Hard West

Hard West is a turn-based tactics title from 2015 that places far more weight on strategic thinking than on raw frame rates, yet the measured data for the Intel Core i7-13700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 combination still reveals a clear performance hierarchy. The benchmark results show a system that is exceptionally capable at lower resolutions but progressively constrained as pixel counts rise, with the graphics card emerging as the definitive bottleneck in demanding scenarios. The pairing delivers playable performance across the board, but the margins between settings and resolutions highlight the generational gap between the modern processor and the older graphics hardware.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression across resolutions tells a classic story of GPU-bound scaling. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 141.3 FPS, which drops to 115.5 FPS at Medium, 92.6 FPS at High, and 68.5 FPS at Ultra. This represents a steep 51.5% performance loss from Low to Ultra at 1080p, indicating that even at the lowest resolution, the RTX 2060 is working hard to keep up with the i7-13700K’s output. The CPU is clearly not the limiting factor here; the data suggests the processor could push far higher frame rates if the GPU allowed it.

Moving to 2560x1440, the same pattern holds but with more pronounced degradation. The Low setting produces 90.8 FPS, Medium drops to 74.5 FPS, High to 54.5 FPS, and Ultra falls to 43.1 FPS. The jump from 1080p Low to 1440p Low is a 35.7% reduction, while the Ultra setting loses 37.1% of its 1080p value. These deltas are relatively consistent, suggesting that the GPU’s compute and memory subsystems are being taxed uniformly as resolution increases.

At 3840x2160, the RTX 2060 begins to struggle significantly. The Low setting yields 45.7 FPS, Medium drops to 36.4 FPS, High to 30.9 FPS, and Ultra plummets to 25.1 FPS. The difference between 1440p Ultra and 4K Ultra is a massive 41.8% decline, confirming that the 6 GB frame buffer and 336.0 GB/s memory bandwidth are insufficient for high-fidelity 4K rendering in this title. The data indicates that 4K is only viable at Low or Medium settings for a smooth experience, while 1080p and 1440p offer much more headroom.

The scaling pattern strongly suggests that the limiting component is the GPU. The i7-13700K with its 16 cores and 24 threads is far ahead of what a 2015 turn-based tactics game requires, so the frame rate ceiling is set entirely by the RTX 2060’s Turing architecture and its modest specifications.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i7-13700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 ranks 1406 out of 1699 tested combos for Hard West, placing it in the bottom 17.2% of all configurations. This low ranking is surprising given the individual components’ strengths, but it reflects the fact that the game is not demanding enough to benefit from the CPU’s power, while the GPU’s age holds it back relative to newer pairings.

Looking at the CPU’s standalone position, the i7-13700K sits in the 93rd percentile against all processors, with an average benchmark score of 47282. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-13700KF, scores 47334, a mere 0.1% delta, indicating that the two chips are virtually identical in performance. The AMD EPYC 4364P trails by 0.3%, and the Intel Core i9-12900F is 0.4% behind, while the AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 5945 leads by 0.5%. These margins are negligible, confirming that the i7-13700K is a top-tier desktop processor.

The GPU, however, tells a different story. The RTX 2060 ranks in the 58th percentile against all graphics cards, with an average benchmark score of 16074. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 7600S at 15996 (0.5% behind), the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M and Pro 5700 both at 16351 (1.7% ahead), and the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 at 15786 (1.8% behind). These are workstation and mobile parts, not high-end desktop gaming cards, which underscores the RTX 2060’s mid-range positioning in 2024.

The combo rank of 1406 out of 1699 reflects a mismatch: a flagship CPU paired with a mid-range GPU results in a system that is far from the top of the charts for Hard West. The data suggests that most faster combos either feature newer GPUs or more balanced pairings, and the RTX 2060’s age is the primary reason this configuration falls so low.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-13700K is built on Intel’s Raptor Lake architecture using a 10 nm process, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. It features 16 cores and 24 threads, with a 30 MB shared L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache, plus 80 KB of L1 cache per core. This is a desktop-class processor designed for high-throughput workloads, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 39000 and single-core score of 5505.

For Hard West, a turn-based tactics title from 2015, the CPU’s role is minimal. The game’s logic is primarily single-threaded, and the i7-13700K’s single-thread performance is exceptional, with a Geekbench single-core score of 2850 and a 3DMark single-thread score of 1136. Even at the lowest resolution and settings, the CPU is never the bottleneck; the frame rate scaling from 141.3 FPS at 1080p Low to 90.8 FPS at 1440p Low is entirely attributable to GPU load.

