Steamworld Build

Steamworld Build is a city builder that tends to stress the CPU heavily, but the data for this specific pairing of an Intel Core i7-14700K with an Intel Arc B390 tells a story of a system that is almost entirely GPU-bound at higher resolutions. The Arc B390, which operates as an integrated-class part with system-shared memory, delivers playable frame rates only when the resolution and settings are carefully managed. The measured FPS results across 1080p, 1440p, and 4K show a clear pattern: the GPU is the limiting factor, and the CPU’s substantial core count and high boost clock are largely left waiting for work. This analysis breaks down exactly what those numbers mean for a builder considering this combination, using only the measured data and benchmark scores provided.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent, which points directly at the graphics solution as the bottleneck. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo averages 106 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops that to 67 FPS, a reduction of 39 FPS. At 4K Low, the average falls further to 35 FPS. That is a 71 FPS difference between 1080p Low and 4K Low, or roughly a 67% reduction in performance. This scaling behavior is typical of a GPU that is running out of fillrate and memory bandwidth as pixel count rises. The Arc B390’s memory is system-shared, meaning its bandwidth is system-dependent, and the data shows that higher resolutions punish it severely.

Looking at Medium settings, the pattern holds. At 1080p Medium, the average is 81 FPS, with a minimum of 69 FPS and maximum of 93 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 51 FPS, with a minimum of 44 FPS and maximum of 59 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average is just 27 FPS, with a minimum of 23 FPS and maximum of 31 FPS. The transition from 1080p to 1440p costs 30 FPS on average, and the transition from 1440p to 4K costs another 24 FPS. The min-to-max range at each resolution stays proportionally similar, suggesting the frame pacing is consistent, but the overall ceiling is low.

High settings show the same trend. At 1080p High, the average is 60 FPS. At 1440p High, it is 38 FPS. At 4K High, it is 20 FPS. That is a 40 FPS drop from 1080p to 4K. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, and the numbers confirm it. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 41 FPS. At 1440p Ultra, it drops to 26 FPS. At 4K Ultra, it bottoms out at 14 FPS. The scaling from 1080p Ultra to 4K Ultra is a 27 FPS loss, but the more important observation is that even at 1080p Ultra, the system cannot hold 60 FPS.

These results indicate that the limiting component is unequivocally the GPU. The Intel Core i7-14700K has 20 cores and 28 threads, with a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, and its benchmark scores are in the 94th percentile of all CPUs. A CPU of that caliber would not cause such a dramatic frame rate collapse from resolution scaling alone. The fact that 1080p Low produces 106 FPS while 4K Ultra produces 14 FPS is a classic GPU-bound signature. If the CPU were the constraint, the 1080p results would be much closer to the 1440p results, and the 4K results would not degrade so sharply.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank for Steamworld Build places this pairing at 2573 out of 2924 tested combinations. That puts it in the bottom 12% of all tested combos for this game. The low rank is not surprising given the GPU’s performance profile. The Intel Arc B390 has a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482, which places it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals in that benchmark are the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, which scores 1463, and the NVIDIA GeForce 800M, which scores 1460. The Arc B390 is only 1.3% faster than the GT 520MX and 1.5% faster than the GeForce 800M. Those are very old, very low-end mobile parts, which tells you exactly where this GPU sits in the performance hierarchy.

The CPU, in contrast, is a top-tier part. The Core i7-14700K’s average benchmark score is 69355, and its nearest rivals are the AMD EPYC 9115 at 69288, the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X at 69515, and the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX at 69875. The deltaPct values are all within 0.9% of the Core i7-14700K, meaning these CPUs are essentially tied in overall compute performance. The Ryzen 9 7950X is only 0.2% faster, and the Ryzen 9 7940HX is 0.7% faster. This is a CPU that belongs in the top tier of any ranking, yet the combo rank is dragged down entirely by the GPU.

