Steamworld Build

# Steamworld Build with Intel Core i7-14700K + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090

This combination of Intel's Core i7-14700K and NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 5090 lands at rank 5 out of 1,730 tested combos for Steamworld Build, placing it in the top 0.3% of all configurations measured. The pairing represents a flagship-tier setup, and the benchmark data reveals how a city builder with simulation workloads responds to top-end hardware—particularly when the CPU's 20 cores and 28 threads meet the GPU's 32 GB of GDDR7 memory. The measured frame rates span from 57.1 FPS at 4K Ultra to 395.3 FPS at 1080p Low, suggesting a system that can handle both demanding visual presets and high-refresh-rate play, though the scaling patterns reveal interesting bottlenecks.

How This Combo Ranks

The rank of 5 out of 1,730 tested combos is exceptional, placing this pairing among the fastest 0.3% of all configurations tested for Steamworld Build. This is not surprising given the components involved: the Core i7-14700K sits in the 96th percentile among all CPUs in the database, while the RTX 5090 achieves the 94th percentile among all GPUs. The combination of a top-decile CPU with a near-top-decile GPU produces a system that handles this city builder with significant headroom.

What is more revealing is how the rank compares to the individual component standings. The CPU's 96th percentile placement and the GPU's 94th percentile placement both suggest elite-tier hardware, yet the combo still ranks 5th overall rather than 1st. This implies that a handful of other pairings—likely with even more specialized components—manage to extract slightly higher frame rates in this particular game. The data shows that Steamworld Build rewards balanced systems, but the top spots may favor configurations with different memory layouts or cache hierarchies.

The measured FPS at 1080p Ultra (177.1 FPS) and 1440p Ultra (110.1 FPS) indicate that this combo is well above the threshold for smooth play at high settings. The fact that the system reaches 395.3 FPS at 1080p Low shows that the hardware is capable of extreme frame rates when the graphical load is reduced, which is typical for a city builder where simulation logic can dominate over rendering.

FAQ

Q: How does the Core i7-14700K compare to its closest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Core i7-14700K has an average benchmark score of 70,074, placing it within 0.3% of the AMD EPYC 9115 (69,887) and within 0.5% of the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X (70,420). It trails the Intel Xeon Platinum 8270 by 1.4% (71,056), but the deltaPct values are small, indicating comparable multi-core performance across these processors.

Q: What is the RTX 5090's standing relative to other GPUs in benchmark scores?

A: The RTX 5090 achieves an average benchmark score of 84,306, which is within 0.1% of the RTX 5090 D (84,241) and within 0.2% of the RTX 5050 Mobile (84,171). It leads the AMD Radeon PRO W6600 by 1.3% (83,209) and trails the NVIDIA CMP 40HX by 1.6% (85,637). These are marginal differences, suggesting the 5090 is firmly in the top tier.

Q: What frame rates can this combo achieve at 1440p with High settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with High settings, the measured average FPS is 165.2. This is comfortably above 60 FPS and close to 144 Hz refresh rates, making it suitable for high-refresh monitors without requiring settings compromises.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from Low to Ultra settings at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, the average FPS drops from 149.4 at Low settings to 57.1 at Ultra settings. This represents a 61.8% reduction in frame rate when enabling the highest visual preset, highlighting the significant GPU load increase from Ultra settings at 4K resolution.

Q: Is the RTX 5090's 32 GB of VRAM relevant for Steamworld Build?

A: The 32 GB VRAM capacity is substantial, and given that the game is a city builder with potentially large maps and many assets, the memory headroom likely helps maintain consistent performance. However, the measured frame rates at all settings suggest that VRAM capacity is not a limiting factor in this game, as even the lowest preset at 1080p achieves 395.3 FPS.

Q: Does the combo show any signs of CPU bottlenecking?

A: The data suggests GPU scaling is the primary factor. At 1080p Low, the system hits 395.3 FPS, which is extremely high but not unlimited, implying the CPU can feed the GPU effectively. However, the gap between 1080p Low and 1440p Low (287.3 FPS) indicates that resolution increases GPU load without exposing a CPU limit, as the frame rates remain very high.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700K features 20 cores and 28 threads, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. This configuration is built on the Raptor Lake-R architecture with a 10 nm process node, and it supports dual-channel DDR4 and DDR5 memory. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 33 MB of shared L3 cache, which is relevant for simulation-heavy games that repeatedly access the same data.

In Steamworld Build, the CPU's role is likely significant due to the game's simulation logic handling city growth, resource management, and AI behaviors. The multi-core performance of the i7-14700K is strong, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44,534 and PassMark multi-thread score of 52,392. These results place the CPU in the 96th percentile among all CPUs, indicating it can handle complex simulation workloads without becoming a bottleneck.

The nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks—the i7-14700KF, EPYC 9115, Ryzen 9 9950X, and Xeon Platinum 8270—all score within 1.4% of the i7-14700K. This suggests that for CPU-bound scenarios, the i7-14700K is competitive with some of the most powerful processors available. The measured FPS data supports this: at 1080p Low, the system reaches 395.3 FPS, which is high enough to suggest the CPU is not limiting the frame rate even in the lightest rendering conditions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers 395.3 FPS at Low settings, 350.5 FPS at Medium, 262.9 FPS at High, and 177.1 FPS at Ultra. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 55.2% reduction in frame rate, which is expected as graphical fidelity increases. The 1080p results are exceptionally high across all presets, with even Ultra settings exceeding 144 Hz refresh rates.

