Hard West

The Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 delivers a playable experience for Hard West at 1080p, but the data clearly shows a GPU-bound system at higher resolutions. The measured frames per second (FPS) drop dramatically as resolution increases, with the gap between Low and Ultra settings widening significantly at 4K. This combination ranks 1603rd out of 1699 tested combos, placing it in the lower quartile of hardware configurations for this turn-based tactics title.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic GPU-limited scenario. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo produces 48.1 FPS, which drops to 29.7 FPS at 2560x1440—a reduction of roughly 38%. Moving further to 3840x2160 yields only 19.2 FPS, representing a 60% loss from the 1080p baseline. This steep decline indicates that the GTX 1650's rendering pipeline becomes the primary bottleneck as pixel count increases.

The pattern holds across all settings presets. Low settings at 1080p achieve 76.8 FPS, falling to 47.2 FPS at 1440p and just 25.9 FPS at 4K. Medium settings follow the same trajectory: 62.4 FPS at 1080p, 41.3 FPS at 1440p, and 22.6 FPS at 4K. The most demanding Ultra preset starts at 36.5 FPS in 1080p, drops to 25.1 FPS in 1440p, and bottoms out at 13.5 FPS in 4K. These numbers indicate that the GPU's 128.1 GB/s memory bandwidth and 2.984 TFLOPS of FP32 compute are insufficient for 4K rendering in this title.

The resolution scaling also highlights that Hard West is not particularly CPU-intensive at higher resolutions. The i5-9400's six cores and six threads, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and boost up to 4.10 GHz, provide ample headroom. The consistent FPS drops across all presets when moving from 1440p to 4K—roughly 35-45% reductions—point squarely at the GPU's fill rate and pixel throughput limits rather than any processor constraint.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400's specifications suggest it is more than adequate for Hard West's turn-based mechanics. With six physical cores running at up to 4.10 GHz boost and 9 MB of shared L3 cache, the processor delivers a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 7969 and a single-core score of 1125. The single-thread performance is particularly relevant for game logic and AI calculations, which often rely on fewer threads.

The CPU's average benchmark score of 2305 places it at the 50th percentile among all tested processors. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i3-10305 at 2300 (0.2% ahead) and the Intel Core i7-8809G at 2319 (0.6% behind). This positioning indicates that the i5-9400 sits at the middle of the performance spectrum, with no significant advantage or disadvantage over similarly priced processors from its generation.

For Hard West specifically, the CPU's role appears secondary to the GPU. The measured FPS differences between Low and Ultra settings at any given resolution—such as the 40.3 FPS gap between Low (76.8 FPS) and Ultra (36.5 FPS) at 1080p—are far larger than any CPU-induced variance would be. The processor's 42.7 GB/s dual-channel memory bandwidth and DDR4 support are sufficient for the game's data streaming needs, and the lack of a bottleneck is evidenced by the smooth scaling of FPS with GPU workload changes.

FAQ

Q: Is this combo capable of 60 FPS at 1080p in Hard West?

A: Only with reduced settings. Low preset achieves 76.8 FPS and Medium reaches 62.4 FPS, but High (48.1 FPS) and Ultra (36.5 FPS) fall short of the 60 FPS target.

Q: How does the GTX 1650 perform at 1440p?

A: The GPU manages 47.2 FPS on Low, 41.3 FPS on Medium, 29.7 FPS on High, and 25.1 FPS on Ultra at 2560x1440. Only the Low and Medium presets approach playable frame rates.

Q: What is the best resolution for this hardware combination?

A: The data shows 1080p as the only resolution where all presets except Ultra exceed 30 FPS. At 4K, even Low settings struggle to maintain 26 FPS, making it unsuitable for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the i5-9400 compare to its closest CPU rivals?

A: The processor scores 2305 on average, which is 0.2% higher than the Intel Core i3-10305 (2300) and 0.2% higher than the Intel Core i3-1125G4 (2299). It trails the Intel Core i7-8809G (2319) by 0.6%.

Q: What GPU performance percentile does the GTX 1650 achieve?

A: The graphics card sits at the 43rd percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 8713. Its closest competitor, the AMD Radeon 550X, scores 8749 (0.4% higher).

