Pc Building Simulator

Pc Building Simulator is a simulation title where hardware configuration and system-building logic matter more than raw graphical intensity, yet the measured results for the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 reveal a system that is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions and remarkably capable at 1080p. The data shows this combo ranks in the 79th percentile of all tested configurations in this game, placing it at position 617 out of 3002 combos. This ranking is solidly above average, but the performance distribution across settings and resolutions tells a more nuanced story about where this pairing excels and where its limitations surface.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a 24-core, 24-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake Refresh architecture, manufactured on a 3 nm process by TSMC with 17,800 million transistors on a 243 mm² die. Its base clock is 3.70 GHz with a boost clock of 5.80 GHz, and it features a substantial cache hierarchy: 192 KB of L1 per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and 36 MB of shared L3 cache. In synthetic benchmarks, this CPU achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 51,731 and a single-core score of 7,303, which places it in the 96th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, scores 83,807 on average, a negligible 0.2% difference, while the AMD EPYC 7F72 leads this CPU by 1.3% in average benchmark score.

In Pc Building Simulator, the CPU's role is primarily to handle game logic, component compatibility checks, and the simulation of system boot sequences. Given that the game is not graphically demanding by modern standards, the Ultra 9 290K's 24 threads are more than sufficient to prevent any CPU bottleneck at 1080p, where the measured frame rates reach as high as 367 FPS on Low settings. However, the data indicates that as resolution increases, the CPU's influence diminishes rapidly. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 58, which is nearly identical to the 4K High result of 61 FPS, suggesting the CPU is not the limiting factor at this resolution. The high single-thread performance, evidenced by the Cinebench R20 single-core score of 3,067, ensures that the game's simulation logic runs smoothly, but the frame rate ceiling is dictated by the GPU in most scenarios.

The processor's 115.2 GB/s memory bandwidth and dual-channel DDR5 support are adequate for this simulation genre, where memory throughput rarely becomes a bottleneck. The 36 MB of shared L3 cache provides ample headroom for the game's asset streaming and component database lookups. Compared to its nearest rivals, the Ultra 9 290K is virtually tied with the 285K in average score, and it outperforms both the AMD EPYC 4584PX and the EPYC 9135 by 1.1% and 1.2%, respectively. This places the CPU in a position where its computational headroom is effectively wasted in Pc Building Simulator at higher resolutions, but it does guarantee that no CPU-related stutter or frame dips will occur even in complex build scenarios with many active components.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance on which preset offers the best experience. At 1080p, the High preset delivers 184 FPS, which is more than sufficient for any display, while the Ultra preset yields 175 FPS, a marginal 9 FPS reduction for what is typically a small visual improvement. The Medium preset sits at 260 FPS, and the Low preset reaches 367 FPS, but these lower settings are unnecessary given the High preset already exceeds 144 Hz refresh rates by a wide margin. The data suggests that High is the sweet spot at 1080p, as it provides a 5.1% performance uplift over Ultra while maintaining most visual fidelity.

At 1440p, the High preset delivers 116 FPS, which is still above the 100 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay on high-refresh monitors. Ultra drops to 110 FPS, a 5.2% decrease, while Medium and Low offer 164 FPS and 232 FPS, respectively. The High preset remains the recommended choice here, as the difference between High and Ultra is negligible in a simulation game where frame timing consistency is more important than absolute visual polish. The Medium preset's 164 FPS is appealing, but the visual downgrade from High is not justified when High still clears 115 FPS.

At 4K, the situation changes dramatically. The High preset averages 61 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for a smooth experience. Ultra drops to 58 FPS, and Medium produces 86 FPS. The Low preset at 121 FPS is the only 4K option that exceeds 120 FPS, but this comes at a significant visual cost. The data indicates that the Medium preset at 4K offers the best balance, with 86 FPS and a minimum of 73 FPS, which keeps frame pacing consistent enough for a simulation title. High and Ultra at 4K both hover near 60 FPS, which is acceptable for slower-paced gameplay but will feel less responsive. Given the game's nature, the Medium preset at 4K is the recommended choice, as it provides a 41% performance increase over High while maintaining reasonable visual quality.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic GPU-limited scenario. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 184 at 1080p to 116 at 1440p (a 37% reduction) and then to 61 at 4K (a 47% reduction from 1440p). This pattern indicates that the RTX 4070 is the primary limiting component as resolution increases. At Low settings, the drop is even more pronounced: 367 FPS at 1080p falls to 232 FPS at 1440p (a 37% drop) and then to 121 FPS at 4K (a 48% drop from 1440p). The consistent ~37% and ~48% reductions across settings suggest that the CPU is not introducing any variable bottleneck; the scaling is purely driven by pixel count and GPU fill rate.

The Ultra settings show a similar trend, with 175 FPS at 1080p dropping to 110 FPS at 1440p (a 37% reduction) and then to 58 FPS at 4K (a 47% reduction). This uniform scaling behavior across all four presets is a strong indicator that the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K maintains a stable frame delivery pipeline, and the RTX 4070's 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth become the constraining factors at higher resolutions. The measured data shows that the 4K-to-1080p FPS ratio at High settings is 0.33 (61/184), which is consistent with a GPU that has sufficient bandwidth for 1080p but struggles to maintain frame rates when the pixel count quadruples.

