Steamworld Build

Steamworld Build pairs an 8-core AMD Ryzen 7 9700F with Intel’s Arc B580, and the benchmark data shows this combo lands in the 74th percentile of tested pairings for this city builder, ranking 2170 out of 2924 combos. That places it firmly in the upper-middle tier, but the measured frame rates reveal a setup that is far more consistent at 1080p and 1440p than at 4K, where the GPU becomes the clear limiting factor. The Ryzen 7 9700F’s strong single-thread performance (4691 PassMark single-thread score) and the Arc B580’s 12 GB of VRAM are enough to keep things smooth at mainstream resolutions, but pushing for Ultra settings at 4K will test the limits of this pairing.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s position at 2170 out of 2924 tested configurations places it in the 74th percentile overall, which is a respectable showing for a mid-range pairing but not a top-tier one. The data indicates that this is a balanced setup where neither component is drastically over- or under-powered relative to the other, but the ranking is pulled down by the GPU’s performance envelope in demanding scenarios. The Arc B580’s average benchmark score of 23021 places it just about on par with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (0.6% ahead) and slightly behind an AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP (-0.2%), which gives context for why 4K Ultra is a struggle. Meanwhile, the Ryzen 7 9700F’s average benchmark score of 69996 is nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (0.2% ahead) and the Intel Core i7-14700KF (-0.2% behind), meaning the CPU is not the bottleneck in most gaming scenarios. In Steamworld Build specifically, the measured FPS data shows that the combo is capable of hitting playable frame rates at 1080p High (105 FPS) and even 1440p High (67 FPS), but it falls below the 60 FPS threshold at 4K High (35 FPS). The rank is therefore a reflection of this split personality: excellent for 1080p/1440p gaming, but not a 4K powerhouse.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience per the measured rows, the sweet spot is Medium settings at 2560x1440, where the combo delivers an average of 89 FPS with a minimum of 76 and maximum of 103. This provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS while maintaining visual quality that is only a step down from High. If you prefer 1080p, Medium settings at 1920x1080 (141 FPS average, 119 minimum) is the clear winner, offering near-triple-digit frame rates with plenty of headroom for busy city-building scenes. High settings at 1440p (67 FPS average) are also viable if you want better visuals, but you sacrifice about 25% of the frame rate compared to Medium. At 4K, the data suggests you should stick with Low settings (62 FPS average) if you want to stay above 60 FPS; Medium drops to 47 FPS, and High falls to 35 FPS, which will feel sluggish for a genre that benefits from smooth scrolling. Ultra settings are only recommended at 1080p (71 FPS average), as they produce unplayable results at 1440p (45 FPS) and 4K (24 FPS). The measured minimums for Medium settings at all resolutions (40 at 4K, 76 at 1440p, 119 at 1080p) indicate that the combo handles frame-time spikes reasonably well, but the 4K Medium minimum of 40 FPS shows the GPU is struggling to maintain consistency at that resolution.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Steamworld Build at 4K smoothly?

A: Only at Low settings, where the average FPS is 62. Medium drops to 47 FPS, High to 35 FPS, and Ultra to 24 FPS, so 4K gaming requires significant visual compromises.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this pairing?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions. The Ryzen 7 9700F’s benchmark scores (4691 single-thread, 36470 multithread) are competitive with top-tier rivals, while the Arc B580’s average score of 23021 puts it near older mid-range cards. At 1080p Low (184 FPS) the CPU is still feeding the GPU well, but at 4K Ultra (24 FPS) the GPU is clearly overwhelmed.

Q: What is the best resolution-to-settings combination for this combo?

A: 1440p Medium offers the best balance, with an average of 89 FPS and a minimum of 76. For higher refresh rates, 1080p Medium hits 141 FPS average with a 119 minimum.

Q: How does the Arc B580 compare to other GPUs in its benchmark range?

A: The Arc B580’s average benchmark score of 23021 is essentially tied with the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP (23061, -0.2% difference) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 (23172, -0.7% difference), while being 0.6% ahead of the RTX 2080 (22895). This places it in a performance tier that is several generations old.

Q: Does the combo have enough VRAM for Steamworld Build?

A: The Arc B580 has 12 GB of GDDR6 memory with 456.0 GB/s bandwidth, which is more than sufficient for the game’s needs. The measured FPS drops at 4K are more likely due to raw compute limits (13.67 TFLOPS FP32) than memory capacity, as even 4K Ultra would not exceed 12 GB in a city builder of this scope.

Q: Is the Ryzen 7 9700F overkill for this game?

