Steamworld Build

Steamworld Build pairs a 12-core AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D with an Intel Arc B580, producing a combination that is heavily influenced by the graphics card at higher resolutions. The measured data shows a wide performance envelope, from highly playable frame rates at 1080p to a slideshow at 4K Ultra, making the choice of settings and resolution critical. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS, scaling behavior, and component roles using only the provided benchmark data.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and clearly shows the Intel Arc B580 becoming the limiting factor as pixel count increases. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 105 at 1920x1080 to 67 at 2560x1440, a reduction of 36%. Moving to 3840x2160, the average drops further to 35 FPS, which is only 33% of the 1080p performance. This steep decline indicates that the GPU is struggling to maintain throughput as the render load quadruples from 1080p to 4K.

The scaling pattern holds across all settings presets. At Low settings, the transition from 1080p (184 FPS) to 1440p (117 FPS) is a 36% drop, and then to 4K (62 FPS) is a further 47% drop from the 1440p figure. This consistent degradation suggests the bottleneck is primarily the GPU's raw fill rate and shading power, not the CPU or memory subsystem. The Ryzen 9 9900X3D, with its high core count and large L3 cache, is unlikely to be the limiting factor in a city builder, which typically has modest single-thread demands.

The data indicates that the CPU is more than capable of feeding the GPU at 1080p, as evidenced by the very high frame rates at Low settings (184 FPS). However, the Arc B580's performance ceiling is reached quickly as resolution increases. The 4K Medium result (47 FPS) is only 44% of the 1080p Medium score (141 FPS), reinforcing that the GPU is the primary constraint in this pairing for higher resolutions. For 4K gaming, users must accept either Low settings for a playable 62 FPS or Medium for a marginally playable 47 FPS, as the High (35 FPS) and Ultra (24 FPS) presets fall below acceptable thresholds.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain a 60+ FPS average?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 and 2560x1440 are the viable resolutions for high frame rates. At 1080p, all settings except Ultra (71 FPS) average above 100 FPS, with Low reaching 184 FPS. At 1440p, the Low preset averages 117 FPS and Medium averages 89 FPS, while High (67 FPS) is still above 60. At 4K, only the Low preset (62 FPS) manages to stay above the 60 FPS mark.

Q: How does the Ultra preset perform across resolutions?

A: The Ultra preset is the most demanding and shows the steepest scaling cliff. At 1080p, it averages 71 FPS, which is playable. At 1440p, the average drops to 45 FPS, and at 4K, it plummets to 24 FPS, which is not a smooth gameplay experience. This clear degradation shows that Ultra is only a viable option for 1080p displays with this hardware.

Q: Is there a significant difference between Medium and High settings?

A: Yes, but the gap shrinks as resolution increases. At 1080p, Medium (141 FPS) is 34% faster than High (105 FPS). At 1440p, the difference is 33% (89 FPS vs 67 FPS). At 4K, the gap narrows to 34% as well (47 FPS vs 35 FPS). The performance cost of High over Medium is consistent, but the absolute frame rates make Medium the more practical choice for 1440p and above.

Q: What frame rates can be expected at 2560x1440 with Medium settings?

A: The measured data shows an average of 89 FPS for this configuration. The minimum FPS recorded is 76 and the maximum is 103, indicating a relatively stable performance window with only about a 30% variation between the lowest and highest frames.

Q: How does the 4K Low preset compare to the 1080p Ultra preset?

A: These two configurations produce nearly identical average frame rates. The 4K Low preset averages 62 FPS, while 1080p Ultra averages 71 FPS. This suggests that a user could choose between higher resolution with lower visual fidelity or lower resolution with higher visual detail, with a modest 9 FPS advantage for the 1080p Ultra configuration.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU limit the 1080p Low performance?

A: The 1080p Low result of 184 FPS is the highest in the dataset, indicating that the GPU is capable of very high throughput when not burdened by complex shading. Given the Ryzen 9 9900X3D's strong single-thread and multi-thread benchmark scores (Cinebench R23 single-core 6739, multi-core 47737), it is unlikely to bottleneck the GPU at these settings. The data suggests the GPU is still the primary limiter, but both components are performing near their peak potential.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific configuration of the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D and Intel Arc B580 ranks 2781 out of 3706 tested combos for Steamworld Build. This places it in the 25th percentile of all tested hardware pairings, meaning that roughly three-quarters of the tested combinations deliver higher performance in this game. This ranking is a direct consequence of the GPU's mid-tier positioning, as the CPU is a high-end part.

The CPU's benchmark percentile is 91, indicating it outperforms 91% of all tested CPUs in general benchmarks. In contrast, the GPU's percentile is 68, showing it is a more modest performer relative to other graphics cards. The combination of a top-tier CPU with a mid-range GPU results in a system that is well-balanced for CPU-bound tasks but leaves performance on the table in GPU-bound scenarios like high-resolution gaming. The combo's rank suggests that for Steamworld Build, the GPU is the determining factor for the overall experience, as the CPU's substantial processing power does not compensate for the GPU's limitations in this particular game.

The nearest rivals for the GPU, such as the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (avg score 22895, deltaPct 0.6) and the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP (avg score 23061, deltaPct -0.2), show that the Arc B580's overall benchmark average is in line with these older, higher-tier cards. This contextualizes the gaming performance, as the measured FPS in Steamworld Build reflects a GPU that performs similarly to a mid-range card from a previous generation.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The dataset provides average FPS for four settings presets across three resolutions. For some configurations, minimum and maximum FPS are also available.

