Steamworld Build

The Intel Core i5-14400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER combination demonstrates a clear performance hierarchy in Steamworld Build, where resolution dictates whether the CPU or GPU becomes the primary constraint. At 1080p, the system operates with significant headroom, delivering 329 FPS on Low and 198 FPS on High, indicating that the graphics pipeline is not yet saturated. The climb from Low to Medium at 1080p shows a reduction to 265 FPS, while Ultra drops further to 134 FPS; this pattern reveals that even at lower resolutions, the game’s higher presets begin to tax the GPU. Moving to 1440p, the frame rates scale down proportionally, with Low at 220 FPS, High at 126 FPS, and Ultra at 85 FPS. The most pronounced shift occurs at 4K, where Low produces 116 FPS, but High falls to 67 FPS, and Ultra plummets to 45 FPS. This sharp decline from 1080p Low (329 FPS) to 4K Low (116 FPS) — a 65% drop — underscores that the RTX 4070 SUPER becomes the limiting factor as pixel count rises, while the i5-14400F’s 10 cores and 16 threads remain sufficient to feed the GPU at lower resolutions. The data suggests that Steamworld Build is heavily GPU-bound at 4K, with the CPU’s role diminishing as resolution increases, which is typical for a city builder where draw calls and simulation logic are spread across many objects.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS across resolutions paints a clear picture of how this combo behaves under increasing pixel loads. At 1080p, the system is exceptionally fluid, with Low hitting 329 FPS, Medium at 265 FPS, High at 198 FPS, and Ultra still maintaining a robust 134 FPS. These numbers indicate that the RTX 4070 SUPER is far from maxed out at this resolution, and the i5-14400F’s boost clock of 4.70 GHz ensures that single-threaded game logic does not bottleneck the frame delivery. Stepping up to 1440p, the average FPS for Low reaches 220, Medium 168, High 126, and Ultra 85; this represents a 33% reduction from 1080p at Low, but the experience remains smooth for a city builder, where consistent frame pacing is more critical than raw maximums. The 4K results show a more dramatic scaling curve: Low delivers 116 FPS, Medium 89 FPS (with a min of 76 and max of 102), High 67 FPS, and Ultra 45 FPS. The gap between 1080p High (198 FPS) and 4K High (67 FPS) is a 66% drop, confirming that the GPU’s 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth are being pushed hard at higher resolutions. Notably, the 4K Ultra result of 45 FPS approaches the threshold where gameplay might feel less responsive, suggesting that the GPU’s 7168 shading units are saturated. The scaling from Low to Ultra at each resolution is non-linear; at 1080p, Ultra is 59% slower than Low, while at 4K, Ultra is 61% slower than Low, reinforcing that the GPU’s compute capacity, not the CPU, dictates performance at the highest settings. This behavior indicates that for players targeting 4K, the RTX 4070 SUPER is the primary constraint, while at 1080p, the combo has ample headroom for high refresh rate displays.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER, built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process from TSMC, is the dominant component in this system for Steamworld Build. Its base clock of 1980 MHz and boost clock of 2475 MHz provide substantial compute throughput, with a FP32 performance of 35.48 TFLOPS and a texture rate of 554.4 GTexel/s. The 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus delivers 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth, which is critical for a city builder that must stream many textures and object data as the map grows. The measured FPS data shows that the GPU’s memory subsystem is likely a key factor in the 4K performance drop; at 4K Ultra, the 45 FPS average suggests that the memory bandwidth is being taxed heavily, while at 1080p Low, the 329 FPS result indicates the GPU is not the limiting factor. The GPU’s 80 ROPs and 224 TMUs handle fill-rate and texture operations efficiently, but the benchmark scores further contextualize its standing: the passmark G3D score of 29995 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 4627 place it in the 83rd percentile of all GPUs. In comparison to its nearest rivals, the RTX 4070 SUPER sits within 1% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile in average score, but that mobile part is not directly comparable in thermal envelope. The GPU’s role in Steamworld Build is most evident when comparing 1440p High (126 FPS) to 4K High (67 FPS); the 47% reduction aligns with the doubling of pixel count, but the fact that 4K Low still achieves 116 FPS shows that the GPU can handle the geometry if settings are reduced. The 220 W TDP and dual-slot design suggest a power-efficient part, but the real takeaway is that for this game, the GPU’s 12 GB VRAM is sufficient at all tested settings, with no evidence of capacity-related stutters in the FPS data.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F provides the processing backbone for Steamworld Build’s simulation and logic layers, with 10 cores and 16 threads running at a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. In a city builder, the CPU handles the game’s simulation loop, including pathfinding, resource distribution, and citizen AI, which are typically single-threaded or lightly threaded. The benchmark results show the i5-14400F’s capabilities: Cinebench R23 multicore score of 21645 and single-core score of 3055, alongside a Geekbench single-core score of 2058. These numbers place the CPU in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 32279. Compared to its nearest rivals, the i5-14400F is effectively tied with the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U (0.1% delta) and Intel Core i9-11900 (0.2% delta), but it slightly trails the AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS by 0.2%. In Steamworld Build, the CPU’s impact is