Steamworld Build

# Steamworld Build with Intel Core i5-14600KF + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090

This pairing of Intel's 14th-generation Core i5 with NVIDIA's flagship RTX 4090 produces a fascinating dataset in Steamworld Build, a city builder that rarely stresses hardware to its limits. The measured frame rates across resolutions reveal a system that is almost always GPU-limited at higher settings but becomes increasingly CPU-bound at lower presets, with the combo ranking 22nd out of 1,730 tested configurations. The numbers tell a story of diminishing returns: at 1080p Low the system pushes 377.4 FPS, yet at 4K Ultra it drops to 58.4 FPS, a spread that exposes where each component's strengths and weaknesses lie.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i5-14600KF brings 14 cores and 20 threads to the table, running at a 3.50 GHz base clock with a 5.30 GHz boost. This Raptor Lake-R architecture chip sits on the Intel Socket 1700 platform with a 125 W TDP, and its 24 MB of shared L3 cache plus 2 MB per-core L2 cache provides substantial headroom for simulation-heavy workloads. In Steamworld Build, where city simulation logic and agent pathfinding can create CPU bottlenecks, the processor's multi-threaded capabilities matter — its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32,889 and single-core score of 4,643 indicate strong performance in both parallel and latency-sensitive tasks.

The data shows this CPU is capable of feeding even the RTX 4090 at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 377.4 FPS, which is far beyond what any display can show, suggesting the CPU is not the limiting factor at that point. However, the benchmark results reveal a more nuanced picture at higher settings. The processor's PassMark multi-thread score of 38,697 and single-thread score of 4,273 place it in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs, meaning it outperforms 93% of tested processors. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-14600K, scores 49,166 on average — just 0.4% behind — while the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X trails by 0.6%, and the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H is 1.4% behind. This tight grouping suggests the 14600KF is well-matched against its peers in general compute, but the game's specific demands may favor the higher clock speeds over raw core counts.

FAQ — 4-6 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data

Q: How does the Core i5-14600KF compare to its closest rival, the Core i5-14600K?

A: The 14600KF has an average benchmark score of 49,367, which is 0.4% higher than the 14600K's 49,166. This puts the two chips statistically neck-and-neck in overall performance, though the KF variant lacks integrated graphics.

Q: What is the combo's ranking among all tested systems in Steamworld Build?

A: This specific CPU-GPU combination ranks 22nd out of 1,730 tested combos, placing it in the top 1.3% of all configurations tested for this game.

Q: At what resolution and settings does this system achieve its highest frame rate?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 377.4, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The lowest is 58.4 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings.

Q: How much performance does the system lose when moving from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: At High settings, the average FPS drops from 253.1 at 1080p to 158.6 at 1440p, and finally to 84.3 at 4K. This represents a 66.7% reduction from 1080p to 4K.

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking compared to all GPUs?

A: The RTX 4090 sits in the 91st percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 66,473. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA Tesla T4, scores 66,733 — just 0.4% higher.

Q: Does the CPU's 14-core configuration provide an advantage over the previous generation?

A: The Core i5-14600KF's architecture is Raptor Lake-R, built on a 10 nm process. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32,889 and single-core score of 4,643 suggest strong performance, but the data does not include direct comparisons to previous-generation parts.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data across three resolutions paints a clear picture of where the bottleneck shifts. At 1080p with Low settings, the system produces 377.4 FPS, which is extraordinarily high and indicates the CPU is doing most of the work. Moving to 1440p Low drops that to 281.2 FPS (a 25.5% reduction), and at 4K Low it falls to 145.7 FPS (a 61.4% drop from 1080p). This steep decline at Low settings suggests the GPU begins to take over as the primary constraint as pixel count increases.

