Pc Building Simulator

# Pc Building Simulator: Intel Core i9-14900K + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060

The data for this combination reveals a striking imbalance: a top-tier 24-core CPU paired with an end-of-life mid-range GPU, producing frame rates that range from a slick 203.6 FPS at 1080p Low down to a barely playable 34.5 FPS at 4K Ultra. The measured results across twelve distinct settings/resolution pairs show that the RTX 2060 is the dominant bottleneck in nearly every scenario, while the i9-14900K's immense processing headroom goes largely unused in a simulation title that appears to lean heavily on graphics throughput.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings, confirming that the GPU is the primary limiting component. At Low settings, average FPS falls from 203.6 at 1080p to 130.3 at 1440p (a 36% reduction) and then to 68.2 at 4K (a further 48% drop from 1440p). This pattern of roughly halving at each resolution step is classic GPU-bound behavior — the rendering load scales with pixel count, and the RTX 2060's 6 GB frame buffer and 336.0 GB/s bandwidth are simply overwhelmed at 4K.

The scaling becomes even more telling at higher settings. At Ultra, the 1080p result of 96.3 FPS falls to 62 at 1440p, then plummets to 34.5 at 4K. The percentage drops are larger at Ultra (36% from 1080p to 1440p, 44% from 1440p to 4K) compared to Low, suggesting that the added visual complexity at Ultra interacts with resolution to compound the GPU load. Notably, the gap between 1440p and 4K at High settings (67.4 to 35.6 FPS) is a 47% reduction, while the same resolution step at Medium (92.5 to 47.7 FPS) is a 48% reduction — the scaling is remarkably linear, which points to a fixed pixel-throughput limit rather than any memory or cache constraints.

What the data implies is that 4K is only viable at Low settings (68.2 FPS), and even then the margin for error is thin. The 1080p to 4K ratio at Low (203.6 vs 68.2) is nearly 3:1, which aligns with the 4x pixel count difference when accounting for the fact that some overhead (drivers, CPU draw calls) does not scale with resolution. This is a GPU-limited title through and through — the CPU's 6.00 GHz boost clock and 36 MB shared L3 cache are never the constraint.

GPU Role

The RTX 2060's specifications tell the story of why 4K is such a struggle. With 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, the card delivers 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth — sufficient for 1080p and even 1440p, but the 4K Ultra result of 34.5 FPS suggests the frame buffer is being saturated. The GPU's boost clock of 1680 MHz and 1920 shading units (organized into 120 TMUs and 48 ROPs) produce a pixel rate of 80.64 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 201.6 GTexel/s. At 4K, the pixel fill requirement alone eats into that budget, and the measured data confirms the card's physical limits.

The GPU's benchmark standing places it at the 58th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 16074. Its nearest rivals are remarkably close: the AMD Radeon RX 7600S sits just 0.5% ahead, while the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M and Pro 5700 are both 1.7% behind. This tight clustering indicates that the RTX 2060 is a solid mid-range performer for its era, but it is competing with mobile and workstation parts — not with the high-end cards that would be needed for 4K Ultra in this simulation.

The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1242 is notably low, and the PassMark DirectX 12 score of 53 reflects the card's aging architecture (Turing, 12 nm process node). The GPU's 10,800 million transistors on a 445 mm² die show it was a large chip for its time, but the 6 GB memory capacity is the hard ceiling here — at 4K Ultra, the data shows 34.5 FPS, which is below the 35-40 FPS threshold that most players would consider acceptable. The card's end-of-life production status and 349 USD launch MSRP (which can be stated once) frame it as a legacy part in 2025, yet it still manages 203.6 FPS at 1080p Low, proving that for lighter loads it remains capable.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i9-14900K is a 24-core, 32-thread processor with a base clock of 3.20 GHz and a boost clock of 6.00 GHz, built on Intel's 10 nm process (Raptor Lake architecture). Its benchmark results are extraordinary: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 49872, a Geekbench multi-core score of 20370, and a PassMark multi-thread score of 58674. The CPU sits at the 97th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 79824, placing it just 0.3% behind the AMD EPYC 7413 and 0.7% ahead of the Intel Core i9-14900KF.

Yet in Pc Building Simulator, the CPU's power is almost entirely latent. The measured FPS data shows no scenario where the CPU becomes the bottleneck — even at 1080p Low with 203.6 FPS, the i9-14900K has ample headroom. Its 32 threads and 36 MB of shared L3 cache are overkill for a simulation that, based on the resolution scaling analysis, is clearly GPU-bound. The 125 W TDP and 6.00 GHz boost clock are impressive on paper, but the game does not exercise them.

This creates an interesting question: would a cheaper CPU yield identical results? The data cannot answer that directly, but the near-linear FPS scaling with resolution strongly implies that the RTX 2060 is the sole limiter. The CPU's 97th percentile ranking among all CPUs (with the nearest rival being the EPYC 7413 at -0.3%) means it is in the top 3% of all processors ever tested — but that rank is irrelevant when the GPU can only push 96.3 FPS at 1080p Ultra. The CPU's 24 cores and 32 threads, its 80 KB L1 cache per core, and its 2 MB L2 cache per core are all architectural strengths that this game simply does not tap into.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the i9-14900K and RTX 2060 ranks 1437th out of 1769 tested combos for Pc Building Simulator. This places it in the bottom 19% of all configurations, which is a damning indictment of the pairing. The data suggests that the CPU's high percentile (97th) is wasted when paired with a GPU at the 58th percentile — the combo rank reflects the weaker component's performance, not the stronger one's.

