Hard West

Hard West is a turn-based tactics title from 2015, and the benchmark data for the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus paired with the Intel Arc B370 reveals a system that is heavily constrained by its graphics solution across every measurable setting. The measured frames per second (FPS) indicate that this combination is not capable of delivering fluid gameplay at modern resolutions, positioning it firmly in the lower echelons of the database for this specific game. The analysis below breaks down the performance characteristics, scaling behavior, and component roles based solely on the provided measured results.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent, highlighting the GPU as the primary bottleneck in this configuration. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves an average of 79 FPS, which is the highest recorded frame rate in the entire dataset. Moving to 1440p at the same Low preset, the average falls to 50 FPS, representing a substantial 37% reduction in performance. Pushing further to 4K at Low settings yields only 26 FPS, which is a 67% drop from the 1080p baseline. This pattern of aggressive scaling with resolution is a classic indicator that the graphics processor is overwhelmed by pixel count, even in a game as old as Hard West.

The scaling behavior is even more pronounced at higher quality presets. At High settings, the system delivers 49 FPS at 1080p, which drops to 31 FPS at 1440p and finally to 16 FPS at 4K. The gap between 1080p and 4K at High settings is a 67% loss, mirroring the Low preset's relative decline. At Ultra settings, the situation is dire; the system manages 37 FPS at 1080p, 23 FPS at 1440p, and a mere 12 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is the lowest recorded score in the dataset, showing a 68% reduction from the 1080p Ultra figure. These numbers suggest that the rendering load scales almost linearly with the number of pixels, with no sign of the CPU stepping in to mitigate the drop.

The data shows that resolution scaling is the dominant factor in performance variation. The delta between 1080p and 1440p is consistently around 35-40% across all settings, while the jump to 4K adds another 30% loss. This indicates that the Intel Arc B370, with its System Shared memory and 25 W TDP, is simply not equipped to handle the bandwidth and fill-rate demands of higher resolutions. For a turn-based tactics game where frame rates are less critical for input response, the playable range is strictly limited to 1080p, and even then, only at Low or Medium settings does the system approach acceptable smoothness. The 4K results, ranging from 12 to 26 FPS, are effectively unplayable for any real-time interaction, though the genre's pace might tolerate brief dips.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is the clear limiting factor in this pairing, and its specifications confirm why the FPS numbers are so low. The GPU operates with a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2400 MHz, but its architecture, Xe3-LPG, is designed for integrated graphics in the Panther Lake generation. With 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 20 raster output units, the chip has a modest compute footprint. Its pixel rate is 48.00 GPixel/s and texture rate is 96.00 GTexel/s, which are figures that align with entry-level integrated solutions rather than discrete gaming cards. The FP32 performance of 6.144 TFLOPS and FP16 of 12.29 TFLOPS further underscore its limited throughput.

Crucially, the memory configuration is "System Shared," meaning the GPU relies on the CPU's DDR5 memory rather than dedicated VRAM. The memory bus width is also "System Shared," and bandwidth is listed as "System Dependent," which introduces latency and contention when the GPU and CPU compete for the same memory resources. This explains why the FPS drops so sharply at 4K, as the shared memory bandwidth becomes a severe bottleneck when handling larger framebuffers. The GPU's TDP is just 25 W, and it is classified as an IGP with no power connectors, reinforcing that this is not a component designed for high-end gaming workloads.

In the context of Hard West, the GPU's role is to render the 2D and 3D elements of the turn-based battlefield. The benchmark results show that at 1080p Low, the GPU can produce 79 FPS, which suggests it has enough raw fill rate for simple scenes. However, increasing the preset to Ultra at 1080p drops the average to 37 FPS, a 53% reduction, indicating that the shading units and memory bandwidth are quickly saturated by higher-quality textures and effects. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1184 places this GPU in the 5th percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rivals include the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 and ATI Radeon HD 5770, with delta percentages of -0.2% and -0.5% respectively. This confirms that the Arc B370's performance is comparable to GPUs from over a decade ago, which is consistent with the low FPS observed in this game.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is an exceptionally powerful processor that is vastly underutilized in this configuration. With 24 cores and 24 threads, a base clock of 3.70 GHz, and a boost clock of 5.80 GHz, this CPU has ample compute resources for any game, including Hard West. The processor's cache hierarchy includes 192 KB of L1 per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and 36 MB of shared L3, which provides fast access to frequently used data. Its memory support is dual-channel DDR5 with a bandwidth of 115.2 GB/s, which is more than sufficient for feeding the GPU, even though the GPU shares this memory.

