Hard West

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 produces a highly capable configuration for Hard West, a turn-based tactics title from 2015. The data shows that this combination delivers exceptionally high frame rates even at maximum settings, with performance scaling that indicates a strong balance between the two components. The combo sits at rank 103 out of 2949 tested combinations, placing it in the top percentile of systems for this specific game.

How This Combo Ranks

Benchmark results place this specific CPU-GPU pairing at rank 103 out of 2949 tested combos in Hard West. This represents a top-tier position, putting the system in the upper echelon of configurations for this title. The rank is particularly notable because Hard West is a turn-based tactics game from 2015, meaning the computational demands are not as extreme as modern AAA releases, yet the hardware still demonstrates substantial headroom.

The CPU itself holds a percentile rank of 90 against all CPUs, indicating it outperforms the vast majority of processors in general benchmark workloads. Its average benchmark score of 48995 places it in close competition with several high-end rivals. The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G scores 49196, a delta of -0.4 percent, while the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 scores 49228, a delta of -0.5 percent. On the Intel side, the Xeon Gold 5318H trails slightly at 48698 (0.6 percent delta), and the Core i5-14600K scores 48618 (0.8 percent delta). These figures show the Ultra 5 245 is essentially neck-and-neck with these alternatives, with differences of less than one percent in either direction.

The GPU similarly commands a high percentile rank of 87 among all graphics cards. Its average benchmark score of 56083 places it in a tight cluster with its nearest rivals. The AMD Radeon 8060S scores 55757 (0.6 percent delta), the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB scores 55698 (0.7 percent delta), and the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X scores 54828 (2.3 percent delta). The AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE is the only close competitor that edges ahead, scoring 57367, a -2.2 percent delta. This clustering indicates that the RTX 5080's raw compute performance is well within the range of these established alternatives.

For Hard West specifically, the combination of a top-10-percent CPU and a top-15-percent GPU yields a system that ranks in the top 3.5 percent of all tested combos. This suggests that neither component is a bottleneck for this title, and the overall system performance is greater than the sum of its parts due to the game's relatively modest requirements.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 is a Blackwell 2.0 architecture GPU built on a 5 nm process at TSMC. The chip, designated GB203, contains 45,600 million transistors on a 378 mm² die, resulting in a transistor density of 120.6M per mm². This dense packing of transistors enables the GPU's substantial compute capabilities.

The GPU's memory subsystem is a defining feature. It comes equipped with 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 960.0 GB/s. For Hard West, which is a turn-based tactics game with static scenes and limited texture streaming demands, this memory configuration provides massive headroom. The 16 GB capacity is far more than the game requires, meaning there is no risk of memory-related stuttering or texture pop-in at any resolution or setting level.

Clock speeds are set at a base of 2295 MHz with a boost of 2617 MHz. The memory operates at 1875 MHz with a 30 Gbps effective rate. These clocks, combined with the 10752 shading units, 336 TMUs, and 112 ROPs, produce a pixel rate of 293.1 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 879.3 GTexel/s. The FP32 compute performance is rated at 56.28 TFLOPS, with FP16 matching at a 1:1 ratio.

In the context of Hard West, the GPU's role is primarily to render 2D and simple 3D geometry for the tactical battlefield. The game does not utilize heavy ray tracing or complex shader effects, so the RTX 5080's 84 RT cores and 336 tensor cores are largely idle during gameplay. Instead, the GPU's raw rasterization throughput and memory bandwidth drive the frame rate. The PassMark DirectX 11 score of 324 and DirectX 12 score of 151 suggest that the GPU is well-optimized for the API that Hard West would likely use, providing smooth performance across all settings.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of performance scaling across resolutions. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves an average of 325 FPS. This drops to 214 FPS at High settings and 160 FPS at Ultra settings. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p shows a 50.8 percent reduction in frame rate, indicating that the GPU's workload increases substantially with graphical fidelity.

Moving to 1440p, the averages are 215 FPS at Low, 176 FPS at Medium, 135 FPS at High, and 101 FPS at Ultra. The drop from 1080p Low to 1440p Low is 33.8 percent, while the drop from 1080p Ultra to 1440p Ultra is 36.9 percent. These percentages suggest that the GPU is the primary limiter as resolution increases, since the frame rate scales inversely with the pixel count.

At 4K, the averages fall to 113 FPS at Low, 92 FPS at Medium, 71 FPS at High, and 53 FPS at Ultra. The scaling from 1440p to 4K is even more pronounced. The drop from 1440p Low to 4K Low is 47.4 percent, and from 1440p Ultra to 4K Ultra is 47.5 percent. This near-constant percentage drop across all settings indicates that the GPU is consistently the limiting component at higher resolutions.

