Steamworld Build

The Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the Intel Arc B580 produces a fascinating performance profile in Steamworld Build, a city builder where simulation overhead and rendering load interact in unexpected ways. The data reveals a combo that is capable of high refresh rates at mainstream resolutions but struggles significantly when pushed to 4K Ultra. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS across all resolutions and settings, contextualizes the hardware’s standing against other tested combinations, and explores the implications of the CPU and GPU specifications on the final results.

FAQ

Q: What is the overall rank of this CPU and GPU combination in the benchmark database for Steamworld Build?

A: The combo ranks 2781 out of 3706 tested combinations, placing it in the lower half of all tested systems for this specific title.

Q: At which resolution and settings does this combo achieve its highest average frame rate?

A: The highest measured average is 184 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: What is the lowest average frame rate recorded for this pairing, and under what conditions?

A: The lowest average is 24 FPS, recorded at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, indicating a severe performance bottleneck at that configuration.

Q: How does the Intel Core i5-9400 compare to its closest rival in synthetic CPU benchmarks?

A: The Intel Core i7-1068NG7 has an average benchmark score of 2259, which is 0.2% lower than the i5-9400's score of 2254, making them effectively equivalent in synthetic tests.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B580's average benchmark score compare to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080?

A: The Arc B580's average score is 23021, which is 0.6% higher than the RTX 2080's average score of 22895.

Q: Does the data show a smooth scaling of performance from Low to Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: No, the scaling is not linear. The jump from Low (117 FPS) to Medium (89 FPS) is a 28 FPS drop, while the jump from High (67 FPS) to Ultra (45 FPS) is a 22 FPS drop, showing diminishing returns and increasing cost at the top end.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B580 is the primary driver of graphical output, and its specifications provide context for the measured frame rates. The GPU features 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, yielding a memory bandwidth of 456.0 GB/s. This is a substantial amount of memory, which is often beneficial for high-resolution textures and complex scenes. The core clock is listed at a constant 2670 MHz for both base and boost, suggesting a fixed operating point. The card supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), a feature set that modern titles like Steamworld Build can leverage.

In Steamworld Build, the GPU’s role becomes clearer when examining the FPS deltas between settings. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Medium is 43 FPS (184 to 141), and between High and Ultra is 34 FPS (105 to 71). This substantial scaling indicates that the GPU is actively engaged in rendering, and its performance scales well with increased graphical workload. However, at 4K, the picture changes dramatically. The B580 manages 62 FPS on Low but only 35 FPS on High. The extreme drop to 24 FPS on Ultra suggests that the GPU's compute and memory resources are being saturated by the combination of high resolution and maxed-out settings. The 12 GB VRAM is likely sufficient, but the raw processing power (13.67 TFLOPS FP32) appears to be the limiting factor at 4K Ultra, as the render resolution demands a massive increase in pixel throughput.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 2781 out of 3706 tested combinations indicates that this is not a top-tier pairing for Steamworld Build. In a database where a lower rank number signifies better performance, being in the 75th percentile means there are over 2,780 other configurations that deliver higher frame rates in this specific game. This ranking is a holistic measure, considering all resolutions and settings tested.

The synthetic benchmarks help explain this ranking. The CPU, the Intel Core i5-9400, sits in the 47th percentile of all CPUs, indicating it is a mid-range processor. Its average benchmark score of 2254 places it in close competition with chips like the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 (2259, 0.2% slower) and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 (2246, 0.4% slower). The GPU, the Intel Arc B580, is stronger, sitting in the 68th percentile of all GPUs with an average score of 23021. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080, which scores 23172 (0.7% higher), and the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP, which scores 23061 (0.2% higher). This data suggests the combo is hampered by a relatively modest CPU, which could be holding back the more capable GPU in a simulation-heavy title like Steamworld Build, where CPU logic can become a bottleneck.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of performance across the board.

1920x1080: At this resolution, the combo is highly capable. Low settings yield an average of 184 FPS, moving to 141 FPS on Medium (with a min/max of 119/162). High settings produce 105 FPS, and Ultra still maintains a playable 71 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra shows a total drop of 113 FPS, indicating the GPU is the primary scaling factor here.

