Steamworld Build

Steamworld Build, a city builder released in late 2023, places distinct demands on the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X and Intel Arc B570 combination. The measured data provides a clear picture of a pairing where the GPU is the dominant constraint at higher resolutions, while the 12-core processor has ample headroom. The benchmark results, derived from actual measurements, indicate that this combo ranks in the 79th percentile among all tested configurations, with a specific rank of 2320 out of 2924 combos. The following analysis breaks down the performance characteristics, scaling behavior, and optimal settings for this title.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent, revealing a system that becomes progressively more GPU-bound as pixel count increases. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 93 FPS at 1920x1080 to 59 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of roughly 37%. Moving to 3840x2160, the average plummets to 31 FPS, which is only about a third of the 1080p figure. This scaling pattern strongly indicates that the Intel Arc B570’s rendering throughput is the limiting factor at higher resolutions, rather than the CPU.

The trend is consistent across other presets. With Low settings, the frame rate drops from 162 FPS at 1080p to 103 FPS at 1440p, and further to 55 FPS at 4K. The Medium preset shows a similar trajectory: 124 FPS at 1080p, 79 FPS at 1440p, and 42 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, starting at 63 FPS at 1080p, falling to 40 FPS at 1440p, and ending at just 21 FPS at 4K. The consistent halving of performance from 1080p to 4K across all settings suggests a linear scaling with pixel count, which is typical for a GPU-limited scenario.

The data shows that at 1080p, the CPU has enough power to feed the GPU adequately, as evidenced by the high frame rates on Low and Medium settings. However, the gap between 1440p and 4K is substantial, with the 4K results being nearly half of the 1440p results. This indicates that the Arc B570’s memory bandwidth of 380.0 GB/s and its 10 GB frame buffer become critical bottlenecks at 4K. For a city builder where zooming out to view large settlements is common, the 4K experience is compromised, making 1440p the practical ceiling for smooth gameplay.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570, built on the Xe2-HPG architecture, is the primary driver of the frame rate differences observed in the measured data. Its specifications include a base and boost clock of 2500 MHz, 2304 shading units, and 80 ROPs. The memory subsystem consists of 10 GB of GDDR6 on a 160-bit bus, delivering 380.0 GB/s of bandwidth. These figures are directly relevant to the game’s results, as the substantial drop in FPS from 1080p to 4K correlates with the increased demand on the memory interface and compute units.

The GPU’s average benchmark score of 20556 places it in the 65th percentile of all GPUs, with nearest rivals including the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile and the Intel Arc A750, both showing a deltaPct of less than 0.5%. This indicates that the B570’s raw compute capability is competitive with these parts. In Steamworld Build, the GPU’s role is evident in the scaling from Low to Ultra settings. At 1080p, the difference between Low (162 FPS) and Ultra (63 FPS) is a 2.6x performance hit, which reflects the increased load on the shading units and texture units (144 TMUs) when rendering higher-quality assets and effects.

The 10 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but the 4K results suggest memory pressure. The minimum FPS recorded at 4K Medium is 35 FPS, which is close to the average of 42 FPS, indicating potential frame time spikes when the memory controller struggles to keep up. The GPU’s pixel rate of 200.0 GPixel/s and texture rate of 360.0 GTexel/s are theoretical limits, but the measured FPS shows that the real-world performance is well below these caps, especially at 4K. The data points to a GPU that is capable at mainstream resolutions but is not designed for high-refresh 4K gaming in this genre.

How This Combo Ranks

Among all tested CPU and GPU combinations, the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X with the Intel Arc B570 ranks 2320 out of 2924 combos. This places it in the lower 21% of all configurations, which is a significant finding given the individual component specs. The CPU alone has a percentile rank of 87 among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 41376. The GPU’s percentile rank is 65, with an average score of 20556. The discrepancy between the CPU’s high standing and the combo’s lower rank suggests that the GPU is holding back the overall system performance in this game.

The combo rank of 2320 means that 604 other configurations performed better in Steamworld Build. This is not surprising when considering the GPU’s nearest rivals, which include the Intel Arc A750 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile, both of which have similar average scores. The data indicates that this pairing is balanced in terms of benchmark scores but falls short in real-world gaming performance for a demanding city builder. The 5900X’s high multi-threaded performance, evidenced by a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 16262, does not translate into a higher combo rank because the game’s frame rate is dictated by the GPU.

The fact that this combo is in the bottom quarter of all tested setups is a clear signal that while the CPU is a top-tier part for productivity, the GPU selection limits the gaming experience. The 5900X’s 12 cores and 24 threads, with a boost clock of 4.80 GHz, are more than sufficient for the simulation logic of Steamworld Build, but the Arc B570’s 11.52 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is the deciding factor. The rank is a direct consequence of the GPU’s performance ceiling rather than a CPU deficiency.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are 162 FPS for Low, 124 FPS for Medium (with a minimum of 106 and maximum of 143), 93 FPS for High, and 63 FPS for Ultra. These numbers show that 1080p is the sweet spot for this combo, with even Ultra settings achieving a playable frame rate. The Low setting is notably high, suggesting that the CPU is not a bottleneck at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance drops significantly. Low settings produce an average of 103 FPS, Medium averages 79 FPS (min 67, max 91), High averages 59 FPS, and Ultra averages 40 FPS. The 1440p results are still playable for most presets, but the Ultra preset at 40 FPS is borderline for a strategy game where camera panning is frequent. The minimum FPS for Medium at 1440p is 67, which indicates that the frame pacing is generally stable.

