Steamworld Build

Steamworld Build is a city builder that rarely stresses high-end components the way a first-person shooter might, but the data for the Intel Core i5-12400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 combination reveals a clear performance hierarchy that shifts dramatically depending on resolution and settings. At 1080p, the system is almost entirely CPU-bound, delivering frame rates that exceed the refresh rates of most monitors. As resolution climbs to 4K, the GPU begins to take on a more significant role, yet the sheer power of the RTX 4090 means the game still runs exceptionally well, even at the highest settings. The measured results show a fascinating interplay between the processor's six cores and the graphics card's massive 24 GB memory buffer.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K is textbook for a high-end pairing in a simulation title, but the specific numbers reveal just how far the CPU can stretch before the GPU becomes the limiting factor. At 1080p with High settings, the combo produces an average of 251 FPS. Moving to 1440p at the same High preset drops that to 160 FPS, a reduction of 91 FPS or roughly 36%. Stepping up to 4K High yields an average of 85 FPS, which is another 75 FPS drop from 1440p. This pattern is typical: the 1080p result is artificially capped by the processor's ability to feed the GPU, while the 1440p and 4K results progressively shift the workload onto the graphics card.

The Low preset tells an even more extreme story. At 1080p Low, the system hits 307 FPS average. This high-water mark suggests the engine's draw calls are hitting the CPU's limits, as the RTX 4090 is far from saturated. At 1440p Low, the average is 264 FPS, and at 4K Low, it drops to 148 FPS. The gap between 1080p and 1440p Low is only 43 FPS, while the gap between 1440p and 4K Low is a massive 116 FPS. This steepening curve at 4K indicates the GPU is finally becoming a bottleneck, even at the lowest settings, because the pixel fill rate demand at 3840x2160 is enormous.

For the Medium preset, the data includes minimum and maximum frame times, which provides insight into consistency. At 1080p Medium, the average is 279 FPS with a minimum of 237 FPS and a maximum of 320 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average is 214 FPS with a minimum of 182 FPS and a maximum of 246 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average is 113 FPS with a minimum of 96 FPS and a maximum of 130 FPS. The minimum frame rates at 4K Medium are notably close to the average, suggesting that the frame pacing remains stable even when the resolution is high.

The Ultra preset is where the GPU's raw power is most evident, but the CPU still holds the reins at lower resolutions. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 170 FPS. At 1440p Ultra, it is 108 FPS. At 4K Ultra, the average plummets to 57 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p Ultra is 62 FPS, while the drop from 1440p to 4K Ultra is 51 FPS. This relatively consistent scaling across the Ultra preset shows that the workload is balanced between the CPU and GPU, unlike the Low preset where the CPU dominates at 1080p. The 4K Ultra result of 57 FPS is the only sub-60 FPS average in the entire dataset, indicating that this is the only configuration where the system truly struggles to maintain smooth gameplay.

The data suggests that at 1080p, the Intel Core i5-12400 with its 6 cores and 12 threads is the primary limiting component. The RTX 4090's 82.58 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is largely idle, waiting for the CPU to deliver draw calls. At 4K, the GPU becomes the dominant factor, but the 57 FPS result at Ultra shows that even the Ada Lovelace architecture, with its 16384 shading units, is challenged by the sheer fill rate demands. The 4K Low result of 148 FPS is a strong indicator that the GPU has plenty of headroom for lower settings, but the Ultra preset leverages the full power of the card.

Settings Recommendations

Given the measured data, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution and refresh rate. For 1080p users with high-refresh-rate monitors, the High preset is the sweet spot, delivering 251 FPS average. This is a massive jump from the Ultra preset's 170 FPS, and the visual difference between High and Ultra in a city builder is often minimal in terms of gameplay impact. The Medium preset at 279 FPS offers even more headroom, but the jump from Medium to High is only 28 FPS, suggesting High is the best balance for 1080p.

At 1440p, the High preset is again the recommended choice, with a 160 FPS average that comfortably exceeds 144 Hz refresh rates. The Ultra preset at 108 FPS is still playable and provides the highest visual fidelity, but the 52 FPS difference between High and Ultra is significant. The data shows that the Medium preset at 214 FPS is overkill for most 1440p monitors, which typically top out at 165 Hz or 240 Hz. For those with a 240 Hz 1440p display, the Medium preset is the only way to fully utilize the refresh rate, but the High preset offers a better balance of image quality and performance.

At 4K, the situation is more nuanced. The High preset at 85 FPS is the clear recommendation for a smooth experience, as it provides a 28 FPS improvement over the Ultra preset's 57 FPS. The Ultra preset is technically playable, but the 57 FPS average is close to the 60 FPS threshold and may result in noticeable stutters in a city builder with a busy map. The Medium preset at 113 FPS is also a strong option, but the visual fidelity drop from High to Medium is more noticeable at 4K. The Low preset at 148 FPS is unnecessary unless the user prioritizes frame rate above all else, as the visual compromise is substantial.

The benchmark results indicate that the High preset is the best overall recommendation across all three resolutions. It provides a consistent 85 FPS at 4K, 160 FPS at 1440p, and 251 FPS at 1080p. The Ultra preset is only recommended for users who have a 1080p or 1440p monitor and prioritize image quality over frame rate, as the 170 FPS and 108 FPS results are still playable. The Medium preset is a fallback for those who want to push refresh rates higher, but the High preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance for this specific CPU and GPU combination.

