Hard West

# Hard West — Intel Core i5-14600KF + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090

This combination of the Intel Core i5-14600KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 delivers exceptional frame rates in Hard West, a turn-based tactics title from 2015. The measured data reveals a system that is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions, yet the CPU's strong single-thread performance ensures no bottleneck at 1080p. With an average FPS ranging from 57 at 4K Ultra to 302 at 1080p Low, this setup demonstrates the full spectrum of performance scaling across the game's preset options.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial across all settings, revealing a clear shift in the limiting component. At High settings, the average FPS decreases from 228 at 1920x1080 to 144 at 2560x1440, then further to 76 at 3840x2160. This represents a 36.8% reduction moving from 1080p to 1440p, and a 47.2% reduction from 1440p to 4K. The scaling pattern suggests that the RTX 4090's pixel throughput becomes the dominant constraint as resolution climbs, with the GPU's 443.5 GPixel/s pixel rate and 1.01 TB/s memory bandwidth being taxed heavily at 4K.

At Ultra settings, the scaling is even more pronounced. The average FPS drops from 171 at 1080p to 108 at 1440p (a 36.8% decrease), and then to 57 at 4K (a 47.2% decrease from 1440p). This consistent percentage drop across settings indicates that the resolution scaling is uniform regardless of quality preset, which points to a fixed rendering cost per pixel. The 4K Ultra result of 57 FPS is the lowest measured value in the entire dataset, showing that even the flagship RTX 4090 faces challenges with this game's most demanding configuration at maximum resolution.

The Low settings show a different scaling profile. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 302 FPS, dropping to 229 at 1440p and 120 at 4K. The reduction from 1080p to 1440p is 24.2%, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 47.6%. The steeper decline at higher resolutions when using Low settings suggests that the CPU's 5.30 GHz boost clock is sufficient to maintain high frame rates at lower resolutions, but the GPU's rendering workload becomes the bottleneck as pixel count increases. This behavior is characteristic of a game that was released in 2015, where the rendering pipeline was designed for hardware that is now several generations old.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600KF features 14 cores and 20 threads, with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. This Raptor Lake Refresh processor, built on a 10 nm process, demonstrates strong single-thread performance with a Geekbench single-core score of 2445 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4594. In a turn-based tactics game like Hard West, where the simulation and AI logic may not scale perfectly across many cores, this single-thread capability is likely the more critical factor.

The CPU's 24 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache provide ample on-die storage for game logic data. The PassMark single-thread score of 4273 and the Geekbench multi-core score of 17085 indicate that while multi-threaded workloads are handled competently, the processor's strength lies in its per-core efficiency. The 125W TDP and unlocked multiplier suggest that this is a desktop part designed for performance, and the benchmark percentile of 90 versus all CPUs confirms its position in the upper echelon.

At 1080p Low, where the system reaches 302 FPS, the CPU is almost certainly the limiting factor. The RTX 4090 is capable of far higher frame rates, but the game's engine, designed for 2015-era hardware, cannot process turns and render frames faster than the CPU allows. The fact that the difference between 1080p Low (302 FPS) and 1080p Medium (281 FPS) is only 7% suggests that the CPU can handle the incremental load of medium-quality settings without significant performance degradation. However, the jump to 1080p Ultra at 171 FPS, a 39.2% drop from Medium, indicates that the GPU begins to take on more work at higher quality presets, even at this resolution.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090, built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process at TSMC, brings 16,384 shading units, 512 TMUs, and 176 ROPs to the table. Its 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus delivers 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth, which is critical for high-resolution textures and effects. The base clock of 2235 MHz and boost clock of 2520 MHz, combined with 82.58 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, make this the most powerful consumer GPU in the dataset.

The GPU's benchmark results are impressive, with a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 9223 and a PassMark G3D score of 38194. The Geekbench OpenCL score of 255416 and Vulkan score of 271631 indicate strong compute performance that benefits modern game engines. However, Hard West, released in 2015, likely uses older DirectX 11 rendering paths, which may not fully utilize the RTX 4090's advanced features like ray tracing cores or tensor cores.

