Steamworld Build

Steamworld Build is a city builder that scales heavily with resolution, and the Intel Core i7-12700KF + Intel Arc B390 combination shows its limits clearly. The data indicates this is a GPU-bound pairing at higher resolutions, but the CPU provides a solid foundation at 1080p. The combo ranks near the bottom of the tested pool, placing 2573rd out of 2924 combos, which signals that while the system is functional, it is not competitive for high-end play. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS rows to show exactly where this hardware excels and where it struggles, leading with the verdict that this is a 1080p-oriented setup.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is severe, revealing that the Intel Arc B390 becomes the primary bottleneck as pixel count increases. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 106 FPS, but this falls to 67 FPS at 1440p and plummets to 35 FPS at 4K. That is a 67% reduction from 1080p to 4K, indicating that the GPU’s fixed silicon resources—its 1536 shading units and 24 ROPs—are overwhelmed by the fourfold increase in pixels. The 1080p to 1440p transition shows a 37% drop, while the 1440p to 4K transition shows a 48% drop, meaning the scaling is not linear; the GPU degrades disproportionately as resolution climbs.

Looking at the Low settings row, the trend is consistent: 106 FPS at 1080p, 67 FPS at 1440p, and 35 FPS at 4K. This linear pattern across all three resolutions suggests that the CPU, the Intel Core i7-12700KF with 12 cores and 20 threads, is not the limiting factor at Low settings; if it were, the FPS would plateau regardless of resolution. Instead, the consistent halving of FPS as resolution doubles points squarely at the GPU’s memory bandwidth being "System Dependent" and its fillrate of 60.00 GPixel/s, which cannot sustain higher pixel throughput.

The Medium settings row offers a similar story but with a narrower gap. At 1080p Medium, the average FPS is 81, dropping to 51 FPS at 1440p and 27 FPS at 4K. The 1440p to 4K drop is 47%, nearly identical to the Low settings drop, reinforcing that the GPU is the ceiling. However, the 1080p to 1440p drop is only 37%, which is slightly better than Low settings, hinting that at lower resolutions, the CPU’s boost clock of 5.00 GHz can keep up with the GPU’s demands, but once resolution rises, the GPU’s 2500 MHz boost clock cannot compensate for the pixel load.

Ultra settings reveal the most extreme scaling, with 41 FPS at 1080p, 26 FPS at 1440p, and 14 FPS at 4K. The 1080p to 4K drop is 66%, nearly identical to the Low settings drop. This consistency across all settings tiers is the key finding: the Arc B390’s performance scales linearly with resolution regardless of graphical fidelity, which is a hallmark of a GPU that is compute-limited rather than bandwidth-limited. The CPU’s 3DMark single-thread score of 1043 and multi-thread score of 9983 suggest it has ample headroom, but the data shows that headroom is wasted beyond 1080p.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is a low-power integrated graphics solution, and its role in Steamworld Build is defined by its 80 W TDP and 3 nm process node. With a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2500 MHz, the GPU can ramp up significantly under load, but its memory is "System Shared," meaning it relies on the CPU’s DDR4 or DDR5 memory bandwidth. This is a critical weakness in a city builder, which often requires sustained memory throughput for simulation data; the benchmark rows show this bottleneck clearly, as the GPU cannot exceed 106 FPS even at 1080p Low.

The GPU’s 7.680 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 120.0 GTexel/s texture rate are modest figures, but they are sufficient for 1080p Low settings where the combo hits 106 FPS. However, the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482 places it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs, which aligns with the measured FPS results. The nearest rivals—NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, GeForce 800M, GT 625 OEM, and GT 710—all score between 1443 and 1463, with deltas of 1.3% to 2.7% relative to the Arc B390. This means the Arc B390 is not just slow; it is in the company of decade-old entry-level GPUs, which explains why 4K Ultra is unplayable at 14 FPS.

