Hard West

Settings Recommendations

For Hard West, the measured data shows a clear trade-off between visual fidelity and frame rate across the four available presets. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 173 FPS, which is more than double the 81 FPS seen at Ultra. However, the Medium preset at 141 FPS provides a strong middle ground, with the measured minimum of 120 FPS ensuring that even the most intense turn-based scenes remain fluid. The High preset at 109 FPS is also perfectly playable, but Medium offers a 29% frame-rate advantage over High while typically retaining most of the visual enhancements that matter in a game with this art style.

Moving to 2560x1440, the situation becomes more nuanced. The Low preset hits 109 FPS, which is identical to the 1080p High result, indicating that the resolution scaling is well-handled. Medium at 90 FPS, with a minimum of 76 FPS, remains the best balance for competitive or fast-paced play. High at 69 FPS is still smooth, but the jump from Medium to High costs 23% performance. Ultra at 52 FPS is the first preset where frame pacing becomes a concern, as the average drops below the 60 FPS threshold that many players consider the baseline for responsive input.

At 3840x2160, the data reveals that Ultra is not a viable option, with an average of only 27 FPS. High at 36 FPS is similarly marginal. Medium at 47 FPS, with a minimum of 40 FPS, is the only preset that approaches playability at 4K, but it still falls short of a locked 60. Low at 57 FPS is the only 4K preset that clears 50 FPS, making it the recommended choice for 4K displays. The recommendation across all resolutions is Medium, as it provides the best combination of visual quality and performance headroom, particularly when considering the minimum frame rates that prevent stutter in turn-based gameplay.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700K is a 20-core, 28-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, running at a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. Its benchmark scores reflect a strong multi-threaded performer, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 33440.5 and a single-core score of 2160. In the context of Hard West, a turn-based tactics title from 2015, the CPU's role is primarily to ensure that unit AI calculations and pathfinding are processed without delay. The data shows that even at 1080p Low, where the GPU is least stressed, the system achieves 173 FPS, indicating that the CPU is not a bottleneck in this scenario.

The processor's 33 MB of shared L3 cache and per-core L2 cache of 2 MB help reduce memory latency, which is beneficial for the sequential decision-making typical of turn-based games. The 125 W TDP and support for DDR4 and DDR5 memory mean the platform can be configured flexibly, but the measured results suggest that even modest memory configurations would suffice for this title. The percentile ranking of 94 among all CPUs places it in the top tier, and its average benchmark score of 69355 is 0.1% higher than the AMD EPYC 9115, while being 0.2% lower than the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X. These differences are negligible in gaming, and the data confirms that the i7-14700K provides ample headroom for Hard West's computational demands.

What matters more for this game is the single-thread performance, as turn-based engines often rely on a primary game logic thread. The Geekbench single-core score of 2569 and Cinebench R20 single-core score of 2617 indicate excellent per-core throughput. In practice, this translates to consistent frame times, as evidenced by the Medium preset's minimum FPS values being within 15-20% of the average across all resolutions. The 28 threads are overkill for a 2015 title, but they ensure that background tasks or streaming do not interfere with the game's performance.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is a Turing-architecture GPU with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its base clock of 1605 MHz and boost clock of 1770 MHz, combined with 2560 shading units, yield a FP32 performance of 9.062 TFLOPS. The GPU's percentile ranking of 65 places it above the median but not in the enthusiast tier, and its average benchmark score of 20282 is 1% below the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M and 1.5% below the Intel Arc A750.

In Hard West, the GPU's role is heavily dependent on resolution. At 1080p, the RTX 2070 SUPER is more than sufficient, with the Low preset hitting 173 FPS and Ultra still managing 81 FPS. The 8 GB VRAM is not a limiting factor at this resolution, as the game's textures and effects are modest by modern standards. At 1440p, the card begins to show its mid-range nature, with Ultra dropping to 52 FPS and Medium providing the best experience at 90 FPS. The 4K results are the most telling: the card's 448.0 GB/s bandwidth and 9.062 TFLOPS are insufficient for Ultra (27 FPS), and even Low only reaches 57 FPS.

The memory clock of 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) is a fixed characteristic, and the data shows that the GPU's compute capabilities scale predictably with resolution. The 40 RT cores and 320 tensor cores are present but largely unused in a game like Hard West, which has no ray-traced effects. The 64 ROPs and 160 TMUs provide solid fill rates (113.3 GPixel/s and 283.2 GTexel/s, respectively), which are adequate for the game's 2D sprite and simple 3D geometry. The 215 W TDP and suggested 550 W PSU indicate that power draw is moderate, but the measured frame rates are the primary evidence of its capability. The card's end-of-life status and 2019 release date explain why it struggles at 4K, but for 1080p and 1440p gaming, it remains a capable partner for this CPU.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i7-14700K and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER ranks 2164 out of 3722 tested combos in Hard West, placing it in the 42nd percentile of all system configurations. This ranking is notable because the CPU is a top-tier part (94th percentile among all CPUs), while the GPU sits at the 65th percentile. The system is thus CPU-heavy, and the data suggests that the GPU is the limiting factor in most scenarios.

