Hard West

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 combination delivers a performance profile in Hard West that is dominated by the graphics card, yet the processor’s high-end specifications ensure no bottleneck at any resolution. The measured data shows a clear hierarchy of settings presets, with the game’s turn-based nature making high frame rates less critical than in action genres, but the hardware still provides substantial headroom. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS across three resolutions and four quality presets, interprets the ranking among 2,949 tested combos, and examines how the CPU and GPU specifications correlate with the observed results.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU and GPU combo in Hard West?*

A: Based on the measured data, 2560x1440 with High settings provides the best balance, delivering 109 FPS. This is more than double the 57 FPS seen at 3840x2160 on High, while still offering a significant visual upgrade over 1920x1080.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 492nd out of 2,949 tested combinations. This places it in the top 17% of all configurations, indicating a high-performing pairing that sits well above the median.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more of a limiting factor in this game?

A: The data suggests the GPU is the primary limiting factor. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 274 FPS, while at 4K Ultra, it drops to 43 FPS. This dramatic scaling with resolution and settings points to the graphics card being the performance ceiling, rather than the 24-core processor.

Q: What is the performance difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset yields 173 FPS, while the Ultra preset yields 82 FPS. This represents a 91 FPS difference, or approximately 53% lower performance at Ultra, highlighting the significant cost of the highest quality settings.

Q: Does the RTX 5070's 12 GB VRAM suffice for this game?

A: The measured data shows playable frame rates even at 4K Ultra (43 FPS), suggesting that the 12 GB of GDDR7 memory is not a limiting factor for Hard West. The game is from 2015, and the memory capacity appears adequate for its requirements.

Q: How does the Ultra 9 290K Plus compare to its direct predecessor?

A: According to the benchmark data, the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus has an average score of 84,003, which is 0.2% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K’s average score of 83,807. The performance delta is minimal, indicating the new chip offers a marginal generational improvement in synthetic tests.

Settings Recommendations

The measured frame rates across all settings and resolutions indicate that Hard West is not a demanding title for this hardware, even at the highest quality presets. For a turn-based tactics game, the visual fidelity of the Ultra preset is often desirable, but the data shows a substantial performance cost. At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset averages 43 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold often considered standard for smooth gameplay. In contrast, the High preset at the same resolution delivers 57 FPS, a 14 FPS improvement that is likely worth the minor visual reduction. For users with high refresh rate displays, the 2560x1440 High preset is the sweet spot, delivering 109 FPS while maintaining a high level of detail. This provides a fluid experience without the extreme performance penalty of Ultra.

The data shows that the Medium preset offers a compelling middle ground, especially at higher resolutions. At 1440p, Medium delivers 142 FPS, which is 60 FPS more than High and 33 FPS more than Ultra. The minimum FPS of 121 at this setting also indicates a stable experience. Given that the frame rate at 1080p High is already 172 FPS, there is little reason to use Low settings on this hardware, as the game is not graphically intensive enough to necessitate such compromises. The recommendation is to prioritize the High preset for the best visual-to-performance ratio, with Ultra being a viable option only for users who prioritize maximum fidelity over frame rate. The Low preset is largely redundant for this configuration, as even the most demanding settings produce playable results.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS data reveals a clear scaling pattern as resolution increases, which provides insight into the system's bottleneck. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo produces 172 FPS. When moving to 2560x1440, the frame rate drops to 109 FPS, a reduction of 63 FPS or 36.6%. The jump to 3840x2160 further reduces performance to 57 FPS, a 52 FPS drop from 1440p and a 115 FPS drop from 1080p. This scaling is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario, where the graphics card is working progressively harder to fill the increasing number of pixels.

