Steamworld Build

Steamworld Build places the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X and Intel Arc B370 combo in a challenging position. The data indicates a system that can handle the game at lower settings but struggles to maintain playable frame rates at higher presets and resolutions. The Arc B370, in this configuration, presents a significant bottleneck, with its performance profile aligning more closely with entry-level discrete GPUs from over a decade ago. This analysis will break down the measured performance across all settings and resolutions to determine the optimal configuration and the specific roles the CPU and GPU play in the results.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the Low preset at 1920x1080 is the only configuration that delivers a consistently smooth experience, achieving an average of 95 FPS. This is the clear choice for playability, providing a frame rate that is more than sufficient for the genre. While the Medium preset at 1080p offers a higher visual fidelity and still manages a respectable 73 FPS average, the jump to High yields a significant performance cost, dropping to 55 FPS. For a city builder where camera panning and zooming can be frequent, the smoother motion of the Low preset is likely preferable to the visual enhancements of Medium.

At higher resolutions, the limitations become more pronounced. At 2560x1440, the Low preset is the only option that remains above 60 FPS, hitting 61 FPS on average. This is borderline playable, but any dips could be noticeable. The Medium preset at 1440p drops to 46 FPS, which is a substantial decrease. The data strongly suggests that for a stable experience, users should stick to the Low preset. The gap between Low and Medium at all resolutions is substantial (22 FPS at 1080p, 15 FPS at 1440p, and 7 FPS at 4K), indicating that the Medium preset's increased graphical demands are not well-served by the GPU's capabilities. Ultimately, the best experience per the measured rows is found at 1080p with Low settings.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370's role in this game is the primary limiting factor. Its benchmark score is very low, placing it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs. This is reflected in its nearest rivals, which include the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 and AMD Radeon HD 7650M, both mobile or older discrete parts. The Arc B370's score of 1184 is nearly identical to the ATI Radeon HD 5770's 1190, a card from a much earlier era. This performance tier explains why the system struggles so heavily with higher settings, which demand more pixel throughput and texture processing.

The GPU's specifications further illuminate this bottleneck. It features 1280 shading units, 40 TMUs, and 20 ROPs. The memory configuration is "System Shared," meaning it relies on the system's RAM rather than dedicated VRAM. This is a critical detail for a game like Steamworld Build, which may require significant memory bandwidth for textures and game state. The memory bandwidth is listed as "System Dependent," which means performance can vary based on the system's RAM speed and configuration. This shared memory setup is a likely contributor to the significant frame rate drops when moving from Low to Medium settings, as the increased texture detail puts more strain on the shared memory subsystem.

The clock speeds are listed as a base of 300 MHz and a boost of 2400 MHz. While the boost clock is reasonably high, the low base clock and the overall weak compute performance (6.144 TFLOPS FP32) mean the card is not capable of sustaining high frame rates under load. The data shows a clear pattern: the GPU is overwhelmed by the demands of the High and Ultra presets, and even Medium proves to be a heavy load. This is not a case of a game being poorly optimized; rather, the Arc B370's raw performance is insufficient for the task at higher fidelity levels.

CPU Role

In stark contrast to the GPU, the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X is an exceptionally powerful processor. It sits in the 91st percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 53288. Its performance is closely matched by rivals like the Intel Core i7-14700F and the AMD EPYC 7313P, which have a negligible deltaPct of -0.6% and +0.2%, respectively. This places the 7900X firmly in the high-end desktop segment. With 12 cores and 24 threads, it has ample processing power for a city builder, which often involves simulating numerous entities and AI routines.

The CPU's high clock speeds—a base of 4.70 GHz and a boost of 5.60 GHz—combined with its strong multi-threaded performance (Cinebench R23 multicore score of 29300), suggest that it is not a source of bottleneck in these benchmarks. In a game like Steamworld Build, the CPU is responsible for the simulation logic, pathfinding, and other background tasks. The measured FPS data, which shows massive drops when increasing GPU load, indicates that the frame rate is being dictated by the GPU's rendering capabilities, not the CPU's simulation speed. The 7900X has more than enough headroom to feed the Arc B370 frames; the GPU simply cannot keep up with the demands of higher settings. The CPU is effectively waiting on the GPU, a classic sign of a GPU-bound scenario.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo of the Ryzen 9 7900X and Intel Arc B370 ranks at 2683 out of 2924 tested combos in Steamworld Build. This places it in the bottom 9% of all system configurations tested, which is a very low position. This ranking is a direct consequence of the GPU's weak performance. The CPU is a top-tier part, but the overall system performance is dragged down by the GPU's inability to render the game at competitive frame rates. The data implies that this pairing is severely unbalanced for this specific game. The CPU's high percentile (91st) contrasts sharply with the GPU's low percentile (5th), creating a situation where the system's potential is capped by its weakest link.

