Steamworld Build

Steamworld Build, a city builder that leans on simulation and resource management, presents a unique performance profile for the Intel Core i5-14600K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 combination. The measured frame rates across resolutions and settings reveal a system that is heavily influenced by both the CPU's simulation overhead and the GPU's rendering limits, making the choice of settings crucial for a smooth experience.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 shows a classic pattern of GPU-bound scaling, but the specific numbers reveal a nuanced story about this pairing. At Low settings, the average frame rate drops from 173 FPS at 1080p to 110 FPS at 1440p, a significant 36% reduction, and then further to 58 FPS at 4K, a 47% drop from 1440p. This steep decline at lower settings indicates that the game is entirely GPU-limited even at 1080p, with the RTX 2060’s rendering capabilities being the primary constraint.

When moving to High settings, the scaling is similar but with a lower ceiling. The system produces 99 FPS at 1080p, which falls to 63 FPS at 1440p (a 36% decrease) and bottoms out at 33 FPS at 4K (a 48% decrease from 1440p). This consistent ~36% drop between 1080p and 1440p, followed by a ~48% drop to 4K, suggests a linear scaling pattern where the GPU is the bottleneck across all tested configurations. The data shows that 4K resolution is simply too demanding for this GPU in this title, even at Low settings, where the average frame rate of 58 FPS is barely playable for a genre that benefits from smooth camera panning.

The limiting component at 4K is unambiguously the GPU. The RTX 2060, with its 6 GB of VRAM and 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth, is being saturated by the pixel and geometric demands of the 3840x2160 resolution. The CPU, with its 14 cores and 20 threads, is not the primary constraint here, as evidenced by the fact that frame rates scale proportionally with resolution. However, the gap between Low and Ultra at 4K (58 FPS vs. 23 FPS) highlights that the GPU's compute and memory subsystems are the deciding factor, not the CPU's ability to feed it data.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600K is a 14-core, 20-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. In Steamworld Build, a genre that often involves heavy simulation logic, the CPU's role is to manage the game's underlying systems. The benchmark results show that the CPU is not the bottleneck at any resolution or settings level, as the frame rate scaling is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario.

The CPU's performance in synthetic benchmarks, such as a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 24491 and a Geekbench singlecore score of 2491, indicates a very capable processor. In this game, the combination of high single-thread performance (for the main game loop) and high multi-thread performance (for background simulation) ensures that the CPU can comfortably keep up with the GPU's output. The fact that the frame rate at 1080p Low (173 FPS) is so high suggests that the CPU is never waiting on the GPU to finish its work; instead, the GPU is the limiting factor.

The data indicates that the CPU's ample headroom means that the choice of graphics settings has no measurable impact on the CPU's ability to feed the GPU. The i5-14600K's position in the 90th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 48618, places it near rivals like the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H (which is 0.2% lower) and the AMD EPYC 4345P (which is 0.3% higher). This level of performance is more than sufficient for a city builder, where the simulation tick rate is often capped and the primary demand is on the graphics card for rendering the scene.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060, based on the Turing architecture, is a 12 nm GPU with 1920 shading units and a boost clock of 1680 MHz. Its 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s. In Steamworld Build, this GPU is the definitive performance limiter across all tested settings, as the frame rate scales directly with the resolution and the quality preset.

At 1080p, the GPU can deliver high frame rates, with an average of 173 FPS at Low settings and 99 FPS at High settings. This shows that the RTX 2060 has enough raw compute power (6.451 TFLOPS FP32) to handle the game's geometry and effects at lower resolutions. However, the VRAM capacity and bandwidth become critical at higher resolutions. At 4K, the GPU's performance collapses, with the average frame rate falling to 58 FPS at Low and 33 FPS at High, suggesting that the 6 GB VRAM buffer is being saturated, leading to texture streaming and memory bandwidth bottlenecks.

The GPU's percentile ranking of 58, with an average benchmark score of 15290, places it in the mid-range tier. Its nearest rivals, such as the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 (with a 0% delta) and the AMD Radeon RX 7600 (with a 0.8% delta), show that the RTX 2060 is competitive with older and newer mid-range cards, but it lacks the headroom needed for 4K gaming. The data strongly suggests that this GPU is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming in Steamworld Build, where it can maintain playable frame rates, but it is not equipped for the pixel-pushing demands of 4K.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal balance between visual quality and performance for this system is the Medium preset at 2560x1440. At this setting, the system produces an average of 84 FPS, with a minimum of 72 FPS and a maximum of 97 FPS. This frame rate range is smooth and responsive, avoiding the stutter that can occur in city builders when the simulation and rendering are out of sync.

