Steamworld Build

Steamworld Build, a city builder from late 2023, presents an interesting stress case for the Intel Core i5-14600KF paired with the Intel Arc B570. The measured data reveals a configuration that is highly capable at mainstream resolutions but struggles to maintain fluidity at 4K Ultra. This analysis breaks down the performance metrics, focusing on how the game scales with resolution and settings, and what that implies about the balance between the CPU and GPU in this specific combo.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and clearly indicates a GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 93 FPS at 1920x1080 to 59 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 34 FPS. Pushing further to 3840x2160, the average plummets to 31 FPS, which is exactly one-third of the 1080p performance. This scaling pattern—a 66% loss in frame rate when moving from 1080p to 4K—is a classic sign that the Intel Arc B570's rendering throughput is the primary constraint, rather than the CPU.

The trend continues across all settings presets. For instance, on Medium settings, the average FPS drops from 124 at 1080p to 79 at 1440p, and then to 42 at 4K. The 1440p to 4K transition alone represents a 47% performance hit, suggesting that the GPU's memory bandwidth and pixel fill rate are being taxed heavily by the increase in pixel count. The data implies that while the Core i5-14600KF has ample headroom to feed the GPU at lower resolutions, the Arc B570's 380.0 GB/s bandwidth and 200.0 GPixel/s pixel rate become limiting factors as the resolution scales.

Interestingly, the performance gap between Low and Ultra settings widens significantly at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the difference between Low (162 FPS) and Ultra (63 FPS) is 99 FPS. At 4K, the difference between Low (55 FPS) and Ultra (21 FPS) is only 34 FPS. This compression suggests that at 4K, the GPU is so saturated that even reducing graphical fidelity cannot fully compensate for the raw pixel throughput required, whereas at 1080p, the GPU has more resources available to benefit from lower settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1440p on High settings?

A: The measured average is 59 FPS, which is a playable level for a city builder, though it leaves little headroom for large, populated cities that might cause dips.

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

A: At 4K, the highest average FPS recorded is 55 on Low settings. On Ultra settings, the average drops to 21 FPS, indicating that 4K is only viable with significant graphical compromises.

Q: How does the Arc B570's performance compare to its nearest rival, the Intel Arc A750?

A: According to the benchmark data, the Arc B570 has an average benchmark score of 20556, which is 0.1% lower than the Arc A750's 20582. This makes them effectively performance peers in synthetic tests.

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

A: The data shows that Medium settings provide an average of 124 FPS, which is a strong balance. High settings also deliver a high 93 FPS average, while Ultra drops to 63 FPS.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU in this game?

A: The data suggests no. The Core i5-14600KF has a high single-thread score of 4594 in Cinebench R23 and a 90th percentile ranking among all CPUs. The consistent FPS drops across resolutions indicate the GPU is the limiting factor.

Q: What kind of frame rates can be expected on Low settings at 1080p?

A: The measured average is 162 FPS, which is exceptionally high and indicates the game is heavily GPU-limited even at this resolution, as the CPU is more than capable of handling the workload.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570, based on the Xe2-HPG architecture, is the clear performance limiter in this configuration for Steamworld Build. Its 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus provides 380.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is a substantial amount but proves insufficient for maintaining high frame rates at 4K Ultra, where the average FPS drops to 21. The GPU's clock speeds are fixed at 2500 MHz for both base and boost, which is a relatively high frequency, yet the 11.52 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is not enough to handle the game's demands at maximum settings and high resolutions.

The GPU's synthetic benchmark scores place it in the 65th percentile of all GPUs, with an average score of 20556. Its nearest rival, the Intel Arc A750, scores nearly identically, suggesting that in raw compute, they are interchangeable. However, the game's performance data shows that the B570's capabilities are best utilized at 1080p and 1440p. At 1440p High, it manages 59 FPS, which is just at the edge of smooth gameplay. At 4K, even on Low settings, the average FPS is 55, indicating that the GPU's pixel throughput is the primary bottleneck. The data implies that for a game like Steamworld Build, which likely involves complex scenes with many objects, the GPU's 80 ROPs are heavily tasked at higher resolutions, leading to the observed performance drops.

