Steamworld Build

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

The AMD Ryzen 5 7600 brings a 6-core, 12-thread Zen 4 design to Steamworld Build, with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz. This is a city builder, a genre where simulation logic, pathfinding, and agent updates tend to stress single-thread performance heavily, while background tasks like resource distribution can spread across cores. The CPU's single-thread benchmark scores are telling: a 3dmark single-thread score of 999 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3246 indicate strong per-core capability. In contrast, the Cinebench R23 multicore score of 22992 shows that the 12 threads scale well when the game's simulation spreads across cores.

The data suggests this CPU is well-positioned for Steamworld Build's computational demands. The L3 cache is 32 MB shared, which helps when the game repeatedly accesses simulation state data. The 65W TDP and 5 nm process node (TSMC) mean the chip runs efficiently, but the performance characteristics matter more here. The CPU's percentile versus all CPUs is 83, placing it in the upper tier of processors. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D with an average score of 26574 (a 0.2% delta), the Intel Core i9-12900HK at 26672 (-0.2% delta), and the Intel Core i9-11900K at 26546 (0.3% delta). These tiny deltas mean the 7600 is effectively in the same performance class as those chips for general compute, though the 5800X3D's extra cache might help in simulation-heavy titles.

For Steamworld Build specifically, the measured frames per second (FPS) data shows that at 1080p Low settings, the combo hits 184.9 FPS average. That high frame rate suggests the CPU is not a bottleneck at lower settings — the simulation can run quickly when graphics loads are light. At 1080p Ultra, the average drops to 69.7 FPS, which is still playable but indicates that the graphics workload begins to dominate. The Ryzen 5 7600's single-thread strength likely keeps the simulation ticking smoothly even when the GPU struggles with higher presets.

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

The Intel Arc B580 is a Battlemage-generation GPU with 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 456.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its boost clock is 2670 MHz, with memory running at 2375 MHz (19 Gbps effective). The GPU has 2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 80 raster operation units, plus 20 ray tracing cores. The FP32 throughput is 13.67 TFLOPS, and the pixel rate is 213.6 GPixel/s. This hardware is designed for 1080p and 1440p gaming, and the measured FPS data confirms that.

Steamworld Build is not a visually demanding title compared to first-person shooters, but it still requires consistent frame pacing for smooth camera panning and zooming. The Arc B580's 12 GB VRAM is ample for the game's textures and geometry at 4K, where memory pressure can become an issue for 8 GB cards. The GPU's percentile versus all GPUs is 66, meaning it sits in the upper-middle tier. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon 760M (0.1% delta), NVIDIA P106-100 (0.3% delta), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 (-0.7% delta), and RTX 4060 Mobile (1.3% delta). The RTX 4060 is only 0.7% ahead in average benchmark score, which suggests the B580 competes closely with that card in general compute, though specific game optimizations can shift the balance.

Looking at the measured FPS, the GPU's role becomes clear. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 184.9 FPS — a very high number that indicates the GPU can handle the game's light rendering demands easily. At 1080p Ultra, the average drops to 69.7 FPS, a 62% reduction from Low. This drop is steep, showing that the Ultra preset adds significant rendering load. At 4K Ultra, the average is just 20.4 FPS, which is unplayable. The GPU is clearly the limiting factor at higher resolutions and settings, as the CPU's simulation load does not change much with resolution.

FAQ

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 7600 compare to its nearest rival, the Ryzen 7 5800X3D?

A: The 7600 has an average benchmark score of 26617, while the 5800X3D scores 26574, a delta of 0.2% in favor of the 7600. This means they perform nearly identically in general compute, though the 5800X3D's extra L3 cache might benefit simulation-heavy games like Steamworld Build in specific scenarios.

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

A: At 1440p High, the combo averages 66.1 FPS, which is smooth for a city builder. At 1080p High, it averages 103.2 FPS. The data shows 1440p High offers a good balance between visual quality and performance, while 4K is only playable at Low settings (62.6 FPS) or Medium (48.3 FPS).

Q: Why does the FPS drop so much from 1080p Low to 1080p Ultra?

A: The average FPS falls from 184.9 at Low to 69.7 at Ultra, a 62% decrease. This indicates that the Ultra preset significantly increases rendering work — likely more detailed shadows, reflections, and geometry — which overwhelms the Arc B580's capabilities at 1080p.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more important for this game's performance?

A: The data shows the GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher settings. At 1080p Low, the CPU's strong single-thread performance allows 184.9 FPS. But at 1080p Ultra, the GPU's rendering load caps performance at 69.7 FPS. At 4K Ultra, the GPU drops to 20.4 FPS, confirming it is the bottleneck.

Q: How does the Arc B580 compare to the RTX 4060 in benchmark scores?

A: The B580 has an average benchmark score of 23021, while the RTX 4060 scores 23181, a delta of -0.7% in favor of the RTX 4060. This means the B580 is effectively within 1% of the RTX 4060 in general GPU compute.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested configurations for this game?

A: The combo ranks 1327 out of 1730 tested combos for Steamworld Build. This places it in the lower-middle portion of the distribution, meaning many other CPU-GPU pairings achieve higher performance in this specific title.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo of AMD Ryzen 5 7600 and Intel Arc B580 ranks 1327 out of 1730 tested combinations for Steamworld Build. That is roughly in the 23rd percentile of all combos (rank 1327 / 1730 = 0.767, meaning 76.7% of combos rank higher). This is a low-mid ranking, which is surprising given the individual components' benchmarks — the CPU is in the 83rd percentile, and the GPU is in the 66th percentile. The discrepancy suggests that Steamworld Build's performance characteristics do not favor this pairing.