To contextualize this ranking, consider that the CPU's nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X, which performs within 0.2% in synthetic benchmarks, and the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX, which is 0.7% slower. The GPU's nearest rivals include the Intel Arc B570, which is 1.3% faster in average benchmark score, and the Intel Arc A750, which is 1.5% faster. If the combo were paired with a faster GPU, the ranking would likely improve substantially, as the CPU has significant headroom. Conversely, the current ranking reflects a balanced pairing for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where the GPU can keep up with the CPU's frame generation.

The 2164th rank out of 3722 means that roughly 58% of tested combos perform better in this specific game. This is not a poor result, but it indicates that the RTX 2070 SUPER holds the system back, particularly at higher resolutions. The data shows that at 1080p Medium, the combo delivers 141 FPS, which is excellent, but at 4K Medium, it drops to 47 FPS. The ranking likely reflects the 4K results dragging down the overall position. For a turn-based tactics game, where frame rates above 60 are not strictly necessary, this combo is more than adequate, but the rankings are based on raw FPS across all settings, which penalizes the 4K Ultra result of 27 FPS.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 is the best resolution, as it delivers between 81 FPS (Ultra) and 173 FPS (Low). At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset drops to 52 FPS, and at 3840x2160, even the Low preset only reaches 57 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core i7-14700K has an average benchmark score of 69355, which is 0.1% higher than the AMD EPYC 9115 and 0.2% lower than the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X. It is 0.7% faster than the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX and 0.9% faster than the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F.

Q: Is the RTX 2070 SUPER capable of running Hard West at 4K?

A: It is playable only on Low settings, where it averages 57 FPS. Medium averages 47 FPS with a minimum of 40 FPS, while High (36 FPS) and Ultra (27 FPS) are not smooth enough for comfortable play.

Q: What preset provides the most consistent frame times?

A: The Medium preset is the most consistent, with measured minimum FPS values of 120 at 1080p, 76 at 1440p, and 40 at 4K. The minimum-to-average ratios are 85%, 84%, and 85%, respectively, indicating stable performance.

Q: How does this combo rank against all tested systems?

A: It ranks 2164th out of 3722 combos in Hard West, meaning it outperforms about 42% of tested configurations. The ranking is limited by the GPU's 65th percentile standing, while the CPU is in the 94th percentile.

Q: Does the GPU's VRAM capacity affect performance in this game?

A: The 8 GB VRAM is sufficient at all tested settings and resolutions. The data shows that frame rates scale uniformly with resolution, with no sudden drops that would indicate VRAM exhaustion, as the 4K Medium result of 47 FPS is consistent with the 4K High result of 36 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS values are: Low 173, Medium 141 (minimum 120, maximum 163), High 109, and Ultra 81. The Medium preset's minimum of 120 FPS is particularly strong, ensuring no perceptible stutter. The gap between Low and Ultra is 92 FPS, which represents a 53% performance loss for the highest visual quality. The High preset's 109 FPS is exactly equal to the 1440p Low result, highlighting that resolution scaling is more impactful than preset changes at this performance tier.

At 2560x1440, the averages are: Low 109, Medium 90 (minimum 76, maximum 103), High 69, and Ultra 52. The Medium preset's minimum of 76 FPS remains above the 60 FPS threshold, making it the recommended setting for 1440p. The Ultra preset's 52 FPS is 20% below the 1080p Ultra result, showing a proportional drop. The data indicates that the RTX 2070 SUPER handles 1440p well up to the High preset, but Ultra requires compromise.

At 3840x2160, the averages are: Low 57, Medium 47 (minimum 40, maximum 54), High 36, and Ultra 27. The Low preset is the only one that exceeds 50 FPS, while the Ultra preset is below 30 FPS, which is generally considered unplayable. The Medium preset's minimum of 40 FPS suggests that even with the lowest settings, 4K gaming is marginal on this GPU. The scaling from 1440p to 4K at Medium settings shows a 48% performance drop (90 to 47 FPS), which is consistent with the pixel count increase. The maximum FPS values at 4K Medium (54) and 1080p Medium (163) demonstrate that the GPU's compute resources are fully utilized at all resolutions, with no artificial limits.