resolutions reveals a classic GPU-bound pattern, with the CPU maintaining its lead at lower resolutions. At 1080p High, the combo achieves 220.6 FPS, which jumps to 264.6 FPS at Low. Moving to 1440p High, the average drops to 140.6 FPS, and at 4K High, it falls to 70.4 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 4K at High settings shows a 68% reduction in frame rate (from 220.6 to 70.4 FPS), which is a steep drop that clearly indicates the GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions. Conversely, the CPU's role is more apparent at 1080p, where the difference between Low (264.6 FPS) and High (220.6 FPS) is only 44 FPS, suggesting that the i5-14400F can keep up with the GPU's demands even at lower settings. The data shows that the system is not CPU-bound until you reach very high frame rates; the 1080p Low result of 264.6 FPS is likely near the CPU's practical limit. At 4K, the GPU is unequivocally the bottleneck, as the frame rates are far below what the CPU could theoretically deliver. This pattern is typical of a high-end GPU paired with a mid-range CPU, where the GPU's performance ceiling is the primary constraint.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data suggests that the High preset offers the best balance of visual fidelity and performance across all resolutions. At 1080p, High delivers 220.6 FPS, which is well above the 144 Hz refresh rate most gamers use, while Ultra drops to 166.6 FPS—still smooth but with diminishing returns for the extra visual cost. At 1440p, High (140.6 FPS) is the sweet spot, as it maintains a high refresh rate experience, whereas Ultra (105.8 FPS) is still playable but starts to dip below the 144 FPS threshold. At 4K, High (70.4 FPS) is the recommended choice, as it provides a solid 60+ FPS experience, while Ultra (51.7 FPS) falls below 60 FPS, which can be noticeable in a tactical game where camera panning and unit animations need to be fluid. The Medium preset offers a marginal improvement over High (96 FPS at 4K vs. 70.4 FPS), but the visual downgrade is likely not worth the 26 FPS gain. Low settings are unnecessary for this hardware, as even High provides excellent performance. The data indicates that High is the "best experience" preset because it maximizes visual quality while remaining comfortably above the 60 FPS baseline at 4K and well above 100 FPS at lower resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers exceptional performance across all settings. Low averages 264.6 FPS, Medium 245.6 FPS, High 220.6 FPS, and Ultra 166.6 FPS. These numbers are all well above the refresh rates of most monitors, making the choice of settings purely a matter of visual preference. The difference between Low and Ultra is 98 FPS, which is significant, but even the lowest setting is overkill for smooth gameplay. At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but start to show more variance. Low averages 222 FPS, Medium 179.5 FPS, High 140.6 FPS, and Ultra 105.8 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra is 116.2 FPS, indicating that the GPU is working harder at this resolution. At 3840x2160, the performance is still strong but the scaling is more pronounced. Low averages 115.8 FPS, Medium 96 FPS, High 70.4 FPS, and Ultra 51.7 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K is the only setting that falls below 60 FPS, which is a notable threshold for a smooth experience. The data shows a clear progression: at 1080p, the system is almost always CPU-bound; at 1440p, it is a balance; at 4K, it is definitively GPU-bound.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F plays a supporting but crucial role in this combo. With 10 cores and 16 threads, a boost clock of 4.70 GHz, and a base clock of 2.50 GHz, it provides ample single-threaded performance for game logic and AI calculations in Hard West. The CPU's 20 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB per-core L2 cache help reduce memory latency, which is important for turn-based tactics where AI decision-making can cause frame hitches. Its benchmark scores are solid: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21914 and a single-core score of 3093, placing it in the 88th percentile of all CPUs. The data shows that the CPU is not a bottleneck in this game; at 1080p Low, the system hits 264.6 FPS, which is likely near the engine's or CPU's limit. The CPU's performance relative to its nearest rivals is telling: it scores within 0.2% of the AMD Ryzen 7 250 and Intel Core i7-13705H, and it is effectively tied with the Intel Core i7-12800H (delta 0%). This indicates that the i5-14400F is a well-balanced part that holds its own against higher-tier mobile and desktop chips. In Hard West, the CPU's job is to keep the game logic running smoothly, and the benchmark results show it does so without issue, allowing the RTX 5080 to operate at full capacity. The 65W TDP also suggests it runs cool, which helps maintain sustained boost clocks over long sessions.