The VRAM situation is non-existent in the traditional sense, as the memory size is "System Shared," and the bus width is also "System Shared." This means the GPU has no dedicated VRAM pool, and its bandwidth is "System Dependent," which varies with the CPU’s memory configuration. In Steamworld Build, this translates to the 4K High settings producing only 20 FPS, while 1440p High produces 38 FPS. The lack of dedicated VRAM likely causes texture thrashing as the simulation grows, but the measured rows do not show min FPS for High settings, so we cannot quantify stutter. The Medium settings do show min FPS: 69 at 1080p, 44 at 1440p, and 23 at 4K, which indicates that frame pacing degrades with resolution, further evidence of memory pressure.

The GPU’s DirectX 12 Ultimate support and Vulkan 1.4 API compatibility are modern, but they do not compensate for the raw hardware limits. The 12 RT cores and 48 TMUs are present, but Steamworld Build is not a ray-traced title, so those cores sit idle. The pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s is the hard ceiling; at 4K (3840x2160), there are 8.3 million pixels, and at 60 GPixel/s, the theoretical maximum is around 7.2 FPS, but the measured 14 FPS at Ultra suggests the GPU is not fully saturated, likely due to CPU overhead or driver optimizations. Still, the data shows the GPU is the dominant factor in every resolution above 1080p.

Settings Recommendations

The optimal settings for this combo are 1080p Low, which delivers 106 FPS and provides the smoothest experience. This is the only row that exceeds 100 FPS, and it is the clear recommendation for any player prioritizing responsiveness. The 1080p Medium settings at 81 FPS are also viable, offering a 24% FPS reduction for presumably better visuals, but the min FPS of 69 suggests occasional dips that could be noticeable in a city builder where scrolling and zooming are frequent. For players who want higher fidelity, 1080p High at 60 FPS is the last playable tier, as it maintains a 60 FPS average, though the lack of min FPS data means we cannot confirm stability.

At 1440p, the data shows that Low settings at 67 FPS is the only acceptable option, as Medium drops to 51 FPS and High falls to 38 FPS. The 51 FPS at Medium is borderline, and the min FPS of 44 indicates it will dip below 45 FPS, which is generally considered the threshold for smooth city-builder gameplay. The 1440p High at 38 FPS is likely too choppy for continuous play, and the 1440p Ultra at 26 FPS is only suitable for screenshots. The 4K resolution is not recommended at any settings, as even Low produces only 35 FPS, and Ultra is a slideshow at 14 FPS.

The settings scaling is consistent across resolutions: Low is roughly 2.5x faster than Ultra at the same resolution. At 1080p, Low (106 FPS) is 2.6x faster than Ultra (41 FPS); at 1440p, Low (67 FPS) is 2.6x faster than Ultra (26 FPS); and at 4K, Low (35 FPS) is 2.5x faster than Ultra (14 FPS). This linear scaling suggests that the GPU’s shading units and ROPs are the limiting factor, not texture memory, as reducing settings from Ultra to Low does not disproportionately benefit any resolution. Therefore, the recommendation is to prioritize resolution over settings: 1080p Low for maximum FPS, 1080p Medium for balance, and 1440p Low only if the player has a 1440p monitor and accepts lower fidelity.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i7-12700KF + Intel Arc B390 combo ranks 2573rd out of 2924 tested combos in Steamworld Build, placing it in the bottom 12% of all systems. This rank is driven almost entirely by the GPU, as the CPU is a high-end desktop part with an 85th percentile ranking among all CPUs. The i7-12700KF’s average benchmark score of 35365 is nearly identical to its nearest rivals: the Intel Core i7-13700T scores 35403 (0.1% lower), the Intel Core i5-13600T scores 35305 (0.2% higher), and the Intel Core i7-12700K scores 35287 (0.2% higher). This means the CPU is not the bottleneck in this pairing; it performs on par with its direct contemporaries.

The GPU, however, is the anchor. The Arc B390’s average benchmark score of 1482 places it in the 9th percentile, and its nearest rivals are all NVIDIA GPUs from the early 2010s. The GeForce GT 520MX scores 1463 (1.3% lower), the GeForce 800M scores 1460 (1.5% lower), the GT 625 OEM scores 1446 (2.5% lower), and the GT 710 scores 1443 (2.7% lower). This is a clear indication that the Arc B390 is a low-end part, and the combo rank of 2573 reflects that. In Steamworld Build, this GPU cannot handle the game’s simulation overhead at higher resolutions, even though the CPU has 20 threads and a 25 MB L3 cache.

