Hard West

FAQ

Q: How does this CPU/GPU combo rank in Hard West?

A: The combination ranks 294th out of 1699 tested system configurations, placing it in the top 17% of all tested combos for this game.

Q: What is the CPU's multi-threaded performance relative to its closest rivals?

A: The Core i7-14700F scores 54,097 in average benchmark score, which is 0.6% behind the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and 1.1% behind the Ryzen 9 9900X3D, while running 1.2% ahead of the Intel Xeon Phi 7290 and 1.7% ahead of the AMD EPYC 7313P.

Q: What kind of frame rates can I expect at 1440p with Ultra settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Ultra settings, the measured average FPS is 83.0. This drops to 45.1 at 4K Ultra, showing a significant resolution penalty for maxed-out visuals.

Q: Is the RTX 5070's performance close to any previous-generation cards?

A: The RTX 5070's average benchmark score of 41,687 puts it 0.6% ahead of the RTX 3090, 0.2% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro 5300, and 0.5% behind the NVIDIA Tesla M40.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU in this game?

A: Benchmark data suggests not. At 1080p Low the system produces 278.6 FPS, and at 4K Low it still delivers 93.3 FPS — the scaling pattern indicates the GPU becomes the limiting factor only at higher resolutions and settings.

Q: What is the GPU's memory configuration?

A: The RTX 5070 features 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 672.0 GB/s of bandwidth with a 1750 MHz memory clock (28 Gbps effective).

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700F is a 20-core, 28-thread processor based on Raptor Lake-R architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process. It runs with a base clock of 2.10 GHz and boosts up to 5.40 GHz. The 33 MB shared L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache provide substantial on-die storage for game assets and instruction streams. Its 65 W TDP makes it a relatively modest power draw for the thread count on offer.

In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU's multi-threaded strength is clear: Cinebench R23 multi-core scores 35,443, while single-core hits 5,003. Geekbench results show 16,571 multi-core and 2,711 single-core. Passmark multi-thread reaches 41,765, with single-thread at 4,261. These numbers place the chip in the 94th percentile of all CPUs tested.

For Hard West, a turn-based tactics title, the CPU's role is primarily to maintain consistent frame pacing during unit actions and AI turns. The 20 cores and 28 threads are far more than this 2015 game needs, but the high boost clock of 5.40 GHz ensures that single-threaded game logic runs without hiccups. The data confirms this: at 1080p Low, the system hits 278.6 FPS, which is well beyond what any display can show — the CPU is nowhere near limiting.

The nearest rivals in aggregate benchmark performance are all within 1.7% of the i7-14700F. The Ryzen 9 9900X is 0.6% faster, the Ryzen 9 9900X3D is 1.1% faster, while the Xeon Phi 7290 trails by 1.2% and the EPYC 7313P by 1.7%. These are marginal differences that would not translate into noticeable gameplay variance in a turn-based strategy title.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with a GB205 chip fabricated on TSMC's 5 nm process. It carries 31,100 million transistors on a 263 mm² die, with a transistor density of 118.3M per mm². The GPU runs at a base clock of 2325 MHz and boosts to 2512 MHz.

Memory configuration is 12 GB of GDDR7 on a 192-bit bus, providing 672.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This is ample for Hard West, which is not a texture-heavy title by modern standards. The GPU's 80 ROPs and 192 TMUs handle rasterization efficiently, while 48 RT cores and 192 tensor cores are available for any compute workloads.

The RTX 5070's Passmark G3D score is 29,137, with a GPU compute score of 15,787. Its aggregate benchmark score of 41,687 places it in the 83rd percentile of all GPUs. The closest rivals in aggregate performance are the Radeon Pro 5300 (0.2% faster), RTX 3090 (0.6% slower), Tesla M40 (0.5% faster), and Radeon Pro 580X (0.7% slower).

