Hard West

# Hard West — Intel Core i7-12700K + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D

This combination of the 12-core Intel Core i7-12700K and the 32 GB NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D delivers exceptional performance in Hard West, ranking 37th out of 2,949 tested hardware combinations in this turn-based tactics title. The data shows a system that can handle the game at maximum settings with high frame rates, though the scaling patterns across resolutions reveal where the performance ceiling actually lies.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates across the three tested resolutions paint a clear picture of how Hard West responds to pixel count. At 1080p with Low settings, the system produces 284 FPS, which drops to 244 FPS at 1440p and further to 131 FPS at 4K. That represents a 54% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, indicating that the rendering workload scales heavily with resolution.

Moving to High settings, the pattern shifts slightly. The system achieves 240 FPS at 1080p, 158 FPS at 1440p, and 83 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 34%, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 47%. This steeper decline at higher resolutions suggests the GPU becomes progressively more dominant as the pixel count increases.

Ultra settings tell the most revealing story. At 1080p, the system still manages 187 FPS, but 1440p drops to 118 FPS, and 4K falls to 62 FPS. The 4K result is just below the 60 FPS threshold that many players consider the minimum for smooth gameplay, and it represents only 33% of the 1080p Ultra performance. This 67% performance loss from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings confirms that Hard West's highest preset is extremely demanding at 4K, even for a GPU that sits in the 92nd percentile of all graphics cards.

The Medium preset shows the most consistent scaling pattern. At 1080p, the system delivers 264 FPS with a minimum of 225 FPS and maximum of 304 FPS. At 1440p, this drops to 205 FPS with a minimum of 174 FPS and maximum of 236 FPS. At 4K, the average falls to 108 FPS with a minimum of 92 FPS and maximum of 124 FPS. The frame time consistency, as evidenced by the narrow min-max ranges, remains solid even at 4K where the gap between minimum and maximum is only 32 FPS.

GPU Role

The RTX 5090 D is the dominant component in this pairing, and the benchmark data supports that assessment. With 21,760 shading units, 680 texture mapping units, and 176 raster output pipelines, the GPU has massive parallel throughput. The 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 1,636.8 GTexel/s texture rate provide the raw horsepower needed to push Hard West's visuals at high resolutions.

Memory capacity is not a limiting factor here. The 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus delivers 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. Hard West, being a 2015 turn-based tactics game, has modest VRAM requirements compared to modern titles, so the GPU's memory subsystem is likely underutilized. The 1750 MHz memory clock operating at 28 Gbps effective provides ample headroom.

The GPU's clock behavior shows a base clock of 2017 MHz with a boost clock of 2407 MHz. The 390 MHz difference between base and boost represents a 19% potential uplift, and the actual boost behavior in a game like Hard West will depend on thermal and power constraints. Given that the GPU has a 575 W TDP and requires a 950 W suggested PSU, power delivery is substantial, though the game's relatively simple rendering workload may not fully stress the card.

In terms of synthetic benchmarks, the RTX 5090 D scores 14326 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, 310674 in Geekbench OpenCL, and 376915 in Geekbench Vulkan. Its Passmark G3D score of 44065 places it in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs. The nearest rivals in the database show a tight grouping: the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT scores 76904 on average (1.1% higher), while the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT scores 78940 (1.6% lower). This close clustering suggests that the RTX 5090 D's performance in synthetic tests is competitive with mobile-class GPUs, though the actual in-game results are far superior due to the desktop-class power envelope.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700K provides the computational foundation for this system. With 12 cores and 20 threads, the Alder Lake architecture combines 8 performance cores with 4 efficient cores. The base clock of 3.60 GHz can boost up to 5.00 GHz, and the 25 MB of shared L3 cache helps keep frequently accessed data close to the cores.

For a turn-based tactics game like Hard West, the CPU's role is primarily in game logic, pathfinding, and AI calculations rather than rendering. The single-threaded performance is particularly relevant here. The CPU scores 1043 in 3DMark single-thread, 272 in Cinebench R15 single-core, 1726 in Cinebench R20 single-core, and 1850.5 in Cinebench R23 single-core. The Passmark single-thread score of 4013 further confirms strong single-core capability.

Multi-threaded performance is also robust. The CPU achieves 3325 in Cinebench R15 multicore, 12229 in Cinebench R20 multicore, and 19784 in Cinebench R23 multicore. The 3DMark results show scaling from 2065 with 2 threads to 9979 with maximum threads, indicating that the CPU can effectively utilize its core count when needed. The Passmark multithread score of 34404 and Geekbench multicore score of 15790 place this CPU in the 84th percentile of all processors.

The CPU's average benchmark score of 35287 sits within 0.5% of its nearest rivals. The Intel Core i5-13600T scores 35305 (0.1% higher), the Intel Core i7-12700KF scores 35365 (0.2% higher), the Intel Core i7-13700T scores 35403 (0.3% higher), and the Intel Core 5 213PE scores 35428 (0.4% higher). This tight grouping suggests that the i7-12700K is well-positioned among its peers, though the data indicates that Hard West's frame rates are far more dependent on the GPU than the CPU.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Hard West at 4K with playable frame rates?

