Steamworld Build

Steamworld Build is a city builder where the pace of simulation and on-screen population density determines performance. For the Intel Core i7-14700F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 pairing, the data shows a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at higher resolutions but reveals the CPU's strength at lower settings. This combination delivers high frame rates across the board, though the balance of work between the processor and graphics card shifts dramatically depending on the resolution and quality preset selected.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i7-14700F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 combination holds the 221st position out of 3706 tested combos for Steamworld Build. This places the pairing in the top 6% of all configurations benchmarked for this title, a strong result that reflects the high-end nature of both components. The ranking indicates that this system is positioned well above the median experience, delivering frame rates that most other tested hardware configurations cannot match.

The ranking is heavily influenced by the CPU's strong multi-threaded performance, which is critical for city builders that simulate thousands of individual entities. The Core i7-14700F's benchmark scores are competitive with its nearest rivals, sitting just 0.2% behind the Intel Xeon 6505P and 0.3% ahead of the Intel Xeon Phi 7290. It also edges out the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X by 0.6% and the AMD EPYC 7313P by 0.8% in average benchmark score. This narrow margin over the Ryzen 9 7900X is notable, as it shows Intel's 14th Gen architecture holding its own in synthetic tests that translate well to simulation-heavy workloads. The GPU also contributes to the high rank, with the RTX 4080 sitting just 0.1% behind the RTX 4080 SUPER in average GPU score, making the two nearly interchangeable in performance.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture and features 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 716.8 GB/s of memory bandwidth. The GPU operates at a base clock of 2205 MHz with a boost clock of 2505 MHz, and the memory runs at an effective speed of 22.4 Gbps. This configuration allows the card to handle high-resolution textures and complex shader work without becoming a bottleneck in most scenarios.

In Steamworld Build, the GPU's role is most pronounced at 4K resolution. The data shows a clear progression from Low to Ultra settings at 3840x2160, with average frame rates dropping from 134 FPS at Low to 52 FPS at Ultra. This 82 FPS swing demonstrates that the RTX 4080's raw throughput is the primary driver at this resolution, as the visual complexity of the game scales heavily with quality settings. The GPU's 48.74 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 280.6 GPixel/s pixel rate provide ample headroom for the game's rendering demands, but the Ultra preset at 4K pushes the card to its limits, resulting in the lowest average FPS of any setting tested for this combo.

The GPU's memory capacity of 16 GB is sufficient for Steamworld Build's largest maps and highest texture qualities, as the data does not indicate any memory-related performance cliffs. At 1440p and 1080p, the GPU remains capable of producing very high frame rates, but the scaling pattern suggests that the CPU begins to take on a more significant role at these lower resolutions, particularly when settings are reduced.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700F is a Raptor Lake Refresh part with 20 cores and 28 threads, running at a base clock of 2.10 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. This high core count is a major asset for Steamworld Build, as city builders rely heavily on multi-threaded simulation logic to manage resource flows, citizen pathfinding, and building operations. The CPU's 33 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache help keep frequently accessed simulation data close to the cores, reducing latency in complex scenarios.

The CPU's benchmark results reinforce its suitability for this genre. In Cinebench R23, the chip scores 35122 multi-core and 4958 single-core, while Geekbench shows a multi-core score of 19620 and single-core of 2429. These numbers indicate a strong balance between single-thread responsiveness and multi-threaded throughput. The PassMark multithread score of 41317 and integer math score of 155808 further highlight the CPU's capability in parallel workloads, which directly translates to smoother simulation tick rates in Steamworld Build.

The CPU's limiting role becomes evident when examining frame rates at 1080p with Low settings. At 1920x1080 Low, the combo achieves 378 FPS average, which is the highest recorded for this pairing. This extreme frame rate suggests that the GPU is being fed with very light rendering work, allowing the CPU to push as many frames as the game's engine allows. However, the delta between 1080p Low and 1440p Low is significant — from 378 FPS down to 253 FPS — indicating that even with a powerful GPU, the CPU's ability to maintain high frame rates is capped by the game's simulation thread performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers exceptional performance across all settings. The Low preset averages 378 FPS, Medium averages 304 FPS with a minimum of 259 FPS and maximum of 350 FPS, High averages 228 FPS, and Ultra averages 154 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 224 FPS, showing that the GPU's workload scales massively with quality settings, but even the most demanding preset at 1080p remains well above the refresh rate of most high-end monitors.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain very high. Low settings produce an average of 253 FPS, while Medium drops to 194 FPS with a minimum of 165 FPS and maximum of 223 FPS. High settings average 145 FPS, and Ultra averages 98 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is consistent across settings, with Low losing 125 FPS, Medium losing 110 FPS, High losing 83 FPS, and Ultra losing 56 FPS. This pattern shows that the GPU is becoming a larger factor at 1440p, but the CPU still provides enough headroom to keep frame rates high.

At 3840x2160, the GPU takes full control. Low settings average 134 FPS, Medium averages 102 FPS with a minimum of 87 FPS and maximum of 118 FPS, High averages 77 FPS, and Ultra averages 52 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 82 FPS, which is the smallest absolute gap of any resolution, indicating that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at this resolution across all settings. The 4K Low result of 134 FPS is still smooth, but the Ultra preset's 52 FPS average highlights the demanding nature of the game's highest quality settings at this resolution.

Resolution Scaling

The scaling behavior from 1080p to 4K reveals a clear shift in the limiting component. At 1080p High, the combo produces 228 FPS, which drops to 145 FPS at 1440p High and then to 77 FPS at 4K High. This represents a 36% reduction from 1080p to 1440p and a 66% reduction from 1080p to 4K. The large drop from 1080p to 1440p suggests that the GPU is being pushed harder, but the relatively smaller drop from 1440p to 4K (compared to what a purely GPU-bound scenario would show) indicates that the CPU still has some influence at 1440p.

At Low settings, the scaling is more dramatic. The combo goes from 378 FPS at 1080p to 253 FPS at 1440p and 134 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 125 FPS (a 33% reduction), while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 119 FPS (a 47% reduction). This pattern shows that at Low settings, the CPU is the limiting factor at 1080p, as the GPU is not being fully utilized. As resolution increases, the GPU becomes the bottleneck, which is why the percentage drop accelerates at 4K.

The data indicates that for this combo, Steamworld Build is GPU-bound at 4K across all settings, as the GPU's rendering load dominates. At 1080p, the CPU is the primary limiter, especially at Low and Medium settings, where the GPU can render frames faster than the simulation can update. The 1440p resolution represents a balanced point where both components contribute to performance, with the CPU handling simulation and the GPU managing rendering.

FAQ

Q: Is the Intel Core i7-14700F strong enough for Steamworld Build's simulation demands?

A: Yes. The CPU's 20 cores and 28 threads deliver a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 35122, placing it within 0.2% of the Intel Xeon 6505P and 0.6% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X in average benchmark score. This multi-threaded performance is well-suited for the game's simulation logic.

Q: How much of a performance difference is there between 1080p and 4K at High settings?

A: At High settings, the combo averages 228 FPS at 1080p, 145 FPS at 1440p, and 77 FPS at 4K. This represents a 36% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 66% drop from 1080p to 4K, showing that the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck as resolution increases.

Q: Can this combo maintain 60 FPS at 4K with Ultra settings?

A: No. At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average frame rate is 52 FPS, which falls short of a 60 FPS target. However, at 4K High settings, the average is 77 FPS, which exceeds the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: Does the RTX 4080's 16 GB of VRAM cause any issues in Steamworld Build?

A: The data shows no VRAM-related performance degradation. The 16 GB of GDDR6X memory with 716.8 GB/s bandwidth is sufficient for the game's highest settings, as frame rates scale consistently with quality presets without sudden drops.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to all other tested configurations?

A: The Intel Core i7-14700F and RTX 4080 pairing ranks 221st out of 3706 combos, placing it in the top 6% of all tested systems for Steamworld Build.

Q: At which resolution is the CPU the limiting factor?

A: At 1920x1080, particularly with Low settings where the combo reaches 378 FPS, the CPU limits performance. The large drop to 253 FPS at 1440p Low indicates the GPU starts to become the limiting factor as resolution increases, with the CPU being the main constraint only at 1080p.