Hard West

FAQ

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-9400 a bottleneck for the RTX 3060 Ti in Hard West?

A: Based on the measured FPS data, no. The i5-9400 has 6 cores and 6 threads, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz, which is sufficient for a turn-based tactics title. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo reaches 172 FPS average, indicating the CPU can feed the GPU well in this game's workload.

Q: Which resolution gives the best balance of visual quality and performance?

A: 2560x1440 with Medium settings delivers 100 FPS average, with a minimum of 85 FPS and maximum of 115 FPS. This is well above the 60 FPS threshold while offering noticeably better clarity than 1080p. At 3840x2160, even Medium drops to 52 FPS average, so 1440p is the sweet spot for this combo.

Q: How does the RTX 3060 Ti compare to its nearest GPU rivals in raw compute?

A: The RTX 3060 Ti scores 16,129 in average benchmark score, sitting at the 59th percentile of all GPUs. It is 0.7% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 9060, 1.4% behind the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M, and 1.4% behind the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT. The deltaPct values show these are near-identical performers.

Q: What is the CPU's standing among all processors?

A: The i5-9400 ranks at the 47th percentile of all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 2,254. Its closest rival is the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 at 2,259 (0.2% faster), while the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 trails by 0.4% at 2,246. This places it in the mid-range for modern gaming.

Q: Does the RTX 3060 Ti's 8 GB VRAM matter for Hard West?

A: The game released in 2015, and its visual demands are modest. The RTX 3060 Ti has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth. At 3840x2160 Ultra, the combo still manages 30 FPS average, suggesting VRAM is not a limiting factor in this title.

Q: What is the combo's overall rank among tested systems?

A: This pairing ranks 1,934 out of 3,722 tested combos in Hard West, placing it in the upper-middle tier. That means roughly 48% of tested systems outperform it, while 52% are slower, which aligns with its mid-range CPU and upper-mid GPU positioning.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a 6-core, 6-thread Coffee Lake processor built 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 and a 9 MB shared L3 cache. The CPU supports DDR4 memory in dual-channel configuration with 42.7 GB/s bandwidth, and it uses PCIe Gen 3 with 16 lanes from the CPU.

For a turn-based tactics game like Hard West, the CPU's role is less about raw sustained throughput and more about maintaining consistent frame pacing during AI turns and unit animations. The i5-9400's single-thread performance — reflected in a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 935 and a Geekbench single-core score of 1,389 — is adequate for this workload. The game does not heavily leverage multi-threading, so the 6-core/6-thread layout with a 4.10 GHz boost provides enough headroom.

The processor's multi-core scores tell a similar story: Cinebench R15 multicore at 668, Cinebench R20 multicore at 2,784, and Cinebench R23 multicore at 6,629. Geekbench multicore reaches 5,141. These numbers place the i5-9400 at the 47th percentile of all CPUs, meaning it is a middle-of-the-pack part. In Hard West, that is entirely sufficient — the measured FPS data shows no evidence of CPU-induced stutters or frame drops, even at 1080p Low where the GPU is least stressed.

The CPU's nearest rivals illustrate its positioning. The Intel Core i7-1068NG7 scores 2,259 (0.2% faster), the Intel Core i3-10305 scores 2,264 (0.4% faster), the Intel Core i7-10710U scores 2,248 (0.3% slower), and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 scores 2,246 (0.4% slower). These differences are within noise, so swapping to any of those parts would yield negligible gains in Hard West. The i5-9400 is an end-of-life product, but for this specific game, its age does not translate into a practical disadvantage.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is an Ampere-architecture GPU built on Samsung's 8 nm process. It packs 17,400 million transistors on a 392 mm² die, with 4,864 shading units, 152 TMUs, 80 ROPs, 38 RT cores, and 152 tensor cores. The GPU runs at a base clock of 1410 MHz and a boost of 1665 MHz, with memory clocked at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). It has 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

In synthetic benchmarks, the RTX 3060 Ti posts a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2,626, Geekbench OpenCL of 78,927, and Geekbench Vulkan of 47,784. Passmark scores include G3D at 20,349, GPU Compute at 10,006, and DirectX 11 at 163. Its average benchmark score is 16,129, placing it at the 59th percentile of all GPUs. The nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon RX 9060 (16,014, 0.7% slower), the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M (16,351, 1.4% faster), and the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT (16,361, 1.4% faster). The AMD Radeon R9 370X trails at 15,862 (1.7% slower).

For Hard West, the GPU is the dominant factor in determining frame rates, especially at higher resolutions. The game is not graphically intensive by modern standards, so the RTX 3060 Ti has substantial headroom. At 3840x2160 Ultra, the combo still produces a playable 30 FPS average — evidence of the GPU's raw throughput. The 8 GB VRAM is more than adequate for a 2015 title, and the 448.0 GB/s bandwidth means texture streaming is not a bottleneck even at 4K.

