Steamworld Build

Steamworld Build, a city builder released in late 2023, presents a specific computational profile that favors high-frequency processors and robust graphics memory bandwidth. The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 7500F and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 delivers a performance envelope that is highly dependent on the selected resolution and graphical preset. The measured data indicates that this pairing is capable of excellent frame rates across most settings, though the demands of the simulation at higher resolutions reveal distinct bottlenecks. This analysis examines the measured FPS data to determine the optimal configuration and the role each component plays in shaping the final experience.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 7500F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination is ranked 818th out of 3706 tested combos for Steamworld Build. This places the pairing in the top 22% of all configurations tested, indicating a solidly above-average performance tier for this specific title. The percentileVsAllCpus for the CPU is 77, and the percentileVsAllGpus for the GPU is 81, suggesting that both components are individually well-regarded, and their combined rank reflects a balanced partnership. The data shows that the system is not constrained by a single weak link, as both the processor and graphics card are in similar performance percentiles relative to their respective markets.

In the context of its direct rivals, the CPU's performance is exceptionally tight. The Ryzen 5 7500F has an average benchmark score of 24964, which is nearly identical to its nearest competitors. It is a mere 0.1% faster than the Intel Core i7-11850H and 0.2% faster than the Intel Core i7-13620H, while being 0.2% slower than the AMD Ryzen 5 8400F and 0.4% slower than the Intel Core 5 210H. These sub-1% deltas mean that in a CPU-bound scenario, the choice between these processors would be imperceptible in practice. The GPU tells a similar story; the RTX 4070's average benchmark score of 37648 is 0.1% ahead of the NVIDIA Tesla P4 and 0.4% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56, while trailing the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile by 1.3% and leading the AMD Radeon PRO W6400 by 1.3%. This data implies that the combo's rank is determined more by the game's specific engine and its interaction with the hardware than by raw component headroom.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured average FPS, the most balanced experience is achieved at the Medium preset across all tested resolutions. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset produces 238 FPS, which is a significant jump from the 178 FPS of High, and it offers a comfortable margin over the 120 FPS of Ultra. The data for 2560x1440 shows a similar pattern, with Medium delivering 151 FPS, which is well above the 113 FPS of High and double the 76 FPS of Ultra. Even at 4K, the Medium preset maintains an average of 80 FPS, which is a playable frame rate for a city builder, while High drops to 60 FPS and Ultra falls to 40 FPS.

The Low preset, while yielding the highest frame rates (311 FPS at 1080p, 198 FPS at 1440p, and 104 FPS at 4K), likely sacrifices visual fidelity in a genre where readability of the city layout is important. The Ultra preset provides the highest visual quality but introduces a substantial performance cost, especially at higher resolutions. Therefore, Medium represents the sweet spot, providing a high frame rate that ensures smooth camera panning and zooming, while still maintaining a level of graphical detail that should be sufficient for a satisfying simulation experience. The presence of min and max FPS data only for the Medium preset (e.g., 202-274 FPS at 1080p) suggests it is a stable configuration with no severe hitches.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K illustrates a clear transition from a CPU-bound to a GPU-bound workload. At 1080p with Low settings, the system produces 311 FPS, indicating that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU a massive number of frames. By the time resolution increases to 1440p, that figure drops to 198 FPS, a 36% reduction. Moving to 4K Low, the average FPS is 104, which is a 67% reduction from the 1080p baseline. This steep decline as resolution climbs is a classic indicator of the GPU becoming the primary limiting factor, as the number of pixels to be rendered increases dramatically.

The same trend is visible at the High settings, where the system moves from 178 FPS at 1080p to 113 FPS at 1440p and then to 60 FPS at 4K. The 4K High result of 60 FPS is particularly telling; it suggests the GPU is working at its limit to maintain this frame rate. The RTX 4070, with its 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth, is being heavily taxed at this resolution. The data indicates that while the Ryzen 5 7500F has ample headroom to push high frame rates at lower resolutions, the RTX 4070's rendering capabilities become the decisive factor in determining performance at 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080: The data shows a wide performance envelope. At Low settings, the combo achieves an impressive 311 FPS. Moving to Medium, the frame rate drops to 238 FPS, with a measured range of 202 to 274 FPS. The High preset yields 178 FPS, and the Ultra preset brings the average down to 120 FPS. This resolution is clearly within the comfortable zone for this hardware, with even the most demanding preset producing a frame rate that exceeds standard 60 Hz displays by a significant margin.