At High settings, the scaling is more linear: 253.1 FPS at 1080p, 158.6 FPS at 1440p (37.3% drop), and 84.3 FPS at 4K (66.7% drop from 1080p). The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic scaling: 168.4 FPS at 1080p, 109.9 FPS at 1440p (34.7% drop), and 58.4 FPS at 4K (65.3% drop). The pattern is consistent — moving from 1080p to 4K roughly halves or worse the frame rate at every preset, with Low settings showing the largest relative decline. This behavior indicates that Steamworld Build's rendering load scales heavily with resolution, and even the RTX 4090's immense pixel throughput — 443.5 GPixel/s — cannot maintain high frame rates at 4K Ultra.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

Ranking 22nd out of 1,730 tested combinations places this system in the top 1.3% of all configurations evaluated in Steamworld Build. This is an exceptional position, but the data suggests it is not the absolute top-tier setup. The 1,730 combos include a wide variety of CPUs and GPUs, and the 22nd rank implies there are 21 configurations that achieve higher average frame rates across the test suite. Given that the RTX 4090 is the fastest consumer GPU in NVIDIA's lineup, the ranking gap likely comes from the CPU side — a higher-end processor with more cores or faster single-thread performance could push the combo higher.

The CPU's 93rd percentile ranking among all CPUs and the GPU's 91st percentile ranking among all GPUs are both strong, but neither is in the 99th percentile. This suggests the system is well-balanced but not extreme on either end. The nearest GPU rivals — the Tesla T4, Tesla P40, Radeon Pro Vega 56, and Quadro P6000 — are all enterprise or professional cards, and their average scores differ by less than 1.3% from the RTX 4090, indicating that the GPU's raw compute is comparable to these specialized parts even though gaming performance may differ.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest performance. Low settings produce 377.4 FPS, Medium reaches 335.3 FPS, High hits 253.1 FPS, and Ultra drops to 168.4 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 209 FPS, showing a 55.4% reduction when maxing out all quality settings.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but begin to show the GPU's workload. Low settings yield 281.2 FPS, Medium produces 214.3 FPS, High achieves 158.6 FPS, and Ultra falls to 109.9 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 171.3 FPS, a 60.9% reduction, slightly larger than at 1080p.

At 3840x2160, the system's limits become apparent. Low settings still manage 145.7 FPS, which is playable, but Medium drops to 110.3 FPS, High falls to 84.3 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 58.4 FPS. The reduction from Low to Ultra is 87.3 FPS, a 59.9% decrease. Notably, the 4K Ultra figure of 58.4 FPS is the only measured result below 60 FPS, indicating that this is the one configuration where the system cannot maintain smooth gameplay.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

For players targeting 60 FPS as a minimum, the data shows that 4K Ultra is the only setting that misses this threshold, with 58.4 FPS. At 4K, High settings at 84.3 FPS provide a comfortable margin above 60 FPS while still delivering enhanced visual quality. Medium at 110.3 FPS offers even more headroom, and Low at 145.7 FPS is well above any practical need.

At 1440p, all presets exceed 100 FPS, with Ultra at 109.9 FPS and High at 158.6 FPS. The jump from Ultra to High represents a 44.3% performance increase for what is likely a modest visual difference in a city builder. At 1080p, even Ultra at 168.4 FPS is far above display refresh rates, making settings choices purely about visual fidelity rather than performance.

The data suggests that High is the sweet spot for most users: at 4K it delivers 84.3 FPS, at 1440p it reaches 158.6 FPS, and at 1080p it hits 253.1 FPS. Ultra provides diminishing returns, costing roughly 30-40% performance compared to High at every resolution while likely offering only subtle visual improvements in a genre where textures and shadows matter less than simulation depth.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is a massive piece of hardware: 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus provides 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth, and the AD102 chip contains 16,384 shading units along with 128 RT cores and 512 tensor cores. Its base clock runs at 2235 MHz with a boost of 2520 MHz, and the card draws up to 450 W. These specifications translate into 82.58 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and a pixel rate of 443.5 GPixel/s, which are the raw resources that determine how quickly the GPU can render Steamworld Build's increasingly complex cityscapes.

The measured FPS data shows the RTX 4090's capabilities are underutilized at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system produces 377.4 FPS, which is likely CPU-limited given the game's simulation overhead. The GPU's 24 GB of VRAM is far more than Steamworld Build can use, even at 4K Ultra, suggesting the memory capacity is not a limiting factor in any tested configuration. The card's 91st percentile ranking and average benchmark score of 66,473, with the nearest rival (Tesla T4) just 0.4% ahead, indicate that this GPU is at the top of its class for general compute tasks. However, the game's actual frame rates at 4K Ultra (58.4 FPS) suggest that even the RTX 4090's immense power cannot fully overcome the rendering demands of a city builder at maximum quality and resolution, likely due to draw call overhead and simulation complexity rather than raw pixel throughput.