How This Combo Ranks

In the grand scheme of tested hardware combinations, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i5-14600KF and Intel Arc B570 ranks at 2320 out of 2924 combos for Steamworld Build. This places it in the bottom 21% of all tested systems, which is a surprising result given the individual components' standings. The CPU is a top-tier performer, ranking in the 90th percentile of all CPUs, but the GPU's 65th percentile ranking drags the overall combo down significantly. This indicates that the game's performance is overwhelmingly dependent on the GPU, and the powerful processor is not being fully utilized.

The rank suggests that while this combo can play the game, it does so with less performance headroom than many other configurations. For context, the CPU's nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 7900, has nearly identical synthetic scores, so the CPU choice is not the issue. The bottleneck is clearly the GPU, as evidenced by the fact that the Arc B570's average benchmark score is only 0.1% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile, a laptop part. This pairing is fundamentally unbalanced for this game, with the CPU's capabilities far exceeding what the GPU can deliver, resulting in a lower overall rank than the sum of its parts might suggest.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a detailed look at performance across all settings and resolutions. At 1920x1080, the game is highly playable on all presets: Low averages 162 FPS, Medium 124 FPS, High 93 FPS, and even Ultra maintains a solid 63 FPS average. The Medium preset shows a minimum FPS of 106 and a maximum of 143, indicating some variance but overall smooth performance. At 2560x1440, the averages drop to 103 FPS on Low, 79 FPS on Medium, 59 FPS on High, and 40 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset at this resolution has a min/max of 67/91 FPS, showing a tighter range. At 3840x2160, the performance becomes more constrained: Low averages 55 FPS, Medium 42 FPS (with min/max of 35/48), High 31 FPS, and Ultra drops to 21 FPS. These numbers illustrate a clear pattern: the game scales almost linearly with resolution and settings, with the GPU being the sole determinant of performance. The lack of any CPU-side bottleneck is evident, as even at 1080p Low, the frame rate does not exceed what the GPU can produce, hitting 162 FPS.

Settings Recommendations

For an optimal experience, the data suggests different presets depending on the display resolution. At 1920x1080, the High preset offers a strong balance of visual quality and performance, delivering an average of 93 FPS. This is the sweet spot, as Ultra drops to 63 FPS, which is still playable but sacrifices 30 FPS for marginal visual gains. The Medium preset at 124 FPS is also excellent for those prioritizing frame rate. At 2560x1440, the Medium preset is the recommended choice, with an average of 79 FPS and a minimum of 67 FPS, ensuring smooth gameplay. The High preset at 59 FPS is borderline, and the Ultra preset at 40 FPS may be too inconsistent for a game where camera panning can cause noticeable stutter. At 3840x2160, the data indicates that only the Low preset is viable, with an average of 55 FPS. The Medium preset at 42 FPS is playable but may have dips, as evidenced by its 35 FPS minimum. The High and Ultra presets are not recommended at this resolution, as they fall below 31 FPS, which is generally considered too choppy for a city builder. The "best experience" per the measured rows is to match the preset to the resolution's capability: High at 1080p, Medium at 1440p, and Low at 4K.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600KF is a 14-core, 20-thread processor with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. Its synthetic benchmark results are impressive, including a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32544 and a single-core score of 4594, placing it in the 90th percentile of all CPUs. In Steamworld Build, however, the CPU's role appears to be largely secondary. The game's genre, a city builder, typically relies on a single primary simulation thread, but the measured FPS shows no signs of CPU limitation. At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 162, which is a high number that suggests the CPU has no trouble feeding the GPU. If the CPU were a bottleneck, we would expect to see similar FPS across different resolutions, but instead, we see a clear drop from 1080p to 4K, confirming that the GPU is the limiting factor.

The CPU's high single-thread performance, evidenced by its 4594 score in Cinebench R23 single-core, ensures that it can handle the game's simulation logic without issue. Its 24 MB of shared L3 cache and support for DDR5 memory (though memory bandwidth is not listed) provide ample data throughput for the game's assets. The data implies that the i5-14600KF is overqualified for this title when paired with the Arc B570, as its performance headroom is never fully utilized. The combo's low rank of 2320 out of 2924 is not a reflection of the CPU's capability, but rather a direct consequence of the GPU's inability to translate the CPU's power into higher frame rates, especially at higher resolutions. In essence, the CPU is a silent partner in this configuration, waiting for a more powerful GPU to unlock its full potential.