Steamworld Build

Steamworld Build is a city builder that relies on steady, consistent frame pacing more than raw graphical spectacle, and the pairing of the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X with the Intel Arc B370 produces a very specific performance profile. The data shows a combo that is heavily constrained by its graphics solution, resulting in a ranking that places it near the bottom of the tested pool, yet with enough CPU headroom to offer playable experiences at lower resolutions and settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The benchmark results place this configuration at rank 2683 out of 2924 tested combos for Steamworld Build. This is a low ranking, sitting in the bottom 8% of all tested systems, which immediately signals that this is not a high-performance gaming rig for this title. The primary reason for this low rank is the graphics card, which drags the overall composite score down significantly. The CPU, by contrast, is a high-end part that ranks in the 91st percentile against all CPUs, but it cannot compensate for the GPU's limitations in this workload.

The Intel Arc B370's average benchmark score of 1184 places it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs. This is a stark contrast to the CPU's strength. The data indicates that the system's overall performance in this game is dictated almost entirely by the graphics component. When looking at the GPU's nearest rivals, the scores are remarkably close: the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 scores 1186 (a delta of -0.2%), the ATI Radeon HD 5770 scores 1190 (-0.5%), and the AMD Radeon HD 7650M scores 1192 (-0.7%). This places the Arc B370 in territory occupied by much older, lower-tier hardware, which explains the poor overall ranking. The system is not balanced for this game; it is a powerful processor paired with a very weak graphics solution, and the benchmark ranking reflects that bottleneck clearly.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is the limiting factor in this configuration. Its performance is defined by its specifications, which are modest even for an integrated-class part. The GPU operates with a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2400 MHz. Its memory is "System Shared," meaning it uses a portion of the main system RAM rather than dedicated VRAM. The bus width and bandwidth are also listed as "System Shared" and "System Dependent," respectively, meaning memory performance will vary based on the rest of the system's configuration.

The architectural details confirm its low-end positioning. It features 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 20 raster operation units. It does have 10 ray tracing cores, and it supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, so it is feature-complete on the API front. The pixel rate is 48.00 GPixel/s and the texture rate is 96.00 GTexel/s. However, the raw compute power is limited to 6.144 TFLOPS for FP32 operations. This level of throughput is simply not sufficient for demanding modern games at high settings or high resolutions. The data confirms this: its only benchmark score, 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, is 1184, which places it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs and makes its closest competitors legacy parts like the ATI Radeon HD 5770.

This GPU role is clearly reflected in the measured FPS. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves 95 FPS, but this drops to 37 FPS at Ultra settings. The GPU's inability to handle the increased shading and effects load at higher settings is the direct cause. In a city builder, where the camera often zooms out to show large portions of the map, the GPU must render many individual objects, and the Arc B370's limited pixel and texture rates become the primary obstacle to smooth performance.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Steamworld Build at 4K resolution?

A: The data shows that 4K performance is generally poor. At 4K with Medium settings, the average FPS is 25, with a minimum of 21 and a maximum of 28. At High settings, it drops to 18 FPS, and at Ultra, it falls to 12 FPS. Only at Low settings does it reach 32 FPS, which is still below the 60 FPS target most players prefer.

Q: What is the best settings preset for a smooth 60 FPS experience?

A: To achieve an average of 60 FPS or higher, the data indicates that you must play at 1080p with Low settings, where the system averages 95 FPS. At 1440p with Low settings, the average FPS is 61, which is just above the 60 FPS threshold. Any other combination of resolution and settings yields an average below 60 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Ryzen 9 5950X has an average benchmark score of 51947. Its nearest rivals are the Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX with a score of 52073 (a delta of -0.2%), the AMD EPYC 8124P with 52121 (-0.3%), the Intel Core i9-13900F with 51730 (0.4%), and the Intel Core i7-14700 with 52301 (-0.7%). These are all very close scores, indicating the 5950X is within a 1% performance band of these other high-end processors.

Q: Is the Intel Arc B370's performance comparable to any specific older GPU?

A: Yes, the benchmark data shows its closest rivals are the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570, which scores 1186, and the ATI Radeon HD 5770, which scores 1190. The Arc B370's score of 1184 is within a 1% delta of these parts, placing its raw performance in a similar class.

