Steamworld Build

Steamworld Build, a city builder from late 2023, presents an interesting scaling challenge for the tested configuration of an AMD Ryzen 5 5500 paired with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080. The dataset provides a clear picture of how this high-end GPU interacts with a mid-range CPU across three resolutions and four quality presets. The measured frames per second reveal a configuration that is exceptionally capable at lower resolutions but begins to show its CPU-bound nature as the graphical load increases.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data indicates that the Ultra preset is the most demanding setting in this suite, producing the lowest average frame rates at every resolution. At 4K, the Ultra preset yields an average of 52.6 FPS, which is a significant drop from the 79.8 FPS achieved on the High preset. This pattern repeats at 1440p and 1080p, where Ultra settings deliver 101.0 FPS and 160.6 FPS, respectively, compared to the substantially higher numbers on High.

For a smooth experience, the High preset appears to be the optimal balance in this dataset. It provides a substantial performance uplift over Ultra across all resolutions. At 4K, High delivers 79.8 FPS, which is a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS threshold for most displays. At 1440p, the High preset achieves 152.4 FPS, and at 1080p it reaches 221.9 FPS, both of which are excellent for high-refresh-rate monitors. The performance gap between High and Medium is also notable, but High offers a better visual experience for a relatively modest performance cost in the lower resolutions.

The Medium preset offers an alternative for users prioritizing higher frame rates over visual fidelity. It provides 107.5 FPS at 4K, 204.4 FPS at 1440p, and 246.3 FPS at 1080p. While these numbers are higher than High, the difference is less pronounced at 1080p, where the CPU begins to limit performance. The Low preset provides the highest frame rates, reaching 270.6 FPS at 1080p, but the visual compromise is likely unnecessary given the strength of the High preset. The data suggests that High is the sweet spot, offering a strong visual experience while maintaining high, playable frame rates across all tested resolutions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 is the dominant component in this pairing, featuring 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 960.0 GB/s. The GPU's architecture, Blackwell 2.0, is built on a 5 nm process and includes 10752 shading units. Its performance is reflected in a strong Passmark G3D score of 36565, placing it in the 89th percentile of all GPUs.

In Steamworld Build, the GPU's role becomes increasingly critical at higher resolutions. The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K on the High preset is significant, falling from 221.9 FPS to 79.8 FPS. This indicates that the RTX 5080 is being fully utilized at 4K, where its raw compute power and memory bandwidth are essential for handling the increased pixel count. The GPU's 16 GB of VRAM is likely a non-issue for this game, as city builders typically do not require excessive video memory at these settings. The boost clock of 2617 MHz and base clock of 2295 MHz provide the necessary horsepower to drive the high frame rates seen in the lower resolution tests. The GPU's performance relative to its nearest rivals shows a delta of 1.6% compared to the Intel Arc A570M, indicating it is a very capable part for this workload.

Resolution Scaling

The scaling from 1080p to 4K demonstrates a clear transition from a CPU-bound scenario to a GPU-bound one. At the Low preset, the 1080p score is 270.6 FPS, which drops to 234.0 FPS at 1440p and finally to 138.8 FPS at 4K. This represents a 48.7% drop in performance from 1080p to 4K. The relatively small drop from 1080p to 1440p (36.6 FPS) suggests that at lower settings and resolutions, the CPU is the primary bottleneck, preventing the GPU from reaching even higher frame rates.

On the High preset, the scaling is more pronounced. The 1080p score of 221.9 FPS drops to 152.4 FPS at 1440p and then to 79.8 FPS at 4K. This is a 64.0% reduction from 1080p to 4K. The large drop, especially between 1440p and 4K, shows that the RTX 5080 is now the limiting factor, as the increased resolution demands significantly more from the GPU's shading units and memory system. The Ultra preset shows similar characteristics, with a 67.3% drop from 1080p (160.6 FPS) to 4K (52.6 FPS). This scaling pattern is typical for a high-end GPU paired with a mid-range CPU: the CPU holds back performance at lower resolutions, but the GPU's workload becomes the dominant constraint as resolution increases.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the configuration is primarily CPU-limited. The Low preset achieves an average of 270.6 FPS, while Medium reaches 246.3 FPS and High hits 221.9 FPS. The Ultra preset, however, drops significantly to 160.6 FPS. The difference between Low and High is 48.7 FPS, which is substantial, but the jump to Ultra represents an additional 61.3 FPS loss, highlighting the heavy computational cost of the highest settings.

Moving to 2560x1440, the GPU begins to take on more responsibility. The Low preset delivers 234.0 FPS, Medium provides 204.4 FPS, and High achieves 152.4 FPS. The Ultra preset falls to 101.0 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra here is 51.4 FPS, demonstrating that Ultra settings are particularly demanding on the GPU at this resolution. The performance difference between Low and High is 81.6 FPS, showing that the settings have a more pronounced effect as resolution increases.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is the clear bottleneck. The Low preset yields 138.8 FPS, which is still very playable. Medium drops to 107.5 FPS, and High falls to 79.8 FPS. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, with an average of only 52.6 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra shows a 86.2 FPS drop, emphasizing that 4K resolution is extremely taxing on the GPU. Even the High preset, which is recommended, struggles to maintain high refresh rates at this resolution, though 79.8 FPS is perfectly smooth for standard 60 Hz displays.

How This Combo Ranks

In the global ranking for Steamworld Build, this specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 5500 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 holds the 156th position out of 1730 tested combos. This places the configuration in the top 9% of all tested systems, which is an excellent result. The high ranking is largely attributable to the RTX 5080's immense graphical power, which dominates the performance metrics at higher resolutions.

However, the ranking also reflects the CPU's limitations. The Ryzen 5 5500, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, has an average benchmark score of 20875, placing it in the 79th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-12500, has a nearly identical average score of 20897, a delta of only -0.1%. This indicates that the CPU is a solid, mid-range performer. The combination's rank of 156 suggests that while the GPU is top-tier, the CPU prevents the system from achieving even higher placement. If paired with a stronger processor, the RTX 5080 would likely push this combination into the top 100, but the current data shows a well-balanced system that excels in this title.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, codenamed Cezanne. It operates on the AMD Socket AM4 platform and has a base clock of 3.60 GHz with a boost clock of 4.20 GHz. The CPU features 16 MB of L3 cache and supports DDR4 memory. Its performance is solid for gaming, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 16429 and a single-core score of 2319.

In Steamworld Build, the CPU's role is most apparent at lower resolutions. The data shows that at 1080p, the frame rates on the Low, Medium, and High presets are all above 220 FPS, but the differences between them are relatively small. For instance, the jump from Low to High is only 48.7 FPS, while the jump from High to Ultra is 61.3 FPS. This suggests that the CPU is keeping up with the GPU's output until the Ultra settings introduce a significant load that the CPU cannot fully feed. At 4K, the CPU's influence wanes, as the GPU becomes the limiting factor. The 6-core, 12-thread configuration is adequate for this city builder, but the data implies that a more powerful CPU would extract even higher frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, where the current setup is leaving performance on the table.