Steamworld Build

Steamworld Build is a city builder where the pace of your colony’s growth is tied directly to how smoothly the simulation runs. The AMD Ryzen 5 5600F and Intel Arc B570 combination delivers a solid 1080p experience, but the data shows a sharp drop-off at higher resolutions that points squarely at the GPU as the primary bottleneck. This analysis breaks down the measured performance across all presets and resolutions to help you decide where to set the dials for the best balance of visual fidelity and playable frame rates.

FAQ

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

A: Based on the measured frames per second, 1920x1080 is the sweet spot. At this resolution, the average FPS ranges from 63 on Ultra to 162 on Low, ensuring a fluid experience even with demanding settings. 2560x1440 is also viable, but the performance hit is significant, with the Ultra preset dropping to 40 FPS.

Q: How demanding is the Ultra preset on this hardware?

A: The Ultra preset is extremely demanding for this specific combo. At 4K, the average FPS drops to 21, which is a slideshow. Even at 1080p, Ultra yields 63 FPS, which is playable but a 32% reduction compared to the High preset's 93 FPS.

Q: Is the Intel Arc B570 a bottleneck for the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F?

A: Yes, the data strongly suggests the GPU is the limiting factor. As resolution increases from 1080p to 4K, the average FPS on the High preset plummets from 93 to 31. This massive drop indicates that the rendering load is overwhelming the GPU, while the CPU has headroom to spare.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and High settings at 1440p?

A: The difference is substantial. The Low preset at 2560x1440 averages 103 FPS, while the High preset averages 59 FPS. That is a 44 FPS drop, demonstrating that the High preset’s visual effects nearly halve the performance at this resolution.

Q: How does the Arc B570 compare to its closest rival, the Intel Arc A750?

A: The benchmark data shows they are virtually identical in overall performance. The Arc B570 has an average benchmark score of 20556, while the Arc A750 scores 20582, a delta of -0.1%. In Steamworld Build specifically, this means you can expect performance very similar to that of the A750.

Q: Is the 5600F a capable processor for this game?

A: Yes, the CPU is more than capable. It sits in the 85th percentile of all CPUs, and its multi-threaded Passmark score of 19236 indicates strong performance for simulation logic. The fact that FPS scales down with resolution rather than staying flat points to the GPU, not the CPU, being the performance ceiling.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570 is built on the Xe2-HPG "Battlemage" architecture and features 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus, providing 380.0 GB/s of bandwidth. With a base and boost clock of 2500 MHz, it offers a theoretical FP32 performance of 11.52 TFLOPS. In Steamworld Build, this hardware configuration defines the performance envelope, especially when you start pushing higher resolutions and graphical presets.

The role of the GPU here is clear: it is the primary driver of the game's visual output, and its limitations become apparent as the resolution scales. The data shows a clear pattern. At 1080p, the GPU can handle even the Ultra preset, producing 63 FPS. However, at 4K, the rendering demands of the game's city-building visuals, with their intricate details and high object counts, overwhelm the B570. The average FPS at 4K High is just 31, which is below the threshold for smooth, responsive play. The 10 GB VRAM buffer is likely sufficient for the textures at these settings, but the GPU's shading units and texture rate are not able to keep up with the pixel count at 4K.

The GPU's compute performance, as measured by a Passmark G3D score of 14195, places it in the 65th percentile of all GPUs. This is a mid-range standing, and the in-game results reflect that. The Arc B570 is a 1080p and entry-level 1440p card for this title. Pushing it to 4K results in a sub-30 FPS experience on the High preset, making it unsuitable for that resolution unless you are willing to drop to the Low preset, which yields 55 FPS but sacrifices visual quality. The memory clock of 2375 MHz (19 Gbps effective) is sufficient for the bandwidth, but the constraint is the raw compute power of the 2304 shading units.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience with this hardware, the data points to a clear hierarchy of choices based on your target resolution and preference for visual fidelity over frame rate.

