Steamworld Build

# Steamworld Build with Intel Core i7-14700F + Intel Arc B370

This combination of the Intel Core i7-14700F and Intel Arc B370 places at rank 2683 out of 2924 tested combos in Steamworld Build, putting it in the bottom 8% of all tested pairings. The data shows a system that is heavily constrained by its graphics component, with the CPU offering far more computational headroom than the GPU can utilize in this city-building title.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 2683 out of 2924 represents a position in the 91st percentile of worst performers — meaning roughly 91% of tested combinations deliver higher frame rates in Steamworld Build. This placement is unsurprising when examining the individual component benchmarks. The Intel Core i7-14700F sits in the 91st percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 53620. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Xeon 6505P at 53701 (0.2% faster), the Intel Xeon Phi 7290 at 53469 (0.3% slower), the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X at 53288 (0.6% slower), and the AMD EPYC 7313P at 53206 (0.8% slower). This places the CPU firmly in high-end territory for general processing.

The Intel Arc B370, however, tells a different story. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1184 places it in the 5th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of just 1184. The nearest GPU rivals are the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 at 1186 (0.2% faster), the ATI Radeon HD 5770 at 1190 (0.5% faster), the AMD Radeon HD 7650M at 1192 (0.7% faster), and the AMD FirePro M2000 at 1168 (1.4% slower). These comparison points are all over a decade old, underscoring how far behind modern graphics hardware this integrated solution sits.

The disparity between a top-tier CPU and a bottom-tier GPU creates a bottleneck scenario where the graphics processor determines the playable experience. In a genre like city building, where simulation logic and entity counts typically stress the CPU, the data indicates that Steamworld Build still depends heavily on GPU throughput for its rendering workload.

FAQ

Q: Is this combination capable of running Steamworld Build at 1080p?

A: Yes, but with significant caveats. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the measured average FPS is 95. Medium settings yield 73 FPS average, High settings produce 55 FPS average, and Ultra settings drop to 37 FPS average. The playability depends on the target frame rate and quality preferences.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo?

A: 1920x1080 is the only resolution where all settings presets remain above 30 FPS average. At 2560x1440, the Low preset achieves 61 FPS average, but Ultra drops to 23 FPS. At 3840x2160, even Low settings only reach 32 FPS average, making 4K impractical for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest competitors?

A: The Intel Core i7-14700F has an average benchmark score of 53620, which is 0.2% below the Intel Xeon 6505P, 0.3% above the Intel Xeon Phi 7290, 0.6% above the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X, and 0.8% above the AMD EPYC 7313P. It ranks in the 91st percentile of all CPUs.

Q: What does the GPU benchmark reveal about its performance class?

A: The Intel Arc B370 scores 1184 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, placing it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs. Its closest rivals are the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570, ATI Radeon HD 5770, AMD Radeon HD 7650M, and AMD FirePro M2000 — all within 1.4% performance delta.

Q: Which settings preset offers the largest FPS jump?

A: Moving from Medium to Low at 1920x1080 increases average FPS from 73 to 95, a gain of 22 FPS. At 2560x1440, the Medium to Low transition goes from 46 to 61 FPS, a 15 FPS gain. The Low preset consistently provides the highest frame rates at every resolution.

Q: Does the 4K Ultra preset provide a playable experience?

A: No. At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the measured average FPS is 12, which is below the threshold for comfortable real-time strategy play. Even the High preset at 4K only reaches 18 FPS average.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700F is a 20-core, 28-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process with a 257 mm² die size. Its base clock runs at 2.10 GHz with a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, and it carries 33 MB of shared L3 cache alongside 2 MB of L2 cache per core and 80 KB of L1 cache per core. The processor supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration, with ECC memory support enabled. It connects via Intel Socket 1700 and provides PCIe Gen 5 with 16 lanes from the CPU.

Benchmark data shows exceptional multi-threaded performance: Cinebench R23 multicore score of 35122, Cinebench R20 multicore score of 14751, and Cinebench R15 multicore score of 3540. Single-thread results are equally strong, with Cinebench R23 single-core at 4958 and Cinebench R20 single-core at 2082. Geekbench scores reach 19620 multicore and 2429 single-core. PassMark results include a multithread score of 41317, single-thread score of 4257, integer math at 155808, floating point math at 107005, and data compression at 505885.

For Steamworld Build, this CPU provides far more processing capability than the frame rate data suggests is being utilized. The game's city-building genre typically benefits from strong single-thread performance for simulation tick rates, and the 5.40 GHz boost clock delivers that. The 20 cores and 28 threads also handle background simulation tasks, but the measured FPS ceilings across all resolutions appear limited by the graphics subsystem rather than CPU throughput.

The CPU's 91st percentile ranking among all processors, with a 53620 average benchmark score, places it in the company of workstation and server parts like the Intel Xeon 6505P and AMD EPYC 7313P. This level of processing power is excessive for the frame rates this combo actually produces, confirming that the CPU is not the limiting factor in Steamworld Build performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the data shows a clear progression across settings. Low settings produce an average of 95 FPS, which is the highest measured performance for this combo. Medium settings deliver 73 FPS average with a minimum of 62 and maximum of 84 FPS. High settings yield 55 FPS average, while Ultra settings drop to 37 FPS average. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 58 FPS, representing a 61% performance reduction when enabling maximum quality.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates scale down noticeably. Low settings maintain 61 FPS average, which remains playable for the genre. Medium settings produce 46 FPS average with a range of 39 to 53 FPS. High settings achieve 35 FPS average, and Ultra settings fall to 23 FPS average. The Low to Ultra spread at 1440p is 38 FPS, a 62% reduction.

