Steamworld Build

Steamworld Build places the Intel Core i3-12100F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER combination in the 1065th position out of 1730 tested configurations, a mid-pack result that reflects the balance between a four-core processor and a Turing-generation GPU. The measured data shows a system that is consistently playable at 1080p and 1440p, but which surrenders frame rate aggressively as resolution climbs and settings are pushed to their extremes. The pattern across the twelve measured rows reveals where the bottleneck shifts between the CPU and GPU, and the numbers provide a clear guide for which presets deliver the most usable experience.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 is steep and consistent across all four settings presets, indicating that the rendering load scales heavily with pixel count. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 120 FPS at 1080p to 74.6 FPS at 1440p, then to 42.7 FPS at 4K — a reduction of roughly 64% from the lowest to highest resolution. The Low preset shows the same trend with even higher absolute numbers: 209 FPS at 1080p, 131.1 FPS at 1440p, and 70.9 FPS at 4K. This scaling behavior suggests that the RTX 2070 SUPER’s 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth become progressively more strained as the pixel count quadruples from 1080p to 4K.

The gap between Low and Ultra at each resolution quantifies how much headroom the GPU has. At 1080p, Low produces 209 FPS while Ultra drops to 79.8 FPS — a 129.2 FPS spread that shows the GPU can handle the geometry and effects load but is limited by the settings’ demands. At 4K, the same spread narrows to 46.5 FPS (70.9 Low versus 24.4 Ultra), which indicates that the GPU is the limiting component at high pixel counts regardless of settings. The data points to a system where 1080p and 1440p are the natural operating range, while 4K Ultra is only viable for players who accept sub-30 FPS averages.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER operates with a base clock of 1605 MHz and a boost clock of 1770 MHz, built on the TU104 chip with 2560 shading units. The 8 GB GDDR6 memory runs at 1750 MHz with a 14 Gbps effective rate, delivering 448.0 GB/s across a 256-bit bus. These specifications place the GPU in the 65th percentile of all tested graphics cards, with an average benchmark score of 22206. The nearest rivals in the database show how tightly grouped this performance tier is: the RTX 2070 SUPER sits 0.5% behind the NVIDIA RTX A400, 0.9% ahead of the GeForce GTX TITAN Z, and 2.3% behind the RTX 4060 Mobile. This narrow spread means the card’s behavior in Steamworld Build is representative of its class.

The measured FPS data shows the GPU’s memory bandwidth becoming a factor at higher resolutions. At 1440p High, the 74.6 FPS average suggests the 448.0 GB/s bandwidth is sufficient for the city-building geometry, but at 4K Ultra, the 24.4 FPS result reveals the card struggling with the combined load of pixel density and effects. The Puremark DirectX 11 score of 151 and DirectX 12 score of 67 provide context: Steamworld Build likely leverages DX11-era rendering paths, and the card’s 283.2 GTexel/s texture rate helps maintain 120 FPS at 1080p High. The GPU’s 9.062 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is adequate for the simulation, but the data shows that settings above Medium at 4K push the card beyond its comfortable range.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F provides four physical cores and eight threads, with a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. This Alder Lake-S processor has a 12 MB shared L3 cache and supports dual-channel DDR4 or DDR5 memory, though the measured results do not specify which type was used. The CPU’s benchmark profile shows a strong single-thread capability: the Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1681 and Geekbench single-core score of 2224 indicate that the processor can handle the simulation logic that drives city-building games. The multi-threaded scores are more modest, with Cinebench R23 multi-core at 11912 and Passmark multithread at 14015, placing the CPU in the 72nd percentile of all processors with an average benchmark score of 13516.