The discrepancy between the CPU’s 94th percentile standing and the combo’s 12th percentile standing for this game highlights a fundamental mismatch. A builder pairing a 20-core CPU with an integrated-class GPU will see the GPU cap performance in nearly every scenario. The data shows that even at 1080p Low, where the CPU has the least work to do relative to the GPU, the system only reaches 106 FPS. That is not a CPU limit; that is a GPU limit. For a game like Steamworld Build, which is a city builder with potentially many entities on screen, the CPU matters, but this GPU cannot push enough frames to make the CPU’s advantage visible.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the best experience for this combo is at 1080p with Low settings. At that configuration, the average FPS is 106, which is smooth and well above the 60 FPS threshold most players consider playable. The next step up, 1080p Medium, still delivers an average of 81 FPS, with a minimum of 69 FPS. That is also a very playable experience, and it offers better visual fidelity than Low. If the goal is to maximize visual quality while maintaining a playable frame rate, 1080p Medium is the recommended preset.

At 1440p, the situation becomes more constrained. Low settings at 1440p yield an average of 67 FPS, which is playable, but Medium settings drop to 51 FPS, and High settings fall to 38 FPS. For a city builder, where you are often panning and zooming around a dense map, a 38 FPS average can feel sluggish, especially during late-game scenes with many buildings and workers. The data suggests that 1440p Low is the only reliable option at that resolution, and even then, the 67 FPS average leaves little headroom for demanding scenes.

At 4K, none of the presets are truly playable. Low settings produce 35 FPS, Medium produces 27 FPS, High produces 20 FPS, and Ultra produces 14 FPS. The minimum FPS for 4K Medium is 23 FPS, which is below the threshold for comfortable play. For this combo, 4K is not a viable resolution for Steamworld Build. The GPU simply does not have the pixel throughput or memory bandwidth to handle it. The best experience per the measured rows is clearly 1080p Medium, with 1080p Low as a fallback if you prefer higher frame rates or have a 144Hz display. Avoid Ultra at any resolution, as even at 1080p Ultra, the average is only 41 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured results are as follows. Low settings produce an average of 106 FPS. Medium settings produce an average of 81 FPS, with a minimum of 69 FPS and a maximum of 93 FPS. High settings produce an average of 60 FPS. Ultra settings produce an average of 41 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra is a drop of 65 FPS, with the largest single step being from Medium to High, which costs 21 FPS. The step from High to Ultra costs 19 FPS. The step from Low to Medium costs 25 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the results are lower across the board. Low settings average 67 FPS. Medium settings average 51 FPS, with a minimum of 44 FPS and a maximum of 59 FPS. High settings average 38 FPS. Ultra settings average 26 FPS. The drop from Low to Medium is 16 FPS, from Medium to High is 13 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 12 FPS. The scaling is more gradual at 1440p because the GPU is already stressed, so each settings tier adds less absolute frame rate loss.

At 3840x2160, the results are the weakest. Low settings average 35 FPS. Medium settings average 27 FPS, with a minimum of 23 FPS and a maximum of 31 FPS. High settings average 20 FPS. Ultra settings average 14 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 21 FPS. Notably, the minimum FPS for 4K Medium is 23 FPS, which means the system dips below 30 FPS even on the lower end of its range. The 4K High and Ultra presets do not have reported minimum or maximum values, but the averages of 20 FPS and 14 FPS respectively are well below playable thresholds.

The data also shows that the Arc B390’s performance scales poorly with settings at 4K. The difference between 4K Low and 4K Medium is only 8 FPS, and the difference between 4K Medium and 4K High is 7 FPS. This suggests that the GPU is hitting a hard architectural limit at that resolution, likely related to its system-shared memory and limited ROPS. The pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s and texture rate of 120.0 GTexel/s are simply not enough for 4K workloads in a game like Steamworld Build.

FAQ

Q: Is this combo playable at 1080p?

A: Yes, at 1080p Low and Medium settings. The measured average FPS is 106 on Low and 81 on Medium, with Medium showing a minimum of 69 FPS. High settings at 1080p average 60 FPS, which is borderline playable, while Ultra averages 41 FPS.

