Hard West

# Hard West: Intel Core Ultra 7 155H + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 — Benchmark Analysis

Hard West, a turn-based tactics title from 2015, presents an interesting test case for modern hardware. The measured data for this combo—Intel Core Ultra 7 155H paired with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060—reveals a system that handles the game comfortably at most settings, but with notable performance cliffs at higher resolutions. The dataset includes 12 measured FPS rows spanning four presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) across three resolutions (1080p, 1440p, 4K), providing a complete picture of how this mobile-oriented combo scales. The game's age means even mid-range modern parts should excel, yet the 4K Ultra result of 26 FPS demonstrates that Hard West's engine still presents a genuine challenge at maximum fidelity. This analysis interprets the measured numbers, contextualizes them against the component specifications, and explains what the scaling patterns imply about the system's balance.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data offers a clear hierarchy of experiences. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 166 FPS, which is the highest figure recorded across the entire dataset. However, the Medium preset at 1080p still produces 136 FPS average with a minimum of 115 FPS and maximum of 156 FPS—meaningfully above the 60 FPS threshold and smooth for a turn-based tactics game. The High preset at 1080p achieves 104 FPS average, which remains excellent. The Ultra preset at 1080p drops to 78 FPS average, still playable but with less headroom.

For 2560x1440, the Medium preset shows 86 FPS average (min 73, max 99), while High yields 66 FPS and Ultra falls to 49 FPS. The Low preset at 1440p hits 105 FPS. At 3840x2160, the picture changes dramatically: Medium produces 45 FPS average (min 38, max 52), High drops to 35 FPS, Low manages 55 FPS, and Ultra plummets to 26 FPS.

The optimal experience per the measured rows is the Medium preset at 2560x1440. This configuration balances visual fidelity with performance, keeping the average above 85 FPS and never dipping below 73 FPS. For users prioritizing frame rate above all, the Low preset at 1080p (166 FPS) or 1440p (105 FPS) offers maximum smoothness. The High preset at 1440p (66 FPS) is the best choice for those who want elevated visuals while maintaining a comfortable average. Notably, the Ultra preset at any resolution below 4K remains playable—78 FPS at 1080p and 49 FPS at 1440p—but the diminishing returns from High to Ultra are evident in the frame rate cost.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 brings 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 272.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's base clock runs at 1830 MHz with a boost clock of 2460 MHz, and its 3072 shading units process graphics at up to 15.11 TFLOPS FP32. The memory clock operates at 2125 MHz (17 Gbps effective). This specification set proves adequate for Hard West at most settings, but the VRAM capacity and bandwidth become limiting factors at 4K.

The data shows a clear GPU-bound pattern at higher resolutions. At 4K, the jump from Low (55 FPS) to Medium (45 FPS) costs 10 FPS, while Medium to High (35 FPS) costs another 10 FPS, and High to Ultra (26 FPS) costs 9 FPS. This nearly linear degradation suggests the GPU is the primary constraint at 3840x2160. The 8 GB VRAM buffer likely fills with texture data at Ultra settings, contributing to the 26 FPS average. The RTX 4060's 118.1 GPixel/s pixel rate and 236.2 GTexel/s texture rate—while respectable for a mobile-oriented card—struggle to fill 8.3 million pixels per frame at 4K with high-quality effects.

The GPU's overall benchmark percentile sits at 61, with an average benchmark score of 17639. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon HD 7790, scores 17666 (deltaPct -0.2), while the AMD Radeon 780M scores 17588 (deltaPct 0.3). This places the RTX 4060 in the middle of its performance class, which aligns with the measured Hard West results—strong at 1080p, competent at 1440p, but stretched at 4K.

FAQ

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

A: The measured data indicates 2560x1440 on Medium settings provides the best balance, with 86 FPS average (min 73, max 99). At 1080p, even Ultra achieves 78 FPS, but 1440p Medium offers higher visual detail with only a 50 FPS penalty versus 1080p Low.

Q: How does the RTX 4060 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 4060's average benchmark score is 17639, placing it at the 61st percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon HD 7790, scores 17666 (0.2% higher), while the AMD Radeon 780M scores 17588 (0.3% lower). The differences are marginal, suggesting the RTX 4060 sits at a performance plateau.

Q: Is the Ultra preset worth the performance cost?

A: The data shows Ultra costs 26 FPS versus High at 1080p (104 to 78 FPS), 17 FPS at 1440p (66 to 49 FPS), and 9 FPS at 4K (35 to 26 FPS). The relative cost increases with resolution, making Ultra less attractive at higher pixel counts.

Q: Why does the 4K Ultra result drop to 26 FPS?

A: The 26 FPS average at 4K Ultra represents the worst measured result. The RTX 4060's 8 GB VRAM and 272.0 GB/s bandwidth likely become bottlenecks when rendering 8.3 million pixels with maximum texture quality, as evidenced by the steep degradation from Low (55 FPS) to Ultra (26 FPS).

Q: How does the CPU's benchmark performance relate to Hard West?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 7 155H scores 15028 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 1743 in single-core, placing it at the 83rd percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-14600T, scores 32707 (0% delta), while the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 360 scores 32662 (0.1% delta). These scores indicate ample processing headroom for a turn-based tactics game.

