Steamworld Build

Settings Recommendations

For Steamworld Build, the measured data shows a clear trade-off between visual fidelity and playability across the four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers 95 FPS average, which is the highest measured result for this combo. Medium at the same resolution produces 73 FPS, High drops to 55 FPS, and Ultra falls to 37 FPS. Given that Steamworld Build is a city builder where camera panning and zooming occur frequently, the Medium preset at 1080p offers the best balance: 73 FPS average with a minimum of 62 FPS and a maximum of 84 FPS, ensuring consistent frame pacing without dipping below the 60 FPS threshold.

At 2560x1440, the pattern shifts. Low produces 61 FPS average, which is just above the 60 FPS line. Medium delivers 46 FPS with a range of 39 to 53 FPS, while High yields 35 FPS and Ultra drops to 23 FPS. The 1440p Low preset is the only measured configuration that maintains playable smoothness at this resolution, though users with less demanding expectations may find Medium acceptable at 46 FPS for a slow-paced genre. At 3840x2160, no preset reaches 60 FPS. Low averages 32 FPS, Medium 25 FPS, High 18 FPS, and Ultra 12 FPS. The 4K Low setting is the most viable for those prioritizing frame rate over detail at this resolution.

The optimal experience per the measured rows is 1080p Medium, which offers 73 FPS average and stays above 60 FPS even in its minimum frame time. For users with 1440p displays, Low at 61 FPS is the only preset that crosses the 60 FPS threshold, making it the recommended choice there. At 4K, the data indicates that playable performance is not achievable with any preset, with the best case being 32 FPS at Low.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is an integrated graphics solution based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, fabricated on a 3 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2400 MHz, featuring 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 20 raster output units. The GPU includes 10 ray tracing cores and supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. Its FP32 compute throughput is rated at 6.144 TFLOPS, with pixel rate of 48.00 GPixel/s and texture rate of 96.00 GTexel/s.

The memory subsystem is entirely system-dependent. The Arc B370 uses "System Shared" memory with "System Shared" bandwidth, meaning performance is directly tied to the host platform's DDR4 memory configuration. For this combo with the Intel Core i5-11400F, the CPU supports dual-channel DDR4 with a memory bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s. This shared memory architecture explains the GPU's modest benchmark standing: it scores 1184 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, placing it in the 5th percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (score 1186, delta -0.2%), ATI Radeon HD 5770 (score 1190, delta -0.5%), AMD Radeon HD 7650M (score 1192, delta -0.7%), and AMD FirePro M2000 (score 1168, delta 1.4%).

The GPU's 25 W TDP and IGP slot width indicate it is not a discrete solution but rather an integrated part of the platform. With no dedicated VRAM, the Arc B370 relies entirely on system memory for frame buffering and texture storage. This is reflected in the measured FPS data: at 4K Ultra, the combo averages only 12 FPS, while at 4K Low it reaches 32 FPS. The GPU's rasterization capabilities, while sufficient for light workloads, are the primary constraint in Steamworld Build's higher settings and resolutions. The 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1184, compared to the CPU's 3DMark scores (single-thread 868, 2-thread 1691, 4-thread 3171, 8-thread 4691, 16-thread 5619, max-thread 5652), suggests the GPU is significantly weaker than the CPU in overall graphics throughput, making it the clear bottleneck in this pairing.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals how performance degrades as resolution increases. From 1920x1080 to 2560x1440, the average FPS drops by 40 FPS at Low (95 to 61 FPS, a 36% reduction), by 27 FPS at Medium (73 to 46 FPS, a 37% reduction), by 20 FPS at High (55 to 35 FPS, a 36% reduction), and by 14 FPS at Ultra (37 to 23 FPS, a 38% reduction). This consistent ~36-38% drop across all settings suggests the scaling is driven by pixel count rather than settings-specific effects.

From 2560x1440 to 3840x2160, the drop becomes more severe. Low falls from 61 to 32 FPS (a 48% reduction), Medium from 46 to 25 FPS (a 46% reduction), High from 35 to 18 FPS (a 49% reduction), and Ultra from 23 to 12 FPS (a 48% reduction). The larger percentage drop at 4K indicates that the GPU becomes increasingly saturated as pixel count rises, with the integrated memory bandwidth becoming a limiting factor at higher resolutions.

