Pc Building Simulator

Pc Building Simulator places the Intel Core i5-11400F and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 combination in a specific performance tier. The measured data reveals a system that is well-balanced for high-refresh 1080p gaming but begins to show its limitations as resolution increases. This pairing ranks 3083rd out of 3723 tested combos in this game, placing it in the lower half of the database, yet the frame rates tell a more nuanced story about where its strengths lie.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1080p to 1440p to 4K shows a classic GPU-bound curve, with the GTX 1070 becoming the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 92 FPS at 1920x1080 to 58 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 34 FPS, and then falls further to 30 FPS at 3840x2160. This pattern indicates that the graphics card is struggling to fill the increasing pixel count, which is expected given its 8 GB of GDDR5 memory and 256-bit memory bus.

The Low settings row provides the clearest view of this scaling behavior. At 1920x1080 Low, the system achieves 184 FPS, which drops to 116 FPS at 1440p and 61 FPS at 4K. The fact that even at the lowest preset, 4K resolution halves the frame rate compared to 1440p suggests that raw pixel throughput, not CPU capability, is the limiting factor. The CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads are more than sufficient to feed the GPU at lower resolutions, but the GTX 1070's pixel rate of 107.7 GPixel/s becomes the ceiling.

Interestingly, the scaling from 1440p to 4K is steeper than from 1080p to 1440p. At High settings, moving from 1080p to 1440p costs 34 FPS, but moving from 1440p to 4K costs 28 FPS, which is a smaller absolute drop but a larger percentage decrease (from 58 to 30 FPS, a 48% reduction). This non-linear behavior suggests the GPU's memory bandwidth of 256.3 GB/s is being saturated at 4K, especially with the more demanding High preset.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F provides a solid foundation for this game, with 6 cores and 12 threads running at a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. Its Rocket Lake architecture, built on Intel's 14 nm process, delivers a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 14340 and a single-core score of 2024, indicating strong per-thread performance that benefits simulation games like Pc Building Simulator, which often rely on single-threaded logic for game state updates.

The CPU's performance percentile of 71 among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17177, places it comfortably above mediocrity. Its nearest rival, the AMD EPYC 7H12, scores 17120, a mere 0.3% difference, while the Intel Core i5-12450H scores 17239, 0.4% higher. This clustering shows the i5-11400F is right in the middle of a tight performance band, neither significantly ahead nor behind its direct competitors.

In the context of this game, the CPU's role appears secondary to the GPU. The fact that 1080p Low yields 184 FPS while 1080p Ultra yields 88 FPS points to the GPU being the primary constraint. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect similar frame rates across settings at the same resolution, but the 96 FPS spread between Low and Ultra at 1080p clearly implicates the GTX 1070. The CPU's 12 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth are adequate for feeding data to the GPU without causing significant stalls.

How This Combo Ranks

At rank 3083 out of 3723 tested combinations, this pairing sits in the 17th percentile of all combos tested in Pc Building Simulator. This ranking might seem low, but it reflects the fact that the database includes many high-end configurations with more recent GPUs and CPUs. The GTX 1070's percentile of 47 among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 9780, positions it as a mid-range card, while the CPU's higher percentile of 71 suggests the processor is relatively stronger than the graphics card.

The combination's rank is likely dragged down by the GPU's age and performance class rather than any CPU deficiency. The GTX 1070's nearest rivals include the AMD FirePro W5000 (9803 average score, 0.2% lower) and the NVIDIA Quadro M2000M (9832 average score, 0.5% lower), which are professional-grade cards that would not typically be used for gaming. This context suggests the GTX 1070 is performing as expected for its class, and the combo's low rank is a function of the game's heavy reliance on GPU compute rather than any pairing inefficiency.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Pc Building Simulator?

A: The data shows 1920x1080 is the sweet spot. At High settings, the combo delivers 92 FPS, while at 2560x1440 it drops to 58 FPS, and at 3840x2160 it falls to 30 FPS. The 1080p resolution offers the most headroom above the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core i5-11400F has an average benchmark score of 17177, which is 0.3% above the AMD EPYC 7H12 (17120) and 0.6% above the Intel Core Ultra 7 164U (17074). It trails the Intel Core i5-12450H (17239) by 0.4% and the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G (17278) by 0.6%.