The rank indicates that almost any other combination of components, even with a much weaker CPU but a stronger GPU, would likely perform better in this game. The 2683rd position out of 2924 combos is a stark indicator of this imbalance. It suggests that for Steamworld Build, the choice of GPU is far more critical than the choice of CPU. The 7900X's power is largely wasted in this configuration, as the Arc B370 cannot utilize the frames that the CPU is capable of producing. This results in a system that is powerful on paper but underperforms in practice for this specific workload.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drops from 1080p to 4K are dramatic and clearly illustrate the GPU's limitations. At the Low preset, the average FPS drops from 95 at 1080p to 61 at 1440p, a 36% reduction, and then to 32 at 4K, a 66% reduction from the 1080p baseline. This is a very steep scaling curve. A more capable GPU would typically show a less drastic drop, as it would have more headroom to handle the increased pixel count. The data shows that the Arc B370's rendering capabilities are exhausted very quickly as resolution increases.

The pattern is similar for the Medium preset, with FPS dropping from 73 at 1080p to 46 at 1440p and 25 at 4K. The High preset starts at 55 FPS at 1080p, falls to 35 at 1440p, and bottoms out at 18 at 4K. These numbers suggest that the GPU is the limiting component at all resolutions. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see less variation in FPS across resolutions, as the CPU's workload would remain relatively constant. Instead, the FPS scales almost linearly with the number of pixels being rendered, which is the hallmark of a GPU-bound system. The 4K results are essentially unplayable, with all presets except Low falling below 25 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080: The best performance is found here. The Low preset delivers an average of 95 FPS. The Medium preset achieves 73 FPS (min 62, max 84). The High preset drops to 55 FPS. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, yielding only 37 FPS. This resolution is the only one where a playable experience is possible across multiple settings.

2560x1440: Performance takes a significant hit. The Low preset is the only option that remains playable, with an average of 61 FPS. The Medium preset falls to 46 FPS (min 39, max 53). The High preset averages 35 FPS. The Ultra preset is largely unplayable, with an average of 23 FPS.

3840x2160: This resolution is not viable for this combo. The Low preset averages 32 FPS. The Medium preset drops to 25 FPS (min 21, max 28). The High preset averages 18 FPS. The Ultra preset is the worst performer, with an average of just 12 FPS. All results at this resolution are below the threshold for a smooth experience.

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset and resolution for this combo in Steamworld Build?

A: The data indicates that the Low preset at 1920x1080 is the best configuration, delivering an average of 95 FPS. This is the only setting that provides a high, stable frame rate. The Medium preset at 1080p is also viable at 73 FPS, but the Low preset offers a more comfortable margin.

Q: Why is the performance so poor at higher settings?

A: Benchmark results indicate the Intel Arc B370 is the limiting factor. It has a very low average benchmark score and ranks in the 5th percentile of all GPUs. The frame rate drops significantly when moving from Low to Medium settings, suggesting the GPU lacks the raw processing power and memory bandwidth to handle the increased graphical load.

Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X CPU causing a bottleneck?

A: No, the data does not suggest a CPU bottleneck. The Ryzen 9 7900X is a top-tier processor, ranking in the 91st percentile of all CPUs. The FPS scales significantly with resolution, which is a classic sign of a GPU-bound system. The CPU has more than enough power to feed the GPU frames.

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

A: This specific combo ranks 2683rd out of 2924 tested combos in Steamworld Build. This is a very low ranking, placing it in the bottom 9% of systems. This is due to the large performance gap between the powerful CPU and the weak GPU.

Q: Can I play at 1440p or 4K with this setup?

A: At 2560x1440, only the Low preset is playable, averaging 61 FPS. At 3840x2160, all presets are effectively unplayable, with average FPS ranging from 12 (Ultra) to 32 (Low). For a consistently smooth experience, 1080p is the recommended resolution.

Q: What do the GPU's nearest rivals tell us about its performance?

A: The Intel Arc B370's nearest rivals include the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 and AMD Radeon HD 7650M, with negligible deltaPct differences. These are much older and less powerful parts, which helps contextualize the Arc B370's performance tier. It is performing at a level comparable to entry-level graphics solutions from a previous decade.