The RTX 3060 Ti's FP32 performance of 16.20 TFLOPS and pixel rate of 133.2 GPixel/s are overkill for Hard West's relatively simple geometry and lighting. The GPU's 253.1 GTexel/s texture rate ensures that even the highest-detail textures load instantly. In short, this GPU is the stronger half of the pairing, and the CPU rarely constrains its output in this game.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance for optimal settings. At 1920x1080, the combo achieves 172 FPS on Low, 158 FPS on Medium (134 min, 182 max), 121 FPS on High, and 91 FPS on Ultra. Every preset is playable, but Medium offers the best blend of smoothness and visual fidelity — the 158 FPS average is far beyond what any 60 Hz or 144 Hz display needs, and the 134 FPS minimum ensures no perceptible hitches.

At 2560x1440, the picture changes. Low settings produce 122 FPS average, Medium drops to 100 FPS (85 min, 115 max), High yields 77 FPS, and Ultra falls to 58 FPS. Here, Medium is the recommended preset: it stays above 85 FPS at all times, which is smooth on high-refresh monitors, and the visual upgrade from Low is substantial. High is also acceptable for 60 Hz displays, but Ultra risks dipping below 60 FPS in busy scenes.

At 3840x2160, the GPU finally shows its limits. Low settings give 64 FPS average, Medium drops to 52 FPS (45 min, 60 max), High falls to 40 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 30 FPS. For 4K, the best experience is Low — it stays above 60 FPS, and the visual difference between Low and Medium in a turn-based game is less noticeable than in fast-paced shooters. Medium is playable but the 45 FPS minimum could be distracting during camera pans.

The overall recommendation: 2560x1440 with Medium settings offers the best experience for most users, delivering 100 FPS average with tight frame times. For those with 1080p displays, Medium at 158 FPS is the sweet spot. 4K is viable only on Low.

How This Combo Ranks

This Intel Core i5-9400 + RTX 3060 Ti combination ranks 1,934 out of 3,722 tested combos in Hard West. That places it just above the median, which makes sense given the CPU's mid-range standing and the GPU's upper-mid positioning.

The rank is influenced more by the GPU than the CPU. The RTX 3060 Ti sits at the 59th GPU percentile, while the i5-9400 is at the 47th CPU percentile. In a CPU-light game like Hard West, the GPU pulls the combo upward. If the CPU were replaced with a faster part, the rank would only improve marginally — the data shows no CPU bottleneck at any resolution or settings combination.

Notably, the combo outperforms systems with similarly ranked GPUs but weaker CPUs. The gap between the 47th percentile CPU and, say, a 30th percentile CPU would be nearly invisible in this game's measured FPS. Conversely, pairing the i5-9400 with a slower GPU would drop the rank significantly, since the GPU is the primary driver of frame rates here.

The rank also reflects the settings profile. At 1080p Ultra, the combo achieves 91 FPS, which is solid but not spectacular. At 1440p Medium, it hits 100 FPS, which is excellent for that resolution. The system's versatility across resolutions is a key reason it lands above the median — it handles 1080p and 1440p with ease, and only struggles at 4K Ultra.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers three resolutions and four settings each, with average FPS recorded for all, and minimum/maximum provided only for Medium settings.

At 1920x1080:

• Low: 172 FPS average
• Medium: 158 FPS average, 134 min, 182 max
• High: 121 FPS average
• Ultra: 91 FPS average

The progression from Low to Ultra shows a predictable scaling: each step up costs roughly 20-40 FPS. The 134 FPS minimum on Medium is the highest floor of any 1080p preset, making it the most consistent choice.

At 2560x1440:

• Low: 122 FPS average
• Medium: 100 FPS average, 85 min, 115 max
• High: 77 FPS average
• Ultra: 58 FPS average

The drop from 1080p to 1440p is roughly 25-30% across all presets, which is consistent with the 2.25x pixel count increase. The Medium preset's 85 FPS minimum is still well above playable thresholds.

At 3840x2160:

• Low: 64 FPS average
• Medium: 52 FPS average, 45 min, 60 max
• High: 40 FPS average
• Ultra: 30 FPS average

The 4K results show the RTX 3060 Ti's limits. Low is the only preset that maintains 60+ FPS. Medium's 45 FPS minimum is borderline for smooth play, while High and Ultra dip into console-like territory. The 30 FPS average on Ultra is technically cinematic but not ideal for tactical gameplay where you need to read the battlefield.

Overall, the data confirms that this combo is best suited to 1080p and 1440p gaming. The RTX 3060 Ti's 8 GB VRAM and 448 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for 4K in this title, but the GPU's raw compute is not enough to sustain high frame rates at that resolution with demanding presets.