Steamworld Build

FAQ

Q: What is the overall performance tier of the Intel Core i5-10400F in the benchmark database?

A: The Intel Core i5-10400F sits at the 68th percentile of all CPUs tested, with an average benchmark score of 14,185. Its nearest rivals in aggregate performance include the Intel Xeon 6756E (0.2% higher score) and the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C (0.6% lower score), placing it in a tightly contested mid-range band.

Q: How does the RTX 5070's compute capability compare to its closest GPU rivals?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 posts an average benchmark score of 40,377, which puts it 0.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro 580 and 2% ahead of the NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100, trails by 0.8% in average score.

Q: What is the maximum measured frame rate for this combo at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 225 FPS. The Medium preset at the same resolution reaches 205 FPS average, while High and Ultra yield 184 FPS and 128 FPS respectively.

Q: Does the RTX 5070's 12 GB VRAM appear sufficient for 4K gaming in this title?

A: The measured data shows playable averages at 3840x2160 across all settings, from 43 FPS at Ultra to 112 FPS at Low. The 12 GB GDDR7 memory with 672.0 GB/s bandwidth appears adequate for this game's demands, as even the heaviest preset maintains a playable average.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested configurations for Steamworld Build?

A: This specific combination of Intel Core i5-10400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 ranks 1000th out of 3,706 total tested combos for this game, placing it in the top 27% of all configurations in the database.

Q: What is the CPU's multithreaded performance in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The i5-10400F scores 10,283 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 4,318 in Cinebench R20 multicore. In 3DMark's threaded tests, it achieves 4,748 with 16 threads and 4,735 with max threads, showing near-linear scaling from 8 threads (3,929) to 16 threads.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of Intel Core i5-10400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 achieves rank 1000 out of 3,706 tested combos for Steamworld Build. This positions the pairing in the upper quartile of all configurations, though not at the very top tier. The data suggests this setup is competitive but not elite for this particular city builder.

The ranking implies that while the RTX 5070 brings substantial graphics horsepower — it sits at the 82nd percentile of all GPUs — the i5-10400F's 68th percentile CPU performance creates a measurable ceiling. The 1,000th rank out of 3,706 means roughly 73% of tested combos perform worse, which is a strong showing for a mid-generation CPU paired with a current-generation GPU.

Examining the delta between the CPU's and GPU's percentile rankings reveals an interesting imbalance. The GPU outperforms the CPU by 14 percentile points, suggesting the processor may be the limiting factor in CPU-bound scenarios. However, the measured FPS data for Steamworld Build indicates this imbalance does not prevent high frame rates at most settings, as the game appears to scale well with GPU resources.

The rank distribution also suggests that combos featuring higher-tier CPUs would likely push this configuration down the list. Yet the gap between rank 1000 and the top is not enormous, given that thousands of combinations involve older or weaker components. For a 2020-era six-core processor paired with a 2025 GPU, the relative standing is respectable.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 brings 12 GB of GDDR7 memory across a 192-bit bus, delivering 672.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its memory clock runs at 1750 MHz with 28 Gbps effective speed. The GPU's base clock of 2325 MHz boosts to 2512 MHz, with 6,144 shading units, 192 texture mapping units, and 80 raster output units.

For Steamworld Build, a city builder that typically stresses draw calls and object rendering, the RTX 5070's 80 ROPs and 201.0 GPixel/s pixel rate prove decisive. The measured FPS shows the GPU handling even 4K Ultra at 43 FPS average, indicating that the memory subsystem and compute units are not overwhelmed by the game's visual complexity. The 48 RT cores and 192 tensor cores provide headroom for any ray-traced effects, though the benchmark data does not specify whether such features are enabled.

The GPU's FP32 throughput of 30.87 TFLOPS suggests ample compute reserve for the simulation and rendering workloads typical of city builders. The texture rate of 482.3 GTexel/s ensures that the frequent texture updates from building placement and terrain manipulation do not bottleneck. The 12 GB VRAM capacity proves sufficient: at 4K with Medium settings, the combo maintains 85 FPS average with a minimum of 73 FPS, showing no memory-related stutter in the measured data.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. Low settings produce 225 FPS average, Medium reaches 205 FPS (with a minimum of 174 and maximum of 235), High achieves 184 FPS, and Ultra drops to 128 FPS. The delta from Low to Ultra of 97 FPS indicates that the GPU has significant headroom even at the highest settings for 1080p displays.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but show a clearer scaling pattern. Low settings yield 194 FPS, Medium 162 FPS (min 137, max 186), High 121 FPS, and Ultra 82 FPS. The step from High to Ultra at 1440p represents a 39 FPS drop, which is proportionally larger than the same step at 1080p (56 FPS drop from High to Ultra). This suggests the GPU is beginning to feel the resolution increase.

