Steamworld Build

Steamworld Build is a city builder that can scale from effortlessly smooth to heavily demanding depending on how far you push the visual sliders. The measured data for the Intel Core i7-12700K paired with the Intel Arc B570 shows a clear and predictable curve as resolution increases, but the shape of that curve reveals a system that is firmly balanced at 1440p and begins to buckle under the weight of 4K. The jump from 1080p to 1440p is modest in terms of percentage loss, but the climb to 4K is where the frame rate collapses, indicating that the graphics card is the primary bottleneck at higher pixel counts.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 is relatively gentle. At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 93 FPS to 59 FPS, a reduction of roughly 37%. This is a significant hit, but it keeps the experience playable. The same pattern holds for other presets: Low settings fall from 162 FPS to 103 FPS, Medium from 124 FPS to 79 FPS, and Ultra from 63 FPS to 40 FPS. These drops are consistent with a GPU that is working harder but still keeping pace with the increased pixel load. The system is clearly GPU-bound at this stage, but the Arc B570 has enough headroom to deliver a solid experience at 1440p.

The real story emerges when pushing to 3840x2160. The performance cliff is steep and unforgiving. At High settings, the average frame rate plummets from 59 FPS at 1440p to just 31 FPS at 4K, a staggering 47% loss. The Medium preset tells an even harsher tale, dropping from 79 FPS to 42 FPS. Low settings manage to stay playable at 55 FPS, but that is the only preset that comes close to a smooth experience. Ultra settings fall to a slideshow-like 21 FPS, making it effectively unplayable for any real-time interaction. The data shows that the 4K resolution is simply too heavy for this combination, particularly when visual fidelity is prioritized. The scaling from 1440p to 4K is not linear; it is a catastrophic drop that clearly identifies the GPU as the limiting factor. The CPU, with its 12 cores and 20 threads, is not the issue here. The Arc B570’s 10 GB of VRAM and 160-bit memory bus are being overwhelmed by the sheer pixel throughput required at 4K.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570 is the component that defines this system’s gaming capabilities. It is built on the Xe2-HPG architecture and features 2304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 80 raster output units. The card operates at a boost clock of 2500 MHz, which is also its base clock, indicating a fixed frequency design. It has 18 ray tracing cores and delivers 11.52 TFLOPS of FP32 compute performance. The memory subsystem consists of 10 GB of GDDR6 on a 160-bit bus, providing 380.0 GB/s of bandwidth. These specifications are sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but they are stretched thin at 4K.

The benchmark results for the GPU place it in the 65th percentile among all graphics cards, with an average benchmark score of 20556. Its nearest rivals in synthetic tests are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile, which scores 20534 with a delta of 0.1%, and the Intel Arc A750, which scores 20582 with a delta of -0.1%. This puts the B570 in a tight performance cluster, but the game’s measured data shows that raw compute power is not the only factor. The GPU’s VRAM capacity and bandwidth are critical for a city builder like Steamworld Build, which likely has to manage a large number of objects and textures on screen. At 4K, the 10 GB frame buffer becomes a constraint, and the 380.0 GB/s bandwidth is not enough to feed the render pipeline efficiently. The result is a significant frame rate penalty that is not present at lower resolutions. The card’s performance in this game is respectable at 1080p, where it hits 162 FPS on Low settings, but it is clearly not designed for 4K gaming, especially on higher presets.

FAQ

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

A: The highest measured average frame rate is 162 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: Is this system capable of 4K gaming in Steamworld Build?

A: The data indicates that 4K is only playable on Low settings, where it averages 55 FPS. On Medium, High, and Ultra presets, the average frame rates are 42 FPS, 31 FPS, and 21 FPS respectively, which are not smooth enough for a city builder.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B570 compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Arc B570’s average benchmark score is 20556, which is nearly identical to the Intel Arc A750’s score of 20582, showing a delta of -0.1%. It also closely matches the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile, which scores 20534 with a 0.1% delta.

Q: What is the best resolution to play this game with this hardware?

A: Based on the measured frame rates, 2560x1440 is the sweet spot. It provides a substantial visual upgrade over 1080p while maintaining playable frame rates across all presets, ranging from 40 FPS on Ultra to 103 FPS on Low.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU at any resolution?

