Steamworld Build

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-10400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 combination ranks 873rd out of 1,730 tested combos in Steamworld Build, placing it in the 50th percentile of all systems. This is a solidly mid-pack result for a city builder, where the gameplay mechanics prioritize simulation stability over raw frame rates. The data shows this pairing is more than capable of delivering a smooth experience at mainstream resolutions, but it is not a top-tier performer for 4K enthusiasts. The rank suggests that while the GPU is strong, the older Comet Lake CPU may hold back the system in CPU-bound simulation moments, though the measured FPS tells a more nuanced story across different settings and resolutions.

The RTX 5060's average benchmark score of 30,109 places it nearly identical to the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT (deltaPct 0.0%), with the NVIDIA Tesla M60 just 0.5% behind. The CPU's average score of 14,168 is within 1.2% of rivals like the AMD EPYC 7552 and Intel Core i5-8500, indicating a balanced pairing where neither component dramatically outclasses the other. In Steamworld Build specifically, the measured frames show the combo delivers playable performance at 1080p and 1440p even on Ultra, but 4K Ultra drops to 32.1 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold many players prefer. This rank of 873rd out of 1,730 reflects that reality: it is a competent, workmanlike combo for this genre, not a record-setter.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Steamworld Build at 60 FPS on 1440p?

A: Yes. The measured data shows 88.6 FPS on High and 114.9 FPS on Medium at 2560x1440, with Ultra dipping to 56.8 FPS. For a locked 60 FPS, High settings are the safest choice, as they provide a 28.7 FPS buffer above the threshold.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in this game?

A: 2560x1440 on High settings offers the best balance, delivering 88.6 FPS. This is 49.4 FPS higher than 4K High (46.6 FPS) while still providing a more detailed image than 1080p, where Ultra runs at 91.4 FPS.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU in this game?

A: The data indicates the CPU can limit performance at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 225.2 FPS, but the frame rate scales down to 139 FPS on High, showing a 38.4% drop that suggests the CPU struggles to feed the GPU at high settings. At 4K, the GPU becomes the primary limiter, as seen in the larger FPS drop from Low to Ultra.

Q: Is the RTX 5060's 8 GB VRAM sufficient for this game?

A: Based on the measured results, yes. The combo achieves playable frame rates across all settings up to 1440p, with 4K High at 46.6 FPS. The 8 GB capacity appears adequate for Steamworld Build's demands, as no memory-related stutters are indicated in the FPS data.

Q: How does this combo compare to the RTX 5060's nearest rivals?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score of 30,109 is virtually identical to the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT (30,097, deltaPct 0.0%) and the AMD Radeon RX 570 (30,158, deltaPct -0.2%). This means the in-game performance is representative of a typical mid-range GPU, not an outlier.

Q: What is the launch MSRP of the RTX 5060?

A: The launch MSRP is 299 USD. This is a factual specification from the product data, and no further pricing analysis is provided here.

Settings Recommendations

The optimal settings depend on the target resolution, but the data reveals a clear pattern. For 1080p, the Ultra preset provides 91.4 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold and offers the best visual fidelity. However, the jump from High to Ultra costs 47.6 FPS (from 139 to 91.4), indicating a steep performance penalty for the highest preset. For 1440p, High settings are the sweet spot at 88.6 FPS, as Ultra drops to 56.8 FPS, which is below the ideal 60 FPS target. At 4K, the data shows that even Medium settings (62 FPS) are preferable to High (46.6 FPS) or Ultra (32.1 FPS), as they maintain a playable frame rate while still offering improved detail over Low (78.3 FPS).

The measured FPS suggests that a custom settings approach would be most effective: for 1080p, use Ultra if you prioritize visuals; for 1440p, stick with High to ensure smoothness; for 4K, Medium is the only preset that keeps the frame rate above 60 FPS. The performance gap between Low and Ultra is consistent across resolutions, with 1080p showing a 133.8 FPS difference (from 225.2 to 91.4), 1440p showing a 93.5 FPS difference, and 4K showing a 46.2 FPS difference. This indicates that the game's settings have a larger impact at lower resolutions, where the CPU is more likely to be the limiting factor.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers 225.2 FPS on Low, 182.5 FPS on Medium, 139 FPS on High, and 91.4 FPS on Ultra. The progression from Low to Medium costs 42.7 FPS, from Medium to High costs 43.5 FPS, and from High to Ultra costs 47.6 FPS. This shows a remarkably consistent drop of roughly 40-48 FPS per settings tier, suggesting the game scales its workload linearly with quality presets. The 1080p results are all well above the 60 FPS threshold, making this resolution ideal for high-refresh-rate displays.

At 2560x1440, the measured FPS drops to 150.3 on Low, 114.9 on Medium, 88.6 on High, and 56.8 on Ultra. The relative performance loss from 1080p is significant: 33.3% on Low, 37.1% on Medium, 36.3% on High, and 37.9% on Ultra. The consistency of this drop across settings indicates that resolution scaling is uniform, with the GPU becoming more of a factor as pixel count increases. Ultra at 1440p is the first preset that falls below 60 FPS, making it a less attractive option for smooth gameplay.

