Steamworld Build

The Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 delivers a remarkably consistent experience in Steamworld Build, with the data showing this combination ranks 61st out of 1,730 tested combos. This places it in the top 3.5% of all configurations, a strong result for a city builder that typically scales more with CPU than GPU. The combination's strength lies in its balance: the six-core processor with 12 threads handles the simulation layers, while the 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on the GPU ensures that even at 4K Ultra, the frame rate remains playable. The benchmark results indicate that this pairing is overkill for 1080p gaming, but it shines at 1440p and 4K where the GPU's raw power becomes the deciding factor.

FAQ

Q: How does the i5-12400F compare to its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-8700K?

A: The i5-12400F scores an average benchmark of 19,221, which is a 0.1% delta over the i7-8700K's 19,210. This effectively means they perform identically in synthetic tests, but the i5-12400F uses a newer Alder Lake architecture with a 10 nm process node.

Q: What is the RTX 4090's standing relative to other GPUs in the database?

A: The RTX 4090 sits in the 91st percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 66,473. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA Tesla T4, scores 66,733, which is only a 0.4% difference, making them statistically tied in raw compute power.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming smoothly?

A: Yes, the measured data shows 82.3 FPS at 3840x2160 on High settings. Even at Ultra settings, it maintains 57.9 FPS, which is playable. For a smoother 4K experience, dropping to Medium yields 111.4 FPS.

Q: What is the single-threaded performance of the i5-12400F?

A: The CPU scores 909 in 3DMark single-thread and 2,332 in Cinebench R23 single-core. This strong single-thread performance is crucial for city builders where simulation logic often runs on one or two cores.

Q: How much memory bandwidth does the RTX 4090 offer?

A: The GPU provides 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth through a 384-bit bus with GDDR6X memory running at 21 Gbps effective. This is essential for handling the large textures and draw calls in Steamworld Build at high resolutions.

Q: Is the i5-12400F a good match for the RTX 4090 in this game?

