Hard West

# How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 delivers a mid-pack performance profile in Hard West, ranking 1802nd out of 2949 tested combos. This places the configuration in the 61st percentile overall, meaning roughly 39% of tested system combinations produce higher frame rates in this turn-based tactics title. The ranking reflects a balance where neither component dominates the other, but the overall result is constrained by the GPU's modest specifications rather than the CPU's substantial compute headroom.

Looking at the component-level percentiles, the CPU sits in the 90th percentile against all tested processors, while the GPU lands in the 66th percentile against all tested graphics cards. This disparity is telling: the processor is a top-decile performer, but the graphics card is merely above average. In a game like Hard West, which relies on CPU logic for turn-based AI calculations and GPU rendering for visual presentation, this combination produces playable but not exceptional results at higher resolutions.

The benchmark data shows the combo achieves a 165 FPS average at 1080p Low settings, which is strong, but the frame rate drops precipitously as resolution increases. At 4K Ultra, the average falls to 26 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay. The rank of 1802 reflects these mid-range capabilities — not a top-tier gaming rig, but far from a weak one. For context, the CPU's nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G (0.4% slower), AMD Ryzen 9 7900 (0.5% slower), Intel Xeon Gold 5318H (0.6% faster), and Intel Core i5-14600K (0.8% faster) — all within a narrow band of performance. The GPU's rivals are similarly clustered, with the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL (0.6% faster), AMD Radeon HD 8970M (1% faster), AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT (1.6% slower), and NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile (1.6% faster) all within 1.6% of the RTX 5050's average benchmark score.

# FAQ

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

A: At 1920x1080, the combo delivers 104 FPS on High settings and 165 FPS on Low, making it comfortably playable. At 2560x1440, High settings yield 66 FPS, which remains smooth. At 3840x2160, the average drops to 34 FPS on High and 26 FPS on Ultra, indicating that 4K is only feasible with Low or Medium settings (55 FPS and 45 FPS respectively).

Q: How does the CPU's multi-core performance compare to its rivals?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 scores 32,924 in Cinebench R23 multi-core, which is within 0.8% of the Intel Core i5-14600K (48,618 average benchmark score, 0.8% faster overall) and within 0.5% of the AMD Ryzen 9 7900. The data shows the CPU is a strong multi-threaded performer, with PassMark multi-thread score of 38,706 and floating-point math score of 120,548.

Q: Is the RTX 5050 strong enough for Hard West at 1440p?

A: Yes, the data indicates solid performance at 2560x1440. High settings produce 66 FPS average, Medium hits 86 FPS, and Low reaches 104 FPS. Even Ultra settings maintain a 49 FPS average, which is acceptable for a turn-based tactics game where frame timing is less critical than in fast-paced action titles.

Q: What frame rates can I expect at 1080p with this setup?

A: The measured data shows 104 FPS average on High, 135 FPS on Medium, and 165 FPS on Low at 1920x1080. Ultra settings drop to 78 FPS average, which is still well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 115 FPS and maximum of 155 FPS, indicating consistent performance.

Q: How does the combo's ranking in Hard West compare to its overall hardware percentiles?

A: The combo ranks 1802nd out of 2949 tested configurations, which is roughly the 61st percentile. This is slightly lower than the GPU's 66th percentile standing and significantly lower than the CPU's 90th percentile, suggesting that the GPU is the limiting factor in this game's performance.

Q: Is this combo better suited for 1080p or 1440p gaming in Hard West?

A: Both resolutions are viable. At 1080p High, the combo achieves 104 FPS, which is excellent. At 1440p High, it drops to 66 FPS, still smooth. The choice depends on display capability — the data shows the combo handles 1440p well, but 1080p provides a substantial frame rate cushion for demanding scenes.

# CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 brings 14 cores and 14 threads to the system, running at a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz. This configuration, built on the Arrow Lake architecture with a 3 nm process node, provides substantial computational headroom for Hard West's turn-based logic. The CPU's 24 MB of shared L3 cache and 3 MB per-core L2 cache help reduce memory latency during AI calculations and pathfinding operations common in tactics games.

Benchmark results show the CPU's single-thread performance is strong, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4,648 and PassMark single-thread score of 4,394. This matters for Hard West because the game's turn-based combat requires rapid sequential decision-making, often bottlenecked by single-threaded game logic. The Cinebench R15 single-core score of 468 and R20 single-core score of 1,952 corroborate this strength. In multi-threaded workloads, the CPU scores 32,924 in Cinebench R23 multi-core, 13,828 in R20, and 3,318 in R15, showing good scaling across its 14 physical cores.

The CPU's memory bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s via dual-channel DDR5 support ensures that game assets and state data are fed to the processor efficiently. The PassMark data encryption score of 30,236 and data compression score of 400,942 indicate robust memory subsystem performance, which indirectly benefits game loading and save-state operations. The CPU's 90th percentile ranking against all processors confirms it is not the limiting factor in this combo — at 1080p Low, the system achieves 165 FPS, which approaches what the GPU can output without bottlenecking the CPU's 5.10 GHz boost capability.

# Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for Hard West spans four resolution levels and four quality presets, providing a comprehensive picture of the combo's performance envelope.