The core count is overkill for this game. Hard West does not appear to leverage multi-threading heavily, so the 16 cores and 24 threads are largely idle. The PassMark multithread score of 45887 and 3DMark max-threads score of 12412 indicate the CPU’s raw capability, but such power goes unused in a turn-based tactics environment. The data implies that a less expensive processor would deliver nearly identical performance in this specific title, as the GPU is the sole limiting factor above 1080p.

The launch MSRP of $409 for the i7-13700K positions it as a high-end part, but its value in Hard West is constrained by the game’s modest requirements. The processor’s 125 W TDP and support for DDR4 and DDR5 memory are irrelevant to the measured frame rates, which are dictated entirely by the RTX 2060.

FAQ

Q: Why does the combo rank so low (1406 out of 1699) despite having a top-tier CPU?

A: The ranking is based on measured FPS in Hard West, and the RTX 2060 is the limiting factor. The CPU’s 93rd percentile standing cannot compensate for the GPU’s 58th percentile performance in a game that is not CPU-bound.

Q: Can this system run Hard West at 4K smoothly?

A: Only at Low settings, where it averages 45.7 FPS. At Medium it drops to 36.4 FPS, High to 30.9 FPS, and Ultra to 25.1 FPS, which is below the 30 FPS threshold generally considered playable.

Q: Is the i7-13700K overkill for Hard West?

A: Yes. The game’s turn-based nature does not stress multi-threaded workloads, and the CPU’s 16 cores and 24 threads are not fully utilized. The single-thread performance is sufficient, but the GPU becomes the bottleneck at all resolutions above 1080p Low.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 compare to its nearest rivals in raw benchmarks?

A: The RTX 2060’s average benchmark score is 16074, which is 0.5% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 7600S (15996) and 1.8% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 (15786), but 1.7% behind both the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M and Pro 5700 (16351).

Q: What is the best resolution and settings for this combo in Hard West?

A: The data shows 1920x1080 at High settings provides 92.6 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS target. At 2560x1440, High drops to 54.5 FPS, so Medium at 74.5 FPS is the better choice for a higher refresh rate.

Q: Does the CPU’s boost clock of 5.40 GHz impact frame rates?

A: In Hard West, the boost clock is irrelevant because the GPU is the limiting factor. The CPU’s single-thread score of 1136 in 3DMark is more than adequate, but the frame rates are capped by the RTX 2060’s rendering capabilities.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is built on the Turing architecture using a 12 nm process at TSMC, with a die size of 445 mm² and 10,800 million transistors. It has a base clock of 1365 MHz and a boost clock of 1680 MHz, with 1920 shading units, 120 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. The 6 GB of GDDR6 memory runs at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) across a 192-bit bus, providing 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

In Hard West, the GPU’s role is dominant. The measured FPS data shows that the RTX 2060’s performance scales directly with resolution and settings, and the 6 GB VRAM capacity is likely a limiting factor at 4K Ultra, where the frame rate drops to 25.1 FPS. The memory bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s is modest by modern standards, and the 192-bit bus width restricts data throughput in high-resolution scenarios.

The GPU’s benchmark scores reflect its mid-range status. It achieves a PassMark G3D score of 14111 and a PassMark GPU compute score of 5488, with 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 scoring 1242. The Geekbench Vulkan score of 67425 and OpenCL score of 71278 indicate reasonable compute capability, but these numbers are far behind newer GPUs.

The RTX 2060’s 58th percentile ranking places it in the middle of the pack, and its nearest rivals are all AMD workstation or mobile parts, not desktop gaming cards. The 160 W TDP and dual-slot design suggest a power-hungry card for its performance class, but the 1x 8-pin power connector and 450 W suggested PSU are standard for this tier.

For Hard West, the RTX 2060 is adequate for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but it struggles at 4K. The frame rate deltas from 1080p to 4K at each setting show a consistent 50-60% drop, which is typical for a GPU with 6 GB of VRAM and 336.0 GB/s bandwidth. The data indicates that players seeking 4K performance would need a significantly more powerful GPU, while those targeting 1080p can enjoy high frame rates at High settings without issue.