Steamworld Build

Steamworld Build, a city builder from 2023, presents an interesting case study for the Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 combination. The measured data indicates a system that is highly capable at mainstream resolutions but begins to show its architectural limits as the pixel count climbs. This analysis examines the resolution scaling, component roles, and overall standing of this specific hardware pairing based solely on the provided benchmark results.

Resolution Scaling

The performance trajectory from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic transition from a CPU-bound state at lower resolutions to a GPU-bound state at higher ones. At 1920x1080 with Ultra settings, the system produces an average of 77 FPS. Moving up to 2560x1440 at the same preset, the average drops to 49 FPS, a significant reduction of 28 FPS. The scaling to 3840x2160 is more drastic, where the Ultra preset yields just 26 FPS on average. This represents a 51 FPS loss from 1080p to 4K, indicating that the rendering load is outstripping the GPU's capabilities at the highest resolution.

The pattern holds across other settings. At Medium quality, the frame rate decreases from 153 FPS at 1080p to 97 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 52 FPS at 4K. The gap between 1440p and 4K is substantial, suggesting that the RTX 5050's 8 GB memory buffer and 128-bit bus are under severe strain when addressing over eight million pixels. Interestingly, the Low preset shows the most linear scaling, with 184 FPS at 1080p, 127 FPS at 1440p, and 67 FPS at 4K. This linearity suggests that when graphical load is minimized, the frame rate is more evenly distributed between CPU and GPU limitations.

The data demonstrates that the 4K resolution is the breaking point for this combo. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS of 26 is below the threshold for smooth playability in a city builder, where camera panning and zooming require consistent frame pacing. The 4K Medium result of 52 FPS is more viable but still represents a substantial compromise. The 1080p results, conversely, show a system that has ample headroom, with even the Ultra preset achieving 77 FPS. The primary limiting factor at 1080p appears to be the CPU, as the frame rate differences between Low and Ultra settings are relatively modest compared to the differences seen at higher resolutions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture using a 5 nm process at TSMC. With 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, the memory bandwidth is 320.0 GB/s. The GPU operates at a base clock of 2317 MHz and a boost clock of 2572 MHz, with a memory clock of 2500 MHz effective 20 Gbps. These specifications place the card in the 66th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 21035.

The VRAM capacity is a critical factor in Steamworld Build's higher resolution performance. At 4K, the game's asset streaming and texture requirements appear to exceed what the 8 GB buffer can efficiently handle, as evidenced by the steep drop from 52 FPS at Medium to 26 FPS at Ultra. The 320.0 GB/s bandwidth is likely a bottleneck when the game is forced to swap textures between VRAM and system memory. The GPU's raw compute capabilities, rated at 13.17 TFLOPS FP32, are sufficient for the game's geometry, but the memory subsystem restricts performance at 4K.

The GPU's benchmark scores correlate with the measured gaming results. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2502 and the Passmark G3D score of 17326 suggest a mid-range performer. The nearest rivals, such as the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT with a deltaPct of 1.6, indicate that the RTX 5050 is positioned in a competitive performance bracket. However, in Steamworld Build, the GPU's role is secondary to the CPU at 1080p, where the frame rates of 115 FPS at High and 184 FPS at Low suggest that the graphics card is not the primary constraint. The GPU becomes the limiting factor only when resolution scaling pushes the rendering workload beyond what the CPU can feed.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a Coffee Lake Refresh processor with 6 cores and 6 threads. It has a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. The 9 MB shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support at 42.7 GB/s bandwidth define its memory subsystem. The processor's benchmark results show a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 6629 and a single-core score of 935, placing it in the 47th percentile of all CPUs.

In Steamworld Build, the CPU's influence is most apparent at lower resolutions where the GPU is not saturated. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra settings is only 107 FPS (184 vs 77), which is less than the difference seen at 1440p or 4K. This indicates that the CPU is reaching its limit in terms of game logic, simulation, and draw call processing. The 6-core, 6-thread configuration without hyper-threading may struggle with the game's background simulations, particularly when the player has built large, complex cities.

The CPU's nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 with a deltaPct of -0.2, meaning the i5-9400 is slightly faster, and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 with a deltaPct of 0.4, meaning the i5-9400 is slightly slower. These close margins suggest that the i5-9400 is a competent but not exceptional processor. In the context of Steamworld Build, the CPU's performance ceiling is evident in the 1080p Low preset where the frame rate peaks at 184 FPS. This is likely near the maximum frame rate the CPU can generate for this game, regardless of GPU capability. The 4.10 GHz boost clock provides adequate single-threaded performance, but the lack of additional threads could be a limiting factor in late-game scenarios with numerous entities.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play at with this combo?

A: Based on the measured data, 1920x1080 is the most optimal. The Ultra preset achieves 77 FPS, while High reaches 115 FPS, making both smooth for a city builder. 2560x1440 is playable with Medium at 97 FPS, but 3840x2160 drops below ideal thresholds, with Ultra averaging only 26 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 5050's memory configuration affect 4K performance?

