Steamworld Build

Steamworld Build, a city builder from late 2023, presents a unique challenge for the tested configuration pairing the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F with the Intel Arc B370. The benchmark data shows a system that is heavily constrained by its graphics component, with performance scaling that clearly identifies the Arc B370 as the primary bottleneck across all tested resolutions and settings.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a steep and consistent performance drop as resolution increases from 1080p to 4K. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 95 FPS at 1920x1080 to 61 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 34 FPS. Moving to 3840x2160 at Low settings yields only 32 FPS average, representing a 63 FPS drop from the 1080p baseline. This scaling pattern—roughly a 36% performance loss from 1080p to 1440p, and another 48% loss from 1440p to 4K—is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario where pixel throughput becomes the limiting factor.

The High settings row shows a similar trajectory: 55 FPS at 1080p, 35 FPS at 1440p, and just 18 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 20 FPS, and the subsequent drop to 4K is another 17 FPS. Medium settings follow the pattern with 73 FPS at 1080p, 46 FPS at 1440p, and 25 FPS at 4K. Ultra settings are the most punishing, starting at 37 FPS at 1080p, falling to 23 FPS at 1440p, and bottoming out at 12 FPS at 4K.

This data strongly indicates that the Intel Arc B370 is the limiting component. The Ryzen 7 9700F, with its 8 cores and 16 threads, is unlikely to be the constraint in a city builder scenario where simulation logic typically scales with CPU performance. The consistent proportional drops across all four settings presets—Low, Medium, High, and Ultra—reinforce that the GPU's rendering capability, rather than CPU compute, dictates the frame rates. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 95 FPS, which is playable, but the rapid degradation at higher resolutions suggests the Arc B370's pixel processing rate of 48.00 GPixel/s is simply insufficient for 1440p and 4K workloads in this title.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is an integrated graphics solution based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, fabricated on Intel's 3 nm process. Its specifications are modest: 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 20 raster output pipelines. The boost clock reaches 2400 MHz from a 300 MHz base, providing a theoretical FP32 performance of 6.144 TFLOPS. The memory subsystem is entirely system-shared, with bandwidth described as "System Dependent," meaning the GPU relies on the CPU's DDR5 memory bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s, shared with the processor.

In Steamworld Build, the GPU's limitations are evident across the board. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1184 places the Arc B370 in the 5th percentile of all GPUs, which is remarkably low. Its nearest rivals include the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (score 1186, delta -0.2%), the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (score 1190, delta -0.5%), and the AMD Radeon HD 7650M (score 1192, delta -0.7%). These are legacy parts from over a decade ago, underscoring the Arc B370's entry-level positioning.

The VRAM situation is critical: the GPU has no dedicated memory, using "System Shared" memory instead. This means the operating system dynamically allocates a portion of system RAM for graphics use, which can create contention with game logic and OS processes. In a city builder like Steamworld Build, where map data and entity counts grow over time, this shared memory arrangement likely contributes to the low frame rates, particularly at 4K where the framebuffer demands are higher. The data shows that even at Low settings, 4K averages only 32 FPS, suggesting that memory bandwidth constraints, not just compute throughput, are limiting performance.

The RT cores (10) and DirectX 12 Ultimate support are present, but the benchmark data does not indicate they provide any meaningful benefit in this title. The GPU's pixel rate of 48.00 GPixel/s and texture rate of 96.00 GTexel/s are theoretical maximums that real-world performance in Steamworld Build falls far short of, given the observed frame rates.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and Intel Arc B370 ranks 2683 out of 2924 tested combos in Steamworld Build. This places the configuration in the bottom 8.2% of all tested hardware pairings, indicating that this is a decidedly low-performing setup for this game. The rank is driven almost entirely by the GPU's weakness; the CPU is a high-end part, ranking in the 94th percentile of all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 69996.

For context on the CPU's position, the Ryzen 7 9700F's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks are the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (avg score 69875, delta 0.2%), the Intel Core i7-14700KF (avg score 70163, delta -0.2%), the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (avg score 69515, delta 0.7%), and the Intel Core i7-14700K (avg score 69355, delta 0.9%). These deltas are all within 1% of the 9700F's score, demonstrating that the CPU is competitive with flagship desktop and mobile processors from recent generations.

Yet in Steamworld Build, this capable CPU is paired with a GPU that ranks in the 5th percentile of all GPUs. The mismatch is stark. The combo's rank of 2683 out of 2924 means that over 91% of tested combinations—including those with much weaker CPUs—outperform this pairing in this specific game. The data suggests that the GPU is so underpowered that even a significantly slower processor would produce similar frame rates, as the Arc B370 becomes the hard limit at every resolution and settings level.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the configuration shows its best results. Low settings deliver 95 FPS average, which is the highest number recorded across the entire test matrix. Medium settings produce 73 FPS average, with a minimum of 62 FPS and a maximum of 84 FPS, indicating some frame pacing variance. High settings drop to 55 FPS average, and Ultra settings fall to 37 FPS average. These numbers suggest that 1080p is the only resolution where the system approaches playable frame rates, and only at Low or Medium settings.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance degrades noticeably. Low settings average 61 FPS, which is exactly the same as the 4K Low figure at 1080p High, showing a clear hierarchy. Medium settings average 46 FPS (min 39, max 53), High settings drop to 35 FPS, and Ultra settings fall to 23 FPS. None of these 1440p results are ideal for smooth gameplay, with only Low settings exceeding 60 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the results are largely unplayable. Low settings average 32 FPS, Medium settings average 25 FPS (min 21, max 28), High settings drop to 18 FPS, and Ultra settings bottom out at 12 FPS. The 4K Medium row is the only one with min/max data, showing a tight range of 21-28 FPS, which suggests consistent but low performance rather than sporadic spikes. The 4K Ultra result of 12 FPS is a slide-show, and even 4K Low at 32 FPS would be difficult for most players to tolerate in a game that requires constant menu interaction and map panning.

