Hard West

# Hard West with Intel Core i7-13700K + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060

The Intel Core i7-13700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 delivers a robust experience in Hard West, a turn-based tactics title from 2015. The measured frame rates across resolutions and settings presets show a system capable of high refresh rates at 1080p, solid performance at 1440p, and playable but demanding results at 4K. The data indicates a system positioned in the 861st combo rank out of 1699 tested combinations, placing it in the upper-middle tier of hardware pairings for this game. The CPU sits in the 93rd percentile among all processors, while the GPU holds the 73rd percentile, suggesting the processor has more headroom relative to its peer group than the graphics card.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-13700K is built on the Raptor Lake architecture with a 10 nm process node, featuring 16 cores and 24 threads. Its base clock of 3.40 GHz can boost up to 5.40 GHz, and it carries 30 MB of shared L3 cache alongside 2 MB L2 per core and 80 KB L1 per core. In Hard West, a turn-based tactics game, the CPU's role is primarily managing game logic, pathfinding, and AI decision-making, which are not typically as demanding as real-time strategy titles but still benefit from strong single-thread performance.

Benchmark data shows the i7-13700K achieves a single-thread score of 1136 in 3DMark and 5505 in Cinebench R23 single-core. Multi-threaded results are equally strong: 39000 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 12412 in 3DMark max threads. These scores place the CPU in the 93rd percentile of all processors, with an average benchmark score of 47282. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-13700KF, posts an average score of 47334, a delta of -0.1%, meaning the two are effectively identical in performance. The AMD EPYC 4364P trails by 0.3% at 47131, while the Intel Core i9-12900F sits 0.4% behind at 47081.

For a game like Hard West, the measured frame rates across all resolutions and settings suggest the CPU is not the primary bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 195.2 FPS, and at 1080p Ultra, it still manages 92.4 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p shows a drop of 102.8 FPS, which is substantial but consistent with a GPU-limited scenario as settings increase. The CPU's 16 cores and 24 threads provide ample headroom for the game's turn-based mechanics, which rarely utilize more than a few threads. The 3DMark 2-thread score of 2262 and 4-thread score of 4469 indicate strong performance in lightly threaded workloads, which is typical for this genre.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 features the GB206 chip on a 5 nm process from TSMC, with 21,900 million transistors on a 181 mm² die. It comes with 8 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's base clock runs at 2280 MHz with a boost of 2497 MHz, and memory operates at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective). With 3840 shading units, 120 TMUs, and 48 ROPs, the RTX 5060 offers 19.18 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and a texture rate of 299.6 GTexel/s.

In benchmark tests, the RTX 5060 scores 20891 in Passmark G3D and 120785 in Geekbench OpenCL. Its average benchmark score is 30109, placing it in the 73rd percentile of all GPUs. The nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT, scores 30097 with a delta of 0%, indicating statistical parity. The AMD Radeon RX 570 posts a score of 30158 with a delta of -0.2%, while the NVIDIA Tesla M60 trails by 0.5% at 29969. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Mobile is 0.6% behind at 29928.

In Hard West, the GPU's influence on frame rates is pronounced when moving between settings presets. At 1080p, the difference between Low (195.2 FPS) and Ultra (92.4 FPS) is 102.8 FPS, a 52.7% reduction. This scaling is characteristic of a GPU-bound workload where higher settings increase pixel shading and memory pressure. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is adequate for this 2015 title, as none of the measured settings indicate memory-related stutters or crashes, with the lowest average FPS at 31.7 at 4K Ultra remaining stable. The GPU's 128-bit memory bus and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth prove sufficient for the game's texture and geometry demands.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals clear scaling patterns across 1080p, 1440p, and 4K resolutions. At High settings, the system delivers 122 FPS at 1080p, drops to 78.5 FPS at 1440p (a 35.7% decrease), and falls to 43.7 FPS at 4K (a 44.3% decrease from 1440p). This progressive decline indicates that the RTX 5060 becomes the limiting factor as pixel count increases, with the CPU maintaining sufficient headroom to feed the GPU at all resolutions.

The Low preset shows the most dramatic scaling: 195.2 FPS at 1080p, 123 FPS at 1440p (37.0% drop), and 65.5 FPS at 4K (46.7% drop from 1440p). Even at Low settings, the 4K result is only 33.6% of the 1080p frame rate, reinforcing the GPU's role as the primary constraint at higher resolutions. Medium settings follow a similar pattern: 160.5 FPS at 1080p, 103.3 FPS at 1440p (35.6% drop), and 51.8 FPS at 4K (49.9% drop). Ultra settings produce 92.4 FPS at 1080p, 59.1 FPS at 1440p (36.0% drop), and 31.7 FPS at 4K (46.4% drop).

