Steamworld Build

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Ryzen 5 7400F is a 6-core, 12-thread desktop processor built on TSMC's 5 nm process with the Zen 4 architecture, codenamed Raphael. It carries a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The CPU sits in the 83rd percentile among all CPUs tested on this database, with an average benchmark score of 32750. That places it in a tight cluster with its nearest rivals: it is 0.1% ahead of the Intel Core i5-14600T (32707), 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H (32697), and 0.3% ahead of the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 360 (32662). It trails the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6850H by 0.2% (32812). Essentially, this is a mid-high-tier CPU whose multi-threaded throughput is competitive with several 14th-gen and newer mobile/desktop parts.

For Steamworld Build, a city builder, the CPU's role is significant but not dominant. The game's simulation logic—population counts, resource flows, worker pathfinding, and building update cycles—relies on sustained single-thread performance and moderate multi-threading. The Ryzen 5 7400F posts a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3072 and a multi-core score of 21765. In Passmark, single-thread performance is 3689, while multithread is 25645. Those numbers indicate a processor that can handle the game's simulation tick without bottlenecking the GPU at lower resolutions, but at higher resolutions the GPU becomes the limiting factor.

Looking at the measured FPS data, the CPU's strength shows mainly at 1080p. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the CPU and GPU together deliver 95 FPS average, which is the highest recorded frame rate in this dataset. At Medium settings, 73 FPS average. At High settings, 55 FPS average. At Ultra, 37 FPS average. The drop from Low to Ultra at 1080p is about 61%, which suggests that the CPU can feed the GPU enough frames at Low, but as GPU load increases with higher settings, the frame rate falls proportionally. The CPU is not the hard ceiling here; the GPU is.

The Ryzen 5 7400F supports DDR5 memory with dual-channel bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s. That memory bandwidth is relevant for a city builder where large numbers of entities and building states are updated each frame. With ECC memory support and PCIe Gen 5 (24 lanes from CPU), the platform is modern and not a constraint for this game. The CPU's 32 MB shared L3 cache (plus 1 MB L2 per core and 64 KB L1 per core) provides enough cache locality for the game's data structures. The benchmark data shows the CPU is not the primary bottleneck at 4K, where even Low settings only yield 32 FPS average.

In summary, the Ryzen 5 7400F is a capable CPU for Steamworld Build, but its performance headroom is largely wasted at higher resolutions because the GPU—the Intel Arc B370—cannot keep up. At 1080p, the CPU allows the GPU to reach its maximum output, and the game remains playable at Medium and High settings. At 1440p and above, the CPU's role diminishes further.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Arc B370 is an integrated graphics processor (IGP) based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, manufactured on Intel's 3 nm process, with the chip codename Panther Lake. It has no dedicated VRAM; memory is system-shared, with bus width and bandwidth listed as "System Shared" and "System Dependent," respectively. The GPU's base clock is 300 MHz, boosting to 2400 MHz. It has 1280 shading units, 40 TMUs, 20 ROPs, and 10 RT cores. Pixel rate is 48.00 GPixel/s, texture rate is 96.00 GTexel/s, and FP32 performance is 6.144 TFLOPS. The TDP is just 25 W, and it requires no power connectors.

This is a low-end GPU by any measure. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 1184, placing it in the 5th percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are all legacy parts: ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186, 0.2% faster), ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190, 0.5% faster), AMD Radeon HD 7650M (1192, 0.7% faster), and AMD FirePro M2000 (1168, 1.4% slower). The Arc B370's performance is essentially on par with a 2010-era discrete GPU, which is telling for Steamworld Build's demands.

The measured FPS data confirms the GPU is the limiting component in almost every configuration. At 3840x2160, Ultra settings produce only 12 FPS average, which is unplayable. High settings at 4K yield 18 FPS average, also unplayable. Medium at 4K gives 25 FPS average with a minimum of 21 and maximum of 28, still below playable thresholds. Even Low at 4K only reaches 32 FPS average. The GPU simply lacks the raw fill rate and shader throughput to push modern resolutions in this game.

At 2560x1440, the picture improves but remains constrained. Low settings produce 61 FPS average, which is playable. Medium gives 46 FPS average (min 39, max 53), High gives 35 FPS, and Ultra drops to 23 FPS. The GPU's 20 ROPs and 96.00 GTexel/s texture rate are the bottlenecks here; the game's rendering of building sprites, terrain, and UI elements taxes the pixel pipeline heavily at higher settings.

