Hard West

The Intel Core i5-9400 and AMD Radeon RX 6600 combination in Hard West demonstrates a classic resolution-dependent shift in system bottleneck. At 1920x1080, the data shows a fluid and highly responsive experience, with the Low preset achieving an average of 143 FPS and the Medium preset hitting 118 FPS. As the resolution climbs to 2560x1440, these figures drop proportionally—Low falls to 91 FPS and Medium to 74 FPS—indicating that the GPU is beginning to take on more of the workload. The transition to 3840x2160 is stark: the Low preset manages only 48 FPS, and the Medium preset drops to 39 FPS with a minimum of 33 FPS. This steep decline from 1080p to 4K, where the Low preset loses roughly 66% of its frame rate, points squarely at the graphics card as the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions. The turn-based nature of the game means that even 30 FPS at 4K High is playable, but the data suggests that users targeting smooth visuals at 4K will need to make significant compromises.

The scaling pattern reveals that the CPU has ample headroom at lower resolutions. At 1080p, the frame rates are high enough that the six-core processor is keeping pace without becoming a constraint. However, the jump from 1080p to 1440p shows a near-linear reduction in performance across all settings, which is typical of a GPU-bound scenario. The most telling indicator is the Ultra preset: at 1080p it averages 68 FPS, at 1440p it drops to 43 FPS, and at 4K it falls to 22 FPS. This consistent degradation with each resolution increase confirms that the Radeon RX 6600's rendering pipeline is the bottleneck, not the processor. In turn-based tactics, where the action is not time-critical, the lower frame rates at 4K are less detrimental than in fast-paced genres, but the trend is unmistakable—the GPU is working at its limit when pixel count rises.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Hard West across three resolutions paints a clear picture of where the system's performance ceiling lies. Starting at 1920x1080, the combination of the i5-9400 and RX 6600 delivers excellent results: the Low preset reaches 143 FPS, Medium sits at 118 FPS, and even the demanding Ultra preset holds at 68 FPS. These numbers suggest that at 1080p, the system is balanced, with neither component fully saturated. Moving to 2560x1440, the performance drops are noticeable but manageable—Low falls to 91 FPS, Medium to 74 FPS, and Ultra to 43 FPS. This represents a reduction of approximately 36% for Low and 37% for Ultra, which is a substantial cost for the extra pixels but still leaves the game playable at all settings.

The most dramatic shift occurs at 3840x2160, where the frame rates collapse. The Low preset manages 48 FPS, Medium drops to 39 FPS with a minimum of 33 FPS, High falls to 30 FPS, and Ultra plummets to 22 FPS. This represents a loss of over 65% of the 1080p performance across all settings. The data indicates that the RX 6600, with its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 128-bit bus, is simply overwhelmed by the 4K pixel count. The game's rendering engine appears to scale poorly at this resolution, as the gap between Low and Ultra narrows from 75 FPS at 1080p to just 26 FPS at 4K. This compression of the settings range at higher resolutions is a clear sign that the GPU's compute and memory bandwidth are exhausted, making resolution the dominant factor in performance rather than graphical quality settings.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 is the workhorse in this pairing, and its specifications directly influence the Hard West results. The GPU features a base clock of 1626 MHz, a game clock of 2044 MHz, and a boost clock of 2491 MHz, which are the frequencies that determine how fast it can process the game's turn-based visuals. The 8 GB of GDDR6 memory operates at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) with a 128-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 224.0 GB/s. This memory configuration is adequate for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but the data shows it struggles at 4K. The 1792 shading units and 64 ROPs are responsible for the pixel throughput, and the measured 159.4 GPixel/s pixel rate is a theoretical limit that the game approaches at higher resolutions. The GPU's 8.928 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is a strong indicator of its raw compute ability, which is sufficient for Hard West's stylized graphics at lower resolutions but not for the pixel density of 4K.

The RX 6600's benchmark scores place it in the 63rd percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19036. Its nearest rivals in the database are the NVIDIA Quadro K6000 with a score of 19030 (0% delta), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Mobile at 19049 (-0.1% delta), and the NVIDIA RTX 2000 Ada Generation at 18954 (0.4% delta). This indicates that the RX 6600 sits in a competitive performance tier, but the Hard West data reveals its limitations. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra (22 FPS) is a direct consequence of the GPU's memory bandwidth and compute resources being spread too thin across 8.3 million pixels. The game at 1080p, however, plays into the GPU's strengths, allowing the boost clock to remain high and deliver the observed 143 FPS on Low settings. The launch MSRP of 329 USD reflects its mid-range positioning, and the benchmark results in this game align with that expectation—capable at mainstream resolutions, but out of its depth at 4K.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution to play Hard West with this hardware?*

A: The data suggests 1920x1080 is the sweet spot, where the Low preset achieves 143 FPS and even the Ultra preset maintains 68 FPS. At 2560x1440, performance remains playable with Medium at 74 FPS, but 4K requires significant settings compromises.

Q: How does the RX 6600 compare to its closest rivals in the database?

A: The RX 6600 has an average benchmark score of 19036, which is essentially tied with the NVIDIA Quadro K6000 (19030, 0% delta) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Mobile (19049, -0.1% delta). It is slightly ahead of the NVIDIA RTX 2000 Ada Generation (18954, 0.4% delta).

*Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in Hard West?*

A: At 1080p, the system appears balanced, but the steep FPS drops at higher resolutions—from 143 FPS at 1080p Low to 48 FPS at 4K Low—clearly indicate the GPU is the limiting factor. The six-core i5-9400 has enough headroom to feed the RX 6600 at lower resolutions.

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

A: The measured data shows an average of 74 FPS at 2560x1440 with Medium settings, with a minimum of 63 FPS and a maximum of 86 FPS. This is a smooth experience for a turn-based tactics game.

*Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Hard West?*

A: Yes, but with caveats. The Low preset averages 48 FPS, while Medium drops to 39 FPS and High to 30 FPS. The Ultra preset is not recommended, as it averages only 22 FPS. The game is turn-based, so these lower frame rates do not impact gameplay responsiveness.

Q: How does the i5-9400's benchmark performance compare to its rivals?

A: The i5-9400 has an average benchmark score of 2254, placing it in the 47th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-1068NG7, scores 2259 (-0.2% delta), while the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 scores 2246 (0.4% delta), showing they are nearly identical in synthetic tests.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of how the system performs across all settings and resolutions. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers a remarkable 143 FPS average, making it the fastest configuration tested. The Medium preset achieves 118 FPS with a minimum of 100 FPS and a maximum of 135 FPS, offering a smooth experience with additional visual fidelity. The High preset drops to 90 FPS, which is still excellent for any game genre. The Ultra preset, which represents the most demanding settings, maintains a respectable 68 FPS average, proving that the RX 6600 can handle the game's maximum visual quality at 1080p without issue.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance degrades consistently. The Low preset averages 91 FPS, which is a 36% reduction from 1080p. The Medium preset averages 74 FPS with a minimum of 63 FPS and a maximum of 86 FPS, indicating that there are occasional dips but the overall experience remains fluid. The High preset falls to 57 FPS, which is still playable but begins to show the strain of the higher pixel count. The Ultra preset at 1440p averages 43 FPS, a significant drop from 1080p and a sign that the GPU is nearing its limits. At 3840x2160, the results are more challenging. The Low preset averages 48 FPS, which is playable for a turn-based game. The Medium preset averages 39 FPS with a minimum of 33 FPS and a maximum of 45 FPS, showing that the frame rate can dip into the low 30s during demanding scenes. The High preset averages 30 FPS, right at the edge of playability, while the Ultra preset averages 22 FPS, which is below the threshold for a smooth experience.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a six-core, six-thread processor based on the Coffee Lake architecture, manufactured on a 14 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The processor features 64 KB of L1 cache per core, 256 KB of L2 cache per core, and 9 MB of shared L3 cache. This configuration provides solid single-threaded performance, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 935 and Geekbench single-core score of 1389. In a game like Hard West, which is turn-based and does not require the high frame rates of action titles, the CPU's role is to ensure that the game logic, AI, and rendering commands are processed without delays. The data shows that the i5-9400 is more than capable of this task, as the frame rates at 1080p are not limited by the processor.

The CPU's multi-threaded performance, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 6629 and a Geekbench multi-core score of 5141, is sufficient for the game's background tasks. Its nearest rivals in the database, including the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 (2259 avg score, -0.2% delta) and the Intel Core i3-10305 (2264 avg score, -0.4% delta), show that the i5-9400 sits in a competitive mid-range tier. The 47th percentile ranking indicates that it outperforms roughly half of all CPUs in the database. In the context of Hard West, the CPU's performance is not the limiting factor. The evidence for this is that as resolution increases, the frame rates drop dramatically despite the CPU's workload remaining constant. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the frame rates would remain similar across resolutions, but the data shows a clear decline from 143 FPS at 1080p Low to 48 FPS at 4K Low, confirming that the GPU is the primary constraint.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this hardware depend on the player's resolution and preference for visual quality. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset offers the best balance, delivering 118 FPS with a minimum of 100 FPS. This ensures a consistently smooth experience while providing better visual fidelity than the Low preset. The High preset at 90 FPS is also an excellent choice for those who prioritize graphics, and even the Ultra preset at 68 FPS is playable. For players at 2560x1440, the Low preset is the safest recommendation, with 91 FPS ensuring no frame rate drops. However, the Medium preset at 74 FPS is also viable, especially given the turn-based nature of the game where occasional dips to 63 FPS are not problematic. The High preset at 57 FPS is acceptable for most players, but the Ultra preset at 43 FPS starts to feel less responsive.

At 3840x2160, the recommendations become more restrictive. The Low preset at 48 FPS is the only setting that provides a consistently playable experience. The Medium preset at 39 FPS, with a minimum of 33 FPS, is borderline but may be acceptable for players who prioritize visual quality over frame rate stability. The High preset at 30 FPS is at the edge of playabilityaint, and the Ultra preset at 22 FPS is not recommended for any gameplay scenario. The data suggests that the best overall experience for most players is the Medium preset at 1080p or 1440p, as it provides a high frame rate with a good balance of visual quality. For 4K, the Low preset is the only option that ensures a smooth experience, and players should be prepared to sacrifice visual fidelity to maintain playable frame rates. The turn-based genre of Hard West means that even the lower frame rates at 4K are tolerable, but the Medium preset at 1440p offers the best combination of performance and visual quality according to the measured data.