At 1920x1080, you have the most freedom. The High preset offers an excellent balance, delivering an average of 93 FPS. This is well above the 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay and provides a significant visual upgrade over the Medium preset's 124 FPS. If you have a high-refresh-rate monitor, the Medium preset at 124 FPS is the better choice for competitive smoothness. The Ultra preset, while playable at 63 FPS, does not offer enough of a visual jump to justify the 32% performance penalty over High. The Low preset at 162 FPS is only recommended if you prioritize maximum frame rate above all else.

At 2560x1440, the High preset becomes the new baseline for a playable experience, averaging 59 FPS. This is just shy of 60 FPS and is perfectly playable. The Medium preset is a strong alternative if you want more headroom, averaging 79 FPS. The Ultra preset at 40 FPS is too inconsistent for a city builder, where you need stable frame rates for long play sessions. The Low preset at 103 FPS is an option for high-refresh-rate 1440p monitors, but you will see a noticeable drop in graphical detail.

At 3840x2160, the choices are stark. The Low preset is the only playable option, averaging 55 FPS. The Medium preset at 42 FPS is borderline, and the High preset at 31 FPS is not recommended. The Ultra preset at 21 FPS should be avoided entirely. The recommendation here is to stick with 1440p or 1080p for this game, as the compromises required to run at 4K are too severe.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across all settings and resolutions.

1920x1080:

• Low: 162 FPS average.
• Medium: 124 FPS average, with a minimum of 106 FPS and a maximum of 143 FPS.
• High: 93 FPS average.
• Ultra: 63 FPS average.

2560x1440:

• Low: 103 FPS average.
• Medium: 79 FPS average, with a minimum of 67 FPS and a maximum of 91 FPS.
• High: 59 FPS average.
• Ultra: 40 FPS average.

3840x2160:

• Low: 55 FPS average.
• Medium: 42 FPS average, with a minimum of 35 FPS and a maximum of 48 FPS.
• High: 31 FPS average.
• Ultra: 21 FPS average.

The Medium preset rows are the only ones that include min and max FPS data. At 1080p, the spread is from 106 to 143 FPS, suggesting some frame time variance but generally smooth performance. At 1440p, the spread is 67 to 91 FPS, which is a tighter band. At 4K, the Medium preset's range of 35 to 48 FPS shows considerable inconsistency, which can feel stuttery in a game that requires constant camera panning and zooming.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is the most telling data point in this analysis. On the High preset, the average FPS falls from 93 at 1080p to 59 at 1440p, a 37% reduction. Moving from 1440p to 4K, the FPS drops further from 59 to 31, a 47% reduction. This is a classic sign of a GPU-bound scenario.

The data indicates that the Intel Arc B570 is the limiting component. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect the FPS to remain relatively flat across resolutions, as the CPU's workload (game logic, simulation) does not change with resolution. Instead, we see FPS plummet as resolution increases, which means the GPU is working progressively harder to render more pixels and is hitting its performance ceiling. The Ryzen 5 5600F, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, has the headroom to feed the GPU frames, but the B570 simply cannot render them fast enough at higher resolutions. The 4K Ultra preset, at 21 FPS, is a definitive indicator that this resolution is beyond the card's capabilities for this title.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture. It has a base clock of 3.00 GHz and a boost clock of 4.00 GHz, with 32 MB of shared L3 cache. In this configuration, its role is to handle the game's simulation and logic, which is the backbone of any city builder.

The CPU's performance is more than adequate for Steamworld Build. Its Passmark multi-thread score of 19236 and single-thread score of 2872 are strong, placing it in the 85th percentile of all CPUs. This means the 5600F can easily manage the game's AI, pathfinding, and resource management calculations. The fact that it is paired with a GPU that is clearly the bottleneck is a good sign for the longevity of this CPU in this game; it has plenty of headroom.

The benchmark results bear this out. Since the FPS scales down with resolution, it is the GPU that is saturated, not the CPU. If the CPU were struggling, we would see frame rate dips that are independent of resolution, or the FPS at 1080p would be much lower. Instead, the 5600F provides a stable platform that allows the Arc B570 to reach its maximum output. The nearest rivals to the 5600F, such as the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D, have nearly identical average benchmark scores, with deltas of 0% and -0.2% respectively, indicating that this level of CPU performance is a solid baseline for this type of game. The CPU is not the star of the show here, but it is a reliable workhorse that will not hold the system back.