Steamworld Build

Steamworld Build presents an interesting case study in how a city builder scales across resolutions when equipped with an Intel Core i5-12400F and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER. The measured data reveals a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-limited at higher resolutions, yet shows signs of CPU influence at 1080p. The combination ranks 126th out of 1730 tested combos for this game, placing it in the top 7.3% of all configurations, which is a strong showing for a pairing of a mid-range 12th-gen processor with a high-end 40-series graphics card.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS deltas between 1080p and 4K are stark and tell a clear story about where the bottleneck lies. At Low settings, the average frame rate drops from 308.2 FPS at 1920x1080 to 134 FPS at 3840x2160, a reduction of approximately 56.5%. This massive drop indicates that even at the lowest graphical preset, the RTX 4080 SUPER is being pushed significantly harder as pixel count quadruples. The GPU is the limiting component here, as its rendering workload scales directly with resolution.

Moving to High settings, the scaling pattern remains consistent but starts from a lower baseline. The average FPS falls from 225.7 at 1080p to 144.9 at 1440p, and then down to 74.6 at 4K. The drop from 1440p to 4K is particularly steep, representing a 48.5% decrease in performance. This suggests that at High settings, the game becomes heavily dependent on the GPU's raw fill rate and memory bandwidth, both of which are taxed more severely as resolution increases. The RTX 4080 SUPER's 16 GB of GDDR6X memory and 736.3 GB/s bandwidth are clearly being utilized, but the sheer pixel workload at 4K overwhelms the advantage.

The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic scaling, with averages of 154.2 FPS at 1080p, 99.3 FPS at 1440p, and just 50.5 FPS at 4K. The 4K result is less than one-third of the 1080p figure, which is a heavier penalty than the other presets. This implies that Ultra settings introduce effects that are disproportionately expensive at high resolutions, likely related to shadow resolution, draw distances, or post-processing that scales with pixel count. The data suggests that 4K Ultra is only viable for players who prioritize visual fidelity over frame rate, as the 50.5 FPS average is below the 60 FPS threshold that many consider smooth.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of 1730 tested combinations for Steamworld Build, this specific pairing of the Core i5-12400F and RTX 4080 SUPER achieves a rank of 126. This places it in the 92.7th percentile of all tested configurations, meaning it outperforms roughly 92.7% of other combos in this game. The high rank is somewhat surprising given that the CPU is not a top-tier part, but it reflects the game's nature as a city builder where the GPU often dominates the rendering pipeline.

The ranking also highlights the efficiency of the RTX 4080 SUPER within this game. The GPU's average benchmark score of 53610 places it in the 88th percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT with a deltaPct of 0.2% and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti with a deltaPct of 2.9%. This means the 4080 SUPER is statistically tied with the RX 6900 XT and only slightly ahead of the newer 5070 Ti in synthetic tests, yet the in-game combo rank suggests the pairing works harmoniously. The fact that the combo rank (126) is higher than the GPU's individual percentile (88) implies that the i5-12400F does not hold the GPU back in this specific title, allowing the graphics card to perform near its full potential.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. Its benchmark scores show moderate multithreaded capability, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 16518 and a 3DMark max threads score of 5912. These numbers are respectable for a mid-range part, but they are not exceptional. The CPU's percentile ranking of 77 versus all CPUs indicates it sits above average, yet its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-8700K with a deltaPct of 0.1% and the AMD Ryzen 5 7533HS with a deltaPct of -0.7%, showing it is performance-neutral with older high-end parts.

In Steamworld Build, the CPU's role appears secondary to the GPU. At 1080p with Low settings, the average FPS of 308.2 suggests the CPU is capable of feeding frames at a very high rate, but the drop to 134 FPS at 4K Low indicates the GPU becomes the constraint. The CPU's single-thread performance, measured at a 3DMark single-thread score of 909 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2332, is likely sufficient for the game's simulation logic, which typically runs on one or two threads. The 18 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB per-core L2 cache provide adequate memory hierarchy for the game's data structures, but the data does not show any CPU-specific bottleneck at lower resolutions. The fact that the 1080p Low result of 308.2 FPS is only slightly above the 1440p Low result of 251.9 FPS suggests that the CPU may be nearing its limit at very high frame rates, but it is not a severe limitation.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured averages range from 154.2 FPS on Ultra to 308.2 FPS on Low. The Medium preset delivers 281 FPS, while High achieves 225.7 FPS. These numbers indicate that at 1080p, the system has substantial headroom, with even the most demanding settings producing frame rates well above 144 Hz. The gap between Medium (281 FPS) and High (225.7 FPS) is a 55.3 FPS difference, which is notable and suggests that High settings introduce a significant rendering cost over Medium.

