Hard West

The Intel Core i7-12700KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 delivers robust frame rates in Hard West, a turn-based tactics title from 2015. The data shows that this combination is heavily CPU-bound at lower resolutions, with the GPU only becoming the primary limiting factor at 4K Ultra settings. This analysis breaks down how the platform's individual components contribute to the measured performance and what the numbers suggest for a player looking to optimize their experience.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial, revealing the expected scaling curve for a modern high-end GPU in an older game. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 206 at 1920x1080 to 131 at 2560x1440, and finally to 69 at 3840x2160. This represents a 36% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and a 66% reduction from 1080p to 4K. The scaling is consistent with a GPU that is well-utilized at 4K but not at lower resolutions.

The Low preset shows an even steeper relative drop, from 282 FPS at 1080p to 207 at 1440p to 109 at 4K. The 1080p Low result of 282 FPS is significantly higher than the High preset's 206 FPS, suggesting that at Low settings and 1080p, the game is heavily limited by something other than the GPU, likely a CPU or engine-level constraint. The 4K Low score of 109 FPS, however, is more than double the 4K High score of 69 FPS, indicating that the GPU's shading and texture work are the limiting factor at that resolution.

The Ultra preset shows the largest absolute delta: 155 FPS at 1080p, dropping to 98 FPS at 1440p, and down to 51 FPS at 4K. That 4K Ultra score is the lowest in the entire measured set, showing that the RTX 4080's 16 GB of VRAM and 716.8 GB/s of bandwidth are still taxed by this game's maximum settings. The data indicates that for a smooth 60 FPS experience at 4K, the Ultra preset is borderline, while High and Medium are more appropriate targets.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700KF is a 12-core, 20-thread processor from the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. Its benchmark results show a strong multi-threaded capability, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 28838 and a passmark multithread score of 34092. The single-thread performance is also solid, with a Cinebench R20 single-core score of 4090 and a passmark single-thread score of 3984. This combination of high single-thread and multi-thread scores makes it a strong general-purpose chip for games.

In Hard West, which is a turn-based tactics game, the CPU is likely to be a significant factor in the overall performance, especially at lower resolutions. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the average FPS is 282, but this is only 36% higher than the 1080p High result of 206 FPS. The fact that the Low preset does not scale linearly with the GPU's capability suggests that the CPU is hitting a performance ceiling around the 282 FPS mark. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 9282 and the max-thread score of 9983 indicate that the CPU's multi-threaded performance is more than sufficient for this title, but the game's engine may not be able to fully exploit all 12 cores.

The CPU's 25 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB per-core L2 cache provide ample memory hierarchy for game logic and AI calculations typical of the tactics genre. The data does not show a scenario where the CPU becomes the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, as the FPS scales down with resolution, which is a clear sign of GPU dependency. However, the 1080p Low result being higher than the 1440p High result (282 vs 170 FPS) is not a direct comparison, but it does illustrate how the GPU workload changes with settings.

The CPU's performance percentile is 85th among all processors, and its average benchmark score is 35365. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-13700T, which scores a 35403 average, a delta of -0.1%, and the Intel Core i5-13600T at 35305, a +0.2% delta. This places the i7-12700KF in a tightly packed group of mid-range to high-end CPUs, with performance differences within a few tenths of a percent. This reinforces that the CPU is not a limiting factor in this game, as a slightly faster or slower processor would yield nearly identical frame rates.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is based on the AD103 chip using the Ada Lovelace architecture, built on a 5 nm process. It has 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s. The GPU's base clock is 2205 MHz, and the boost clock is 2505 MHz. It has 9728 shading units, 304 texture mapping units, and 112 ROPs, with 76 RT cores and 304 tensor cores. The FP32 performance is 48.74 TFLOPS, and the pixel rate is 280.6 GPixel/s. This is a high-end GPU, currently in the 86th percentile of all GPUs.

The GPU's performance in this game is evident from the resolution scaling data. At 1080p High, the RTX 4080 delivers 206 FPS, which is well above the 144Hz refresh rate of most monitors. The 1440p High result of 131 FPS is also smooth, but the 4K High result of 69 FPS is the first to dip below the 70 FPS mark. The 4K Ultra result of 51 FPS is the lowest in the entire dataset, showing that the game's maximum settings are quite demanding, even for a GPU with 16 GB of memory.

