Hard West

# Hard West with Intel Core Ultra 7 155H + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080

The Intel Core Ultra 7 155H paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 delivers a strong 1080p and 1440p experience in Hard West, with 4K Ultra proving challenging. The combo ranks 729th out of 2949 tested combinations, placing it in the top 25% of all systems tested for this turn-based tactics title. At 1080p Medium, the system achieves 207 FPS average, while 4K Ultra drops to 40 FPS, showing a clear performance ceiling at higher resolutions.

FAQ

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

A: This configuration ranks 729th out of 2949 tested combos for Hard West, placing it in the upper quartile of all systems tested. The data shows this is a capable setup, but not at the very top tier for this game.

Q: What average FPS can I expect at 1440p with High settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with High settings, the measured average FPS is 101. This represents a solid playable experience for turn-based tactics, well above the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: Is the RTX 5080's 16 GB VRAM sufficient for Hard West at 4K?

A: The GPU features 16 GB of GDDR7 memory with a 256-bit bus and 960.0 GB/s bandwidth. In Hard West, 4K Ultra produces 40 FPS average, indicating the memory capacity is not the limiting factor—the rendering load at 4K Ultra is the constraint.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in overall benchmarks?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 7 155H has an average benchmark score of 32697, which is nearly identical to the Intel Core i5-14600T at 32707 (0% delta) and the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 360 at 32662 (0.1% delta). The AMD Ryzen 5 7400F scores 32750 (-0.2% delta) and the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6850H scores 32812 (-0.4% delta).

Q: What is the best settings preset for 4K gaming?

A: At 3840x2160, Low settings deliver 84 FPS average, Medium delivers 69 FPS, High delivers 53 FPS, and Ultra delivers 40 FPS. For smooth 4K gameplay, Low or Medium settings are recommended based on the measured data.

Q: Does the game scale well with resolution changes?

A: The data shows strong scaling. Moving from 1080p to 1440p at High settings reduces FPS from 159 to 101 (a 36% drop), while moving from 1440p to 4K at High settings reduces FPS from 101 to 53 (a 48% drop). This indicates diminishing returns at higher resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranking of 729 out of 2949 tested systems places this hardware combination in the 75th percentile of all tested configurations for Hard West. This is a strong result, but the data reveals that the RTX 5080's raw power is not fully utilized at lower resolutions due to the game's age and nature as a turn-based tactics title.

The rank reflects a system that can handle the game effortlessly at 1080p and 1440p, but struggles to maintain high frame rates at 4K Ultra. The 4K Ultra result of 40 FPS average is the weakest measured outcome, and this drags down the overall ranking relative to what the GPU alone might suggest. The GPU's percentile versus all GPUs is 87, while the CPU's percentile versus all CPUs is 83, yet the combo rank in-game is 75th percentile—showing the game's specific demands shape the final outcome.

Compared to other combos in the database, this system sits comfortably in the top quarter, meaning most tested configurations produce lower frame rates in Hard West. However, the spread between settings at 4K is substantial: 40 FPS at Ultra versus 84 FPS at Low, a 110% improvement from simply lowering settings. This suggests the game's rendering pipeline is sensitive to certain graphical features enabled at Ultra, and the combo's rank could improve dramatically with settings optimization.

At 1080p, the system is clearly in the high-performance tier. The Low preset produces 243 FPS average, which is in the top percentile of all measured results for this game. Even at Ultra, 119 FPS average at 1080p is far above the playability threshold, indicating the CPU-GPU pairing has ample headroom at this resolution.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 is the dominant component in this pairing, featuring 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus with 960.0 GB/s bandwidth. The GPU's base clock is 2295 MHz with a boost clock of 2617 MHz, and memory runs at 1875 MHz (30 Gbps effective). With 10752 shading units, 336 TMUs, and 112 ROPs, the card delivers 56.28 TFLOPS of FP32 performance.

In Hard West, the GPU's role shifts dramatically with resolution. At 1080p, the card is underutilized—the 243 FPS average at Low settings shows the game's rendering demands are easily met. The 16 GB VRAM is never a constraint at this resolution, as the game's textures and geometry fit comfortably within the memory pool.

At 1440p, the GPU begins to show its capabilities. The 160 FPS average at Low settings and 101 FPS at High settings demonstrate strong performance, while Ultra at 75 FPS remains playable. The GPU's 960.0 GB/s bandwidth ensures memory throughput is not a bottleneck, even when the game requests higher-resolution assets.

At 4K, the RTX 5080's limits become apparent. The 53 FPS average at High settings and 40 FPS at Ultra indicate that Hard West's 4K rendering load is substantial, despite the game's 2015 release date. The GPU's 84 RT cores and 336 tensor cores are not directly relevant here—Hard West is not a ray-traced title—but the raw rasterization throughput of 56.28 TFLOPS is what drives these results.