A: The CPU’s performance is strong relative to the GPU, but it provides headroom for the game’s simulation logic. The 4691 single-thread score is 94th percentile among all CPUs, and the 8 cores/16 threads handle background tasks well. However, the measured FPS at 1440p and 4K is capped by the GPU, so the CPU is not fully utilized in this specific title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its best performance. Low settings produce an average of 184 FPS, which is exceptional for a city builder and indicates the CPU is not holding back the GPU at this resolution. Medium settings reduce the average to 141 FPS, with a minimum of 119 and maximum of 162, showing excellent consistency. High settings still manage 105 FPS, which is smooth for most monitors. Ultra settings drop to 71 FPS, which is playable but shows the expected performance cost of maxing out visuals. The scaling from Low to Ultra is roughly 61%, meaning the GPU is doing progressively more work, but the 12 GB VRAM is not a limiting factor here.

At 2560x1440, the performance curve steepens. Low settings average 117 FPS, which is still excellent. Medium settings drop to 89 FPS, with a minimum of 76 and maximum of 103, making this the recommended resolution for this combo. High settings fall to 67 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS threshold but leaves little margin for demanding scenes. Ultra settings plunge to 45 FPS, which is noticeably less smooth and suggests the GPU’s shading units (2560) and texture units (160) are being pushed hard. The delta between Medium and High is 22 FPS, while the delta between High and Ultra is also 22 FPS, indicating a consistent performance penalty per settings tier.

At 3840x2160, the combo struggles to maintain playable frame rates. Low settings average 62 FPS, which is just above 60 but will dip in busy scenes. Medium settings average 47 FPS, with a minimum of 40 and maximum of 54, which is borderline for a game that benefits from smooth camera movement. High settings drop to 35 FPS, and Ultra settings are effectively unplayable at 24 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra is only 39%, which is a severe drop-off. The 4K data clearly shows that the Arc B580’s 13.67 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 213.6 GPixel/s pixel rate are insufficient for this resolution at higher quality settings. The minimum FPS figures for Medium settings (40 at 4K, 76 at 1440p, 119 at 1080p) suggest that the combo is more stable at lower resolutions, with the 4K minimum being particularly concerning for a city builder where large population centers can cause slowdowns.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B580 is the defining component in this combo for Steamworld Build. Its 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus provides 456.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is ample for the game’s texture streaming and asset loading. The GPU’s base and boost clocks are both 2670 MHz, and its memory clock is 2375 MHz (19 Gbps effective), which are modest figures that cap its raw throughput. The benchmark scores show a GPU that is competitive with older high-end cards: the 15748 PassMark G3D score and 7729 GPU compute score place it in the 68th percentile of all GPUs. However, its nearest rivals in benchmark terms are the RX 580 2048SP and RTX 2080, both of which are several generations old. This explains why the 4K Ultra result is only 24 FPS — the GPU simply does not have the compute power (13.67 TFLOPS FP32) or pixel throughput (213.6 GPixel/s) to handle 8.3 million pixels at max settings. The texture rate of 427.2 GTexel/s is also a bottleneck at higher resolutions, as the game needs to fill more screen space with detailed textures. The 20 ray tracing cores and 80 ROPs are present, but Steamworld Build is not a ray-traced title, so they have minimal impact on the measured results. The GPU’s 190 W TDP and dual-slot design suggest it is power-hungry relative to its performance class, but the data does not indicate thermal throttling as a factor in the FPS drops.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F provides a strong foundation for Steamworld Build, with its 8 cores and 16 threads based on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge). The base clock of 3.80 GHz and boost clock of 5.50 GHz are high enough to handle the game’s simulation logic, which is often single-threaded in city builders. The CPU’s PassMark single-thread score of 4691 places it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs, and its multithread score of 36470 is competitive with the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (0.2% ahead) and Intel Core i7-14700KF (-0.2% behind). This means the CPU is not a bottleneck in most scenarios, as evidenced by the 184 FPS result at 1080p Low, which is well beyond what the GPU can sustain at higher settings. The 32 MB of shared L3 cache and 1 MB per-core L2 cache help with the game’s asset streaming, and the 89.6 GB/s memory bandwidth from dual-channel DDR5 support is sufficient for a game of this scope. The CPU’s integrated graphics are listed as N/A, so all rendering falls to the Arc B580. The 65 W TDP and 4 nm process node from TSMC mean the CPU runs efficiently, but the data shows that even with strong CPU performance, the combo’s FPS at 1440p and 4K is limited by the GPU. The Ryzen 7 9700F’s benchmark scores are nearly identical to its nearest rivals (within 0.9% of the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X), so any performance differences in the measured FPS are attributable to the GPU rather than the CPU. The CPU’s PCIe Gen 5 support (24 lanes) is more than adequate for the Arc B580’s PCIe 4.0 x8 interface, meaning the connection is not a limiting factor. In summary, the CPU is a capable partner that provides headroom for future GPU upgrades, but in this specific game, its role is secondary to the GPU’s capabilities.