Steamworld Build

# Steamworld Build: AMD Ryzen 5 2600 + Intel Arc B370 — Benchmark Analysis

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 paired with the Intel Arc B370 produces a distinctive performance profile in Steamworld Build, a city builder that appears to scale significantly with both CPU and GPU resources. This combo ranks 2683rd out of 2924 tested configurations in this game, placing it in the lower quartile of all measured systems. The data reveals a platform that can deliver playable frame rates at 1080p with adjusted settings, but struggles substantially at higher resolutions. The following analysis breaks down the measured results across resolutions, settings, and component roles.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data for this combo shows a clear hierarchy across the four available presets, with the relationship between visual quality and performance being highly non-linear. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 95 FPS, while Medium drops to 73 FPS, High falls to 55 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 37 FPS. This progression represents a 61% reduction in frame rate from Low to Ultra at 1080p, indicating that each settings tier imposes a significant rendering cost.

For players prioritizing smooth gameplay, the Low preset at 1080p is the only configuration that consistently maintains frame rates well above 60 FPS. The Medium preset at 73 FPS average is still viable for most gameplay scenarios, though it comes with a 23% performance penalty compared to Low. The High preset at 55 FPS may be acceptable for city builders where precision timing is less critical, but it sits below the 60 FPS threshold that many players consider the baseline for fluid interaction.

At 2560x1440, the situation becomes more constrained. The Low preset delivers 61 FPS average, which is just above the 60 FPS mark, making it the only 1440p setting that achieves this target. Medium drops to 46 FPS, High to 35 FPS, and Ultra to 23 FPS. For 1440p gameplay, the Low preset represents the best balance, while Medium could be considered if the player accepts sub-60 FPS performance.

The 3840x2160 results are uniformly below playable thresholds for most users. Even the Low preset only manages 32 FPS average, with Medium at 25 FPS, High at 18 FPS, and Ultra at 12 FPS. None of these configurations provide a smooth experience, and the data suggests this resolution should be avoided entirely with this hardware combination.

The optimal settings recommendation depends on the player's resolution target. At 1080p, Medium offers the best compromise between visual fidelity and performance, delivering 73 FPS while maintaining some graphical enhancements over Low. At 1440p, Low is the recommended preset, as it is the only setting that approaches 60 FPS. At 4K, no setting provides acceptable performance, and players should either lower their resolution or accept substantial frame rate compromises.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is an integrated graphics solution based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, built on a 3 nm process node. It features 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 20 render output units, along with 10 ray tracing cores. The GPU operates with a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2400 MHz, producing a pixel rate of 48.00 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 96.00 GTexel/s. Its FP32 compute performance is rated at 6.144 TFLOPS.

The memory configuration is entirely system-shared, with no dedicated VRAM. The memory type, bus width, and bandwidth are all listed as "System Shared" or "System Dependent," meaning the GPU relies on the host system's DDR4 memory through the CPU's dual-channel memory bus. The Ryzen 5 2600's memory bandwidth of 46.9 GB/s is shared between CPU and GPU workloads, which likely contributes to the significant performance degradation at higher resolutions where memory bandwidth demands increase.

The Arc B370's benchmark performance, as measured by 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, yields a score of 1184. This places the GPU at the 5th percentile among all tested GPUs, indicating very low overall graphics performance relative to discrete solutions. Its nearest rivals include the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (score 1186, 0.2% faster), ATI Radeon HD 5770 (score 1190, 0.5% faster), AMD Radeon HD 7650M (score 1192, 0.7% faster), and AMD FirePro M2000 (score 1168, 1.4% slower). These comparisons illustrate that the Arc B370 performs in the range of legacy entry-level graphics hardware from over a decade ago.

In the context of Steamworld Build, the GPU's role is clearly the limiting factor at higher resolutions. The 4K results show a dramatic drop even at Low settings, with only 32 FPS achieved. This pattern is consistent with a GPU that lacks the memory bandwidth and compute throughput to handle the increased pixel count at 3840x2160. The system-shared memory architecture means that GPU memory access competes with CPU memory operations, potentially causing additional bottlenecks in a city builder where CPU workloads are already substantial.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling across resolutions reveals important information about where the bottleneck lies in this system. At Low settings, the average FPS progression is 95 FPS at 1080p, 61 FPS at 1440p, and 32 FPS at 4K. This represents a 36% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 48% drop from 1440p to 4K. The total reduction from 1080p to 4K is 66%, which is less than the theoretical pixel count increase of 400% (from 2.07 million to 8.29 million pixels). This sub-linear scaling suggests that the system is not purely GPU-bound at 1080p, with some CPU limitation preventing the full performance potential from being realized at lower resolutions.

