Hard West

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS for this combo at 1080p with Ultra settings?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 delivers an average of 155 FPS at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings in Hard West.

Q: How does the RTX 4080's benchmark score compare to its closest rival?

A: The RTX 4080 has an average benchmark score of 54247, which is 0.1% higher than the RTX 4080 SUPER (score 54209) and 1.1% higher than the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X (score 54828, deltaPct -1.1).

Q: What is the CPU's single-thread performance in Cinebench R23?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 scores 3655 points in Cinebench R23 single-core testing, while its multi-core score is 25891 points.

Q: Does the CPU support overclocking?

A: No, the multiplier is locked (multiplierUnlocked: false), meaning the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 is not unlocked for overclocking.

Q: What memory type and bus width does this combo use?

A: The CPU supports DDR5 memory with a dual-channel bus and a bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s. The RTX 4080 uses 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus with 716.8 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking among all GPUs?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 ranks in the 86th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 54247.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 combination ranks 205th out of 3722 tested combos in Hard West. This places the pairing in the top 5.5% of all configurations evaluated in this game. The rank reflects the combined capability of both components rather than a single bottleneck.

Given the game's turn-based tactics nature, the high ranking is notable because Hard West does not typically stress graphics hardware as heavily as fast-paced shooters or action RPGs. The 205th position out of 3722 suggests that this combo delivers frame rates that exceed the vast majority of tested systems, even at demanding resolutions.

The CPU alone sits in the 85th percentile among all processors, while the GPU is in the 86th percentile among all graphics cards. The near-equal percentile rankings indicate a well-balanced pairing where neither component dramatically overshadows the other in synthetic benchmarks. The combo's overall rank of 205 suggests that the game's engine responds well to both the CPU's 10 cores and the GPU's 9728 shading units.

The data indicates that this configuration is positioned for high-refresh-rate gameplay at lower resolutions and smooth 4K experiences at higher settings. The combination's rank reflects strong performance across the board, though the specific FPS numbers in the measured data reveal where the system excels and where it begins to show limits.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture using the AD103 chip on a 5 nm process. It contains 9728 shading units, 304 texture mapping units, and 112 raster operation pipelines. The GPU operates with a base clock of 2205 MHz and a boost clock of 2505 MHz, with memory running at 1400 MHz (22.4 Gbps effective).

Memory capacity is 16 GB of GDDR6X on a 256-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s. For Hard West, this memory configuration is more than sufficient, as the game's art style and turn-based presentation do not demand massive texture streaming or large scene complexity. The 16 GB capacity ensures no memory-related stutters even at 4K Ultra settings.

The RTX 4080's pixel rate is 280.6 GPixel/s and texture rate is 761.5 GTexel/s, which translate to strong fill-rate capabilities. In Hard West, these metrics contribute to the GPU's ability to render the game's stylized environments and character models efficiently. The FP32 performance of 48.74 TFLOPS provides ample compute headroom for the DirectX 12 rendering path.

The GPU's benchmark scores show a PassMark G3D score of 34457 and a DirectX 12 score of 132, which are consistent with its 86th percentile ranking. The GPU's average benchmark score of 54247 places it nearly identical to the RTX 4080 SUPER (deltaPct 0.1), indicating that in synthetic tests, these two cards perform equivalently. However, the data shows that in Hard West, the measured FPS varies significantly with settings, indicating that the game's engine scales well with GPU capability.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data reveals a clear hierarchy across the four available presets. At 1080p, Low settings produce an average of 312 FPS, Medium delivers 269 FPS, High achieves 206 FPS, and Ultra drops to 155 FPS. All of these averages exceed the 144 Hz refresh rate commonly found in gaming monitors, meaning even Ultra settings provide a fluid experience at 1080p.

At 1440p, the pattern continues but with lower headroom. Low settings produce 207 FPS, Medium reaches 170 FPS, High achieves 131 FPS, and Ultra drops to 98 FPS. For players with 144 Hz 1440p displays, High settings offer the best balance, as the 131 FPS average stays close to the refresh ceiling while providing improved visual quality over Medium. The Medium preset's minimum FPS of 144 matches the refresh rate exactly, but the average of 170 FPS provides more consistent headroom.

At 4K, the choices become more critical. Low settings yield 109 FPS, Medium produces 89 FPS, High achieves 69 FPS, and Ultra drops to 51 FPS. For 60 Hz 4K displays, Medium settings provide the best experience with an average of 89 FPS and a minimum of 76 FPS, ensuring no drops below the refresh threshold. High settings at 69 FPS are playable but leave less margin, while Ultra at 51 FPS falls below 60 FPS and may introduce noticeable stutter.

