Pc Building Simulator

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X is an 8-core, 16-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge), built on TSMC's 4 nm process. It runs at a 3.80 GHz base clock and boosts up to 5.50 GHz, with 32 MB of shared L3 cache and 1 MB of L2 per core. The CPU's TDP is 65 W, and it supports DDR5 memory over a dual-channel bus with 89.6 GB/s bandwidth. This processor sits in the 89th percentile against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 36029.

In Pc Building Simulator, the CPU's role is substantial because the game simulates system assembly and diagnostics, where frame rates scale heavily with processor throughput. The 9700X's multi-threaded performance is strong: it scores 31588 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 9771 in 3DMark max threads. Single-thread performance is equally notable, with a 3DMark single-thread score of 1280 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4459. These figures matter because the game's simulation logic — tracking component compatibility, thermal states, and boot sequences — relies on both high-frequency single-thread operations and parallel task handling.

Compared to its nearest rivals, the 9700X is tightly clustered. The Intel Core i5-14500HX scores 35940, which is 0.2% lower. The Intel Core Ultra 9 185H is 0.4% ahead at 36165, while the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 trails by 0.6% at 35802. The Intel Core Ultra 5 225H leads the group by 0.8% at 36328. These sub-1% deltas indicate that at 1080p low settings, where the CPU is most likely to be the limiting factor, the 9700X should deliver frame rates nearly identical to these competitors.

The measured FPS data supports this: at 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves 364.4 FPS. At the same resolution with High settings, it drops to 184.2 FPS. This 49% reduction from Low to High suggests that while the CPU can push very high frame rates in undemanding settings, the game's engine still relies on CPU-side logic even at lower graphical loads. The 8-core/16-thread configuration provides ample headroom for background simulation tasks, but the single-thread score of 1280 in 3DMark indicates the processor's per-core strength is adequate for the game's primary thread.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 uses the AD104 chip with Ada Lovelace architecture, built on TSMC's 5 nm process. It has 5888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs, along with 46 ray tracing cores and 184 tensor cores. The GPU's base clock is 1920 MHz with a boost clock of 2475 MHz. Memory consists of 12 GB of GDDR6X on a 192-bit bus, providing 504.2 GB/s bandwidth. The card's FP32 performance is 29.15 TFLOPS, and its pixel rate is 158.4 GPixel/s.

The RTX 4070 ranks in the 81st percentile against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 37283. Its nearest rivals show a wider spread than the CPU's. The AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 is 0.6% behind at 37507, while the NVIDIA GeForce MX570 A is 1.9% ahead at 38008. The RTX 4080 Mobile leads by 2.2% at 38135, and the AMD Radeon RX 5300M trails by 2.5% at 36371. These deltas indicate the RTX 4070's compute performance is comparable to these parts, though the game's actual FPS depends more on rasterization throughput.

In Pc Building Simulator, the GPU's role becomes dominant at higher resolutions and settings. At 4K Ultra, the combo averages 56.5 FPS, which is a 39% drop from the 4K High result of 58 FPS. The VRAM capacity of 12 GB is sufficient for the game's textures at 4K, as the Ultra setting does not show catastrophic frame drops that would indicate memory overflow. The GPU's memory clock of 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective) contributes to the 504.2 GB/s bandwidth, which helps maintain consistent frame pacing across resolution changes.

The pixel rate of 158.4 GPixel/s and texture rate of 455.4 GTexel/s are key metrics for this simulation game, which renders detailed 3D models of PC components. At 1080p Low, the GPU is not the bottleneck, as evidenced by the 364.4 FPS result. However, at 4K Ultra, the GPU's shading throughput becomes the primary constraint, with the frame rate dropping to 56.5 FPS. This aligns with the GPU's 29.15 TFLOPS FP32 performance, which is adequate for 1080p and 1440p gaming but shows diminishing returns at 4K with maximum settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average FPS this combo achieves at 1080p?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 364.4 at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest rival, the Intel Core i5-14500HX?

A: The Ryzen 7 9700X scores 36029 on average, which is 0.2% higher than the i5-14500HX's 35940.

Q: What is the GPU's performance gap versus the RTX 4080 Mobile?

A: The RTX 4070 scores 37283, which is 2.2% lower than the RTX 4080 Mobile's 38135.

Q: Does the combo maintain playable frame rates at 4K Ultra?

A: Yes, the average FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 56.5, which is above 60 FPS thresholds for most monitors but borderline for high-refresh displays.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between 1080p Low and 4K Low?

A: The 1080p Low result is 364.4 FPS, while 4K Low is 122.2 FPS, representing a 66% reduction.