1920x1080:

• Low: Average 184 FPS. No min/max data.
• Medium: Average 141 FPS, with a minimum of 119 FPS and a maximum of 162 FPS. The 43 FPS spread between min and max indicates some frame time variance.
• High: Average 105 FPS. No min/max data.
• Ultra: Average 71 FPS. No min/max data.

2560x1440:

• Low: Average 117 FPS. No min/max data.
• Medium: Average 89 FPS, with a minimum of 76 FPS and a maximum of 103 FPS. The 27 FPS spread is tighter than at 1080p, suggesting more consistent frame pacing under higher load.
• High: Average 67 FPS. No min/max data.
• Ultra: Average 45 FPS. No min/max data.

3840x2160:

• Low: Average 62 FPS. No min/max data.
• Medium: Average 47 FPS, with a minimum of 40 FPS and a maximum of 54 FPS. The 14 FPS spread shows that even the minimum is below the ideal 60 FPS target.
• High: Average 35 FPS. No min/max data.
• Ultra: Average 24 FPS. No min/max data.

The Medium preset is the only one with complete min/max data across all resolutions. This data reveals that the frame rate range narrows as resolution increases, which is typical of a GPU-bound scenario where the workload is consistently high. At 1080p, the variance is higher, possibly due to CPU or driver overhead being less consistent.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B580 is the decisive component for Steamworld Build's performance in this pairing. With 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, it provides 456.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's base and boost clocks are both 2670 MHz, and it has 2560 shading units. The 4K Ultra result of 24 FPS is a clear indicator that the GPU's compute resources are overwhelmed by the combination of high resolution and maximum visual effects.

The benchmark scores for the GPU support its measured gaming performance. Its Passmark G3D score is 15748, and its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 3068. These figures place it in the 68th percentile of all GPUs. The 12 GB memory buffer is sufficient for the game's assets, but the sheer amount of pixel processing at 4K exceeds the card's capabilities. The 4K Medium result of 47 FPS, with a minimum of 40 FPS, illustrates that even moderate settings at 4K push the GPU to its limits.

The GPU's role is best described as a mid-range performer that excels at 1080p and can handle 1440p with adjusted settings. Its performance relative to its nearest rivals, such as the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (deltaPct 0.6) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 (deltaPct -0.7), shows it trades blows with cards that have different architectural strengths. In Steamworld Build, the GPU's raw pixel throughput is the limiting factor, as evidenced by the consistent frame rate drops when scaling resolution.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D provides an immense amount of processing headroom that is not fully utilized in Steamworld Build. With 12 cores and 24 threads based on the Zen 5 architecture, it has a base clock of 4.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz. Its 128 MB of L3 cache is a significant asset for gaming, and its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 47737 demonstrates its massive parallel processing capability.

However, the measured FPS data shows that the CPU is not the bottleneck. The 1080p Low result of 184 FPS is likely near the upper limit of what the game engine can produce, and the CPU is capable of far more. The 3DMark single-thread score of 1269 and the Passmark single-thread score of 4646 indicate strong per-core performance, which is what matters most for a simulation game like Steamworld Build. The CPU's percentile of 91 versus the GPU's 68 highlights the disparity in capability between the two components.

In this pairing, the CPU’s role is to ensure that the GPU is fed with data without introducing stutters or frame pacing issues. The minimum FPS figures for the Medium preset, such as 119 FPS at 1080p and 76 FPS at 1440p, show that the CPU maintains a stable platform. The CPU's performance is so far ahead of the GPU's that any changes to CPU settings or overclocking would yield no measurable benefit in this game, as the GPU will always be the first component to reach its limit.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the optimal settings depend entirely on the target resolution and desired frame rate.

For 1080p, the Ultra preset is a viable option, averaging 71 FPS. This provides the best visual quality while maintaining a frame rate that is above the standard 60 FPS target. If a higher refresh rate monitor is in use, the High preset at 105 FPS or the Medium preset at 141 FPS offer progressively smoother experiences with diminishing visual returns. The Low preset at 184 FPS is only recommended for competitive play or if the user prioritizes maximum frame rate above all else.

For 2560x1440, the High preset is the recommended balance, delivering an average of 67 FPS. This is a playable experience, but it is close to the 60 FPS threshold. The Medium preset is the safer choice for a more consistent experience, with an average of 89 FPS and a minimum of 76 FPS, ensuring no drops below the 60 FPS mark. The Ultra preset at 45 FPS is not recommended, as it sacrifices too much smoothness for visual gains.

For 3840x2160, the choices are limited. The Low preset is the only option that achieves a 60+ FPS average, with a score of 62 FPS. The Medium preset at 47 FPS is borderline, but the minimum FPS of 40 means there will be noticeable stutters. The High (35 FPS) and Ultra (24 FPS) presets are not recommended for gameplay.

The best overall experience for this combo is the Medium preset at 2560x1440. It provides a high average frame rate (89 FPS) with a comfortable minimum (76 FPS), ensuring a fluid experience while still offering moderate visual fidelity. The data indicates that the Medium preset provides the most stable frame pacing across all resolutions, as evidenced by the min/max data, making it the most balanced choice for this hardware pairing.