Steamworld Build

Steamworld Build places modest demands on hardware, but the measured results for the Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the Intel Arc B390 reveal a configuration that is strictly limited by its graphics component. The data shows a playable experience at lower resolutions and settings, with a sharp decline in performance as both resolution and graphical fidelity increase. This analysis breaks down the measured frames per second (FPS) across all tested configurations and contextualizes the hardware's role.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data indicates that the optimal experience for this combination is found at the Low preset at 1920x1080, which delivers an average of 106 FPS. This is the only configuration that achieves a frame rate comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold, providing a smooth and responsive experience for a city builder where camera panning and quick menu navigation benefit from high fluidity. The Medium preset at 1920x1080, averaging 81 FPS, is also viable and offers a significant visual upgrade over Low while still maintaining a high level of performance. This preset represents the best balance between visual quality and playability, as the jump from Low to Medium yields a 25 FPS improvement in the opposite direction when moving down from High.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset is the only viable option, averaging 67 FPS. While this is playable, it shows a substantial 39 FPS drop from the same settings at 1080p, highlighting the GPU's struggle with the increased pixel count. The Medium preset at 1440p, with an average of 51 FPS, is borderline; the minimum FPS of 44 dips below the ideal smoothness threshold, which could lead to noticeable hitches during heavy simulation moments. For a consistently smooth experience, sticking to Low at 1440p is the safer choice. The High preset at 1440p averages 38 FPS, which is playable for a turn-based or slow-paced genre but lacks the fluidity for comfortable long sessions.

At 4K (3840x2160), no preset provides a truly playable experience. The Low preset averages 35 FPS, which may be acceptable for players who prioritize resolution over smoothness, but it is technically below the standard for a fluid experience. All other presets at 4K, including High at 20 FPS and Medium at 27 FPS, are too slow for practical use. The Ultra preset is not recommended at any resolution due to its significant performance cost; it averages only 41 FPS at 1080p, dropping to 26 FPS at 1440p and 14 FPS at 4K. The performance cost of Ultra is disproportionate to its visual gains, making High the highest recommended preset for this hardware, and only at 1080p.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is the primary bottleneck in this configuration. Its benchmark data shows a score of 1482 in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, placing it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. This is a very low position, and the nearest rivals confirm its entry-level status: it is just 1.3% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, 1.5% ahead of the GeForce 800M, and 2.5% ahead of the GeForce GT 625 OEM. These comparisons place the Arc B390 in a performance class that is fundamentally unsuited for demanding gaming workloads.

The GPU's specifications align with this low benchmark standing. It operates with a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2500 MHz, but its memory configuration is "System Shared," meaning it relies on system RAM rather than dedicated VRAM. This is a critical limitation for a game like Steamworld Build, which, while not graphically intense, still requires sufficient memory bandwidth to handle textures and draw calls. The "System Dependent" bandwidth means performance can vary based on the CPU's memory configuration, but the shared memory architecture inherently limits the GPU's ability to access data quickly compared to a dedicated solution.

The measured FPS data confirms this GPU limitation. At 1080p Low, the GPU manages 106 FPS, but this is the peak of its capability. As the resolution increases, the frame rate plummets, showing that the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth are quickly overwhelmed. The drop from 106 FPS at 1080p Low to 67 FPS at 1440p Low is a 39 FPS reduction, and further to 35 FPS at 4K Low is a 32 FPS reduction from 1440p. This pattern is consistent with a GPU that is the limiting factor, as the CPU has ample headroom to handle the game's simulation logic.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling across resolutions is steep and reveals a system that is heavily GPU-bound. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 on the Low preset reduces the average FPS from 106 to 67, a decline of approximately 37%. The subsequent move from 1440p to 4K on the same preset reduces the average from 67 to 35, a decline of approximately 48%. This non-linear drop indicates that the GPU is struggling to fill the increasing number of pixels, and its memory bandwidth is a severe constraint.

The pattern is consistent across all settings. For the Medium preset, performance drops from 81 FPS at 1080p to 51 FPS at 1440p, and then to 27 FPS at 4K. For the High preset, the figures are 60 FPS, 38 FPS, and 20 FPS respectively. In each case, the percentage drop between 1080p and 1440p is roughly 37-40%, and the drop between 1440p and 4K is even larger, around 45-48%. This widening gap suggests that the GPU's rendering pipeline is not only limited by raw pixel count but also by its memory subsystem, which becomes a more significant bottleneck at higher resolutions.

The data strongly indicates that the CPU is not the primary constraint in this scaling. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see similar FPS values across different resolutions, as the CPU's workload (simulation, AI, pathfinding) would remain constant. Instead, the FPS scales inversely with resolution, confirming that the Intel Arc B390 is the component that dictates the playable limits of this system.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i3-12100F and Intel Arc B390 combination ranks 2573 out of 2924 tested combos for Steamworld Build. This places it in the bottom 12% of all tested systems, a very low standing that reflects the GPU's severe performance limitations. This rank is primarily driven by the GPU, as the CPU itself is a more capable component, as detailed in the next section.

