Hard West

The Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 present a compelling pairing for Hard West, though the data reveals a system that transitions from CPU-bound at lower resolutions to firmly GPU-bound at 4K. At 1080p Ultra, the combo delivers 93.1 FPS, while dropping to Low settings pushes the average to 174.4 FPS. This 81.3 FPS spread at 1080p indicates that the RTX 5060 has significant headroom, but the six-core, six-thread i5-9400 with its 4.10 GHz boost clock begins to assert itself as a limiting factor at the highest frame rates. Moving to 1440p, the Ultra preset yields 61.6 FPS, a 33.8% reduction from the 1080p Ultra result, which is a classic sign of the GPU taking over the workload as pixel count increases.

The most dramatic scaling occurs at 4K, where the system’s character shifts completely. At 3840x2160 Ultra, the average FPS collapses to 34, which is a 63.5% drop from the 1080p Ultra figure. Even at High settings, the 4K result is just 39.4 FPS, barely maintaining playability. The jump from Low to Medium at 4K yields a 13.5 FPS difference (67 to 53.5), while the jump from Medium to High costs another 14.1 FPS, showing that the GPU’s rendering pipeline is saturated. The data suggests that at 4K, the RTX 5060’s 8 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 128-bit bus with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth is the primary constraint, as the frame rate scales almost linearly with the graphics workload rather than showing signs of CPU limitation.

Resolution Scaling

The benchmark results illustrate a textbook resolution scaling curve, with the RTX 5060’s performance degrading predictably as pixel density increases. From 1080p Low (174.4 FPS) to 1440p Low (122.4 FPS), the system loses 52 FPS, a 29.8% reduction. This is a substantial drop, but the frame rate remains highly playable. The transition from 1440p Low to 4K Low is more severe, falling to 67 FPS—a 45.3% loss. This pattern repeats across all settings presets, with the 4K results consistently landing at roughly half the frame rate of their 1440p counterparts. For instance, 1440p Medium runs at 102.2 FPS, while 4K Medium drops to 53.5 FPS, a 47.7% decrease. The Ultra preset shows the steepest falloff, with 1440p delivering 61.6 FPS and 4K dropping to 34 FPS, a 44.8% reduction.

The scaling behavior reveals that Hard West, a turn-based tactics title from 2015, is not particularly demanding on the CPU. The i5-9400’s six cores are sufficient to feed the RTX 5060 at 1080p and 1440p, where the GPU is clearly the bottleneck. However, the fact that 1080p Low (174.4 FPS) does not scale to 1080p Ultra (93.1 FPS) in a linear fashion—a 46.6% performance penalty—suggests that the game’s visual effects at Ultra settings heavily tax the GPU’s shading units and memory subsystem. At 4K, the situation becomes unambiguous: the RTX 5060’s 19.18 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 119.9 GPixel/s pixel rate are simply overwhelmed, regardless of the CPU’s readiness. The i5-9400’s Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 7969 places it in the 50th percentile of all CPUs, indicating a mid-range part that does not bottleneck this workload.

GPU Role

The RTX 5060’s role in this configuration is defined by its memory architecture and clock speeds. With a base clock of 2280 MHz and a boost clock of 2497 MHz, the GPU operates at a high frequency, but its 8 GB VRAM capacity and 128-bit bus width are modest for modern standards. The memory runs at 1750 MHz, translating to 28 Gbps effective and providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. In Hard West, this bandwidth proves sufficient at 1080p and 1440p, where the GPU delivers strong results. The PassMark G3D score of 20891 and a 73rd percentile ranking among all GPUs confirm that this is a solid mid-range performer, sitting within 0.2% of the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT in average benchmark scores.

However, the 4K results expose the RTX 5060’s limitations. The 34 FPS average at 4K Ultra is below the 39.4 FPS at 4K High, and both are far from the 67 FPS achievable at 4K Low. This indicates that the GPU’s 8 GB frame buffer is not the sole issue; rather, the combination of fill rate (119.9 GPixel/s) and texture rate (299.6 GTexel/s) cannot sustain the higher fidelity settings at 4K resolution. The Geekbench OpenCL score of 120785 and Vulkan score of 116626 suggest strong compute capabilities, but these do not translate to 4K gaming success in this title. The nearest rival data shows the RTX 5060 tracking closely with the RX 7700 XT (0% delta) and the RTX 5070 Mobile (0.6% delta), which implies that its performance envelope is well-understood—capable at mainstream resolutions, but not a 4K powerhouse.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of tested combinations, the Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the RTX 5060 achieves a combo rank of 882 out of 1699 total combinations in Hard West. This places the pairing in the 52nd percentile of all tested systems, which is a middling result given the GPU’s individual 73rd percentile ranking. The discrepancy suggests that the i5-9400 is holding the RTX 5060 back in this specific title, preventing the combo from reaching higher overall rankings. The CPU’s Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1125 and multi-core score of 7969 are respectable, but the processor’s 50th percentile standing among all CPUs indicates it is an average part.

