Pc Building Simulator

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

The Intel Core i5-13400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, fabricated on Intel's 10 nm process node. Its base clock runs at 2.50 GHz, with a boost clock reaching 4.60 GHz. This hybrid configuration—combining performance and efficiency cores—provides a strong foundation for a simulation title like Pc Building Simulator, which is known for its logic-heavy systems and component interaction calculations rather than pure graphics rendering.

Benchmark data places this CPU in the 77th percentile among all tested processors, with an average benchmark score of 25,292. In multithreaded workloads, the processor achieves a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 22,604, while its single-core score of 3,191 indicates solid per-thread performance. The 3DMark scores are revealing: 7,314 for 16 threads and 7,307 for max threads, showing near-linear scaling from 10 to 16 active threads. More telling is the jump from 2 threads (1,880) to 4 threads (3,459), which is a ~84% increase, suggesting that the game benefits from having at least four threads available.

The CPU's 20 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel memory support for both DDR4 and DDR5 contribute to its responsiveness in simulation scenarios. When examining the nearest rivals, the i5-13400F sits within 0.4% of the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS (25,284 vs. 25,292) and within 0.3% of both the Intel Core 5 120 and AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D. This tight clustering implies that in CPU-bound sections of Pc Building Simulator, the i5-13400F will perform essentially identically to these alternatives—differences of less than half a percent are imperceptible in real gameplay.

The PassMark multithread score of 25,032 further confirms the processor's balanced throughput. In a game where the simulation tick rate and component compatibility calculations can stress multiple threads, the 16-thread capability ensures that background tasks do not starve the main game logic. The data suggests the CPU is rarely the limiting factor at lower resolutions, though at 1080p with Low settings, it may contribute to the observed frame rates.

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

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 is a Blackwell 2.0 architecture GPU built on TSMC's 5 nm process, with a die containing 45,600 million transistors across a 378 mm² area. It operates at a base clock of 2295 MHz and a boost clock of 2617 MHz, with memory clocked at 1875 MHz (30 Gbps effective). The 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 960.0 GB/s, which is substantial for a simulation game that may load many textures for component models and UI elements.

The GPU's 10,752 shading units, 336 texture mapping units, and 112 raster output processors deliver a theoretical FP32 performance of 56.28 TFLOPS. In the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, the RTX 5080 scores 8,637, and its Geekbench Vulkan score of 255,450 highlights strong API-level performance. The PassMark G3D score of 36,565 places this GPU in the 87th percentile among all tested graphics cards, with an average benchmark score of 56,083.

Comparing to nearest rivals, the RTX 5080 leads the AMD Radeon 8060S by 0.6% (56,083 vs. 55,757) and the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB by 0.7%. However, it trails the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE by 2.2% (56,083 vs. 57,367). These small deltas mean that in Pc Building Simulator, where the GPU typically handles only the 3D viewport of the PC case and component rendering, the RTX 5080's raw power is far beyond what the game requires. The bottleneck analysis will show that frame rates are often constrained by engine logic or CPU, not by GPU throughput.

FAQ

Q: Why does the RTX 5080 with 16 GB of GDDR7 memory only achieve 80 FPS at 4K High settings when it scores in the 87th percentile of all GPUs?

A: The 4K High preset yields an average of 80 FPS, while 4K Low produces 161 FPS. This 2x difference indicates that the game's High settings introduce rendering costs that the engine cannot fully parallelize, even with the RTX 5080's 960.0 GB/s bandwidth and 56.28 TFLOPS of compute power. The GPU is not the limiting factor; the simulation logic creates a ceiling.

Q: How does the Intel Core i5-13400F's 10-core/16-thread configuration affect performance compared to its closest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS?

A: The i5-13400F scores 25,292 on average, while the Ryzen 9 6900HS scores 25,284—a delta of 0%. In practice, this means identical frame rates in Pc Building Simulator. The 16 threads are sufficient to handle the game's background calculations, and any difference would be within measurement error.