In Hard West, the GPU's role becomes evident as resolution and settings increase. At 1080p, even Ultra settings produce 128.9 FPS. At 4K Ultra, the frame rate drops to 45.1 FPS. This shows that the 5070 has enough raw throughput for high-refresh 1440p gameplay but struggles to maintain 60 FPS at 4K with maximum settings. The 12 GB VRAM is not the constraint here — the game is not known for high VRAM usage — rather, the GPU's compute throughput at 4K pixel counts is the limiting factor.

How This Combo Ranks

The Core i7-14700F + RTX 5070 combination ranks 294th out of 1699 tested combos in Hard West. This places it in the upper 17% of all configurations tested, which is strong for a mid-to-high-end pairing. The rank reflects the balance between a 94th-percentile CPU and an 83rd-percentile GPU.

What this rank does not tell you is the context of the game itself. Hard West is a turn-based tactics title from 2015, so absolute frame rates are less critical than in fast-paced shooters. The 294th rank means many higher-end combos (likely with RTX 5080/5090-class GPUs or newer flagship cards) outpace it, but the practical difference in gameplay is minimal when you are already above 60 FPS at most settings.

The data shows that the combo's weakest point is 4K Ultra, where it drops to 45.1 FPS. At every other resolution/settings combination, it clears 56.7 FPS (4K High). If you are targeting 1440p, this combo is comfortably in high-refresh territory, hitting 110.5 FPS at High and 143.6 FPS at Medium.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals clear scaling patterns. From 1080p to 1440p at High settings, frame rate drops from 173.3 to 110.5 FPS — a 36% reduction. From 1440p to 4K at High, it drops from 110.5 to 56.7 FPS — a 49% reduction. The total 1080p-to-4K drop at High is 67%.

At Low settings, the scaling is steeper in absolute terms but the system stays playable: 278.6 FPS at 1080p, 177.7 at 1440p, and 93.3 at 4K. The 1080p-to-4K drop is 66%, nearly identical to High settings. This consistency suggests the GPU is the primary scaling factor — the CPU is delivering enough frames that resolution changes are purely GPU-bound.

At Ultra settings, the 1080p-to-4K drop is 65% (128.9 to 45.1 FPS). The fact that all three settings presets show roughly a two-thirds frame rate reduction from 1080p to 4K indicates that Hard West's rendering load scales predictably with pixel count. The GPU is the limiting component at every resolution above 1080p, as the CPU headroom is substantial given the turn-based nature of the game.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: 278.6 FPS average
• Medium: 227.2 FPS average
• High: 173.3 FPS average
• Ultra: 128.9 FPS average

At 1080p, every setting is playable at high refresh rates. Even Ultra settings produce 128.9 FPS, which exceeds most 120 Hz displays. Low settings more than double the Ultra frame rate, reaching 278.6 FPS.

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: 177.7 FPS average
• Medium: 143.6 FPS average
• High: 110.5 FPS average
• Ultra: 83.0 FPS average

1440p is the sweet spot for this combo. Ultra settings still hit 83 FPS, which is smooth for a turn-based game. High settings at 110.5 FPS are ideal for high-refresh 1440p monitors. Low settings push past 177 FPS, confirming the CPU can feed the GPU without bottlenecks.

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: 93.3 FPS average
• Medium: 74.3 FPS average
• High: 56.7 FPS average
• Ultra: 45.1 FPS average

4K is where the RTX 5070 starts to show its limits. Ultra settings dip below 60 FPS, and High just reaches 56.7 FPS. Medium and Low remain playable at 74.3 and 93.3 FPS respectively. If you own a 4K display, you will need to compromise on settings — dropping from Ultra to High costs visual fidelity but recovers 11.6 FPS, while dropping to Medium gains 29.2 FPS over Ultra.

The overall pattern is consistent: this combo excels at 1080p and 1440p across all settings, while 4K requires Medium settings or lower for smooth gameplay. The turn-based genre means even 45 FPS is tolerable, but 56.7 FPS at 4K High offers the best balance of visuals and responsiveness for this title.