Hard West

The Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 delivers a middle-of-the-pack performance profile for Hard West, ranking 1802 out of 2949 tested combinations. This places the combo in the lower half of the benchmark database, a position influenced by the processor's modest single-thread capabilities and the GPU's strong but not class-leading raw compute scores. The data indicates a system that is playable but not exceptional, with performance heavily dependent on resolution and graphics settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 1802 out of 2949 represents the 61st percentile of tested configurations, meaning roughly 39% of all combos are slower. This positioning is consistent with the individual component percentiles: the CPU sits at the 47th percentile among all processors, while the GPU performs better, ranking at the 66th percentile among all graphics cards. The gap between these percentiles suggests the CPU is the primary constraint in this pairing, a hypothesis supported by the FPS data at lower resolutions where the graphics card is less likely to be the bottleneck.

In terms of direct rival comparisons, the CPU's average benchmark score of 2254 is nearly identical to its nearest competitors, with deltas of just a few tenths of a percent. The Intel Core i7-1068NG7 scores 2259 (0.2% faster), the Intel Core i3-10305 scores 2264 (0.4% faster), and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 scores 2246 (0.4% slower). This confirms that the i5-9400 is squarely in an average performance tier for its generation, offering no significant computational advantage in this game’s turn-based logic. On the GPU side, the RTX 5050's average score of 21035 places it between the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT (20713, 1.6% slower) and the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL (21153, 0.6% faster), establishing it as a solid mainstream performer.

FAQ

*Q: Is this combo capable of running Hard West at 60 FPS on Ultra settings?*

A: No. At 1920x1080 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 78, which is above 60, but at 2560x1440 Ultra the average drops to 49 FPS, and at 3840x2160 Ultra it falls to 26 FPS. The 60 FPS threshold is only consistently met at 1080p Ultra.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings produce an average of 104 FPS, while Ultra settings produce 49 FPS. This represents a 55 FPS drop, or approximately 53% lower performance, when moving from the lowest to the highest preset.

*Q: Does the RTX 5050 have enough VRAM for Hard West at 4K?*

A: The GPU has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory, which is sufficient for this game. At 3840x2160, the average FPS ranges from 26 (Ultra) to 55 (Low), indicating the VRAM capacity is not a limiting factor; performance is instead constrained by the GPU's processing power and the CPU at lower resolution.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in terms of multi-threaded performance?

A: In Cinebench R23 multi-core, the i5-9400 scores 6629. Its nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 (avg score 2259) and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 (avg score 2246), show near-identical average benchmark scores, with deltas under 0.5%. This indicates the i5-9400 is statistically tied with these processors in general compute tasks.

Q: What is the best resolution for a smooth 60 FPS experience with this combo?

A: At 1920x1080, all tested settings provide averages above 60 FPS (Low 165, Medium 135, High 104, Ultra 78). At 2560x1440, only Low (104 FPS) and Medium (86 FPS) exceed 60 FPS on average. Therefore, 1080p is the only resolution where all presets are playable at 60 FPS.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded in the data?

A: The lowest minimum FPS recorded is 38 FPS, which occurs at 3840x2160 with Medium settings. The data shows no minimum FPS values for other 4K presets, but the 1440p Medium minimum is 73 FPS and the 1080p Medium minimum is 115 FPS.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS data shows a clear and expected pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases. At 1080p High, the combo averages 104 FPS. Moving to 1440p High, the average drops to 66 FPS, a reduction of 38 FPS (approximately 37%). Pushing further to 4K High, the average falls to 34 FPS, a drop of 32 FPS from 1440p (approximately 48%) and 70 FPS from 1080p (approximately 67%). This trend holds across all settings, indicating the RTX 5050 is the primary scaling factor.

The scaling pattern across resolutions reveals the system's bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 165, which is likely near the CPU's maximum frame delivery capability given the i5-9400's six cores and six threads. When resolution increases to 1440p Low, the average drops to 104 FPS, a 37% reduction. This decline is more pronounced than what a purely CPU-limited scenario would show, indicating the GPU is already becoming a factor at lower settings. However, at 4K Low, the average is 55 FPS, which is a 47% drop from 1440p. This steep decline at higher resolutions confirms that the GPU is the limiting component in this pairing, particularly as pixel count increases.

Interestingly, the percentage drop from 1080p to 1440p is similar across settings (approximately 37% for Low, 36% for Medium, and 37% for High), suggesting a consistent scaling behavior. The drop from 1440p to 4K is more variable: Low drops 47%, Medium drops 48%, and High drops 48%. This uniformity indicates that the RTX 5050's performance scales predictably with resolution, and the CPU overhead is not creating irregular frame pacing issues.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers strong performance across all presets. Low settings produce an average of 165 FPS, which is the highest recorded score in the entire dataset. Medium settings yield 135 FPS with a minimum of 115 FPS and a maximum of 155 FPS. High settings reduce the average to 104 FPS, and Ultra settings still maintain a respectable 78 FPS. All 1080p results are above the 60 FPS threshold, making this the most forgiving resolution for the hardware.