Q: Does the game become unplayable at any tested configuration?

A: The 4K Ultra preset at 13.5 FPS is the only configuration below 19 FPS. All other settings at 1080p and 1440p maintain at least 25 FPS, with most exceeding 30 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

The i5-9400 + GTX 1650 combination ranks 1603rd out of 1699 tested combos for Hard West, placing it in the bottom 6% of configurations. This low ranking reflects the modest GPU performance rather than CPU limitations, as the GTX 1650's 43rd percentile standing among all GPUs drags the overall combo down. The CPU's 50th percentile ranking is comparatively stronger, suggesting the graphics card is the limiting factor in this pairing.

The rank positioning means that the vast majority of tested hardware combinations outperform this setup in Hard West. However, the game's turn-based nature makes lower frame rates more tolerable than in fast-paced genres. The measured data shows that the combo still delivers playable performance at 1080p Medium and Low settings, which may be sufficient for the tactical gameplay style. The 4K results, particularly the 13.5 FPS Ultra score, are clearly below acceptable thresholds for any gaming scenario.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo achieves its best results. Low settings produce 76.8 FPS average, Medium delivers 62.4 FPS, High reaches 48.1 FPS, and Ultra drops to 36.5 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra is 40.3 FPS, indicating significant headroom for visual quality adjustments.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance drops noticeably. Low settings maintain 47.2 FPS, Medium manages 41.3 FPS, High falls to 29.7 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 25.1 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 22.1 FPS, suggesting the GPU is nearing its limits across all presets.

At 3840x2160, the results are mostly below playable thresholds. Low settings achieve 25.9 FPS, Medium reaches 22.6 FPS, High drops to 19.2 FPS, and Ultra falls to 13.5 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is just 12.4 FPS, showing that even the least demanding preset struggles to maintain smooth gameplay at this resolution.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data points to Medium settings at 1920x1080 as the optimal configuration for this hardware. The 62.4 FPS average provides a smooth experience while retaining more visual fidelity than the Low preset's 76.8 FPS. The 48.1 FPS High setting is acceptable but leaves less margin for demanding scenes, while Ultra's 36.5 FPS may introduce noticeable stuttering in combat-heavy moments.

For users prioritizing frame rate stability, Low at 1080p offers the highest headroom at 76.8 FPS. This preset also enables smoother camera panning and unit animations, which can matter in turn-based tactics where readability is key. At 1440p, Medium (41.3 FPS) is the highest preset that remains consistently playable, while High (29.7 FPS) dips into choppy territory.

At 4K, no preset is truly recommended. Low at 25.9 FPS is the only configuration above 25 FPS, and even that feels sluggish for strategic planning. The GTX 1650's 4 GB of GDDR5 memory and 128-bit bus width are simply insufficient for this resolution in Hard West, making 1080p the clear choice for this combination.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650's specifications reveal why it struggles at higher resolutions. With 896 shading units, 56 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs, the GPU delivers 53.28 GPixel/s pixel rate and 93.24 GTexel/s texture rate. The 128.1 GB/s memory bandwidth from 4 GB of GDDR5 VRAM on a 128-bit bus becomes a limiting factor when pixel loads increase at 1440p and 4K.

The GPU's 2.984 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 5.967 TFLOPS of FP16 (2:1) provide modest raw processing power. The 1485 MHz base clock boosting to 1665 MHz helps maintain performance in lighter scenes, but the architecture's 12 nm process node and 4,700 million transistors on a 200 mm² die limit efficiency. The 75 W TDP and lack of power connectors make it a low-power solution, but this constraint shows in demanding scenarios.

The GTX 1650's benchmark results place it at the 43rd percentile among all GPUs, with an average score of 8713. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon 550X, scores 8749 (0.4% higher), while the NVIDIA Quadro P2200 trails at 8671 (0.5% lower). The PassMark DirectX 11 score of 58 and DirectX 12 score of 35 indicate that the GPU handles older APIs better than modern ones, which aligns with Hard West's 2015 release date and its likely DirectX 11 rendering path. The 4K Ultra result of 13.5 FPS directly reflects the GPU's pixel throughput limits, confirming that the graphics card is the dominant bottleneck in this combination.