At 3840x2160, the performance curve steepens considerably. Low settings still manage 112 FPS, but Medium drops to 85 FPS (min 73, max 98), High falls to 64 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 43 FPS. The 4K Ultra result is the only measured configuration below 60 FPS, indicating that this setting pushes the combo to its limit. The 4K Low to 4K Ultra spread of 69 FPS shows the substantial cost of the Ultra preset at this resolution.

The Medium preset consistently shows the tightest min-max range across all resolutions, suggesting it offers the most stable frame pacing. At 1080p Medium, the 174-235 FPS range spans 61 FPS; at 1440p Medium, 137-186 FPS spans 49 FPS; and at 4K Medium, 73-98 FPS spans 25 FPS. This narrowing range at higher resolutions indicates the GPU becomes more consistently utilized.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data points to Medium as the optimal balance for most users. At 4K Medium, the combo delivers 85 FPS average with a 73 FPS minimum, keeping frame rates above common 60 FPS thresholds while maintaining visual quality. The min-max range of 73-98 FPS shows reliable performance without severe dips.

For 1440p users, High settings at 121 FPS average provide an excellent experience, though Medium at 162 FPS offers substantial headroom for displays with higher refresh rates. The 82 FPS Ultra result at 1440p remains playable but sacrifices 40% of the frame rate compared to Medium for incremental visual gains.

At 1080p, the choice depends on display refresh rate. For 240 Hz monitors, Medium at 205 FPS average is the safer bet, as High at 184 FPS may occasionally drop below the refresh threshold. For 144 Hz displays, High at 184 FPS provides comfortable margin. The Ultra preset at 128 FPS is viable but not necessary given the high frame rates available at lower settings.

The 4K Ultra result of 43 FPS falls below the 60 FPS standard for smooth gameplay, making it difficult to recommend for action-heavy moments in a city builder. However, for players who prioritize visual fidelity over frame rate and own a VRR display, the 43 FPS average remains usable. The data suggests that 4K Medium is the sweet spot for this resolution, offering nearly double the frame rate of Ultra with minimal visual compromise in this genre.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-10400F provides 6 cores and 12 threads with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and boost clock of 4.30 GHz. Its 12 MB shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 42.7 GB/s bandwidth are modest by current standards, yet the benchmark data shows this CPU is not the primary bottleneck in Steamworld Build.

Synthetic CPU benchmarks reveal moderate single-thread performance: 1,451 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 688 in 3DMark single-thread. These scores suggest the CPU can handle the game's simulation logic, which typically relies on single-threaded performance for city builder AI and pathfinding. The multicore results — 10,283 in Cinebench R23 and 4,748 in 3DMark 16-thread — indicate sufficient parallel capability for background tasks.

The measured FPS at 1080p Low (225 FPS average) demonstrates that the CPU can feed the GPU with enough frames to saturate even high-refresh displays. The fact that 1080p Low achieves a higher frame rate than 1440p Low (194 FPS) shows the CPU is not capping performance at lower resolutions. However, the gap between 1080p Ultra (128 FPS) and 1440p Ultra (82 FPS) is proportionate to resolution increase, suggesting GPU-bound behavior at higher settings.

The CPU's 68th percentile ranking places it below many modern processors, but the measured data indicates it does not constrain this game's performance. The i5-10400F's nearest rivals in aggregate score — the Intel Xeon 6756E and AMD EPYC 7552 — are server-class chips, highlighting that the i5's desktop optimizations (higher boost clocks) benefit gaming workloads disproportionately. The 4.30 GHz boost clock is particularly relevant for Steamworld Build's likely single-thread-heavy simulation.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K reveals the scaling behavior of this combo. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 225 at 1080p to 194 at 1440p (a 13.8% decrease) and then to 112 at 4K (a 42.3% decrease from 1440p). This non-linear decline indicates the GPU becomes increasingly stressed as pixel count rises.

At Medium settings, the scaling is similar: 205 FPS at 1080p, 162 FPS at 1440p (21% drop), and 85 FPS at 4K (47.5% drop from 1440p). The larger percentage drop from 1440p to 4K compared to 1080p to 1440p suggests the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth become limiting factors at higher resolutions.

High settings show a more pronounced scaling penalty: 184 FPS at 1080p, 121 FPS at 1440p (34.2% drop), and 64 FPS at 4K (47.1% drop from 1440p). The Ultra preset exhibits the steepest curve: 128 FPS at 1080p, 82 FPS at 1440p (35.9% drop), and 43 FPS at 4K (47.6% drop from 1440p).

The consistent ~47-48% drop from 1440p to 4K across Medium, High, and Ultra settings indicates that the GPU's compute and memory resources are the primary scaling factor. The 4K pixel count (8.3 million) versus 1440p (3.7 million) represents a 2.25x increase in pixels, yet the frame rate only drops by roughly half, suggesting some efficiency in the rendering pipeline. The RTX 5070's 672.0 GB/s bandwidth appears sufficient to handle the increased memory traffic at 4K without catastrophic performance collapse, though the 43 FPS Ultra result shows the limits of this configuration.