Hard West

Hard West is a turn-based tactics title from 2015, and on this Intel Core i7-14700F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER combination, the data shows performance that is overwhelmingly driven by the graphics settings rather than the resolution. The measured frames per second (FPS) reveal a system with massive headroom at 1080p, where the lowest settings produce over 300 FPS, indicating that the CPU and GPU are barely taxed. As resolution climbs toward 4K, the frame rates remain highly playable, but the scaling pattern across settings becomes the defining characteristic of this pairing, with the gap between Low and Ultra presets widening significantly at higher resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial but expected for a game of this era, yet the data reveals that the limiting component shifts depending on the settings preset. At Low settings, the transition from 1920x1080 (301.2 FPS) to 3840x2160 (110.2 FPS) represents a 63% reduction in frame rate, which is a steep decline that points to the GPU becoming the primary bottleneck as pixel count increases. In contrast, at Ultra settings, the same resolution change sees frames fall from 153.0 FPS at 1080p to 50.1 FPS at 4K, a 67% drop that keeps the experience just above the 50 FPS threshold.

The pattern between Medium and High settings shows intermediate scaling, with 1440p results landing at 169.0 FPS and 129.3 FPS respectively. What stands out is that at 1080p, even the Ultra preset achieves 153.0 FPS, which suggests the RTX 4080 SUPER is far from saturated at lower resolutions. The data indicates that at 1080p Low, the frame rate of 301.2 FPS is likely hitting engine or CPU limits rather than GPU limits, as the 20-core processor with a 5.40 GHz boost clock provides ample single-thread performance for a turn-based strategy game. At 4K, however, the GPU's role becomes dominant, with the gap between Low (110.2 FPS) and Ultra (50.1 FPS) growing to 120% performance difference, confirming that resolution scaling is primarily a GPU-bound exercise.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700F brings 20 cores and 28 threads to the table, with a base clock of 2.10 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. For a turn-based tactics game like Hard West, the benchmark results suggest that the CPU is rarely the limiting factor, as even the most demanding 4K Ultra settings produce 50.1 FPS, which is well above playable thresholds for this genre. The processor's Cinebench R23 multicore score of 35443 and single-core score of 5003 place it in the 94th percentile against all CPUs, and its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X which scores 54450 in average benchmarks, a mere 0.6% difference.

The data shows that at 1080p Low settings, the 301.2 FPS result is likely constrained by the game's engine or the CPU's single-thread performance rather than the GPU. This is supported by the fact that the processor's PassMark single-thread score of 4261 is relatively modest compared to its multicore capabilities, but for a game that does not heavily utilize multiple cores, the 5.40 GHz boost clock provides the necessary responsiveness. The L3 cache of 33 MB shared across the cores also helps with game logic and AI calculations, which are typical workloads in turn-based tactics. Given that the CPU's average benchmark score of 54097 sits just 0.6% below the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X, the data indicates that this processor is more than sufficient for Hard West, and the measured FPS at 1440p High (129.3 FPS) shows no obvious CPU bottleneck.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is the dominant component in this pairing, with 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus delivering 736.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's clock speeds of 2295 MHz base and 2550 MHz boost, combined with 10240 shading units, provide substantial raw compute power, as reflected in its PassMark G3D score of 34245 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6600. The GPU sits in the 88th percentile against all GPUs, with its nearest rival being the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT at 53489 average score, a difference of just 0.2%.

The measured FPS data shows that the RTX 4080 SUPER handles Hard West with significant headroom, even at 4K. At 3840x2160 High settings, the GPU produces 67.0 FPS, which drops to 50.1 FPS at Ultra, indicating that the 16 GB VRAM is sufficient for the game's textures and effects even at higher resolutions. The transition from 1440p High (129.3 FPS) to 4K High (67.0 FPS) represents a 48% performance drop, which aligns with the increase in pixel count from 3.7 million to 8.3 million pixels. The GPU's nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT, scores just 0.2% higher on average, but the RTX 4080 SUPER's Ada Lovelace architecture and 52.22 TFLOPS FP32 performance give it an edge in modern rendering techniques, even though Hard West is an older title that likely does not leverage ray tracing or DLSS features.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the data shows a wide spread across settings: Low yields 301.2 FPS, Medium drops to 267.5 FPS, High comes in at 203.1 FPS, and Ultra settles at 153.0 FPS. These numbers indicate that even at the highest settings, the RTX 4080 SUPER is not fully utilized, and the frame rates are likely constrained by the game's engine or CPU single-thread performance. The 1440p results show a similar pattern but with lower absolute numbers: Low achieves 208.2 FPS, Medium reaches 169.0 FPS, High produces 129.3 FPS, and Ultra drops to 98.4 FPS. This scaling suggests that the GPU begins to take on more responsibility at 1440p, but the system still delivers well above 60 FPS on all presets.

