Steamworld Build

Steamworld Build, a city builder from late 2023, presents an interesting case for the Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER. The measured data reveals a combination that is heavily influenced by the graphics card at higher resolutions, but which also exposes the processor's limitations at lower settings. This analysis breaks down the performance metrics across resolutions and settings, examines the ranking position, and interprets the roles of both components based strictly on the provided benchmark data.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K clearly identifies the RTX 4070 SUPER as the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions, while the i3-12100F becomes the bottleneck at lower ones. At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 198 FPS at 1920x1080 to 126 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 72 FPS. Moving to 3840x2160 High yields an average of 67 FPS, which is just 34% of the 1080p performance. This substantial drop indicates that the GPU is working progressively harder to render the increased pixel count, while the CPU has enough headroom to feed it frames at 1080p.

The trend is more pronounced at Low settings. The i3-12100F and RTX 4070 SUPER combo produces 305 FPS at 1920x1080 Low, but this falls to 220 FPS at 2560x1440 Low and further to 116 FPS at 3840x2160 Low. The 1080p result is extremely high, suggesting that the CPU is nearing its maximum output capacity, as the GPU is not being fully utilized at such a low graphical load. The scaling from Low to Medium at 1440p shows a 52 FPS drop (from 220 to 168 FPS), while the drop from Medium to High is only 42 FPS (from 168 to 126 FPS). This pattern suggests that at 1440p, the CPU is still a significant factor at lower settings, but the GPU begins to take over as the primary constraint when visual details increase.

At 4K resolution, the data shows the GPU is unequivocally the limiting component. The Ultra preset only achieves 45 FPS on average, while High reaches 67 FPS, Medium 89 FPS, and Low 116 FPS. The performance headroom at 4K is much narrower than at 1080p, indicating that the RTX 4070 SUPER's rendering capabilities are the definitive ceiling for this combination. The frame rate differences between presets at 4K are more evenly distributed, with each step from Low to Medium, Medium to High, and High to Ultra costing roughly 20-27 FPS, which is a sign of predictable GPU-bound scaling rather than CPU-related stalling.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured average frame rates, the Medium preset offers the most balanced experience for this combination, particularly at higher resolutions. At 3840x2160, Medium produces an average of 89 FPS with a minimum of 76 FPS and a maximum of 102 FPS. This is the only 4K preset that stays comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The High preset at 4K drops to 67 FPS, which is playable but leaves less margin for complex city-building scenes with many entities. The Ultra preset at 4K, with an average of 45 FPS, is likely too demanding for a fluid experience in a genre where constant camera panning and zooming are common.

For users targeting 2560x1440, the High preset is the recommended choice, delivering an average of 126 FPS. This is more than sufficient for high-refresh-rate monitors and provides a significant visual uplift over the Medium preset, which averages 168 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p averages 85 FPS, which is still a high frame rate, but the trade-off in graphical fidelity versus the 41 FPS gain from High to Medium may not be worth it for all users. At 1920x1080, the High preset at 198 FPS is the best option to balance visual quality with the high frame rates that the CPU-GPU combo can deliver. While Low achieves 305 FPS and Medium 265 FPS, the High preset provides a substantial improvement in visual detail without dropping below the 144 Hz refresh rate mark.

The data suggests avoiding the Ultra preset altogether on this configuration. It yields the lowest average frame rates at every resolution: 134 FPS at 1080p, 85 FPS at 1440p, and 45 FPS at 4K. While 134 FPS at 1080p is still fast, the performance hit compared to High (a 64 FPS drop) is considerable for what is often a marginal visual improvement in a city builder. The Medium preset appears to be the sweet spot for maximizing frame rate stability, as it is the only preset with recorded minimum FPS data, showing a low of 225 FPS at 1080p, 143 FPS at 1440p, and 76 FPS at 4K.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i3-12100F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER combination ranks 608th out of 3706 tested combos for Steamworld Build. This places it in the top 16.4% of all configurations tested, which is a strong showing for a system with a 4-core processor and a high-end graphics card. The percentile data for the individual components helps contextualize this ranking. The RTX 4070 SUPER has a percentile rank of 83 versus all GPUs, indicating it is more powerful than 83% of all GPUs in the database. The i3-12100F has a percentile rank of 68 versus all CPUs, showing it is more capable than 68% of all processors.

The combo's rank of 608 out of 3706 is likely influenced by the CPU's performance ceiling. While the GPU is a top-tier component, the processor's 4 cores and 8 threads may hold back performance in CPU-intensive simulation aspects of a city builder. The benchmark results for the CPU show a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 11860 and a single-core score of 1674, which are decent for gaming but not exceptional. The GPU's Passmark G3D score of 29995 is very high, but in a game like Steamworld Build, the simulation of many entities can create a CPU bottleneck that prevents the system from achieving higher frame rates at lower resolutions. The rank suggests that while this combo is solid, there are many other configurations with more powerful CPUs that achieve better overall performance in this specific game.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are as follows: Low settings produce 305 FPS, Medium produces 265 FPS with a minimum of 225 FPS and a maximum of 305 FPS, High produces 198 FPS, and Ultra produces 134 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a clear performance degradation, with the Ultra preset delivering less than half the frame rate of the Low preset.