At 2560x1440, the measured averages are 287.3 FPS at Low, 220.3 FPS at Medium, 165.2 FPS at High, and 110.1 FPS at Ultra. The 1440p Ultra result is just above 100 FPS, which is still smooth for most displays, but the drop from 1080p Ultra (177.1 FPS) to 1440p Ultra (110.1 FPS) represents a 37.8% reduction. This indicates that resolution scaling has a significant impact on the GPU load.

At 3840x2160, the results are 149.4 FPS at Low, 117.7 FPS at Medium, 85 FPS at High, and 57.1 FPS at Ultra. The 4K Ultra result is the only measured preset that falls below 60 FPS, which may be a consideration for users with 4K displays who want maximum settings. However, 4K High at 85 FPS is well above the 60 FPS threshold, providing a viable alternative for high-resolution play.

The data shows a consistent pattern: each step up in settings (Low to Medium to High to Ultra) reduces FPS by roughly 20-30% at each resolution, with the largest absolute drops occurring at higher resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

Moving from 1080p to 1440p at High settings reduces the average FPS from 262.9 to 165.2, a 37.2% decrease. At 4K High, the average drops to 85 FPS, which is 67.7% lower than 1080p High. This scaling pattern is typical for GPU-bound scenarios, where rendering resolution directly impacts the graphics card's workload.

At Low settings, the scaling is similar: 395.3 FPS at 1080p drops to 287.3 FPS at 1440p (27.3% decrease) and then to 149.4 FPS at 4K (62.2% decrease from 1080p). The consistent scaling across settings suggests that the RTX 5090 is the primary limiter as resolution increases, with the CPU maintaining its ability to feed frames even at 4K Low.

The Ultra settings show a slightly steeper decline: 177.1 FPS at 1080p, 110.1 FPS at 1440p (37.8% decrease), and 57.1 FPS at 4K (67.8% decrease from 1080p). The fact that 4K Ultra produces 57.1 FPS—just below 60 FPS—indicates that the GPU is nearing its limits at the highest resolution and preset combination, but the system remains playable.

These scaling trends imply that the limiting component shifts with resolution. At 1080p, the CPU may be more involved, given the extremely high frame rates. At 4K, the GPU's rendering load becomes dominant, as evidenced by the significant FPS drops when increasing resolution. The RTX 5090's 32 GB of VRAM and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth are sufficient to handle 4K textures without memory-related stutters.

Settings Recommendations

For users with 1080p displays, the data shows that Ultra settings at 177.1 FPS provide an excellent experience, comfortably exceeding 144 Hz refresh rates. The 1080p Ultra preset is the best choice for visual fidelity without sacrificing smoothness, as the frame rate remains high enough for competitive play or casual enjoyment.

At 1440p, Ultra settings deliver 110.1 FPS, which is still above 100 FPS and suitable for high-refresh monitors. However, if a user prefers a more consistent 144 Hz experience, High settings at 165.2 FPS offer a better balance, providing a 50.1 FPS increase over Ultra while maintaining high visual quality. The 1440p High preset is the recommended choice for users with 144 Hz displays.

For 4K displays, the situation is more nuanced. Ultra settings at 57.1 FPS are below the 60 FPS threshold, which may be noticeable in a city builder with panning and zooming. High settings at 85 FPS provide a much smoother experience while still offering substantial visual quality. The 4K High preset is the best option for 4K users seeking smooth gameplay, as it offers a 48.9% improvement over Ultra while only sacrificing some graphical details.

Overall, the data suggests that Medium settings are rarely necessary given the hardware's capabilities, as even 4K High achieves 85 FPS. The Low preset, while delivering the highest frame rates (395.3 FPS at 1080p), sacrifices too much visual quality for the marginal gains beyond High or Ultra at lower resolutions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with a 5 nm process node and features 21,760 shading units, 680 texture mapping units, and 176 raster output units. It has 170 ray tracing cores and 680 tensor cores, with a boost clock of 2407 MHz. The GPU's memory configuration includes 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, providing 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth.

In Steamworld Build, the GPU's role is primarily rendering the city's visuals, including buildings, terrain, and lighting effects. The 32 GB VRAM capacity is more than sufficient for this game, even at 4K resolution with Ultra settings, where the game likely loads a large number of textures for buildings and environmental details. The measured FPS data shows that the GPU handles the rendering workload effectively, with 4K Ultra producing 57.1 FPS and 4K High reaching 85 FPS.

The RTX 5090's benchmark scores reinforce its position: the PassMark G3D score of 39,650 and the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 14,411 indicate strong graphics performance. The GPU's percentile ranking of 94 among all GPUs means it is near the top of the performance hierarchy, though the nearest rivals—the RTX 5090 D, RTX 5050 Mobile, and AMD Radeon PRO W6600—are all within 1.3% in average benchmark scores. This suggests that the RTX 5090 is not uniquely positioned but is part of a cluster of high-performance GPUs.

The scaling from 1080p to 4K confirms that the GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions. The RTX 5090's 575 W TDP and 1,636.8 GTexel/s texture rate provide the compute capacity needed for this game, but the 4K Ultra preset still pushes the GPU to its limits, resulting in 57.1 FPS. This is not a deficiency of the hardware but rather an indication that Steamworld Build's Ultra settings at 4K are demanding even for a flagship GPU.