Steamworld Build

The Intel Core i7-12700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 delivers a commanding performance profile in Steamworld Build, a city builder that scales well across resolutions and settings. Benchmark results place this combo at rank 685 out of 3706 tested combinations, putting it in the top 18.5% of all pairings measured. This is a strong showing for a 12-core Alder Lake processor matched with a Blackwell-architecture GPU, but the data reveals interesting nuances about where the bottleneck lies and how the game responds to different configurations.

How This Combo Ranks

At rank 685 out of 3706 combos, this pairing sits comfortably in the upper fifth of all tested configurations. The rank reflects the combined capability of the i7-12700K and RTX 5070, but the measured FPS numbers show that Steamworld Build is far more GPU-limited than CPU-limited at higher settings. The CPU's percentileVsAllCpus score of 84 indicates it outperforms 84% of all processors in synthetic benchmarks, while the GPU's percentileVsAllGpus of 82 shows similar standing among graphics cards. These percentiles align well with the combo's overall ranking, suggesting neither component is holding the other back significantly.

Looking at the CPU's nearest rivals, the i7-12700K scores an average benchmark of 35287, which is virtually identical to the Intel Core i5-13600T (35305, -0.1% delta), the i7-12700KF (35365, -0.2%), the i7-13700T (35403, -0.3%), and the Intel Core 5 213PE (35428, -0.4%). All four rivals are within 0.4% of each other, meaning the i7-12700K's performance is essentially tied with these alternatives in aggregate benchmarks. The data shows that for Steamworld Build specifically, the CPU choice matters less than the GPU, as evidenced by the FPS scaling patterns described below.

For the GPU, the RTX 5070's average benchmark score of 40377 places it near the AMD Radeon Pro 580 (40318, +0.1%), AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100 (40063, +0.8%), AMD Radeon Pro 5300 (40870, -1.2%), and NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile (39568, +2%). These delta percentages are all under 2%, indicating a tight cluster of similar-performing GPUs in synthetic tests. However, the RTX 5070's real-world gaming performance in Steamworld Build, as shown in the measured FPS data, demonstrates capabilities far beyond what these synthetic averages might suggest.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data includes four settings presets—Low, Medium, High, and Ultra—across three resolutions. At 1080p, Low settings produce an average of 332 FPS, Medium delivers 254 FPS, High reaches 190 FPS, and Ultra drops to 128 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p shows a 204 FPS difference, which represents a 61% reduction in frame rate from the lowest to the highest preset. This is a typical pattern for a city builder where Ultra settings introduce heavy draw distances and particle effects.

At 1440p, the same settings yield 211 FPS (Low), 162 FPS (Medium), 121 FPS (High), and 82 FPS (Ultra). The drop from 1080p to 1440p at each setting is substantial but not linear—Low loses 121 FPS (36%), Medium loses 92 FPS (36%), High loses 69 FPS (36%), and Ultra loses 46 FPS (36%). This consistent 36% reduction across all settings at this resolution step suggests the GPU is the limiting factor, as the percentage decrease remains uniform regardless of preset.

At 4K (3840x2160), the numbers become more telling: Low averages 112 FPS, Medium 85 FPS, High 64 FPS, and Ultra 43 FPS. Here, the scaling from 1080p to 4K shows reductions of 66% (Low), 67% (Medium), 66% (High), and 66% (Ultra). The uniformity of these percentages strongly indicates GPU-bound performance—the CPU's contribution becomes negligible as resolution increases. For the best experience, Medium settings at 1440p offer 162 FPS with a minimum of 137 FPS, which provides smooth gameplay without the visual compromises of Low. However, at 4K, High settings at 64 FPS come close to the critical 60 FPS threshold, making it the highest visual quality option that maintains playable frame rates. Ultra at 4K drops to 43 FPS, which may feel sluggish for a city builder where camera panning and zooming are frequent.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS data reveals a clear resolution scaling pattern that identifies the GPU as the primary bottleneck. From 1080p to 1440p, frame rates drop by approximately 36% at every settings level—from 332 to 211 FPS on Low, 254 to 162 on Medium, 190 to 121 on High, and 128 to 82 on Ultra. This consistent percentage reduction indicates that the i7-12700K has ample headroom at 1080p and is not limiting performance; if the CPU were the bottleneck, the percentage drop would vary across settings as the GPU workload changes.

