Hard West

# CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 is a 14-core, 14-thread desktop processor built on the Arrow Lake-S architecture using a 3 nm process node. Its base clock runs at 3.50 GHz, with a boost clock reaching 5.10 GHz. The CPU's 24 MB of shared L3 cache and 192 KB L1 cache per core provide ample headroom for the turn-based tactical logic in Hard West, where AI pathfinding and map state calculations can create brief but noticeable single-thread spikes.

In synthetic testing, the Core Ultra 5 245 posts a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32,924 and a single-core score of 4,648. These numbers place the chip at the 90th percentile among all CPUs in the database. Compared to its nearest rivals, the Ultra 5 245 sits within a tight band: it trails the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G by 0.4% in average benchmark score, trails the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 by 0.5%, and leads the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H by 0.6% and the Intel Core i5-14600K by 0.8%. These are marginal differences, meaning that in a game like Hard West — which is not heavily threaded — the CPU's single-core strength becomes the dominant factor.

The data shows that at 1080p, where GPU load is lighter, the CPU must keep up with frame pacing for turn-based animations and UI transitions. With a PassMark single-thread score of 4,394 and a PassMark physics score of 2,569, the Ultra 5 245 demonstrates solid per-core performance. The processor's 14 threads are sufficient for Hard West's engine, which rarely scales beyond a handful of threads; the game's turn-based nature means bursty computational loads rather than sustained multi-threaded workloads. Consequently, the 5.10 GHz boost clock is likely the more relevant specification for this title, as it helps reduce latency during enemy-turn calculations and environmental effect processing.

# GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Arc B580 is built on the Xe2-HPG architecture (Battlemage generation) using a 5 nm process. It features 2,560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 80 raster operation units, along with 20 ray tracing cores. The GPU's base and boost clocks are both 2670 MHz, with memory running at 2375 MHz (19 Gbps effective) across a 192-bit bus. This configuration yields 12 GB of GDDR6 VRAM and a memory bandwidth of 456.0 GB/s.

In Hard West, the Arc B580's 12 GB frame buffer is more than adequate. The game, released in late 2015, uses relatively modest texture sizes, and even at 4K Ultra settings the VRAM footprint remains well within the card's capacity. The GPU's pixel rate of 213.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 427.2 GTexel/s provide the raw throughput needed for the game's isometric, sprite-heavy visuals, which rely more on fill rate than complex shader work.

The Arc B580's benchmark results show a PassMark G3D score of 15,748 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3,068. The GPU sits at the 68th percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP (0.2% lower average score), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (0.6% higher), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 (0.7% lower), and the NVIDIA P106-100 (1.0% lower). These comparisons indicate that the Arc B580 performs in a competitive tier, though the specific architecture optimizations for older titles like Hard West can vary.

For a game from 2015, the Arc B580's modern feature set — DirectX 12 Ultimate, Vulkan 1.4, and OpenGL 4.6 — includes backward compatibility paths that matter more than raw compute. The GPU's FP32 throughput of 13.67 TFLOPS is far beyond what Hard West's engine can utilize, meaning the bottleneck in this pairing will almost always be elsewhere, particularly at higher resolutions where the data shows a clear performance drop.

# Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data reveals a pronounced scaling pattern across resolutions. At 1080p High settings, the combo achieves 95 FPS; at 1440p High, it drops to 60 FPS; and at 4K High, it falls to 32 FPS. This represents a 37% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 47% reduction from 1440p to 4K. The scaling is consistent with a GPU-limited scenario: as pixel count increases, the Arc B580's fill rate and memory bandwidth become the constraining factors.

At Low settings, the pattern shifts. The 1080p Low result of 151 FPS drops to 96 FPS at 1440p and 50 FPS at 4K. The relative drop from 1080p to 1440p is 36%, nearly identical to the High setting drop. However, the drop from 1440p to 4K at Low is 48%, slightly steeper than at High. This suggests that even at Low settings, the GPU remains the limiting component, as the CPU can feed frames faster than the GPU can render them at higher resolutions.

The Medium settings row provides the only min/max FPS data in the pack. At 1080p Medium, the average is 124 FPS with a minimum of 105 and maximum of 143. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 79 FPS with a range of 67 to 90. At 4K Medium, the average is 41 FPS with a range of 35 to 47. The narrow min-max spread at each resolution indicates stable frame pacing, which is typical for a turn-based tactics game where camera movement is limited.

The Ultra settings results show the steepest degradation: 71 FPS at 1080p, 45 FPS at 1440p, and 24 FPS at 4K. The 1080p-to-1440p drop of 37% and the 1440p-to-4K drop of 47% mirror the High settings pattern. This consistency across settings presets reinforces the conclusion that the Arc B580's rendering capacity, not the Core Ultra 5 245's compute power, dictates the frame rate ceiling in this title.

# FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 1080p is the only resolution where all settings presets maintain playable frame rates. At 1080p, even Ultra settings achieve 71 FPS, while at 1440p Ultra drops to 45 FPS and at 4K Ultra falls to 24 FPS.

Q: How does the Core Ultra 5 245 compare to its closest rival in CPU performance?

A: The Core Ultra 5 245 has an average benchmark score of 48,995, which is 0.4% lower than the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G's 49,196 and 0.5% lower than the AMD Ryzen 9 7900's 49,228. It is 0.6% higher than the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H and 0.8% higher than the Intel Core i5-14600K.

Q: Is the Arc B580's 12 GB VRAM sufficient for Hard West at 4K?

