Steamworld Build

Steamworld Build, a city builder from late 2023, presents a unique scaling challenge for the AMD Ryzen 7 7700 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 combination. The measured data shows a system that is exceptionally capable at high refresh rates, yet the frame rate progression across resolutions and settings reveals a nuanced balance between the CPU and GPU. This analysis examines the measured FPS data to determine where the bottleneck lies and how this specific combo performs relative to other tested configurations.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K in Steamworld Build clearly demonstrates a shift in the primary performance limiter. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 311 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 Low drops this to 198 FPS, a reduction of 113 FPS (approximately 36%). At 3840x2160 Low, the average falls to 104 FPS, which is a further 94 FPS drop (approximately 47%). This steep decline with resolution indicates that while the CPU is capable of driving very high frame rates at lower resolutions, the GPU becomes increasingly stressed as the pixel count rises.

However, the scaling pattern changes dramatically when looking at higher settings presets. At Ultra settings, the 1080p average is 120 FPS, which drops to 76 FPS at 1440p and 40 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are larger in this preset, with 1440p being 36.7% slower than 1080p, and 4K being 47.4% slower than 1440p. This suggests that at Ultra settings, the GPU is the limiting factor even at 1080p, as the increased graphical load (shaders, effects, draw distance) saturates the RTX 4070 before the Ryzen 7 7700’s processing power can be fully utilized.

The data indicates that at 1080p with Low or Medium settings, the system is likely CPU-bound, as the Ryzen 7 7700’s 8 cores and 16 threads can feed frames faster than the GPU can render them. The jump from 311 FPS (Low) to 238 FPS (Medium) at 1080p is smaller than the jump from 238 FPS (Medium) to 120 FPS (Ultra), suggesting that the Ultra preset introduces GPU-intensive features that reduce the CPU’s influence. At 4K, the GPU is clearly the bottleneck across all settings, as the 40 FPS Ultra result and the 60 FPS High result show the RTX 4070 struggling to maintain high frame rates with the massive pixel throughput required.

How This Combo Ranks

In the broader context of all tested combinations, this pairing of the AMD Ryzen 7 7700 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 achieves a combo rank of 818 out of 3706 combinations for Steamworld Build. This places it in the top 22% of all tested setups, indicating a strong performance level. The percentile ranking of the individual components supports this: the CPU is in the 87th percentile versus all CPUs, while the GPU is in the 81st percentile versus all GPUs. This suggests that the CPU is a slightly stronger part of the pairing than the GPU, which aligns with the resolution scaling analysis showing the GPU becoming the bottleneck at higher resolutions.

The rank of 818 out of 3706 combos means there are 817 configurations that perform better in this specific game. Given that the RTX 4070 is an end-of-life product and the Ryzen 7 7700 is a mid-range desktop processor, this rank is respectable. The data implies that to achieve a higher rank, one would need a more powerful GPU, as the CPU has more headroom. The scores from the nearest rivals for the CPU show it is closely matched with the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 (0.1% delta) and the Intel Core 5 221E (-0.2% delta), meaning the processor is competitive with modern alternatives, but the overall combo ranking is likely held back by the GPU’s performance at higher resolutions.

FAQ

Q: How does the combo perform at 1080p with High settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with High settings, the average frame rate is 178 FPS. This indicates a very smooth experience, well above the refresh rate of most standard monitors, and shows the CPU and GPU are well balanced for this resolution and preset.

Q: What is the best resolution for this system?

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 with High settings delivers 113 FPS, which is a good balance between visual fidelity and performance. While 1080p offers higher frame rates (up to 311 FPS on Low), 1440p provides a significantly sharper image without dropping below 100 FPS on High.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the main bottleneck at 4K?

A: The GPU is the primary bottleneck at 3840x2160. The Ultra preset yields only 40 FPS, and even dropping to Low settings only raises the average to 104 FPS. The RTX 4070’s 12 GB of memory and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth are challenged by the 4K resolution, whereas the CPU’s impact is minimal at this point.

Q: Does the system struggle with Ultra settings?

A: At 1080p Ultra, the system maintains an average of 120 FPS, which is playable. However, at 1440p Ultra, the average drops to 76 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it falls to 40 FPS. The Ultra preset appears to include settings that heavily tax the GPU, making it difficult to maintain high frame rates at higher resolutions.

Q: How does the Ryzen 7 7700 compare to its direct rivals?

A: The Ryzen 7 7700 has an average benchmark score of 40081, placing it in the 87th percentile. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365, has a score of 40048, a delta of 0.1%, meaning the 7700 is effectively tied in synthetic benchmarks. The Intel Core 5 221E is -0.2% behind, and the Intel Core i9-13905H is -0.6% behind.

