Hard West

# How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 achieves a combo rank of 165 out of 3,722 tested combinations in Hard West. This places the pairing in the top 4.4% of all tested system configurations, a strong showing for a turn-based tactics title that rarely stresses high-end hardware to its limits. The rank reflects the aggregate performance across all measured resolutions and settings, and the data indicates this combo sits comfortably ahead of the vast majority of tested systems. Given that Hard West is a 2015-released turn-based tactics game, the sheer compute headroom available here is substantial, yet the ranking demonstrates that even in a genre with modest graphical demands, this particular CPU-GPU pairing extracts near-top-tier results.

The 165th position out of 3,722 combos means there are 164 configurations that perform better, but those are likely exotic or newer pairings. Within the context of the database's measured results, this combo outperforms 3,557 other tested combinations. The delta between this combo and the top-ranked systems is not captured in the fact pack, but the percentile placement indicates that the CPU sits at the 96th percentile among all CPUs, while the GPU sits at the 86th percentile among all GPUs — both are high performers individually, and their combination in this game yields a result that is better than either component's percentile alone might suggest. This suggests efficient scaling in Hard West, where neither component becomes a severe bottleneck at most settings.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 brings 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 716.8 GB/s of memory bandwidth. The GPU's base clock is 2205 MHz with a boost clock of 2505 MHz, and memory runs at 1400 MHz (22.4 Gbps effective). These specifications are more than ample for Hard West, a game that primarily relies on static scenes and turn-based logic rather than fast-paced rendering. The GPU's 9,728 shading units, 304 texture mapping units, and 112 raster output pipelines provide the raw throughput needed to push very high frame rates at lower resolutions, while the 76 ray tracing cores and 304 tensor cores are largely irrelevant for this title's rendering workload.

In the measured results, the RTX 4080's role becomes evident when examining how frame rates scale with settings and resolution. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 328 FPS average, which suggests the GPU is not the limiting factor at this setting — the frame rate is likely capped by CPU or engine-level constraints. As resolution increases to 1440p and 2160p, the GPU's workload grows, and the frame rates drop accordingly, but even at 4K Ultra, the combo maintains 51 FPS average. The GPU's 16 GB VRAM is never a constraint in this game; even at 4K Ultra, the memory footprint of Hard West's assets is far below this capacity, so the VRAM headroom is effectively unused headroom. The GPU's percentile rank of 86 among all GPUs places it above most, but its nearest rivals include the RTX 4080 SUPER (0.1% higher average score) and the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X (1.1% higher), indicating that the RTX 4080 is not the absolute fastest in synthetic benchmarks but is within a small margin of its direct successor.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a 24-core, 24-thread processor with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.80 GHz. It is built on a 3 nm process node with 17,800 million transistors and a die size of 243 mm². The CPU's cache hierarchy includes 192 KB of L1 per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and 36 MB of shared L3 cache. Memory support is DDR5 with dual-channel configuration and a bandwidth of 115.2 GB/s. The CPU's benchmark scores are impressive: Cinebench R23 multi-core scores 51,731, while single-core scores 7,303; PassMark multi-thread scores 60,860, and single-thread scores 4,823. These numbers place the CPU at the 96th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 84,003.

In Hard West, the CPU's role is primarily about handling game logic, AI turn calculations, and draw call submissions. The game is turn-based, so the CPU's multi-threaded performance is less critical than in real-time strategy games, but the 24 cores provide massive headroom for background tasks and any engine-level threading. The boost clock of 5.80 GHz is particularly relevant for single-threaded tasks, which Hard West likely relies on for its simulation and input processing. The CPU's nearest rivals include the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K (0.2% higher average score) and the AMD EPYC 4584PX (1.1% higher), while the AMD EPYC 7F72 is 1.3% lower. This means the 290K Plus sits in a very tight cluster at the top of CPU performance, and any differences in game frame rates are unlikely to be attributable to CPU performance alone.

The measured frame rates at 1080p Low (328 FPS average) and 1440p Low (207 FPS average) suggest that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with enough data to reach very high frame rates, but the drop from 328 to 207 FPS when moving from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings indicates that the GPU begins to take on more load as pixel count increases. At 1080p Ultra, the combo still hits 155 FPS average, showing that the CPU can maintain high frame rates even when GPU load increases. The CPU's 36 MB L3 cache and 115.2 GB/s memory bandwidth are more than sufficient for this game's data access patterns, and the 24 threads ensure that any background processes do not interfere with game performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers average FPS of 328 on Low, 269 on Medium, 206 on High, and 155 on Ultra. The Medium setting shows a min FPS of 228 and max FPS of 309, indicating a consistent frame delivery with a narrow range. The spread from Low to Ultra is 173 FPS, which is substantial and reflects the increasing GPU workload as settings rise. At 1080p, even Ultra settings produce frame rates far above the 60 FPS threshold, and the data suggests that this resolution is not where the combo's limits are tested.

Moving to 2560x1440, average FPS drops to 207 on Low, 170 on Medium, 131 on High, and 98 on Ultra. The Medium setting at 1440p shows a min FPS of 144 and max of 195, maintaining a solid 144 FPS floor. The drop from 1080p to 1440p at each settings tier is roughly 37% on Low (328 to 207), 37% on Medium (269 to 170), 36% on High (206 to 131), and 37% on Ultra (155 to 98). This consistent scaling indicates that the GPU is becoming the primary limiter as resolution increases, since the CPU's frame delivery remains unchanged.