The Medium preset at 4K provides the only anomaly, with an average of 86 FPS that is 41% higher than High at the same resolution. This suggests that Medium settings reduce certain GPU-intensive effects (likely shadows and post-processing) that disproportionately impact the RTX 4070 at 4K, allowing the GPU to maintain a more efficient throughput. The minimum FPS of 73 at 4K Medium is still above the 60 FPS threshold, making it the only 4K preset that guarantees a smooth experience without major dips.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 ranks 617th out of 3002 tested combos in Pc Building Simulator, placing it in the top 20.5% of all configurations. This ranking is respectable but not elite, reflecting the fact that the GPU is a mid-to-high-end part rather than a flagship. The CPU's 96th percentile performance is largely irrelevant to this ranking, as the game's frame rates are GPU-bound at higher resolutions. In contrast, a combo with a weaker CPU but a stronger GPU would likely rank higher, even though the Ultra 9 290K provides substantial headroom for other tasks.

The ranking of 617 out of 3002 means that approximately 2385 combos perform worse than this pairing, which is a strong showing for a system built around a single RTX 4070. However, the data also indicates that the Ultra 9 290K's processing power is underutilized in this game; the difference between this combo and one using a more modest CPU would be minimal at 4K, where the GPU is clearly the limiting factor. At 1080p, the CPU's strength does contribute to the exceptionally high frame rates (367 FPS on Low), but this is beyond the refresh rate of most displays, making it a theoretical rather than practical advantage.

The combo's ranking is also influenced by the fact that Pc Building Simulator is not a demanding title, so even mid-range GPUs can achieve high frame rates. The RTX 4070's 81st percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 37,648, places it in a competitive but not top-tier position. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA Tesla P4, is virtually tied at 0.1% difference, while the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 trails by 0.4%. This means the combo's ranking is more dependent on the GPU than the CPU, and the 617th position reflects a solid but not exceptional GPU performance in this specific game.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process from TSMC, featuring 35,800 million transistors on a 294 mm² die. Its base clock is 1920 MHz with a boost clock of 2475 MHz, and it has 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU has 5888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs, along with 46 RT cores and 184 tensor cores. Its compute capabilities include 29.15 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and a texture rate of 455.4 GTexel/s. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 26,927 in Passmark G3D and 14,720 in Passmark GPU Compute, with a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3,854.

In Pc Building Simulator, the RTX 4070's role is to render the 3D interface, component models, and case visualization. The game is not graphically intensive, but the GPU's performance directly dictates the frame rates at higher resolutions. The measured data shows that the RTX 4070 can deliver 367 FPS at 1080p Low, which is far beyond any display's refresh rate, but this drops to 121 FPS at 4K Low. The GPU's 12 GB of VRAM is more than sufficient for this game, as it does not feature large texture packs or complex shaders, but the memory bandwidth becomes a constraint at 4K, where the pixel fill rate demands more from the 192-bit bus.

The RTX 4070's 81st percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 37,648, places it in the upper tier of graphics cards. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA Tesla P4, scores 37,628 (0.1% higher), while the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 scores 37,507 (0.4% lower). The GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile outperforms it by 1.3%, but the desktop RTX 4070 is a capable performer in this simulation context. The GPU's 200 W TDP and suggested 550 W PSU are reasonable for a mid-range card, and its dual-slot design with a single 16-pin connector is compact enough for most builds.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the RTX 4070 delivers exceptional frame rates across all settings. The Low preset averages 367 FPS, which is the highest measured value in the entire dataset. Medium averages 260 FPS with a minimum of 221 and maximum of 299, indicating consistent frame pacing. High averages 184 FPS, and Ultra averages 175 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra is only 9 FPS (a 4.9% reduction), while the jump from Medium to High is 76 FPS (a 29% reduction), suggesting that High is the most efficient preset in terms of visual quality versus performance.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but show a clear scaling pattern. Low averages 232 FPS, Medium averages 164 FPS (min 140, max 189), High averages 116 FPS, and Ultra averages 110 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is consistent at approximately 37% across all settings, confirming that the GPU's pixel throughput is the primary bottleneck. The Medium preset at 1440p provides a minimum of 140 FPS, which is smooth even on 144 Hz monitors, making it a viable alternative to High if higher refresh rates are preferred.

At 3840x2160, the performance drops significantly. Low averages 121 FPS, Medium averages 86 FPS (min 73, max 99), High averages 61 FPS, and Ultra averages 58 FPS. The Medium preset is the standout here, as it maintains an average above 60 FPS with a minimum of 73, while High and Ultra both dip below 62 FPS. The Low preset at 121 FPS is playable but visually stripped down. The data shows that 4K Ultra is the most demanding configuration, producing only 58 FPS, which is 33% lower than 4K Medium. For a simulation game where visual fidelity is secondary to system-building accuracy, the Medium preset at 4K offers the best experience, providing a 41% performance increase over High while maintaining acceptable image quality.