Q: Is there a meaningful FPS difference between Medium and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Medium averages 218 FPS, while Ultra averages 146 FPS—a 33% drop. The Medium preset also shows a min FPS of 185 and max of 250, indicating consistent frame pacing. Ultra's lack of min/max data suggests the engine may be less stable at that setting, though the average is still well above playable thresholds.

Q: What does the combo rank of 234 out of 3,723 tested combinations mean for this pairing?

A: This places the i5-13400F + RTX 5080 in the top 6.3% of all tested combos for Pc Building Simulator. It signals that this pairing is well-balanced for the game, though the rank is not higher because the game's simulation nature means even mid-range GPUs can achieve high frame rates once the CPU handles the logic.

Q: Why does 1080p Medium (322 FPS) outperform 1080p High (244 FPS) by 32%, but 4K Medium (114 FPS) only exceeds 4K High (80 FPS) by 43%?

A: The scaling patterns differ because at 1080p, the CPU's 16 threads become the primary constraint, so reducing GPU load from High to Medium yields a larger relative gain. At 4K, the GPU's rendering work increases, but the simulation tick rate still dominates, compressing the percentage difference between settings.

Q: Can the RTX 5080's 16 GB VRAM ever become a limiting factor in this game?

A: Given that the highest measured setting (4K Ultra) averages 77 FPS and the game is from 2019, the 16 GB of GDDR7 memory is far more than needed. The memory bandwidth of 960.0 GB/s is also excessive for Pc Building Simulator's asset sizes, so VRAM capacity and speed are not bottlenecks.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides a comprehensive view across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the frame rates are exceptionally high, ranging from 232 FPS (Ultra) to 366 FPS (Low). The Medium preset shows an average of 322 FPS with a minimum of 274 FPS and maximum of 370 FPS, indicating a stable experience. High settings at 1080p average 244 FPS, which is a 33% reduction from Low but still far beyond any display's refresh rate.

Moving to 2560x1440, the pattern holds but with proportionally lower numbers. Low settings produce 307 FPS, High settings 154 FPS, and Ultra 146 FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p averages 218 FPS, with min/max of 185/250 FPS—a 27% spread that suggests occasional frame hitches during complex simulation events. The jump from Ultra (146 FPS) to High (154 FPS) is only 5.5%, whereas the jump from High to Medium (218 FPS) is 41.6%, showing that the High-to-Medium transition offers the most significant performance uplift.

At 3840x2160, the RTX 5080 still delivers playable frame rates across all settings. Low averages 161 FPS, Medium 114 FPS (with min 97 and max 131), High 80 FPS, and Ultra 77 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra at 4K is just 3.9% (80 vs. 77 FPS), suggesting that Ultra's additional effects are nearly free for the GPU but the game engine caps the frame rate. The Medium preset at 4K provides a 42.5% improvement over High (114 vs. 80 FPS), making it the most efficient setting for 4K displays.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-13400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 achieves a rank of 234 out of 3,723 tested combos in Pc Building Simulator. This places it in the 93.7th percentile of all pairings, meaning it outperforms 3,489 other combinations. The high rank is notable because the game is not traditionally GPU-intensive, yet the RTX 5080's raw power ensures that even at 4K Ultra, frame rates stay above 77 FPS.

When considering the CPU's percentile of 77 and the GPU's percentile of 87, the combo rank of 234 is actually higher than either component's individual percentile would suggest. This implies that the pairing is synergistic—the CPU's 16 threads handle the simulation logic efficiently, while the GPU's 16 GB of VRAM and 960.0 GB/s bandwidth prevent any memory-related stutter. The nearest rival combos would include the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS (CPU delta 0%) paired with a similarly powerful GPU, but the data indicates that the i5-13400F's higher boost clock of 4.60 GHz gives it a slight edge in single-threaded tasks that the game relies on for component interaction checks.