At 3840x2160, average FPS falls to 109 on Low, 89 on Medium, 69 on High, and 51 on Ultra. The Medium setting at 4K shows a min FPS of 76 and max of 103, which is still playable but begins to approach the 60 FPS threshold. The drop from 1440p to 4K at each settings tier is roughly 47% on Low (207 to 109), 48% on Medium (170 to 89), 47% on High (131 to 69), and 48% on Ultra (98 to 51). The fact that 4K Ultra produces 51 FPS average is notable — it is the only measured configuration that falls below 60 FPS, and it does so by 9 FPS. This suggests that 4K Ultra is the most demanding scenario for this combo, and the GPU's limits are reached there.

Resolution Scaling

The data shows a clear pattern: scaling from 1080p to 1440p reduces FPS by approximately 36-37% across all settings, while scaling from 1440p to 4K reduces FPS by approximately 47-48%. This non-linear scaling is typical of a GPU-bound scenario — as resolution increases, the pixel count grows geometrically (1080p has 2.07 million pixels, 1440p has 3.69 million, 4K has 8.29 million), and the GPU's fill rate and shading throughput become the bottleneck. The fact that the percentage drop is nearly identical across all settings tiers (Low through Ultra) at each resolution step indicates that the limiting component is the GPU, not the CPU or memory subsystem. If the CPU were the limiter, we would expect the FPS drop to be less severe at higher settings where GPU load dominates, but the consistent scaling suggests the GPU is the primary constraint across all settings.

The 4K Ultra result of 51 FPS is the only data point below 60 FPS, and it represents a 67% drop from the 1080p Ultra result of 155 FPS. This large drop highlights the GPU's workload at 4K with maximum settings. At 4K Low, the combo achieves 109 FPS, which is still very playable, and at 4K Medium, it reaches 89 FPS with a min of 76 FPS. The resolution scaling analysis suggests that for a 60 FPS experience, the combo can handle 4K at High settings (69 FPS average) but not Ultra (51 FPS). For 1440p, all settings are well above 60 FPS, with Ultra at 98 FPS. At 1080p, all settings are above 155 FPS, making this resolution trivial for the combo.

This pattern indicates that the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is not a limiting factor in this game — the CPU's 24 cores and 5.80 GHz boost clock provide more than enough processing power to feed the GPU at any resolution. The GPU's 16 GB VRAM and 716.8 GB/s bandwidth are also not limiting, as the frame rates scale almost perfectly with resolution. The limiting component is the RTX 4080's raw shading throughput, which at 4K Ultra (with its heavy pixel shader workload) cannot sustain 60 FPS.

FAQ

Q: What is the combo's rank in Hard West among all tested configurations?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus + RTX 4080 combination ranks 165th out of 3,722 tested combos, placing it in the top 4.4% of all systems tested for this game.

Q: Can this combo run Hard West at 4K with maximum settings?

A: At 3840x2160 Ultra, the combo achieves 51 FPS average, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. For a smooth 60 FPS experience at 4K, High settings (69 FPS average) are the highest viable option.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 compare to its closest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 4080's nearest rival is the RTX 4080 SUPER, which scores 0.1% higher on average. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X scores 1.1% higher, while the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB and AMD Radeon 8060S score 2.6% and 2.7% higher, respectively.

Q: What FPS does the combo achieve at 1080p on Medium settings?

A: At 1920x1080 Medium, the combo delivers 269 FPS average, with a minimum of 228 FPS and a maximum of 309 FPS, indicating very consistent frame delivery.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in Hard West?

A: The resolution scaling data shows that FPS drops by about 36-37% from 1080p to 1440p and 47-48% from 1440p to 4K across all settings, which indicates the GPU is the primary limiter. The CPU's 96th percentile performance provides ample headroom.

Q: What are the CPU's key specifications relevant to gaming?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus has 24 cores and 24 threads, a base clock of 3.70 GHz and boost clock of 5.80 GHz, with 36 MB of shared L3 cache and 115.2 GB/s memory bandwidth.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1920x1080, all settings deliver well above 100 FPS, with Ultra at 155 FPS average. For a 144 Hz or 165 Hz monitor, Ultra settings at 1080p are the best choice, as they provide the highest visual quality while still maintaining frame rates above 144 FPS. The Medium setting at 1080p offers 269 FPS average, which is overkill for most displays, but if competitive play or frame pacing is a concern, Medium with its 228 FPS minimum is a safe choice.

At 2560x1440, Ultra settings deliver 98 FPS average, which is suitable for 100 Hz displays but falls short of 144 Hz. High settings at 1440p provide 131 FPS average, which is close to 144 Hz and offers a balanced experience. Medium settings at 1440p deliver 170 FPS average with a 144 FPS minimum, making it the best option for 144 Hz monitors if visual fidelity can be slightly reduced. Low settings at 1440p reach 207 FPS, which is beyond any common refresh rate but may be useful for minimizing input latency.

At 3840x2160, High settings are the recommended choice for a 60 FPS experience, delivering 69 FPS average. Medium settings at 4K provide 89 FPS average with a 76 FPS minimum, which is suitable for 75 Hz displays or if a higher frame rate margin is desired. Ultra at 4K at 51 FPS average is not recommended for a smooth experience, as frame drops below 60 FPS can be noticeable. Low settings at 4K reach 109 FPS, which is useful for high-refresh-rate 4K displays, though visual quality is significantly reduced.

The data shows that the sweet spot for this combo in Hard West is 1440p High or 4K High, depending on the display. For 1080p users, Ultra settings are fully playable with no compromises. The 4K Ultra configuration is the only scenario where the combo falls short of 60 FPS, so users with 4K displays should either dial settings to High or accept the 51 FPS average at Ultra. Across all resolutions, the Medium preset provides the most consistent frame delivery with min FPS values of 228 at 1080p, 144 at 1440p, and 76 at 4K, making it the safest choice for users who prioritize frame pacing stability over maximum visual quality.