In practical terms, this ranking means that the vast majority of other hardware combinations will outperform this setup. While the 12100F is a decent modern processor, its pairing with an integrated-class GPU (the Arc B390 is an IGP) fundamentally holds it back. The combo is not entirely without merit, as it can achieve playable frame rates at 1080p Low and Medium, but its overall standing in the database highlights that it is not a recommended configuration for this game if higher resolutions or settings are desired.

The ranking also contextualizes the experience. Being near the bottom of the list means that users of this combo will likely have to make significant compromises to achieve a smooth experience. The data shows that even at 1080p, only the Low and Medium presets are acceptable, and the Ultra preset is essentially a slide show. This is a clear case where the GPU's performance limitations dominate the system's overall capability for gaming.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F is a 4-core, 8-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. Its benchmark scores are respectable for a budget quad-core. In Cinebench R23, it scores 11860 points in multi-core and 1674 points in single-core. It also achieves a Geekbench multi-core score of 7252 and a single-core score of 1932. These scores place the CPU in the 68th percentile of all CPUs, indicating it is a stronger component than the GPU.

The CPU's nearest rivals in the database are the Intel Core 3 N355 (with a 0% delta in average score), the Intel Core i5-9500 (0.3% ahead), and the Intel Core 5 120UL (0.7% behind). This shows that the 12100F performs in line with older mid-range chips, which is a solid result for a modern entry-level processor. Its 12 MB of shared L3 cache is adequate for gaming, and its dual-channel memory support (DDR4 and DDR5) provides enough bandwidth to feed the system, though the GPU's shared memory usage may contend with the CPU for this bandwidth.

In Steamworld Build, the CPU's role is to manage the game's simulation logic, including the AI of the inhabitants, the resource production chains, and the overall game state. The measured FPS data suggests that the CPU is not the bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 106 FPS, which is a high frame rate that a 4-core CPU can handle in a city builder. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would not see such a dramatic drop in FPS when increasing resolution, as the CPU's workload would remain constant. The fact that FPS drops steeply with resolution confirms that the GPU is the limiting factor, and the 12100F has sufficient headroom for this game's demands at these settings.

FAQ

Q: Is the Intel Core i3-12100F a bottleneck for the Intel Arc B390 in Steamworld Build?

A: No. The data shows that the CPU is not the primary constraint. The FPS scales inversely with resolution (106 FPS at 1080p, 67 FPS at 1440p, 35 FPS at 4K on Low settings), which indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. The CPU's performance is sufficient to feed the GPU at these settings.

Q: What is the best resolution to play this game with this hardware?

A: The only resolution that provides a consistently smooth experience is 1920x1080. At this resolution, the Low and Medium presets achieve 106 and 81 FPS respectively. At 2560x1440, only the Low preset is playable at 67 FPS, while 4K is not recommended for any preset.

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

A: The Intel Arc B390 has a 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1482. This is 1.3% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, 1.5% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce 800M, and 2.5% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM. These are all very old, low-end GPUs.

Q: Can this system handle the Ultra settings preset?

A: No. The Ultra preset is not playable at any resolution. It averages only 41 FPS at 1080p, 26 FPS at 1440p, and 14 FPS at 4K. The performance cost of Ultra is too high for this GPU.

Q: What is the performance difference between the Low and High presets at 1080p?

A: The Low preset averages 106 FPS, while the High preset averages 60 FPS. This represents a 46 FPS drop when moving from Low to High, showing that the GPU's performance is highly sensitive to visual settings.

Q: Is this a good combination for a smooth 60 FPS experience?

A: At 1080p, yes. The system achieves 60 FPS on the High preset and 106 FPS on Low. However, to maintain a 60 FPS average at 1440p, you must use the Low preset, which achieves 67 FPS. At 4K, it is impossible to reach 60 FPS on any setting.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table details the exact average FPS measured for each resolution and settings preset. Minimum and maximum FPS are only provided for the Medium preset, where they were recorded.

| Resolution | Settings | Avg FPS | Min FPS | Max FPS |

| :--------- | :------- | ------: | ------: | ------: |

| 3840x2160 | Ultra | 14 | - | - |

| 3840x2160 | High | 20 | - | - |

| 3840x2160 | Medium | 27 | 23 | 31 |

| 3840x2160 | Low | 35 | - | - |

| 2560x1440 | Ultra | 26 | - | - |

| 2560x1440 | High | 38 | - | - |

| 2560x1440 | Medium | 51 | 44 | 59 |

| 2560x1440 | Low | 67 | - | - |

| 1920x1080 | Ultra | 41 | - | - |

| 1920x1080 | High | 60 | - | - |

| 1920x1080 | Medium | 81 | 69 | 93 |

| 1920x1080 | Low | 106 | - | - |

The data reveals a clear hierarchy. The 1080p Low preset is the only configuration that breaks the 100 FPS mark. The 1080p Medium preset is the best balance of performance and quality, with a minimum FPS of 69 that stays above the 60 FPS threshold. At 1440p, the Low preset is the only one that averages above 60 FPS, while the Medium preset's minimum of 44 FPS suggests potential for stutter. All 4K presets are below 40 FPS, making them unsuitable for a fluid experience. The Ultra preset is consistently the worst performer, with a 41 FPS score at 1080p being its only result above 30 FPS.