The optimal recommendation depends on resolution. For 1080p, Ultra settings deliver 155 FPS, which is smooth on any display. For 1440p, High settings at 131 FPS provide the best visual fidelity without sacrificing frame rate stability. For 4K, Medium settings at 89 FPS offer the best experience, as the minimum of 76 FPS stays well above the 60 FPS threshold.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates. Low settings produce an average of 312 FPS, which is the fastest measured result in the entire dataset. Medium settings yield 269 FPS with a minimum of 228 and maximum of 309. High settings average 206 FPS, while Ultra settings average 155 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 157 FPS, indicating that the game's visual presets have a substantial impact on performance at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but show a noticeable reduction. Low settings average 207 FPS, Medium achieves 170 FPS with a minimum of 144 and maximum of 195, High delivers 131 FPS, and Ultra produces 98 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 109 FPS, which is a smaller absolute gap than at 1080p but still significant.

At 3840x2160, the performance scales down further. Low settings average 109 FPS, Medium achieves 89 FPS with a minimum of 76 and maximum of 103, High delivers 69 FPS, and Ultra drops to 51 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 58 FPS. Notably, the Medium preset at 4K has a minimum of 76 FPS, which is higher than the Ultra preset's average of 51 FPS.

The data shows a consistent pattern: each step up in settings reduces the average FPS by roughly 20-30% at each resolution. The Medium preset is the only one with recorded min/max values across all resolutions, providing the most complete picture of frame time consistency. At 1080p Medium, the range is 228-309 FPS; at 1440p Medium, the range is 144-195 FPS; at 4K Medium, the range is 76-103 FPS.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 features 10 cores and 10 threads based on the Arrow Lake architecture, manufactured on a 3 nm process by TSMC. The base clock is 3.30 GHz with a boost clock of 4.90 GHz. The CPU has a 20 MB shared L3 cache, with 192 KB of L1 cache and 3 MB of L2 cache per core.

In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU scores 25891 points in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 3655 points in single-core. The PassMark single-thread score is 4412, and the multithread score is 30459. These scores place the CPU in the 85th percentile among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 36938.

The CPU's nearest rivals in the benchmark database are the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F (avgScore 36945, deltaPct 0), the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D (avgScore 37018, deltaPct -0.2), the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 (avgScore 37093, deltaPct -0.4), and the Intel Core i9-12900T (avgScore 37112, deltaPct -0.5). The Core Ultra 5 225 is effectively tied with these processors, showing that its performance is competitive with previous-generation Ryzen 5 and Core i9 parts.

For Hard West, a turn-based tactics game that primarily relies on single-thread performance for game logic and AI decision-making, the CPU's single-core score of 3655 in Cinebench R23 is more relevant than its multi-core throughput. The 10 cores provide ample parallelism for background tasks, while the 4.90 GHz boost clock ensures responsive gameplay even when many NPCs are active on the map.

The CPU's memory bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s and dual-channel DDR5 support contribute to the system's overall responsiveness. The absence of ECC memory support is not a concern for gaming workloads. The CPU's 65 W TDP suggests efficient power draw, which pairs well with the GPU's 320 W TDP for a balanced system.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows how the combo's performance scales from 1080p to 4K. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 312 at 1080p to 207 at 1440p (a 33.7% decrease) and then to 109 at 4K (a 47.3% decrease from 1440p). This scaling pattern indicates that the GPU becomes increasingly stressed as resolution increases, but the CPU remains capable of feeding frames.

At Medium settings, the averages are 269 FPS at 1080p, 170 FPS at 1440p, and 89 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are 36.8% from 1080p to 1440p and 47.6% from 1440p to 4K. The minimum FPS values follow a similar trajectory: 228 at 1080p, 144 at 1440p, and 76 at 4K. The consistent ratio of minimum to average FPS (approximately 0.85) suggests the frame time distribution remains stable across resolutions.

At High settings, the averages are 206 FPS at 1080p, 131 FPS at 1440p, and 69 FPS at 4K. The drops are 36.4% from 1080p to 1440p and 47.3% from 1440p to 4K. At Ultra settings, the averages are 155 FPS at 1080p, 98 FPS at 1440p, and 51 FPS at 4K, with drops of 36.8% and 48.0% respectively.

The consistent ~37% drop from 1080p to 1440p and ~48% drop from 1440p to 4K across all settings indicates that the scaling is resolution-bound rather than setting-bound. This pattern suggests the RTX 4080 is the limiting component at higher resolutions, as the CPU's performance headroom is ample given the game's turn-based nature. The fact that the percentage drops are nearly identical across Low, Medium, High, and Ultra presets points to a GPU bottleneck that scales predictably with pixel count.

At 4K Low, the 109 FPS average demonstrates that even with minimal graphics load, the GPU cannot push beyond this threshold, confirming that the resolution itself is the constraining factor rather than the game's visual complexity.