Pc Building Simulator

The Intel Core i5-13400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9060 delivers a playable but not exceptional experience in Pc Building Simulator, with performance that scales predictably with resolution and settings. The combo ranks in the 57th percentile of all tested configurations, a middling result that reflects the GPU's position as a mid-range part and the CPU's solid but unremarkable standing. The data shows that this pairing is most comfortable at 1080p and 1440p, where it can push high frame rates, but it struggles to maintain smooth performance at 4K on higher presets, revealing a system that is clearly GPU-limited at that resolution.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear and consistent pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases, with the most dramatic drops occurring between 1440p and 4K. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 247 FPS, but this falls to 156 FPS at 1440p and then to 82 FPS at 4K, representing a 37% reduction from 1080p to 1440p and a further 47% reduction from 1440p to 4K. This scaling pattern indicates that the system is heavily GPU-bound at 4K, as the pixel count quadruples from 1080p to 4K but frame rates drop by roughly two-thirds, a steeper decline than the raw pixel increase would suggest if the CPU were the limiting factor.

The scaling behavior at Higher settings tells a similar story but with a more pronounced cliff edge. At High settings, the combo delivers 124 FPS at 1080p, 78 FPS at 1440p, and 41 FPS at 4K. The transition from 1080p to 1440p costs 46 FPS, while moving from 1440p to 4K costs another 37 FPS, showing that the GPU's workload increases non-linearly with resolution. At Ultra settings, the numbers are 118 FPS at 1080p, 74 FPS at 1440p, and 39 FPS at 4K, with the 4K result dipping below the 40 FPS threshold that many users consider the minimum for acceptable gameplay.

The gap between Low and Ultra settings widens significantly at higher resolutions, which further confirms the GPU's dominance in this pairing. At 1080p, the spread between Low (247 FPS) and Ultra (118 FPS) is 129 FPS, but at 4K, the spread narrows to just 43 FPS (82 FPS on Low versus 39 FPS on Ultra). This narrowing indicates that at 4K, even Low settings cannot fully relieve the GPU bottleneck, as the pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth of the RX 9060 become the primary constraints regardless of the graphical complexity being rendered.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-13400F provides a robust foundation for this gaming workload, with its 10 cores and 16 threads ensuring that Pc Building Simulator's simulation logic never starves the GPU. The CPU's boost clock of 4.60 GHz and base clock of 2.50 GHz, combined with a 20 MB shared L3 cache, give it ample single-threaded and multi-threaded headroom for a simulation title that relies heavily on physics and system state calculations. Benchmark results support this, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 22604 and a single-core score of 3191, placing it in the 77th percentile of all CPUs tested.

The CPU's performance relative to its nearest rivals shows it is a balanced mid-range part, though not a standout. Its average benchmark score of 25292 is essentially identical to the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS at 25284 (0% delta), and it trails the Intel Core 5 120 by a negligible 0.3% (25362 score). The AMD Ryzen 7 6800H scores 25201, putting the i5-13400F just 0.4% ahead. This clustering of scores within a 0.7% band suggests that any of these CPUs would deliver virtually identical frame rates in Pc Building Simulator, meaning the i5-13400F is neither a help nor a hindrance to the overall combo ranking.

In practical terms, the CPU's role in this game is to maintain a steady frame delivery pipeline, and the data indicates it does so effectively. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 7314 and 8-thread score of 5591 show strong multi-threading capability, which is relevant for a simulation game that can spawn numerous AI-driven entities and complex system interactions. However, the fact that FPS drops so sharply from 1080p to 4K—even at Low settings where the CPU workload is highest relative to the GPU—proves that the i5-13400F is not the limiting component in this configuration. The CPU has ample headroom, and the bottleneck shifts decisively to the GPU as resolution climbs.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9060 is the defining component in this pairing, and its specifications explain the performance ceiling observed across all resolution and settings combinations. With 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus delivering 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth, the GPU has enough memory capacity for 1080p and 1440p gaming but becomes strained at 4K, where higher resolution textures and larger frame buffers demand more memory throughput. The boost clock of 2990 MHz and game clock of 2400 MHz provide strong raw compute, with 1792 shading units and 64 ROPs enabling a pixel rate of 191.4 GPixel/s, yet these figures are not sufficient to maintain high frame rates at 4K.

The GPU's benchmark profile places it in the 59th percentile of all GPUs, with an average score of 16014. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, scores 16129, which is 0.7% higher, while the AMD Radeon R9 370X and RX 7700 score 15862 and 15852 respectively, putting them 1% behind. The RX 9060's PassMark G3D score of 17631 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3322 illustrate its mid-range positioning, and the measured FPS data aligns with this classification. The GPU's 21.43 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is respectable but not exceptional, and the 132 W TDP suggests a power-efficient design that prioritizes performance-per-watt over absolute performance.