The 1437th rank out of 1769 means that 332 other combinations delivered better results. This is not because the CPU is weak — it is because the GPU holds the entire system back. The RTX 2060's average benchmark score of 16074, while respectable for its class, is nowhere near what the i9-14900K can feed. The nearest GPU rivals (RX 7600S at +0.5%, Pro 5600M at -1.7%) all share similar performance ceilings, so swapping the GPU for any of those would likely produce a similar rank.

The combo's poor rank is particularly notable given the CPU's strength. The i9-14900K's avgBenchmarkScore of 79824 is nearly 5x the GPU's 16074, and the percentile gap (97 vs 58) is massive. This is a textbook case of an unbalanced build: the CPU is overqualified for the GPU's capabilities, and the measured FPS data confirms that the GPU is the limiting factor in every single resolution/settings pair. The rank of 1437 out of 1769 is a warning to anyone considering this pairing — the data shows it underperforms most other tested combos, and the bottleneck is unambiguous.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution. At 1080p, Ultra settings deliver 96.3 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, and High settings hit 101.2 FPS — a marginal difference. The data suggests that 1080p Ultra is the best experience for this resolution, as the 96.3 FPS is both playable and visually optimal. The jump from Medium (144.2 FPS) to Ultra (96.3 FPS) is a 33% FPS cost for the highest visual quality, which is a reasonable trade-off.

At 1440p, Ultra drops to 62 FPS, which is just at the edge of playability, while High offers 67.4 FPS. The data shows that High at 1440p (67.4 FPS) is a better balance than Ultra (62 FPS), as the 8% FPS gain from dropping to High is minimal but the visual difference may be negligible in a simulation title. However, the 92.5 FPS at Medium is noticeably smoother, and for players who prioritize frame rate stability, Medium at 1440p is the measured sweet spot.

At 4K, the situation is stark. Ultra (34.5 FPS) and High (35.6 FPS) are both below the playable threshold, while Medium (47.7 FPS) is borderline. Only Low (68.2 FPS) achieves a consistently smooth experience. The data indicates that 4K is only viable at Low settings, and even then the 68.2 FPS is not comfortable for fast-paced scenes. The recommendation is clear: if 4K is the target, accept Low settings; if visual fidelity is non-negotiable, drop to 1440p with High or Ultra.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the full range of settings produces the following average FPS: Low delivers 203.6, Medium 144.2, High 101.2, and Ultra 96.3. The spread from Low to Ultra is a 53% reduction, with the largest single drop occurring between Medium and High (30% decrease from 144.2 to 101.2). This suggests that the High preset introduces significant visual effects that tax the GPU.

At 2560x1440, the results are: Low 130.3, Medium 92.5, High 67.4, and Ultra 62. The pattern mirrors 1080p, but the absolute numbers are lower by roughly 36-38% across all settings, consistent with the pixel count increase. The gap between High and Ultra narrows to just 8% (67.4 vs 62), indicating diminishing returns at the top end.

At 3840x2160, the data shows: Low 68.2, Medium 47.7, High 35.6, and Ultra 34.5. The Low-to-Ultra spread is 49%, but the absolute values are all low enough to be problematic. The difference between High and Ultra is just 3% (35.6 vs 34.5), meaning Ultra offers no practical benefit over High at 4K — both are unplayable. The Medium setting at 47.7 FPS is the only non-Low option that approaches playability, but it still falls short of 60 FPS.

FAQ

Q: Is the Intel Core i9-14900K the bottleneck in this game?

A: No. The CPU ranks at the 97th percentile among all CPUs with an avgBenchmarkScore of 79824, but the measured FPS data shows the game is GPU-bound. The resolution scaling (203.6 FPS at 1080p Low vs 68.2 FPS at 4K Low) indicates the RTX 2060 is the limiting component.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming?

A: Only at Low settings, where it achieves 68.2 FPS. At Medium it drops to 47.7 FPS, and at High/Ultra it falls to 35.6/34.5 FPS — all below the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1080p?

A: Ultra at 96.3 FPS is the best experience, as it maintains playable frame rates while maximizing visual quality. High at 101.2 FPS is nearly identical in performance, so Ultra is recommended.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RTX 2060 has an avgBenchmarkScore of 16074. The AMD Radeon RX 7600S is 0.5% faster, while the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M and Pro 5700 are both 1.7% slower. All four are within 1.8% of each other.

Q: Why does this combo rank so low (1437th out of 1769)?

A: The GPU's 58th percentile ranking (avgBenchmarkScore 16074) holds the system back. The CPU is at the 97th percentile, but the game's GPU-bound nature means the combo's rank reflects the weaker component.

Q: Is the 6 GB VRAM on the RTX 2060 sufficient for this game?

A: At 1080p and 1440p, the measured results (96.3 FPS Ultra at 1080p, 62 FPS Ultra at 1440p) suggest 6 GB is adequate. At 4K, the severe FPS drops (34.5 FPS Ultra) indicate the VRAM capacity or bandwidth (336.0 GB/s) is insufficient.