At 2560x1440, the averages are 99.3 FPS on Ultra, 144.9 FPS on High, 194.6 FPS on Medium, and 251.9 FPS on Low. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is roughly linear for most presets, with Low dropping by 56.3 FPS, Medium by 86.4 FPS, High by 80.8 FPS, and Ultra by 54.9 FPS. The Medium and High presets show the largest absolute drops, indicating that the intermediate settings are more sensitive to resolution increases than the extremes.

At 3840x2160, the results are 50.5 FPS on Ultra, 74.6 FPS on High, 103.2 FPS on Medium, and 134 FPS on Low. The 4K Ultra result is the only one that falls below 60 FPS, making it the only configuration that might feel less fluid on standard displays. The High preset at 74.6 FPS is playable but not ideal for high-refresh monitors. The Low preset at 134 FPS is surprisingly high, suggesting that the RTX 4080 SUPER can handle 4K with reduced settings easily.

FAQ

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

A: At 2560x1440, the High preset delivers an average of 144.9 FPS, which is excellent for smooth gameplay. The 1920x1080 resolution offers higher frame rates, but the 1440p result provides a better balance between visual fidelity and performance.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Steamworld Build?

A: Yes, but with caveats. At 4K High, the average FPS is 74.6, which is playable. At 4K Ultra, the average drops to 50.5 FPS, which may be acceptable for a city builder but is below the 60 FPS threshold. The 4K Low preset achieves 134 FPS, showing the GPU has ample headroom at lower settings.

Q: How does the CPU affect performance at 1080p?

A: The data shows that at 1080p Low, the system reaches 308.2 FPS, which is likely near the CPU's maximum frame delivery capability. The drop to 251.9 FPS at 1440p Low is smaller than expected, suggesting the CPU is not a major bottleneck even at high frame rates.

Q: Is the RTX 4080 SUPER the limiting component at 4K?

A: Yes. The FPS drops from 134 at 4K Low to 50.5 at 4K Ultra, a 62.3% reduction, which is entirely attributable to the GPU's rendering workload. The CPU's performance remains constant, so the GPU is clearly the bottleneck at this resolution.

Q: How does this combo compare to other tested configurations?

A: It ranks 126th out of 1730 combos, placing it in the top 7.3% of all tested setups. This is a strong result, especially considering the CPU is not a high-end part.

Q: What settings should I use for the smoothest experience?

A: For a target of 60 FPS or higher, the 4K Medium preset (103.2 FPS) is the best choice. At 1440p, the Ultra preset (99.3 FPS) is viable, while at 1080p, the Ultra preset (154.2 FPS) provides an excellent experience.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data clearly indicates that the Ultra preset is overly demanding at higher resolutions, with the 4K result of 50.5 FPS being the only configuration below 60 FPS. For players targeting a consistent 60 FPS or higher, the Medium preset is the safest choice across all resolutions. At 4K, Medium delivers 103.2 FPS, which is more than sufficient for smooth gameplay and leaves headroom for complex city scenes that might cause frame dips. At 1440p, Medium achieves 194.6 FPS, offering a buttery-smooth experience that is well above the refresh rate of most monitors.

The High preset is a reasonable compromise for those who want better visual quality without sacrificing too much performance. At 4K, it delivers 74.6 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for fast-paced action, though city builders are typically more forgiving. At 1440p, High achieves 144.9 FPS, which is excellent and likely the sweet spot for most users. The Low preset, while providing the highest frame rates (308.2 FPS at 1080p), sacrifices visual fidelity and is only recommended for competitive play or extremely high refresh rate displays, which are uncommon for this genre. The data suggests that the Medium preset offers the best balance of performance and quality, with the High preset being a close second for those with 144Hz displays.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is a powerhouse with 16 GB of GDDR6X memory, a 256-bit bus, and 736.3 GB/s of memory bandwidth. Its boost clock of 2550 MHz and 10240 shading units provide substantial compute throughput, reflected in its FP32 performance of 52.22 TFLOPS. The GPU's average benchmark score of 53610 places it in the 88th percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT, is only 0.2% behind in average score. This indicates that the 4080 SUPER is at the top of its class, and the data confirms this in Steamworld Build.

The GPU's role in this game is clearly dominant, as evidenced by the resolution scaling. At 1080p, the GPU is not fully utilized, as shown by the 308.2 FPS average at Low settings, which is likely near the CPU's limit. However, as resolution increases, the GPU becomes the primary constraint. The 4K Ultra result of 50.5 FPS shows that even this powerful GPU struggles with the most demanding settings at high pixel counts. The 16 GB VRAM is more than sufficient for this game, as no memory-related bottlenecks are apparent in the data. The GPU's 80 RT cores and 320 tensor cores are likely underutilized in a city builder, but the raw raster performance is what drives the high frame rates. The RTX 4080 SUPER's end-of-life status is noted, but its performance in this title remains excellent, and the measured data shows it pairs well with the i5-12400F to deliver top-tier results in Steamworld Build.