Hard West

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS for this combo at 1080p with High settings in Hard West?

A: At 1920x1080 with High settings, the Intel Core i5-14600KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER delivers an average of 180 FPS. This makes the game extremely fluid at this resolution, suggesting that the combination is far from being stressed.

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

A: The Intel Core i5-14600KF has an average benchmark score of 49,394, placing it just 0.3% above the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 and 0.4% above the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G. It trails the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 388 by 0.8%, but sits ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 by 0.8%.

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking among all tested graphics cards?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER scores in the 83rd percentile of all GPUs, which indicates it performs better than the vast majority of graphics cards tested. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 24 GB, scores virtually identically, with a delta of only -0.1%.

Q: What is the difference in average FPS between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, dropping from Ultra to Low settings increases the average frame rate from 85 FPS to 181 FPS. That is a substantial 96 FPS difference, or roughly a 113% performance uplift when sacrificing visual fidelity.

Q: Does the measured data include any frame time variance for the Medium preset?

A: Yes, the Medium preset at 1920x1080 shows a minimum FPS of 199 and a maximum of 269, with an average of 234 FPS. At 2560x1440 Medium, the range is 126 to 170 FPS, and at 3840x2160 Medium, the range is 66 to 89 FPS.

Q: What is the combo's overall rank among all tested system combinations?

A: The combination of the Intel Core i5-14600KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER ranks 539th out of 3,722 total tested combos in Hard West. This places it comfortably in the top 15% of all systems tested for this game.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600KF is a 14-core, 20-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. It features 24 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB of L2 cache per core, with support for both DDR4 and DDR5 memory across a dual-channel bus. This is a high-end desktop part, evidenced by its 90th percentile ranking among all CPUs, meaning it outperforms 90% of processors in the database.

In the context of Hard West, a turn-based tactics game, the CPU's role is interesting. The game's genre typically relies more on logical processing and AI calculations than on raw physics or particle effects, which means the 14 cores and 20 threads could be leveraged for complex turn resolution and enemy pathfinding. However, the measured FPS data suggests that the CPU is rarely the limiting factor. At 1080p Low, the system hits 285 FPS, which is an extremely high frame rate that would tax even the most capable processors. The fact that the CPU scores 32,544 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 4,594 in single-core tests indicates it has ample headroom for this workload.

The boost clock of 5.30 GHz is particularly relevant for Hard West, as turn-based games often have single-threaded bottlenecks during AI decision-making or animation processing. The high single-core performance, reflected in a Geekbench single-core score of 2,445, ensures that these sequential tasks are handled swiftly. The 125W TDP and unlocked multiplier suggest this is a performance-focused chip, but in this game, the data implies that the CPU is not the primary driver of frame rate differences between settings presets.

The CPU's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks include the AMD Ryzen 9 7900, which scores nearly identically at 49,228 (a 0.3% delta), and the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 388, which is slightly faster at 49,796 (a -0.8% delta). This means the i5-14600KF is positioned at the very top of its performance tier, trading blows with flagship alternatives. For Hard West specifically, such a processor would ensure that the game's logic layer never introduces stutter, even at the highest settings where the GPU is more likely to be the bottleneck.

Settings Recommendations

Analyzing the measured FPS data, the Medium preset emerges as the most balanced option for this hardware combination. At 1920x1080, Medium delivers an average of 234 FPS with a minimum of 199 FPS, ensuring smooth gameplay even during intense on-screen action. At 2560x1440, Medium maintains an average of 148 FPS with a minimum of 126 FPS, which is still well above the 60 FPS threshold for comfortable play. Even at 3840x2160, Medium achieves an average of 78 FPS with a minimum of 66 FPS, making it the only preset that stays consistently above 60 FPS at 4K.

The High preset is also viable, but the data shows it comes with a significant performance cost relative to Medium. At 1080p, High averages 180 FPS (54 FPS lower than Medium), and at 1440p, it drops to 114 FPS (34 FPS lower). At 4K, High falls to exactly 60 FPS, which is playable but leaves no headroom for frame drops. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, with average FPS figures of 135 at 1080p, 85 at 1440p, and just 45 at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is below the 60 FPS threshold, making it potentially less desirable for smooth gameplay.

For the best experience, the Medium preset appears to be the sweet spot, especially for users with high-refresh-rate monitors at 1080p or 1440p. The minimum FPS values at Medium are notably higher than the averages for Ultra, indicating that Medium offers a more consistent frame pacing. At 1080p, the jump from Medium to High costs 54 FPS, and from High to Ultra costs another 45 FPS, suggesting diminishing returns in visual fidelity for the performance hit. Given that Hard West is a turn-based tactics game where visual clarity matters more than raw frame rate, Medium at 1440p (148 FPS) or even High at 1440p (114 FPS) would provide an excellent balance of image quality and smoothness.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-14600KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER ranks 539th out of 3,722 tested system combinations in Hard West. This places the system in the top 14.5% of all tested combos, which is a strong showing for a mid-to-high-end desktop setup. The rank reflects the system's ability to handle the game's demands, and given the measured FPS data, the ranking makes sense—this is a system that can easily push 60 FPS at 4K with Medium settings and far exceed that at lower resolutions.

The rank of 539 is notable because it indicates that while this is a fast system, there are still 538 combinations that perform better in this specific game. Those combinations likely include more powerful GPUs or CPUs, but the data does not specify which. What is clear is that the RTX 4070 SUPER, with its 83rd percentile GPU ranking, is a capable card, and the i5-14600KF, with its 90th percentile CPU ranking, is equally strong. The fact that the combo ranks 539th suggests that Hard West is not particularly demanding on the CPU, and the GPU is the primary determinant of final FPS numbers.