Why might that be? The game is a city builder, which typically relies heavily on single-threaded CPU performance for simulation ticks. The Ryzen 5 7600's single-thread score of 999 in 3dmark is respectable, but the game might benefit more from higher core counts or additional cache, as seen in the Ryzen 7 5800X3D (which has 3D V-Cache). The GPU's 66th percentile ranking also suggests it is not a top-tier performer, and the game's rendering requirements at Ultra settings might expose its limitations. The measured FPS data shows that at 1080p Ultra, the combo achieves 69.7 FPS, which is fine, but at 4K Ultra it drops to 20.4 FPS — unplayable. Other combos in the database likely include stronger GPUs or CPUs with higher simulation throughput, pushing this pairing down the rankings.

The rank also indicates that while the components are individually capable, their combination does not unlock exceptional performance in this specific game. The CPU's nearest rivals, like the Ryzen 7 5800X3D with 0.2% delta, might offer better simulation performance due to larger cache, but the data does not show a clear advantage. The GPU's nearest rivals, including the RTX 4060, are close in benchmark scores, but in Steamworld Build, the B580's drivers or architecture might not be fully optimized. This combo is functional, but not a top-tier choice for this game.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the best experience for this combo in Steamworld Build depends on the resolution. At 1080p, the High preset delivers 103.2 FPS average, which is smooth and visually pleasing. The Medium preset offers 142.3 FPS, which is higher but with reduced visual quality. The Ultra preset drops to 69.7 FPS, which is still playable but might cause noticeable stutters during heavy simulation moments. For a city builder where you often zoom in and out, the High preset provides a good balance — it keeps the frame rate above 100 FPS while maintaining visual fidelity.

At 1440p, the High preset averages 66.1 FPS, which is acceptable for a slower-paced genre. The Medium preset gives 89.5 FPS, which is better for smooth camera movements. The Low preset reaches 119 FPS, but the visual downgrade might make the game look flat. For 1440p, Medium is the recommended setting because it keeps the frame rate above 85 FPS while retaining enough detail. The Ultra preset at 1440p (43.7 FPS) is too demanding — it drops below 60 FPS, which can feel sluggish.

At 4K, the choices are limited. The Low preset averages 62.6 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS threshold for smoothness. The Medium preset drops to 48.3 FPS, which is borderline. The High preset at 36.9 FPS is not recommended, and Ultra at 20.4 FPS is unplayable. For 4K, Low is the only viable option if you want playable frame rates. The data suggests that this combo is best suited for 1080p High or 1440p Medium, where it delivers a good experience without pushing the GPU too hard.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture across three resolutions and four settings. At 1080p, the Low preset achieves 184.9 FPS, which is the highest average in the entire dataset. The Medium preset reaches 142.3 FPS, and High drops to 103.2 FPS. Ultra is the most demanding at 1080p, with an average of 69.7 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a clear trend: each step up in settings reduces the frame rate by roughly 30-40% of the previous value.

At 1440p, the numbers are lower but still playable. Low averages 119 FPS, Medium hits 89.5 FPS, High goes down to 66.1 FPS, and Ultra drops to 43.7 FPS. The 1440p Low result of 119 FPS is notable — it is higher than the 1080p Ultra result of 69.7 FPS, which shows that settings have a larger impact than resolution in this game. The GPU's rendering load at 1440p Low is lighter than at 1080p Ultra, allowing the CPU to push higher frame rates.

At 4K, the performance drops significantly. Low averages 62.6 FPS, Medium 48.3 FPS, High 36.9 FPS, and Ultra just 20.4 FPS. The 4K Low result is barely playable, and anything above Low is not recommended. This data indicates that the Arc B580's 12 GB VRAM is sufficient for 4K textures, but the GPU's raw compute power (13.67 TFLOPS) is not enough to maintain high frame rates at that resolution with higher settings. The 4K Ultra result of 20.4 FPS is a 89% reduction from 1080p Low, showing the GPU's limitations clearly.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and reveals the limiting component. At Low settings, the average FPS goes from 184.9 at 1080p to 119 at 1440p (a 36% drop) to 62.6 at 4K (a 66% drop from 1080p). At High settings, the drop is from 103.2 at 1080p to 66.1 at 1440p (36% drop) to 36.9 at 4K (64% drop). These percentage reductions are similar across settings, which indicates that the GPU is the primary bottleneck — the CPU's simulation load does not change with resolution, so the frame rate scales with the GPU's rendering workload.

The data implies that the Intel Arc B580 is not well-suited for 4K gaming in Steamworld Build, even at Low settings. The 4K Low average of 62.6 FPS is just above the 60 FPS threshold, but any complex scene with many buildings or moving units could push it lower. At 1440p, the GPU handles the game reasonably well, with the High preset at 66.1 FPS. The 1080p results are excellent, with even the Ultra preset staying above 60 FPS.

This scaling pattern suggests that the CPU is not a limiting factor in this game. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the frame rates would not drop as dramatically with resolution increases. Instead, the consistent drop across settings points to the GPU as the constraint. The Ryzen 5 7600's strong single-thread performance (3dmark single-thread score of 999) ensures that the simulation runs fast, but the Arc B580's 13.67 TFLOPS of FP32 compute cannot keep up with the increasing pixel count at higher resolutions. For users with 1080p or 1440p monitors, this combo works well. For 4K, the data shows that only Low settings provide a playable experience, and even then, the margin is thin.