Steamworld Build

Steamworld Build is a city builder, and the benchmark results for the Intel Core i7-14700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 combination show a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-limited at higher settings, but which reveals a CPU with substantial headroom at lower settings. The data indicates that this combo ranks in the 71st percentile (rank 500 out of 1730 tested combos), a strong position that reflects the raw power of both the 20-core processor and the Ampere-based graphics card. The measured frame rates demonstrate that the RTX 3080 is the primary bottleneck across most of the tested configurations, while the i7-14700K's capabilities are only fully taxed at 1080p with lower graphical presets.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i7-14700K is a 20-core, 28-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. It features 33 MB of shared L3 cache and supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 44,534 points in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 6,287 points in single-core, placing it in the 96th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-14700KF, has an identical average benchmark score, while the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X is 0.5% faster and the Intel Xeon Platinum 8270 is 1.4% slower.

In Steamworld Build, the CPU's role is most evident at 1080p with Low settings, where the frame rate reaches 295.9 FPS. This is a 27.9% increase over the 231.2 FPS seen at Medium settings, indicating that the processor can feed the GPU with data far faster than the graphics card can render at lower graphical loads. However, the CPU's influence diminishes as resolution and settings increase. At 4K Ultra, the frame rate drops to 40.7 FPS, a figure that is heavily constrained by the GPU's workload. The 125W TDP and unlocked multiplier suggest a chip designed for high sustained performance, but the game's data shows that in this city builder, the i7-14700K is rarely the limiting factor unless the user intentionally lowers the graphical preset to maximize frame rates.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

The measured data shows a clear performance hierarchy across the four presets. At 1080p, the Ultra preset delivers 113.6 FPS, which is smooth, but the High preset at 169.7 FPS offers a 49.4% improvement in frame rate with presumably only a minor visual trade-off. The Medium preset at 231.2 FPS provides a further 36.2% gain over High, but this comes with a significant reduction in visual fidelity. For a city builder, where the player often views large portions of the map, the High preset at 1080p is the sweet spot, offering high frame rates while maintaining visual quality.

At 1440p, the High preset delivers 105.4 FPS, which is excellent for a demanding title. The Ultra preset at 74.3 FPS is still playable but represents a 29.5% drop from High. At 4K, the High preset is the only viable option with a 59.6 FPS average, which is borderline for a smooth experience. The Ultra preset at 40.7 FPS is too demanding for consistent play, while the Medium preset at 78.6 FPS provides a better balance if the user is willing to compromise on visual details. The data suggests that High settings provide the best overall experience across all resolutions, as it consistently offers a substantial frame rate advantage over Ultra while maintaining a high level of graphical quality.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The scaling of frame rates from 1080p to 4K clearly identifies the GPU as the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 169.7 FPS at 1080p to 105.4 FPS at 1440p, a 37.9% decrease, and then to 59.6 FPS at 4K, a 64.9% decrease from the 1080p figure. This pattern is consistent with a GPU that is increasingly overwhelmed by the pixel count. The RTX 3080's 10 GB of GDDR6X memory and 760.3 GB/s of bandwidth are being taxed, but the frame rate drop suggests the processing power is the limiting factor.

At Low settings, the scaling is less severe. The frame rate drops from 295.9 FPS at 1080p to 187.7 FPS at 1440p (a 36.6% decrease) and then to 100.9 FPS at 4K (a 65.9% decrease from 1080p). This indicates that even at low graphical loads, the GPU is still the main constraint. The CPU's role is more apparent at 1080p Low, where the system is likely CPU-bound, but as resolution increases, the GPU's workload rises, and the CPU's advantage becomes less relevant. The data strongly suggests that the RTX 3080 is the limiting component in this configuration for most of the tested settings.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

This specific combination of Intel Core i7-14700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 ranks 500th out of 1,730 tested combos in Steamworld Build. This places the system in the top 28.9% of all tested configurations, a strong result for a high-end desktop setup. The ranking reflects the balanced performance of the two components. The i7-14700K, with its 96th percentile CPU performance, is more than capable of supporting the RTX 3080, which itself sits in the 80th percentile of all GPUs. The combination of a top-tier CPU with a high-end GPU ensures that the system is not held back by either component in this game.