The consistency of the percentage drops across presets—roughly 35-37% from 1080p to 1440p and 44-50% from 1440p to 4K—indicates that the limiting component remains the same throughout. The GPU's compute throughput and memory bandwidth scale predictably with resolution, while the CPU's performance is sufficient to avoid becoming a bottleneck even at 1080p Low, where the 195.2 FPS figure suggests the system is pushing against the GPU's maximum output rather than any CPU limitation.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average frame rate achievable with this hardware in Hard West?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 195.2 at 1080p with Low settings. At Ultra settings, the maximum is 92.4 FPS at 1080p, which still provides a smooth experience for a turn-based tactics game.

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

A: The RTX 5060 has an average benchmark score of 30109, while the RX 7700 XT scores 30097, a delta of 0%. This indicates the two GPUs perform at essentially the same level in synthetic benchmarks, with the RTX 5060 holding a negligible 0.04% advantage.

Q: Is the i7-13700K a bottleneck at 1080p in this game?

A: No, the CPU is not a bottleneck at 1080p. The measured FPS at 1080p Low is 195.2, which is a high frame rate that would require the GPU to render frames as fast as possible. The CPU's 3DMark single-thread score of 1136 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 5505 indicate strong per-core performance, and the 1080p Ultra result of 92.4 FPS shows the GPU is the limiting factor as settings increase.

Q: What frame rate can be expected at 1440p with High settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 2560x1440 with High settings is 78.5 FPS. This represents a 35.7% drop from the 122 FPS at 1080p High, reflecting the increased pixel count and the GPU's role as the bottleneck at this resolution.

Q: How does the CPU's performance compare to its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-13700KF?

A: The i7-13700K has an average benchmark score of 47282, while the i7-13700KF scores 47334, a delta of -0.1%. This means the 13700K is effectively identical in performance to the 13700KF, with the latter holding a marginal 0.11% advantage.

Q: Is 4K gaming viable with this hardware in Hard West?

A: Yes, but only at lower settings. At 4K Low, the system achieves 65.5 FPS, which is playable. At 4K High, the frame rate drops to 43.7 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it falls to 31.7 FPS. For a turn-based tactics game where twitch reflexes are not required, 4K High at 43.7 FPS remains a viable option, though lower settings provide a smoother experience.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this hardware depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1080p, all presets deliver playable frame rates, with High offering 122 FPS and Ultra providing 92.4 FPS. For a turn-based tactics game where animation smoothness is less critical than in action titles, Ultra at 1080p provides the best visual fidelity while maintaining a frame rate above 90 FPS, which is well within the range for a responsive experience.

At 1440p, the High preset delivers 78.5 FPS, which is suitable for most displays and provides a good balance between visual quality and performance. The Ultra preset at 59.1 FPS is still playable, but the 24.6% drop from High may not justify the additional visual improvements. The Medium preset at 103.3 FPS is excellent for high-refresh-rate monitors, offering a 31.6% improvement over High while sacrificing some visual detail. For 1440p, High is the recommended choice as it provides a comfortable frame rate without significant visual compromises.

At 4K, the Low preset at 65.5 FPS is the only option that consistently exceeds 60 FPS, making it the recommended choice for smooth gameplay. The Medium preset at 51.8 FPS is acceptable for a turn-based game, and High at 43.7 FPS remains playable, though the drop from Low is 33.3%. The Ultra preset at 31.7 FPS is the least desirable, as the frame rate falls below 30 FPS territory, which can feel sluggish even in a tactics title. For 4K, Low or Medium settings are recommended, with High as a viable alternative for those prioritizing visual detail over frame rate stability.

The data shows that the RTX 5060's 8 GB of VRAM is not a limiting factor at any resolution in this game, as the frame rates scale consistently with settings without signs of memory-related performance cliffs. The i7-13700K's strong single-thread performance ensures that the CPU does not hinder the GPU at any resolution or preset, with the 3DMark single-thread score of 1136 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 5505 indicating ample headroom. Overall, the best experience is achieved at 1080p Ultra for maximum visual quality, 1440p High for a balance of performance and fidelity, and 4K Low for the smoothest 4K experience.