Hard West

# FAQ

Q: What is the combo rank of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus with the Intel Arc B580 in Hard West?

A: This combination ranks 2221 out of 2949 tested combos in Hard West, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database for this specific game.

Q: What average frame rate does this combo achieve at 1080p with High settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with High settings, the measured average FPS is 95. For reference, the Medium preset delivers 124 FPS on average at the same resolution.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B580 compare to its nearest GPU rivals in average benchmark score?

A: The Arc B580's average benchmark score is 23021, which is 0.2% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP (23061), 0.6% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (22895), and 0.7% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 (23172).

Q: What is the maximum average frame rate recorded across all tested resolutions and settings?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 151, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The lowest measured average is 24 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings.

Q: Does the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus have integrated graphics?

A: Yes, it includes Arc Xe-LPG Graphics 64EU as its integrated GPU, though this combo's results come from the discrete Intel Arc B580 card.

Q: What memory configuration does the Intel Arc B580 use?

A: The GPU features 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 456.0 GB/s.

# GPU Role

The Intel Arc B580 is built on the Xe2-HPG architecture, specifically the Battlemage generation (Arc 5). Its memory configuration—12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus with 456.0 GB/s bandwidth—provides substantial headroom for turn-based tactical games like Hard West, which are not typically memory-bandwidth limited. The GPU's shading units number 2560, with 160 texture mapping units and 80 render output units. Clock speeds are fixed at 2670 MHz for both base and boost, a modest frequency that keeps power draw at 190 W TDP.

The benchmark data reveals that the GPU's performance ceiling is reached at 4K Ultra settings, where the average FPS drops to 24. This is a clear indicator that the Arc B580's raw compute throughput—13.67 TFLOPS FP32—becomes the limiting factor at the highest resolution and quality preset. The GPU's pixel rate of 213.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 427.2 GTexel/s are sufficient for lower resolutions but cannot sustain fluid frame rates at 3840x2160 with Ultra details.

The Arc B580's percentile ranking of 68 among all GPUs places it in the upper-mid tier of graphics cards. Its nearest rivals in aggregate benchmark scores include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (deltaPct 0.6) and the RTX 3080 (deltaPct -0.7), which suggests that in general compute workloads the B580 performs comparably to these older high-end cards. However, in Hard West specifically, the measured FPS data indicates that the GPU's architectural strengths do not translate into top-tier performance at 4K.

The GPU's 20 ray tracing cores and DirectX 12 Ultimate support (12_2) are present, but Hard West, released in 2015, predates widespread ray tracing adoption. The game's turn-based nature means that frame pacing matters less than raw throughput, yet the data still shows a hard ceiling at 4K Ultra. The Vulkan 1.4 and OpenGL 4.6 API support suggest compatibility with modern drivers, but the measured results speak to the GPU's practical limits in this title.

# Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and consistent decline as resolution increases from 1080p to 4K. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 95 at 1920x1080 to 60 at 2560x1440, then to 32 at 3840x2160. This represents a 37% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and a 66% reduction from 1080p to 4K. Such steep scaling indicates that the GPU becomes progressively more stressed as pixel count grows.

At Low settings, the scaling is even more pronounced in absolute terms: from 151 FPS at 1080p to 96 FPS at 1440p (a 36% drop) and then to 50 FPS at 4K (a 67% drop from 1080p). The fact that even at Low settings the 4K resolution only yields 50 FPS suggests that the Arc B580's fillrate and shading capabilities are simply insufficient for 4K gaming in this title, regardless of quality preset.

The Medium preset reveals additional detail through its min/max FPS values. At 1080p Medium, the range is 105 to 143 FPS with an average of 124. At 1440p Medium, the range narrows to 67 to 90 FPS with an average of 79. At 4K Medium, the range is 35 to 47 FPS with an average of 41. The decreasing spread at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU is becoming the consistent bottleneck, rather than occasional driver or CPU stalls.

The resolution scaling pattern strongly suggests that the limiting component at 1080p and 1440p is a mix of CPU and GPU, but at 4K the GPU is definitively the constraint. The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus, with its high single-thread performance, can feed the GPU adequately at lower resolutions, allowing the Arc B580 to reach 151 FPS at 1080p Low. But the GPU's 2670 MHz clock and 456.0 GB/s bandwidth cannot keep pace with the pixel demands of 4K, as evidenced by the sub-60 FPS results at every 4K preset.

# Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080 (1080p): The highest average FPS is 151 at Low settings. Medium settings yield 124 FPS average, with a minimum of 105 and maximum of 143. High settings produce 95 FPS average, and Ultra settings drop to 71 FPS average. The spread from Low to Ultra represents a 53% performance reduction, showing that quality presets have a significant impact at this resolution.

2560x1440 (1440p): Low settings deliver 96 FPS average. Medium settings average 79 FPS, with a range of 67 to 90 FPS. High settings produce 60 FPS average, which is exactly at the threshold for smooth gameplay on a 60 Hz display. Ultra settings drop to 45 FPS average. From Low to Ultra, the reduction is 53%, mirroring the 1080p scaling pattern.

3840x2160 (4K): Low settings yield 50 FPS average. Medium settings average 41 FPS, with a minimum of 35 and maximum of 47. High settings produce 32 FPS average, and Ultra settings fall to 24 FPS average. The reduction from Low to Ultra is 52%, consistent with the other resolutions. However, even the best 4K result (50 FPS at Low) is below the 60 FPS threshold, indicating that 4K gaming is not viable with this combo.