Comparing settings within a resolution, the scaling from Low to Ultra is consistent: at 1080p, the drop from Low (95 FPS) to Ultra (37 FPS) is 58 FPS, representing a 61% reduction. At 1440p, the drop is from 61 to 23 FPS, a 62% reduction. At 4K, the drop is from 32 to 12 FPS, a 63% reduction. This uniform scaling indicates that the GPU's workload increases proportionally with settings quality, and the Arc B370 simply runs out of headroom as texture detail, shadow quality, and post-processing effects increase.

Settings Recommendations

Given the measured data, the only viable settings for this configuration are at 1920x1080 resolution. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 95 FPS average, which is smooth and responsive for a city builder where mouse input precision matters. This preset provides the best experience per the measured rows, as it is the only configuration that comfortably exceeds 60 FPS.

For players who prefer higher visual fidelity, 1080p Medium at 73 FPS is a reasonable compromise. The average frame rate remains above 60 FPS, and the minimum of 62 FPS suggests that even during complex scenes with many entities, the game stays playable. The maximum of 84 FPS shows headroom in simpler scenes. However, 1080p High at 55 FPS and Ultra at 37 FPS are both below the 60 FPS threshold, which can feel sluggish in a genre that benefits from smooth scrolling.

At 1440p, the data does not support any settings preset for a good experience. Even Low settings at 61 FPS are borderline, and Medium at 46 FPS, High at 35 FPS, and Ultra at 23 FPS are all below acceptable thresholds. At 4K, no preset is viable; the best case is 32 FPS at Low, which is too low for comfortable play.

The recommendation is clear: run Steamworld Build at 1920x1080 with Medium settings. This preset balances the 73 FPS average with improved visuals over Low, and the minimum frame rate of 62 FPS ensures that the gameplay remains fluid. If maximum smoothness is the priority, 1080p Low at 95 FPS is the safest choice. There is no scenario in the measured data where 1440p or 4K provides a playable experience, so users with this hardware should either accept 1080p or consider other hardware options.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F is a high-end desktop processor in the 9000 series, built on the Zen 5 architecture (codename Granite Ridge) using TSMC's 4 nm process. It features 8 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB L1 per core, 1 MB L2 per core, and 32 MB shared L3. The CPU supports DDR5 memory with dual-channel configuration and a bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s, and it has a 65 W TDP.

In the context of Steamworld Build, the CPU's role is to handle game logic, simulation, and entity management. City builders are known for being CPU-intensive as the population and building count grow, and the 9700F's 8-core/16-thread configuration is well-suited for this task. Its PassMark multithread score of 36470 and single-thread score of 4691 indicate strong performance in both heavily threaded workloads and single-thread-bound tasks. The integer math score of 120788 and floating-point math score of 77955 suggest robust compute capabilities.

However, the benchmark data shows that the CPU is not the limiting factor in this game. The measured FPS values are consistent with a GPU-bound scenario, as evidenced by the linear scaling with resolution and settings. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see similar frame rates across different resolutions at the same settings, but instead we see dramatic drops from 1080p to 4K. The CPU's percentile ranking of 94th versus the GPU's 5th percentile makes it clear that the Arc B370 is the constraint.

The nearest rival data for the CPU shows deltas of less than 1% against the Ryzen 9 7940HX, Core i7-14700KF, Ryzen 9 7950X, and Core i7-14700K. This indicates that the 9700F is at parity with these top-tier parts, meaning any performance issues in Steamworld Build cannot be attributed to CPU capability. The data suggests that if the GPU were upgraded to a more powerful part, the 9700F would not hold back performance in this title.

FAQ

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

A: The only playable resolution is 1920x1080. At 1080p, the system achieves 95 FPS at Low settings and 73 FPS at Medium settings, while 1440p tops out at 61 FPS at Low, and 4K reaches only 32 FPS at Low.

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F strong enough for this game?

A: Yes. The CPU ranks in the 94th percentile of all CPUs and has an average benchmark score of 69996, with nearest rivals like the Ryzen 9 7950X (delta 0.7%) and Core i7-14700K (delta 0.9%) performing within 1% of it.

Q: Why is the frame rate so low at 4K even with Low settings?

A: The Intel Arc B370 is the limiting factor. It ranks in the 5th percentile of all GPUs with a 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1184, and its nearest rivals are legacy parts like the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (score 1190, delta -0.5%).

Q: Does the GPU have dedicated VRAM?

A: No. The Intel Arc B370 uses system-shared memory with bandwidth described as "System Dependent," meaning it relies on the CPU's DDR5 memory bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested hardware?

A: The combination ranks 2683 out of 2924 tested combos in Steamworld Build, placing it in the bottom 8.2% of all tested configurations.

Q: What settings preset gives the smoothest experience?

A: 1920x1080 Low settings delivers 95 FPS average. For better visuals while staying above 60 FPS, 1080p Medium at 73 FPS (min 62, max 84) is the recommended choice.