The data shows that the CPU has ample headroom to feed the GPU at all resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system is likely hitting a CPU-imposed ceiling around 325 FPS, as the GPU would otherwise push higher. However, as resolution increases, the GPU becomes the bottleneck, with the frame rate dropping proportionally to the pixel count. For Hard West, this means that players can expect smooth performance at any resolution, with 4K Ultra still delivering a playable 53 FPS average.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 1440p Ultra delivers 101 FPS average, which is a strong balance of visual quality and performance. 4K Ultra drops to 53 FPS average, which is still playable but represents a significant fidelity trade-off.

Q: How does the RTX 5080 compare to its nearest rival in raw GPU benchmarks?

A: The RTX 5080 scores 56083 on average, while the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE scores 57367, a -2.2 percent delta. The AMD Radeon 8060S scores 55757, a 0.6 percent delta, meaning the RTX 5080 is slightly ahead of that card.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU in this game?

A: At 1080p Low, the system hits 325 FPS average, which appears to be a CPU limit. However, at 1440p and 4K, the frame rate scales with resolution, indicating the GPU becomes the limiting factor.

Q: What is the CPU's multi-core performance relative to its rivals?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 averages 48995 in benchmarks. The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G is 0.4 percent behind, the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 is 0.5 percent behind, and the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H is 0.6 percent ahead.

Q: How much VRAM does the GPU have, and is it sufficient?

A: The GPU has 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus with 960.0 GB/s bandwidth. For Hard West, this is far more than needed, with no risk of memory constraints at any settings.

Q: What are the GPU's clock speeds?

A: The base clock is 2295 MHz with a boost clock of 2617 MHz. The memory runs at 1875 MHz with a 30 Gbps effective rate.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across three resolutions and four settings levels.

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates. Low settings produce an average of 325 FPS. Medium settings average 278 FPS, with a minimum of 237 FPS and a maximum of 320 FPS. High settings average 214 FPS, and Ultra settings average 160 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 165 FPS, representing a 50.8 percent reduction.

At 2560x1440, performance remains high. Low settings average 215 FPS. Medium settings average 176 FPS, with a minimum of 150 FPS and a maximum of 203 FPS. High settings average 135 FPS, and Ultra settings average 101 FPS. The reduction from 1080p to 1440p is consistent across settings, with Low dropping by 33.8 percent and Ultra dropping by 36.9 percent.

At 3840x2160, the system still delivers playable frame rates. Low settings average 113 FPS. Medium settings average 92 FPS, with a minimum of 79 FPS and a maximum of 106 FPS. High settings average 71 FPS, and Ultra settings average 53 FPS. The scaling from 1440p to 4K shows a 47.4 percent drop at Low and a 47.5 percent drop at Ultra, indicating the GPU is the primary constraint.

The Medium settings data includes min and max FPS values, which reveal frame time consistency. At 1080p Medium, the range is 237 to 320 FPS, a spread of 83 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the range is 150 to 203 FPS, a spread of 53 FPS. At 4K Medium, the range is 79 to 106 FPS, a spread of 27 FPS. This narrowing spread at higher resolutions indicates more consistent frame pacing when the GPU is more heavily loaded.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 is a desktop processor from the Core Ultra Series 2, based on the Arrow Lake architecture. It features 14 cores and 14 threads, with no hyperthreading, running at a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz. The CPU is built on a 3 nm process at TSMC, with 17,800 million transistors on a 243 mm² die. Its TDP is rated at 65 W.

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 a dual-channel bus and a bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s. The CPU supports ECC memory and uses the Intel Socket 1851. It includes integrated Arc Xe-LPG Graphics with 64 EU, though this is irrelevant for Hard West when a discrete GPU is present.

In general benchmarks, the CPU scores 32924 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 4648 in single-core. Its Cinebench R20 scores are 13828 multi-core and 1952 single-core. PassMark results show 38706 in multithread and 4394 in single-thread tests. These scores indicate strong per-core performance and capable multi-threaded throughput.

For Hard West, which is a turn-based tactics game with minimal CPU demands, the Ultra 5 245 provides substantial headroom. The game's AI and turn logic are unlikely to stress even a few cores, let alone the full 14-core complement. The data confirms this, as the system achieves 325 FPS at 1080p Low, which is likely a CPU-imposed ceiling. This suggests that the CPU is capable of driving the GPU to its maximum output at lower resolutions.

The CPU's nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 7900, scores nearly identically in average benchmarks with a -0.5 percent delta. This indicates that for Hard West, the choice between these CPUs would not meaningfully affect frame rates, as both provide far more processing power than the game requires. The data shows that the CPU's role in this combo is to eliminate any potential bottleneck, allowing the RTX 5080 to perform at its full potential across all resolutions and settings.