Hard West

Hard West, a turn-based tactics title from 2015, presents an interesting benchmark scenario for the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 combination. The measured data reveals a system that is overwhelmingly capable of running this game at maximum settings, with the primary performance variable being the resolution ceiling. The results indicate that this pairing is far more powerful than the game demands, offering high frame rates even at 4K, which shifts the analysis from raw capability to optimizing for visual fidelity versus frame rate headroom.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling across resolutions shows a classic pattern where the GPU becomes progressively more stressed as pixel count increases, though the absolute frame rates suggest the RTX 4080 is rarely pushed to its limit. At 1080p with Ultra settings, the combo produces an average of 155 FPS. Moving to 1440p at the same settings, the average drops to 98 FPS, a decrease of approximately 37%. This is a significant step, indicating that the GPU is beginning to work harder, but the frame rate remains highly playable. The leap to 4K Ultra yields an average of 51 FPS, which is a 48% reduction from the 1440p figure and a 67% reduction from 1080p. This steep decline at 4K Ultra is the clearest indicator that the GPU, while powerful, is the limiting component at this highest resolution and settings combination.

The data for High settings tells a similar story but with more headroom. The 1080p High average is 206 FPS. At 1440p High, it falls to 131 FPS, a 36% drop. At 4K High, the average is 69 FPS, a further 47% reduction from 1440p. This pattern confirms that the RTX 4080's performance scales predictably with resolution, but even at 4K High, it maintains a smooth 69 FPS average. The Medium settings row provides the only min and max FPS data points in the entire pack, with a 4K Medium average of 89 FPS, a minimum of 76 FPS, and a maximum of 103 FPS. This data suggests that even in more demanding scenes, the frame time is consistent and well above the threshold for a playable experience.

The scaling from 1080p to 4K demonstrates that the GPU is the primary bottleneck, as expected in a modern system. The CPU's role remains largely static across resolutions, providing the same instructions per frame, while the GPU's workload increases quadratically with the number of pixels. The fact that 4K Ultra is the only preset that brings the average below 60 FPS shows that the RTX 4080 has enough raw throughput for almost any scenario in this game, but the Ultra preset at 4K is its limit. The performance delta between Low and Ultra settings at 4K is particularly telling: Low yields 109 FPS, while Ultra yields 51 FPS, a 53% performance penalty for the highest visual quality. This highlights the significant cost of the Ultra preset's additional graphical effects.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average frame rate achievable with this CPU and GPU combo in Hard West?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 328 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This indicates the game is extremely lightweight on the CPU at lower resolutions, allowing the RTX 4080 to output an exceptionally high number of frames.

Q: Can this system maintain a 60 FPS average at 4K resolution?

A: Yes, benchmark results show that at 3840x2160, the combo achieves a 69 FPS average on High settings and an 89 FPS average on Medium settings. However, at 4K with Ultra settings, the average drops to 51 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS target.

Q: How does the Ultra preset at 1440p compare to the High preset at 4K?

A: The data shows that 1440p Ultra yields an average of 98 FPS, while 4K High yields an average of 69 FPS. This suggests that the Ultra preset at 1440p provides a higher frame rate than the High preset at 4K, but the latter offers more pixel detail.

Q: Is there a significant performance gap between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: Yes, the difference is substantial. At 1080p, the Low preset averages 328 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 155 FPS. This is a 53% reduction in average FPS when moving from the lowest to the highest visual quality settings.

Q: What are the minimum and maximum FPS recorded in the measured data?

A: The only min and max FPS values provided are for the Medium preset. At 1920x1080, the minimum is 228 FPS and the maximum is 309 FPS. At 2560x1440, the minimum is 144 FPS and the maximum is 195 FPS. At 3840x2160, the minimum is 76 FPS and the maximum is 103 FPS.

