Hard West

The Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 delivers a playable experience in Hard West, but the data reveals a clear performance ceiling tied to the graphics card. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo reaches 144.1 FPS, indicating that the CPU can feed the GPU effectively at lower loads. However, the frame rate collapses as resolution climbs, with the 4K High preset dropping to 30.8 FPS. This pattern shows that the RTX 2060 becomes the primary limiting factor beyond 1080p, while the i5-9400’s six cores and six threads provide sufficient headroom for the turn-based tactics genre. The benchmark results place this combo at rank 1376 out of 1699 tested combinations, a mid-table position that aligns with its 1080p strengths and 4K weaknesses.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a steep and consistent decline as resolution increases, which is typical for a GPU-bound scenario. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 at High settings, the average frame rate drops from 89.9 FPS to 59.5 FPS, a reduction of roughly 34%. The scaling continues at 4K, where 3840x2160 High yields just 30.8 FPS. This halving of performance from 1440p to 4K indicates that the RTX 2060’s 6 GB of GDDR6 memory and 192-bit bus width are being saturated by the higher pixel counts. At 1080p, the GPU has spare capacity, as evidenced by the 144.1 FPS Low result, but the gap between Low and Ultra at each resolution shows how much headroom the settings provide.

The Low preset at 4K produces 46.4 FPS, which is still above the 30 FPS threshold often considered playable, but the Ultra preset at the same resolution falls to 24 FPS, making it unsuitable for smooth gameplay. The 1440p Medium result of 75.7 FPS and the 1080p Medium result of 117 FPS both suggest that medium settings offer a balanced trade-off, but the scaling from 1080p to 4K is not linear. For instance, 1080p Ultra delivers 65.1 FPS, while 1440p High delivers 59.5 FPS, implying that the GPU is the bottleneck even at moderate settings on higher resolutions. The CPU’s role appears secondary, as the i5-9400’s Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 7969 places it at the 50th percentile among all CPUs, which is adequate for a game that relies more on GPU throughput than complex AI calculations.

GPU Role

The RTX 2060 is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications explain the observed frame rates. With a base clock of 1365 MHz and a boost clock of 1680 MHz, the GPU’s Turing architecture provides 1920 shading units and 48 ROPs, which handle the pixel shading workload efficiently at 1080p. The 6 GB GDDR6 memory runs at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) with a 192-bit bus, yielding 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This bandwidth is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but the 4K results suggest it becomes a constraint. The GPU’s Passmark G3D score of 14111 and its 58th percentile ranking among all GPUs place it slightly above average, which aligns with its 1080p performance of 89.9 FPS at High settings.

The 4K Low result of 46.4 FPS versus the 1080p Ultra result of 65.1 FPS highlights the GPU’s memory and bandwidth limitations. At 4K, the pixel fill rate of 80.64 GPixel/s and texture rate of 201.6 GTexel/s are taxed heavily, causing the frame rate to drop below 50 FPS even on Low. The GPU’s nearest rivals, such as the AMD Radeon RX 7600S with an average score of 15996 and a deltaPct of 0.5%, show that the RTX 2060 is competitive within its class, but the 4K Ultra result of 24 FPS indicates that this card is not designed for maximum settings at that resolution. The 160 W TDP and 450 W suggested PSU are consistent with a mid-range card, and the data confirms that the GPU is the limiting factor in this combo, as the CPU’s performance does not degrade meaningfully across resolution changes.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the best experience is achieved at 1440p Medium, which yields 75.7 FPS — a smooth frame rate that balances visual fidelity and performance. At 1080p, the Medium preset delivers 117 FPS, which is excellent for a turn-based tactics game where consistent frame times matter more than raw speed. The High preset at 1440p provides 59.5 FPS, which is still playable, but the Medium preset offers a 27% improvement over High at the same resolution, making it the recommended choice for most users. At 4K, the Medium preset drops to 40.9 FPS, which is borderline playable, but the Low preset at 46.4 FPS is a safer option if 4K is required.

The Ultra preset is not recommended at any resolution above 1080p, as the 1440p Ultra result of 44.3 FPS and the 4K Ultra result of 24 FPS fall below the 60 FPS target that most players prefer. At 1080p Ultra, the 65.1 FPS result is acceptable, but the Medium preset at 117 FPS provides a nearly 80% higher frame rate with a likely minimal visual difference in a game with stylized graphics like Hard West. The data suggests that Medium settings are the sweet spot for this combo, as they deliver above 75 FPS at 1440p and above 40 FPS at 4K, while High settings only marginally improve visuals at the cost of significant frame rate drops. For players prioritizing smoothness over fidelity, the Low preset at 1440p (88.6 FPS) is also viable, but Medium offers the best balance.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 1376 out of 1699 tested combinations places it in the lower-middle tier of the database, which is consistent with its 1080p-oriented performance. The RTX 2060’s average benchmark score of 16074 places it near the AMD Radeon Pro 5700 (16351, deltaPct -1.7%) and the AMD Radeon RX 7600S (15996, deltaPct 0.5%), indicating that the GPU is slightly above average in raw compute. However, the i5-9400’s average benchmark score of 2305 is nearly identical to the Intel Core i3-10305 (2300, deltaPct 0.2%) and the Intel Core i3-1125G4 (2299, deltaPct 0.2%), showing that the CPU is not a performance differentiator in this context.

The rank suggests that this combo is better suited for 1080p gaming, where it can achieve high frame rates, but it struggles at 4K, where the GPU’s memory bandwidth becomes a bottleneck. Compared to other combos in the database, this pairing offers a balanced 1080p experience, but it does not excel in any single metric. The 65 FPS at 1080p Ultra and the 89.9 FPS at 1080p High indicate that the combo is capable of handling modern games at reduced settings, but the 24 FPS at 4K Ultra is a clear warning against pushing this hardware too far. The rank of 1376 out of 1699 means that roughly 19% of tested combos perform worse, but the majority outperform it, particularly at higher resolutions.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 delivers the highest frame rates, with 144.1 FPS on Low and 117 FPS on Medium. At 2560x1440, the Medium preset still achieves 75.7 FPS, making it a viable option for higher-resolution displays.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming?

A: Yes, but with limitations. The 4K Low preset reaches 46.4 FPS, while High drops to 30.8 FPS and Ultra falls to 24 FPS. For a stable experience, 4K Medium at 40.9 FPS is the highest playable setting.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RTX 2060 has an average benchmark score of 16074, which is 0.5% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 7600S (15996) and 1.8% higher than the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 (15786). It trails the AMD Radeon Pro 5700 by 1.7%.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-9400 a bottleneck for this GPU?

A: The benchmark results indicate that the CPU is not a significant bottleneck. The i5-9400’s Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 7969 ranks it at the 50th percentile, and the FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K follows a GPU-limited pattern, not a CPU-limited one.

Q: What settings should I use for a smooth 60 FPS experience?

A: At 1080p, the Medium preset provides 117 FPS, while High delivers 89.9 FPS. At 1440p, High achieves 59.5 FPS, which is just below 60 FPS, so Medium at 75.7 FPS is recommended for a consistent experience.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested combinations?

A: This combo ranks 1376 out of 1699 tested combinations, placing it in the lower-middle tier. This reflects its strong 1080p performance but weaker 4K capability relative to other hardware pairings.