The mismatch between CPU and GPU is stark. The i7-12700KF has a passmark multithread score of 34092 and a cinebench R23 multicore score of 28838, which are strong numbers for a desktop CPU. Yet, in this game, the combo’s FPS at 4K Ultra (14 FPS) is lower than what a much weaker CPU paired with a discrete GPU would likely achieve. The data suggests that the combo rank is not a reflection of the CPU’s capability but rather the GPU’s inability to leverage it. For players considering this combo, the rank implies that upgrading the GPU would yield massive gains, while upgrading the CPU would yield almost none, as the GPU is the limiting factor in every resolution above 1080p.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Steamworld Build at 4K?

A: Technically yes, but not playably. The measured FPS at 4K ranges from 35 FPS at Low settings to 14 FPS at Ultra. Only the Low setting approaches playability, and even it falls below the 60 FPS threshold. The 4K Medium setting averages 27 FPS with a min FPS of 23, indicating significant stutter.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo?

A: The data shows 1080p is the only resolution where this combo can achieve high frame rates. At 1080p Low, it hits 106 FPS, and at Medium, it hits 81 FPS. At 1440p, the best is 67 FPS at Low, which is acceptable but not ideal. 4K is not recommended.

Q: Is the Intel Core i7-12700KF or the Intel Arc B390 the bottleneck?

A: The GPU is the bottleneck at all resolutions above 1080p. The CPU’s benchmarks are strong (85th percentile, 28838 in Cinebench R23 multicore), and the FPS scales linearly with resolution, which is a GPU characteristic. The GPU’s 9th percentile rank and 1482 Steel Nomad score confirm it is the limiting component.

Q: How does the Arc B390 compare to its closest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B390 scores 1482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, which is 1.3% higher than the GeForce GT 520MX (1463), 1.5% higher than the GeForce 800M (1460), and 2.7% higher than the GeForce GT 710 (1443). All are within 3% of each other, indicating they are in the same performance class.

Q: What settings should I use for a smooth experience?

A: For a 60+ FPS experience, use 1080p Low (106 FPS) or 1080p Medium (81 FPS). If you must play at 1440p, use Low settings (67 FPS) and accept the lower fidelity. Avoid Ultra settings at any resolution, as the highest FPS at Ultra is 41 FPS at 1080p.

Q: Does the combo have enough VRAM for this game?

A: The GPU has no dedicated VRAM; its memory is "System Shared" and its bandwidth is "System Dependent." This means it uses the CPU’s system memory, which can cause performance degradation in city builders. The measured FPS drops at higher resolutions and settings suggest this shared memory configuration is a limiting factor.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of the combo’s performance across twelve configurations. At 1920x1080, the lowest resolution tested, the combo delivers its best results: 106 FPS at Low, 81 FPS at Medium (with a min FPS of 69 and max FPS of 93), 60 FPS at High, and 41 FPS at Ultra. This is the only resolution where any setting exceeds 60 FPS, and it is the target resolution for this build.

At 2560x1440, the performance drops significantly. Low settings produce 67 FPS, Medium produces 51 FPS (min 44, max 59), High produces 38 FPS, and Ultra produces 26 FPS. None of these configurations reach 60 FPS, and only Low settings maintain a playable average above 60 FPS. The Medium settings’ min FPS of 44 indicates that the combo will dip below 45 FPS during heavy simulation, which can cause noticeable hitches in a city builder.

At 3840x2160, the performance is marginal at best. Low settings produce 35 FPS, Medium produces 27 FPS (min 23, max 31), High produces 20 FPS, and Ultra produces 14 FPS. The 4K Medium settings’ min FPS of 23 is particularly poor, indicating that the game will stutter severely. The data shows that 4K is only viable for static screenshots, not for active gameplay. Across all resolutions, the Low-to-Ultra scaling is consistent, with Ultra delivering roughly 38-40% of the Low FPS, confirming that the GPU’s fillrate and shading capacity are the primary constraints.