Hard West

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Hard West across three resolutions reveals a clear and immediate bottleneck: the AMD Radeon RX 570 is the limiting component at every setting tier. At 1080p High, the combo produces 47 FPS. Moving to 1440p High drops that to 30 FPS, a 36% reduction. Pushing to 4K High crashes the average down to 16 FPS, a 66% loss from the 1440p result and a staggering 66% drop from the 1080p baseline. This scaling profile is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario, where the pixel throughput demand outpaces the Polaris 20 chip's capabilities.

The trend is consistent across all settings. At Low, the framerates are 75 FPS (1080p), 48 FPS (1440p), and 25 FPS (4K). The relative deltas are similar: 1440p is 36% slower than 1080p, and 4K is 48% slower than 1440p. At Medium, the measured averages are 62, 39, and 21 FPS respectively. The 1440p result is 37% lower than 1080p, while 4K is 46% lower than 1440p. Ultra settings show the heaviest load, with 36 FPS at 1080p, 23 FPS at 1440p, and a barely playable 12 FPS at 4K.

The data shows that the Intel Core i7-14700F is not the constraint in this title. The CPU's 20 cores and 28 threads, running at a base clock of 2.10 GHz and boost up to 5.40 GHz, are more than sufficient for a turn-based tactics game. The framerate drops are almost perfectly correlated with resolution scaling, which is the signature of a GPU that is saturated. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see less variation between resolutions and more significant single-thread performance penalties. Instead, the 4K Ultra result of 12 FPS is a clear indicator that the RX 570's 4 GB of GDDR5 memory and 224.0 GB/s bandwidth are being overwhelmed by the pixel fill requirements.

Notably, the framerate scaling between Low and High at 1080p is 47 FPS versus 75 FPS, a 37% difference. At 4K, the difference between Low (25 FPS) and High (16 FPS) is 36%. This consistency suggests that the game's visual settings alter the shading load but do not shift the fundamental balance of the system. The GPU remains the primary limiter in all configurations tested. The only data point that hints at any other factor is the Medium preset at 1440p, which shows a minimum of 33 FPS and a maximum of 45 FPS, indicating some variance in scene complexity, but the average still aligns with the overall scaling pattern.

FAQ

Q: What is the average framerate at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: The measured average FPS for this combo at 2560x1440 with Medium settings is 39 FPS, with a minimum of 33 FPS and a maximum of 45 FPS.

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

A: No. The data shows a 4K Ultra average of 12 FPS, which is well below playable thresholds. Even 4K Low only reaches 25 FPS, indicating that 4K is not a viable resolution for this GPU.

Q: How does the RX 570 compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 570 has an average benchmark score of 28766. Its closest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6800M, scores 28874, which is 0.4% higher. The RX 570 is also 0.7% ahead of the AMD Radeon R9 M295X (28580) and 1.2% ahead of the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000 (28421).

Q: What is the best resolution for smooth gameplay with this hardware?

A: Based on the measured rows, 1920x1080 is the only resolution where any preset achieves a 60 FPS average. Low settings hit 75 FPS, Medium hits 62 FPS, and High hits 47 FPS. At 1440p, the highest average is 48 FPS on Low.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The GPU is the limiting factor. The framerate scales almost exactly with resolution changes, which is the expected behavior for a GPU-bound workload. The CPU's performance metrics (e.g., a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 35122) are far beyond what a turn-based title requires.

Q: What is the launch MSRP for the Intel Core i7-14700F?

A: The launch MSRP for the Intel Core i7-14700F is $359.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 570's role in this game is defined by its fixed hardware capabilities. The GPU features a Polaris 20 chip built on a 14 nm process, with 2048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. Its base clock is 1168 MHz, boosting to 1244 MHz. The memory subsystem consists of 4 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, providing 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth. These specifications translate to a pixel rate of 39.81 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 159.2 GTexel/s, with an FP32 throughput of 5.095 TFLOPS.

In Hard West, these numbers paint a picture of a GPU that is adequate for 1080p but struggles at higher resolutions. The 4 GB VRAM capacity is a critical factor. At 4K Ultra, the game demands more memory and fill rate than the card can provide, resulting in the 12 FPS average. The 224.0 GB/s bandwidth is also a limiting factor; at higher resolutions, the memory controller must feed more pixels per frame, and the bus width simply cannot keep up with the demand.

The GPU's synthetic benchmark scores reinforce this assessment. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 880 is indicative of its performance class. Its Geekbench scores are 39349 (Metal), 32084 (OpenCL), and 42752 (Vulkan). In the context of its nearest rivals, the RX 570 sits within 1.2% of the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 8000 and within 0.8% of the AMD Radeon RX 470. This suggests that the RX 570 is a mid-range part from its era, and Hard West's measured FPS reflects that positioning. The GPU's 74th percentile ranking among all GPUs further confirms that it is not a high-end performer, and the game's results show a clear ceiling.

It is also importantly the GPU's production status is "End-of-life" and its launch MSRP was 169 USD. The data shows that in a modern context, this older architecture is outclassed by current generation parts, but for a 2015 turn-based tactics title, it still provides playable framerates at 1080p. The measured FPS at 1080p Low (75 FPS) and Medium (62 FPS) confirms that the GPU can handle the game's core mechanics without issue, provided the resolution is kept modest.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides a clear hierarchy for the best experience. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset offers the best balance. It delivers an average of 62 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The minimum FPS of 53 FPS indicates that even in the most demanding scenes, the frame rate stays respectable. In contrast, High settings at 1080p drop to 47 FPS average, which is playable but not ideal for maintaining a consistent frame pacing. Low settings at 1080p yield 75 FPS, but the visual fidelity trade-off is unnecessary given that Medium provides a smoother experience with better graphics.

