Steamworld Build

Settings Recommendations

The measured frame rates across Steamworld Build’s four quality presets reveal a clear hierarchy, with the Ultra preset imposing a heavy cost at every resolution. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset delivers 88 FPS, which is playable but represents a 33% drop from the High preset’s 131.2 FPS. The Medium preset sits at 172.5 FPS, while Low reaches 227 FPS. At 2560x1440, the pattern holds: Ultra drops to 54.9 FPS, High maintains 84.9 FPS, Medium achieves 107.8 FPS, and Low tops out at 145.7 FPS. The 3840x2160 results are more punishing, with Ultra falling to 26.5 FPS—a figure that would strain smooth interaction in a city builder where camera panning and zoom are constant.

Given the data, the High preset offers the best overall experience. It provides a substantial visual upgrade over Medium while keeping frame rates comfortably above 60 FPS at 1080p and 1440p. At 4K, High manages 42.2 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold but still more fluid than the 26.5 FPS seen at Ultra. The Ultra preset’s gains do not justify the performance penalty; even at 1080p, it loses 43.2 FPS compared to High. For users prioritizing smoothness, Low at 1440p delivers 145.7 FPS, but the visual compromise is significant. Medium is a middle-ground choice, but High’s balance of fidelity and speed makes it the recommended default, with the caveat that 4K users may need to accept either High’s 42.2 FPS or drop to Medium’s 56.2 FPS for better responsiveness.

How This Combo Ranks

This configuration—Intel Core i7-14700KF paired with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060—occupies rank 962 out of 1,730 tested combos in Steamworld Build. That places it in the 56th percentile of all tested systems, meaning roughly 44% of combinations perform better in this specific title. The ranking is not exceptional, but it is respectable given the component tier. The CPU itself sits at the 96th percentile among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 70,104. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-14700K (average score 70,074, delta 0%), AMD EPYC 9115 (69,887, +0.3%), AMD Ryzen 9 9950X (70,420, -0.4%), and Intel Xeon Platinum 8270 (71,056, -1.3%). The i7-14700KF is effectively tied with its direct sibling, the i7-14700K, and sits within a narrow band of high-end desktop and server parts.

The GPU, however, is the weaker link. The RTX 4060 ranks at the 66th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 23,181. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon RX 6600M (23,321, -0.6%), NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti (23,338, -0.7%), Intel Arc B580 (23,021, +0.7%), and AMD Radeon 760M (22,999, +0.8%). The RTX 4060’s performance is within a few percentage points of these competitors, indicating that the GPU is not a standout in its class. In Steamworld Build, the combo’s mid-pack ranking suggests the game is not heavily CPU-bound, despite the processor’s strong synthetic scores. The 962nd position out of 1,730 implies that many combinations with lesser CPUs but stronger GPUs outperform this setup, pointing to the RTX 4060 as the limiting factor in achieving higher frame rates.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, yielding 272.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its memory clock is 2125 MHz, effective at 17 Gbps. The GPU’s base clock is 1830 MHz, with a boost of 2460 MHz. These specifications are modest for modern gaming, and the measured results in Steamworld Build reflect that. The card’s 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for this title at 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K, the combination of higher memory pressure and lower raw throughput shows in the frame rates. The GPU’s transistor count of 18,900 million on a 5 nm process (TSMC) with a die size of 159 mm² places it as a compact, efficient part, but efficiency does not translate into high-end performance.

The RTX 4060’s 3,072 shading units, 96 texture mapping units, and 48 render output units are consistent with its mid-range positioning. Its FP32 throughput of 15.11 TFLOPS is modest compared to higher-tier Ada Lovelace parts. In Steamworld Build, the GPU’s role becomes apparent when comparing settings: at 1080p Ultra, the card manages 88 FPS, but at 4K Ultra, it drops to 26.5 FPS. This scaling shows that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions and quality settings. The CPU, with 20 cores and 28 threads, is not likely to limit the game’s simulation logic, but the GPU’s rendering capacity constrains the frame rate. The measured data indicates that the RTX 4060 handles the game’s workload adequately at lower presets, but users should expect to dial back settings at 4K to maintain playable performance.

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset for this combo at 1080p?

A: The High preset at 1920x1080 yields 131.2 FPS, which is 43.2 FPS higher than Ultra (88 FPS) and only 41.3 FPS lower than Low (227 FPS). High offers the best balance of visual quality and performance.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested systems in Steamworld Build?

A: This configuration ranks 962 out of 1,730 tested combos, placing it in the 56th percentile. This is a mid-pack result, indicating that many systems with different component mixes achieve higher frame rates.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more responsible for the measured performance?

A: The GPU appears to be the limiting factor. The RTX 4060 ranks at the 66th percentile among all GPUs, while the i7-14700KF ranks at the 96th percentile among CPUs. The large drop from 1080p High (131.2 FPS) to 4K High (42.2 FPS) suggests GPU-bound scaling.

Q: What performance can I expect at 1440p with the High preset?

A: At 2560x1440 with High settings, the measured average frame rate is 84.9 FPS. This is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay and represents a solid experience for this resolution.

Q: How does the RTX 4060 compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 4060’s average benchmark score is 23,181. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon RX 6600M (23,321, -0.6%), NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti (23,338, -0.7%), Intel Arc B580 (23,021, +0.7%), and AMD Radeon 760M (22,999, +0.8%). All are within 0.8% of each other.

Q: Is 4K gaming viable with this configuration?

A: At 3840x2160, the High preset delivers 42.2 FPS, and Medium reaches 56.2 FPS. Ultra drops to 26.5 FPS. For a city builder, 4K is playable at Medium settings, but High and Ultra will require compromises in smoothness.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K reveals a steep performance curve that underscores the GPU’s limitations. At 1920x1080, the High preset averages 131.2 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440, the same preset drops to 84.9 FPS, a 35% reduction. At 3840x2160, the High preset falls to 42.2 FPS, an additional 50% drop from the 1440p figure. This scaling pattern is consistent with a GPU-bound workload: as pixel count increases, the RTX 4060’s rendering throughput becomes the decisive factor. The CPU’s synthetic strength—evidenced by its 44,557 Cinebench R23 multi-core score—does not compensate for the GPU’s 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit memory bus at higher resolutions.

The Low preset shows the same trend but with higher absolute values: 227 FPS at 1080p, 145.7 FPS at 1440p, and 77.6 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 4K at Low settings is 65.8%, while at High settings the drop is 67.8%. This similarity suggests that the GPU’s memory bandwidth and compute capacity are the limiting factors regardless of quality preset, with the resolution increase amplifying the demand on the RTX 4060’s 272.0 GB/s bandwidth. The 4K Ultra result of 26.5 FPS is particularly telling: it indicates that the combination of high resolution and maxed-out settings overwhelms the GPU’s capabilities. For users targeting 4K, the data shows that Medium (56.2 FPS) is the practical ceiling for this combo, while High and Ultra require a more powerful GPU to achieve fluid frame rates. The CPU, with its high single-thread score of 6,290 in Cinebench R23, is not the bottleneck here; the game’s rendering demands at 4K exceed what the RTX 4060 can deliver.