At 1920x1080, the GPU finally shows acceptable performance. Low settings hit 95 FPS average, Medium 73 FPS (min 62, max 84), High 55 FPS, and Ultra 37 FPS. These numbers suggest that for 1080p gaming, the Arc B370 is adequate for Low through High settings, but Ultra is a stretch. The lack of dedicated VRAM means the system's RAM is used for frame buffers, which can cause performance dips in complex scenes, but the measured data does not show min FPS outliers at 1080p except for Medium's 62 FPS minimum.

The GPU's 25 W TDP and IGP form factor mean it shares power and thermal resources with the CPU. This is not a discrete card; it is an integrated solution, likely paired with the Ryzen 5 7400F in a compact or laptop system. The 3DMark score of 1184 and 5th percentile ranking indicate that Steamworld Build is far from optimized for this GPU, or the GPU is simply too weak for the game's renderer.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Steamworld Build with this CPU/GPU combo?

A: Based on measured FPS, 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the game achieves consistently playable frame rates. At 1080p, Low averages 95 FPS, Medium averages 73 FPS, and High averages 55 FPS. At 1440p, only Low (61 FPS) breaches the 60 FPS threshold, while Medium drops to 46 FPS. At 4K, even Low averages only 32 FPS.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B370 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Arc B370 scores 1184 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. That is 0.2% slower than the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186), 0.5% slower than the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190), and 0.7% slower than the AMD Radeon HD 7650M (1192). It is 1.4% faster than the AMD FirePro M2000 (1168). All of these are legacy GPUs, indicating the Arc B370's performance is several generations behind modern standards.

Q: Can this system run Steamworld Build at Ultra settings?

A: At 1080p Ultra, the average FPS is 37, which is below the 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay. At 1440p Ultra, it drops to 23 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it falls to 12 FPS. The measured data shows Ultra settings are not recommended for this GPU, as even the minimum playable threshold of 30 FPS is only met at 1080p Ultra (37 FPS average, though min FPS was not recorded for that row).

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 7400F a bottleneck for the Arc B370?

A: No. The CPU's benchmark scores (Cinebench R23 multi-core 21765, single-core 3072) place it in the 83rd percentile, while the GPU is in the 5th percentile. The GPU is the clear bottleneck. Evidence: at 1080p Low, the combo hits 95 FPS, but at 4K Low, it drops to 32 FPS—a 66% reduction that tracks with GPU load, not CPU capability.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 1440p Medium settings?

A: The measured data shows 46 FPS average at 2560x1440 Medium, with a minimum of 39 FPS and maximum of 53 FPS. That is playable but not smooth, and it is below the 60 FPS standard. The 39 FPS minimum indicates occasional dips into less comfortable territory during heavy scene complexity.

Q: How does the CPU's multi-threaded performance affect this game?

A: The Ryzen 5 7400F's 12 threads provide solid multi-core throughput (Cinebench R20 multi-core 9141, Passmark multithread 25645), which helps with city builder simulation. However, the measured FPS data shows the GPU is the limiting factor at resolutions above 1080p. The CPU's performance headroom is not fully utilized because the GPU cannot render frames fast enough.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for Steamworld Build with the AMD Ryzen 5 7400F and Intel Arc B370 covers four resolutions and four settings levels. At 1920x1080, the results are: Low averages 95 FPS, Medium averages 73 FPS (min 62, max 84), High averages 55 FPS, and Ultra averages 37 FPS. This is the only resolution where all settings produce at least 30 FPS average.

At 2560x1440, the results degrade notably: Low averages 61 FPS, Medium averages 46 FPS (min 39, max 53), High averages 35 FPS, and Ultra averages 23 FPS. The 61 FPS at Low is the only 1440p result above 60 FPS. Medium's 39 FPS minimum shows the frame rate can dip below playable levels during intensive scenes.

At 3840x2160, the results are largely unplayable: Low averages 32 FPS, Medium averages 25 FPS (min 21, max 28), High averages 18 FPS, and Ultra averages 12 FPS. No 4K configuration reaches 60 FPS, and only Low comes close to 30 FPS. The 12 FPS at Ultra is a slideshow.

