Steamworld Build

Steamworld Build places unusual demands on a system for a city builder, and the combination of an Intel Core i3-12100F with a NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 produces a set of results that show a clear divide between resolutions. The data shows a system that can deliver smooth frame rates at 1080p and 1440p with the right settings, but which struggles to maintain playability at 4K. The 12 measured rows reveal a performance profile shaped more by the GPU than the CPU, though the quad-core processor still has a role to play.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings, a classic sign of a GPU-bound workload. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 99 at 1920x1080 to 63 at 2560x1440, then to 33 at 3840x2160. That is a 36% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 48% reduction from 1440p to 4K. The scaling at Low settings is even more dramatic: 173 FPS at 1080p, 110 at 1440p, and 58 at 4K. The 4K Low result is less than a third of the 1080p Low figure, which is a strong indicator that the RTX 2060's rendering capabilities are the limiting factor when pixel count rises.

The pattern is similar at Medium and Ultra. Medium shows 133 FPS at 1080p, 84 at 1440p, and 45 at 4Kp, with 4K delivering only 34% of the 1080p performance. Ultra is the most punishing: 67 FPS at 1080p falls to 43 at 1440p and 23 at 4K. The consistent proportional drop across all four settings confirms that resolution scaling is the dominant variable here. The GPU's 6 GB of GDDR6 memory and its 192-bit memory bus are likely contributors to this steep curve, as higher resolutions demand more memory bandwidth and capacity.

The frame time data available for Medium settings reinforces this. At 4K Medium, the min FPS of 38 and max FPS of 51 show a narrow range, and the average of 45 sits right in the middle. The 1440p Medium min of 72 and max of 97 similarly bracket the average of 84 closely. The 1080p Medium min of 113 and max of 153 bracket the average of 133. These tight ranges suggest a stable frame delivery pattern rather than erratic spikes, which is useful for a city builder where the simulation can cause occasional hitches. When the average FPS is high enough, the absence of severe frame drops means the experience stays fluid.

The scaling curve implies that the RTX 2060 is the critical component for this game. At 1080p, even Ultra achieves 67 FPS, which is playable. At 1440p, Ultra drops to 43 FPS, but High holds at 63 FPS. At 4K, only Low reaches 58 FPS, and High falls to 33 FPS. The data shows a clear recommendation: stay at 1080p or 1440p unless you are willing to use Low settings at 4K.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is a Turing-architecture card built on a 12 nm process at TSMC, with 10,800 million transistors and a 445 mm² die. It runs at a base clock of 1365 MHz and a boost clock of 1680 MHz, with memory clocked at 1750 MHz for 14 Gbps effective. Its memory subsystem consists of 6 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, providing 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The card features 1920 shading units, 120 texture mapping units, and 48 raster output units, with 30 RT cores and 240 tensor cores. Its pixel rate is 80.64 GPixel/s and its texture rate is 201.6 GTexel/s. The FP32 performance sits in the 6.451 TFLOPS range, which is typical of a mid-range Turing card.

In this game, the GPU's role is decisive. The benchmark results show that the RTX 2060 can handle Steamworld Build at 1080p with any setting, but the performance scales down quickly as resolution increases. The 6 GB VRAM is a potential concern at 4K with Ultra settings, where the card drops to 23 FPS. While the game may not be loading extra textures at 4K, the combination of 4K resolution and Ultra settings appears to overwhelm the card's capabilities. The 336.0 GB/s bandwidth is likely the key factor, as 4K requires fetching more data per frame.

The GPU's percentile against all GPUs is 58, and its average benchmark score is 15290. Its nearest rivals in the database are the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 with a score of 15283 (0% difference), the AMD Radeon 680M with 15270 (0.1% difference), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM with 15199 (0.6% difference), and the AMD Radeon RX 7600 with 15171 (0.8% difference). The RTX 2060 is effectively tied with these cards in general benchmarks, but in Steamworld Build, the 1080p and 1440p results show that it can push beyond 60 FPS at high settings. The data suggests that the GPU's performance in this game is competitive with its overall standing.