This rank also implies that for Hard West, the system is not overkill—there is room for improvement, but the measured FPS values at 1080p and 1440p are so high that the user experience is unlikely to be negatively impacted. The gap between this combo and the top-ranked systems is probably most evident at 4K Ultra, where this system averages 45 FPS, but that is an extreme setting. The data shows that the system's performance is well-balanced, with no obvious bottleneck at any resolution, as evidenced by the smooth scaling of FPS from 1080p to 4K.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture using TSMC's 5 nm process, with a chip size of 294 mm² and 35,800 million transistors. It features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. The GPU has a base clock of 1980 MHz and a boost clock of 2475 MHz, with memory running at 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective). These specifications place it in the 83rd percentile of all GPUs, making it a high-end part that is now end-of-life, having been succeeded by the GeForce 50 series.

In Hard West, the GPU's role is central to the FPS results. The measured data shows a clear scaling pattern: as resolution increases, FPS drops proportionally, which is typical of a GPU-bound scenario. At 1080p, the GPU is able to produce 285 FPS on Low settings, but at 4K, the same settings yield only 95 FPS. This indicates that the GPU is the primary driver of performance differences, especially at higher resolutions where the 12 GB of VRAM and 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth are taxed more heavily.

The RTX 4070 SUPER's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks include the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 24 GB, which scores 43,262 (a -0.1% delta), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile, which scores 43,667 (a -1% delta). This means the desktop RTX 4070 SUPER is competitive with even a mobile flagship, which is impressive given the power constraints. For Hard West, the GPU's 56 RT cores and 224 tensor cores are likely underutilized, as the game is not known for ray tracing, but the raw rasterization performance, represented by 7,168 shading units, is what drives the high FPS numbers.

The memory configuration is also worth noting. With 12 GB of VRAM, the GPU has sufficient capacity for Hard West at any resolution, as the game's textures and geometry are unlikely to exceed this limit. The 192-bit bus width and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth ensure that data can be fed to the processing units quickly, which is crucial for maintaining high frame rates. The data suggests that the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K Ultra, where the average FPS drops to 45, but at lower settings, the GPU has ample headroom to push well beyond 60 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the system's performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 285 FPS, which is the highest recorded value in the dataset. The Medium preset at 1080p averages 234 FPS, with minimum and maximum values of 199 and 269 FPS, respectively. High settings at 1080p yield 180 FPS, while Ultra settings drop to 135 FPS. These numbers indicate that at 1080p, the system is capable of exceeding 60 FPS even at the most demanding settings, with a 150 FPS difference between Low and Ultra.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance scales down but remains strong. Low settings average 181 FPS, Medium averages 148 FPS (with a range of 126 to 170 FPS), High averages 114 FPS, and Ultra averages 85 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 96 FPS, which is proportionally similar to the 1080p gap. At this resolution, the system still maintains an average above 60 FPS on the Ultra preset, making it a viable option for high-refresh-rate gaming.

At 3840x2160, the performance drop becomes more pronounced. Low settings average 95 FPS, Medium averages 78 FPS (with a range of 66 to 89 FPS), High averages exactly 60 FPS, and Ultra averages 45 FPS. The transition from 1440p to 4K reduces FPS by roughly 47-50% across all settings, which is a significant hit. The Ultra preset at 4K is the only tested configuration that falls below the 60 FPS threshold, suggesting that users seeking 4K gaming should stick to Medium or High settings for a smooth experience.

The data also reveals that the Medium preset consistently provides the highest minimum FPS values, which is important for gameplay stability. At 1080p, the minimum FPS for Medium is 199, at 1440p it is 126, and at 4K it is 66. These minimums are higher than the average FPS of the next preset up (High), indicating that Medium offers the most consistent frame pacing. The lack of min/max data for Low, High, and Ultra presets limits analysis, but the available numbers suggest that Medium is the best choice for avoiding stutter.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K provides insight into the system's bottleneck characteristics. At Medium settings, the average FPS drops from 234 at 1080p to 148 at 1440p, and then to 78 at 4K. This represents a 37% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 47% reduction from 1440p to 4K. The total drop from 1080p to 4K is 67%, which aligns with the theoretical pixel count increase from 2.07 million to 8.29 million pixels (a 4x increase). Since the FPS does not drop by a full 75% (which would be 58.5 FPS), the scaling is sub-linear, indicating that the system is not purely GPU-limited at lower resolutions.

At High settings, the scaling is slightly different: 180 FPS at 1080p, 114 FPS at 1440p, and 60 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 37%, and from 1440p to 4K is 47%, mirroring the Medium preset's scaling. The fact that High settings at 4K hit exactly 60 FPS suggests that the GPU is fully utilized at this point, and any further increase in resolution or settings would push the system below the playable threshold. At Ultra settings, the scaling is 135 FPS at 1080p, 85 FPS at 1440p, and 45 FPS at 4K, with a drop of 37% and 47% respectively, showing consistent behavior across presets.

The uniform scaling pattern indicates that the limiting component changes with resolution. At 1080p, the CPU's high single-thread performance (5.30 GHz boost) likely prevents it from becoming a bottleneck, allowing the GPU to run at its maximum potential. As resolution increases, the GPU becomes more heavily loaded, and the FPS drops accordingly. The fact that the scaling is consistent across all settings suggests that the GPU is the primary limiting factor at 4K, while at 1080p, the system is more balanced. This is supported by the CPU's 90th percentile ranking and the GPU's 83rd percentile ranking—the CPU has slightly more headroom, so it is less likely to constrain performance at lower resolutions where the GPU has more capacity to spare.