In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU excels. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score is 51731 and single-core score is 7303, placing it in the 96th percentile of all CPUs. The average benchmark score of 84003 is 0.2% higher than its nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, which scores 83807. It also outperforms the AMD EPYC 4584PX by 1.1% and the AMD EPYC 9135 by 1.2%, while trailing the AMD EPYC 7F72 by -1.3%. These results indicate that the CPU is not a bottleneck in any scenario for Hard West, a game that is primarily single-threaded in its logic but benefits from high clock speeds.

The data shows that the CPU's role in this pairing is to feed the GPU with draw calls and handle game logic, but the GPU's low performance means the CPU is rarely stressed. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 79 FPS, which is likely near the CPU's limit for frame generation in this game, but at higher resolutions, the GPU's fill rate becomes the constraint. The fact that FPS drops from 79 at 1080p Low to 26 at 4K Low, while the CPU's load likely remains similar, proves that the GPU is the limiting component. The CPU's 24 threads and high boost clock are overkill for a turn-based tactics game, but they ensure that there is no stuttering or logic slowdown, even when the GPU is struggling to render frames.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and Intel Arc B370 ranks 2721 out of 2949 tested combos in Hard West, placing it in the bottom 8% of all configurations. This low ranking is entirely attributable to the GPU, as the CPU's performance is in the top 1% of all processors. The combo's position reflects the fact that the Arc B370 is an integrated graphics solution, and pairing it with a flagship CPU does not compensate for the lack of dedicated graphics memory and compute units.

The ranking data indicates that most other combos in the database achieve significantly higher frame rates, likely due to the use of discrete GPUs. The combo's rank is consistent with the measured FPS, which never exceeds 79 FPS at 1080p Low and falls to 12 FPS at 4K Ultra. In the broader context of the database, this combo is suitable for light productivity or older games, but for Hard West, it fails to deliver a consistent experience. The CPU's high percentile score of 96 is irrelevant to the combo's ranking, which is dominated by the GPU's 5th percentile score. This mismatch highlights the importance of balanced component selection, as the CPU's capabilities are completely wasted when paired with such a weak graphics solution.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the only viable settings for this combo are at 1080p with Low or Medium presets. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 79 FPS, which is smooth and playable for a turn-based game. At 1080p Medium, the average drops to 64 FPS, with a minimum of 55 FPS and a maximum of 74 FPS, which is still acceptable for the genre. The 1080p High preset yields 49 FPS, which is borderline but might be tolerable given the game's non-twitch gameplay. However, the 1080p Ultra preset at 37 FPS is likely to feel sluggish, especially during camera pans or animation-heavy sequences.

At 1440p, the situation worsens. The Low preset delivers 50 FPS, which is playable, but the Medium preset at 41 FPS and High at 31 FPS are marginal. The Ultra preset at 1440p produces only 23 FPS, which is not recommended. At 4K, all presets are below 30 FPS, with Low at 26 FPS, Medium at 21 FPS, High at 16 FPS, and Ultra at 12 FPS. These are all unplayable for any real-time interaction, though some players might accept the Low preset for static scenes. The best experience per the measured rows is 1080p Low, which offers the highest frame rate, or 1080p Medium if visual quality is prioritized over a few extra FPS. The data does not support any settings above Medium at 1080p for a consistent experience.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across three resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 79 FPS with no minimum or maximum recorded. The Medium preset averages 64 FPS, with a minimum of 55 FPS and a maximum of 74 FPS. The High preset averages 49 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 37 FPS. No minimum or maximum values are provided for High and Ultra at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 50 FPS, the Medium preset averages 41 FPS with a minimum of 35 FPS and a maximum of 47 FPS, the High preset averages 31 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 23 FPS. Again, minimum and maximum values are only available for the Medium preset. At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 26 FPS, the Medium preset averages 21 FPS with a minimum of 18 FPS and a maximum of 25 FPS, the High preset averages 16 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 12 FPS. The 4K Medium preset is the only one at that resolution with recorded minimum and maximum values, indicating a range of 18 to 25 FPS.

Across all resolutions, the pattern is consistent: each step up in quality reduces the average FPS by roughly 20-25%, and each step up in resolution reduces it by another 35-40%. The highest measured frame rate is 79 FPS at 1080p Low, and the lowest is 12 FPS at 4K Ultra. The data shows no anomalies or outliers; the performance scales predictably with both resolution and settings, confirming that the Intel Arc B370's limited resources are the sole determinant of frame rate.