The pattern across all four settings is remarkably consistent in relative terms, which points to a uniform scaling behavior. However, the absolute frame rates tell a different story. At 1080p, the combo manages playable or near-playable performance across all settings (37-95 FPS). At 1440p, only Low exceeds 60 FPS, with Medium at 46 FPS being borderline. At 4K, all settings fall below 35 FPS, making the game effectively unplayable for smooth interaction. The data indicates that resolution scaling has a near-linear effect on frame rate, with the GPU being the limiting component at higher resolutions. The CPU's capabilities, as evidenced by its passmark multithread score of 16908 and single-thread score of 2981, are not the constraint here; instead, the Arc B370's system-shared memory and limited shading units (1280) struggle to fill the increasing pixel counts.

How This Combo Ranks

In the benchmark database for Steamworld Build, this combination of Intel Core i5-11400F and Intel Arc B370 ranks 2683 out of 2924 tested combos. This places the combo in the bottom 8.2% of all configurations tested for this game, reflecting the Arc B370's position as an entry-level integrated GPU. The rank is consistent with the GPU's overall percentile of 5% among all GPUs, while the CPU itself ranks in the 71st percentile among all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 17177.

The CPU's nearest rivals in overall benchmark scores include the AMD EPYC 7H12 (avg score 17120, delta 0.3%), Intel Core i5-12450H (avg score 17239, delta -0.4%), AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G (avg score 17278, delta -0.6%), and Intel Core Ultra 7 164U (avg score 17074, delta 0.6%). These deltas are all within 0.6% of the i5-11400F's average score, indicating that the CPU is competitive with a broad range of processors. However, in Steamworld Build specifically, the combo's rank is driven almost entirely by the GPU's limited performance, as evidenced by the measured FPS data showing sub-60 FPS at 4K across all settings.

The GPU's nearest rivals in the 3DMark Steel Nomad benchmark (ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 at 1186, ATI Radeon HD 5770 at 1190, AMD Radeon HD 7650M at 1192, AMD FirePro M2000 at 1168) are all legacy or low-end parts, confirming that the Arc B370 slots into the bottom tier of graphics performance. The 2683rd rank out of 2924 combos means that 241 other tested configurations are even slower in this game, but the vast majority of systems (around 91.8%) outperform this pairing. For a city builder like Steamworld Build, which is not typically a graphically demanding title, this low rank highlights that the GPU is the weak link in the system.

FAQ

Q: What is the best preset to use at 1920x1080 with this combo?

A: The Medium preset at 1080p yields 73 FPS average with a minimum of 62 FPS and maximum of 84 FPS. This is the highest setting that maintains a minimum above 60 FPS, making it the optimal choice for smooth gameplay.

Q: Can this combo achieve 60 FPS at 2560x1440?

A: Only the Low preset at 1440p reaches 61 FPS average. Medium drops to 46 FPS, High to 35 FPS, and Ultra to 23 FPS. Users seeking 60 FPS at 1440p must use Low settings.

Q: Is 4K gaming viable with the Intel Arc B370?

A: No. At 3840x2160, the best measured result is 32 FPS at Low settings. Medium averages 25 FPS, High 18 FPS, and Ultra 12 FPS. None of these are suitable for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B370 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, the Arc B370 scores 1184. The ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 scores 1186 (0.2% higher), the ATI Radeon HD 5770 scores 1190 (0.5% higher), the AMD Radeon HD 7650M scores 1192 (0.7% higher), and the AMD FirePro M2000 scores 1168 (1.4% lower). All five are within 1.4% of each other.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested configurations in Steamworld Build?

A: This combo ranks 2683 out of 2924 tested combos, placing it in the bottom 8.2% of all tested systems for this game.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU limit performance in this game?

