Steamworld Build

Steamworld Build, a city builder from late 2023, presents an interesting stress profile for the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X and Intel Arc B580 combination. The measured data shows a system that is heavily influenced by resolution and graphics settings, with the CPU providing a robust foundation and the GPU acting as the primary scaling factor. The benchmark results indicate a playable experience at lower resolutions, but the frame rate drops significantly as pixel count and visual fidelity increase, revealing the Arc B580's limits at higher presets.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS data shows a clear and predictable pattern as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 184 FPS, which is exceptionally high and indicates that the CPU is feeding the GPU well. However, this number drops dramatically at 4K, where the Low preset yields an average of just 62 FPS. This represents a 66% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K, strongly suggesting that the GPU becomes the limiting component as the pixel count multiplies.

The scaling curve steepens with each step up in resolution. At Medium settings, the average FPS moves from 141 at 1080p to 89 at 1440p (a 37% drop), and then to 47 at 4K (a 47% drop from 1440p). This pattern is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario, where the Intel Arc B580's memory bandwidth and compute resources are being saturated. The gap between 1440p and 4K is particularly telling: while the jump from 1080p to 1440p is significant, the transition to 4K nearly halves the frame rate again, underscoring how demanding 2160p is on this particular graphics card.

For High settings, the trend continues but with a more moderate slope. The 1080p result of 105 FPS is strong, but it falls to 67 FPS at 1440p and bottoms out at 35 FPS at 4K. This shows that at the High preset, the system is still capable of smooth gameplay at 1080p and acceptable performance at 1440p, but 4K becomes a struggle. The Ultra preset delivers the lowest numbers across the board, with 71 FPS at 1080p, 45 FPS at 1440p, and just 24 FPS at 4K, making it clear that Ultra settings are not viable for this pairing at higher resolutions.

The data indicates that the limiting component shifts based on the workload. At 1080p Low, the high 184 FPS figure suggests the CPU is still able to push frames, but the GPU is likely near its ceiling. As resolution climbs, the GPU's rendering load increases exponentially, and the FPS falls in a way that correlates with the Arc B580's fill rate and bandwidth capabilities. The minimum FPS data points available (for Medium settings) reinforce this, showing a tightening gap between average and minimum FPS at higher resolutions, which points to sustained GPU load rather than CPU hitches.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 5900X is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, codenamed Vermeer. It operates on the AMD Socket AM4 platform and has a base clock of 3.70 GHz with a boost clock of 4.80 GHz. In Steamworld Build, a genre that typically relies on simulation and AI logic, the CPU's multi-threaded capabilities are crucial for maintaining a stable frame rate during complex city management scenarios. The benchmark data shows that at 1080p Low, the system hits 184 FPS, which is a strong indicator that the 5900X is not holding back the GPU at this resolution.

The CPU's cache hierarchy is substantial, featuring 64 MB of L3 cache and 512 KB of L2 per core, which helps with the game's asset streaming and entity tracking. The processor's 3DMark scores reflect its strength: 9,075 in the 16-thread test and 10,075 in the max-thread test, while the single-thread score is 941. These results place the 5900X in the 87th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 41,376. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core Ultra 7 366H and the Intel Core i7-14650HX, with the 5900X trailing the latter by only -0.5% in average score.

In practical terms, the 5900X's performance appears more than adequate for Steamworld Build, as evidenced by the high frame rates at 1080p. The difference between 1080p Low (184 FPS) and 1440p Low (117 FPS) is a 36% drop, which is larger than what a pure CPU bottleneck would produce, but the fact that the system still exceeds 100 FPS at 1440p Low suggests the CPU is not the primary limiter. The 3DMark 2-thread score of 1,852 and 8-thread score of 6,601 show that even moderate thread counts are handled well, which is important for a city builder that might not fully utilize all 24 threads.

The processor's memory support for DDR4 with dual-channel bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s is typical for the platform, and the 105W TDP indicates it is a power-hungry part, but the data does not link this to in-game performance. The release date of November 2020 places it as an older part, yet its percentile rank at 87% shows it remains competitive. For Steamworld Build, the CPU role is to provide a stable baseline, and the measured FPS at 1080p suggests it does so without becoming a bottleneck until the GPU is pushed to its limits.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B580 is a graphics card based on the Xe2-HPG architecture, part of the Battlemage generation. It features 2,560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 80 raster output units, with a boost clock of 2670 MHz. The GPU is equipped with 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 456.0 GB/s. This memory configuration is substantial for a mid-range card, but the benchmark results in Steamworld Build show that it struggles to maintain high frame rates at 4K, particularly at higher settings.

The Arc B580's compute capabilities include an FP32 rating of 13.67 TFLOPS and a texture rate of 427.2 GTexel/s, which are decent figures but not enough to push Ultra settings at 2160p. The measured data shows that at 4K Ultra, the average FPS is just 24, which is unplayable by most standards. Even at 4K High, the card only manages 35 FPS, indicating that the pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth are insufficient for the demands of this resolution. The 4K Medium result of 47 FPS is marginally better but still below the 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay.

