Steamworld Build

Steamworld Build is a city builder that stresses both CPU and GPU. The combination of an Intel Core i9-14900K and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 produces a specific performance profile, as measured across multiple resolutions and presets. This analysis examines the roles of each component, the combo's overall ranking, and the optimal settings based on the data.

FAQ

Q: What is the core and thread count of the Intel Core i9-14900K?

A: The CPU has 24 cores and 32 threads, with a base clock of 3.20 GHz and a boost clock of 6.00 GHz.

Q: How much VRAM does the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 have?

A: The GPU features 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

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

A: The combo ranks 1421 out of 1730 tested combinations.

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p Ultra settings?

A: The measured average FPS is 64.6.

Q: What is the CPU's percentile among all CPUs?

A: The i9-14900K sits in the 97th percentile.

Q: What is the GPU's percentile among all GPUs?

A: The RTX 2060 sits in the 58th percentile.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i9-14900K is a 24-core, 32-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, built on a 10 nm process. Its base clock of 3.20 GHz can boost up to 6.00 GHz, and it carries 36 MB of shared L3 cache, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 80 KB of L1 per core. The CPU supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory, uses a dual-channel memory bus, and offers PCIe Gen 5 with 16 lanes. It also includes integrated UHD Graphics 770, though the discrete GPU handles rendering in this configuration.

Benchmark data places the i9-14900K in the 97th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 79824. Its nearest rivals are tightly clustered: the AMD EPYC 7413 scores 80041 (0.3% higher), the Intel Core i9-14900KF scores 79245 (0.7% lower), the Intel Core Ultra 7 265KF scores 79240 (0.7% lower), and the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K scores 79102 (0.9% lower). This indicates that the i9-14900K is effectively tied with the top-tier alternatives, with differences under 1%.

In multi-threaded workloads, the CPU achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 49872 and a single-core score of 7040. Geekbench results show 20370 multi-core and 3064 single-core. Passmark multithread score is 58674, and single-thread is 4697. These numbers reflect a processor that excels in both heavily threaded simulation tasks and lightly threaded game logic. For a city builder like Steamworld Build, where population simulation, pathfinding, and resource management can scale across many cores, the 24-core configuration provides substantial headroom. The high boost clock of 6.00 GHz also benefits single-threaded bottlenecks that often appear in game update loops.

The CPU's 97th percentile ranking means it outperforms 97% of all processors in the database. Given that the combo's overall rank is low (1421 out of 1730), the CPU is clearly not the limiting factor in this pairing. The data suggests that the i9-14900K is more than capable of feeding the RTX 2060 in Steamworld Build, and any performance shortfalls at higher resolutions or settings are attributable to the GPU.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is built on the Turing architecture, using the TU106 chip on a 12 nm process. It contains 10,800 million transistors on a 445 mm² die. The GPU has a base clock of 1365 MHz and a boost clock of 1680 MHz, with memory clocked at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). It features 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU includes 1920 shading units, 120 texture mapping units, 48 ROPs, 30 RT cores, and 240 tensor cores. Its pixel rate is 80.64 GPixel/s, texture rate is 201.6 GTexel/s, and FP32 performance is 6.451 TFLOPS, with FP16 at 12.90 TFLOPS (2:1).

In synthetic benchmarks, the RTX 2060 scores 1242 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, 71278 in Geekbench OpenCL, and 67425 in Geekbench Vulkan. Passmark G3D score is 14111, and GPU compute is 5488. The GPU sits in the 58th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 16074. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon RX 7600S (15996, 0.5% higher), AMD Radeon Pro 5600M (16351, 1.7% higher), AMD Radeon Pro 5700 (16351, 1.7% higher), and AMD Radeon Pro W5500 (15786, 1.8% lower). These deltas are all within 2%, placing the RTX 2060 in a tight mid-range cluster.

The 6 GB VRAM capacity is a notable constraint for modern games at high resolutions. In Steamworld Build, the measured FPS drops sharply as resolution and settings increase. At 4K Ultra, the combo averages 20.3 FPS; at 4K High, 32.7; at 4K Medium, 43.5; and at 4K Low, 56.4. At 1440p, Ultra yields 41.6 FPS, High 61.8, Medium 83.8, and Low 112. At 1080p, Ultra reaches 64.6 FPS, High 101.3, Medium 132.3, and Low 174.4. This pattern indicates that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher settings, especially at 4K where even Low settings barely approach 60 FPS. The 58th percentile ranking reflects a mid-range GPU that can handle 1080p and 1440p well but struggles at 4K.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 1421 out of 1730 tested combinations in Steamworld Build. This places it in the lower 18% of all tested pairings. Given that the CPU is in the 97th percentile and the GPU is in the 58th percentile, the low overall rank is a direct consequence of the GPU's mid-range positioning. The data shows that the i9-14900K provides ample processing power, but the RTX 2060 cannot fully utilize that power at higher resolutions and presets.

The rank reflects the combo's performance across all measured scenarios. At 1080p, the combo delivers strong frame rates, with even Ultra exceeding 60 FPS. At 1440p, High and Medium presets remain playable, but Ultra drops below 60. At 4K, only Low approaches 60 FPS, and Ultra is unplayable at 20.3 FPS. This performance profile is typical of a high-end CPU paired with a mid-range GPU: the CPU ensures that the game logic runs smoothly, but the GPU limits visual fidelity and resolution scaling.

Compared to other combos, this pairing is not optimized for Steamworld Build's GPU-heavy rendering. The 1421st rank out of 1730 indicates that many other combinations achieve better overall performance, likely those with more balanced or higher-tier GPUs. The data suggests that for this game, the GPU is the deciding factor in overall ranking, and the i9-14900K's strengths are underutilized when paired with the RTX 2060.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1080p, all presets deliver over 60 FPS, with Ultra at 64.6, High at 101.3, Medium at 132.3, and Low at 174.4. For a smooth 60 FPS experience, even Ultra is sufficient, but High or Medium provide higher headroom and better visual quality per frame. At 1440p, Ultra drops to 41.6 FPS, which may be acceptable for a city builder, but High at 61.8 and Medium at 83.8 are safer for consistent 60 FPS. Low at 112 FPS offers the highest performance but sacrifices visual fidelity.

At 4K, the situation is more constrained. Only Low achieves near 60 FPS at 56.4, while Medium is 43.5, High 32.7, and Ultra 20.3. For 4K play, Low is the only preset that approaches a playable frame rate, and even then it falls slightly short of 60. Users targeting 4K should either accept Low settings or consider a more powerful GPU. For the best balance of visual quality and performance, the data recommends 1080p High or 1440p Medium. These presets provide frame rates well above 60 FPS while retaining meaningful graphical detail. At 4K, the only viable option is Low, which still yields a playable but not ideal experience. The measured rows show a clear trade-off: higher resolutions and presets quickly outpace the RTX 2060's capabilities, while the i9-14900K remains underutilized.