At Medium settings, the progression is 73 FPS at 1080p, 46 FPS at 1440p, and 25 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 37%, and from 1440p to 4K is 46%. These percentages are similar to the Low preset scaling, indicating consistent behavior across settings. At High settings, the progression is 55 FPS at 1080p, 35 FPS at 1440p, and 18 FPS at 4K, with drops of 36% and 49% respectively.

The Ultra preset shows the most severe scaling: 37 FPS at 1080p, 23 FPS at 1440p, and 12 FPS at 4K. The drops are 38% and 48% respectively. The consistency of these percentage drops across all settings presets suggests that the resolution scaling is primarily governed by the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth constraints, rather than by CPU limitations that would show more variable scaling patterns.

The fact that 1080p performance at Low settings reaches 95 FPS indicates that the CPU is capable of driving reasonably high frame rates in this game. However, the substantial drops at higher resolutions demonstrate that the Arc B370's integrated nature and system-shared memory cannot sustain the increased rendering load. The data suggests that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at 1440p and 4K, while at 1080p, the system achieves a more balanced state where both CPU and GPU contribute to overall performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its strongest results across all settings. The Low preset achieves an average of 95 FPS, which is the highest frame rate recorded for any configuration in this dataset. Medium follows at 73 FPS average, with minimum and maximum values of 62 and 84 FPS respectively, indicating reasonable frame time consistency. High drops to 55 FPS average, while Ultra falls to 37 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 58 FPS, representing a 61% performance range across the four settings tiers.

The 2560x1440 results show a significant step down from 1080p. Low settings achieve 61 FPS average, which is exactly at the 60 FPS threshold but provides no headroom for demanding scenes. Medium averages 46 FPS with a range of 39 to 53 FPS, showing that even the minimum frame rate stays above 30 FPS, which is a common playability floor. High drops to 35 FPS average, and Ultra falls to 23 FPS. The performance range from Low to Ultra at 1440p is 38 FPS, with the Ultra preset delivering less than half the frame rate of Low.

At 3840x2160, all results fall below playable thresholds for most users. The Low preset achieves 32 FPS average, which is technically playable but not smooth. Medium averages 25 FPS with a range of 21 to 28 FPS, showing very tight frame time consistency but at an unacceptably low performance level. High drops to 18 FPS, and Ultra falls to 12 FPS. The 4K results demonstrate that this hardware combination is fundamentally unsuited for high-resolution gaming in Steamworld Build, regardless of settings adjustments.

Looking at the Medium settings data across resolutions, the minimum FPS values provide additional insight into frame pacing. At 1080p Medium, the minimum of 62 FPS shows that the system maintains playable performance even in demanding scenes. At 1440p Medium, the minimum of 39 FPS indicates occasional dips below 40 FPS, which could be noticeable in busy city views. At 4K Medium, the minimum of 21 FPS confirms that the experience is consistently poor at this resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of AMD Ryzen 5 2600 and Intel Arc B370 ranks 2683rd out of 2924 tested configurations in Steamworld Build. This places the combo in the bottom 8.2% of all measured systems, indicating that this hardware pairing is significantly below average for this game. The ranking reflects the cumulative performance across all resolutions and settings, weighted by the actual gameplay experience.

The CPU's standalone benchmark profile provides context for its contribution to this ranking. The Ryzen 5 2600 has an average benchmark score of 21484, placing it at the 75th percentile among all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core Ultra 5 228V (score 21440, 0.2% slower), Intel Core i9-11900H (score 21367, 0.5% slower), Intel Xeon D-1746TER (score 21635, 0.7% faster), and AMD EPYC 9454 (score 21223, 1.2% slower). This shows that the CPU is competitively positioned in the mid-range, performing nearly identically to several much newer processors.

In contrast, the GPU's standalone benchmark places it at the 5th percentile, which is exceptionally low. The Arc B370's 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1184 puts it in the company of legacy graphics cards from the early 2010s. The nearest rival comparisons show differences of less than 1.5% in either direction, indicating that the GPU's performance is essentially tied with these older parts.

The combination of a mid-pack CPU with a bottom-tier GPU explains the overall ranking. The combo's 2683rd place out of 2924 is driven primarily by the GPU's inability to handle higher resolutions and settings, pulling the combined result down despite the CPU's reasonable performance. In games that are less GPU-intensive, this combo would likely rank higher, but Steamworld Build's rendering demands clearly expose the Arc B370's limitations. The data suggests that upgrading the GPU would yield significant improvements in this game, while the CPU would not be the primary bottleneck in most scenarios.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Steamworld Build?