Q: Based on the data, what is the limiting factor for performance at 4K Ultra?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting component. While the CPU provides consistent performance, the RTX 4080's workload increases with resolution. The Ultra preset at 4K is the only tested configuration that pushes the GPU to an average below 60 FPS, showing its performance ceiling in this scenario.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides a clear hierarchy for optimizing the experience in Hard West. For users with high refresh rate 1080p monitors, the Ultra preset is the obvious choice, as it still delivers an average of 155 FPS, which is more than sufficient for smooth gameplay. There is no need to compromise on visual quality at this resolution, as the RTX 4080 has ample headroom. The High preset at 1080p pushes the average to 206 FPS, but the visual improvements from High to Ultra are generally worth the performance cost when the frame rate remains this high.

At 1440p, the Ultra preset is also the recommended starting point, with an average of 98 FPS. This provides a great balance of visual fidelity and performance. If a user has a 144 Hz monitor and prefers to maximize frame rates, dropping to High settings yields a 131 FPS average, a significant 34% increase. The Medium preset at 1440p offers an even higher average of 170 FPS, but the visual trade-off from Ultra to Medium is considerable. Given the data, 1440p Ultra is the sweet spot for most users, offering a high-quality image at a frame rate that is well above the standard 60 FPS target.

The 4K resolution presents the only real decision point. The Ultra preset is the most visually impressive but produces a 51 FPS average, which is not ideal for a consistently smooth experience, especially in a turn-based game where camera movement should feel fluid. The High preset, with a 69 FPS average, is the better recommendation for 4K. It provides a substantial improvement in frame rate over Ultra while retaining most of the graphical features that define the High tier. The Medium preset at 4K yields an 89 FPS average, which is very smooth, but the drop in visual quality from High to Medium is more noticeable at this resolution. Therefore, for 4K, the High preset is the recommended choice to maintain a stable 60+ FPS experience without a major loss in visual fidelity.

How This Combo Ranks

In the context of all tested combinations for Hard West, this specific pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 ranks 165th out of 3722 combos. This places it in the top 4.4% of all systems tested, indicating a very high overall performance level. The percentile data for the individual components supports this high ranking. The CPU is in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs, and the GPU is in the 86th percentile of all GPUs. This suggests that while the combo is very strong, there are other systems with more powerful components that achieve higher frame rates in this specific game.

The rank of 165 out of 3722 is a strong result, but it is not at the absolute top. This is likely due to the game's age and its relative insensitivity to extreme multi-core processing power. The data shows that the CPU has a benchmark score of 64640, which is very close to its nearest rivals, like the AMD EPYC 4464P, which has an average score of 64823, a difference of only -0.3%. This indicates that the CPU's performance is well within the expected range for its class. The GPU, similarly, has an average benchmark score of 54247, which is nearly identical to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER, which scores 54209, a delta of just 0.1%. This proximity to its direct successor and other high-end parts means the combo's rank is primarily determined by the overall system balance.

Considering the game's release date in 2015 and its turn-based tactics genre, the high rank is expected. The hardware is vastly overqualified for the game's engine, which does not require the latest generation of graphics features. The performance is likely capped by the game's own engine limitations or single-threaded nature, rather than the hardware's absolute capabilities. The combo's rank, while high, may not reflect the hardware's potential in more modern, demanding titles. The data suggests that for this specific game, the combination is more than sufficient, and the rank reflects the raw power of both the CPU and GPU, even if that power is not fully utilized.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 plays the central role in determining frame rates in Hard West, particularly as resolution increases. The GPU's 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus provides a memory bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s. This is more than enough for a game from 2015, ensuring that texture loading and memory transfer are not bottlenecks. The high memory capacity also means that the game's assets can be fully loaded without any swapping, which is crucial for maintaining consistent frame times at 4K. The data shows that the GPU is the primary scaling factor, with frame rates dropping as resolution increases, which is a standard GPU-bound workload.

