Hard West

FAQ

Q: What is the Intel Core Ultra 5 245's position among all tested CPUs?

A: The processor sits in the 90th percentile among all CPUs in the benchmark database, with an average benchmark score of 48,995. This places it within a tight cluster of rivals: it trails the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G by 0.4%, the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 by 0.5%, while leading the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H by 0.6% and the Intel Core i5-14600K by 0.8%.

Q: How does the RTX 5060 compare to its nearest GPU rivals in raw benchmark scores?

A: The RTX 5060's average benchmark score is 26,331, placing it in the 72nd percentile of all GPUs. It is essentially tied with the AMD Radeon 860M (0.3% lower), trails the NVIDIA GeForce MX550 by 0.3%, and the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary by 0.8%, while finishing 1.2% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT.

Q: What is the best frame rate achievable at 1080p with this combo?

A: At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo delivers an average of 198 FPS. This is the highest measured frame rate across all tested resolutions and settings. At Ultra settings, the average drops to 93 FPS, which is still well above standard display refresh rates.

Q: Is the RTX 5060's launch MSRP relevant to its performance class?

A: The launch MSRP is $299. The GPU's benchmark scores show it performs in the same tier as integrated graphics solutions like the Radeon 860M and lower-end discrete cards like the MX550, despite its 50-series branding and Blackwell 2.0 architecture.

Q: What is the combo's overall ranking in Hard West?

A: Among 2,949 tested combos for this game, this specific pairing of CPU and GPU ranks 1,288th. This places it in the upper-middle portion of the field, indicating solid but not top-tier performance for this turn-based tactics title.

Q: Does the CPU's core count (14 cores) provide an advantage in this game?

A: The 14 cores and 14 threads with a 5.10 GHz boost clock contribute to strong synthetic scores, but the measured FPS data shows the GPU is the primary limiter at higher resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the combo averages 31 FPS, while dropping settings to Low at the same resolution yields 66 FPS, indicating CPU headroom is not the bottleneck.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture and uses the GB206 chip, manufactured on a 5 nm process by TSMC. It packs 3,840 shading units, 120 texture mapping units, and 48 raster output pipelines. The GPU operates with a base clock of 2280 MHz and a boost clock of 2497 MHz. Memory is 8 GB of GDDR7 on a 128-bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is the single most important factor in Hard West's performance scaling across resolutions and settings.

The measured FPS data shows a clear pattern: memory bandwidth and capacity constraints manifest at 4K. At 3840x2160 with High settings, the average is 41 FPS; at Low, it rises to 66 FPS; at Medium, the average is 54 FPS with a minimum of 46 and maximum of 62; at Ultra, it collapses to 31 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra at 4K is 35 FPS, a 113% improvement from the lowest to highest preset. This dramatic spread indicates that the GPU's 8 GB frame buffer is being saturated at higher settings, where texture quality and shadow detail demand more memory.

At 1440p, the same pattern holds but with more headroom. High settings deliver 79 FPS, Low hits 125 FPS, Medium averages 103 FPS (min 87, max 118), and Ultra drops to 59 FPS. The GPU's 128-bit memory bus and 448 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for 1440p, but the Ultra preset still cuts performance nearly in half compared to Low. At 1080p, the RTX 5060 shows its strength: Low averages 198 FPS, Medium 162 FPS (min 138, max 187), High 125 FPS, and Ultra 93 FPS. Even the most demanding setting at 1080p clears 90 FPS, making this resolution the sweet spot for this GPU's capabilities.

The RTX 5060's compute capabilities, rated at 19.18 TFLOPS for FP32, are not the limiting factor in Hard West. The game is turn-based tactics, so geometric complexity and shader work are moderate. The real constraint is memory pressure at 4K Ultra, where the 8 GB VRAM and 448 GB/s bandwidth cannot sustain the frame rates seen at lower resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo of Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 ranks 1,288th out of 2,949 tested combinations in Hard West. This places it in the 56th percentile of all tested systems for this specific game. The ranking reflects a mid-pack position: not a top-tier enthusiast setup, but far from entry-level.

The CPU's position in the broader benchmark landscape (90th percentile among all CPUs) does not translate to an equally high game ranking. This discrepancy is explained by the GPU's more modest standing (72nd percentile among all GPUs). The RTX 5060's average benchmark score of 26,331 is closely matched by rivals like the Radeon 860M (26,401) and MX550 (26,421), suggesting that in GPU-bound scenarios, this combo will perform similarly to systems using those less expensive graphics solutions.