The GPU's benchmark scores support its strong gaming performance: 36565 in Passmark G3D and 235901 in Geekbench OpenCL. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon 8060S (0.6% higher score) and the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB (0.7% higher), while the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE scores 2.2% higher. These margins are small, suggesting the RTX 5080 is well-positioned among its peers.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience, the data clearly points to Medium settings as the optimal choice at most resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the system achieves 207 FPS average with a minimum of 176 FPS and maximum of 238 FPS, providing a smooth, consistent experience with no perceptible stutter. At 1440p Medium, the 131 FPS average with 111 FPS minimum and 150 FPS maximum remains excellent, offering a 30% improvement over High settings while maintaining well-above-60 FPS performance.

At 4K, Medium settings at 69 FPS average (with 58 FPS minimum) is the highest preset that stays above 60 FPS. This makes Medium the clear recommendation for 4K gaming, as High drops to 53 FPS and Ultra falls to 40 FPS. The jump from Medium to High at 4K costs 16 FPS (23% reduction), while the jump from Low to Medium costs 15 FPS (18% reduction), making Medium the sweet spot for visual quality versus performance.

For 1080p users with high-refresh monitors, Low settings at 243 FPS average might be tempting, but Medium's 207 FPS average still exceeds most 144Hz and 165Hz displays. The 176 FPS minimum at Medium ensures no drops below high refresh rates. At 1440p, High settings at 101 FPS average is viable for 100Hz displays, but Medium's 131 FPS average provides more headroom.

The Ultra preset is only recommended for 1080p gaming, where 119 FPS average remains playable. At 1440p, Ultra's 75 FPS average is borderline, and at 4K, Ultra's 40 FPS average is below the standard playability threshold. The data suggests that the visual difference between Medium and Ultra in this turn-based tactics game does not justify the 42% performance cost at 1440p (131 to 75 FPS).

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers exceptional performance across all settings. Low settings produce 243 FPS average, Medium produces 207 FPS average with a minimum of 176 FPS and maximum of 238 FPS, High produces 159 FPS average, and Ultra produces 119 FPS average. The scaling from Ultra to Low represents a 104% improvement, showing significant headroom for users who prioritize frame rate over visual fidelity.

At 2560x1440, performance remains strong but shows the expected resolution penalty. Low settings yield 160 FPS average, Medium yields 131 FPS average with a minimum of 111 FPS and maximum of 150 FPS, High yields 101 FPS average, and Ultra yields 75 FPS average. The gap between High and Ultra at 1440p is 26 FPS (26% reduction), while the gap between Medium and High is 30 FPS (23% reduction), indicating consistent scaling across presets.

At 3840x2160, the system's performance drops significantly. Low settings produce 84 FPS average, Medium produces 69 FPS average with a minimum of 58 FPS and maximum of 79 FPS, High produces 53 FPS average, and Ultra produces 40 FPS average. The 4K results show a 110% improvement from Ultra to Low (40 to 84 FPS), demonstrating that settings optimization is critical at this resolution.

The resolution scaling from 1080p to 1440p at Medium settings shows a 37% performance drop (207 to 131 FPS), while scaling from 1440p to 4K at Medium shows a 47% drop (131 to 69 FPS). This non-linear scaling suggests the GPU becomes more memory-bandwidth limited at higher resolutions, despite the ample 960.0 GB/s available. The minimum FPS data at Medium settings shows consistent frame pacing, with the 4K minimum of 58 FPS staying within 16% of the average.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 155H is a 16-core, 22-thread mobile processor based on the Meteor Lake architecture, built on Intel's 7 nm process. It features a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 4.80 GHz, with a TDP of 28 W. The cache hierarchy includes 112 KB L1 per core, 2 MB L2 per core, and 24 MB shared L3 cache. The CPU supports DDR5 memory with dual-channel configuration and 89.6 GB/s bandwidth.

For Hard West, a turn-based tactics game, the CPU's role is less demanding than in fast-paced action titles. The game's logic, AI, and turn processing benefit from the 22 threads, but the measured frame rates are primarily GPU-bound at higher resolutions. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 15028 and single-core score of 1743 indicate strong processing capability, though Hard West's single-threaded game logic may rely more on the 4.80 GHz boost clock.

The CPU's Passmark multi-thread score of 24873 and single-thread score of 3468 place it in the 83rd percentile versus all CPUs. Its nearest rivals show negligible differences: the Intel Core i5-14600T scores 32707 (0% delta), the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 360 scores 32662 (0.1% delta), the AMD Ryzen 5 7400F scores 32750 (-0.2% delta), and the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6850H scores 32812 (-0.4% delta). These sub-1% differences mean the CPU choice is unlikely to meaningfully affect Hard West performance.

At 1080p Low settings, the 243 FPS average suggests the CPU can feed the GPU efficiently even at very high frame rates. The 16 cores and 22 threads provide ample parallel processing for game logic, while the 24 MB L3 cache reduces memory latency for frequently accessed data. The CPU's integrated Arc Xe-LPG 128EU graphics are irrelevant when the RTX 5080 is present, but the CPU's PCIe Gen 5 support with 8 lanes ensures the GPU has sufficient bandwidth.

The CPU's data compression score of 277353 and encryption score of 16358 in Passmark indicate strong processing throughput, though these are not directly relevant to gaming. For Hard West specifically, the CPU's role is to maintain consistent frame delivery, and the data shows no CPU bottleneck signs—the FPS scales predictably with resolution and settings, which is characteristic of GPU-bound performance.