Steamworld Build

Steamworld Build is a city builder that leans on CPU throughput for simulation logic, but the data here shows the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 paired with the Intel Core i5-14400F delivers a massive range of frame rates depending on how you configure it. The measured results span from a demanding 58.3 FPS at 4K Ultra to a blistering 330.2 FPS at 1080p Low, indicating that the combination is rarely the bottleneck at lower settings. The i5-14400F ranks in the 88th percentile among all CPUs, while the RTX 4090 sits in the 91st percentile for GPUs, making this a top-tier pairing for a simulation-heavy title.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain a smooth 60 FPS experience?

A: At 4K with High settings, the combo averages 81.7 FPS, which is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold. Even at 4K Ultra, the average drops to 58.3 FPS, which is just shy of that mark but still playable for a city builder.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Intel Core i5-14400F has an average benchmark score of 32508, placing it virtually tied with the Intel Core i7-12800H which scores 32513 (a 0% delta). It is also within 0.2% of the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 7645 and the AMD Ryzen 7 250, showing performance parity in this segment.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset yields an average of 276.7 FPS, while the Ultra preset produces 110.5 FPS. This represents a substantial 166.2 FPS drop when moving from the least to the most demanding visual configuration.

Q: Does the GPU's memory capacity play a significant role in this game's performance?

A: The RTX 4090 comes with 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, providing 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth. For Steamworld Build, the data shows the GPU is not a limiting factor at lower presets, as frame rates scale primarily with resolution and settings rather than showing signs of memory capacity constraints.

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

A: The combination of the Intel Core i5-14400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 ranks 43rd out of 1730 tested combos for Steamworld Build. This places it in the top 2.5% of all configurations tested for this specific title.

Q: What is the single-core performance of the CPU based on Cinebench tests?

A: The i5-14400F scores 3093 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 311 in Cinebench R15 single-core. These scores reflect strong single-threaded performance, which is critical for city builders that often rely on one main simulation thread.

How This Combo Ranks

The data places this Intel Core i5-14400F + RTX 4090 combination at rank 43 out of 1730 tested combos for Steamworld Build. This is an exceptional standing, putting the setup in the top 2.5% of all configurations benchmarked for this game. The high rank is driven by the GPU's raw power, as the RTX 4090's 82.58 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 24 GB of VRAM allow it to push extremely high frame rates even at demanding resolutions.

The CPU's contribution is also significant. With 10 cores and 16 threads, the i5-14400F provides enough parallel processing headroom for the game's simulation systems. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 21914 indicates solid multi-threaded capability, while the single-core score of 3093 ensures the primary game logic thread is well-fed. The CPU's percentile ranking of 88 vs all CPUs means it outperforms the vast majority of processors available, and the fact that it is within 0.2% of rivals like the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 7645 and AMD Ryzen 7 250 in average benchmark score shows it is not a weak link in this pairing.

Looking at the measured data, this rank is well-earned. The combo never dips below 58.3 FPS in any tested configuration, and at 1080p Low it reaches an extraordinary 330.2 FPS. This suggests the system is overkill for lower settings, but the headroom ensures that even the most complex city layouts with thousands of citizens won't cause significant stutters. The rank of 43 indicates that only a handful of more exotic combinations, likely featuring higher-end CPUs like the Core i9 series or Ryzen 9 parts, can outperform this setup in this specific title.

Settings Recommendations

Analyzing the measured FPS rows, the optimal balance between visual fidelity and performance appears to be the High preset. At 1920x1080, High delivers 254.6 FPS, which is more than enough for any display, and at 2560x1440 it maintains 161.4 FPS. Even at 3840x2160, High produces 81.7 FPS, clearing the 60 FPS threshold for a smooth experience. This makes High the most versatile preset across all three resolutions.

The Medium preset offers a slight performance boost over High, with 299.2 FPS at 1080p and 216.7 FPS at 1440p, but the visual difference between Medium and High is typically more noticeable in a city builder where fine details like building textures and shadow quality matter. The data shows Medium at 4K provides 113.6 FPS, which is a significant jump over High's 81.7 FPS, but this comes at the cost of visual richness.

Ultra is only recommended for users with high-refresh-rate 1080p monitors, as it delivers 172.6 FPS at that resolution. At 1440p, Ultra drops to 110.5 FPS, and at 4K it falls to 58.3 FPS, which is borderline for a game where camera panning and zooming can cause noticeable judder below 60 FPS. Low settings should be avoided unless chasing maximum frame rates, as the jump from Low to Medium at 1080p only costs 31.0 FPS (from 330.2 to 299.2) but provides substantially better visuals. For most users, High at 1440p is the sweet spot, offering 161.4 FPS with strong visual quality.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data shows a clear scaling pattern across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the combo delivers staggering performance: Low hits 330.2 FPS, Medium reaches 299.2 FPS, High produces 254.6 FPS, and Ultra still manages 172.6 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra at 1080p is 82.0 FPS, indicating that Ultra settings impose a heavy load even on this top-tier GPU.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains excellent but shows the expected decline. Low averages 276.7 FPS, Medium drops to 216.7 FPS, High sits at 161.4 FPS, and Ultra comes in at 110.5 FPS. The transition from 1080p to 1440p costs roughly 16-20% performance across all settings, which is typical for a resolution with 78% more pixels.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is finally challenged. Low still produces 147.5 FPS, which is impressive, but Medium falls to 113.6 FPS, High drops to 81.7 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 58.3 FPS. The delta between High and Ultra at 4K is 23.4 FPS, showing that Ultra's additional effects and shadow quality have a proportionally larger impact at higher resolutions. Notably, the gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 89.2 FPS, while at 1080p that same gap is 157.6 FPS. This indicates that resolution scaling is not linear, and the GPU becomes more of a bottleneck at 4K, reducing the relative impact of settings changes.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the dominant component in this pairing for Steamworld Build, and its specifications explain the measured results. With a boost clock of 2520 MHz and 16384 shading units, the GPU provides 82.58 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power. Its 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus delivers 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth, which is more than sufficient for a city builder's texture streaming and asset loading demands.

The GPU's memory configuration is particularly relevant for Steamworld Build. The 24 GB VRAM capacity ensures that even at 4K Ultra settings, the game's textures and geometry data fit comfortably within the frame buffer, preventing any memory swapping that could cause frame time spikes. The 1.01 TB/s bandwidth also supports fast data transfer for the game's dynamic elements, such as animated building construction and resource transport animations.

The RTX 4090's architecture, Ada Lovelace on a 5 nm process from TSMC, includes 128 RT cores and 512 tensor cores, though these are less relevant for a city builder that typically doesn't use ray tracing or DLSS. Instead, the raw rasterization performance drives the results. The pixel rate of 443.5 GPixel/s and texture rate of 1,290.2 GTexel/s allow the GPU to fill the screen with detailed geometry even at 4K, which is why High settings at 4K still achieve 81.7 FPS.

The GPU's percentile ranking of 91 vs all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 66473, places it in the top tier of graphics cards. Its nearest rivals include workstation cards like the NVIDIA Tesla T4 (deltaPct -0.4%) and the Quadro P6000 (deltaPct -1.3%), which underscores its professional-grade performance. For Steamworld Build specifically, the GPU's role is to remove any rendering bottleneck, allowing the CPU's simulation logic to be the only limiting factor. The data confirms this: at 1080p Low, the frame rate of 330.2 FPS is likely near the engine's internal cap or the CPU's limit, indicating the GPU is far from maxed out in less demanding scenarios.