A: Yes, the VRAM capacity is not a limiting factor in this game. The measured FPS at 4K ranges from 24 FPS on Ultra to 50 FPS on Low, indicating that the GPU's compute and memory bandwidth, not VRAM size, are the performance bottlenecks.

Q: What settings preset offers the most balanced experience at 1440p?

A: At 1440p, the Medium preset delivers 79 FPS with a minimum of 67 FPS, while High drops to 60 FPS and Low rises to 96 FPS. Medium provides a 32% improvement over High while maintaining a comfortable margin above 60 FPS.

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

A: The combo ranks 2,221st out of 2,949 tested combinations, placing it in the 25th percentile of all combos. This ranking reflects the Arc B580's mid-tier GPU position (68th percentile) rather than the CPU's stronger 90th percentile standing.

Q: Does the CPU's multi-threaded performance matter in Hard West?

A: The game's turn-based mechanics are not heavily threaded. The CPU's single-thread score of 4,648 in Cinebench R23 is more relevant, and the data shows that at 1080p Low the combo reaches 151 FPS, indicating the CPU is not a bottleneck at lower GPU loads.

# How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and Intel Arc B580 combination ranks 2,221st out of 2,949 tested combos in Hard West. This places the pairing in the lower-middle tier of the database, a position that aligns with the GPU's 68th percentile standing among all GPUs. The CPU's 90th percentile ranking is not fully reflected in this game's results, which indicates that the Arc B580 is the limiting component in most scenarios.

The ranking gap between the CPU and GPU percentiles — 90th versus 68th — suggests that upgrading the GPU would yield a more significant performance improvement than upgrading the CPU for this specific title. However, the data also shows that at 1080p Low settings, the combo achieves 151 FPS, which is above the refresh rate of most standard monitors. This means the pairing is capable of delivering smooth gameplay in the game's most common resolution, even if it does not top the benchmark charts.

Relative to the 2,949 combos tested, the 2,221st ranking places this pairing in the 75th percentile from the bottom. The measured FPS data supports this middling position: while the combo handles 1080p Ultra at 71 FPS, it struggles at 4K Ultra with 24 FPS, which is below the 30 FPS threshold typically considered minimally playable for real-time games, though turn-based titles can tolerate lower frame rates.

# Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: 151 FPS average
• Medium: 124 FPS average (minimum 105, maximum 143)
• High: 95 FPS average
• Ultra: 71 FPS average

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: 96 FPS average
• Medium: 79 FPS average (minimum 67, maximum 90)
• High: 60 FPS average
• Ultra: 45 FPS average

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: 50 FPS average
• Medium: 41 FPS average (minimum 35, maximum 47)
• High: 32 FPS average
• Ultra: 24 FPS average

The data reveals a consistent pattern: the difference between Low and Ultra settings at any given resolution is roughly a factor of two. At 1080p, the spread from 151 FPS (Low) to 71 FPS (Ultra) represents a 53% performance reduction. At 1440p, the spread from 96 FPS to 45 FPS is a 53% reduction. At 4K, the spread from 50 FPS to 24 FPS is a 52% reduction. This consistency suggests that the settings presets affect GPU load in a linear fashion, with each step up (Low to Medium, Medium to High, High to Ultra) adding a similar incremental cost.

The only preset with min/max data is Medium across all three resolutions. At 1080p, the minimum of 105 FPS is 15% below the average, while the maximum of 143 FPS is 15% above. At 1440p, the minimum of 67 FPS is 15% below the 79 FPS average, and the maximum of 90 FPS is 14% above. At 4K, the minimum of 35 FPS is 15% below the 41 FPS average, and the maximum of 47 FPS is 15% above. This symmetrical variance indicates stable performance without significant frame-time spikes, which is expected for a turn-based tactics game where the camera and object complexity remain relatively static during a turn.

# Settings Recommendations

For players seeking the smoothest experience at 1080p, the Low preset delivers 151 FPS, which is more than sufficient for the game's turn-based mechanics. However, the Medium preset at 124 FPS offers a substantial visual upgrade with only an 18% performance penalty, and its minimum of 105 FPS ensures no perceptible stutter. The High preset at 95 FPS is also viable, but the drop from Medium is more noticeable than the visual improvement, given the game's 2015-era graphics.

At 1440p, the Medium preset stands out as the optimal choice. Its 79 FPS average and 67 FPS minimum keep the experience above the 60 FPS threshold, while High drops to exactly 60 FPS and Ultra falls to 45 FPS. The Low preset at 96 FPS is the only option that provides headroom above 60 FPS, but it sacrifices visual fidelity that the game's isometric view can make apparent. Medium balances these concerns, providing a 32% improvement over High with a 18% reduction from Low.

At 4K, the choices are more constrained. The Low preset at 50 FPS is the only option that approaches smoothness, while Medium at 41 FPS and High at 32 FPS are playable for a turn-based game but will show visible judder during camera pans. The Ultra preset at 24 FPS is marginal, even for a game where timing is not critical. Given that the game's genre does not require fast reaction times, the Medium preset at 41 FPS is the recommended compromise at 4K, as it provides the best visual quality while maintaining a frame rate that avoids the worst of motion artifacts.

Overall, the data suggests that Medium settings provide the best experience-to-performance ratio across all three resolutions. The consistent 15% min-to-average variance at Medium settings indicates reliable frame delivery, and the performance gap to High is larger than the visual gap in a game that uses stylized, low-polygon environments. Players with 1080p displays can comfortably use High or Ultra, but those at 1440p or 4K should prioritize Medium to maintain playable frame rates without sacrificing the game's core visual identity.