Q: What is the difference in performance between 1080p and 1440p at Medium settings?

A: At 1080p with Medium settings, the system averages 73 FPS, with a minimum of 62 and a maximum of 84. When moving to 1440p with Medium settings, the average drops to 46 FPS, with a minimum of 39 and a maximum of 53. This is a significant drop that shows the GPU is struggling with the increased pixel count.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides a clear picture of the system's capabilities under different loads. The performance scales predictably with resolution and settings, but the overall levels are low.

At 1920x1080, the system shows its best performance. With Low settings, the average FPS is 95, which is the highest score recorded for this combo. Moving to Medium settings reduces the average to 73 FPS, with minimum and maximum readings of 62 and 84 FPS, respectively. High settings bring the average down to 55 FPS. The most demanding preset, Ultra, results in an average of 37 FPS, which is a significant drop and indicates the GPU is heavily taxed.

At 2560x1440, the performance takes a noticeable hit. Low settings still provide a playable average of 61 FPS. However, Medium settings drop the average to 46 FPS (min 39, max 53), and High settings lower it further to 35 FPS. Ultra settings are nearly unplayable, with an average of just 23 FPS. This resolution is clearly too demanding for the GPU to maintain smooth frame rates in this game.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles to maintain playable frame rates. The only setting that yields an average above 30 FPS is Low, at 32 FPS. Medium settings average 25 FPS (min 21, max 28). High settings average 18 FPS, and Ultra settings produce an average of only 12 FPS. These numbers suggest that 4K gaming is not a viable option for this configuration in Steamworld Build.

Resolution Scaling

The scaling from 1080p to 4K is steep and reveals a system that is firmly GPU-bound. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 95 at 1080p to 61 at 1440p, a reduction of 34 FPS. Moving from 1440p to 4K Low brings the average down from 61 to 32 FPS, another reduction of 29 FPS. This pattern shows that the GPU is working progressively harder as the pixel count increases.

The trend is even more pronounced at higher settings. At Medium settings, the average FPS falls from 73 at 1080p, to 46 at 1440p, and finally to 25 at 4K. This represents a performance drop of over 65% when moving from 1080p to 4K. The scaling is not linear; the drop from 1440p to 4K is particularly brutal because the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth (which is system-dependent) are saturated.

This behavior confirms that the limiting component is the Intel Arc B370. A more powerful GPU would show a smaller performance delta between resolutions, as the CPU would become the limiting factor. Here, the CPU is not the bottleneck. The Ryzen 9 5950X has ample headroom, but the GPU simply cannot process the increased data load. The result is that players must choose between lower resolutions or lower settings to find a playable balance, and even then, 4K is out of reach.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X is a powerful processor that plays a supportive, yet crucial, role in this configuration. While it does not directly contribute to the high-resolution rendering workload, it ensures that the system does not suffer from CPU-related stutters or frame drops, especially in a simulation-heavy genre like city builders. The CPU is a 16-core, 32-thread part based on the Zen 3 architecture. It has a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz. This high core count and thread count are beneficial for maintaining the game's simulation logic, which can be demanding in large cities.

The data from its benchmarks shows that it is a top-tier processor. It achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 26017 and a single-core score of 1614. Its Geekbench multi-core score is 15233, and its Passmark multithread score is 45424. These scores place it in the 91st percentile of all CPUs, confirming that it is a high-end part. Its average benchmark score of 51947 is nearly identical to its nearest rivals: the Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX (52073), AMD EPYC 8124P (52121), Intel Core i9-13900F (51730), and Intel Core i7-14700 (52301). The deltas here are all under 1%, indicating that in pure CPU compute, this processor is competitive with the latest and greatest.

In the context of Steamworld Build, this CPU power means that the system will not be held back by processing the game's logic, even at low resolutions where the GPU is less stressed. At 1080p Low settings, the system achieves 95 FPS, and the CPU is likely capable of pushing even higher frame rates if the GPU were not the limiting factor. The CPU's role is to provide a stable platform for the GPU to work from, and it does so effectively. The bottleneck is clearly the graphics card, as evidenced by the performance cliff at higher resolutions and settings.