Q: Can this system handle 1440p gaming?

A: Only at Low settings, where the average FPS is 67. Medium settings drop to 51 FPS, and High settings fall to 38 FPS. For a responsive city builder experience, 1440p Low is the only viable option, and even that may struggle in dense scenes.

Q: What is the best settings preset for this combo?

A: The best experience per the measured rows is 1080p Medium, which provides an average of 81 FPS with a minimum of 69 FPS. This balances visual quality with a frame rate that avoids noticeable stutter. If you prefer maximum smoothness, 1080p Low at 106 FPS is the alternative.

Q: Why is the combo rank so low despite the strong CPU?

A: The combo rank of 2573 out of 2924 is driven by the GPU. The Intel Arc B390 has a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482, placing it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX and GeForce 800M, which are 1.3% and 1.5% slower, respectively. The CPU is top-tier, but the GPU caps performance in this game.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its rivals?

A: The Intel Core i7-14700K has an average benchmark score of 69355, which is 94th percentile. Its nearest rivals are the AMD EPYC 9115 at 69288, the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X at 69515, and the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX at 69875. The deltaPct values are 0.1%, -0.2%, and -0.7%, respectively, meaning the CPU is effectively tied with these parts in compute performance.

Q: Is 4K viable with this setup?

A: No. At 4K Low, the average FPS is 35, and at 4K Medium it is 27 with a minimum of 23 FPS. High and Ultra average 20 FPS and 14 FPS, respectively. These numbers are below playable thresholds for a city builder, so 4K should be avoided.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700K is a 20-core, 28-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, specifically the Raptor Lake-R refresh. It has a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. The CPU’s cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 33 MB of shared L3 cache. It supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration, and it has 16 PCIe Gen 5 lanes. The processor is built on Intel’s 10 nm process node with a die size of 257 mm².

In benchmark terms, the Core i7-14700K scores 33440.5 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2160 in single-core. Its Geekbench multi-core score is 20767, and single-core is 2569. The Passmark multi-thread score is 52392, with a single-thread score of 4472. These scores place the CPU in the 94th percentile of all CPUs, meaning it is faster than 94% of all processors tested. Its nearest rivals are all within 0.9% of its average score, confirming that it is a top-tier part for compute-heavy workloads.

For Steamworld Build, the CPU’s role is to handle the simulation logic, pathfinding, and entity management that city builders rely on. A 20-core processor with a 5.60 GHz boost clock is overkill for this task, especially when paired with a GPU that cannot push high frame rates. The measured FPS data shows that the CPU is not the bottleneck at any resolution. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 106 FPS, which is a high frame rate for a city builder, but the GPU is still the limiting factor because the same CPU would likely produce much higher frame rates with a more capable GPU.

The data also shows that the GPU’s performance is so low that the CPU’s multi-core advantage is never fully utilized. The Arc B390’s 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1482 is comparable to a GeForce GT 520MX, which is a GPU from over a decade ago. In Steamworld Build, this means the GPU will spend most of its time rendering frames at low resolutions and settings, while the CPU waits for the next frame to be ready. The CPU’s 20 cores and 28 threads are largely idle during gameplay, as the game’s simulation load is unlikely to scale across that many threads, and the GPU cannot feed frames fast enough to keep even a few cores busy.

In practical terms, this combo is a case of severe GPU bottlenecking. The CPU is a high-end part that would pair well with a discrete GPU in the top percentile, but the Arc B390 is in the 9th percentile. The result is that the system’s performance is capped by the GPU in every measured scenario. If a builder were to swap in a stronger GPU, the Core i7-14700K would have no trouble keeping up, as its benchmark scores and percentile rank suggest it can handle far more demanding workloads than what Steamworld Build presents. For now, the measured FPS data shows a system that is best used at 1080p with medium or low settings, and the CPU’s potential remains untapped.