The GPU's clock speeds are a significant factor in its performance. With a base clock of 2205 MHz and a boost clock of 2505 MHz, the RTX 4080 has a high operating frequency that allows it to process the game's geometry and pixel shaders quickly. This is reflected in the high frame rates observed even at 1440p Ultra, where the average is 98 FPS. The GPU's compute capabilities, with 9728 shading units and an FP32 performance of 48.74 TFLOPS, are vastly more powerful than what a turn-based tactics game requires. The benchmark results show that the GPU is not the limiting factor until the 4K Ultra preset, where the sheer number of pixels and effects finally brings the average down to 51 FPS.

The performance at 4K High (69 FPS) versus 4K Ultra (51 FPS) shows the impact of the Ultra preset's additional graphical features on the GPU. This 26% performance penalty is due to increased shader complexity and potentially higher-resolution textures. The GPU's 304 TMUs and 112 ROPs are sufficient to handle these tasks, but the Ultra preset at 4K is clearly the point of diminishing returns for this title. The data indicates that for a game like Hard West, the RTX 4080 is a high-end part that provides excellent performance at all but the most demanding settings and resolutions. Its end-of-life production status and status as a predecessor to the GeForce 50 series don't diminish its capability in this benchmark.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across all tested settings and resolutions. At 1920x1080, the performance is exceptionally high across the board. The Low preset averages 328 FPS, the Medium preset averages 269 FPS (with a min of 228 and max of 309), the High preset averages 206 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 155 FPS. This shows a clear progression where higher settings demand more GPU resources, but even the most demanding preset at 1080p yields frame rates that far exceed standard display refresh rates.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but show a noticeable step down. The Low preset averages 207 FPS, the Medium preset averages 170 FPS (with a min of 144 and max of 195), the High preset averages 131 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 98 FPS. The data shows that at 1440p, the Ultra preset is the only configuration that drops below 100 FPS, but it still provides a very smooth experience. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is consistent, with a roughly 30-40% reduction in average FPS for each preset level, which is typical for a GPU-bound scenario.

At 3840x2160, the performance is lower but still playable for most presets. The Low preset averages 109 FPS, the Medium preset averages 89 FPS (with a min of 76 and max of 103), the High preset averages 69 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 51 FPS. This is the first resolution where the Ultra preset falls below the 60 FPS mark. The High preset remains the best balance for 4K, offering a 69 FPS average that is suitable for a smooth experience. The data for Medium settings at all three resolutions shows that the minimum FPS is always within 15% of the average, indicating stable frame pacing without significant stutters.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265's role in Hard West is secondary to the GPU, but it provides the necessary foundation for high frame rates. With 20 cores and 20 threads, this CPU has massive multi-threading capability. However, a turn-based tactics game from 2015 is unlikely to use more than a few cores effectively. The CPU's benchmark scores reflect its high overall performance, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 42216 and a single-core score of 5960. The single-core performance is more relevant for this game, as it determines how quickly the game logic and AI can be processed.

The CPU's high boost clock of 5.30 GHz is crucial for single-threaded workloads. This ensures that the main game thread can be processed quickly, which is essential for maintaining high frame rates, especially at lower resolutions where the GPU is not the bottleneck. The data supports this, as the frame rates at 1080p and 1440p are exceptionally high, suggesting that the CPU can feed the GPU with instructions faster than the GPU can render frames. The 30 MB of shared L3 cache helps keep frequently accessed data close to the cores, reducing latency and improving overall responsiveness.

The CPU's performance is in line with its nearest rivals. Its average benchmark score of 64640 is nearly identical to the AMD EPYC 4464P, which scores 64823, a delta of -0.3%. This indicates that the CPU is performing as expected for its class. In the context of Hard West, the CPU is not a limiting factor. The game's performance scaling with resolution is almost entirely attributed to the GPU, as the CPU's workload remains constant. The fact that the combo achieves 328 FPS at 1080p Low shows that the CPU has more than enough headroom to support very high frame rates, and it is only the GPU's rendering capabilities that cap the performance at higher resolutions and settings.