Comparing the Arc B580 to its nearest rivals, its average benchmark score of 23,021 places it in the 68th percentile of all GPUs. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 is only 0.6% faster, while the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP is 0.2% slower, and the RTX 3080 is 0.7% faster. This indicates that the Arc B580 performs in the same league as older high-end cards, but it lacks the raw power to handle 4K in a demanding title like Steamworld Build. The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3,068 and Geekbench Vulkan score of 109,672 confirm its mid-range positioning.

At lower resolutions, the GPU's role is more manageable. At 1080p High, the card delivers 105 FPS, and at 1440p High, it hits 67 FPS, which suggests that the Arc B580 is well-suited for 1080p and capable at 1440p with adjusted settings. The 12 GB VRAM is likely not a limiting factor at these resolutions, as the game's asset demands are lower. However, the drop to 24 FPS at 4K Ultra suggests that the card's 80 ROPs and 213.6 GPixel/s pixel rate are simply not enough to fill the screen with the game's visual effects at that setting. The GPU's TDP of 190W and 8-pin power connector are not directly reflected in FPS, but the data shows a clear ceiling for this card in this title.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X and Intel Arc B580 ranks 2,781 out of 3,706 tested combos in Steamworld Build. This places it in the lower half of all configurations, which is a surprising result given the CPU's high percentile ranking. The rank suggests that while the CPU is powerful, the GPU's limitations drag the overall combo down, especially when considering the full range of resolutions and settings tested. The data indicates that this combo is not optimized for high-end 4K play, which is where many top-ranked systems excel.

The combo's rank of 2,781 out of 3,706 means that roughly 75% of tested combos perform better in this game. This is likely due to the fact that many other configurations pair stronger GPUs with similar or better CPUs. The 5900X's percentile of 87% shows it is a top-tier processor, but the Arc B580's 68th percentile is average at best. When combined, the system's performance is capped by the GPU, and the rank reflects this bottleneck. The data does not include a breakdown of which combos rank higher, but the implication is clear: users seeking higher frame rates at 4K would need a more powerful graphics card.

Within this combo, the CPU is not the limiting factor at 1080p, as evidenced by the 184 FPS Low result. However, at 4K Ultra, the system's performance drops to 24 FPS, which is a severe limitation. The gap between the CPU's capability and the GPU's output is stark, and the combo rank of 2,781 out of 3,706 captures this imbalance. The data suggests that the system is a good match for 1080p gaming, but it falls short of being a high-end solution for 1440p or 4K enthusiasts.

The rank also implies that the combination is not well-balanced for a game like Steamworld Build, which may have specific GPU-heavy effects that penalize the Arc B580. The measured FPS at 1440p High (67 FPS) is playable, but it is not exceptional, and the 4K High result of 35 FPS is below the threshold for smooth gameplay. The system's overall position in the database reflects its performance across all tested settings, and the data shows that it is more suited to 1080p or modest 1440p gaming rather than high-resolution, high-settings play.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with High settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings is 105 FPS.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B580 compare to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080?

A: The Arc B580 has an average benchmark score of 23,021, which is 0.6% higher than the RTX 2080's score of 22,895.

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X a bottleneck at 4K Ultra settings?

A: No, the CPU is not the bottleneck. The 4K Ultra average FPS is 24, which is limited by the GPU's rendering capabilities, not the CPU.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested systems?

A: The combo ranks 2,781 out of 3,706 tested combinations in Steamworld Build.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded at 1440p Medium?

A: The minimum FPS at 2560x1440 with Medium settings is 76 FPS, with an average of 89 FPS.

Q: How much L3 cache does the CPU have?

A: The AMD Ryzen 9 5900X has 64 MB of L3 cache.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X and Intel Arc B580 in Steamworld Build covers three resolutions and four settings presets. The results are as follows:

At 3840x2160 (4K), the average FPS varies significantly by setting. With Low settings, the average is 62 FPS. Moving to Medium, the average drops to 47 FPS, with a minimum of 40 FPS and a maximum of 54 FPS. High settings produce an average of 35 FPS, while Ultra settings yield an average of just 24 FPS. These numbers show that 4K is only playable at Low or Medium settings, and even then, the frame rate is below the 60 FPS target for many users.

At 2560x1440 (1440p), the performance is more favorable. Low settings achieve an average of 117 FPS, which is smooth for most displays. Medium settings provide an average of 89 FPS, with a minimum of 76 FPS and a maximum of 103 FPS, ensuring a stable experience. High settings average 67 FPS, which is adequate, but Ultra settings drop to an average of 45 FPS, indicating that the highest preset is not ideal for this resolution.

At 1920x1080 (1080p), the system performs at its best. Low settings hit an average of 184 FPS, providing an extremely smooth experience. Medium settings average 141 FPS, with a minimum of 119 FPS and a maximum of 162 FPS, which is excellent. High settings average 105 FPS, still very playable, while Ultra settings average 71 FPS, which is acceptable for most gamers. This resolution is where the combo shines, with all presets delivering at least 70 FPS on average.