Hard West

Hard West, a turn-based tactics title from 2015, proves remarkably scalable on the Intel Core i5-14600K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER combination. The measured data reveals a system that is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions, yet capable of delivering extremely high frame rates at 1080p, making the experience highly dependent on the player's choice of display and settings.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent, clearly identifying the GPU as the primary bottleneck in this pairing. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 99 FPS at 1920x1080 to 62 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 37%. The slide continues to 33 FPS at 3840x2160, which is a 67% decline from the 1080p result. This pattern strongly indicates that the RTX 2060 SUPER's rendering capabilities are being saturated as pixel count increases.

The scaling behavior at Low settings is even more pronounced. The game runs at 157 FPS at 1080p, drops to 99 FPS at 1440p, and settles at 52 FPS at 4K. The fact that the 4K Low setting (52 FPS) is still slower than the 1080p Ultra setting (74 FPS) underscores how drastically the resolution increase impacts the GPU workload. The data suggests that the CPU, with its high core count and boost clocks, is not the limiting factor in these scenarios; otherwise, the frame rate would remain more constant across resolutions.

The gap between Low and Ultra settings at each resolution remains relatively consistent, but the absolute cost of 4K is undeniable. Moving from Medium to Ultra at 4K costs 18 FPS (from 43 to 25), while the same settings change at 1080p costs 54 FPS (from 128 to 74). This shows that while the relative cost of Ultra is high, the sheer pixel throughput of 4K is what pushes the RTX 2060 SUPER to its limits, resulting in sub-60 FPS averages on all but the Low preset. For a smooth 4K experience, the data suggests the player must make significant compromises, as even Medium settings only achieve 43 FPS.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600K is a 14-core, 20-thread processor with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz, based on the Raptor Lake architecture. Its benchmark scores are impressive, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 24491 and a single-core score of 2064. This processing power is more than sufficient to feed the RTX 2060 SUPER in a game like Hard West, which is not known for demanding complex AI or physics simulations that would stress the CPU.

In the measured data, the CPU's role is best understood by observing the frame rate differences across resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 157 FPS. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect this number to stay near that level even at 4K Low, but it drops to 52 FPS. This demonstrates that the GPU is the limiting component in this configuration. The i5-14600K, which sits in the 90th percentile of all CPUs, is likely providing frames far faster than the GPU can render them at higher resolutions.

The processor's high single-thread performance, evidenced by its Geekbench single-core score of 2491, ensures that game logic and draw calls are processed quickly. Even with 14 cores available, the game likely relies on a few threads for its core loop, and the i5-14600K's boost clock of 5.30 GHz provides the necessary responsiveness to avoid stutters. The data shows that in this specific pairing, the CPU is a capable partner that allows the GPU to be the sole determinant of performance scaling.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS, the optimal settings depend entirely on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For 1080p displays, the Ultra preset is the clear choice, delivering an average of 74 FPS. This provides a smooth and visually rich experience without any need for compromise. If the player prioritizes maximum frame rates, the Low preset at 1080p offers 157 FPS, but the visual fidelity loss is substantial for a game that relies on atmosphere.

At 1440p, the High preset is the best balance, achieving 62 FPS. This stays above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay while maintaining a high level of graphical detail. The Medium preset at 81 FPS is also viable for those who prefer a higher refresh rate, but the drop from High to Medium represents a significant visual downgrade for a 19 FPS gain. The Ultra preset at 47 FPS is not recommended for a tactics game where you may want to pan the camera smoothly, as it dips below the standard playability threshold.

For 4K, the data presents a challenging scenario. The High preset averages 33 FPS and Ultra averages 25 FPS, both of which are too low for a comfortable experience. The Medium preset, with an average of 43 FPS and a minimum of 36 FPS, is the highest playable option. The Low preset at 52 FPS is the only way to get closer to a smooth 60 FPS experience, but it requires accepting the lowest graphical fidelity. The best experience at 4K per the measured rows is the Medium preset, as it offers a playable frame rate while retaining more visual features than Low.

FAQ

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

A: No. The measured data shows that at 3840x2160 with High settings, the average frame rate is 33 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay. Even Medium settings only achieve 43 FPS, so 4K requires a significant settings compromise.

Q: What is the best resolution for the Intel Core i5-14600K and RTX 2060 SUPER to play Hard West?

A: The benchmark results indicate that 1920x1080 is the optimal resolution. At this resolution, the system can run the Ultra preset at an average of 74 FPS, providing a high-fidelity and smooth experience. The 2560x1440 resolution is also viable with High settings at 62 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this game?

A: The data clearly indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. As resolution increases from 1080p to 4K, frame rates drop dramatically across all settings, showing that the RTX 2060 SUPER is being pushed harder. The CPU's performance is sufficient to avoid bottlenecking the GPU.

Q: How much faster is the Low preset compared to Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 157 FPS, while the Ultra preset achieves 74 FPS. This means the Low preset is more than twice as fast, offering a 83 FPS advantage over Ultra.

Q: What kind of frame rate stability can I expect at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the system produces an average of 81 FPS, with a minimum of 69 FPS and a maximum of 93 FPS. This indicates a stable performance window that stays well above 60 FPS.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is the definitive performance driver in this configuration. With 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, it provides a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. Its boost clock of 1650 MHz and 2176 shading units deliver a FP32 performance of 7.181 TFLOPS. The benchmark data shows that this GPU is the primary factor in determining frame rates, as its workload scales directly with resolution.

The GPU's performance percentile of 62% places it in the mid-range tier, and its average benchmark score of 18093 is competitive with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile, which is only 0.4% ahead. This context is important for understanding the 4K results. The GPU simply does not have the raw pixel throughput to maintain high frame rates at 3840x2160, as evidenced by the 25 FPS average on the Ultra preset.

The 8 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for Hard West, a game from 2015, and the data does not suggest any memory-related stuttering or performance anomalies. The GPU's role is purely computational here. The scaling from 99 FPS at 1080p High to 33 FPS at 4K High is a direct result of the RTX 2060 SUPER's fillrate and shader processing limits. To achieve higher frame rates at 4K, the data suggests that a more powerful GPU than the RTX 2060 SUPER is required.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete set of measured frame rates provides a clear picture of performance scaling.

At 1920x1080, the system excels across all settings. The Low preset delivers an average of 157 FPS, which drops to 128 FPS on Medium (with a minimum of 109 FPS and maximum of 148 FPS). High settings still manage a very smooth 99 FPS average. The Ultra preset, while the most demanding, still produces a highly playable 74 FPS average.

At 2560x1440, performance remains strong but begins to show the GPU's strain. Low settings average 99 FPS. The Medium preset averages 81 FPS, with a range between 69 and 93 FPS. High settings drop to a 62 FPS average, which is still above the 60 FPS threshold. The Ultra preset falls to 47 FPS, indicating that this setting is too demanding for a consistently smooth experience at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, performance becomes the primary challenge. The Low preset averages 52 FPS, which is the only setting that approaches playability. Medium settings drop to 43 FPS (minimum 36 FPS, maximum 49 FPS). High settings fall to 33 FPS, and the Ultra preset bottoms out at 25 FPS. These numbers confirm that 4K resolution is not a viable option for High or Ultra settings with this hardware combination, and even Low settings will not maintain a stable 60 FPS.