A: Yes, at Medium settings the system averages 108 FPS at 4K with a minimum of 92 FPS. At High settings, it averages 83 FPS. Ultra settings at 4K drop to 62 FPS average, which is technically playable but shows the steepest performance cost.

Q: What is the best resolution for maximum frame rates?

A: At 1080p, the system exceeds 240 FPS on every preset tested. Low settings deliver 284 FPS, Medium delivers 264 FPS, High delivers 240 FPS, and even Ultra manages 187 FPS. All results are well above typical high-refresh-rate monitor capabilities.

Q: How does the RTX 5090 D compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 5090 D's average benchmark score of 77712 is within 2.5% of three rivals: the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT (76904, 1.1% higher), the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (78940, 1.6% lower), and the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB (79396, 2.1% lower). The Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB scores 79605, which is 2.4% lower.

Q: Does the i7-12700K bottleneck the RTX 5090 D in this game?

A: The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K suggests the GPU is the primary limiting factor. At 1080p Low, the system hits 284 FPS, but at 4K Ultra it drops to 62 FPS. The CPU's single-thread score of 4013 in Passmark and 1850.5 in Cinebench R23 indicate it can handle the game's logic demands without becoming the bottleneck.

Q: What is the frame time consistency at different settings?

A: The Medium preset is the only one with recorded minimum and maximum values. At 1080p, the range is 225 to 304 FPS (79 FPS spread). At 1440p, the range narrows to 174 to 236 FPS (62 FPS spread). At 4K, the range tightens further to 92 to 124 FPS (32 FPS spread), showing more consistent frame pacing at higher resolutions.

Q: How does this system rank among all tested hardware combinations?

A: The combination ranks 37th out of 2,949 tested configurations, placing it in the top 1.3% of all systems tested for Hard West. This high ranking reflects the strength of both the RTX 5090 D GPU and the i7-12700K CPU working together.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates across all presets. Low settings produce an average of 284 FPS, which is the fastest result in the entire dataset. Medium settings average 264 FPS with a minimum of 225 FPS and maximum of 304 FPS. High settings average 240 FPS, and Ultra settings average 187 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 97 FPS, representing a 34% performance decrease when moving to the highest preset.

At 2560x1440, the performance remains strong but shows the expected decline from 1080p. Low settings average 244 FPS, which is 40 FPS lower than the 1080p result. Medium settings average 205 FPS with a minimum of 174 FPS and maximum of 236 FPS. High settings average 158 FPS, and Ultra settings average 118 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 126 FPS, representing a 52% performance decrease.

At 3840x2160, the system still delivers playable frame rates on all presets. Low settings average 131 FPS, Medium settings average 108 FPS with a minimum of 92 FPS and maximum of 124 FPS, High settings average 83 FPS, and Ultra settings average 62 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 69 FPS, representing a 53% performance decrease. The minimum FPS of 92 at 4K Medium shows that even the lowest recorded frame rate remains well above the 60 FPS threshold.

The scaling between resolutions at each preset shows consistent patterns. At Low settings, moving from 1080p to 1440p costs 40 FPS (14% reduction), and moving from 1440p to 4K costs 113 FPS (46% reduction). At Medium settings, the 1080p to 1440p transition costs 59 FPS (22% reduction), and the 1440p to 4K transition costs 97 FPS (47% reduction). At High settings, the 1080p to 1440p transition costs 82 FPS (34% reduction), and the 1440p to 4K transition costs 75 FPS (47% reduction). At Ultra settings, the 1080p to 1440p transition costs 69 FPS (37% reduction), and the 1440p to 4K transition costs 56 FPS (47% reduction).

Settings Recommendations

The data suggests that Medium settings provide the best balance of visual quality and performance across all resolutions. At 1080p, Medium delivers 264 FPS average with a minimum of 225 FPS, which is more than sufficient for any display technology. At 1440p, Medium still achieves 205 FPS average with a minimum of 174 FPS, comfortably exceeding high refresh rate requirements. At 4K, Medium produces 108 FPS average with a minimum of 92 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold and provides smooth gameplay for a turn-based tactics title.

High settings are a viable alternative for players who prioritize visual fidelity. At 1080p, High delivers 240 FPS, which matches the refresh rate of most high-end monitors. At 1440p, High averages 158 FPS, still excellent for competitive play. At 4K, High drops to 83 FPS, which remains playable but shows a more significant performance cost compared to Medium.

Ultra settings should only be considered at 1080p or 1440p. At 1080p, Ultra delivers 187 FPS, which is still exceptionally smooth. At 1440p, Ultra averages 118 FPS, providing a good experience for players who want maximum visual quality. At 4K, Ultra drops to 62 FPS, which is playable but leaves little headroom for frame drops. Given that the minimum FPS data is only available for Medium settings, players at 4K Ultra should be cautious about potential frame time spikes.

Low settings offer diminishing returns for most players. At 1080p, Low delivers 284 FPS, which is only 20 FPS higher than Medium. At 1440p, Low delivers 244 FPS, which is 39 FPS higher than Medium. At 4K, Low delivers 131 FPS, which is 23 FPS higher than Medium. The visual quality reduction from Medium to Low is typically noticeable, and the performance gain is not proportional, making Medium the recommended starting point for most users.