most visible at 1080p, where the high frame rates (329 FPS on Low) would be impossible if the CPU were the bottleneck. The fact that 1080p Low and Medium show only a 19% difference (329 vs 265 FPS) suggests that the CPU can keep up with the GPU even at lower settings. However, the 4K results tell a different story: at 4K Low, the FPS is 116, which is still high enough to indicate the CPU is not a limiting factor even at higher resolutions. The 20 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel memory support (DDR4 and DDR5) provide ample bandwidth for the simulation data. The CPU’s passmark multithread score of 25470 and integer math score of 81524 demonstrate strong throughput for complex calculations, which is essential for maintaining consistent frame times as the city expands. The data shows that the i5-14400F is not the bottleneck in any of the tested configurations; even at 4K Ultra with 45 FPS, the GPU is clearly the constraint, as evidenced by the 61% drop from Low to Ultra at that resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, this pairing of the Intel Core i5-14400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER ranks 592nd out of 3706 combos for Steamworld Build, placing it in the top 16% of all tested systems. This ranking is notable because it reflects the balance between the CPU and GPU; the i5-14400F’s 83rd percentile standing among CPUs and the RTX 4070 SUPER’s 83rd percentile among GPUs align well, creating a system without a glaring bottleneck. The combo’s position suggests that it outperforms the vast majority of configurations, which is consistent with the measured FPS data showing high frame rates at 1440p and playable results at 4K. The rank of 592 indicates that there are 591 combos that perform better, likely featuring higher-end GPUs like the RTX 4090 or faster CPUs like the Core i9 series, but this setup still delivers a strong experience. The nearest rival GPUs to the RTX 4070 SUPER in the database include the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 24 GB (0.1% lower score) and the RTX 5050 Mobile (0.1% lower), which suggests that the desktop RTX 4070 SUPER is well-positioned among GPU options. For CPU rivals, the i5-14400F is closely matched with the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U and Intel Core i9-11900, meaning that swapping to those CPUs would yield negligible performance differences. This combo’s ranking reflects its versatility; the data shows it can handle 1080p and 1440p with ease, and even 4K is viable with settings adjustments. For a city builder like Steamworld Build, where long play sessions with dense populations can strain the system, this combo’s rank indicates it will maintain stability without frequent dips, as evidenced by the 1440p Medium min FPS of 143 and 4K Medium min FPS of 76.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the target resolution and the player’s preference for visual fidelity versus frame rate. At 1080p, all presets are playable, but the Medium preset stands out as the sweet spot: it delivers 265 FPS average with a minimum of 225 FPS, ensuring smooth gameplay even during complex city interactions. High at 1080p (198 FPS) is also excellent, but Medium provides a 34% performance uplift over High with only a modest visual compromise, making it the best balance for high refresh rate monitors. For 1440p, the High preset at 126 FPS is the recommended choice, as it offers a substantial improvement over Medium (168 FPS) in visual quality while still maintaining a frame rate that exceeds 120 FPS, which is ideal for smooth panning and zooming. Ultra at 1440p (85 FPS) is acceptable but not optimal, as the drop from High to Ultra is 33%, which is a significant cost for marginal visual gains. At 4K, the situation is more constrained: Medium at 89 FPS (with a min of 76 FPS) is the best balance, as it stays above the 60 FPS threshold for comfortable play, whereas High at 67 FPS is playable but closer to the edge, and Ultra at 45 FPS is not recommended for consistent gameplay. The Low preset at 4K (116 FPS) is technically the smoothest, but it sacrifices too much visual detail for a city builder where readability of the environment matters. Across all resolutions, Medium or High offers the best experience per the measured rows, with the specific choice depending on whether the player prioritizes frame rate (Medium) or visual quality (High). The data shows that Ultra is consistently 30-50% slower than High, making it a poor trade-off for this game, which does not appear to benefit proportionally from the extra effects.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo achieves in Steamworld Build?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 329, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: Is the RTX 4070 SUPER capable of running Steamworld Build at 4K?

A: Yes, at 4K resolution, the combo delivers 116 FPS on Low, 89 FPS on Medium, 67 FPS on High, and 45 FPS on Ultra, indicating that Medium is the most balanced preset for 4K.

Q: How does the i5-14400F compare to its nearest CPU rivals?

A: The i5-14400F has an average benchmark score of 32279, which is 0.1% higher than the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U and 0.2% higher than the Intel Core i9-11900, but 0.2% lower than the AMD Ryzen 7 6800HS.

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

A: The minimum FPS at 2560x1440 with Medium settings is 143, with a maximum of 194 and an average of 168.

Q: Does the GPU or CPU bottleneck this combo in Steamworld Build?

A: At 1080p, the CPU is not a bottleneck as frame rates reach 329 FPS on Low, but at 4K, the GPU becomes the limiting factor, as evidenced by the 61% performance drop from Low to Ultra at that resolution.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested combinations for this game?

A: This combo ranks 592nd out of 3706 tested combos, placing it in the top 16% of all systems tested for Steamworld Build.