Pc Building Simulator

Pc Building Simulator presents an unusual benchmark scenario: it is a simulation game where the primary performance variable is often the CPU's ability to manage the simulation logic, but the visual rendering of the workshop and components still falls to the GPU. This analysis examines the Intel Core i5-14400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 combination, a pairing that places a modern 14th-generation processor alongside an older Turing-generation graphics card. The data reveals a significant performance delta between the two components, leading to a bottleneck that shifts depending on the resolution and quality settings applied. The measured frames per second (FPS) across 1080p, 1440p, and 4K resolutions with Low, Medium, High, and Ultra presets provide a clear picture of this dynamic.

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

The Intel Core i5-14400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process node. It operates with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz, features 20 MB of shared L3 cache, and has a 65 W TDP. Its benchmark scores are robust, including a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 21914 and a single-core score of 3093, placing it in the 88th percentile of all CPUs. This processing power is essential for Pc Building Simulator, which must track the physics, power draw, and temperatures of every component placed in a system, a task that scales with the complexity of the build.

In the measured results, the CPU's influence is most apparent at lower resolutions and settings where the GPU is not the limiting factor. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 204.1 FPS, a figure that far exceeds the GPU's performance ceiling at higher settings. This high frame rate suggests the CPU is capable of feeding the RTX 2060 with enough data to reach over 200 FPS, indicating that the i5-14400F is not a bottleneck in this scenario. However, the data also shows that this headroom is not consistently utilized. When comparing the CPU's average benchmark score of 32508 to its nearest rivals, it is nearly identical to the Intel Core i7-12800H (32513, 0% delta) and slightly ahead of the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 7645 (32446, 0.2% delta). This parity suggests the i5-14400F offers performance in line with these other processors, but the actual frame rates in this game are often capped by the GPU, not the CPU.

FAQ — 4-6 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data

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

A: The highest measured average FPS is 204.1, which occurs at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This is more than double the 100 FPS average achieved at High settings on the same resolution, showing a massive performance swing based on quality presets.

Q: Does the RTX 2060 bottleneck the i5-14400F in this game?

A: Yes, the data strongly indicates a GPU bottleneck at higher settings. At 1080p Ultra, the average FPS drops to 99.4, which is only 0.6 FPS less than 1080p High (100 FPS). The GPU's performance ceiling appears to be around 100 FPS at these quality levels, while the CPU is capable of far more, as evidenced by the 204.1 FPS Low result.

Q: How does the combo's ranking compare to all tested configurations?

A: This specific combo ranks 1464th out of 1769 tested combinations in Pc Building Simulator. This places it in the lower portion of the database, indicating that while it is playable, many other CPU-GPU pairings deliver higher frame rates in this title.

Q: What is the performance difference between 1440p Medium and 4K Medium?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the average FPS is 94. When resolution increases to 3840x2160 at the same Medium settings, the average FPS drops to 47.3. This represents a 49.7% reduction in frame rate, highlighting the significant load increase from 1440p to 4K.

Q: Is the CPU's performance significantly better than its closest rival?

A: No, the data shows near-identical performance. The i5-14400F has an average benchmark score of 32508, while its closest rival, the Intel Core i7-12800H, scores 32513, a delta of 0%. The AMD Ryzen 7 250 scores 32584, which is -0.2% relative to the i5, meaning the i5 is slightly slower in that comparison.

Q: Does the RTX 2060's performance percentile align with its in-game results?

A: The RTX 2060 is in the 58th percentile of all GPUs, indicating it is a mid-range performer. Its in-game results reflect this, as it can handle 1080p High at 100 FPS but struggles at 4K Ultra, where it only manages 29.4 FPS. This is consistent with a GPU that is not top-tier for high-resolution gaming.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The resolution scaling data reveals a stark story of GPU dependency. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 204.1 FPS, but at 1440p Low, this falls to 129.1 FPS, a 36.7% decrease. Continuing to 4K Low, the average FPS is 67.3, which is another 47.9% drop from 1440p. This pattern shows that even at Low settings, where the CPU has the least work to do, the GPU cannot maintain high frame rates as pixel count increases. The RTX 2060's 6 GB of GDDR6 memory and 336.0 GB/s bandwidth are simply overwhelmed by the 4K resolution.

The scaling becomes even more pronounced at higher settings. From 1080p High (100 FPS) to 1440p High (64.2 FPS) is a 35.8% drop, and from 1440p High to 4K High (33.1 FPS) is a 48.4% drop. The consistency of these percentage decreases across settings indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting factor at all resolutions above 1080p Low. The i5-14400F, with its 16 threads and high boost clock, is not the constraint here; instead, the RTX 2060's 1920 shading units and 48 ROPs are unable to process the increasing pixel data quickly enough. The data suggests that for this game, the RTX 2060 is a 1080p-centric card, with playable frame rates at 1440p only on lower presets.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The complete dataset provides a detailed look at the combo's performance across all twelve measured configurations.

