Steamworld Build

Steamworld Build is a city builder that scales heavily with both CPU and GPU, and the Intel Core i7-14700F paired with the Intel Arc B580 shows a wide performance envelope depending on how you configure it. The data indicates that this combination is capable of smooth gameplay at mainstream resolutions, but requires careful settings management to maintain high framerates at 4K. The measured results place this combo in the 1331st position out of 1730 tested combinations, suggesting it sits in the lower-middle tier for this specific title, though the absolute numbers tell a more nuanced story.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark data clearly shows that the Ultra preset is the most demanding option across all resolutions, and it is the only setting tier that pushes the average framerate below 30 FPS at 4K. At 3840x2160, Ultra produces an average of 24.9 FPS, which is playable but noticeably choppy for a genre where you are constantly panning and zooming across a busy map. The High preset at 4K is a significant improvement, delivering 36.7 FPS, which is a 47% increase over Ultra, but it still falls short of the 60 FPS target that most PC builders prefer for smooth camera movement.

The most compelling recommendation is the Medium preset at 2560x1440. This configuration yields an average of 86.7 FPS, which is well above the smoothness threshold and represents a 90% improvement over High at the same resolution (65.9 FPS). The visual difference between High and Medium in a top-down city builder is often minimal, while the performance gain is substantial. For 1080p users, the Medium preset at 143 FPS is the sweet spot, delivering excellent fluidity without the 27% performance penalty that High incurs (105.9 FPS). If you prioritize maximum visual fidelity and have a 1080p monitor, High at 105.9 FPS is still viable, but Medium offers the best balance of image quality and headroom for those large, population-dense cities that will inevitably stress the CPU.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700F is a 20-core, 28-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.10 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. In Steamworld Build, this CPU is the dominant component at lower resolutions and settings. The data shows that at 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves 184.3 FPS, which is a massive 74% jump over the High preset at the same resolution (105.9 FPS). This gap narrows as resolution increases, with the 4K Low result at 64.2 FPS being only 75% higher than the 4K High result (36.7 FPS). This pattern indicates that the CPU is the primary limiter at 1080p, where the graphics card has more headroom.

The i7-14700F’s benchmark scores reinforce its capability. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 35443 places it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 54097. It sits just 0.6% behind the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X in aggregate performance, which is a negligible difference in real-world gaming. The processor’s high single-core boost clock of 5.40 GHz is crucial for city builders, which often rely on a few main threads for simulation logic. The PassMark single-thread score of 4261 indicates strong per-core performance, which translates to responsive interaction when placing buildings and managing resources. However, the data suggests that even this capable CPU can become a bottleneck in this game at high framerates, as evidenced by the diminishing returns when moving from Low to Medium settings at 1080p (184.3 to 143 FPS, a 22% drop).

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B580 is built on the Xe2-HPG architecture and features 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 456.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its base and boost clocks are both 2670 MHz, and the memory operates at 2375 MHz (19 Gbps effective). In Steamworld Build, the GPU becomes the primary constraint as resolution and settings increase. The transition from 1080p High (105.9 FPS) to 1440p High (65.9 FPS) represents a 38% performance drop, which is more severe than the resolution scaling would suggest for a purely CPU-bound scenario. This indicates that the GPU is starting to hit its limits.

At 4K, the GPU is clearly the bottleneck. The Arc B580 delivers 36.7 FPS at High and only 24.9 FPS at Ultra, which shows that the 13.67 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 427.2 GTexel/s texture rate are insufficient for the highest fidelity settings at this resolution. The GPU’s benchmark scores place it in the 66th percentile of all GPUs, with an average score of 23021. It performs nearly identically to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060, with a delta of -0.7%, and is 1.3% ahead of the RTX 4060 Mobile. The 12 GB VRAM is sufficient for this title, as the game does not appear to be memory-limited based on the benchmarks, but the raw compute power is what holds back 4K performance. Interestingly, the Low preset at 4K (64.2 FPS) is still playable, which suggests that the game’s lower settings significantly reduce the GPU load, allowing the CPU to take over as the primary driver.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 with Medium settings offers the best balance of visual quality and performance, achieving 86.7 FPS. This is a 31% improvement over High at the same resolution, while 4K Medium only reaches 47 FPS.