2560x1440: At 1440p, the performance remains high but shows a more pronounced scaling. Low settings produce 198 FPS, while Medium delivers 151 FPS with a range of 129 to 174 FPS. High settings still provide a very smooth 113 FPS. The Ultra preset, however, drops to 76 FPS, which is the first sign of the GPU starting to struggle with the most intensive settings. This resolution represents a good balance, offering higher pixel density than 1080p without forcing a compromise on the High preset.

3840x2160: 4K resolution is where the hardware is pushed hardest. The Low preset manages a playable 104 FPS, and Medium achieves 80 FPS with a range of 68 to 92 FPS. The High preset drops to 60 FPS, which is exactly at the standard refresh rate threshold. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, producing an average of only 40 FPS, which would result in a noticeably less fluid experience for a city builder. The data shows that for 4K gaming, the Medium or High presets are the realistic choices, with Ultra being reserved for slower-paced gameplay.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play at with this CPU and GPU combo?

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 offers an excellent experience. At High settings, the combo averages 113 FPS, providing a sharp image with a high frame rate. At 3840x2160, the performance is more constrained, with High settings averaging 60 FPS.

Q: How many frames per second can I expect at 1080p with Ultra settings?

A: The measured average FPS for the Ultra preset at 1920x1080 is 120. This indicates that the system can handle the highest visual settings at 1080p with a frame rate well above 60 FPS.

Q: Is the RTX 4070 the limiting factor at 4K resolution?

A: The data suggests yes. At 4K, the FPS drops significantly as settings increase, from 104 FPS at Low to 40 FPS at Ultra. The steep decline with higher graphical fidelity points to the GPU's rendering capabilities being the primary constraint at this resolution.

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 7500F compare to its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 5 8400F?

A: In synthetic benchmarks, the Ryzen 5 7500F has an average score of 24964, which is 0.2% lower than the AMD Ryzen 5 8400F's score of 25005. This difference is negligible and would not cause a noticeable performance gap in gaming.

Q: Does the combo perform better in a CPU or GPU benchmark scenario?

A: The CPU has a percentileVsAllCpus of 77, while the GPU has a percentileVsAllGpus of 81. This indicates that the graphics card performs slightly better relative to its peers than the processor does, though both are in the upper quartile of their respective categories.

Q: What is the average FPS for the Medium preset at 1440p?

A: The measured average FPS for the Medium preset at 2560x1440 is 151, with a minimum of 129 and a maximum of 174. This makes it a very smooth and stable option for that resolution.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 7500F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. It features a 32 MB shared L3 cache and supports DDR5 memory. In Steamworld Build, a genre that requires simulation of numerous agents and economic systems, the CPU's single-thread performance is often critical. The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3218 and the Geekbench single-core score of 2374 suggest strong per-core performance, which is essential for handling the main game logic thread.

The multi-threaded capabilities are also robust, as shown by a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 22799 and a 3DMark max threads score of 6379. This indicates that the CPU can handle the parallel processing of pathfinding and resource management tasks. The benchmark results show that the CPU is not a bottleneck at 1080p, where the system achieves 311 FPS on Low settings. This high frame rate is a direct result of the CPU's ability to process game state updates quickly. The processor's 65W TDP and 5 nm process node also suggest it can maintain these boost clocks without excessive thermal throttling, ensuring consistent performance during long play sessions. The data shows that the Ryzen 5 7500F provides ample computational headroom for this title, especially at lower resolutions where the GPU is not the limiting factor.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture and features 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. It has a base clock of 1920 MHz and a boost clock of 2475 MHz. This memory configuration is crucial for a city builder, as high-resolution textures and the need to render a large number of buildings and objects can consume significant video memory. The data shows that the GPU's role becomes increasingly important as resolution increases.

At 1080p, the GPU is not the primary constraint, as evidenced by the high frame rates across all settings. However, at 4K, the performance drops significantly, with the Ultra preset yielding only 40 FPS. This decline is attributed to the GPU's rendering load, which includes the pixel fill rate of 158.4 GPixel/s and the texture rate of 455.4 GTexel/s. The FP32 performance of 29.15 TFLOPS is substantial, but the sheer number of pixels at 3840x2160 overwhelms the GPU at the highest settings. The measured data for 4K Medium, which shows an average of 80 FPS, suggests that the GPU has the raw power for 4K gaming, but the Ultra preset's additional effects are too demanding. The 12 GB VRAM is sufficient for this game, as there is no evidence of texture streaming issues in the FPS data, but the GPU's compute and memory bandwidth are the limiting factors at 4K.