For users who prioritize visual quality over frame rate, High at 1080p is acceptable, but it is not recommended for a competitive or fast-paced experience. The Ultra preset at 1080p averages 36 FPS, which is a significant step down and introduces noticeable stutter in a turn-based game that relies on smooth camera pans. The data suggests that Ultra is not worth the performance cost at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the picture changes. The best option is Low, which averages 48 FPS. Medium at 1440p averages 39 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target but still playable for a turn-based title. However, the minimum FPS of 33 FPS on Medium indicates that there are moments of noticeable slowdown. High at 1440p averages 30 FPS, and Ultra drops to 23 FPS. Given the genre's slower pace, 1440p Low or Medium could be considered, but the 1080p Medium option is superior in every measurable way.

At 4K, no settings are recommended. The highest average is 25 FPS at Low, which is a marginal experience. The 4K Ultra result of 12 FPS is essentially a slideshow. The data indicates that the RX 570 is not equipped to handle 4K in this game, regardless of the preset chosen. The recommendation is clear: stick to 1920x1080 with Medium settings for the best combination of frame rate and visual quality. This preset provides a 62 FPS average, which is the highest average above the 60 FPS mark across all tested configurations.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Intel Core i7-14700F and AMD Radeon RX 570 ranks 3552 out of 3722 tested combos in Hard West. This places it in the bottom 5% of all system configurations tested for this game. The rank reflects the GPU's limitations more than the CPU's capabilities. The Core i7-14700F is a high-end processor, ranking in the 91st percentile among all CPUs, but the RX 570's 74th percentile GPU ranking drags the overall system performance down.

The data shows that this combo is a mismatch in terms of generation and performance tier. The CPU is a modern 2024 part, while the GPU is from 2017 and is now end-of-life. In a game like Hard West, which is not heavily threaded, the CPU's 20 cores and 28 threads provide no benefit. The game's performance is determined almost entirely by the GPU's ability to render frames. The combo rank of 3552 out of 3722 indicates that there are only 170 other combinations that perform worse in this specific game.

The nearest CPU rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X (0.6% delta) and the Intel Xeon 6505P (-0.2% delta), show that the i7-14700F is well-matched to its peers in synthetic benchmarks. However, in gaming, the GPU is the deciding factor. The combo rank is a direct consequence of pairing a top-tier CPU with a low-tier GPU. This is a classic bottleneck scenario where the GPU holds back the entire system. For users with this combo, the 1080p Medium settings are the only way to achieve a satisfactory experience, and even then, the system is nowhere near the top of the performance charts.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of the system's performance across all settings and resolutions. At 1920x1080, the average FPS by preset is as follows: Low 75 FPS, Medium 62 FPS (minimum 53, maximum 71), High 47 FPS, and Ultra 36 FPS. This is the only resolution where the system achieves playable framerates across the board, with Medium being the only preset to break the 60 FPS average barrier.

At 2560x1440, the averages drop significantly. Low records 48 FPS, Medium 39 FPS (minimum 33, maximum 45), High 30 FPS, and Ultra 23 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 25 FPS, which is a 52% difference. This shows that the Ultra preset is disproportionately demanding at this resolution, likely due to increased shadow and post-processing effects that tax the GPU's limited ROPs and fill rate.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles even at Low settings. The averages are: Low 25 FPS, Medium 21 FPS (minimum 17, maximum 24), High 16 FPS, and Ultra 12 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 4K is a 13 FPS drop, which is a 52% reduction. The 4K Medium result of 21 FPS is notable because it is the only 4K preset with min/max data, showing a range of 7 FPS, which indicates some scene-dependent variance but overall very low performance.

Across all resolutions, the data shows a consistent pattern: the RX 570 cannot maintain 30 FPS at 4K, cannot maintain 60 FPS at 1440p, and can only exceed 60 FPS at 1080p on Low and Medium. The High preset at 1080p (47 FPS) is the only other configuration that comes close to 60 FPS, but it falls short. The Ultra preset at 1080p (36 FPS) is significantly worse than Medium, suggesting diminishing returns for the visual quality increase.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700F plays a minimal role in Hard West's performance, but its specifications are worth documenting. The CPU has 20 cores and 28 threads, with a base clock of 2.10 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. It is built on Intel's 10 nm process (Raptor Lake-R architecture) and supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory. Its cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 33 MB of shared L3 cache.

In synthetic benchmarks, this CPU is a powerhouse. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score is 35122, and its single-core score is 4958. The Geekbench multi-core score is 19620, and single-core is 2429. These scores place it in the 91st percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 53620. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Xeon 6505P (-0.2% delta), AMD Ryzen 9 7900X (0.6% delta), and AMD EPYC 7313P (0.8% delta).

However, in Hard West, these CPU capabilities are largely irrelevant. The game is a turn-based tactics title, which does not stress multi-threaded performance. The CPU's 28 threads are overkill for a game that likely uses only a few cores. The measured FPS data shows that the system is GPU-bound at all resolutions, as evidenced by the framerate scaling with resolution. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would see similar FPS across resolutions, but the data shows a clear and consistent drop as resolution increases.

The CPU's benchmark scores, such as a PassMark multi-thread score of 41317 and a single-thread score of 4257, support the conclusion that it is not the limiting factor. The game's performance is determined by the GPU's ability to render pixels, not the CPU's ability to process game logic. The i7-14700F has more than enough headroom to handle any game logic demands, and its high boost clock of 5.40 GHz ensures that even single-threaded tasks are executed quickly. In this context, the CPU is a silent partner, providing a solid foundation while the GPU dictates the actual gameplay experience. The data shows that any performance issues are squarely attributable to the RX 570, not the processor.