The 6 GB VRAM, while sufficient for most 1080p and 1440p scenarios, likely contributes to the 4K Ultra result of 23 FPS. The 192-bit bus and 336.0 GB/s bandwidth are below what a 4K-centered card would offer. Still, for a city builder that is not as graphically intense as a modern shooter, the RTX 2060 holds up well at 1440p High with 63 FPS. The game's measured performance shows that the GPU is the primary constraint, but only at 4K.

How This Combo Ranks

This combination of the Intel Core i3-12100F and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 ranks 2904 out of 3706 combos in Steamworld Build. That places it in the lower third of all tested combinations. At percentile 78.4, the combo sits below the median. The rank is not a reflection of any single component but of the pairing's overall performance in this game.

The low rank is somewhat surprising given the CPU's 68th percentile among all CPUs and the GPU's 58th percentile among all GPUs. The combination of a mid-range CPU and a mid-range GPU does not reach the top of the charts for any game, but the rank of 2904 out of 3706 suggests that many superior combos exist. The GPU's nearest rivals, the GTX 580, the Radeon 680M, the RTX 3050 OEM, and the RX 7600, all have similar average scores, but their performance in this game may differ. The RTX 2060 is technically a stronger card than the GTX 580 based on architecture and features, yet the benchmark scores are nearly identical. This rank indicates that in Steamworld Build, the pair performs at a level that is significantly below the top configurations, but it is not the worst by any means.

The rank is more about the absolute performance than the efficiency. The 1080p High result of 99 FPS and the 1440p High result of 63 FPS are respectable for a city builder, but the 4K Ultra result of 23 FPS drags down the overall assessment. Many combos with more powerful GPUs or CPUs will achieve higher scores, and the 2904th position reflects that this setup is not designed for 4K gaming.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data points to specific settings for each resolution. For 1920x1080, the best experience is High at 99 FPS. Ultra at 67 FPS is also playable, but High offers a smoother experience with a higher frame rate. Medium and Low are not necessary at 1080p because High already delivers 99 FPS. For 2560x1440, High at 63 FPS is the sweet spot. Ultra at 43 FPS is borderline, and Low at 110 FPS is smoother but at a lower visual quality. Medium at 84 FPS is a middle ground that still keeps the frame rate above the 60 FPS threshold. At 3840x2160, the situation is different. The only playable option is Low at 58 FPS, which is close to 60 but not quite there. High at 33 FPS, Medium at 45 FPS, and Ultra at 23 FPS are all below 60 FPS, and 45 FPS is a common threshold but still below the 60 FPS target. The data shows that 4K is not a viable option for this combo if you want a smooth experience, and Low is the only setting that comes close.

The measured FPS for Low at 4K is 33 FPS, which is surprisingly high for a Low preset on a 2060 at 4K. This suggests the game is not extremely demanding at Low settings, but the 58 FPS average is still below the 60 FPS standard. For a city builder, where the game is often paused or played at a slower pace, 58 FPS is playable, but it is not ideal. The Medium settings at 4K show a min FPS of 38, which indicates that the game can dip below 38 FPS, which many players would notice.

The best overall experience is clearly at 1080p High or 1440p High. Both provide over 60 FPS, and the visual quality is good. For players who prioritize frame rate, 1080p Low at 173 FPS is the maximum possible, but that is not a practical setting for normal play. The recommendation is to use High at 1080p for the best balance, or High at 1440p if you have a 1440p monitor.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides a complete picture across 12 combinations of resolution and settings.

At 3840x2160, the results are as follows: High averages 33 FPS, Low averages 58 FPS, Medium averages 45 FPS with a min of 38 and a max of 51, and Ultra averages 23 FPS. No min/max data is available for Ultra, High, or Low at 4K.