A: 1920x1080 is the only resolution where playable frame rates are consistently achieved. At 1080p, even the Ultra preset delivers 37 FPS average, while Low reaches 95 FPS. At 1440p, only the Low preset achieves 61 FPS, and at 4K, the best result is 32 FPS on Low settings.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to Low at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset delivers 37 FPS average compared to 95 FPS on Low, representing a 61% reduction in performance. The drop from High to Ultra is 18 FPS (from 55 to 37), while the drop from Low to Medium is 22 FPS (from 95 to 73).

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 4K?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck at 3840x2160. The performance drops dramatically even at Low settings (32 FPS), and the Arc B370's 5th percentile GPU ranking with system-shared memory cannot handle the pixel count. The CPU's 75th percentile ranking suggests it is not the main constraint at this resolution.

Q: How does this combo compare to other tested systems?

A: This combo ranks 2683rd out of 2924 tested configurations in Steamworld Build, placing it in the bottom 8.2% of all systems. The low ranking is primarily attributable to the GPU, which performs at the 5th percentile, while the CPU performs at the 75th percentile.

Q: What frame rates can be expected at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the combo delivers an average of 46 FPS, with minimum and maximum values of 39 and 53 FPS respectively. This is below the 60 FPS threshold but remains playable for a city builder genre.

Q: Does the combo's performance vary significantly between settings presets?

A: Yes, the performance spread is substantial. At 1080p, the range from Low to Ultra is 58 FPS (95 to 37). At 1440p, the range is 38 FPS (61 to 23). At 4K, the range is 20 FPS (32 to 12). The relative drop from Low to Ultra is consistent at approximately 61-63% across all resolutions.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the 2000 series, based on the Zen architecture with the Zen+ (Pinnacle Ridge) refinement. It operates with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 3.90 GHz, with a TDP of 65 watts. The CPU is built on a 12 nm process node at GlobalFoundries, containing 4,800 million transistors on a 213 mm² die. It supports DDR4 memory through a dual-channel interface with 46.9 GB/s of memory bandwidth.

The CPU's cache hierarchy consists of 96 KB of L1 cache per core, 512 KB of L2 cache per core, and 16 MB of shared L3 cache. This configuration provides a total of 16 MB of L3 cache, which is modest by modern standards but adequate for the era in which the CPU was released. The processor connects via PCIe Gen 3 with 16 lanes, and its multiplier is unlocked for overclocking.

Benchmark results for the Ryzen 5 2600 show a well-rounded performance profile. In Cinebench R15, it scores 1248 in multicore and 157.3 in singlecore. Geekbench tests yield 5648 in multicore and 1154 in singlecore. PassMark tests show a multithread score of 13160, a single-thread score of 2239, and various specialized scores including 187062 for data compression, 12429 for data encryption, and 22942 for floating point math. The average benchmark score is 21484, placing the CPU at the 75th percentile among all CPUs.

In Steamworld Build, the CPU's role appears to be secondary to the GPU at higher resolutions, but the 1080p results suggest that the Ryzen 5 2600 is capable of driving frame rates well above what the Arc B370 can render at higher settings. The 95 FPS result at 1080p Low indicates that the CPU has sufficient single-thread and multi-thread performance to handle the simulation and AI workloads typical of city builders. The 6-core, 12-thread configuration provides adequate parallelism for the genre's background simulation tasks.

The CPU's nearest rivals in benchmark performance are the Intel Core Ultra 5 228V (0.2% faster), Intel Core i9-11900H (0.5% faster), Intel Xeon D-1746TER (0.7% slower), and AMD EPYC 9454 (1.2% faster). These comparisons show that the Ryzen 5 2600, despite being from the 2018 era, still performs competitively with much newer processors in synthetic benchmarks. The 12 nm process and 65 watt TDP make it an efficient choice, though its DDR4 memory support and PCIe Gen 3 interface are older standards.

The CPU's 75th percentile ranking suggests that it is not the primary bottleneck in this combo. The system's overall ranking of 2683 out of 2924 is far lower than what the CPU alone would predict, reinforcing that the GPU is the limiting component. In a hypothetical scenario where the Arc B370 were replaced with a more capable GPU, the Ryzen 5 2600 would likely be able to support significantly higher frame rates, particularly at 1080p where its performance headroom is demonstrated by the 95 FPS Low setting result. The data supports a conclusion that the CPU is adequately matched for this game's requirements, though its older architecture and 16 MB L3 cache may cause some limitations in very large city simulations.