Steamworld Build

Steamworld Build is a city builder that rarely stresses high-end components the way a first-person shooter does, but the benchmark data for this specific combination of an Intel Core i5-12400F and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 reveals a clear performance hierarchy across resolutions and presets. The measured frames per second (FPS) show that the game, released in 2023, scales significantly with graphical settings, and the bottleneck shifts from the CPU at 1080p to the GPU at 4K. This analysis walks through the collected data to interpret what these scores mean for the hardware pairing.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The highest measured average is 309.7 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset.

Q: How does the RTX 5090's performance compare to its closest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 5090's average benchmark score is 84306, which is roughly 0.1% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D's score of 84241.

Q: What is the lowest average FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The lowest measured average is 60.4 FPS, which occurs at 3840x2160 resolution with the Ultra settings preset.

Q: What is the CPU's multi-threaded performance score in Cinebench R23?

A: The Intel Core i5-12400F scores 16518 points in the Cinebench R23 multi-core test.

Q: How much faster is the 1080p Low preset compared to the 4K Ultra preset?

A: The 1080p Low preset hits 309.7 FPS, which is over 5 times higher than the 60.4 FPS seen at 4K Ultra, indicating a massive performance delta across the extremes.

Q: Does the CPU have a high single-thread score relative to its multi-thread score?

A: In Geekbench, the CPU scores 2221 in single-core and 9138 in multi-core, showing a ratio of roughly 4.1x, which is typical for a 6-core, 12-thread processor.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications explain why it handles Steamworld Build so comfortably. The GPU features 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s. This large memory pool and high bandwidth are more than sufficient for a city builder, where texture data and draw calls for large, populated maps can become demanding. The GPU's core configuration includes 21760 shading units and 176 ROPs, allowing for massive parallel throughput. Its boost clock of 2407 MHz and base clock of 2017 MHz are also relatively high, ensuring that the architecture's raw compute power is readily available.

In the benchmark data, the GPU's role becomes clear when examining the 4K results. At 3840x2160, the average FPS drops from 154.7 at Low settings to 60.4 at Ultra settings. This 94.3 FPS swing demonstrates that the GPU is the primary driver of performance at this resolution. The RTX 5090's average benchmark score of 84306 places it in the 94th percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rival, the RTX 5090 D, is only 0.1% behind. This indicates that the card is operating at the very top of the performance spectrum. The data suggests that at 4K, the GPU is fully engaged, and the visual fidelity settings directly translate into frame rate costs.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture. It has a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. Its cache configuration includes 18 MB of shared L3 cache, which is critical for gaming workloads. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU shows a single-thread score of 909 in 3DMark and a multi-thread score of 5912 in the max threads test. The Cinebench R23 scores of 2332 (single-core) and 16518 (multi-core) indicate a balanced processor that can handle both lightly-threaded game logic and more heavily-threaded background tasks.

The CPU's influence is most visible at lower resolutions. At 1920x1080, the difference between Low and Medium settings is only 27.9 FPS (309.7 vs 281.8), and even High settings maintain a strong 253.6 FPS. This relatively small gap between presets at 1080p suggests that the CPU is beginning to limit the frame rate, as the GPU is not being fully utilized. The CPU's percentile rank of 77 among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19221, places it in a solid mid-to-high tier. Its closest rival, the Intel Core i7-8700K, scores 19210, a mere 0.1% difference, showing that this older 12th-gen chip is still comparable to a high-end 8th-gen part in overall synthetic performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the system's capabilities. At 1920x1080, the performance is consistently high across all settings. The Low preset averages 309.7 FPS, which is the highest recorded value in the entire dataset. Medium delivers 281.8 FPS, while High drops to 253.6 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1080p still manages a very playable 174.2 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain excellent but show a clear scaling pattern. Low settings average 268.7 FPS, which is a 41 FPS drop from 1080p Low. Medium follows at 223.3 FPS, and High at 164.2 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p yields 111.2 FPS, which is a significant reduction from the 1080p Ultra result. This indicates that the GPU is becoming more of a limiting factor as pixel count increases.

At 3840x2160, the performance curve steepens dramatically. Low settings still provide a smooth 154.7 FPS, but Medium drops to 113.7 FPS. High settings average 84.4 FPS, and Ultra falls to 60.4 FPS. This 4K data shows a clear linear relationship between preset quality and frame rate, with the GPU being the definitive bottleneck at this resolution. The difference between the 1080p Low and 4K Low presets is 155 FPS, highlighting the substantial cost of rendering four times the pixels.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K reveals where the performance limit lies. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 309.7 at 1080p to 154.7 at 4K, a reduction of 50%. This halving of performance with a fourfold increase in pixel count suggests that the GPU is not fully saturated at 1080p, and the CPU is likely holding the system back from reaching even higher frame rates. However, at Ultra settings, the drop is from 174.2 FPS at 1080p to 60.4 FPS at 4K, a 65.3% decrease. This steeper decline at higher settings confirms that the GPU becomes the limiting component as the workload increases.

The data also shows that the scaling is not perfectly linear. At 1440p, the Low preset achieves 268.7 FPS, which is 86.7% of the 1080p Low score. At 4K, the Low preset achieves 154.7 FPS, which is 49.9% of the 1080p score. This pattern indicates that the CPU provides a diminishing return as resolution increases, and the GPU's raw power is better utilized at higher pixel densities. The 4K Ultra result of 60.4 FPS is particularly telling, as it is exactly on the edge of playability for a city builder, where frame pacing can matter more than absolute speed.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution. For 1920x1080, the High preset at 253.6 FPS offers an excellent balance, as the difference between Medium and High is only 28.2 FPS, while the visual quality improvement is typically substantial. Pushing to Ultra at 1080p costs 79.4 FPS compared to High, which is a significant sacrifice for marginal visual gains.

At 2560x1440, the High preset at 164.2 FPS is the sweet spot. It provides a high refresh rate experience without the steep cost of Ultra, which drops to 111.2 FPS. The Medium preset at 223.3 FPS is also viable for players who prioritize frame rate over visual fidelity, but High offers a better balance for most users.

For 3840x2160, the recommendations change. The High preset at 84.4 FPS is the highest quality setting that maintains a comfortable frame rate. The Ultra preset at 60.4 FPS is technically playable, but the 24 FPS drop from High is steep. The Medium preset at 113.7 FPS is an excellent choice for 4K, as it provides smooth performance while still offering better visuals than Low. Given the massive 32 GB VRAM of the RTX 5090, there are no memory constraints, so the decision is purely about frame rate preference.

The data suggests that for the best experience, users should target the High preset at 1440p or the Medium preset at 4K. These settings provide the most efficient use of the GPU's capabilities without hitting the diminishing returns of Ultra settings. The 4K Ultra result of 60.4 FPS, while playable, is close to the lower bound for smooth gameplay, and the 154.7 FPS at 4K Low shows that the hardware has ample headroom to spare if visual settings are moderated.