Hard West

The Intel Core i7-14700KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination delivers a highly playable experience in Hard West, a turn-based tactics title from 2015. The data shows that this pairing is heavily GPU-limited at higher resolutions, while the CPU provides ample headroom at lower settings. Below is a breakdown of how this combo behaves across the measured rows.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and tells a clear story about where the bottleneck lies. At 1080p with High settings, the combo averages 163.1 FPS. Moving to 1440p drops that to 101 FPS, a 38% reduction, and then to 4K it falls to 55.8 FPS, a further 45% drop from 1440p. This scaling pattern is classic GPU-bound behavior — the RTX 4070 is working progressively harder as pixel count rises, while the CPU sits relatively idle.

The gap between Low and Ultra settings widens dramatically at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the spread from Low (258.5 FPS) to Ultra (123.3 FPS) is 135.2 FPS, showing that even at Ultra the CPU can push the GPU to well over 120 FPS. At 1440p, Low hits 161.5 FPS while Ultra manages 78.2 FPS. At 4K, the range compresses: Low delivers 82.5 FPS, Medium 70.9 FPS, High 55.8 FPS, and Ultra drops to 41 FPS. This compression indicates that at 4K, the GPU is the limiting factor regardless of preset, and the CPU's headroom is largely unused.

For a turn-based tactics game, these numbers are more than sufficient. The minimum observed average is 41 FPS at 4K Ultra, which remains fluid for a genre that does not demand twitch reflexes. The 1440p High result of 101 FPS is particularly noteworthy — it suggests that this resolution is the sweet spot where the GPU still has enough bandwidth to render detailed scenes without the CPU becoming a constraint.

GPU Role

The RTX 4070 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. Its base clock is 1920 MHz with a boost of 2475 MHz, and it houses 5888 shading units. In Hard West, the GPU's role is straightforward: it determines the ceiling for frame rates at each resolution and preset.

The benchmark data shows a consistent pattern where the GPU scales with resolution. At 4K, the difference between Low (82.5 FPS) and Ultra (41 FPS) is exactly a factor of two, indicating that the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth are fully engaged at this resolution. The 12 GB VRAM is ample for a game from 2015; even at 4K Ultra, there is no indication of memory pressure causing stutters or frame drops.

When compared to its nearest rivals in the aggregate benchmark, the RTX 4070 sits within a narrow band. It trails the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 by 0.6%, the NVIDIA GeForce MX570 A by 1.9%, and the RTX 4080 Mobile by 2.2%, while leading the AMD Radeon RX 5300M by 2.5%. These deltas are small, but in Hard West the GPU's performance is more about consistency than raw peak power — the measured FPS figures are stable across all tested presets.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700KF is a 20-core, 28-thread processor from the Raptor Lake Refresh generation, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost of 5.60 GHz. Its 33 MB of shared L3 cache and support for DDR4 and DDR5 memory make it a high-end desktop part. In Hard West, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU without becoming a bottleneck, and the data shows it does so comfortably.

At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 258.5 FPS, which is far beyond what any display can show, and even at 1080p Ultra it holds 123.3 FPS. This indicates that the CPU is not the limiting factor at any resolution below 4K. The fact that 1440p Low (161.5 FPS) is higher than 1080p Ultra (123.3 FPS) further confirms that the GPU is the primary constraint, as the CPU has ample headroom to process the game's turn-based logic and unit AI.

The CPU's benchmark scores reinforce its capability. It sits in the 96th percentile among all CPUs, with an average score of 70104. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-14700K, scores 70074 with a 0% delta, essentially identical. The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X is 0.4% higher, and the Intel Xeon Platinum 8270 is 1.3% higher, but these differences are negligible in gaming workloads. For Hard West, the 14700KF's single-core strength (Cinebench R23 single-core score of 6290) is more relevant than its multi-core prowess, as the game's logic is largely single-threaded.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows provide a clear hierarchy of presets at each resolution. At 1080p, every preset is playable, but the data suggests that High (163.1 FPS) offers the best balance. Ultra (123.3 FPS) is only 24% slower than High, yet it likely adds marginal visual improvements for a turn-based game where frame rates above 60 are already smooth. Low (258.5 FPS) is excessive for any display and sacrifices visual fidelity for no practical gain.

At 1440p, High (101 FPS) is the recommended choice. It delivers triple-digit frame rates while keeping the GPU from being overtaxed. Medium (133.8 FPS) is faster but may noticeably reduce visual quality, whereas Ultra (78.2 FPS) is still smooth but offers diminishing returns. The 1440p High result is the most balanced point in the entire dataset — it uses the GPU's capabilities without pushing into diminishing returns.

At 4K, the recommendation depends on preference. High (55.8 FPS) is the highest preset that stays above 60 FPS, just barely missing that mark. Medium (70.9 FPS) is a safer choice for a consistent experience, while Ultra (41 FPS) is playable for a turn-based game but will feel sluggish in comparison. Low (82.5 FPS) is the fastest but sacrifices too much detail for a game that is not visually demanding. For most users, 4K Medium is the pragmatic pick, with High as a viable alternative if the slight frame drop is acceptable.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested CPU-GPU combinations, this pairing ranks 383rd out of 1699 combos for Hard West. This places it in the top 22.5% of all tested systems, which is a strong showing for a mid-range to high-end setup. The rank reflects the combination of the 14700KF's strong CPU performance and the RTX 4070's capable GPU, though it is not at the absolute top tier.

The ranking implies that there are 382 combos that achieve higher average FPS in this game, likely featuring more powerful GPUs like the RTX 4080 or 4090, or possibly higher-end CPUs that push 1080p Low past 300 FPS. However, for a game like Hard West, the practical difference between rank 383 and rank 100 is minimal — both will exceed 60 FPS at 1440p or 4K with the right settings. The combo's strength is its versatility: it handles every resolution and preset in the dataset with at least 41 FPS, and most configurations exceed 100 FPS.

FAQ

*Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo achieves in Hard West?*

A: The highest measured average is 258.5 FPS at 1080p with Low settings.

*Q: Can this combo run Hard West at 4K with playable frame rates?*

A: Yes, the lowest average at 4K is 41 FPS on Ultra, and Medium delivers 70.9 FPS, which is smooth for a turn-based tactics game.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 compare to its closest rivals in aggregate benchmarks?

A: It is within 2.5% of its nearest rivals: 0.6% behind the RX Vega 56, 1.9% behind the MX570 A, 2.2% behind the RTX 4080 Mobile, and 2.5% ahead of the RX 5300M.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The GPU is the limiting factor at 1440p and 4K, as shown by the large FPS drops with resolution. At 1080p, the CPU provides ample headroom, with Low hitting 258.5 FPS.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p?

A: High settings at 1440p yield 101 FPS, which is the best balance of visual quality and performance. Medium is faster at 133.8 FPS, but the visual trade-off is not worth it for a turn-based game.

*Q: How does this combo rank among all tested systems in Hard West?*

A: It ranks 383rd out of 1699 combos, placing it in the top 22.5% of all tested CPU-GPU pairings for this game.