Steamworld Build

Steamworld Build, a city builder from late 2023, presents an interesting case study in system scaling. The data for the Intel Core i5-9400 and AMD Radeon RX 7600 combination reveals a configuration that is highly responsive to both resolution and quality presets, but the pattern of its performance curve suggests a specific balance of workload between the processor and graphics card. The measured frames per second (FPS) across the board indicate a system that is powerful enough for smooth play at standard resolutions, yet shows clear signs of stress at the extreme high end.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and tells a clear story about component limitations. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces 182.9 FPS, which falls to 121.5 FPS at 1440p and then plummets to 63 FPS at 4K. This represents a 65.5% reduction in performance from 1080p to 4K at the lowest settings, indicating that the rendering load is scaling heavily with pixel count. The pattern is consistent across all settings, but the severity of the drop varies.

At Ultra settings, the frame rate goes from 72.2 FPS at 1080p down to 46 FPS at 1440p, and then to 23 FPS at 4K. The absolute drop of 49.2 FPS between 1080p and 4K at Ultra is nearly identical to the 119.9 FPS drop seen at Low settings, but the relative impact is much larger because the starting point is lower. This suggests that at 4K Ultra, the GPU is being pushed to its absolute limit, with the 8 GB of VRAM and the RDNA 3.0 architecture struggling to maintain a playable frame rate.

The scaling behavior implies that at 1080p, the system is not entirely GPU-bound, as the frame rates are high enough to suggest headroom. However, as resolution increases, the RX 7600's workload expands exponentially, and the performance curve becomes much steeper. The data shows a clear inflection point between 1440p and 4K, where the cost of each additional pixel becomes much more significant. This indicates that the limiting component at higher resolutions is definitively the GPU, as the CPU's role diminishes when the graphics card is saturated with pixel work.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate this combo achieves in Steamworld Build?

A: The highest measured average is 182.9 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: Is this system capable of running the game at 4K with playable frame rates?

A: The data indicates only the Low preset at 4K reaches a playable average of 63 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K drops to 46.7 FPS, and High and Ultra fall to 34.9 FPS and 23 FPS respectively, which are generally considered too low for a smooth experience.

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

A: The Core i5-9400 has an average benchmark score of 2305. It is nearly identical in performance to the Intel Core i3-10305 and Core i3-1125G4, which have scores of 2300 and 2299, representing a 0.2% delta. It is also 0.4% ahead of the Intel Xeon E-2134.

Q: What is the performance difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset yields 121.5 FPS, while the Ultra preset yields 46 FPS. This represents a 75.5 FPS difference, showing that the Ultra preset is significantly more demanding.

Q: Does the game favor the GPU's compute capabilities?

A: The RX 7600's Passmark GPU Compute score is 8790, which is lower than its DirectX 11 score of 172. This suggests that the game may not be heavily reliant on the GPU's raw compute throughput, but rather on its rasterization and pixel processing power.

Q: Where does this specific CPU and GPU combination rank among all tested combos in this game?

A: The combo ranks 1287 out of 1730 tested combinations, placing it in the lower-mid tier of all configurations tested for Steamworld Build.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a 6-core, 6-thread processor based on the Coffee Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. Its synthetic benchmark results are modest, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 7969 and a single-core score of 1125. This places the CPU in the 50th percentile of all CPUs, indicating it is an average performer by modern standards. In the context of Steamworld Build, a city builder that often relies on single-thread performance for game logic and simulation, the 1125 single-core score is a relevant metric.

The data suggests that at lower resolutions, the CPU is likely the limiting factor. At 1080p Low, the system hits 182.9 FPS, but this is where the CPU's capability to feed the GPU with draw calls and simulation updates may cap the frame rate. The 6-core, 6-thread configuration without hyper-threading could be a bottleneck in a game that needs to process numerous AI entities and building mechanics. The 9 MB of shared L3 cache is adequate but not exceptional for a game of this type.