A: The 8 GB GDDR6 memory with 320.0 GB/s bandwidth appears insufficient for 4K Ultra settings. The average FPS drops from 52 at Medium to 26 at Ultra, suggesting that the memory buffer is overwhelmed by high-resolution textures and the bandwidth cannot sustain the data throughput required.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the main bottleneck at 1080p?

A: The data indicates the CPU is the primary limiter at 1080p. The frame rate difference between Low (184 FPS) and Ultra (77 FPS) is 107 FPS, which is a smaller gap than what would be expected if the GPU were fully saturated. The Intel Core i5-9400's 6-core, 6-thread configuration appears to cap performance.

Q: Can this system handle 1440p gaming in Steamworld Build?

A: Yes, with caveats. The High preset yields 73 FPS and Medium yields 97 FPS, both of which are playable. However, the Ultra preset drops to 49 FPS, which may cause noticeable stuttering during intense camera movements. The 2560x1440 Medium setting with its min FPS of 83 provides a more consistent experience.

Q: How does this combo rank against other tested systems?

A: The combo ranks 1888 out of 2924 tested combinations in Steamworld Build. This puts it in the lower half of the database, indicating that while it is capable, many other hardware pairings deliver better performance. The rank reflects the CPU's age and the GPU's mid-range positioning.

Q: What does the FPS data say about frame time consistency?

A: For the Medium preset at 1080p, the min FPS is 130 and the max FPS is 176, creating a 46 FPS variance. At 1440p Medium, the variance is 29 FPS (83 to 112). This suggests that frame pacing is generally stable but can fluctuate during complex scenes, which is typical for city builders with dynamic simulation loads.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 achieves a rank of 1888 out of 2924 tested combos in Steamworld Build. This places the system in the 35th percentile of all tested configurations, meaning roughly 65% of the other combos in the database perform better. The ranking reflects a fundamental mismatch between the components' capabilities and the game's demands at higher resolutions.

The CPU's percentile vs all CPUs is 47, and the GPU's percentile vs all GPUs is 66. The fact that the combo rank is lower than either individual component's percentile suggests that the pairing is not synergistic for this specific game. A stronger CPU would likely improve the 1080p results, while a stronger GPU would be necessary to improve 4K performance. The current rank indicates that the system is balanced for 1080p gaming but falls behind others at higher resolutions.

The nearest rivals for the CPU include the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500, both of which perform within 0.4% of the i5-9400. For the GPU, the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT is the closest competitor with a deltaPct of 1.6. These close margins imply that the components are competitive within their respective classes, but the overall combo rank suffers due to the demanding nature of Steamworld Build at 4K. The rank of 1888 out of 2924 is a clear indicator that this is a mid-tier system for this game, suitable for 1080p and light 1440p usage.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across three resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 184 FPS, which is the highest recorded value in the dataset. The Medium preset averages 153 FPS with a minimum of 130 and a maximum of 176. The High preset drops to 115 FPS, and the Ultra preset further reduces to 77 FPS. This scaling shows a clear progression where each quality increase costs approximately 30-40 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 127 FPS, a 31% reduction from 1080p Low. The Medium preset averages 97 FPS with a range of 83 to 112 FPS. High settings yield 73 FPS, and Ultra drops to 49 FPS. The gap between Medium and High is 24 FPS, while the gap between High and Ultra is also 24 FPS. This consistent scaling suggests that the GPU is becoming more of a factor at this resolution.

The 3840x2160 results show the most dramatic drops. Low averages 67 FPS, which is still playable but represents a 47% reduction from 1080p Low. Medium averages 52 FPS with a range of 44 to 59 FPS. High settings drop to 39 FPS, and Ultra falls to 26 FPS. The difference between 1440p Ultra and 4K Ultra is 23 FPS, indicating that the 4K resolution is taxing the GPU's memory system to its limits. The data shows that the 4K Medium preset is the only viable option for a smooth experience at that resolution.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience with this hardware, the 1920x1080 resolution with High settings is the recommended baseline. The 115 FPS average provides a smooth, responsive experience for city management, and the visual quality is sufficient for the game's art style. The Ultra preset at 1080p is also viable at 77 FPS, but the performance gain from High to Ultra does not justify the 38 FPS loss unless the user prioritizes visual fidelity over frame rate smoothness.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset is the most balanced option. The 97 FPS average with a minimum of 83 FPS ensures consistent performance during complex scenes. High settings at 73 FPS are acceptable but may introduce occasional stutters during heavy simulation moments. The Ultra preset at 49 FPS is not recommended due to the risk of noticeable frame drops.

For users who insist on 3840x2160, the Low preset at 67 FPS is the only option that maintains playability. The Medium preset at 52 FPS is borderline, and the minimum FPS of 44 suggests that it will dip below 30 FPS in demanding scenarios. The High and Ultra presets at 39 and 26 FPS respectively are unsuitable for a city builder where smooth camera movement is essential. The data suggests that this combo is best served by 1080p High settings, which offers the best compromise between visual quality and performance.