Q: How does the GPU's percentile rank compare to the CPU's?

A: The GPU sits at the 81st percentile, while the CPU is at the 89th percentile, indicating the CPU is relatively stronger among its peers.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination ranks 429th out of 1769 tested combos in Pc Building Simulator. This places it in the top 24.3% of all configurations, which is a solid mid-to-upper tier position. The rank reflects the balance between the CPU's 89th percentile standing and the GPU's 81st percentile, with the overall system performance being constrained by the GPU in most scenarios.

Given that the combo's 1080p Low result is 364.4 FPS, which is exceptionally high, the rank likely improves at lower settings where the CPU's strength is more evident. Conversely, at 4K Ultra with 56.5 FPS, the rank may be lower relative to combos with stronger GPUs. The 429th rank out of 1769 suggests that while this pairing is capable, there are many combinations with faster GPUs that outperform it in GPU-bound scenarios, and a few with faster CPUs that edge it out in CPU-bound tests.

The deltaPct values for the CPU's rivals show that the 9700X is virtually tied with the i5-14500HX and Ultra 9 185H, so any ranking differences between combos using these CPUs would depend entirely on the GPU. Similarly, the GPU's rivals — the RX Vega 56, MX570 A, RTX 4080 Mobile, and RX 5300M — have average scores within 2.5% of the RTX 4070, meaning the combo's rank is sensitive to the exact pairing of CPU and GPU performance.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling as resolution increases. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 364.4 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low, it drops to 233.3 FPS, a 36% reduction. At 4K Low, the result is 122.2 FPS, another 48% drop from 1440p. This scaling is consistent with rasterization workload increasing quadratically with pixel count.

For High settings, the progression is 184.2 FPS at 1080p, 117.3 FPS at 1440p, and 58 FPS at 4K. The 4K High result is 68% lower than 1080p High, which is more severe than the Low settings' 66% drop. This indicates that the GPU's shading units become more saturated at higher settings, as the additional texture and pixel work amplifies the resolution penalty.

The Medium settings show a similar trend: 260.6 FPS at 1080p, 165.2 FPS at 1440p, and 84.9 FPS at 4K. The Ultra settings follow with 173.2 FPS, 108.3 FPS, and 56.5 FPS respectively. The ratio between 1080p and 4K for Ultra is 3.07x, which is slightly less than the theoretical 4x pixel count difference, suggesting that the GPU is not fully bottlenecked at 4K Ultra and the CPU still contributes to frame generation.

The limiting component shifts from CPU at 1080p Low to GPU at 4K Ultra. At 1080p Low, the 364.4 FPS result is far above what most displays can show, indicating the CPU is capable of generating frames faster than the GPU can render, but the GPU is not yet saturated. At 4K Ultra, the 56.5 FPS result is limited by the GPU's 29.15 TFLOPS throughput, as the CPU's 9771 3DMark max-thread score provides ample headroom.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: 364.4 FPS average
• Medium: 260.6 FPS average
• High: 184.2 FPS average
• Ultra: 173.2 FPS average

At 1080p, the gap between Low and Medium is 104 FPS (28.5% reduction), while the gap between High and Ultra is only 11 FPS (6% reduction). This suggests that the game's graphical settings have diminishing returns beyond High at this resolution, where the GPU is not the primary constraint.

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: 233.3 FPS average
• Medium: 165.2 FPS average
• High: 117.3 FPS average
• Ultra: 108.3 FPS average

At 1440p, the differences between settings are more uniform. Low to Medium is a 68 FPS drop (29%), Medium to High is a 48 FPS drop (29%), and High to Ultra is a 9 FPS drop (7.7%). The consistency suggests the GPU is becoming the limiting factor, as each setting tier adds a proportional workload.

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: 122.2 FPS average
• Medium: 84.9 FPS average
• High: 58 FPS average
• Ultra: 56.5 FPS average

At 4K, the Low to Medium drop is 37.3 FPS (30.5%), Medium to High is 26.9 FPS (31.7%), and High to Ultra is only 1.5 FPS (2.6%). The small difference between High and Ultra at 4K indicates that the Ultra preset adds effects that are not significantly more demanding than High at this resolution, or that the GPU is already saturated and additional settings have minimal impact on frame rate.

The data shows that the RTX 4070's 12 GB VRAM and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for 4K Ultra, as the frame rate does not collapse below 56.5 FPS. However, the transition from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings (173.2 to 56.5 FPS) represents a 67% reduction, which is typical for a GPU in the 81st percentile. For users targeting 60 FPS at 4K, the High preset at 58 FPS is borderline, while Medium at 84.9 FPS provides a safer margin.