The rank of 234 also reflects that many higher-ranked combos likely use even more powerful CPUs or GPUs, but the delta in actual FPS is minimal. Since the game is a simulation, the frame rate ceiling is often set by the engine's tick rate, not by hardware limits. This combo sits comfortably in the top tier where further hardware investment yields diminishing returns.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience per the measured rows, the Medium preset emerges as the most balanced choice across all resolutions. At 1080p, Medium averages 322 FPS with a minimum of 274 FPS, ensuring no dips below 270 FPS. This is superior to High (244 FPS) and Ultra (232 FPS) because the game's visual differences between Medium and High are minimal in a simulation context, yet the performance gain is 32% and 39%, respectively.

At 1440p, Medium's 218 FPS average with a 185 FPS minimum is ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors up to 180 Hz. High settings (154 FPS) would still be playable, but the 41.6% improvement from Medium over High makes the latter unnecessary. Ultra at 146 FPS is only 6% slower than High, but Medium's consistency (min 185) makes it the safest choice.

At 4K, Medium delivers 114 FPS with a minimum of 97 FPS, which is the only setting at 4K with reported min/max data showing a floor above 95 FPS. High (80 FPS) and Ultra (77 FPS) are both playable, but they approach the 60 FPS threshold too closely for comfort in a game with frequent UI updates. Low at 4K (161 FPS) is unnecessary unless the user prioritizes maximum frame rate over visual quality, but Medium provides the best compromise: 42.5% faster than High and only 29% slower than Low.

The data strongly suggests that Medium is the "sweet spot" preset for this combo. It offers the highest minimum FPS of any setting with complete data, and the average FPS is sufficient for 144 Hz displays at all resolutions except 4K, where it still exceeds 100 FPS.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the limiting component in this system. At Medium settings, frame rates drop from 322 FPS at 1080p to 218 FPS at 1440p (a 32.3% decrease) and then to 114 FPS at 4K (a 47.7% decrease from 1440p). The total drop from 1080p to 4K is 64.6%. For High settings, the progression is 244 FPS → 154 FPS → 80 FPS, representing a 36.9% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 48.1% drop from 1440p to 4K, totaling 67.2%.

These scaling patterns are critical. If the CPU were the primary bottleneck, we would expect the FPS to remain relatively flat as resolution increases, since the CPU workload does not change with resolution. Instead, we see substantial drops, indicating that the RTX 5080's rendering workload is a significant factor. However, the game's simulation nature means that at 1080p Low (366 FPS), the CPU is clearly limiting—the GPU could render far more frames if the CPU could feed it faster.

The Low setting shows the steepest scaling: 366 FPS at 1080p → 307 FPS at 1440p (a 16.1% drop) → 161 FPS at 4K (a 47.6% drop from 1440p). The relatively small drop from 1080p to 1440p suggests that at Low settings, the CPU's 16 threads are the bottleneck at 1080p, and only when moving to 4K does the GPU's workload become significant enough to lower frame rates.

The Medium setting's min FPS data provides additional insight: at 1080p, the min is 274 FPS, at 1440p it is 185 FPS, and at 4K it is 97 FPS. The min FPS drops by 32.5% from 1080p to 1440p and by 47.6% from 1440p to 4K, mirroring the average FPS drops. This consistency indicates that the limiting component shifts gradually from CPU to GPU as resolution increases. At 1080p, the CPU's single-thread performance (3DMark single-thread score of 960) caps the frame rate; at 4K, the GPU's pixel fill rate (293.1 GPixel/s) becomes the constraint.

In summary, the RTX 5080 is the limiting factor at 4K, while the i5-13400F limits performance at 1080p. The crossover point appears to be around 1440p, where both components are relatively balanced—the 16 threads of the CPU handle simulation logic, and the GPU's 960.0 GB/s bandwidth manages the increased memory traffic without causing frame rate collapses.