The nearest CPU rivals show that the i3-12100F sits within 1.8% of much more expensive parts: it is 0.1% behind the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX, 0.4% ahead of the Intel Core i7-1250U, 0.6% ahead of the Core i3-10105, and 1.8% ahead of the Core i7-7700K. This clustering suggests that the four-core design with high boost clocks is sufficient for Steamworld Build’s CPU demands at most settings. The measured FPS at 1080p Low (209 FPS) versus 1440p Low (131.1 FPS) shows a 77.9 FPS drop that is primarily GPU-driven, but the fact that 1080p Low exceeds 200 FPS indicates the CPU is not the limiting factor at lower resolutions. At 4K, the CPU’s role diminishes further because the GPU is clearly the bottleneck, evidenced by the 24.4 FPS Ultra result.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured dataset covers four resolutions and four settings presets, producing twelve average FPS values. At 1920x1080, the results are: Low at 209 FPS, Medium at 158.9 FPS, High at 120 FPS, and Ultra at 79.8 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 129.2 FPS drop, with each settings tier costing roughly 30-40 FPS. At 2560x1440, the numbers compress: Low at 131.1 FPS, Medium at 101.8 FPS, High at 74.6 FPS, and Ultra at 53.6 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p at each preset is approximately 37-40% — for example, High falls from 120 to 74.6 FPS, and Low falls from 209 to 131.1 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the scaling becomes severe: Low at 70.9 FPS, Medium at 54.2 FPS, High at 42.7 FPS, and Ultra at 24.4 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is the only measured row that falls below 30 FPS, making it the least viable option in the entire set. The gap between 1440p and 4K at each preset is roughly 43-54% — High drops from 74.6 to 42.7 FPS (a 31.9 FPS reduction), and Low drops from 131.1 to 70.9 FPS (a 60.2 FPS reduction). The data shows that 1080p is the only resolution where every preset exceeds 60 FPS, while 1440p stays above 50 FPS for all presets, and 4K only remains playable at Low or Medium settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS measured for this combination?

A: The highest average FPS is 209, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is the only measured row that exceeds 200 FPS, and it indicates the CPU and GPU have significant headroom at the lowest resolution and settings.

Q: Is 4K gaming viable with this hardware?

A: Yes, but only at Low or Medium settings. The measured data shows 70.9 FPS at 4K Low and 54.2 FPS at 4K Medium, both above the 30 FPS threshold. 4K High (42.7 FPS) is borderline, while 4K Ultra (24.4 FPS) falls below 30 FPS and is not recommended.

Q: How does the RTX 2070 SUPER compare to its closest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 2070 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 22206, placing it 0.5% behind the NVIDIA RTX A400, 0.9% ahead of the GeForce GTX TITAN Z, 2.3% behind the RTX 4060 Mobile, and 2.5% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 5700. These are all within a small performance band.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU at any resolution?

A: The data suggests the CPU is not a bottleneck at 4K, where the GPU is clearly limiting (24.4 FPS at Ultra). At 1080p Low, the 209 FPS result shows the CPU can drive high frame rates, but the 120 FPS at 1080p High indicates the GPU begins to limit as settings increase.

Q: What is the best resolution-to-settings ratio for a 60 FPS target?

A: For a 60 FPS target, 1440p High (74.6 FPS) and 1440p Ultra (53.6 FPS) are the closest options. At 1080p, every preset exceeds 60 FPS, with Ultra at 79.8 FPS providing the highest visual quality that still meets the target.

Q: How does the i3-12100F’s single-thread performance affect gameplay?

A: The CPU’s Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1681 and Geekbench single-core score of 2224 suggest strong per-core performance. The 1080p Low result of 209 FPS demonstrates that the processor can handle the simulation logic without limiting frame rates at lower resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear hierarchy for which settings preset to choose at each resolution. At 1920x1080, Ultra is the only sensible choice for players who want maximum visual quality, since it still delivers 79.8 FPS — well above the 60 FPS threshold. Dropping to High at 1080p yields 120 FPS, which is beneficial for high-refresh displays, but the 40.2 FPS gain from Ultra to High comes at the cost of reduced effects and geometry detail. Medium (158.9 FPS) and Low (209 FPS) are only useful for competitive play or extremely high refresh rates, as the visual trade-off is substantial.

For 2560x1440, the recommendation depends on the player’s preference for smoothness versus fidelity. High settings produce 74.6 FPS, which is the best balance of visual quality and frame rate, while Ultra drops to 53.6 FPS — still playable but below the 60 FPS ideal. Medium (101.8 FPS) is the choice for players who prioritize frame rate over detail, and Low (131.1 FPS) is only necessary for very high refresh monitors. The 21 FPS gap between High and Ultra at 1440p suggests that the GPU’s 8 GB memory is the limiting factor when settings are maxed out.

At 3840x2160, the data strongly favors Medium settings. The 54.2 FPS average at 4K Medium is the only preset that stays above 50 FPS, while High drops to 42.7 FPS and Ultra falls to 24.4 FPS. Low (70.9 FPS) is viable but sacrifices too much visual fidelity for a marginal frame rate gain. The 29.8 FPS difference between Medium and Ultra at 4K indicates that the RTX 2070 SUPER’s 2560 shading units and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for maxed-out settings at this resolution. Overall, the best experience across all resolutions is 1080p Ultra or 1440p High, with 4K Medium serving as a compromise for players who insist on higher pixel counts.