At 2560x1440, the measured averages are 220 FPS for Low, 168 FPS for Medium (with a minimum of 143 FPS and maximum of 194 FPS), 126 FPS for High, and 85 FPS for Ultra. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows at this resolution, with Ultra achieving 38.6% of the Low preset's performance, compared to 43.9% at 1080p.

At 3840x2160, the averages are 116 FPS for Low, 89 FPS for Medium (with a minimum of 76 FPS and maximum of 102 FPS), 67 FPS for High, and 45 FPS for Ultra. At 4K, the Ultra preset's average of 45 FPS is exactly half of the Low preset's 116 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K is the only one with a recorded minimum FPS above 60, indicating it is the safest choice for a consistent experience. The data shows that the performance scaling is fairly linear across presets at 4K, with each step up in settings costing approximately 20-25% of the previous preset's average frame rate.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU-GPU combo to achieve over 60 FPS on High settings?

A: The data shows that High settings produce an average of 198 FPS at 1920x1080, 126 FPS at 2560x1440, and 67 FPS at 3840x2160. Therefore, all three tested resolutions can achieve over 60 FPS on High settings, though 4K is the only one where the average drops below 100 FPS.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1440p to 4K at Medium settings?

A: At Medium settings, the average frame rate drops from 168 FPS at 2560x1440 to 89 FPS at 3840x2160, a difference of 79 FPS. This corresponds to a 47% reduction in average performance when moving from 1440p to 4K.

Q: Is the Ultra preset worth using at 1080p for this system?

A: The Ultra preset at 1920x1080 averages 134 FPS, which is still very high. However, compared to the High preset at 198 FPS, there is a 64 FPS drop. The data suggests the visual fidelity gain may not justify the significant frame rate loss, but the 134 FPS average is still smooth for most displays.

Q: Does the RTX 4070 SUPER have enough VRAM for this game?

A: The RTX 4070 SUPER has 12 GB of GDDR6X memory with a 192-bit memory bus and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth. The measured FPS data does not include any VRAM-related performance metrics, but the high average frame rates across all settings indicate that memory capacity is not causing a bottleneck in the tested scenarios.

Q: How does the CPU's single-thread performance relate to the game's results?

A: The i3-12100F has a boost clock of 4.30 GHz and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1674. The high frame rates at 1080p Low (305 FPS) suggest that the processor's single-thread performance is adequate for feeding the GPU in less demanding scenes, but the 4-core limit may affect performance in complex simulation moments.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for this combo at 4K Medium?

A: The measured data shows a minimum of 76 FPS at 3840x2160 with Medium settings. This is the only 4K preset with a recorded minimum FPS, and it indicates that the combo can maintain a playable frame rate even in demanding moments.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F features 4 cores and 8 threads, with a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. It has 12 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB of L2 cache per core. In the context of Steamworld Build, a city builder, the CPU is responsible for game logic, simulation, and entity management. The benchmark results show a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 11860 and a single-core score of 1674, which are moderate values.

The performance data reveals the CPU's role in limiting frame rates at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 305 FPS, but this is likely near the CPU's maximum output. The fact that the 1440p Low setting only drops to 220 FPS, a 85 FPS reduction, while the 4K Low setting drops to 116 FPS, indicates that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck at 4K. The processor's 4-core design may struggle with the complex simulations typical of city builders, potentially causing frame drops in heavily populated areas. The data shows a Passmark multi-thread score of 14015 and a Passmark single-thread score of 3444, which are solid but not top-tier. The CPU's percentile rank of 68 versus all CPUs suggests it is a capable mid-range processor, but its limitations are exposed when paired with a high-end GPU like the RTX 4070 SUPER at lower resolutions where the GPU is not the limiting factor.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER is based on the AD104 chip with 7168 shading units, 224 texture mapping units, and 80 raster operation units. It has 56 ray tracing cores and 224 tensor cores. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1980 MHz and a boost clock of 2475 MHz, with memory running at 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective). It is equipped with 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth.

The GPU's role in this combination is to provide the rendering power for higher resolutions and quality settings. The measured data shows a clear GPU-bound behavior at 4K, where frame rates scale predictably with preset changes. The 4K Ultra preset at 45 FPS is a direct result of the GPU's rendering workload. The RTX 4070 SUPER has a Passmark G3D score of 29995 and a percentile rank of 83 versus all GPUs, making it a high-end performer. The GPU's 35.48 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 554.4 GTexel/s texture rate are substantial, but they are not enough to maintain high frame rates at 4K Ultra in this game.

At 1080p and 1440p, the GPU has more headroom, but it is still the limiting factor at higher settings. The transition from 1440p High (126 FPS) to 4K High (67 FPS) shows a 59 FPS drop, which is a larger proportional decrease than the drop from 1080p High (198 FPS) to 1440p High (126 FPS). This indicates that the GPU's performance scales significantly with resolution. The data suggests that the RTX 4070 SUPER is best utilized at 1440p with High settings, where it delivers over 120 FPS, or at 4K with Medium settings, where it maintains an average of 89 FPS. The end-of-life production status and launch MSRP of 599 USD are noted, but the performance metrics are what define its role in this configuration.