Steamworld Build

Steamworld Build, a city builder from late 2023, presents an extreme challenge for the Intel Core i9-14900K paired with the Intel Arc B390. The benchmark data indicates that this combination is fundamentally GPU-limited at every tested setting and resolution, with the Arc B390 acting as the primary bottleneck. The measured results show a steep performance cliff as resolution increases, and the combo's rank in the database reflects a pairing that is dramatically mismatched for this title.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is severe and clearly exposes the Arc B390 as the limiting component. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo averages 106 FPS, which is the highest frame rate recorded across any configuration. Moving to 1440p Low, the average falls to 67 FPS, a reduction of 39 FPS. At 4K Low, the average plummets to 35 FPS, which is less than a third of the 1080p Low result. This scaling pattern demonstrates that the GPU is being saturated by the increased pixel count, and the CPU's substantial capabilities are not being utilized to offset this decline.

The gap between 1080p and 4K is even more pronounced at higher presets. For High settings, the average drops from 60 FPS at 1080p to 38 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 20 FPS at 4K. This represents a 66.7% reduction in performance from the lowest tested resolution to the highest. The Ultra preset follows a similar trajectory, with 41 FPS at 1080p, 26 FPS at 1440p, and a nearly unplayable 14 FPS at 4K. The data shows that the scaling is not linear; the performance hit from 1440p to 4K is consistently larger than the hit from 1080p to 1440p, indicating that the GPU memory bandwidth and processing power are being exhausted.

The Medium preset provides the only complete dataset with min and max FPS values. At 1080p Medium, the average is 81 FPS with a minimum of 69 FPS and a maximum of 93 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 51 FPS, with min and max values of 44 and 59 FPS respectively. At 4K Medium, the average falls to 27 FPS, with a minimum of 23 FPS and a maximum of 31 FPS. The consistent presence of a minimum FPS that is not drastically lower than the average suggests that frame times are relatively stable, but the overall averages are too low for a smooth experience at 4K. This scaling analysis confirms that the Arc B390's render output units and shading units are the definitive bottleneck, as the i9-14900K's 24 cores and 32 threads have no trouble feeding frames at any resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i9-14900K and Intel Arc B390 ranks 2573 out of 2924 combos for Steamworld Build. This places it in the bottom 12% of all tested systems, a poor result that reflects the GPU's limitations rather than the CPU's capabilities. The percentile ranking for the GPU alone is 9, meaning the Arc B390 performs better than only 9% of all other GPUs in the database. This low GPU percentile is the primary driver of the combo's overall rank, as the CPU's percentile is 95, placing it in the top 5% of all processors.

The massive disparity between the CPU's high percentile and the GPU's low percentile creates a situation where the combo's rank is dragged down entirely by the graphics card. The i9-14900K's average benchmark score is 79097, while the Arc B390's average benchmark score is a mere 1482. This 53-fold difference in raw benchmark scores highlights the fundamental imbalance of this pairing. In a city builder like Steamworld Build, which relies on draw calls and object rendering, the GPU's performance is paramount, and the data shows that this combo cannot leverage the CPU's strength to improve its standing.

The combo's rank of 2573 suggests that most other combinations in the database, even those with significantly weaker CPUs, likely achieve better frame rates because they are paired with more capable graphics cards. The data indicates that the i9-14900K is effectively wasted in this configuration, as it is never the limiting factor in any of the measured scenarios. The benchmark results show that the system's performance is capped by the Arc B390's 24 raster operation units and 48 texture mapping units, which are insufficient for the demands of 4K rendering in this game.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics solution based on the Xe3-LPG architecture and built on a 3 nm process. Its performance characteristics are decisively weak, as evidenced by its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482. This score places it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs, with nearest rivals including the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, which has a score of 1463 and a deltaPct of 1.3, and the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710, which scores 1443 with a deltaPct of 2.7. The Arc B390's performance is only marginally better than these decade-old entry-level cards, and it is significantly outclassed by modern discrete GPUs.

The GPU's memory configuration is "System Shared," meaning it relies on the system's main memory rather than dedicated VRAM. This results in "System Dependent" bandwidth, which is a severe handicap for a game like Steamworld Build that requires large textures and frequent memory access. The base clock is 300 MHz, and the boost clock is 2500 MHz, but the shared memory architecture likely negates any benefits from these clock speeds. The GPU has 1536 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 24 ROPs, which are low numbers for handling 4K resolutions. The pixel rate is 60.00 GPixel/s and the texture rate is 120.0 GTexel/s, but these figures are insufficient to maintain playable frame rates at high resolutions.