Moving from 1440p to 4K, the reductions become even more pronounced at 47-48%: Low drops from 211 to 112 FPS (47% decrease), Medium from 162 to 85 (48%), High from 121 to 64 (47%), and Ultra from 82 to 43 (48%). The slightly larger percentage drop at this step confirms that the RTX 5070's 12 GB of GDDR7 memory and 192-bit bus are being pushed harder as pixel count quadruples from 1440p to 4K. The GPU's 672.0 GB/s memory bandwidth is sufficient, but the data shows diminishing returns as resolution climbs.

The limiting component is clearly the GPU. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 332 FPS, which is far beyond what any display can show, yet the CPU still delivers these numbers without breaking a sweat. The i7-12700K's 12 cores and 20 threads, with a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, provide more than enough processing power for Steamworld Build's simulation logic. The game's city-building mechanics likely rely on single-threaded performance for AI and pathfinding, and the CPU's 3dmark_single_thread score of 1043 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1850.5 indicate strong single-thread capability. However, the uniform FPS scaling across settings proves that the GPU is the ceiling.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers exceptional performance across all presets. Low settings average 332 FPS, making the game almost absurdly smooth. Medium settings produce 254 FPS with a minimum of 216 and maximum of 292—the only settings row with min/max data in this resolution. High settings average 190 FPS, while Ultra still achieves 128 FPS. These numbers indicate that at 1080p, the RTX 5070 is never the limiting factor; even Ultra settings leave the GPU with significant headroom.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains impressive. Low settings average 211 FPS, Medium 162 FPS (with a minimum of 137 and maximum of 186), High 121 FPS, and Ultra 82 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 137 FPS suggests that even during heavy simulation moments, the frame rate stays well above 60 FPS. High settings at 121 FPS provide a smooth experience for most displays, while Ultra at 82 FPS still offers playable performance with high visual fidelity.

At 3840x2160, the GPU starts to show its limits. Low settings average 112 FPS, which is still excellent for 4K gaming. Medium settings average 85 FPS with a minimum of 73 and maximum of 98—this is the only 4K row with min/max data, and the minimum of 73 FPS indicates the game remains fluid even under load. High settings drop to 64 FPS, which hovers near the 60 FPS standard, while Ultra falls to 43 FPS, which may be too low for comfortable play. The 4K data shows that Medium is the sweet spot for 4K, offering 85 FPS with a minimum of 73 FPS, while High at 64 FPS is the highest preset that maintains playable frame rates.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest settings preset that maintains 60+ FPS at 4K?

A: High settings average 64 FPS at 3840x2160, which is the highest preset above the 60 FPS threshold. Ultra drops to 43 FPS, which falls below playable levels for most users.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in Steamworld Build?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the bottleneck. FPS drops from 1080p to 1440p are consistently 36% across all settings, and from 1440p to 4K they are 47-48%, showing uniform scaling that points to GPU limitations rather than CPU constraints.

Q: How does the i7-12700K compare to its closest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The i7-12700K scores 35287 in average benchmark score, which is within 0.4% of the Intel Core i5-13600T (35305), i7-12700KF (35365), i7-13700T (35403), and Intel Core 5 213PE (35428). All five processors are essentially tied.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested combinations?

A: This pairing ranks 685 out of 3706 tested combos, placing it in the top 18.5% of all configurations.

Q: What minimum FPS can be expected at 4K Medium settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Medium settings, the measured minimum FPS is 73, with an average of 85 and maximum of 98. This provides a smooth experience even during demanding scenes.