Q: Is the Ultra preset ever viable with this hardware?

A: Ultra is only recommended for 1080p displays, where it produces 67.6 FPS. At 1440p, it drops to 45.6 FPS, and at 4K it falls to 24.9 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay in a city builder.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B580 compare to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060?

A: According to the aggregate benchmark data, the Arc B580 is effectively tied with the RTX 4060, with a delta of -0.7%. In Steamworld Build specifically, the measured results show that the Arc B580 can handle 1080p High at 105.9 FPS, which is a solid result for this class of GPU.

Q: Will the CPU bottleneck the GPU at 1080p?

A: Yes, the evidence suggests so. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 184.3 FPS, but at 1080p Ultra, it drops to 67.6 FPS. This 63% reduction indicates that the GPU is being stressed more, but the CPU still has headroom, as evidenced by the large jump from Low to Medium.

Q: What is the minimum settings recommendation for 4K?

A: For 4K, the Low preset is the only configuration that provides a playable framerate, delivering 64.2 FPS. The Medium preset at 47 FPS is acceptable but not ideal, and High at 36.7 FPS is borderline.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: At High settings, the average framerate drops from 105.9 FPS at 1080p to 65.9 FPS at 1440p and finally to 36.7 FPS at 4K. This represents a 65% reduction from 1080p to 4K.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of diminishing returns as resolution increases. At High settings, the framerate drops from 105.9 FPS at 1920x1080 to 65.9 FPS at 2560x1440, a 38% decrease. Moving further to 3840x2160 yields 36.7 FPS, which is another 44% drop from 1440p. This scaling is much steeper than the pixel count increase would suggest (1440p has 1.78x the pixels of 1080p, but performance only drops to 62% of the original). This indicates that the system is transitioning from a CPU-bound state at 1080p to a GPU-bound state at higher resolutions.

At Low settings, the pattern is similar but with higher absolute numbers: 184.3 FPS at 1080p, 113.4 FPS at 1440p, and 64.2 FPS at 4K. The relative drops are 38% and 43% respectively, which closely mirrors the High settings behavior. This suggests that the GPU is the limiting factor at all resolutions when the settings are low, as the CPU has enough capacity to feed the graphics card up to 4K. The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic scaling, dropping from 67.6 FPS at 1080p to 45.6 FPS at 1440p (a 33% drop) and then to 24.9 FPS at 4K (a 45% drop). This steep decline at 4K Ultra confirms that the Arc B580’s compute resources are simply overwhelmed by the combination of high resolution and maxed-out effects.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its best results. The Low preset achieves 184.3 FPS, which is an excellent result for a city builder and leaves plenty of headroom for large cities. Medium renders 143 FPS, still very smooth. High produces 105.9 FPS, which is above the 100 FPS threshold that most competitive gamers prefer. Ultra drops to 67.6 FPS, which is playable but represents a significant 36% reduction from High. The spread from Low to Ultra is 117 FPS, indicating that the CPU and GPU have substantial performance reserves at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the performance is still respectable but requires more careful settings management. Low achieves 113.4 FPS, which is a 38% reduction from 1080p Low. Medium delivers 86.7 FPS, which is a good target for smooth gameplay. High drops to 65.9 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS threshold but may feel less fluid during camera pans. Ultra falls to 45.6 FPS, which is below the ideal smoothness threshold. The gap between Low and Ultra is 67.8 FPS, which is narrower than at 1080p, showing that the GPU is beginning to assert its limits.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles to maintain high framerates. Low is the only preset that stays above 60 FPS, delivering 64.2 FPS. Medium drops to 47 FPS, which is acceptable but not ideal for a game where you are constantly scrolling. High falls to 36.7 FPS, which is borderline playable. Ultra is the worst performer, at 24.9 FPS, which is below the 30 FPS minimum that most players consider playable. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 4K is 39.3 FPS, which is the smallest absolute difference across all resolutions, confirming that the GPU is the definitive bottleneck here.