Steamworld Build

# Steamworld Build with AMD Ryzen 5 2600 + Intel Arc B570

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 paired with the Intel Arc B570 delivers a playable but scaling-sensitive experience in Steamworld Build, sitting at rank 2320 out of 2924 tested combos. The data reveals a system that handles 1080p comfortably, strains at 1440p, and becomes largely unplayable at 4K with high or ultra settings. The combination's performance profile is defined by how sharply frame rates drop as resolution and settings increase, with the GPU becoming the dominant bottleneck at higher loads.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and consistent pattern: performance degrades predictably as resolution rises, but the rate of degradation varies significantly by settings preset. At Low settings, the system delivers 162 FPS at 1920x1080, dropping to 103 FPS at 2560x1440, and further to 55 FPS at 3840x2160. That represents a 36% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a 66% drop from 1080p to 4K. The scaling is steep, indicating that even at Low settings, the GPU is struggling to maintain frame rates as pixel count increases.

With Medium settings, the pattern is similar but slightly less severe in percentage terms. The system achieves 124 FPS at 1080p, 79 FPS at 1440p, and 42 FPS at 4K. The 1440p figure represents a 36% reduction from 1080p, while 4K shows a 66% reduction. Interestingly, the Medium preset records min and max FPS values at each resolution: at 1080p it ranges from 106 to 143 FPS, at 1440p from 67 to 91 FPS, and at 4K from 35 to 48 FPS. These ranges suggest some frame pacing variability, particularly at higher resolutions where the min FPS at 4K is just 35, only 7 frames below the average.

High settings show a more dramatic scaling curve. The system produces 93 FPS at 1080p, 59 FPS at 1440p, and 31 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are 37% from 1080p to 1440p, and 67% from 1080p to 4K. The 4K High result of 31 FPS falls below the 60 FPS threshold generally considered smooth, and even the 1440p High result of 59 FPS is borderline, hovering right at the edge of playability.

Ultra settings exhibit the most extreme scaling. At 1080p, the system manages 63 FPS, which drops to 40 FPS at 1440p and just 21 FPS at 4K. The reduction from 1080p to 1440p is 37%, and from 1080p to 4K is 67%. This uniform scaling pattern across all presets — roughly one-third reduction at 1440p and two-thirds reduction at 4K — strongly indicates the GPU is the primary limiting component. A CPU-bound scenario would typically show smaller FPS differences between resolutions, but here the consistent percentage drops point to the Intel Arc B570's rendering capacity being the bottleneck.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 2320 out of 2924 tested combinations in Steamworld Build, placing it in the lower 21% of all pairings. This is a modest position that reflects the system's measurable limitations at higher resolutions and settings. The rank data suggests that while this pairing can produce acceptable frame rates in certain configurations, it falls behind a substantial majority of other tested combos in this specific game.

The CPU's individual standing provides context for the combo's rank. The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 sits at the 75th percentile against all CPUs in the benchmark database, with an average benchmark score of 21484. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core Ultra 5 228V, which scores 21440 with a deltaPct of 0.2, and the Intel Core i9-11900H at 21367 with a deltaPct of 0.5. On the other side, the Intel Xeon D-1746TER scores 21635 with a deltaPct of -0.7, and the AMD EPYC 9454 scores 21223 with a deltaPct of 1.2. These narrow deltas — all within 1.2% of the Ryzen 5 2600's score — indicate the CPU is competitively positioned among its peers.

The GPU also holds a respectable individual standing. The Intel Arc B570 is at the 65th percentile against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 20556. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile at 20534 (deltaPct 0.1), the Intel Arc A750 at 20582 (deltaPct -0.1), the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M at 20480 (deltaPct 0.4), and the AMD Radeon R9 M390X at 20662 (deltaPct -0.5). The GPU's percentile is lower than the CPU's, which aligns with the resolution scaling analysis indicating the GPU is the limiting factor in this pairing.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570 features 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus, delivering 380.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is substantial for a city builder, which typically benefits from larger frame buffers when rendering complex scenes with many structures and entities. The 10 GB capacity is likely sufficient for Steamworld Build's asset load, but the bandwidth of 380.0 GB/s becomes a constraint at higher resolutions where more pixel data must be moved.