The data shows a consistent pattern: each settings tier costs roughly 20-25% performance, and each resolution step costs roughly 35-40% performance. At 1080p, the user has flexibility to choose any preset and still maintain playable frame rates. At 1440p, High settings are borderline, and Ultra becomes marginal. At 4K, all presets are below 60 FPS, with Ultra being nearly unplayable at 24 FPS.

The Medium preset at each resolution provides the only complete min/max data, showing frame pacing consistency. At 1080p Medium, the 105-143 FPS range indicates good consistency. At 1440p Medium, the 67-90 FPS range tightens but remains acceptable. At 4K Medium, the 35-47 FPS range shows significant frame time variance, which could be noticeable in a turn-based game's camera movements.

# How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 2221 out of 2949 tested combinations places this system in the 75th percentile of all tested combos for Hard West, but that percentile is inverted—it means 75% of tested systems perform better. This is a surprisingly low ranking given the hardware's individual specifications. The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus CPU ranks in the 96th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 84003. The Intel Arc B580 GPU ranks in the 68th percentile among all GPUs, with an average score of 23021.

The discrepancy between the CPU's high percentile (96) and the combo's low game rank (2221 of 2949) suggests that the GPU is the primary bottleneck in this pairing. The CPU's nearest rivals include the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K (deltaPct 0.2), AMD EPYC 4584PX (deltaPct 1.1), and AMD EPYC 9135 (deltaPct 1.2), all of which have similar aggregate scores. The GPU's nearest rivals—AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP (deltaPct -0.2), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (deltaPct 0.6), and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 (deltaPct -0.7)—show that the Arc B580 sits in a competitive band.

The rank suggests that in Hard West, which is a lightweight turn-based title, many combinations with lower-end CPUs but more powerful GPUs outperform this setup. The game's 2015 release date means it is not heavily threaded, so the CPU's 24 cores and 24 threads are largely underutilized. The GPU, while competent in synthetic benchmarks, does not excel in this particular title's rendering demands. The combo's rank is therefore a reflection of the GPU's mid-tier standing rather than the CPU's high-end positioning.

# Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1920x1080, all presets are playable, but the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance. The 124 FPS average at Medium is well above the 60 FPS threshold, and the 105-143 FPS range shows consistent frame delivery. High settings at 95 FPS are also acceptable, but the 30% performance drop from Medium to High does not justify a proportional visual improvement in a turn-based game.

At 2560x1440, the High preset at 60 FPS is the recommended choice for users with 60 Hz displays. This provides a solid average with no min/max data indicating drops. For users with higher refresh rate monitors, the Medium preset at 79 FPS (67-90 range) is the better option, as it keeps frame times consistent. The Ultra preset at 45 FPS is not recommended, as the sub-60 FPS average may cause perceptible stutter during camera pans.

At 3840x2160, no preset achieves 60 FPS. The Low preset at 50 FPS is the only option near playable territory, but it sacrifices significant visual fidelity. Medium at 41 FPS with a 35-47 FPS range may be acceptable for turn-based gameplay, where fast reaction times are not required. However, users with 4K displays should consider lowering the resolution to 1440p for a better experience, as the 1440p High preset provides the same visual quality as 4K Low in most respects but with a 20% higher frame rate.

The data indicates that the Medium preset is the sweet spot across all resolutions. It consistently delivers frame rates that are 30-40% higher than High settings, while the visual difference in a turn-based tactical game is minimal. The Ultra preset offers diminishing returns and should be avoided unless frame rate is not a concern.

# CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a 24-core, 24-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake Refresh architecture, built on a 3 nm process by TSMC. Its base clock is 3.70 GHz with a boost clock of 5.80 GHz, and it has a TDP of 125 W. The cache hierarchy includes 192 KB L1 per core, 3 MB L2 per core, and 36 MB of shared L3 cache. Memory support is DDR5 with dual-channel configuration, providing 115.2 GB/s bandwidth.

In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU demonstrates exceptional multi-threaded performance. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score is 51731, and the single-core score is 7303. Passmark multithread score is 60860, with a single-thread score of 4823. These results place the CPU in the 96th percentile overall, with an average benchmark score of 84003. The nearest CPU rivals—the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, AMD EPYC 4584PX, and AMD EPYC 9135—all have average scores within 1.2% of this processor.

However, in Hard West, the CPU's extensive core count is largely irrelevant. The game, released in 2015, is a turn-based tactics title that does not scale well with multiple threads. The measured FPS data shows that at 1080p Low, the combo achieves 151 FPS, which suggests the CPU is not limiting at lower resolutions. The fact that the same CPU paired with a mid-tier GPU ranks at 2221 of 2949 combos indicates that the CPU is not the differentiator in this game.

The CPU's high single-thread performance (Cinebench R23 single-core score of 7303) does help maintain frame rates at 1080p, where the GPU has headroom. But as resolution increases to 4K, the GPU becomes the bottleneck, and the CPU's advantages are not realized. The 24 cores and 24 threads are unnecessary for a game that likely uses only a few threads, and the 5.80 GHz boost clock provides no benefit when the GPU cannot keep up. In this specific title, the CPU's role is to avoid being the bottleneck at lower resolutions, which it does admirably, but it cannot compensate for the GPU's 4K limitations.