For users with 1920x1080 displays, the High preset is the best choice, delivering an average of 99 FPS. This provides a significant visual upgrade over Medium (133 FPS) while still maintaining a frame rate that is well above the 60 FPS target. The Ultra preset at 1080p, while providing the best visuals, drops the average to 67 FPS, which is a notable sacrifice for a marginal visual improvement over High.

At 4K, the data shows that no setting provides an ideal experience. The Low preset yields an average of 58 FPS, which is playable but not smooth, while the Medium preset drops to 45 FPS, which is on the edge of playability. The High (33 FPS) and Ultra (23 FPS) presets are not recommended for 4K due to the significant frame rate hit. A better option for 4K would be to use a lower resolution like 1440p with High settings (63 FPS) to get a more consistent experience.

FAQ

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-14600K or the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 the bottleneck in Steamworld Build?

A: The benchmark data indicates that the GPU is the primary bottleneck across all resolutions and settings. The frame rate scales inversely with resolution, and the CPU's high performance, as evidenced by its 90th percentile ranking, allows it to keep up with the GPU's output without limiting the frame rate.

Q: Can this system run Steamworld Build at 4K resolution?

A: Yes, but only at lower settings. At 4K with Low settings, the system produces an average of 58 FPS. However, at Medium settings, it drops to 45 FPS, and at High or Ultra, it falls to 33 FPS and 23 FPS respectively, which are not ideal for a smooth experience.

Q: What is the best settings preset for a 1080p monitor?

A: The High preset is the best choice for 1080p, offering an average of 99 FPS. This balances visual quality with performance, as the Ultra preset only provides a marginal visual improvement but reduces the average frame rate to 67 FPS.

Q: What is the best settings preset for a 1440p monitor?

A: The Medium preset is the best choice for 1440p, providing an average of 84 FPS with a minimum of 72 FPS. This ensures a smooth experience, while the High preset (63 FPS) is also acceptable but with less headroom.

Q: How does the RTX 2060's performance in Steamworld Build compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RTX 2060 has an average benchmark score of 15290, which places it in the 58th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580, has a delta of 0%, while the AMD Radeon RX 7600 has a delta of 0.8%, indicating that the RTX 2060 is on par with these cards in terms of overall score, though its performance in this specific game is limited by its VRAM and bandwidth.

Q: Does the CPU's 14-core configuration help in this game?

A: The CPU's multi-core performance is strong, as shown by its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 24491. However, the data suggests that the game is not CPU-limited; the frame rate scaling is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario, meaning that the CPU's extra cores are not directly translating to higher frame rates in this title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table details the exact average frame rates measured for the Intel Core i5-14600K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 combination in Steamworld Build. Minimum and maximum frame rates are provided only where the data includes them.

| Resolution | Settings | Average FPS | Min FPS | Max FPS |

|------------|----------|-------------|---------|---------|

| 3840x2160 | High | 33 | - | - |

| 3840x2160 | Low | 58 | - | - |

| 3840x2160 | Medium | 45 | 38 | 51 |

| 3840x2160 | Ultra | 23 | - | - |

| 2560x1440 | High | 63 | - | - |

| 2560x1440 | Low | 110 | - | - |

| 2560x1440 | Medium | 84 | 72 | 97 |

| 2560x1440 | Ultra | 43 | - | - |

| 1920x1080 | High | 99 | - | - |

| 1920x1080 | Low | 173 | - | - |

| 1920x1080 | Medium | 133 | 113 | 153 |

| 1920x1080 | Ultra | 67 | - | - |

The data confirms a clear hierarchy: performance scales down as resolution and settings increase. The most striking observation is the substantial drop from 1080p to 4K, which is more pronounced than the drop from 1080p to 1440p, highlighting the GPU's struggle with the higher pixel count. The Medium settings consistently provide the most stable frame time data, as evidenced by the recorded minimum and maximum values, making it the most reliable preset for a consistent experience across all tested resolutions. This combination of CPU and GPU is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K requiring significant compromises in visual quality to remain playable.