The GPU's clock speeds are set at 2500 MHz for both base and boost, which is a relatively high operating frequency. The memory runs at 2375 MHz, translating to 19 Gbps effective. These clocks contribute to the card's raw compute capabilities: 11.52 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, a pixel rate of 200.0 GPixel/s, and a texture rate of 360.0 GTexel/s. The card has 2304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 80 render output units, along with 18 ray tracing cores.

In Steamworld Build, these specifications translate to the FPS drops observed across resolutions. The card's 80 ROPs and 200.0 GPixel/s pixel rate determine how quickly the GPU can fill pixels, which directly affects resolution scaling. At 4K, the pixel count quadruples compared to 1080p, and the measured FPS drops by roughly two-thirds across all presets, reflecting the pixel fill limitations. The 380.0 GB/s memory bandwidth also becomes more critical at 4K, where larger frame buffers require more frequent memory access.

The GPU's benchmark scores provide additional context. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, it scores 2649, while Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan scores are 83514 and 96844 respectively. The Passmark G3D score is 14195, with a G2D score of 661. These scores place the GPU at the 65th percentile, and its nearest rival in overall performance is the Arc A750, which is just 0.1% ahead. This tight competition suggests the B570 is a mid-range performer, consistent with its measured behavior in Steamworld Build where it handles 1080p well but struggles at higher resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its best results. With Low settings, the average FPS is 162, which is exceptionally smooth. Medium settings produce 124 FPS average, with a minimum of 106 and maximum of 143. High settings yield 93 FPS average, still well above typical playability thresholds. Ultra settings drop to 63 FPS average, which is playable but not ideal for a city builder where smooth camera panning matters. The progression from Low to Ultra at 1080p shows a 61% reduction in FPS, from 162 to 63.

At 2560x1440, performance becomes more constrained. Low settings produce 103 FPS average, which remains smooth. Medium settings average 79 FPS, with a range of 67 to 91. High settings average 59 FPS, which is at the edge of smooth playability. Ultra settings drop to 40 FPS average, which is noticeably less fluid. The reduction from Low to Ultra at 1440p is 61%, from 103 to 40 FPS, mirroring the percentage drop seen at 1080p.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles across all presets. Low settings average 55 FPS, which is playable but not optimal. Medium settings average 42 FPS, with a range of 35 to 48. High settings drop to 31 FPS average, which falls below the 60 FPS threshold. Ultra settings average just 21 FPS, which is largely unplayable for a game requiring frequent camera movement and city management interactions. The reduction from Low to Ultra at 4K is 62%, from 55 to 21 FPS, consistent with the pattern at lower resolutions.

The min and max FPS data for Medium settings across all resolutions reveals interesting behavior. At 1080p, the range is 106 to 143, a 35% spread above the minimum. At 1440p, the range is 67 to 91, a 36% spread. At 4K, the range is 35 to 48, a 37% spread. This consistent relative spread suggests the game's frame time variability scales with resolution, which is typical of GPU-bound scenarios.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution. At 1920x1080, the High preset at 93 FPS offers the best balance between visual quality and performance. The Ultra preset at 63 FPS is still playable and provides the highest visual fidelity, but the 30 FPS drop from High to Ultra may not justify the rendering improvements in a city builder where base-level detail is often sufficient. The Medium preset at 124 FPS is excellent for players who prioritize smoothness over visuals.

At 2560x1440, the High preset at 59 FPS is the recommended choice, as it sits right at the 60 FPS playability threshold. The Medium preset at 79 FPS provides a comfortable margin above that threshold and may be preferable for players who want headroom during busy gameplay moments, especially given the min FPS of 67 recorded at this setting. The Ultra preset at 40 FPS is not recommended for 1440p, as it falls well below smooth playability.