At 3840x2160, the results are 78.3 FPS on Low, 62 FPS on Medium, 46.6 FPS on High, and 32.1 FPS on Ultra. The drop from Low to Medium is 16.3 FPS, from Medium to High is 15.4 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 14.5 FPS. This contrasts with 1080p, where the settings tiers cost 40-48 FPS each, indicating that at 4K, the GPU is the dominant bottleneck, and settings changes have a smaller absolute impact on frame rate. The 4K results show that only Low and Medium presets are playable, with High and Ultra requiring compromises.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K reveals the limiting component. At Low settings, the combo goes from 225.2 FPS at 1080p to 78.3 FPS at 4K, a 65.2% reduction. At Ultra settings, the drop is from 91.4 FPS to 32.1 FPS, a 64.9% reduction. The similarity in these percentage drops across settings suggests that resolution scaling is primarily GPU-bound, as the RTX 5060's rendering load increases quadratically with pixel count. However, the absolute FPS values at 1080p (225.2 on Low) are high enough to suggest the CPU is also a factor at lower resolutions.

The data indicates that the CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads with a boost clock of 4.30 GHz are sufficient to push high frame rates at 1080p, but as resolution increases, the GPU's 8 GB VRAM and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth become the limiting factors. This is particularly evident at 4K Ultra, where the FPS drops to 32.1, a 63.9% reduction from 1080p Ultra's 91.4 FPS. The scaling from 1440p to 4K shows a 47.4% drop on Low (from 150.3 to 78.3) and a 43.5% drop on Ultra (from 56.8 to 32.1), which is consistent with the GPU being the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions.

The frame rate scaling suggests that for this game, the RTX 5060's 19.18 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is the key constraint at 4K, while the i5-10400F's single-thread score of 688 in 3DMark is adequate for 1080p and 1440p gaming. The measured data shows no significant frame rate cliffs, indicating that the combo scales predictably across resolutions, making it easier for players to anticipate performance based on their display's native resolution.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-10400F features 6 cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. Its benchmark scores show a single-thread score of 688 in 3DMark and a multi-thread score of 4,748 in 16-thread testing, placing it in the 73rd percentile of all CPUs. In Steamworld Build, a city builder that relies on simulation logic and AI pathfinding, the CPU's role is critical for maintaining consistent frame rates as the city grows. The measured FPS at 1080p Low (225.2) suggests the CPU can handle high frame rates, but the drop to 139 FPS at 1080p High indicates that the game's simulation workload increases with settings, potentially bottlenecking the CPU.

The CPU's 12 MB of shared L3 cache and DDR4 memory support with 42.7 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for this game, as the measured results show no catastrophic frame drops. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 10,297 and single-core score of 1,453 indicate that the CPU is competitive with its rivals, including the AMD EPYC 7552 (deltaPct 0.4% higher) and Intel Core i5-8500 (deltaPct -1.1% lower). In this game, the CPU's 12 threads are likely utilized for background simulation, and the data shows that at 1440p and 4K, the CPU is not the primary bottleneck, as the FPS scaling is more consistent with GPU limitations.

The 3DMark 8-thread score of 3,929 versus the max-thread score of 4,735 suggests that the CPU scales well up to 8 threads, which is relevant for a city builder that may use multiple cores for different simulation systems. The CPU's 73rd percentile ranking means it outperforms about 73% of all CPUs, but in this combo, it is paired with a GPU that also ranks in the 73rd percentile, creating a balanced system where neither component is drastically over- or under-powered for the other.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with a 5 nm process node from TSMC, featuring 21,900 million transistors on a 181 mm² die. Its 8 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 128-bit bus provides 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, and the GPU has 3,840 shading units, 120 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. The base clock is 2,280 MHz with a boost clock of 2,497 MHz, delivering 19.18 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. These specifications place the GPU in the 73rd percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 30,109, which is nearly identical to the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT (deltaPct 0.0%).

In Steamworld Build, the GPU's role is most evident at higher resolutions. At 4K, the measured FPS ranges from 78.3 on Low to 32.1 on Ultra, showing that the GPU's 8 GB VRAM and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are stressed by the game's texture and shading demands. The GPU's pixel rate of 119.9 GPixel/s and texture rate of 299.6 GTexel/s are sufficient for 1440p High (88.6 FPS) but struggle at 4K Ultra, where the pixel fill rate becomes a limiting factor. The GPU's 30 RT cores and 120 tensor cores are not heavily utilized in this city builder, as the game likely does not feature ray tracing, but they contribute to the GPU's overall compute capability.

The GPU's passmark G3D score of 20,891 and DirectX 12 score of 77 indicate strong DirectX 12 performance, which is relevant for a game released in 2023. The measured FPS at 1080p Ultra (91.4) shows the GPU can deliver high frame rates when the CPU is not a bottleneck, but at 4K, the GPU becomes the clear limiting factor. The nearest rival data shows the RTX 5060 is essentially tied with the RX 7700 XT, meaning players can expect similar performance from either GPU in this game, all else being equal.