Critically, the GPU's memory configuration may be a hidden liability at 4K. While the 8 GB capacity is sufficient for the Low and Medium presets at 4K (82 and 58 FPS respectively), the Ultra preset at 4K drops to 39 FPS, which could indicate that the GPU is hitting memory bandwidth limits or running out of VRAM for higher-detail textures. The fact that the High preset at 4K only manages 41 FPS—barely better than Ultra—suggests that the GPU's compute capabilities, not just memory, are stretched at this resolution. In contrast, at 1080p, the GPU has ample resources, delivering 247 FPS on Low and 118 FPS on Ultra, proving that the RX 9060 is well-suited to 1080p gaming but only marginally adequate for 1440p on higher settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a granular view of how this combo performs across twelve distinct resolution and settings combinations. At 1920x1080, the combo achieves its best results: Low settings produce an average of 247 FPS, Medium delivers 175 FPS with a minimum of 149 and maximum of 201, High reaches 124 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 118 FPS. All four settings at 1080p exceed the 60 FPS threshold by a wide margin, making this resolution the sweet spot for the pairing, with even Ultra settings providing a comfortable buffer above typical display refresh rates.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance remains playable but shows clear signs of strain on higher presets. Low settings yield 156 FPS, which is still excellent, and Medium produces 111 FPS with a range of 94 to 127 FPS. High settings drop to 78 FPS, and Ultra falls to 74 FPS. These numbers indicate that 1440p is viable for this combo, but users seeking 144 Hz refresh rates will need to stick with Low or Medium settings, as High and Ultra hover just above the 60 FPS mark without providing the headroom needed for high-refresh displays.

At 3840x2160, the combo's limitations become starkly apparent. Low settings deliver 82 FPS, which is playable, but Medium drops to 58 FPS with a minimum of 49 and maximum of 66, showing noticeable frame time variance. High settings manage just 41 FPS, and Ultra falls to 39 FPS, both of which are below the 60 FPS standard and may result in stutter or input lag during demanding simulation scenes. The 4K results clearly show that this pairing is not suited for high-fidelity gaming at this resolution, and users should either lower settings to Medium or accept sub-60 FPS performance on higher presets.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 1710 out of 3002 tested configurations in Pc Building Simulator, placing it in the bottom half of all pairings but not at the very bottom. This rank of 1710 corresponds to roughly the 57th percentile, meaning that 43% of tested combos perform worse than this one. Given that the CPU is in the 77th percentile and the GPU is in the 59th percentile, the combo's overall rank is dragged down by the GPU, which is the weaker component. This suggests that users looking to improve performance should prioritize a GPU upgrade over a CPU upgrade, as the i5-13400F has more headroom relative to its peers than the RX 9060 does.

The gap between the combo's rank and the CPU's percentile is particularly telling. A CPU in the 77th percentile paired with a GPU in the 59th percentile results in a combo in the 57th percentile, which indicates that the GPU's mid-range performance is the primary constraint. If the CPU were the limiting factor, the combo rank would more closely mirror the CPU's high percentile, but instead, it aligns more closely with the GPU's lower standing. This analysis is further supported by the measured FPS data, which shows the GPU bottleneck intensifying at 4K, where even Low settings cannot fully compensate for the GPU's resource limitations.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For 1080p gaming, the data supports using Ultra settings, which deliver 118 FPS on average—a figure that exceeds 60 FPS by nearly double and provides ample headroom for 100 Hz or 120 Hz displays. The drop from Ultra to High at 1080p is only 6 FPS (124 versus 118), so there is little reason to sacrifice visual quality at this resolution, as the GPU has more than enough performance to handle the highest preset without compromising smoothness.

For 1440p, the best balance of visual quality and performance is found at High settings, which produce 78 FPS on average. This is above the 60 FPS threshold and provides a comfortable margin for standard 60 Hz displays, though users with 144 Hz monitors may prefer Medium settings, which deliver 111 FPS and a minimum of 94 FPS, ensuring no drops below 90 FPS during intense simulation scenes. Ultra settings at 1440p (74 FPS) offer marginal visual improvements over High while sacrificing only 4 FPS, making it a viable alternative for users who prioritize image quality over frame rate stability.

At 4K, the data strongly recommends Medium settings, which achieve 58 FPS on average with a minimum of 49 FPS and maximum of 66 FPS. This is the only 4K preset that comes close to the 60 FPS target, and the frame time variance (49 to 66 FPS) indicates that while there are occasional dips, the experience remains mostly smooth. Low settings at 4K offer 82 FPS and would be preferred by competitive users, but the visual quality reduction is substantial. High and Ultra settings at 4K (41 and 39 FPS respectively) should be avoided, as they fall below the 40 FPS threshold and will likely result in noticeable stutter and an unresponsive feel. Users who insist on 4K with High or Ultra settings should consider a GPU upgrade, as the RX 9060 simply does not have the resources to deliver an acceptable experience at those settings.