The rank is particularly impressive given that the RTX 3080 is an end-of-life product, while the CPU is a current-generation part. The data shows that this pairing can deliver high frame rates, especially at 1440p, where the system achieves over 100 FPS on High settings. While the combo does not reach the top of the charts, its position in the upper third of all tested systems indicates that it provides a very capable experience for a city builder like Steamworld Build, which often has complex simulation and rendering demands.

FAQ — 4-6 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1080p with High settings?

A: The Intel Core i7-14700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 combination achieves an average of 169.7 FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the system delivers 40.7 FPS. The significant drop from the 59.6 FPS at High settings indicates the GPU is the limiting factor, as the CPU has more than enough headroom to handle the simulation load.

Q: How does the RTX 3080 compare to its nearest rival in terms of average benchmark score?

A: The RTX 3080 has an average benchmark score of 35,787. Its closest rival, the AMD Radeon Pro Duo, scores 35,860, which is 0.2% higher. The AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE is 0.9% faster, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Mobile is 1% slower.

Q: What is the best preset for a 4K experience?

A: The data shows that High settings at 4K provide 59.6 FPS, which is the highest frame rate among the presets that maintain a reasonable visual quality. Ultra drops to 40.7 FPS, making High the recommended choice.

Q: What is the CPU's Cinebench R23 single-core score?

A: The Intel Core i7-14700K scores 6,287 points in Cinebench R23 single-core, placing it in the 96th percentile of all CPUs.

Q: How many cores and threads does the i7-14700K have?

A: The Intel Core i7-14700K has 20 cores and 28 threads, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

At 1920x1080, the measured average frame rates are as follows: Low settings deliver 295.9 FPS, Medium delivers 231.2 FPS, High delivers 169.7 FPS, and Ultra delivers 113.6 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a consistent 20-30% drop in performance for each step up in quality, with the most significant jump being the 35.9% decrease from Low to Medium.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates are: Low at 187.7 FPS, Medium at 146.5 FPS, High at 105.4 FPS, and Ultra at 74.3 FPS. The drop from Medium to High is 28.0%, while the drop from High to Ultra is 29.5%, indicating a similar performance cost for each higher preset.

At 3840x2160, the measured results are: Low at 100.9 FPS, Medium at 78.6 FPS, High at 59.6 FPS, and Ultra at 40.7 FPS. The frame rate drops are more pronounced here, with a 22.1% decrease from Low to Medium, a 24.2% decrease from Medium to High, and a 31.7% decrease from High to Ultra. The 4K Ultra figure of 40.7 FPS is the lowest measured in the entire dataset, highlighting the extreme demand of that configuration.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 is built on the Ampere architecture with a GA102 chip, featuring 8,704 shading units and 68 RT cores. It has a base clock of 1440 MHz and a boost clock of 1710 MHz, with 10 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 320-bit bus providing 760.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's 29.77 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 465.1 GTexel/s texture rate are substantial, but the game's results show that these capabilities are heavily taxed at higher resolutions. The 4K High preset at 59.6 FPS suggests that the GPU is working near its limit, while the 1080p Low result of 295.9 FPS indicates the GPU is not the bottleneck at lower settings.

The GPU's 80th percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 35,787, places it close to its nearest rivals. The AMD Radeon Pro Duo is 0.2% faster, while the AMD Radeon 880M is 0.4% slower. The 10 GB of VRAM is likely sufficient for Steamworld Build's city-building visuals, but the frame rate drops at 4K suggest that the GPU's compute power, not the memory capacity, is the limiting factor. The RTX 3080's 320W TDP and dual-slot design indicate a high-power component, and the data confirms that it delivers strong performance, but it is the component that holds back the system at higher graphical settings.