At 2560x1440, performance remains playable but requires settings adjustments for a smooth experience. Low settings average 104 FPS, which is identical to the 1080p High result, showing the resolution penalty is offset by the lower settings. Medium settings average 86 FPS with a minimum of 73 FPS and a maximum of 98 FPS, maintaining a comfortable margin above 60 FPS. High settings drop to 66 FPS, still playable but with less headroom. Ultra settings fall to 49 FPS, which may be acceptable for a turn-based tactics game but does not meet the 60 FPS target.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly stressed. Low settings produce 55 FPS, which is playable but not smooth. Medium settings average 45 FPS with a minimum of 38 FPS and a maximum of 52 FPS, showing notable frame dips. High settings drop to 34 FPS, and Ultra settings bottom out at 26 FPS. None of the 4K presets achieve a 60 FPS average, indicating that 4K gaming is not a practical option for this combo unless the user accepts sub-30 FPS performance on Ultra.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 320.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's base clock is 2317 MHz with a boost clock of 2572 MHz. These specifications are directly reflected in the measured FPS. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is not a limiting factor in Hard West, as evidenced by the fact that even at 4K Ultra, the game runs without crashing or stuttering, suggesting the memory footprint fits within the allocation. The bandwidth of 320.0 GB/s is sufficient for the game's texture streaming, as performance degrades smoothly with resolution rather than showing sudden dips.

The GPU's raw compute capabilities, measured at 13.17 TFLOPS FP32, correlate with the 4K performance. At 4K Ultra, the average of 26 FPS indicates the GPU is working near its limits. The 2560 shading units and 80 texture mapping units contribute to the 205.8 GTexel/s texture rate, which is reflected in the consistent scaling between settings. The pixel rate of 82.30 GPixel/s is a key factor in the 4K results, where the GPU must fill more pixels per frame; this explains why the 4K High average of 34 FPS is roughly half the 1440p High average of 66 FPS.

The GPU's benchmark scores place it in a competitive position. Its PassMark G3D score of 17326 and 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 2502 are solid for the mainstream segment. The Geekbench OpenCL score of 90334 and Vulkan score of 89381 are nearly identical, indicating balanced compute performance. The GPU's percentile rank of 66% means it outperforms two-thirds of all GPUs in the database, making it a capable mid-range part that can handle Hard West at medium-to-high settings in 1440p, but its performance at 4K is limited, as shown by the sub-60 FPS results across all 4K presets.

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. The L3 cache is 9 MB shared, and memory bandwidth is rated at 42.7 GB/s with dual-channel DDR4 support. In Hard West, a turn-based tactics game that relies heavily on single-threaded performance for game logic and AI calculations, the CPU's single-core capabilities are more important than its multi-core throughput.

The CPU's single-core benchmarks are relatively modest: Cinebench R23 single-core scores 935, and Geekbench single-core scores 1389. These scores are consistent with the observed FPS at low settings and high resolutions. At 1080p Low, the average of 165 FPS is likely close to the CPU's maximum frame rate ceiling for this game, as the GPU is not heavily taxed at this resolution and settings. The fact that the 1080p Low score is 165 FPS, while the 1080p Ultra is 78 FPS, suggests the CPU is not the primary bottleneck when settings are increased; the GPU takes over as the limiting factor.

The CPU's multi-core performance, while not critical for this game, is adequate. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 6629 and Geekbench multi-core score of 5141 are above average for a six-core part. However, the CPU's percentile rank of 47% places it below the median, and its nearest rivals show nearly identical average scores. This indicates the i5-9400 is not a performance outlier; it provides predictable, mainstream-level compute that is sufficient for Hard West's turn-based mechanics but does not offer headroom for high-refresh-rate gaming at lower resolutions. The CPU's 6 threads and 4.10 GHz boost clock are enough to maintain playable frame rates, but the data shows that at 1080p, the GPU is the component that determines the final FPS, not the CPU.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the user's resolution and performance priorities. For a consistent 60 FPS experience, 1920x1080 is the only resolution where all presets meet this target. At 1080p, Ultra settings provide 78 FPS, which is the highest quality option that still exceeds 60 FPS, making it the recommended preset for users with 1080p monitors who prioritize visual fidelity. Medium settings at 1080p offer 135 FPS, which is beneficial for users with high-refresh-rate displays, but the extra 57 FPS over Ultra may not justify the visual compromise in a turn-based game.

At 2560x1440, the data suggests Medium settings as the best balance. The Medium preset averages 86 FPS with a minimum of 73 FPS, ensuring no drops below 60 FPS. High settings at 1440p average 66 FPS, which is playable but has less headroom, and any complex on-screen action could cause dips. Ultra at 1440p averages 49 FPS, which is sub-optimal for smooth gameplay. Therefore, for 1440p users, Medium is the recommended setting, as it provides a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS threshold while maintaining good visual quality.

For 3840x2160, none of the presets achieve 60 FPS, so the recommendation is to choose between Low and Medium settings. Low settings at 4K average 55 FPS, which is close to playable but may have frame pacing issues. Medium settings average 45 FPS with a minimum of 38 FPS, which is more stable but below the 60 FPS target. Given that Hard West is a turn-based game where frame rate is less critical than in fast-paced genres, Medium at 4K is a reasonable choice for users who prioritize resolution over smoothness. However, for a better experience, 1440p Medium is the highest recommended combination in the data, offering both visual quality and performance headroom.