The memory configuration of 24 GB is far more than Hard West requires, meaning VRAM capacity is not a constraint at any resolution or setting. The 384-bit memory bus and 1.01 TB/s bandwidth ensure that texture streaming and frame buffer operations are never starved. The GPU's 88th percentile ranking versus all GPUs and its average benchmark score of 60347 place it near the top of the field, with the nearest rival being the Intel Arc Pro A60 at 60326, a delta of just 0%.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers exceptional performance across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 302 FPS, which is the highest measured value in the entire dataset. Medium settings achieve 281 FPS with a minimum of 239 and maximum of 323, showing consistent frame delivery. High settings drop to 228 FPS, while Ultra settings yield 171 FPS. These numbers indicate that at 1080p, the system is primarily CPU-limited, as the RTX 4090 should theoretically render this game at much higher frame rates.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains strong but shows the GPU beginning to assert its influence. Low settings average 229 FPS, a 24.2% reduction from 1080p. Medium settings achieve 188 FPS with a range of 160 to 216, while High settings produce 144 FPS. Ultra settings drop to 108 FPS, which is still highly playable for a turn-based tactics game. The 1440p results demonstrate that the RTX 4090 has ample headroom for this resolution, with even the most demanding settings maintaining triple-digit frame rates.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck. Low settings average 120 FPS, which is a 47.6% drop from 1440p. Medium settings achieve 99 FPS with a minimum of 84 and maximum of 113, showing some frame time variance at 4K. High settings produce 76 FPS, while Ultra settings drop to 57 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is the only configuration that falls below 60 FPS, suggesting that this setting combination pushes the RTX 4090 to its limits in this older game engine. The scaling from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings shows a 66.7% reduction in average FPS, which is substantial but expected given the fourfold increase in pixel count.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-14600KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 combination ranks 91st out of 3722 tested combos in Hard West, placing it in the top 2.4% of all configurations. This high ranking is unsurprising given the hardware involved, but the specific position relative to other combos reveals interesting insights. The CPU's 90th percentile ranking versus all CPUs and the GPU's 88th percentile ranking versus all GPUs suggest that this combo should perform near the top of the list, yet the 91st position indicates that other combinations with slightly different hardware profiles achieve better results in this specific game.

The rank of 91 out of 3722 means that 90 combos outperform this setup in Hard West. Given that the RTX 4090 is the most powerful GPU in the consumer market, those better-performing combos likely feature CPUs with even stronger single-thread performance or higher memory bandwidth configurations. The CPU's nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 with an average score of 49228 (0.3% delta) and the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G at 49196 (0.4% delta), suggesting that the i5-14600KF's average benchmark score of 49394 is competitive but not dominant.

For the GPU, the nearest rivals are the Intel Arc Pro A60 with a 0% delta and the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 at 0.3% delta, while the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M trails by 2.5% and the AMD Radeon PRO V710 leads by 2.9%. These small deltas indicate that the RTX 4090's benchmark performance is closely matched by several professional-grade GPUs, although none of these rivals are likely to appear in gaming configurations alongside the i5-14600KF.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance for optimizing the gameplay experience in Hard West. At 4K resolution, the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance, with an average of 99 FPS and a minimum of 84 FPS that ensures smooth turn-based gameplay. The High preset at 4K drops to 76 FPS, which is still playable, but the 23.2% reduction from Medium may not justify the visual improvements. Ultra at 4K should be avoided, as the 57 FPS average falls below the 60 FPS threshold that many players consider the minimum for smooth gameplay.

At 1440p, the High preset at 144 FPS provides an excellent experience, with the Ultra preset at 108 FPS being the better choice for players who prioritize visual fidelity over maximum frame rates. The Medium preset at 188 FPS offers headroom for those with high-refresh-rate monitors, while Low at 229 FPS is unnecessary given the strong performance at higher settings. For 1080p, the Ultra preset at 171 FPS delivers the best visual experience without compromising playability, and even the most demanding configuration remains well above the refresh rates of standard monitors.

The data suggests that the game's engine, designed in 2015, does not scale perfectly with modern hardware. The relatively small differences between Low and Medium settings at 1080p (302 vs 281 FPS) compared to the larger drops at higher resolutions indicate that the GPU becomes more important as pixel count increases. Players with 4K displays should use Medium settings to maintain frame rates above 90 FPS, while those with 1440p or 1080p displays can comfortably use High or Ultra settings without concern.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Hard West?

A: At 2560x1440 with High settings, the system achieves 144 FPS, which offers an excellent balance of visual quality and performance. For 4K displays, Medium settings at 99 FPS provide the smoothest experience, while 1080p users can run Ultra at 171 FPS without issues.

Q: Does the RTX 4090's 24 GB VRAM matter for Hard West?

A: The 24 GB GDDR6X memory with 1.01 TB/s bandwidth far exceeds the requirements of this 2015 turn-based tactics game. The data shows no VRAM-related performance limitations at any resolution or setting, indicating that memory capacity is not a constraint.

Q: Why does 4K Ultra only achieve 57 FPS?

A: The 4K Ultra configuration places the heaviest load on the GPU, requiring the RTX 4090 to render 8.3 million pixels per frame with maximum quality effects. The 57 FPS average represents the GPU's throughput limit for this game's most demanding settings, which is still playable for turn-based gameplay.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested configurations?

A: This combination ranks 91st out of 3722 tested combos, placing it in the top 2.4% of all configurations tested in Hard West. This high ranking reflects the strong performance of both the CPU and GPU, though 90 other combos achieve better results.

Q: Is the i5-14600KF the limiting component at 1080p?

A: At 1080p Low, the system achieves 302 FPS, which suggests the CPU's 5.30 GHz boost clock and strong single-thread performance are the primary constraints at this resolution. The RTX 4090 is capable of higher frame rates, but the game's engine cannot process frames faster than the CPU allows.

Q: What settings should be used for a 144Hz monitor?

A: At 1440p, the High preset at 144 FPS matches a 144Hz refresh rate perfectly)Skip. For 4K displays, Medium settings at 99 FPS will not fully utilize a 144Hz monitor, but the turn-based gameplay does not require high frame rates for competitive advantage.