Hard West

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i7-14700F is a 20-core, 28-thread desktop processor from the Core 14th Gen series, built on Intel's Raptor Lake architecture at a 10 nm process node. Its base clock is 2.10 GHz with a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, and it carries a 65 W TDP. The chip features a multi-tier cache hierarchy: 80 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 33 MB of shared L3 cache. This processor supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory over a dual-channel bus, and it connects via PCIe Gen 5 with 16 lanes from the CPU.

In synthetic benchmarks, the i7-14700F posts strong results: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 35122 and a single-core score of 4958, along with a Geekbench multi-core score of 19620 and single-core score of 2429. Its PassMark multithread score is 41317, with a single-thread score of 4257. The processor's average benchmark score of 53620 places it in the 91st percentile among all CPUs.

For a turn-based tactics title like Hard West, the CPU's role is less about raw frame-pushing and more about maintaining consistent logic and AI processing. The game's genre typically does not demand the same thread saturation as real-time strategy or first-person shooters. However, the i7-14700F's 20 cores and 28 threads provide substantial headroom for background tasks and game logic. The boost clock of 5.40 GHz ensures that single-threaded game logic runs swiftly, which is relevant for turn-based decision-making and pathfinding calculations.

The data shows that this CPU is not the limiting factor in Hard West. At 1080p Low settings, the combo achieves 84 FPS average, which is the highest measured in the dataset. If the CPU were bottlenecking, we would expect to see similar frame rates across resolution changes at the same settings. Instead, the frame rate drops consistently as resolution increases, indicating that the GPU becomes the primary constraint at higher pixel counts. The CPU's benchmark percentile of 91% versus all CPUs suggests it is a high-end part, well above what a 2015 turn-based tactics game would require.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i7-14700F and AMD Radeon RX 580 ranks 3399 out of 3722 tested combos in Hard West. This places it in the lower tier of system configurations, which is unsurprising given the GPU's age and performance class. The RX 580 was released in 2017 and is now end-of-life, while the CPU is a 2024 release. This pairing creates a significant imbalance: a modern, high-end processor matched with a mid-range GPU from several generations ago.

The combo rank of 3399 out of 3722 means that roughly 91% of tested combinations outperform this setup in Hard West. This is not a reflection on the CPU, which ranks in the 91st percentile among all CPUs, but rather on the GPU, which sits at the 53rd percentile among all GPUs. The GPU's average benchmark score of 12928 is modest, and its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile (scoring 12940, a 0.1% delta), the GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER (12986, 0.4% delta), and the AMD Radeon 740M (12870, 0.5% delta). These are all comparable performers, indicating the RX 580 is a solid mid-range card but not a high-end one.

In the context of Hard West, the combo rank reflects the GPU's limitations at higher resolutions and settings. At 1080p Low, the combo delivers 84 FPS, which is playable. But at 4K Ultra, it drops to 13 FPS, which is not playable. The rank of 3399 out of 3722 is consistent with a system that can handle older or less demanding titles at lower settings but struggles with modern loads at high resolutions. The data indicates that this combo is best suited for 1080p gaming with modest settings, and the CPU's power is largely untapped in this scenario.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of resolution scaling that highlights the GPU as the bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 84 FPS average. At 1440p Low, this drops to 53 FPS, a reduction of 37%. At 4K Low, the average falls to 28 FPS, a further 47% reduction from 1440p. This steep decline with increasing pixel count is characteristic of a GPU-limited scenario, where the RX 580's 8 GB of GDDR5 memory and 256-bit memory bus become insufficient for the pixel throughput required.

The pattern holds across all settings. At Medium settings, the average FPS goes from 69 at 1080p to 43 at 1440p (a 38% drop) and then to 23 at 4K (a 47% drop from 1440p). At High settings, the progression is 53 at 1080p, 33 at 1440p (a 38% drop), and 17 at 4K (a 48% drop). At Ultra, it goes from 39 at 1080p to 25 at 1440p (a 36% drop) and then to 13 at 4K (a 48% drop).

The consistency of these percentage drops — roughly 36-38% from 1080p to 1440p, and 47-48% from 1440p to 4K — indicates that the GPU is the limiting component across all settings. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect the frame rate to remain relatively flat as resolution increases, since the CPU's workload does not scale with pixel count. Instead, the frame rate drops proportionally with resolution, confirming that the RX 580's rendering capabilities are the constraint.

The 4K Ultra result of 13 FPS average is particularly telling. This represents a 67% reduction from the 1080p Ultra score of 39 FPS. The turn-based nature of Hard West means that lower frame rates are less detrimental to gameplay than in fast-paced genres, but the data clearly shows that 4K is not a viable resolution for this combo, even at the lowest settings (28 FPS average at 4K Low).

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its best performance. Low settings produce an average of 84 FPS, Medium yields 69 FPS (with a minimum of 58 and maximum of 79), High achieves 53 FPS, and Ultra drops to 39 FPS. These numbers indicate that 1080p is the sweet spot for this pairing. Even at Ultra settings, the average of 39 FPS is playable for a turn-based tactics game, where frame pacing is less critical than in competitive shooters.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance degrades noticeably. Low settings average 53 FPS, Medium drops to 43 FPS (with a minimum of 37 and maximum of 50), High falls to 33 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 25 FPS. The Medium setting's minimum of 37 FPS suggests occasional dips that could be noticeable, but the turn-based genre tolerates these fluctuations well. High and Ultra settings at 1440p are borderline, with averages of 33 and 25 FPS respectively, which may feel sluggish but remain functional.

At 3840x2160, the combo struggles. Low settings average 28 FPS, Medium drops to 23 FPS (with a minimum of 19 and maximum of 26), High falls to 17 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 13 FPS. None of these results are ideal for smooth gameplay, though the genre's pacing mitigates the impact somewhat. The Medium setting's minimum of 19 FPS indicates that even moderate 4K settings can cause significant stuttering. The data suggests that 4K is not a practical resolution for this combo in Hard West, and users should stick to 1080p or perhaps 1440p with reduced settings.

The full dataset shows a clear progression: 84 FPS at 1080p Low is the peak, while 13 FPS at 4K Ultra is the nadir. The gap between Low and Ultra settings widens as resolution increases. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 45 FPS (84 vs 39, a 54% reduction). At 1440p, the gap is 28 FPS (53 vs 25, a 53% reduction). At 4K, the gap narrows to 15 FPS (28 vs 13, a 54% reduction). This consistency indicates that the GPU's performance scaling is uniform across resolution, reinforcing that the RX 580 is the limiting factor.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 580 is built on the Polaris 20 chip using GCN 4.0 architecture, fabricated on a 14 nm process by GlobalFoundries. It contains 5,700 million transistors on a 232 mm² die, with a transistor density of 24.6M per mm². The GPU operates at a base clock of 1257 MHz and a boost clock of 1340 MHz, with memory clocked at 2000 MHz (8 Gbps effective). It has 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

The RX 580 features 2304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 32 raster output units. Its pixel rate is 42.88 GPixel/s, and its texture rate is 193.0 GTexel/s. The GPU delivers 6.175 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 6.175 TFLOPS of FP16 (1:1 ratio). It has a TDP of 185 W and requires a 450 W power supply, using a single 8-pin power connector. The card is dual-slot, measures 241 mm (9.5 inches) in length, and interfaces via PCIe 3.0 x16. Display outputs include 1x HDMI 2.0b and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. It supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3.

In synthetic benchmarks, the RX 580 scores 8813 in PassMark G3D, 37453 in Geekbench OpenCL, 45173 in Geekbench Vulkan, and 45235 in Geekbench Metal. Its PassMark GPU compute score is 3488. The GPU's average benchmark score of 12928 places it in the 53rd percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile (12940, -0.1% delta), GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER (12986, -0.4% delta), AMD Radeon 740M (12870, 0.5% delta), and AMD FirePro W5100 (12847, 0.6% delta). These rivals are all within a narrow band, confirming the RX 580's mid-range positioning.

For Hard West, the GPU's role is critical. The game is a turn-based tactics title with a 2015 release date, but the measured FPS data shows that the RX 580 still struggles at higher resolutions. At 1080p Low, the GPU can push 84 FPS, but at 4K Ultra, it falls to 13 FPS. This suggests that even older games can tax the RX 580 when pixel count increases. The 8 GB VRAM is adequate for Hard West's textures, but the GPU's raw compute throughput (6.175 TFLOPS) and memory bandwidth (256.0 GB/s) are insufficient for 4K rendering. The GPU's 53rd percentile ranking among all GPUs indicates it is a mid-pack performer, and the measured FPS data in Hard West aligns with that assessment.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 1080p Low delivers the highest average FPS at 84, while 1080p Medium achieves 69 FPS. For playable performance, 1080p with Low to Medium settings is recommended, as 1440p High drops to 33 FPS and 4K Ultra falls to 13 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this system?

A: The resolution scaling data indicates the GPU is the limiting component. Frame rates drop consistently by roughly 36-38% from 1080p to 1440p and 47-48% from 1440p to 4K across all settings, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario. The i7-14700F ranks in the 91st percentile among CPUs, while the RX 580 sits at the 53rd percentile among GPUs.

Q: How does the RX 580 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RX 580's average benchmark score of 12928 is within 0.6% of its closest competitors. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile scores 12940 (-0.1% delta), the GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER scores 12986 (-0.4% delta), and the AMD Radeon 740M scores 12870 (0.5% delta). These are all statistically similar performers.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Hard West?

A: Technically, it can run at 4K, but the performance is poor. At 4K Low, the average FPS is 28, and at 4K Ultra, it drops to 13 FPS. While the turn-based genre is more tolerant of low frame rates, these numbers are below typical playability thresholds.

Q: What does the combo rank of 3399 out of 3722 mean?

A: It means that 3399 other tested CPU-GPU combinations outperform this setup in Hard West. This places the combo in the lower tier of configurations, primarily due to the GPU's modest performance. The CPU is high-end, but the GPU holds the system back.

Q: What is the GPU's memory configuration and how does it affect performance?

A: The RX 580 has 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus with 256.0 GB/s bandwidth. This is sufficient for Hard West's texture loads, but the memory bandwidth becomes a limiting factor at higher resolutions, contributing to the steep FPS drops observed at 1440p and 4K.