How This Combo Ranks

In the global database of tested combinations for Steamworld Build, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i5-12400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 holds a rank of 173 out of 3706 tested combos. This places it in the top 5% of all configurations, which is impressive given that the CPU is a mid-range 12th-gen part. The ranking is likely driven by the GPU's immense power, as the RTX 4090 sits in the 88th percentile of all GPUs based on average benchmark scores. The CPU, meanwhile, is in the 72nd percentile of all processors, which is respectable but not top-tier.

The combo's rank of 173 suggests that there are 172 other combinations that deliver higher average FPS in this game. These are likely pairings of the RTX 4090 with higher-end CPUs like the Core i9 or Ryzen 9 parts, which can feed the GPU more effectively at lower resolutions. The data shows that the i5-12400's performance is close to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks. For example, the AMD EPYC 7643 has an average score of 18697, which is just 0.1% lower than the i5-12400's 18683. Similarly, the Intel Core i7-1355U scores 18730, which is 0.3% higher. This suggests that in CPU-bound scenarios, the i5-12400 is competitive with much more expensive server and mobile parts.

The GPU's nearest rivals are less relevant here, as the RTX 4090's average benchmark score of 60347 is nearly identical to the Intel Arc Pro A60's 60326, a 0% difference. This is an anomaly in the data, as the RTX 4090 is a flagship gaming card while the Arc Pro A60 is a workstation part. The AMD Radeon Pro W6600M scores 61896, which is 2.5% higher, indicating that the RTX 4090's benchmark score is not fully representative of its gaming performance. In Steamworld Build, the RTX 4090's raw FPS results are clearly at the top end, but the CPU bottleneck at 1080p prevents the combo from ranking higher.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 4K with High settings?

A: The average FPS at 3840x2160 with High settings is 85 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck at 1080p?

A: The data suggests the CPU is the limiting factor at 1080p, as the frame rates are extremely high and the GPU is not fully utilized.

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded in the dataset?

A: The highest average FPS is 307, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: Does the combo maintain 60 FPS at 4K Ultra?

A: No, the average FPS at 4K Ultra is 57, which is below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does the i5-12400 compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The i5-12400 has an average benchmark score of 18683, which is 0.1% higher than the AMD EPYC 7643's 18697.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded at 1440p Medium?

A: The minimum FPS at 2560x1440 with Medium settings is 182 FPS.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is a defining component in this configuration, and its specifications directly explain the high frame rates observed. The GPU features 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s. This massive memory pool is more than sufficient for Steamworld Build at any resolution, ensuring that texture streaming and asset loading are never a bottleneck. The memory clock runs at 1313 MHz, which translates to 21 Gbps effective, and the card's 176 ROPs deliver a pixel rate of 443.5 GPixel/s.

The GPU's clock speeds are moderate for a flagship, with a base clock of 2235 MHz and a boost clock of 2520 MHz. These clocks, combined with the 16384 shading units and 512 TMUs, produce a texture rate of 1,290.2 GTexel/s and an FP32 performance of 82.58 TFLOPS. In Steamworld Build, this raw compute power is what enables the 148 FPS result at 4K Low, where the GPU is still working hard to fill the screen. The card's 128 RT cores and 512 tensor cores are largely irrelevant for this city builder, as the game does not appear to use ray tracing or DLSS in the measured data.

The GPU's role becomes more pronounced at 4K, particularly at the Ultra preset where the 57 FPS average indicates the card is being pushed to its limits. The 24 GB VRAM is likely a key factor here, as the Ultra preset may load higher-resolution textures that require more memory. The fact that the 4K Ultra result is the only sub-60 FPS average suggests that the RTX 4090 is nearing its performance ceiling for this game, despite its position in the 88th percentile of all GPUs.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, manufactured on Intel's 10 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, with 18 MB of shared L3 cache. These specifications place it in the 72nd percentile of all CPUs, and its synthetic benchmark scores show strong single-thread performance, which is crucial for city builders that often rely on a single main thread for simulation logic.

In Steamworld Build, the CPU's role is most evident at 1080p, where the frame rates are exceptionally high. The 251 FPS average at 1080p High suggests that the CPU is delivering draw calls as fast as the engine can generate them, but the GPU is not yet saturated. The 307 FPS at 1080p Low is likely close to the engine's maximum frame rate, as the CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads are processing all the game logic and physics. The 3DMark scores for the i5-12400 show a single-thread score of 910 and a max-thread score of 5890, indicating a balanced design that scales well with additional threads.

The CPU's benchmark results in Cinebench R23 are particularly relevant, with a multicore score of 15989 and a single-core score of 2257. These numbers suggest that the processor can handle both the single-threaded simulation and the multithreaded rendering tasks. However, the data shows that at 4K Ultra, the CPU is no longer the bottleneck, as the GPU's 57 FPS result is a clear indication of GPU limitation. The CPU's performance in Passmark multithreading, scoring 18747, further confirms its capability, but it is the combination of the CPU's 4.40 GHz boost clock and the GPU's raw power that yields the high FPS numbers seen in this dataset.