Within the 2,949-combo pool, 1,660 combinations outperform this pairing in Hard West. The delta between the CPU's strong synthetic scores and the combo's mid-pack game rank underscores that Hard West's frame rates are more sensitive to GPU memory and bandwidth than to processor throughput. The measured FPS at 1080p Low (198 FPS) demonstrates the system's ceiling, while 4K Ultra (31 FPS) shows its floor.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the data shows a steep performance cliff. Low settings average 66 FPS, which is playable. Medium averages 54 FPS with a minimum of 46 and maximum of 62, indicating frame pacing consistency within a tight band. High drops to 41 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 31 FPS. The jump from Low to Medium is 12 FPS, from Medium to High is 13 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 10 FPS. The scaling is roughly linear, suggesting the GPU is consistently memory-bound at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, performance improves substantially. Low settings deliver 125 FPS, a 89% increase over 4K Low. Medium averages 103 FPS (min 87, max 118), High hits 79 FPS, and Ultra falls to 59 FPS. The minimum FPS at Medium (87) is higher than the average at 4K High (41), demonstrating the resolution's impact on the GPU's memory subsystem. The 46 FPS gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is a 112% difference.

At 1920x1080, the RTX 5060 achieves its best results. Low settings reach 198 FPS, Medium averages 162 FPS (min 138, max 187), High delivers 125 FPS, and Ultra maintains 93 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 138 FPS is higher than the average at 4K Low (66 FPS), showing the resolution advantage. The spread from Low to Ultra is 105 FPS, a 113% performance range.

Across all resolutions, the Medium preset consistently provides the only complete min/max data in the measured rows, indicating stable frame delivery. The Ultra preset at 4K (31 FPS) is the only configuration that falls below 30 FPS territory, though it barely clears the threshold.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the Medium preset offers the most balanced experience across all resolutions. At 1080p, Medium averages 162 FPS with a minimum of 138 FPS, which far exceeds the requirements for smooth gameplay on any display. The 24 FPS drop from Low to Medium is minimal, while the 69 FPS drop from Medium to Ultra is significant. For players with 144Hz monitors, Medium at 1080p is the optimal choice.

At 1440p, Medium delivers 103 FPS average with a minimum of 87 FPS. This is the only preset at this resolution that stays above 60 FPS consistently while offering a visual upgrade over Low. High settings at 1440p (79 FPS) are still playable, but the 24 FPS penalty from Medium to High is steeper than the 22 FPS gain from High to Medium. Ultra at 1440p (59 FPS) sits just below the 60 FPS threshold.

At 4K, the choice is constrained. Medium averages 54 FPS with a minimum of 46 FPS, which is playable but not smooth on high-refresh displays. Low settings at 4K (66 FPS) provide a better frame rate, but the visual compromise may not justify the resolution. High at 4K (41 FPS) and Ultra at 4K (31 FPS) are best avoided for any competitive or fast-paced gameplay, though turn-based tactics can tolerate lower frame rates.

The data suggests that Medium is the recommended preset for the best combination of visual fidelity and frame rate stability. It consistently shows a minimum FPS that is within 15% of the average, indicating frame pacing that avoids stutter. For players prioritizing frame rate above all else, Low settings at 1080p (198 FPS) or 1440p (125 FPS) are the fastest options.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 is a 14-core, 14-thread processor from the Core Ultra Series 2, based on the Arrow Lake architecture and manufactured on a 3 nm process by TSMC. It has a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz. The cache hierarchy includes 192 KB of L1 per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and 24 MB of shared L3 cache. Memory support is DDR5 with dual-channel configuration, providing 102.4 GB/s of bandwidth.

In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU shows strong multi-threaded performance: Cinebench R23 multi-core scores 32,924 and single-core 4,648. PassMark multi-thread reaches 38,706 and single-thread 4,394. These scores place the CPU in the 90th percentile overall. Its nearest rivals in average benchmark score are the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G (49,196) and AMD Ryzen 9 7900 (49,228), with the Ultra 5 245 trailing both by less than 0.5%.

For Hard West, the CPU's role is secondary to the GPU. The measured FPS data shows that at 4K Ultra, the combo averages 31 FPS, which is far below what the CPU's compute capabilities would allow if the GPU were not the bottleneck. The 14 cores and 14 threads are more than sufficient for a turn-based tactics title, which typically uses fewer threads. The 5.10 GHz boost clock ensures responsive single-threaded performance, which matters for game logic and AI calculations in this genre.

The CPU's L3 cache of 24 MB and DDR5 memory bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s provide ample headroom for loading game assets and processing turn-based state changes. The processor's 65 W TDP and Intel Socket 1851 platform are consistent with a desktop segment part, and its 90th percentile ranking indicates it will not be the limiting factor in most gaming scenarios. The combo's 1,288th rank out of 2,949 systems in Hard West is more attributable to the RTX 5060's mid-tier GPU performance than to any CPU deficiency.