A: The benchmark data suggests yes. The combo ranks 61st out of 1,730, and the CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads with a 4.40 GHz boost clock are sufficient to feed the GPU. The measured FPS at 1440p High (160.7 FPS) shows no obvious CPU bottleneck.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 61 out of 1,730 tested configurations places this pairing in the 96.5th percentile of all tested systems for Steamworld Build. This is a significant achievement considering the CPU is a mid-range Alder Lake part, not a flagship. The ranking suggests that the GPU is doing most of the heavy lifting, but the CPU is not holding it back. For context, the i5-12400F alone sits in the 77th percentile of all CPUs, while the RTX 4090 sits in the 91st percentile of all GPUs. The gap between these individual percentiles and the combo's rank indicates that game-specific optimization favors this pairing. The measured data shows that at 1920x1080 Low, the system reaches 307.8 FPS, which is far beyond what any display can show, confirming the combo is not CPU-limited at lower resolutions. At 3840x2160 Ultra, the system drops to 57.9 FPS, showing that the GPU is the limiting factor at the highest settings. This rank of 61 out of 1,730 is particularly impressive because city builders typically reward CPUs with high single-thread performance, and the i5-12400F's 909 3DMark single-thread score is competitive with much more expensive processors.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the dominant component in this pairing, and its role becomes more critical as resolution increases. The GPU features 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, delivering 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is excessive for Steamworld Build, but it ensures no texture streaming issues at any resolution. The clocks are set at 2235 MHz base and 2520 MHz boost, which are high for a GPU of this size. The Ada Lovelace architecture, built on a 5 nm process at TSMC, contains 76,300 million transistors in a 609 mm² die. This translates to 82.58 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, which is more than enough for the game's graphical demands. The measured FPS data shows the GPU's scaling: at 3840x2160, moving from Low (147.9 FPS) to Ultra (57.9 FPS) represents a 60.8% performance drop. This steep decline indicates that Steamworld Build's Ultra preset includes effects that are particularly taxing on the GPU's shading units and ROPs. The GPU's 176 ROPs are responsible for the pixel fill rate of 443.5 GPixel/s, which becomes relevant at 4K where the game is rendering nearly 8.3 million pixels per frame. The RTX 4090's 512 tensor cores and 128 RT cores are present but likely unused in this game, as city builders rarely implement ray tracing. The GPU's passmark G3D score of 38,194 confirms its dominance, sitting 0.5% above the Tesla P40's score of 66,127 in the overall average.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers exceptional performance across all settings. Low settings produce 307.8 FPS, Medium yields 283.1 FPS, High achieves 254.8 FPS, and Ultra maintains 168.9 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 138.9 FPS, showing that the CPU can push high frame rates even with the GPU fully loaded. Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but show more variation. Low produces 267.9 FPS, Medium drops to 215 FPS, High sits at 160.7 FPS, and Ultra falls to 108.8 FPS. The step from High to Ultra at 1440p is a 51.9 FPS drop, which is significant and suggests that Ultra enables effects that are disproportionately expensive. At 3840x2160, the system still delivers playable results. Low produces 147.9 FPS, Medium achieves 111.4 FPS, High yields 82.3 FPS, and Ultra drops to 57.9 FPS. The data shows that the scaling from 1080p to 4K at High settings results in a 67.7% reduction in frame rate, which is expected given the fourfold increase in pixel count. Interestingly, the drop from Medium to Ultra at 4K is 53.5 FPS, which is less severe than the drop at 1440p (106.2 FPS). This indicates that at 4K, the GPU is so heavily loaded that the difference between settings becomes less pronounced. The minimum and maximum FPS values are not provided in the data, so the analysis relies solely on average FPS, which is stable across all tested configurations.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience, the data suggests prioritizing High settings at 1440p or Medium settings at 4K. At 2560x1440 High, the system delivers 160.7 FPS, which is well above the 144 Hz refresh rate of most gaming monitors. This provides a smooth, responsive experience without the performance hit of Ultra. If you have a 4K display, Medium settings at 111.4 FPS offer the best balance between visual fidelity and smoothness. Ultra at 4K produces 57.9 FPS, which is technically playable but not ideal for a city builder where camera panning and zooming are frequent; the lower frame rate can cause noticeable judder. At 1080p, the choice is simpler: High at 254.8 FPS is the sweet spot, as Ultra at 168.9 FPS offers marginal visual improvements but a 33.7% performance reduction. The data shows that Low settings are unnecessary on this hardware, as even High at 4K maintains 82.3 FPS. For users with high refresh rate displays (240 Hz or above), 1080p Medium at 283.1 FPS or Low at 307.8 FPS will fully saturate the display, but the visual trade-off is rarely worth it. The recommended configuration is 1440p High, which provides a 160.7 FPS average that is smooth on virtually all monitors and looks significantly better than Low or Medium presets. If you prioritize maximum visual quality and have a G-Sync display, 4K Ultra at 57.9 FPS is viable, but the 4K Medium preset at 111.4 FPS is the pragmatic choice for long play sessions.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F plays a supporting but crucial role in this combo. It features 6 cores and 12 threads, running at a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. This Alder Lake-S architecture uses a 10 nm process from Intel, with 18 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU's benchmark scores reveal its strengths: a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 16,518 and a single-core score of 2,332. These scores indicate that the CPU has sufficient single-thread performance for Steamworld Build's simulation logic, which typically runs on one primary thread. The 3DMark scores show scaling from 909 (single-thread) to 5,912 (max threads), indicating that the CPU can utilize all cores when needed. In Steamworld Build, the CPU handles pathfinding, resource management, and building logic. The measured FPS data shows that at 1080p Low, the system reaches 307.8 FPS, which is likely near the CPU's limit for this game. The fact that the 1440p High score of 160.7 FPS is only 36.9% lower than the 1080p Low score suggests that the CPU is not a bottleneck until very high frame rates. The CPU's passmark multithread score of 19,433 and single-thread score of 3,481 confirm it is a capable mid-range processor. Compared to its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 5 7533HS, the i5-12400F is 0.7% slower in average benchmark score, but the i5-12400F has a higher boost clock (4.40 GHz vs. unknown for the Ryzen). The CPU's 65W TDP means it generates less heat, allowing the RTX 4090 to operate without thermal throttling in most cases. For Steamworld Build, the CPU's performance is adequate, as evidenced by the high rank of 61 out of 1,730, but it is not the star of this pairing. The data suggests that upgrading the CPU would yield minimal gains at 4K, where the GPU is clearly the limiting factor.