Q: Is the GPU the limiting factor at 4K resolution?

A: Yes. At 3840x2160, High settings yields 30 FPS while Low yields 61 FPS, showing that reducing graphical load nearly doubles performance. This indicates the GTX 1070's pixel throughput and memory bandwidth, not the CPU, are the constraints.

Q: What frame rates can I expect at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: The measured data shows an average of 82 FPS at 2560x1440 with Medium settings, with a minimum of 70 FPS and a maximum of 95 FPS. This is the only 1440p setting that comfortably exceeds 60 FPS.

Q: How does the GTX 1070's performance percentile affect this combo?

A: The GPU's percentile of 47 means it performs better than 47% of all GPUs in the database. Since the CPU's percentile is 71, the graphics card is the weaker component, which aligns with the resolution scaling data showing GPU-bound behavior.

Q: What is the single-thread performance of the CPU?

A: The i5-11400F scores 2024 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 868 in 3DMark single-thread. These scores, combined with a PassMark single-thread score of 2981, indicate strong per-core performance that helps maintain consistent frame pacing in simulation games.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070, based on the GP104 chip and Pascal architecture, is the dominant factor in this combo's gaming performance. Its 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus delivers 256.3 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p but becomes strained at 4K. The card's boost clock of 1683 MHz and base clock of 1506 MHz provide a reasonable compute foundation, with 1920 shading units and 64 ROPs handling pixel output.

The GPU's PassMark G3D score of 13498 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1082 place it in the mid-range category, consistent with its 47th percentile ranking. Its nearest rivals in the database are professional cards like the AMD FirePro W5000 (9803 average score, 0.2% lower) and NVIDIA Tesla M10 (9724 average score, 0.6% higher), which reinforces that the GTX 1070 is a capable but not exceptional performer in synthetic benchmarks.

In Pc Building Simulator specifically, the GPU's role is evident from the FPS scaling. At 4K Ultra, the combo manages only 29 FPS, while at 1080p Low it hits 184 FPS. This 155 FPS spread across settings and resolutions demonstrates that the GTX 1070's compute resources are the primary determinant of performance. The card's 6.463 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 202.0 GTexel/s texture rate are adequate for the game's simulation graphics, but the 4K data shows clear limits.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual quality and playable frame rates, the Medium preset at 1920x1080 offers the most compelling option. It provides 131 FPS average with a minimum of 111 FPS, ensuring smooth gameplay without the frame rate dips seen at Ultra. The High preset at 1080p also works well at 92 FPS, but the Medium preset's 39 FPS advantage over High makes it the better choice for maintaining high refresh rates.

At 2560x1440, Medium settings are recommended, as the 82 FPS average with a 70 FPS minimum keeps gameplay fluid. High at 1440p drops to 58 FPS, which is borderline for competitive play, while Ultra falls to 55 FPS. The Low preset at 1440p delivers 116 FPS, but the visual compromise is likely too severe for a simulation game where reading small text and interface elements is important.

For 3840x2160, the data shows that only Low settings (61 FPS) achieve playable frame rates above 60 FPS. Medium at 4K yields 43 FPS with a 37 FPS minimum, which may be acceptable for slower-paced simulation gameplay, but High (30 FPS) and Ultra (29 FPS) are below the threshold for smooth interaction. Users targeting 4K should stick to Low or accept lower frame rates.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its best performance across all settings. Low settings produce 184 FPS average, Medium yields 131 FPS with a minimum of 111 and maximum of 150, High reaches 92 FPS, and Ultra manages 88 FPS. The 96 FPS difference between Low and Ultra at this resolution highlights the GPU's sensitivity to graphical presets.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates drop significantly. Low settings achieve 116 FPS, Medium averages 82 FPS with a range of 70 to 95 FPS, High settles at 58 FPS, and Ultra falls to 55 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 61 FPS, indicating that the GPU is becoming the limiting factor even at lower settings.

At 3840x2160, performance is substantially reduced. Low settings yield 61 FPS, Medium averages 43 FPS with a minimum of 37 and maximum of 50, High drops to 30 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 29 FPS. The minimal difference between High and Ultra at this resolution (just 1 FPS) suggests the game's Ultra preset adds little visual benefit while imposing the same performance cost, making High the better choice if 4K is required.