At 3840x2160, the situation is more challenging. The Low preset at 55 FPS is the only configuration that approaches playability, but it requires sacrificing most visual quality. The Medium preset at 42 FPS is borderline, with a min FPS of 35 that could cause noticeable stuttering. The High and Ultra presets at 31 and 21 FPS respectively are not viable for a city builder, where the game's pace demands responsive camera controls and smooth UI interactions.

The overall recommendation is that this combo is best suited for 1080p gaming, where it can handle High settings at 93 FPS or even Ultra at 63 FPS. At 1440p, players should stick to High or Medium settings. At 4K, only Low settings are acceptable, and even then the 55 FPS average carries some risk of dips during heavy scenes.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 provides 6 cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 3.90 GHz. Its cache configuration includes 96 KB of L1 per core, 512 KB of L2 per core, and 16 MB of shared L3. The CPU supports dual-channel DDR4 memory with 46.9 GB/s of bandwidth, and connects via PCIe Gen 3 with 16 lanes. These specifications are modest by modern standards but are generally adequate for city builders, which are typically more GPU-dependent than CPU-dependent.

The CPU's benchmark results show strong multi-threaded performance relative to its single-thread capabilities. In Cinebench R15, it scores 1248 in multicore and 157.3 in singlecore. The Geekbench multicore score is 5648, with a singlecore score of 1154. Passmark results include a multithread score of 13160, a single thread score of 2239, and a physics score of 673. The CPU also achieves 187062 in data compression and 12429 in data encryption, indicating solid general-purpose compute.

In Steamworld Build, the CPU's role is likely secondary to the GPU given the resolution scaling pattern. The consistent FPS drops across resolutions suggest the GPU is the bottleneck, but the CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads at up to 3.90 GHz boost should handle the game's simulation and AI logic without becoming a limiting factor. The CPU's 75th percentile ranking supports this, as it outperforms a majority of CPUs in the database.

The measured FPS at 1080p Low (162 FPS) indicates the CPU can feed the GPU sufficiently at lower resolutions. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see similar FPS regardless of resolution, but the data shows a clear resolution-dependent scaling. The CPU's 16 MB of L3 cache and dual-channel memory bandwidth of 46.9 GB/s should be adequate for the game's data access patterns, and the 12 threads provide enough parallelism for background simulation tasks while maintaining frame delivery.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows 1920x1080 is the strongest resolution, with High settings delivering 93 FPS and Ultra at 63 FPS. At 2560x1440, High drops to 59 FPS, and at 3840x2160, even Low settings only reach 55 FPS.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B570 compare to its nearest GPU rival?

A: The Arc B570 has an average benchmark score of 20556, which is 0.1% behind the Intel Arc A750 at 20582 and 0.1% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile at 20534. Its percentile ranking is 65 against all GPUs.

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 5 2600 a bottleneck in this game?

A: The resolution scaling pattern indicates the GPU is the limiting component. The CPU's 75th percentile ranking and measured FPS of 162 at 1080p Low suggest it is not the primary bottleneck in Steamworld Build.

Q: What settings should I use at 2560x1440?

A: The High preset at 59 FPS is the recommended choice, though the Medium preset at 79 FPS (with a min of 67 FPS) provides more headroom. Ultra at 40 FPS is not recommended.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming?

A: Only at Low settings, which average 55 FPS. Medium averages 42 FPS, High averages 31 FPS, and Ultra averages 21 FPS, making 4K impractical for most players.

Q: How does the CPU's overall performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Ryzen 5 2600 scores 21484 on average, which is 0.2% above the Intel Core Ultra 5 228V and 0.5% above the Intel Core i9-11900H. It trails the Intel Xeon D-1746TER by 0.7% and the AMD EPYC 9454 by 1.2%.