Hard West

# Hard West with Intel Core i7-14700F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080

The Intel Core i7-14700F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 delivers a robust experience for Hard West, a turn-based tactics title from 2015. The CPU sits in the 94th percentile among all processors, while the GPU ranks in the 80th percentile among all graphics cards. Benchmark data across 1080p, 1440p, and 4K resolutions with Low, Medium, High, and Ultra settings shows this combo handles the game comfortably, with the RTX 3080's 10 GB GDDR6X memory and 760.3 GB/s bandwidth proving ample for the game's visual demands.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate this combo achieves in Hard West?

A: The highest measured average is 246.4 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This indicates the combo can push far beyond standard display refresh rates at lower presets.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average frame rate is 40.8 FPS. This is playable for a turn-based tactics game, where slower pacing is less sensitive to frame rate dips.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU limit performance in this game?

A: The data suggests a GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 246.4 FPS, while at 4K Low it drops to 79.9 FPS. The scaling pattern indicates the RTX 3080 becomes the limiting factor as resolution increases.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested configurations for Hard West?

A: The combo ranks 494th out of 1699 tested combinations, placing it in the upper portion of the database. This ranking reflects the strong but not top-tier nature of this pairing.

Q: How large is the performance gap between Low and Ultra settings?

A: At 1080p, the gap from Low (246.4 FPS) to Ultra (113.9 FPS) represents a 53.8% reduction in average frame rate. At 4K, the same settings span from 79.9 FPS to 40.8 FPS, a 48.9% reduction.

Q: Is the RTX 3080's 10 GB VRAM sufficient for Hard West?

A: The measured results show no signs of VRAM-related stuttering or crashes, as the game runs at all settings and resolutions tested. The 10 GB GDDR6X memory, paired with 320-bit bus width, provides enough capacity and bandwidth for this title.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual fidelity and frame rate, the High preset at 2560x1440 is the standout choice. This configuration delivers a measured 100 FPS average, which is smooth for any display, while maintaining visual quality above Medium. The jump from Medium (127.3 FPS) to High (100 FPS) at 1440p costs 21.4% of performance but provides a noticeable improvement in graphical detail.

At 1920x1080, the High preset is equally compelling. The measured 155.7 FPS average exceeds the needs of 144 Hz monitors, and the headroom above 144 FPS ensures consistent frame pacing. Moving to Ultra at 1080p drops the average to 113.9 FPS, which is still playable but sacrifices the safety margin for high-refresh displays.

For 4K displays, the Medium preset at 66.1 FPS offers the best compromise. Ultra at 40.8 FPS is below the 60 FPS threshold many players prefer, while High at 53.9 FPS sits in an awkward middle ground. Medium provides a stable experience that remains fluid for turn-based gameplay. The Low preset at 4K (79.9 FPS) is an option for those prioritizing frame rate above all, but the visual compromises are substantial given the game's art style.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a clear GPU-bound pattern. At Low settings, the combo produces 246.4 FPS at 1080p, 154 FPS at 1440p, and 79.9 FPS at 4K. This represents a 37.5% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 48.1% drop from 1440p to 4K. The scaling is not perfectly linear, indicating that memory bandwidth and fill rate constraints become more pronounced at higher resolutions.

At Ultra settings, the same resolution progression yields 113.9 FPS at 1080p, 74.8 FPS at 1440p, and 40.8 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are 34.3% and 45.5% respectively, showing that the RTX 3080's compute resources scale predictably with pixel count. The RTX 3080's 164.2 GPixel/s pixel rate and 465.1 GTexel/s texture rate are the primary factors driving these results.

The consistent scaling pattern across all settings suggests that Hard West does not introduce unusual bottlenecks at any resolution. The CPU's 20 cores and 28 threads provide ample headroom, as evidenced by the high frame rates at 1080p Low. The game's turn-based nature means that even the 40.8 FPS result at 4K Ultra remains fully playable, as heavy action sequences are rare.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 494th out of 1699 tested combinations for Hard West, placing it in the 71st percentile of all configurations. This is a solid result, but not exceptional given the hardware involved. The ranking reflects that Hard West is a lightweight title by modern standards, and many lower-end combos can achieve high frame rates due to the game's 2015 release date.

The CPU's benchmark performance provides context for this ranking. The Intel Core i7-14700F scores 35,443 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 5,003 in single-core, with an average benchmark score of 54,097. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X, scores 54,450, a marginal 0.6% difference. This places the CPU in the 94th percentile, indicating that processing power is not a limiting factor for this combo.

The GPU's PassMark G3D score of 25,086 and 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 4,407 place it in the 80th percentile. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon Pro Duo, scores 35,860 in average benchmark, a 0.2% difference. The GPU's 29.77 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is more than sufficient for Hard West's rendering requirements.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 plays the decisive role in determining frame rates across resolutions. Its 10 GB of GDDR6X memory operates at 19 Gbps effective, delivering 760.3 GB/s of bandwidth over a 320-bit bus. For Hard West, this bandwidth is more than adequate, as the game's textures and geometry load comfortably within the memory capacity at all tested settings.

The GPU's architecture, Ampere on Samsung's 8 nm process, includes 8,704 shading units, 272 texture mapping units, and 96 raster output units. The boost clock of 1710 MHz enables a texture rate of 465.1 GTexel/s and a pixel rate of 164.2 GPixel/s. These specifications translate directly to the measured results: at 4K Ultra, the combo produces 40.8 FPS, while at 1080p Low it reaches 246.4 FPS.

The RTX 3080's 68 ray tracing cores and 272 tensor cores are present but largely unused in Hard West, which does not feature ray-traced effects. This means the GPU's rasterization performance is the primary driver of results. The 80th percentile ranking among all GPUs reflects that the RTX 3080 remains competitive, though newer cards in the database surpass it.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers consistently high frame rates across all presets. Low settings produce 246.4 FPS, Medium yields 201.8 FPS, High achieves 155.7 FPS, and Ultra drops to 113.9 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 132.5 FPS, showing that Hard West's visual settings have a significant impact on performance at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the results scale down proportionally. Low settings maintain 154 FPS, Medium delivers 127.3 FPS, High reaches 100 FPS, and Ultra falls to 74.8 FPS. The spread between presets narrows to 79.2 FPS, indicating that resolution pressure begins to flatten the differences between settings.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates become more modest. Low settings still manage 79.9 FPS, Medium produces 66.1 FPS, High achieves 53.9 FPS, and Ultra drops to 40.8 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 39.1 FPS, demonstrating that at 4K, the GPU's pixel throughput becomes the dominant constraint regardless of preset choice.

The pattern across all resolutions shows diminishing returns from Low to Ultra as pixel count increases. At 1080p, Ultra retains 46.2% of Low's performance. At 1440p, this retention is 48.6%, and at 4K, it is 51.1%. This suggests that at higher resolutions, the relative cost of additional visual effects is reduced, as the GPU is already saturated with pixel processing. For players with 4K displays, the Medium preset at 66.1 FPS provides the most balanced experience, while 1080p users can comfortably run Ultra at 113.9 FPS.