The GPU's memory capacity of 16 GB is more than enough for Hard West, as the game's VRAM usage at 4K is likely to be well below that. The memory bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s is also sufficient, as the game's textures and geometry are not heavy. The passmark G3D score of 34457 and the average benchmark score of 54247 are high, but the GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6567 is a specific indicator of its modern rendering capability. The RTX 4080's nearest rivals are the RTX 4080 SUPER, which is 0.1% slower, and the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X, which is 1.1% faster. This places the RTX 4080 in a very narrow performance band, meaning that any of these cards would deliver nearly identical results in Hard West.

The GPU's ability to handle the game is clear: at 1080p and 1440p, it is not the bottleneck, but at 4K it becomes the deciding factor. The 4K High score of 69 FPS is a 27% reduction from 1440p High, which is 131 FPS. The 4K Low score of 109 FPS is a 47% reduction from 1440p Low, which is 207 FPS. This suggests that the GPU's workload scales with resolution, but the game's engine may have a ceiling where the CPU can't keep up.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 4K with High settings?

A: The average FPS at 3840x2160 with High settings is 69 FPS.

Q: What is the lowest average FPS recorded in the entire dataset?

A: The lowest average FPS is 51 FPS, which occurs at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings.

Q: Are there any FPS measurements below 60 FPS at 1440p?

A: No, all 1440p measurements are above 60 FPS. The lowest is 98 FPS at 1440p Ultra.

Q: How much faster is the 1080p Low preset compared to the 1080p High preset?

A: The 1080p Low preset averages 282 FPS, which is 76 FPS higher than the 1080p High preset's 206 FPS.

Q: What is the maximum FPS recorded at 1080p with Medium settings?

A: The maximum FPS recorded at 1080p Medium is 302 FPS, with an average of 263 FPS and a minimum of 223 FPS.

Q: Is the RTX 4080's performance close to the RTX 4080 SUPER?

A: Yes, the RTX 4080 SUPER is 0.1% slower in average benchmark score than the RTX 4080, indicating nearly identical performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the Low preset yields an average of 282 FPS. The Medium preset averages 263 FPS, with a minimum of 223 FPS and a maximum of 302 FPS. The High preset comes in at 206 FPS, and the Ultra preset at 155 FPS. The 1080p results show that the game is easily playable at any setting, with even the Ultra preset providing a high frame rate.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 207 FPS. The Medium preset averages 170 FPS, with a minimum of 144 and a maximum of 195. The High preset scores 131 FPS, and the Ultra preset is at 98 FPS. All 1440p settings are above 60 FPS, making this resolution a good target for high refresh rate monitors.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 109 FPS. The Medium preset averages 89 FPS, with a minimum of 76 and a maximum of 103. The High preset is at 69 FPS, and the Ultra preset is at 51 FPS. The 4K results show that only the Low and Medium presets are above 60 FPS, while High and Ultra are below that threshold.

The data shows a consistent pattern: as the resolution increases, the frame rate decreases, and the gap between the presets widens. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 127 FPS, at 1440p it is 109 FPS, and at 4K it is 58 FPS. This is a typical scaling curve, with the GPU being the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

For a 1920x1080 display, the Ultra preset is the best choice, as the 155 FPS average is well above the refresh rate of most monitors. The High preset at 206 FPS is also excellent, but the Ultra preset offers the maximum visual quality without a significant performance penalty.

For 2560x1440, the High preset is recommended for a smooth experience, with an average of 131 FPS. The Ultra preset is still playable at 98 FPS, but the High preset provides a better balance of visual fidelity and frame rate. The Medium preset at 170 FPS is also a good option for those who prioritize a high refresh rate.

For 3840x2160, the Medium preset is the best option, with an average of 89 FPS and a minimum of 76 FPS. The High preset at 69 FPS is also reasonable, but the Medium preset offers a higher frame rate while still looking good. The Ultra preset at 51 FPS is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, so it is not recommended unless a 60 FPS target is not a priority.

How This Combo Ranks

This combination of the Intel Core i7-12700KF and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 ranks 247th out of 3722 tested combos in Hard West. This places it in the top 6.6% of all tested systems, indicating that it is a high-performing configuration. The CPU's 85th percentile and the GPU's 86th percentile contribute to this strong showing. The i7-12700KF's nearest rivals, such as the i7-13700T and i5-13600T, show performance differences of only 0.1-0.2%, so the ranking is not heavily influenced by the CPU choice. The RTX 4080's rivals are similarly close, with the RTX 4080 SUPER being 0.1% slower. This suggests that this combo's rank is primarily driven by the GPU's capability, as the CPU is not a limiting factor in this game. The data shows that the RTX 4080 is a very strong choice for Hard West, and the i7-12700KF is a good companion that does not hold it back.