At 1920x1080, the results range from 204.1 FPS on Low to 99.4 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset achieves 144.7 FPS, while High settles at 100 FPS. Interestingly, the difference between High and Ultra is minimal, with only 0.6 FPS separating them, suggesting that the Ultra preset introduces settings that the GPU cannot fully render, making it nearly identical to High in practice.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates drop significantly. Low settings produce 129.1 FPS, Medium drops to 94 FPS, High falls to 64.2 FPS, and Ultra manages 62.9 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra narrows further to just 1.3 FPS, reinforcing the idea that the Ultra preset's additional effects are not being fully realized due to GPU limitations.

At 3840x2160, the performance is the weakest. Low settings yield 67.3 FPS, Medium produces 47.3 FPS, High drops to 33.1 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 29.4 FPS. This 4K Ultra result is only slightly above the threshold of what might be considered playable, and it is 3.7 FPS lower than the 4K High result. The data shows a clear trend: as resolution increases, the difference between High and Ultra shrinks, and both become increasingly unplayable.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combination of the Intel Core i5-14400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 ranks 1464th out of 1769 tested combos in Pc Building Simulator. This rank places it in the bottom 17% of all tested configurations, which is a low position for a modern CPU paired with a popular GPU. The ranking suggests that many other combinations, likely those with more powerful GPUs, achieve significantly higher frame rates in this title. The CPU's high percentile (88th) does not translate to a high combo rank because the GPU's 58th percentile is the limiting factor.

This ranking is a direct consequence of the GPU bottleneck identified earlier. While the i5-14400F is a capable processor for this simulation, the RTX 2060 holds the combo back. The data implies that if the same CPU were paired with a more powerful GPU, the combo rank would likely be much higher. Conversely, if the RTX 2060 were paired with a weaker CPU, the rank might be similar, but for different reasons. The 1464th rank is a clear indicator that this pairing is not optimal for maximizing performance in Pc Building Simulator, even if it delivers playable frame rates at lower resolutions.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Based on the measured data, the optimal experience depends heavily on the user's target resolution and refresh rate. For a standard 1080p display with a 60 Hz refresh rate, the High preset at 100 FPS is an excellent choice. It provides a smooth, fluid experience and is only 0.6 FPS slower than Ultra, meaning users can drop from Ultra to High with almost no visual penalty while potentially reducing GPU load. The Medium preset at 144.7 FPS is also viable for high-refresh-rate 1080p monitors, offering a significant FPS boost for users with 144 Hz displays.

For 1440p, the Medium preset at 94 FPS is the recommended sweet spot. It offers a good balance between visual quality and performance, staying above the 60 FPS threshold. The High preset at 64.2 FPS is also playable, but it is close to the edge of 60 FPS, and any complex scene could cause a dip. The Low preset at 129.1 FPS is the best choice for competitive play or for users with high-refresh-rate 1440p monitors, but it sacrifices visual fidelity. At 4K, no preset is ideal; Low at 67.3 FPS is the only option that consistently stays above 60 FPS, but it does not offer a great visual experience. Users on 4K displays should consider lowering the resolution or accepting lower settings.

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

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is built on the Turing architecture and features the TU106 chip, manufactured on a 12 nm process. It has 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's base clock is 1365 MHz with a boost clock of 1680 MHz. It contains 1920 shading units, 120 TMUs, and 48 ROPs, and its FP32 performance is rated at 6.451 TFLOPS. The GPU's benchmark scores include a Passmark G3D score of 14111 and a Geekbench OpenCL score of 71278, placing it in the 58th percentile of all GPUs.

The RTX 2060's role in Pc Building Simulator is to render the 3D workshop, the components, and the visual feedback of the simulated PC. The data shows that its 6 GB of VRAM and 336.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for high-resolution, high-settings gameplay. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 29.4, a result that is clearly limited by the GPU's rendering capabilities. The minimal difference between High and Ultra at 1080p (0.6 FPS) further suggests that the GPU is hitting a hard performance ceiling. The RTX 2060 is a capable GPU for 1080p gaming, as evidenced by the 100 FPS High result, but it is not suited for 4K. Its performance is comparable to the AMD Radeon RX 7600S, which has an average score of 15996 (0.5% delta), but it lags behind the AMD Radeon Pro 5700, which scores 16351 (-1.7% delta).