The trend is consistent across all settings presets. At Low settings, the frame rates scale from 274 FPS at 1080p to 173 FPS at 1440p and 91 FPS at 4K. This represents a 66.8% reduction from 1080p to 4K. At Ultra settings, the drop is from 129 FPS at 1080p to 82 FPS at 1440p and 43 FPS at 4K, a reduction of 66.7%. The similarity in percentage drops across presets indicates that the resolution is the dominant factor affecting performance, not the complexity of the scene or the specific settings. The data strongly suggests that the GPU is the limiting component, as the frame rate scales inversely with pixel count. The CPU, with its 24 cores and high boost clock, is not a constraining factor in this title, as it is capable of feeding the GPU at all tested resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, this specific pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 holds the 492nd position out of 2,949 entries. This places it in the 83rd percentile of all tested systems, indicating a high-performing configuration. The ranking is a composite score, likely factoring in performance across multiple games, and this specific game's results contribute to that overall standing. The high rank is consistent with the measured frame rates, which are exceptionally high even at 4K resolution.

The CPU's nearest rivals in the database, based on average benchmark scores, include the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, which has a score 0.2% lower, and the AMD EPYC 4584PX, which is 1.1% lower. The GPU's nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon Pro 580 (0.1% lower) and the AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100 (0.8% lower). These close margins in synthetic benchmarks suggest that the system's overall rank is competitive with other top-tier components. The fact that this combo is in the top 500 out of nearly 3,000 indicates that it is a robust pairing for gaming, with the performance headroom to handle demanding titles, even if Hard West itself is not particularly challenging.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 is the primary driver of the measured frame rates in Hard West. The graphics card features 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 672.0 GB/s. The boost clock of 2512 MHz, combined with 6,144 shading units, allows for high throughput. In this game, the GPU's role is evident from the scaling of FPS with resolution and settings. The data shows a clear correlation between the workload on the GPU and the resulting frame rate, confirming that it is the bottleneck.

The 12 GB VRAM is ample for Hard West, a 2015 title, and does not appear to be a limiting factor even at 4K Ultra, where the average FPS is 43. The GPU's architecture, Blackwell 2.0, is built on a 5 nm process and contains 31,100 million transistors. Its performance in this game is strong, as evidenced by the high frame rates at 1080p and 1440p. The GPU's average benchmark score of 40,377 places it in the 82nd percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rivals, such as the AMD Radeon Pro 580, have nearly identical average scores, indicating a competitive market segment. The RTX 5070's performance in Hard West is more than sufficient, with even the most demanding settings at 4K producing a playable, though not ideal, frame rate.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across all settings and resolutions. At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 274 FPS, Medium averages 224 FPS (with a minimum of 191 FPS and maximum of 258 FPS), High averages 172 FPS, and Ultra averages 129 FPS. This shows a steady decline in performance as visual quality increases, with a 145 FPS difference between Low and Ultra.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 173 FPS, Medium averages 142 FPS (minimum 121 FPS, maximum 163 FPS), High averages 109 FPS, and Ultra averages 82 FPS. The performance drop from 1080p is significant, but all presets remain highly playable. At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 91 FPS, Medium averages 74 FPS (minimum 63 FPS, maximum 86 FPS), High averages 57 FPS, and Ultra averages 43 FPS. The data shows that 4K Ultra is the only configuration that falls below the 60 FPS threshold, while all other combinations exceed it. The Medium preset is the only one at 4K that provides a recorded minimum FPS, which is 63, suggesting a stable experience. The overall pattern is consistent: the hardware provides excellent performance in this title, with the only compromise being at the highest resolution and settings combination.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus, with its 24 cores and 24 threads, is a high-end desktop processor that is unlikely to bottleneck the RTX 5070 in Hard West. The CPU has a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.80 GHz, along with 36 MB of shared L3 cache. Its benchmark scores are robust, including a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 51,731 and a single-core score of 7,303. The processor's average benchmark score of 84,003 places it in the 96th percentile of all CPUs, indicating top-tier performance.

In Hard West, a turn-based tactics game, the CPU's role is to manage game logic, AI, and unit actions, which are not typically as demanding as the physics and rendering tasks found in action games. The high single-core performance is beneficial for such tasks, and the multi-core capabilities provide headroom for background processes. The data from the measured FPS shows no sign of a CPU limitation; the frame rates are consistently high and scale predictably with GPU load. The processor's nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, has a nearly identical average score, confirming that this CPU is at the top of its class. While the CPU is not the star of the show in this specific game, its capabilities ensure that it does not hinder the GPU's performance, allowing the RTX 5070 to operate at its full potential.