Steamworld Build

Steamworld Build, a city builder from late 2023, presents a specific challenge for the Intel Core i5-14600K and Intel Arc B570 combination. The benchmark data for this pairing shows a system that is capable of high frame rates at mainstream resolutions but hits a significant performance wall at 4K. The measured results across three resolutions and four quality presets provide a clear picture of where this combo excels and where it struggles, indicating a system balanced for 1080p and 1440p gaming rather than native 4K.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and reveals a GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions. At Medium settings, the average frame rate falls from 124 FPS at 1920x1080 to 79 FPS at 2560x1440, a 36% reduction. Moving from 1440p to 4K (3840x2160) at the same Medium preset drops the average further to 42 FPS, another 47% reduction. This pattern is consistent across all presets, with the scaling indicating that the Intel Arc B570's rendering capabilities are the primary limiting factor as pixel count increases.

The data shows that the CPU, with its 14 cores and 20 threads, is not the bottleneck until the resolution is lowered. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 162 FPS, suggesting the processor can feed frames at a high rate. However, the GPU's workload scales dramatically with resolution. The 4K Ultra preset yields a mere 21 FPS average, while 4K Low produces 55 FPS. This 34 FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 4K highlights the GPU's struggle with the increased shader and fill-rate demands at that resolution. The scaling factor between 1440p and 4K is consistently around 50% for each preset, confirming that the Arc B570's 10 GB of GDDR6 memory and 160-bit bus are adequate for the data, but its raw compute power is insufficient for smooth 4K performance in this title.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1080p with High settings for this combo?

A: The Intel Core i5-14600K and Intel Arc B570 produce an average of 93 FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings.

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

A: At 3840x2160, the average frame rates range from 55 FPS on Low settings to 21 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset yields 42 FPS, suggesting that 4K is only playable on the Low preset, and even then, it is near the lower threshold for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the High preset averages 59 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 40 FPS. The 19 FPS drop indicates that the Ultra preset's additional visual effects significantly tax the GPU.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the main bottleneck in this game?

A: The benchmark results indicate the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. The CPU is capable of delivering 162 FPS at 1080p Low, but the frame rates drop dramatically as resolution increases, showing that the Arc B570 cannot keep pace with the CPU's output at higher pixel counts.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Medium settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 162 FPS, while the Medium preset averages 124 FPS. This represents a 38 FPS decrease for the visual upgrade from Low to Medium.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested systems for this game?

A: This specific combination of the Intel Core i5-14600K and Intel Arc B570 ranks 2320 out of 2924 tested combos in Steamworld Build.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600K is a 14-core processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. Its 20 threads and 24 MB of shared L3 cache are characteristics of a high-performance desktop CPU. In synthetic benchmarks, the processor scores 24,491 points in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2,064 points in the single-core test, placing it in the 90th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals, such as the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H and the AMD EPYC 4345P, have average scores within 0.8% of the i5-14600K, indicating a tightly contested performance tier.

In Steamworld Build, the CPU's role is to simulate the city and manage game logic. The data shows that this processor is more than capable of handling these tasks. The high frame rates at 1080p, particularly 162 FPS on Low settings, demonstrate that the CPU is not a limiting factor at this resolution. The performance scaling from 1080p to 1440p to 4K is almost entirely dictated by the GPU. Even at 1440p High, the system maintains a 59 FPS average, which is a smooth experience, suggesting that the CPU has ample headroom. The processor's high single-thread performance, evidenced by its 2,064 score in Cinebench R23, is likely crucial for the game's simulation thread, ensuring that the game logic does not cause stutters or frame drops, even when the GPU is saturated.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of tested hardware combinations for Steamworld Build, the Intel Core i5-14600K paired with the Intel Arc B570 achieves a rank of 2320 out of 2924 total combos. This places the system in the lower 21st percentile of all tested configurations. This ranking is a holistic measure of the combo's performance across the tested resolutions and settings.