Q: Does the RTX 5070 outperform its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 5070's average benchmark score of 40377 is within 2% of all four nearest rivals, with deltas of +0.1% (Radeon Pro 580), +0.8% (Radeon Pro WX 7100), -1.2% (Radeon Pro 5300), and +2% (RTX A500 Mobile). The differences are negligible in synthetic tests.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700K brings 12 cores and 20 threads to this pairing, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. This Alder Lake-S architecture processor, built on Intel's 10 nm process, features a 25 MB shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB L2 cache per core. Its dual-channel memory support for both DDR4 and DDR5 provides flexibility, though the benchmark data does not specify which memory type was used in testing.

In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU shows strong multi-threaded performance with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 19784 and a Geekbench multicore score of 15790. Its single-thread performance is equally impressive, with Cinebench R23 single-core at 1850.5 and Geekbench single-core at 2308. For Steamworld Build, a city builder that relies heavily on simulation logic, these single-thread scores are particularly relevant. The game's pathfinding, resource management, and AI behaviors typically run on one or a few threads, and the i7-12700K's single-thread capability ensures these operations are handled efficiently.

The CPU's percentileVsAllCpus of 84 indicates it outperforms 84% of all processors. However, the measured FPS data shows that this CPU power is not the limiting factor in Steamworld Build. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 332 FPS, which is far beyond what any display can show, yet the CPU still delivers these numbers without breaking a sweat. The uniform FPS scaling across settings—a consistent 36% drop from 1080p to 1440p—confirms that the CPU is not the bottleneck. Even at 1080p Ultra, the 128 FPS average suggests the GPU is still the primary constraint, as the CPU has ample headroom to feed the graphics card.

The i7-12700K's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks are all within 0.4% of its score, indicating that any of these CPUs would perform similarly in Steamworld Build. The choice between the i7-12700K, i5-13600T, or i7-13700T would have minimal impact on frame rates, as the game is GPU-bound at all tested settings and resolutions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 is the dominant component in this pairing, as evidenced by the resolution scaling data. This Blackwell 2.0 architecture GPU, built on TSMC's 5 nm process, features 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus with 672.0 GB/s bandwidth. Its base clock of 2325 MHz and boost clock of 2512 MHz, combined with 6144 shading units and 80 ROPs, provide substantial raw compute power.

In synthetic benchmarks, the RTX 5070 achieves a Passmark G3D score of 29137 and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 178923. Its percentileVsAllGpus of 82 shows it outperforms 82% of all GPUs. The GPU's nearest rivals—AMD Radeon Pro 580, Radeon Pro WX 7100, Radeon Pro 5300, and NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile—are all within 2% of its average benchmark score, but these are professional or mobile GPUs, not direct gaming competitors. The data suggests that in Steamworld Build, the RTX 5070's gaming performance is significantly better than these synthetic averages might indicate, as the measured FPS numbers show excellent real-world results.

The GPU's role in Steamworld Build is clearly the limiting factor. From 1080p to 1440p, FPS drops by 36% at every settings level, and from 1440p to 4K, drops are 47-48%. This uniform scaling is a classic sign of GPU-bound performance. At 1080p, the RTX 5070 is barely challenged, delivering 332 FPS on Low and 128 FPS on Ultra. Even at 4K, the GPU maintains 112 FPS on Low and 64 FPS on High, showing that its 12 GB of VRAM and 672.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for this city builder's needs.

The RTX 5070's 48 RT cores and 192 tensor cores support DirectX 12 Ultimate, though Steamworld Build's requirements likely don't stress ray tracing. The GPU's 30.87 TFLOPS FP32 performance provides ample compute for the game's rendering, but the resolution scaling data shows that 4K Ultra at 43 FPS is the point where the GPU runs out of headroom. The measured data indicates that the RTX 5070 is best paired with this CPU at 1440p or 1080p, where it can deliver frame rates well above 100 FPS on most settings, while 4K gaming requires dropping to High or Medium presets to maintain playable performance.