At 3840x2160, the performance hierarchy becomes more pronounced. Low settings produce 110.2 FPS, which is still very smooth for a turn-based game. Medium drops to 89.7 FPS, High falls to 67.0 FPS, and Ultra bottom out at 50.1 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 60.1 FPS, which represents a 120% performance gap, indicating that the Ultra preset's graphical demands are significantly heavier than the Low preset. Notably, there are no minimum or maximum FPS values recorded in the data, so the average FPS figures represent the steady-state performance without stutter or frame-time spikes. The overall combo rank for this CPU-GPU pairing in Hard West is 78 out of 1699 combinations, placing it in the top 5% of tested configurations.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU and GPU combination in Hard West?

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 at High settings delivers 129.3 FPS, which balances visual quality and performance. At 4K, the High preset produces 67.0 FPS, which is perfectly playable for a turn-based tactics game, while 1080p offers excess headroom with 203.1 FPS at High.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 SUPER compare to its closest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 4080 SUPER scores 53610 on average benchmarks, which is just 0.2% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT at 53489. This indicates near-identical rasterization performance, though the RTX 4080 SUPER has a higher PassMark G3D score of 34245.

Q: Is the Intel Core i7-14700F a bottleneck at 1080p?

A: At 1080p Low settings, the system reaches 301.2 FPS, and the CPU's PassMark single-thread score of 4261 suggests it can handle the game's logic. The 20-core processor with a 5.40 GHz boost clock is not a bottleneck, as the 1080p Ultra result of 153.0 FPS is still well above monitor refresh rates.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 110.2 FPS while Ultra averages 50.1 FPS, a difference of 60.1 FPS. This 120% performance gap indicates that Ultra settings are significantly more demanding on the GPU.

Q: How does this system rank among all tested combinations in Hard West?

A: The Core i7-14700F and RTX 4080 SUPER combination ranks 78 out of 1699 tested configurations, placing it in the top 5% of all CPU-GPU pairings for this game.

Q: Can this system handle 4K Ultra settings in Hard West?

A: Yes, the 4K Ultra preset produces 50.1 FPS on average. While this is below the 60 FPS threshold, it is perfectly playable for a turn-based tactics game where frame timing is less critical than in fast-paced action titles.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance for the optimal settings preset depending on the target resolution. For 1920x1080, the Ultra preset at 153.0 FPS is the best choice, as the frame rate remains exceptionally high while delivering the maximum visual fidelity. Even at 1080p Ultra, the system has enough headroom to maintain smooth gameplay, and the 267.5 FPS Medium result shows that there is little reason to compromise on visuals at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the High preset at 129.3 FPS offers the best balance, as it stays well above 60 FPS while providing a significant visual upgrade over Medium (169.0 FPS) and Low (208.2 FPS). The Ultra preset at 98.4 FPS is also viable for users who prioritize image quality, as it remains above 60 FPS. For 4K, the High preset at 67.0 FPS is the recommended choice, as it delivers a smooth experience without the 50.1 FPS dip seen at Ultra. The Medium preset at 89.7 FPS provides additional headroom for those who want higher frame rates, while the Low preset at 110.2 FPS is only necessary for users targeting 120 Hz or higher refresh rates on 4K displays.

Ultimately, the data suggests that the RTX 4080 SUPER is powerful enough to run Hard West at High settings across all resolutions, and the turning point where the Ultra preset becomes less attractive is at 4K, where the 50.1 FPS average may feel less fluid than the 67.0 FPS High preset. For most players, the High preset at 1440p or 4K offers the best combination of visual quality and performance, given the turn-based nature of the game where frame rate fluctuations are less disruptive than in real-time genres.