However, the CPU's role diminishes as resolution increases. At 4K, the GPU becomes the primary constraint, and the CPU's 42.7 GB/s memory bandwidth and dual-channel DDR4 support are likely sufficient to keep up with the graphics card's demands. The data implies that the i5-9400 is a competent partner for the RX 7600 at 1440p and below, but its age is showing in the upper frame rate ranges at 1080p, where it cannot push beyond the 182.9 FPS ceiling seen in the Low preset.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system demonstrates its strongest performance. The Low preset achieves 182.9 FPS, making it the only setting to break the 180 FPS barrier. The Medium preset delivers 145.4 FPS, while High drops to 112.2 FPS. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, yielding 72.2 FPS. This progression shows a consistent 30-40 FPS drop between each tier, indicating a well-balanced scaling of graphical fidelity.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates decrease significantly across all presets. The Low preset still manages a very playable 121.5 FPS, and Medium follows with 95.5 FPS. The High preset drops to 69.2 FPS, which is still suitable for most displays, but the Ultra preset falls to 46 FPS, which may feel less smooth in a city builder where camera panning is frequent. The delta between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 75.5 FPS, showing the heavy cost of the highest visual quality.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles to maintain high frame rates. The Low preset is the only one to reach 60 FPS, hitting 63 FPS. Medium falls to 46.7 FPS, High to 34.9 FPS, and Ultra to 23 FPS. The data here shows that the RX 7600's 8 GB of VRAM and 128-bit memory bus are not sufficient for high-fidelity 4K gaming in this title. The step from 1440p to 4K at High settings represents a 34.3 FPS drop, which is the largest single-resolution transition in the dataset, emphasizing the GPU's limitations at this pixel count.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-9400 and AMD Radeon RX 7600 ranks 1287 out of 1730 tested combos in Steamworld Build. This places it in the 74th percentile of all configurations, meaning that roughly a quarter of tested systems perform worse. This is a modest ranking that reflects the CPU's age and the GPU's mid-range positioning. The RX 7600 sits in the 63rd percentile of all GPUs, which is respectable, but its partner CPU is only in the 50th percentile of all CPUs.

The ranking suggests that while the GPU is a solid performer, the CPU is holding the combo back from achieving a higher position. In a game like Steamworld Build, which is not typically known for being extremely GPU-heavy, the CPU's single-thread performance is crucial for maintaining high frame rates. The 0.2% delta between the i5-9400 and the Core i3-10305 indicates that there is no meaningful performance difference between these CPUs, so upgrading to a similar-tier processor would not yield significant gains. To improve the combo's rank, a CPU with higher single-core performance would be necessary, as the data suggests the current processor is the weaker link in the pair.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the target resolution and performance preference. For 1080p gaming, the High preset at 112.2 FPS provides an excellent balance of visual quality and smoothness, as it is well above the 60 FPS threshold and still offers a significant upgrade over Medium. The Ultra preset at 72.2 FPS is also viable for those who prioritize visuals, as it remains above 60 FPS, but the jump from High to Ultra costs 40 FPS, which may not be worth the visual difference in a game with less dynamic action.

At 1440p, the Medium preset is the most sensible choice, delivering 95.5 FPS with a good balance of quality and performance. The High preset at 69.2 FPS is also playable, but it puts the system closer to the threshold where frame drops might become noticeable during complex scenes. The Low preset at 121.5 FPS is excessive for most users and sacrifices too much visual fidelity. For 4K, the Low preset is the only option for a consistently smooth experience at 63 FPS. The Medium preset at 46.7 FPS could be acceptable for slower-paced play, but the High and Ultra presets are not recommended due to their sub-35 FPS averages.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7600 is a mid-range GPU based on the RDNA 3.0 architecture, featuring 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus with a bandwidth of 288.0 GB/s. Its boost clock of 2655 MHz and 2048 shading units provide a theoretical FP32 performance of 21.75 TFLOPS. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 16634 in Passmark G3D, placing it in the 63rd percentile of all GPUs. Its closest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT, is only 0.6% ahead, showing that this card is well-positioned within its performance class.

The GPU's role in Steamworld Build becomes increasingly dominant as resolution and settings increase. At 1080p, the GPU is not fully saturated, as evidenced by the high frame rates, but at 4K Ultra, the card's limitations are exposed. The 8 GB of VRAM is likely a bottleneck at 4K High and Ultra, as texture and geometry data exceed the available memory, causing stutters and reduced frame rates. The 128-bit memory bus also limits the bandwidth available for high-resolution textures, which is reflected in the steep performance drop from 1440p to 4K.

The GPU's DirectX 12 score of 58 in Passmark is notably lower than its DirectX 11 score of 172, which suggests that the card may not fully leverage modern API features in this game. However, the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2310 indicates that the card is capable of handling modern workloads. The data implies that the RX 7600 is a capable GPU for 1080p and 1440p gaming in Steamworld Build, but it is not designed for 4K gaming at high quality settings, where its memory capacity and bandwidth become significant constraints.