The measured FPS data directly correlates with the GPU's limitations. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 14, which is a direct consequence of the ROPs being overwhelmed by the pixel count. Even at 1080p Low, the 106 FPS average is modest, and the data shows that the GPU is already working near its limits. The boost clock of 2500 MHz cannot compensate for the lack of dedicated memory bandwidth. The fact that the GPU's nearest rivals are all low-end NVIDIA chips from over a decade ago underscores its position as a weak performer. For Steamworld Build, the Arc B390's role is to be the definitive performance ceiling, and that ceiling is very low.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average FPS achieved by this combo in Steamworld Build?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 106, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its nearest rival in terms of benchmark score?

A: The Arc B390 has a 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1482, which is 1.3% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX's score of 1463.

Q: Is the Intel Core i9-14900K or the Intel Arc B390 the bottleneck in this game?

A: The data indicates the Arc B390 is the bottleneck, as frame rates drop dramatically with resolution increases while the CPU's high benchmark percentiles show it has ample headroom.

Q: What is the combo's rank in the database for Steamworld Build?

A: The combo ranks 2573 out of 2924 tested combinations.

Q: What is the average FPS at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: The average FPS is 51, with a minimum of 44 FPS and a maximum of 59 FPS.

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking compared to all other GPUs?

A: The Intel Arc B390 ranks in the 9th percentile, meaning it performs better than only 9% of all GPUs in the database.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i9-14900K is a 24-core, 32-thread processor from the Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.20 GHz and a boost clock of 6.00 GHz. Its benchmark scores are exceptionally high, including a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 39399.5 and a single-core score of 2262.5. In the database, it ranks in the 95th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 79097. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i9-14900KF, which has a deltaPct of -0.3, and the AMD EPYC 7413, which has a deltaPct of -1.2. This indicates that the CPU is performing as expected and is not a source of performance degradation.

However, in the context of Steamworld Build, the CPU's role is almost entirely passive. The measured FPS data shows that even at 1080p Low, where the CPU would typically be more involved in game logic and simulation, the system only achieves 106 FPS. This is not a result of CPU limitations, as the i9-14900K's multi-threaded capabilities are more than sufficient for a city builder's simulation demands. The 36 MB of shared L3 cache and the dual-channel memory support provide ample bandwidth for the CPU to process game state and AI, but the GPU cannot render frames fast enough to utilize this.

The data suggests that the CPU is effectively idle for most of the rendering pipeline. The PassMark multi-thread score of 58674 and the data compression score of 792694 demonstrate the CPU's raw power, but these translate to no tangible benefit in this game because the GPU is the limiting factor at all settings. The i9-14900K's boost clock of 6.00 GHz is irrelevant when the frame rate is capped by the GPU's 14 FPS at 4K Ultra. In this pairing, the CPU's role is to ensure that it is never the bottleneck, which it successfully achieves, but this comes at the cost of extreme inefficiency, as the powerful processor is paired with a severely underpowered graphics solution.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark data provides a clear hierarchy of playable settings for this combo. At 1920x1080, the Low preset yields an average of 106 FPS, which is smooth and responsive. The Medium preset at 1080p offers an average of 81 FPS with a minimum of 69 FPS, which is also a good experience and provides better visual fidelity. The High preset at 1080p drops to 60 FPS, which is still playable but begins to show the GPU's strain. The Ultra preset at 1080p falls to 41 FPS, which is below the ideal threshold for a smooth city builder experience.

For 2560x1440, the Low preset is the only reasonable option, with an average of 67 FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p averages 51 FPS, which might be acceptable for some users but is not consistently smooth. The High preset at 1440p drops to 38 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages only 26 FPS, both of which are too low for a satisfying experience. At 3840x2160, all presets are effectively unplayable. The Low preset averages 35 FPS, the Medium averages 27 FPS, the High averages 20 FPS, and the Ultra averages 14 FPS. None of these 4K configurations provide a playable frame rate.

The optimal experience for this combo is at 1080p with the Medium preset. This configuration provides an average of 81 FPS, which is 21 FPS higher than High settings and 25 FPS lower than Low settings, but with significantly better visual quality than Low. The minimum FPS of 69 at 1080p Medium ensures that frame drops are rare, providing a stable experience. While 1080p Low offers the highest frame rate, the Medium preset strikes the best balance between performance and visual detail. For users who prioritize frame rate above all else, 1080p Low is the best choice, but for a visually acceptable experience, 1080p Medium is the recommended preset. The data shows no scenario where 1440p or 4K is recommended, as the GPU's performance is insufficient for those resolutions.