A: The benchmark results suggest that the GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions. The frame rate drops significantly from 1440p to 4K, which is characteristic of a GPU bottleneck. The CPU, with its high multi-threaded and single-threaded scores, appears to have sufficient headroom to keep up.

Q: What is the average frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 103 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 40 FPS. This represents a 63 FPS difference, or about a 61% reduction in performance when moving to the highest quality settings.

How This Combo Ranks

In the grand scheme of tested hardware combinations, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i7-12700K and the Intel Arc B570 holds a rank of 2320 out of 2924 total combos for Steamworld Build. This places it in the lower half of all systems tested, which is not surprising given the GPU’s limitations at higher resolutions. The rank is a reflection of the overall performance across all tested settings and resolutions. While the combo excels at 1080p, it falls behind many other configurations that feature more powerful graphics cards. The CPU itself is a strong performer, sitting in the 84th percentile among all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 35287. Its nearest rivals are the Intel Core i5-13600T with a score of 35305 and a delta of -0.1%, and the Intel Core i7-12700KF with a score of 35365 and a delta of -0.2%. This indicates that the processor is not the weak link in the chain.

The GPU, however, is a different story. The Arc B570 sits in the 65th percentile among all GPUs, and its average benchmark score of 20556 is comparable to the Intel Arc A750. This mid-range positioning is reflected in the game’s performance. The combination’s overall rank of 2320 suggests that while it is a capable system for many titles, it is not a top-tier performer in Steamworld Build. The data shows that the system is heavily dependent on the resolution and settings chosen. At 1080p, it can compete with more powerful systems, but at 4K, it falls to the bottom of the pack. The rank is a sobering reminder that a strong CPU does not compensate for a GPU that is stretched beyond its intended design limits. For users who prioritize high-resolution gaming, this combo would not be a recommended choice based on the data.

Settings Recommendations

Given the measured frame rates, the optimal experience for this system is found at 2560x1440 with the High preset. This configuration delivers an average of 59 FPS, which is smooth enough for a city builder where precise timing is not critical. It offers a significant visual improvement over the Low preset while maintaining a playable frame rate. The Medium preset at 1440p is also a strong option, averaging 79 FPS, and it provides a good balance between visual quality and performance. For users who prefer a higher frame rate, the Low preset at 1440p is exceptionally smooth at 103 FPS, but it sacrifices a considerable amount of visual fidelity.

At 1920x1080, the system has ample headroom. The High preset averages 93 FPS, and the Medium preset averages 124 FPS. These are both excellent choices for a smooth and visually pleasing experience. The Ultra preset at 1080p averages 63 FPS, which is playable, but the performance hit relative to High is noticeable. For 4K gaming, the only viable option is the Low preset, which averages 55 FPS. Even then, the experience may not be consistently smooth in busy scenes. The data suggests that users should avoid the Ultra preset at 4K, as the 21 FPS average makes the game nearly unresponsive. The High and Medium presets at 4K are also suboptimal, with averages of 31 FPS and 42 FPS respectively. The best recommendation is to stick with 1440p for the most balanced experience, using High or Medium settings depending on the user’s preference for visual quality or frame rate stability.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete set of measured frame rates provides a detailed picture of the system’s capabilities. At 1920x1080, the Low settings deliver an average of 162 FPS, which is the highest frame rate recorded for this combo. The Medium settings produce an average of 124 FPS, with a minimum of 106 FPS and a maximum of 143 FPS. The High settings yield an average of 93 FPS, and the Ultra settings drop to an average of 63 FPS. These numbers show a clear progression of performance scaling with visual quality.

Moving to 2560x1440, the Low settings average 103 FPS, representing a significant but manageable drop from 1080p. The Medium settings average 79 FPS, with a minimum of 67 FPS and a maximum of 91 FPS. The High settings average 59 FPS, which is the threshold for smooth gameplay. The Ultra settings average 40 FPS, which is on the lower end of playability. At 3840x2160, the performance takes a severe hit. The Low settings are the only playable option, averaging 55 FPS. The Medium settings average 42 FPS, with a minimum of 35 FPS and a maximum of 48 FPS. The High settings average 31 FPS, and the Ultra settings average just 21 FPS. These figures highlight the stark contrast between resolutions and reinforce the conclusion that this system is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming.