Steamworld Build

# Steamworld Build with Intel Core i7-14700F + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060

The Intel Core i7-14700F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 delivers a highly playable experience across Steamworld Build's resolution and settings matrix, though the data reveals a clear shift in bottleneck behavior as pixel count rises. At 1080p, the combo pushes frame rates well beyond display refresh thresholds, while 4K Ultra demands compromise. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS data, the CPU and GPU contributions, and where this combination ranks among 3,706 tested configurations.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a predictable but steep decline as resolution increases, with the magnitude of the drop varying significantly by settings preset. At Low settings, the transition from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 reduces average FPS from 240 to 153, a 36% decrease, while moving from 1440p to 3840x2160 drops performance from 153 to 81, a 47% reduction. This accelerating degradation pattern indicates that the RTX 5060's pixel throughput becomes increasingly dominant as the workload shifts from CPU-bound to GPU-bound.

At High settings, the scaling is more moderate in absolute terms but still pronounced: 138 FPS at 1080p falls to 88 FPS at 1440p (36% lower) and then to 46 FPS at 4K (48% lower than 1440p). The Medium preset follows a similar trajectory, with 184 FPS at 1080p, 117 FPS at 1440p, and 62 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic scaling curve: 93 FPS at 1080p, 59 FPS at 1440p, and just 31 FPS at 4K — a 67% drop from 1080p to 4K.

The consistency of these percentage reductions across presets suggests that resolution scaling is primarily a function of the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth rather than CPU limitations. The RTX 5060's 448.0 GB/s bandwidth and 119.9 GPixel/s pixel rate are the constraining factors at higher resolutions, particularly at 4K where even Medium settings dip to 62 FPS. The data indicates that 1080p is firmly in CPU-bound territory for this game, while 4K is entirely GPU-limited.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700F provides substantial headroom for Steamworld Build's simulation and logic threads. With 20 cores and 28 threads across its Raptor Lake-R architecture, the CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 35,122 and single-core score of 4,958 indicate strong both multi-threaded and single-threaded performance. The 2.10 GHz base clock with 5.40 GHz boost capability ensures that single-threaded game logic can run at high frequencies when needed.

In city builders like Steamworld Build, the simulation tick typically relies on a few heavily loaded threads, while rendering, pathfinding, and AI can spread across more cores. The i7-14700F's 33 MB shared L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache help maintain low latency for frequently accessed simulation data. The CPU's PassMark single-thread score of 4,257 and multi-thread score of 41,317 place it in the 91st percentile among all CPUs, indicating it outperforms the vast majority of processors for this workload type.

Comparing to nearest rivals, the i7-14700F sits within 1% of the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X (0.6% higher), AMD EPYC 7313P (0.8% higher), and Intel Xeon 6505P (0.2% lower) in average benchmark scores. This clustering suggests that for Steamworld Build's CPU demands, the i7-14700F delivers performance on par with these high-end alternatives, and the measured FPS data confirms that at 1080p Low, the CPU can feed the RTX 5060 up to 240 FPS without becoming a limiting factor.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average FPS achievable with this combo?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 240, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This represents the ceiling for this configuration in Steamworld Build.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Steamworld Build?

A: Yes, but with caveats. At 4K Medium, the combo averages 62 FPS with a minimum of 53 FPS, which is playable. At 4K High, it drops to 46 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it falls to 31 FPS, which may feel sluggish for a city builder.

Q: How does the RTX 5060 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 5060's average benchmark score of 26,331 is within 1.2% of the AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT and within 0.8% of the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary. It slightly trails the AMD Radeon 860M by 0.3%.

Q: What is the best resolution for high refresh rate displays?

A: At 1440p, the combo achieves 153 FPS on Low and 117 FPS on Medium, making it suitable for 120Hz or 144Hz displays. At 1080p, even Ultra settings reach 93 FPS, while Medium hits 184 FPS.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU bottleneck first at 1440p?

A: The data suggests the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck at 1440p, as the FPS drop from 1080p to 1440p is consistent across all settings (36-37% decrease), indicating resolution-driven GPU load rather than CPU limitation.

Q: What is the minimum FPS observed in the measured data?

A: The lowest recorded minimum FPS is 53, observed at 3840x2160 with Medium settings. This is the only resolution/settings combination where minimum FPS data was captured, with the 1440p Medium minimum at 99 FPS and 1080p Medium minimum at 156 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers the following average FPS across presets: Low 240, Medium 184 (minimum 156, maximum 212), High 138, and Ultra 93. The spread from Low to Ultra is 147 FPS, indicating that settings have a substantial impact on performance at this resolution. The Medium preset's captured range of 156-212 FPS shows consistent frame delivery with no severe dips.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance scales down proportionally: Low 153, Medium 117 (minimum 99, maximum 135), High 88, and Ultra 59. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 94 FPS, showing that resolution pressure compresses the settings headroom. The Medium preset maintains a healthy minimum of 99 FPS, ensuring smooth gameplay even during complex city simulations.

At 3840x2160, the RTX 5060's limits become apparent: Low 81, Medium 62 (minimum 53, maximum 71), High 46, and Ultra 31. The Ultra preset at 4K delivers just 31 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold many players consider minimum for smooth interaction. The Medium preset at 4K provides the best balance with a 53 FPS minimum, though it still falls short of 60 FPS averages.

The data reveals that the Medium preset consistently offers the largest performance headroom relative to its visual quality, with the 1440p Medium configuration providing 117 FPS average and 99 FPS minimum — suitable for high refresh rate displays without sacrificing too much visual fidelity.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060, based on the GB206 chip with Blackwell 2.0 architecture, provides the graphical horsepower for Steamworld Build. Its 8 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 128-bit bus delivers 448.0 GB/s bandwidth, which proves sufficient for this city builder at 1080p and 1440p but becomes a limiting factor at 4K. The GPU's 3,840 shading units, 120 texture mapping units, and 48 ROPs process the game's voxel-style graphics efficiently, with a texture rate of 299.6 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 119.9 GPixel/s.

The RTX 5060's clock speeds of 2,280 MHz base and 2,497 MHz boost provide the compute throughput needed for the game's rendering demands. Its FP32 performance of 19.18 TFLOPS positions it as a mid-range GPU, and the measured FPS data confirms this classification. The GPU's PassMark G3D score of 20,891 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3,628 indicate solid DirectX 12 performance, which Steamworld Build leverages.

The GPU's 72nd percentile ranking among all GPUs places it above average but not at the top tier, and its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon 860M, NVIDIA GeForce MX550, and AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary — all within 1% of its average score. Notably, the RTX 5060 slightly outperforms the AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT by 1.2% in average benchmarks, suggesting competitive mid-range positioning. At 4K, the GPU's 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit memory interface become constraints, as evidenced by the significant FPS drops at higher resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the Medium preset offers the best experience across all resolutions when balancing frame rate against visual quality. At 1080p, Medium delivers 184 FPS average with a 156 FPS minimum, providing ample headroom for smooth city-building interactions even during large population simulations. The 1440p Medium configuration is particularly compelling: 117 FPS average and 99 FPS minimum ensure consistent performance on high refresh rate monitors.

For players targeting 4K, Medium is the only viable preset that maintains playable frame rates, with 62 FPS average and 53 FPS minimum. High preset at 4K drops to 46 FPS, which may be acceptable for slower-paced city builders but risks noticeable stutter during camera movements. Ultra at 4K is not recommended, as 31 FPS falls below comfortable interaction thresholds.

The Low preset, while delivering 240 FPS at 1080p and 153 FPS at 1440p, sacrifices visual fidelity unnecessarily given the headroom available. High preset at 1080p (138 FPS) and 1440p (88 FPS) provides good visual quality but with a 25% performance penalty compared to Medium at both resolutions. For most users, Medium at 1440p represents the sweet spot: it maintains a 99 FPS floor, which keeps the game responsive, while offering noticeably better visuals than Low.

At 1080p, Ultra (93 FPS) is viable for those prioritizing visuals, as it stays above 60 FPS, but the jump from High to Ultra costs 45 FPS while the visual improvement in a voxel-style city builder may be marginal. The data strongly supports Medium as the default recommendation, with High as an alternative for 1080p users with 60-100Hz displays.

How This Combo Ranks

This configuration of Intel Core i7-14700F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 ranks 1,636th out of 3,706 tested combos in Steamworld Build, placing it in the 56th percentile of all tested systems. This mid-pack ranking reflects the RTX 5060's position as a mid-range GPU, even though the CPU is a high-end performer.

The CPU's 91st percentile ranking among all CPUs (with an average benchmark score of 53,620) contrasts sharply with the GPU's 72nd percentile (average score 26,331). This imbalance suggests that the RTX 5060 is the limiting factor in this pairing, and the combo's overall rank of 1,636 is pulled down by the GPU's more modest performance tier.

The rank indicates that roughly 44% of tested combinations outperform this setup in Steamworld Build, while 56% perform worse. Given that the game is a city builder — a genre typically more CPU-intensive than fast-paced shooters — the i7-14700F's strong multi-threaded performance helps offset the GPU's mid-range positioning. The measured FPS data supports this: at 1080p, the combo achieves high frame rates that many higher-ranked GPU combinations might not match if paired with weaker CPUs.

The combo's ranking suggests it is well-suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming in Steamworld Build, where the RTX 5060's 8 GB VRAM and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are adequate. The 4K Ultra performance, at 31 FPS, is among the lower results for this resolution tier, contributing to the overall rank. For players prioritizing high resolution over frame rate, this combo may feel underpowered, but for mainstream 1080p/1440p gameplay, it delivers a smooth experience that justifies its mid-pack standing.