At 2560x1440, High averages 63 FPS, Low averages 110 FPS, Medium averages 84 FPS with a min of 72 and a max of 97, and Ultra averages 43 FPS. No min/max for High, Low, or Ultra.

At 1920x1080, High averages 99 FPS, Low averages 173 FPS, Medium averages 133 FPS with a min of 113 and a max of 153, and Ultra averages 67 FPS. No min/max for High, Low, or Ultra.

The Medium settings at each resolution are the only ones with full min/max data. At 1080p, the min of 113 and max of 153 show a 40 FPS range; at 1440p, the min of 72 and max of 97 show a 25 FPS range; and at 4K, the min of 38 and max of 51 show a 13 FPS range. The frame range narrows as resolution increases, which is a sign that the GPU becomes the bottleneck and the frames are more consistent. The average FPS at Medium is 133 at 1080p, 84 at 1440p, and 45 at 4K.

The Low settings are the fastest at each resolution: 173 at 1080p, 110 at 1440p, and 58 at 4K. The High settings give 99 at 1080p, 63 at 1440p, and 33 at 4K. The Ultra settings give 67 at 1080p, 43 at 1440p, and 23 at 4K. These numbers illustrate the scaling pattern clearly.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F is a 4-core, 8-thread processor based on Alder Lake architecture. It has a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz, with a TDP of 58 W. The CPU has 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 1.25 MB of L2 cache per core, and 12 MB of shared L3 cache. It supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration, and it uses PCIe Gen 5 with 16 lanes. The 10 nm process from Intel gives it a 163 mm² die size.

In the benchmark data, the CPU's single-thread performance is strong: its Cinebench R23 single-core score is 1674, and its Geekbench single-core score is 1932. Its multi-thread performance is adequate: Cinebench R23 multi-core is 11860, and Geekbench multi-core is 7252. The 3DMark 16-thread score is 4051, and the 3DMark 8-thread score is 4026, which is close, indicating that the CPU's 8 threads are sufficient for most workloads. The 3DMark 4-thread score is 2859, and the 2-thread score is 1659, showing that scaling is not linear beyond 4 threads. The single-thread 3DMark score is 893.

In this game, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU. The 4-core/8-thread design is common for a mid-range processor, and the 12100F's single-thread performance is a strong point. The game's simulation might benefit from more cores, but the measured 1080p results show that the CPU can keep up with the GPU at 1080p and 1440p. At 4K, the CPU is not the bottleneck because the GPU is clearly limiting. The 173 FPS at 1080p Low demonstrates that the CPU has headroom; the GPU cannot reach 173 FPS in many games at 1080p Low, but here it can, meaning the CPU does not hold back the GPU significantly.

The CPU's percentile is 68 among all CPUs, and its average benchmark score is 13494. Its nearest rivals are the Intel Core 3 N355 with a score of 13492 (0% difference), the Intel Core i5-9500 with 13452 (0.3% difference), the Intel Core 5 120UL with 13594 (-0.7% difference), and the Intel Core i7-1250U with 13351 (1.1% difference). The 12100F is essentially equivalent to these in average benchmarks, but it is a desktop chip with a 4-core design that can boost to 4.30 GHz.

In Steamworld Build, the CPU role is less critical than the GPU. The game is likely more GPU-dependent at higher settings, and the CPU only becomes a potential limit at 1080p with Low settings where the frame rate is high. The 4.30 GHz boost clock helps with single-threaded simulation tasks, but the 4 cores are a limitation for a city builder where the simulation may scale with city size. The data shows that the combo achieves 99 FPS at 1080p High, which is a good result, and the CPU load is not causing any frame drops. The min FPS data for Medium settings (113 at 1080p, 72 at 1440p, 38 at 4K) suggests that the CPU can maintain the frame rate at 1080p and 1440p, since the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K. Overall, the Core i3-12100F is a satisfactory CPU for this game, providing enough single-thread performance and adequate multi-threading for the simulation, but it is not the main driver of the performance; the RTX 2060 is.