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The highest measured average is 311 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This demonstrates the CPU’s capability to produce extremely high frame rates when the GPU is not heavily loaded.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for the AMD Ryzen 7 7700 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 in Steamworld Build is as follows:

• 1920x1080 Low: Average 311 FPS.
• 1920x1080 Medium: Average 238 FPS, with a minimum of 202 FPS and a maximum of 274 FPS.
• 1920x1080 High: Average 178 FPS.
• 1920x1080 Ultra: Average 120 FPS.
• 2560x1440 Low: Average 198 FPS.
• 2560x1440 Medium: Average 151 FPS, with a minimum of 129 FPS and a maximum of 174 FPS.
• 2560x1440 High: Average 113 FPS.
• 2560x1440 Ultra: Average 76 FPS.
• 3840x2160 Low: Average 104 FPS.
• 3840x2160 Medium: Average 80 FPS, with a minimum of 68 FPS and a maximum of 92 FPS.
• 3840x2160 High: Average 60 FPS.
• 3840x2160 Ultra: Average 40 FPS.

The Medium preset rows are the only ones with min and max FPS data. At 1080p Medium, the frame times are consistent, with a 72 FPS spread between min and max. At 1440p Medium, the spread is 45 FPS, and at 4K Medium, it is 24 FPS. This tighter variance at higher resolutions suggests that the GPU’s workload is more consistent, while at lower resolutions, the CPU can cause larger fluctuations in frame pacing.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070, based on the Ada Lovelace architecture, has 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. The GPU’s boost clock is 2475 MHz, with 5888 shading units. In Steamworld Build, the GPU’s role becomes critical as resolution increases. At 4K, the 12 GB memory capacity is likely sufficient, but the 504.2 GB/s bandwidth is a limiting factor for texture streaming and rendering complex city scenes. The data shows that at 4K, the difference between Low (104 FPS) and High (60 FPS) is 44 FPS, while the difference between High and Ultra (40 FPS) is only 20 FPS. This suggests that the Ultra preset adds effects that disproportionately impact the GPU’s pixel fill rate, which is rated at 158.4 GPixel/s.

The GPU’s performance in synthetic benchmarks (PassMark G3D score of 26927, 81st percentile) is strong but not top-tier, which aligns with its status as a mid-range card in the GeForce 40-series. The measured data shows that the RTX 4070 is well-suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming in this title, but it lacks the raw power to deliver high frame rates at 4K Ultra. The transition from 1440p to 4K at Ultra settings results in a 47% performance drop, highlighting the GPU’s inability to handle the pixel throughput required by the higher resolution.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience per the measured rows, the data suggests that the High preset at 2560x1440 offers the optimal balance. It delivers an average of 113 FPS, which is smooth and responsive, while providing a significant visual upgrade over Medium settings. At 1080p, the High preset at 178 FPS is also excellent, but the resolution is lower. The Ultra preset is not recommended for any resolution above 1080p, as the 76 FPS at 1440p and 40 FPS at 4K fall below the threshold for a consistently smooth experience.

If targeting 4K, the Medium preset is the best choice, yielding 80 FPS. This is playable, but the drop from High (60 FPS) to Ultra (40 FPS) is drastic, suggesting that High is not a good middle ground. For users prioritizing maximum frame rates, the Low preset at 1080p (311 FPS) is the clear winner, but it sacrifices visual quality. The Medium preset is a solid fallback for demanding scenes, as it provides a 238 FPS average at 1080p and a 151 FPS average at 1440p, with the min FPS data (202 and 129 respectively) indicating that frame drops are kept in check.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700 features 8 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. It has 32 MB of shared L3 cache and supports DDR5 memory. In Steamworld Build, the CPU’s role is most evident at 1080p with lower settings, where the frame rates exceed what the GPU can render at higher resolutions. The 311 FPS Low result and 238 FPS Medium result at 1080p are indicative of a CPU that is not the bottleneck, as the GPU is still able to process frames at a rapid pace.

The CPU’s performance is further validated by its synthetic benchmarks, including a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 18760 and a single-core score of 1930. It ranks in the 87th percentile versus all CPUs, showing it is a capable processor for gaming workloads. However, the data shows that its influence wanes at 4K, where the GPU is clearly the limiting factor. The 104 FPS at 4K Low is still high, but the CPU is not the reason for the drop from 198 FPS at 1440p Low. Instead, the GPU’s inability to handle the pixel count is the primary cause. The Ryzen 7 7700’s 8 cores are sufficient for the city-builder genre, which typically relies on single-thread performance for simulation logic, and the boost clock of 5.30 GHz ensures that the game’s main thread is well-served.