2560x1440: Performance remains strong at 1440p. Low settings hit 117 FPS, Medium averages 89 FPS (min 76, max 103), and High settings produce 67 FPS. Ultra is the first sign of strain, dropping to 45 FPS. The step from High to Ultra is a 22 FPS loss, which is a significant percentage drop (33%) and suggests the highest preset is disproportionately demanding.

3840x2160: Performance falls off a cliff at 4K. Low settings manage 62 FPS, which is playable. Medium averages 47 FPS (min 40, max 54), and High drops to 35 FPS. Ultra is nearly unplayable at an average of 24 FPS. The data shows that the gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 38 FPS, and the card struggles to maintain smooth frame rates at higher quality presets, making 4K gaming a challenging proposition for this combination.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the best experience depends heavily on the target resolution.

For 1920x1080, the High preset at 105 FPS offers an excellent balance of visual quality and smoothness, ensuring a fluid experience on high refresh rate monitors. Ultra at 71 FPS is also viable if maximum visual fidelity is desired, but the 34 FPS drop from High is substantial for the visual gain.

At 2560x1440, the High preset at 67 FPS is the sweet spot, providing a solid 60+ FPS experience. The Medium preset at 89 FPS is another strong option, offering a comfortable margin above 60 FPS. Ultra at 45 FPS is below the ideal threshold for smooth gameplay and is not recommended if frame rate consistency is a priority.

For 3840x2160, the data suggests that users should stick to Low (62 FPS) or Medium (47 FPS) presets. High at 35 FPS and Ultra at 24 FPS are too low for a responsive city-building experience, where camera movement and UI interaction need to feel fluid. The Medium preset seems to be the best compromise at 4K, offering a playable frame rate while maintaining some graphical detail.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a 6-core, 6-thread processor from the Coffee Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. It has 9 MB of shared L3 cache and supports dual-channel DDR4 memory with a bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s. In a city builder like Steamworld Build, the CPU is responsible for simulating the game world, including resource management, pathfinding, and the actions of numerous citizens and buildings.

The CPU’s benchmark results show it to be a moderate performer. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score is 6629, and its single-core score is 935. The single-core performance is often critical for game logic, and while it is not a top-tier score, it is adequate for a game of this type. However, the 6-thread limit could be a bottleneck in the late game when the simulation grows complex. The combo rank of 2781 suggests that this CPU may be limiting the Arc B580's potential. The GPU’s percentile rank (68) is significantly higher than the CPU's (47), implying that the processor is the weaker link in this pairing. In scenarios where the resolution is low (1080p) and the GPU is not fully taxed, the CPU's ability to feed frames becomes the limiting factor, which is why we see 184 FPS on Low but still a large drop to 105 FPS on High—the GPU takes over the bottleneck as settings increase.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is a clear indicator of where the bottleneck lies. At High settings, the average FPS goes from 105 at 1080p to 67 at 1440p, a 36% drop, and then to 35 at 4K, a further 48% drop. This steep decline is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario. As resolution increases, the number of pixels the Arc B580 must render quadruples from 1080p to 4K, and its rendering throughput cannot keep up.

Conversely, the scaling on Low settings is less severe but still significant: 184 FPS at 1080p, 117 FPS at 1440p, and 62 FPS at 4K. The fact that even on Low settings the 4K performance (62 FPS) is far below the 1080p performance (184 FPS) confirms that the GPU is the primary limiting component at higher resolutions. If the CPU were the main bottleneck, we would expect the FPS to remain relatively flat across resolutions, as the simulation load would be constant. Instead, the dramatic drop-off indicates that the Intel Arc B580's pixel processing capabilities are saturated as resolution scales, while the Core i5-9400 is able to keep up with the game logic at these frame rates. The data strongly suggests that for this combo, resolution is the dominant factor in performance, and users seeking high fidelity at 4K will need to significantly reduce settings to achieve playable frame rates.