At 3840x2160, the performance becomes marginal across all presets. Low settings reach 32 FPS average, Medium settings drop to 25 FPS average with a minimum of 21 and maximum of 28 FPS, High settings manage 18 FPS average, and Ultra settings bottom out at 12 FPS average. The 4K resolution pushes this combo below playable thresholds for most presets, with only Low settings approaching acceptable frame rates for a management game.

The Medium preset is the only configuration that provides minimum and maximum FPS data at every resolution, offering insight into frame time consistency. At 1080p Medium, the 62-84 FPS range indicates reasonable stability. At 1440p Medium, the 39-53 FPS range shows tighter variance. At 4K Medium, the 21-28 FPS range suggests consistent low performance rather than erratic spikes.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K reveals how heavily the GPU limits this combo. At Low settings, performance falls from 95 FPS at 1920x1080 to 61 FPS at 2560x1440 and 32 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 36% decrease from 1080p to 1440p and a further 48% decrease from 1440p to 4K. The cumulative drop from 1080p to 4K at Low settings is 66%.

At Medium settings, the progression is 73 FPS at 1080p, 46 FPS at 1440p, and 25 FPS at 4K. The 1080p to 1440p drop is 37%, and the 1440p to 4K drop is 46%. High settings show 55 FPS at 1080p, 35 FPS at 1440p, and 18 FPS at 4K — a 36% drop followed by a 49% drop. Ultra settings go from 37 FPS at 1080p to 23 FPS at 1440p to 12 FPS at 4K, with drops of 38% and 48% respectively.

The consistent ~37% reduction from 1080p to 1440p and ~48% reduction from 1440p to 4K across all settings presets indicates that the scaling pattern is driven primarily by pixel count rather than settings complexity. This behavior is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario, where the rendering pipeline saturates regardless of quality level. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the scaling would show less degradation at higher resolutions because the CPU workload would remain constant while GPU load increases.

The Intel Arc B370's system-shared memory architecture means its "VRAM" bandwidth is system dependent, which compounds the resolution scaling issue. Higher resolutions require more memory bandwidth for framebuffer operations, and the integrated design cannot match dedicated graphics memory throughput. This explains why 4K performance collapses so severely — the shared memory subsystem becomes a secondary bottleneck on top of the already limited shader throughput.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data suggests that Low settings at 1920x1080 provides the best experience for this combo, delivering 95 FPS average. This frame rate gives ample headroom for the simulation-heavy moments typical of city builders, where entity counts and pathfinding calculations can cause dips below average performance. The 95 FPS figure at 1080p Low is the only configuration that exceeds 60 FPS, making it the sole preset that comfortably clears common refresh rate targets.

For users prioritizing visual quality over raw frame rate, Medium settings at 1920x1080 offers a balanced alternative at 73 FPS average. The minimum of 62 FPS recorded at this configuration ensures that even worst-case frame times remain above 60 FPS, providing consistent smoothness without the quality sacrifices of Low settings. The 62-84 FPS range at 1080p Medium demonstrates acceptable stability for the genre.

At 2560x1440, Low settings at 61 FPS average is the recommended configuration, as it maintains playability while offering higher pixel density than 1080p. Medium settings at 1440p drop to 46 FPS average, which may be acceptable for a slower-paced management game but leaves less margin for simulation-induced frame dips. The 39 FPS minimum at this setting could become noticeable during heavy building activity.

Ultra settings are not advisable at any resolution for this combo. At 1080p Ultra, the 37 FPS average is below the 40 FPS threshold commonly cited for comfortable real-time strategy play. At 1440p and 4K, Ultra falls to 23 FPS and 12 FPS respectively, making these configurations impractical for actual gameplay. High settings represent a middle ground at 1080p (55 FPS) and 1440p (35 FPS), but the frame rate advantage of Medium over High at both resolutions is substantial enough that Medium provides better value in terms of playability.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is an integrated graphics solution based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, built on a 3 nm process with a Panther Lake chip. It operates with a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2400 MHz, delivering 6.144 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 12.29 TFLOPS of FP16 performance. The GPU contains 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, 20 raster output units, and 10 ray tracing cores. Its pixel rate is 48.00 GPixel/s and texture rate is 96.00 GTexel/s.

The memory configuration is entirely system-shared, with no dedicated VRAM. Memory size, type, bus width, and bandwidth are all listed as "System Shared" or "System Dependent," meaning the GPU borrows from system memory over the integrated bus interface. This architecture has a TDP of just 25 W and uses no power connectors, confirming its position as an integrated processor graphics solution rather than a discrete card.

In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, the Arc B370 scores 1184, placing it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs. The nearest competitors are all legacy parts: the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186, 0.2% faster), ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190, 0.5% faster), AMD Radeon HD 7650M (1192, 0.7% faster), and AMD FirePro M2000 (1168, 1.4% slower). This performance class predates modern rendering techniques and explains why Steamworld Build, a 2023 release, struggles to achieve high frame rates even at 1080p.

The GPU supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, so API compatibility is not the limiting factor. Instead, the raw shader throughput and memory bandwidth constraints cap performance. The 6.144 TFLOPS FP32 figure is modest by modern standards, and the system-dependent memory bandwidth creates additional latency that affects frame pacing, particularly at higher resolutions where memory pressure increases.

The ray tracing cores are present but largely irrelevant for Steamworld Build, a city builder that does not emphasize RT effects. The 10 RT cores contribute to the GPU's feature set but do not influence the measured FPS in this title. The 20 ROPs and 40 TMUs limit fill rate and texture throughput, which directly impacts resolution scaling — the consistent ~37% FPS drop from 1080p to 1440p aligns with the 78% increase in pixel count that these fixed-function units must handle.