Q: What minimum FPS can be expected at 1440p Medium?

A: The measured minimum at 1440p Medium is 73 FPS, with a maximum of 99 FPS and an average of 86 FPS. This suggests consistent frame delivery without major stutters.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 7 155H + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 combo ranks 1787 out of 2949 tested combinations in Hard West. This places it in the 60.6th percentile of all combos—solidly mid-pack, which is somewhat surprising given the component specifications. The CPU's 83rd percentile ranking and GPU's 61st percentile ranking suggest the combo's overall position is dragged down by the GPU's relative standing.

The rank implies that a significant portion of tested combos outperform this pairing in Hard West. This is likely because many desktop configurations with higher-end GPUs handle the game's 4K Ultra preset more effectively. However, the combo's performance at 1080p and 1440p remains strong—the 104 FPS at 1080p High and 86 FPS at 1440p Medium are well above playability thresholds. The rank of 1787 indicates that while this combo isn't near the top, it delivers a competent experience for the majority of gaming scenarios.

Resolution Scaling

The resolution scaling data reveals distinct patterns. From 1080p to 1440p, the average FPS drops by approximately 37-39% across all settings: Low goes from 166 to 105 FPS (-37%), Medium from 136 to 86 FPS (-37%), High from 104 to 66 FPS (-37%), and Ultra from 78 to 49 FPS (-37%). This consistent reduction suggests a GPU-limited scenario where the pixel count increase (2.07x) directly impacts frame rate.

From 1440p to 4K, the scaling becomes more severe. Low drops from 105 to 55 FPS (-48%), Medium from 86 to 45 FPS (-48%), High from 66 to 35 FPS (-47%), and Ultra from 49 to 26 FPS (-47%). The steeper decline at 4K—where pixel count increases 2.25x from 1440p—indicates the GPU is increasingly strained. The RTX 4060's memory bandwidth of 272.0 GB/s and 8 GB VRAM capacity likely contribute to this accelerated degradation.

The scaling pattern suggests the GPU is the limiting component across all resolutions. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect smaller FPS differences between resolutions. Instead, the consistent ~37% drop from 1080p to 1440p and ~48% drop from 1440p to 4K aligns with GPU-bound rendering. The CPU's 16 cores and 22 threads provide ample headroom for a turn-based tactics game that likely doesn't heavily utilize multi-threading.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the full settings range performs exceptionally:

• Low: 166 FPS average
• Medium: 136 FPS average (min 115, max 156)
• High: 104 FPS average
• Ultra: 78 FPS average

The step from Low to Medium costs 30 FPS, Medium to High costs 32 FPS, and High to Ultra costs 26 FPS. The frame time impact is roughly linear, with each preset tier reducing performance by 19-24%.

At 2560x1440, performance remains strong but with visible scaling:

• Low: 105 FPS average
• Medium: 86 FPS average (min 73, max 99)
• High: 66 FPS average
• Ultra: 49 FPS average

The preset cost at 1440p is consistent: Low to Medium costs 19 FPS, Medium to High costs 20 FPS, and High to Ultra costs 17 FPS. The minimum at Medium (73 FPS) still exceeds 60 FPS, indicating smooth gameplay.

At 3840x2160, the GPU begins to struggle:

• Low: 55 FPS average
• Medium: 45 FPS average (min 38, max 52)
• High: 35 FPS average
• Ultra: 26 FPS average

The step from Low to Medium costs 10 FPS, Medium to High costs 10 FPS, and High to Ultra costs 9 FPS. The minimum at Medium (38 FPS) falls below 40 FPS, suggesting occasional stutter. Only the Low preset maintains an average above 50 FPS at 4K.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 155H features 16 cores and 22 threads, with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and boost clock of 4.80 GHz. Its cache hierarchy includes 112 KB L1 per core, 2 MB L2 per core, and 24 MB shared L3. The CPU's benchmark results—2450 in Cinebench R15 multi-core, 8754 in R20 multi-core, and 15028 in R23 multi-core—demonstrate strong multi-threaded capability. Single-core scores of 255 (R15), 1235 (R20), and 1743 (R23) are respectable for a mobile processor.

In Hard West, the CPU's role appears secondary to the GPU. The game's turn-based tactics nature typically doesn't stress processors heavily, and the measured FPS scaling aligns with GPU-bound rendering. The CPU's 83rd percentile ranking versus all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 32697, places it near the Intel Core i5-14600T (32707, 0% delta) and AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 360 (32662, 0.1% delta). This performance level ensures the CPU won't bottleneck the RTX 4060 at any resolution.

The CPU's 28 W TDP and Meteor Lake architecture (7 nm process) contribute to its efficiency, but these factors don't directly impact Hard West's measured results. The data shows no evidence of CPU-related frame drops—the minimum FPS values at Medium settings (115 at 1080p, 73 at 1440p, 38 at 4K) scale proportionally with resolution, indicating consistent GPU-bound performance. The CPU's 24 MB L3 cache and dual-channel DDR5 memory support (89.6 GB/s bandwidth) provide ample bandwidth for game assets, though Hard West's 2015 engine likely doesn't fully utilize these modern capabilities.