At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 165 FPS, representing the ceiling of what this combo can achieve. Medium settings produce 135 FPS average with a minimum of 115 FPS and maximum of 155 FPS, showing tight frame pacing. High settings maintain 104 FPS average, while Ultra drops to 78 FPS. All four presets at 1080p exceed the 60 FPS threshold, making this resolution fully playable across the entire quality spectrum.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance scales predictably. Low settings yield 104 FPS average, matching the 1080p High result. Medium achieves 86 FPS with a range of 73 to 98 FPS. High drops to 66 FPS, and Ultra falls to 49 FPS. The 1440p results indicate that Medium and High presets are viable for smooth gameplay, while Ultra approaches the lower boundary of acceptable frame rates.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's limitations become apparent. Low settings produce 55 FPS average, which is playable but not smooth. Medium settings drop to 45 FPS with a range of 38 to 52 FPS. High settings fall to 34 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 26 FPS. The 4K results show that this combo is only suitable for Low or Medium presets at this resolution, and even then, frame rates border on the edge of comfortable playability.

The data reveals a consistent pattern: the RTX 5050's 8 GB GDDR6 memory and 128-bit bus width constrain performance at higher resolutions, while the CPU's capabilities are underutilized. The gap between 1080p and 4K at the same settings highlights this GPU-bound behavior — for example, High settings drop from 104 FPS at 1080p to 34 FPS at 4K, a 70 FPS loss that cannot be attributed to CPU limitations.

# Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic GPU-bound scenario. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 104 at 1080p to 66 at 1440p (a 36% reduction) and then to 34 at 4K (a 67% reduction from 1080p). This steep decline indicates that the RTX 5050's rendering throughput is the primary constraint — the CPU's 5.10 GHz boost clock and 14 cores are not the bottleneck.

At Low settings, the scaling is even more pronounced: 165 FPS at 1080p falls to 104 FPS at 1440p (37% drop) and 55 FPS at 4K (67% drop). The consistency of these percentage drops across presets confirms that resolution-dependent rendering load, not CPU logic, is the limiting factor. The GPU's 13.17 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 320.0 GB/s memory bandwidth are the specifications that determine this scaling behavior.

The Medium preset provides the most detailed data with min/max values, showing the frame range tightens as resolution increases. At 1080p Medium, the range is 115-155 FPS; at 1440p, it's 73-98 FPS; at 4K, it's 38-52 FPS. The narrowing range at higher resolutions suggests the GPU is consistently saturated, leaving less variance for scene complexity to affect frame times. This pattern is typical of a GPU that becomes fully utilized as pixel count rises.

The ultra preset shows the most severe scaling: 78 FPS at 1080p, 49 FPS at 1440p, and 26 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result falls below the 30 FPS playability threshold, making this preset unusable at that resolution. The data strongly indicates that players seeking 4K performance should use Low or Medium presets, while 1440p offers the best balance of visual quality and frame rate for this combo.

# Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and acceptable frame rate floor. At 1920x1080, all four presets are playable, but the Medium preset at 135 FPS average with a 115 FPS minimum offers the best balance of visual fidelity and performance headroom. The High preset at 104 FPS is also excellent, providing better visual quality while staying well above 60 FPS. Ultra at 78 FPS is viable for players who prioritize image quality, as the frame rate remains above the smoothness threshold for turn-based gameplay.

At 2560x1440, the High preset at 66 FPS is the recommended choice for a smooth experience with good visual quality. Medium at 86 FPS provides additional performance margin if frame pacing is a concern, while Ultra at 49 FPS may be acceptable for players who value visual detail over frame rate in a turn-based game. Low at 104 FPS is available for competitive play or if the player prefers maximum responsiveness.

At 3840x2160, the choices are more constrained. Low at 55 FPS is the only preset that approaches smooth gameplay, while Medium at 45 FPS with a 38 FPS minimum is playable but may show stutter in demanding scenes. High at 34 FPS and Ultra at 26 FPS are below the 30 FPS playability threshold and should be avoided for comfortable gaming. The data suggests that 4K gaming with this combo requires accepting Low or Medium settings.

The overall recommendation is to target 1440p High settings for the best experience, as this delivers 66 FPS with strong visual quality. For players with 1080p displays, the Medium preset offers the best combination of frame rate and visual fidelity. The measured data shows that the combo has enough CPU headroom to handle any preset, so the GPU should be the primary consideration when selecting settings.

# GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 is the performance-limiting component in this combo, as evidenced by the resolution scaling data. The GPU's 8 GB GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus provides 320.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which becomes increasingly insufficient as resolution rises. The chip, based on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with 2,560 shading units, 80 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, delivers 13.17 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and a texture rate of 205.8 GTexel/s.

The GPU's benchmark results show it ranks in the 66th percentile against all tested graphics cards, with an average benchmark score of 21,035. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL (0.6% faster), AMD Radeon HD 8970M (1% faster), AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT (1.6% slower), and NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile (1.6% faster). This clustering within 1.6% indicates the RTX 5050 sits in a competitive but not dominant position.

In Hard West specifically, the GPU's 2,572 MHz boost clock and 1:1 FP16/FP32 ratio of 13.17 TFLOPS determine the rendering ceiling. The pixel rate of 82.30 GPixel/s and 20 RT cores (though ray tracing is unlikely to be used in this title) round out the specifications. The GPU's PassMark DirectX 11 score of 150 and DirectX 12 score of 66 suggest the card handles modern APIs adequately, while the DirectX 9 score of 186 shows strong compatibility with older titles like Hard West.

The GPU's 8 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for Hard West's art style and texture sizes, but the 128-bit memory bus creates a bandwidth bottleneck at 4K resolutions. This is reflected in the 4K results: 55 FPS at Low, 45 FPS at Medium, 34 FPS at High, and 26 FPS at Ultra. The GPU's 66th percentile ranking, combined with the CPU's 90th percentile, clearly identifies the RTX 5050 as the component that should be upgraded first if higher frame rates are desired in this game.