A: The GPU is the primary limiting factor. The CPU's single-thread score of 2981 in passmark and multicore score of 16908 are above average (71st percentile), while the GPU's 3DMark score of 1184 places it in the 5th percentile. The resolution scaling data confirms GPU-bound behavior.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS values are as follows: Low 95 FPS, Medium 73 FPS (min 62, max 84), High 55 FPS, and Ultra 37 FPS. The Medium preset provides the only data with minimum and maximum values, indicating a range of 62 to 84 FPS. The jump from Low to Medium is 22 FPS (a 23% decrease), from Medium to High is 18 FPS (a 25% decrease), and from High to Ultra is 18 FPS (a 33% decrease). The increasing percentage drop at higher settings suggests that the GPU's shading units (1280) become progressively more strained as quality settings increase.

At 2560x1440, the average FPS values are: Low 61 FPS, Medium 46 FPS (min 39, max 53), High 35 FPS, and Ultra 23 FPS. The Medium preset shows a range of 39 to 53 FPS, with the minimum falling below the 60 FPS threshold. The drop from Low to Medium is 15 FPS (25%), from Medium to High is 11 FPS (24%), and from High to Ultra is 12 FPS (34%). The relative decreases are similar to 1080p, but the absolute frame rates are lower across the board.

At 3840x2160, the average FPS values are: Low 32 FPS, Medium 25 FPS (min 21, max 28), High 18 FPS, and Ultra 12 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K has a tight range of 21 to 28 FPS, indicating consistent but slow performance. The drop from Low to Medium is 7 FPS (22%), from Medium to High is 7 FPS (28%), and from High to Ultra is 6 FPS (33%). At 4K, the absolute differences between settings shrink due to the GPU being heavily saturated, but the percentage drops remain similar to lower resolutions.

The complete measured dataset shows that the Medium preset is the only one with recorded minimum and maximum FPS values across all three resolutions, suggesting it was the focus of more detailed testing. The minimum FPS at 1080p Medium is 62, at 1440p Medium is 39, and at 4K Medium is 21. These minimums show that even the most favorable preset at 4K cannot maintain smooth frame pacing, while 1080p Medium offers a minimum that exceeds the 60 FPS threshold.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the Core 11th Gen series, based on the Rocket Lake architecture on a 14 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB L1 per core, 512 KB L2 per core, and 12 MB shared L3. It supports DDR4 memory in dual-channel configuration with a bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s and uses PCIe Gen 4 with 20 lanes from the CPU. The processor has a launch MSRP of $157 and is end-of-life production status.

In synthetic benchmarks, the i5-11400F demonstrates solid performance. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score is 14340 and single-core score is 2024. Geekbench scores are 7737 multicore and 1777 single-core. PassMark scores include 16908 multithread, 2981 single-thread, 57624 integer math, 34127 floating point math, and 208472 data compression. The 3DMark scores range from 868 single-thread to 5652 max-thread, showing strong scaling from 2-thread (1691) to 8-thread (4691) but diminishing returns beyond 8 threads (5619 at 16-thread, 5652 at max-thread). The processor ranks in the 71st percentile among all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 17177.

In Steamworld Build, the CPU's role is secondary to the GPU. The game's genre (city builder) typically involves simulation logic and entity management, which can be CPU-intensive. However, the measured FPS data shows that performance scales primarily with resolution and settings, indicating GPU-bound behavior. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 95 FPS, which is well within the CPU's capability to feed frames. The CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads provide sufficient headroom for game logic at all tested settings, as evidenced by the fact that frame rates drop consistently with resolution increases rather than plateauing due to CPU limits.

The CPU's nearest rivals in overall benchmark scores are all within 0.6% of its average score. The AMD EPYC 7H12 is 0.3% lower, the Intel Core i5-12450H is 0.4% higher, the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G is 0.6% higher, and the Intel Core Ultra 7 164U is 0.6% lower. This indicates that the i5-11400F is performance-competitive with a range of modern processors, including both server and mobile parts. For Steamworld Build, the CPU's single-thread performance (passmark single-thread 2981, Cinebench R23 single-core 2024) is more relevant than multicore, as the game's simulation likely runs on a primary thread. The 4.40 GHz boost clock ensures responsive frame delivery when the GPU can keep up, but at higher resolutions, the GPU's 1280 shading units become the bottleneck, leaving the CPU underutilized.