Comparing to the CPU’s nearest rivals, the i5-9400’s average benchmark score of 2305 is 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core i3-10305 (2300) and 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core i3-1125G4 (2299), while being 0.6% behind the Intel Core i7-8809G (2319) and 0.4% ahead of the Intel Xeon E-2134 (2295). These deltas are minimal, meaning the i5-9400 is surrounded by comparable processors. The combo rank of 882 indicates that many other CPU-GPU pairings outperform this one, likely because the RTX 5060’s potential is not fully realized with this older six-core CPU. The data shows that the GPU is the dominant component, but the CPU’s modest multi-threaded performance (3346 in Cinebench R20 multi-core) limits the system’s ability to push higher frame rates in less GPU-intensive scenarios.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend heavily on the target resolution. At 1080p, the High preset delivers 124.8 FPS, which is an excellent balance of visual fidelity and performance. The Ultra preset drops to 93.1 FPS, still playable but offering diminishing returns for the 25.4% performance hit. For users seeking maximum smoothness, the Medium preset provides 162.3 FPS, which is overkill for a turn-based tactics game but ensures no frame rate drops. The Low preset at 174.4 FPS is only marginally faster than Medium, indicating that the Medium settings offer the best performance-per-visual-cost ratio at 1080p.

At 1440p, the High preset yields 80 FPS, which is smooth and visually appealing. The Medium preset runs at 102.2 FPS, providing a comfortable margin above 60 FPS while maintaining decent visuals. The Ultra preset at 61.6 FPS is borderline, but for a turn-based game where frame timing is less critical, it remains viable. The Low preset at 122.4 FPS is unnecessary unless the user prioritizes raw frame rate above all else. At 4K, the situation is more constrained. The Low preset achieves 67 FPS, which is playable, while Medium drops to 53.5 FPS, and High falls to 39.4 FPS. The Ultra preset at 34 FPS is not recommended for a smooth experience. Therefore, the data suggests that 1080p High or 1440p High are the sweet spots for this combo, while 4K users should stick to Low or Medium settings to maintain playability.

FAQ

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

A: Based on the data, 1440p High at 80 FPS offers the best balance of visual quality and performance. At 1080p High, the combo achieves 124.8 FPS, while 4K High drops to 39.4 FPS, making 1440p a strong middle ground.

Q: How does the RTX 5060 compare to its nearest rival, the RX 7700 XT?

A: The RTX 5060 has an average benchmark score of 30109, which is 0% different from the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT’s score of 30097. This indicates near-identical synthetic performance, though in-game results may vary.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-9400 a bottleneck for the RTX 5060?

A: The combo rank of 882 out of 1699 suggests some limitation. The CPU’s 50th percentile standing versus the GPU’s 73rd percentile indicates the i5-9400 may restrict the RTX 5060 in certain scenarios, particularly at lower resolutions where frame rates exceed 150 FPS.

Q: What settings should I use at 4K for a playable experience?

A: The Low preset at 67 FPS is the only 4K setting that maintains a comfortable frame rate. Medium drops to 53.5 FPS, which is still playable, but High (39.4 FPS) and Ultra (34 FPS) are not recommended.

Q: How much performance do I lose going from 1080p to 4K on Ultra settings?

A: The 1080p Ultra result is 93.1 FPS, while 4K Ultra is 34 FPS, representing a 63.5% reduction in average frame rate. This highlights the GPU’s limitations at higher resolutions.

*Q: Does the RTX 5060’s 8 GB VRAM cause issues in Hard West?*

A: The data does not show explicit VRAM-related stutters, but the 4K results are poor regardless of settings. The 448.0 GB/s bandwidth and 8 GB capacity are sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but the overall GPU compute limits 4K performance.