Comparing across resolutions at the same settings: at Low, 1080p yields 95 FPS, 1440p yields 61 FPS (a 36% drop), and 4K yields 32 FPS (a 66% drop from 1080p). At Medium, 1080p yields 73 FPS, 1440p yields 46 FPS (37% drop), and 4K yields 25 FPS (66% drop). At High, 1080p yields 55 FPS, 1440p yields 35 FPS (36% drop), and 4K yields 18 FPS (67% drop). At Ultra, 1080p yields 37 FPS, 1440p yields 23 FPS (38% drop), and 4K yields 12 FPS (68% drop). The consistency of the percentage drops across settings indicates a uniform scaling penalty driven by resolution, not settings complexity.

The minimum FPS data is only provided for Medium settings: at 1080p, min is 62 FPS; at 1440p, min is 39 FPS; at 4K, min is 21 FPS. The gap between min and max at Medium is 22 FPS at both 1080p and 1440p, and 7 FPS at 4K. The tighter range at 4K suggests the GPU is so saturated that frame times are consistently bad rather than variable.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings. At Low settings, the drop is from 95 FPS at 1080p to 32 FPS at 4K—a 66% reduction. At Medium, 73 FPS to 25 FPS, also a 66% reduction. At High, 55 FPS to 18 FPS, a 67% reduction. At Ultra, 37 FPS to 12 FPS, a 68% reduction. The near-identical percentage drops across all four settings levels are a strong indicator that the GPU is the sole limiting component.

If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect the FPS to remain roughly flat as resolution increases, because the CPU's work (simulation, draw calls) does not scale with pixel count. Instead, the FPS scales almost linearly with pixel count: 1080p has 2.07 million pixels, 1440p has 3.69 million (1.78x more), and 4K has 8.29 million (4x more). The observed FPS at 1440p is roughly 61-64% of 1080p FPS, and 4K FPS is roughly 32-34% of 1080p FPS. This matches the pixel count scaling closely, confirming the GPU is being pushed to its limits at every resolution.

The Arc B370's system-shared memory is a contributing factor. With no dedicated VRAM, the GPU relies on the system's DDR5 memory, whose bandwidth (83.2 GB/s for the CPU's dual-channel configuration) is shared with the CPU. At higher resolutions, the frame buffer grows, consuming more memory bandwidth and potentially causing contention with the CPU's simulation workloads. The measured data supports this: at 4K, even Low settings (which typically reduce texture and shadow memory usage) only achieve 32 FPS, suggesting memory bandwidth is a hard ceiling.

The CPU's role in resolution scaling is minimal. The Ryzen 5 7400F's single-thread score (Cinebench R23 single-core 3072) is more than adequate for the game's simulation at any resolution. The bottleneck is entirely on the GPU side, as evidenced by the consistent FPS scaling pattern. For players targeting higher resolutions, the Arc B370 is insufficient; the data shows that 1080p is the practical ceiling for this combo, and even then, only up to High settings.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the best experience for Steamworld Build with this hardware is at 1920x1080 with Medium settings. The average FPS is 73, with a minimum of 62 and maximum of 84. That 62 FPS minimum is the key metric: it means the game stays above 60 FPS even during demanding scenes, providing a smooth experience without drops into stutter territory. Medium settings also offer a balance between visual quality and performance, as the 73 FPS average leaves headroom for occasional dips.

For players who prioritize visual fidelity over smoothness, 1080p High settings are viable. The average FPS is 55, which is below 60 but still playable. The minimum FPS was not recorded for High settings, so we cannot confirm how low it dips, but the 55 FPS average suggests occasional drops into the 40s. This is acceptable for a city builder where twitch reactions are not required, but it is not ideal.

At 1440p, the only recommended setting is Low, which averages 61 FPS. That is just above the 60 FPS threshold, but the lack of min FPS data means we cannot verify stability. Medium at 1440p averages 46 FPS with a 39 FPS minimum, which is borderline playable but will feel sluggish during heavy camera panning or large construction projects. High at 1440p (35 FPS) and Ultra at 1440p (23 FPS) are not recommended.

At 4K, no settings are recommended. Even Low averages only 32 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS standard and barely above the 30 FPS minimum for playability. The 25 FPS average at Medium (min 21) and 18 FPS at High make those settings unplayable. Ultra at 4K is a non-starter at 12 FPS.

The data shows that the sweet spot is 1080p Medium, which delivers a 73 FPS average with a 62 FPS minimum. This configuration respects the GPU's limitations while providing a visually acceptable experience. If the player values higher resolutions more than smoothness, 1440p Low is the only alternative, but the 61 FPS average is marginal. For the best balance of performance and visual quality, the measured rows clearly point to 1080p Medium as the optimal choice for this CPU/GPU combination.