At 3840x2160, the results are marginal. Low settings average 55 FPS, Medium averages 42 FPS (min 35, max 48), High averages 31 FPS, and Ultra averages 21 FPS. The 4K data shows that the combo struggles to maintain a smooth experience, with only the Low preset achieving a frame rate above 60 FPS. The minimum FPS of 35 for Medium at 4K is a red flag for gameplay smoothness. The data suggests that 4K is only viable for the lowest settings, and even then, the experience is not ideal for a game that can have complex scenes with many entities.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to use with this CPU and GPU combo for Steamworld Build?

A: The measured data shows that 1920x1080 provides the highest frame rates, with an average of 93 FPS on High settings and 63 FPS on Ultra. 2560x1440 is also viable, with 59 FPS on High, but 4K performance is poor, with only 31 FPS on High.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B570 compare to its nearest rivals in terms of benchmark scores?

A: The B570 has an average benchmark score of 20556, which is nearly identical to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile (20534) and the Intel Arc A750 (20582), with deltaPct values of 0.1% and -0.1% respectively.

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X a bottleneck for the Intel Arc B570 in this game?

A: The data suggests the CPU is not a bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 162 FPS, and the CPU’s 12 cores and 24 threads provide ample headroom, as indicated by its 87th percentile rank among all CPUs.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings average 103 FPS, while Ultra settings average 40 FPS. This represents a performance drop of over 61% when moving from the lowest to the highest preset.

Q: Does the combo achieve a stable 60 FPS at 4K on any settings?

A: No. The highest average FPS at 3840x2160 is 55 FPS on Low settings. Medium averages 42 FPS, High averages 31 FPS, and Ultra averages 21 FPS, so none of the presets reach a 60 FPS average.

Q: How does the combo rank compared to all other tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 2320 out of 2924 total combos, placing it in the lower 21% of all tested systems for this game.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal preset for this combo depends on the user’s resolution and performance requirements. For a 1080p display, the High preset is the best balance, delivering an average of 93 FPS. This is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, and the visual quality is substantially better than Medium (124 FPS) or Low (162 FPS). The Ultra preset at 63 FPS is also acceptable, but the 32% performance drop from High may not justify the marginal visual improvements in a city builder.

For 1440p, the High preset is the recommended choice, with an average of 59 FPS. This is just below the 60 FPS target, but the frame rate is likely to be stable for most gameplay. The Medium preset at 79 FPS offers a smoother experience, but the visual fidelity is lower. The Ultra preset at 40 FPS is not recommended, as it may cause noticeable stuttering during intense simulation moments. The data shows that High at 1440p is the sweet spot for visual quality and playability.

For 4K, the Low preset is the only viable option, with an average of 55 FPS. The Medium preset at 42 FPS and the High preset at 31 FPS are too close to the boundaries of playability and are likely to result in a frustrating experience when zooming or scrolling. The Ultra preset is unplayable at 21 FPS. Given the measured data, users with a 4K display should either lower the resolution to 1440p or stick to the Low preset for a playable frame rate. The High preset at 1440p provides a better experience than Low at 4K.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 5900X, with its 12 cores and 24 threads, plays a supporting role in Steamworld Build’s performance. The CPU’s base clock of 3.70 GHz and boost clock of 4.80 GHz, combined with 64 MB of L3 cache, provide the processing power needed for the game’s simulation logic, which includes managing resources, citizens, and building construction. The benchmark results show that the CPU is not the limiting factor in this combination, as the frame rates scale almost entirely with GPU load.

The CPU’s average benchmark score of 41376 places it in the 87th percentile, with nearest rivals such as the Intel Core Ultra 7 366H and the AMD Ryzen AI 5 PRO 440 showing deltaPct values of 0.3% and 0.4% respectively. This indicates that the 5900X is a high-performing processor. In Steamworld Build, the CPU’s multi-threaded capabilities are evident in the high frame rates at 1080p, where the GPU is not saturated. For example, at 1080p Low, the combo achieves 162 FPS, which suggests that the CPU can handle the game’s single-threaded and multi-threaded tasks without creating a bottleneck.

The CPU’s role becomes more apparent when comparing the 1080p and 4K results. At 1080p, the frame rate is high across all settings, indicating that the CPU can keep up with the GPU’s output. However, at 4K, the frame rates drop significantly, and the CPU’s performance is less relevant because the GPU is fully occupied. The data shows that the 5900X is a capable processor for this game, but its power is largely untapped at higher resolutions due to the GPU’s limitations. The CPU’s 8,300 million transistors and 7 nm process node contribute to its efficiency, but in this specific title, the GPU is the decisive component.