This relatively low rank is attributable to the GPU's performance profile. While the CPU is a high-end part, ranking in the 90th percentile of all CPUs, the Intel Arc B570 sits in the 65th percentile of all GPUs. The GPU's average benchmark score of 20,556 is nearly identical to that of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile and the Intel Arc A750, with delta percentages of 0.1% and -0.1%, respectively. This indicates that the Arc B570 is a mid-range performer. The combination of a top-tier CPU with a mid-range GPU results in a system that is held back by its graphics card in this specific game, leading to its overall rank. The data suggests that pairing this CPU with a more powerful GPU would yield a significantly higher rank, as the frame rates would scale much better at higher resolutions.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570 is built on the Xe2-HPG architecture and the Battlemage generation. It features 2,304 shading units and 144 texture mapping units, with a base and boost clock of 2500 MHz. The GPU has 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 380.0 GB/s. Its compute capabilities include 11.52 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and a pixel rate of 200.0 GPixel/s. In the database, the Arc B570 holds the 65th percentile rank among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 20,556.

The benchmark results in Steamworld Build show that the GPU is the definitive performance bottleneck. At 1080p, the GPU is able to produce high frame rates, from 162 FPS on Low to 63 FPS on Ultra. However, as the resolution increases, the GPU's limitations become apparent. The frame rate at 1440p High is 59 FPS, which is only 63% of the 1080p High result. At 4K, the GPU struggles to maintain playable frame rates on any preset above Low. The low FPS on the Ultra preset at 4K (21 FPS) indicates that the GPU's 80 ROPs are overwhelmed by the pixel fill-rate demands. The 10 GB VRAM buffer is sufficient, as the performance drop is consistent across all presets, but the raw shader and texture processing power is insufficient for 4K. This is a classic case of a mid-range GPU being the limiting factor in a system with a high-end CPU.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides a comprehensive view of performance across resolutions and settings.

At 1920x1080, the system performs admirably. The Low preset delivers an average of 162 FPS. The Medium preset averages 124 FPS, with a minimum of 106 FPS and a maximum of 143 FPS. The High preset produces an average of 93 FPS. The Ultra preset, while the most demanding, still yields an average of 63 FPS, which is playable for a city builder.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates drop significantly. The Low preset averages 103 FPS. The Medium preset averages 79 FPS, with a minimum of 67 FPS and a maximum of 91 FPS. The High preset averages 59 FPS. The Ultra preset drops to an average of 40 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the system's performance is severely constrained. The Low preset averages 55 FPS. The Medium preset averages 42 FPS, with a minimum of 35 FPS and a maximum of 48 FPS. The High preset averages 31 FPS. The Ultra preset yields a low average of 21 FPS, which is not a smooth experience.

The data shows a clear and consistent scaling pattern. For each settings tier, the average FPS at 1080p is roughly double the average FPS at 4K. The Medium preset, which has the most complete data, shows this trend perfectly: 124 FPS at 1080p, 79 FPS at 1440p, and 42 FPS at 4K.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate.

For 1920x1080, the High preset is the recommended choice. It provides an average of 93 FPS, which is well above the smooth threshold and offers a significant visual upgrade over Medium. The Ultra preset, while playable at 63 FPS, may not provide enough of a visual improvement to justify the 30 FPS performance cost.

For 2560x1440, the Medium preset is the recommended balance. It achieves an average of 79 FPS with a minimum of 67 FPS, ensuring a consistently smooth experience. The High preset drops to 59 FPS, which is still acceptable, but the Medium preset provides more headroom for demanding scenes. The Low preset at 103 FPS is an option for competitive play or if maximum smoothness is desired, but the visual compromise is significant.

For 3840x2160, the Low preset is the only viable option for a playable experience, averaging 55 FPS. The Medium preset, at 42 FPS, may be tolerable for some, but the minimum of 35 FPS suggests it could feel stuttery during complex city interactions. The High and Ultra presets are not recommended for 4K, as their average frame rates of 31 and 21 FPS, respectively, fall below the threshold for a comfortable experience. The data suggests that this combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where it can deliver high frame rates with good visual fidelity.