Steamworld Build

# Steamworld Build: Intel Core i9-14900K + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 — Benchmark Analysis

The Intel Core i9-14900K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 delivers a strong performance profile in Steamworld Build, a city builder that scales across a wide range of resolutions and settings. Measured data shows this combination ranks 180th out of 3,706 tested combos, placing it in the top 5% of all configurations. The RTX 4080, with its 16 GB of GDDR6X memory and 716.8 GB/s bandwidth, paired with the 24-core, 32-thread i9-14900K, produces frame rates that range from 397 FPS at 1080p Low to 52 FPS at 4K Ultra. This analysis breaks down how the system behaves across resolutions, settings, and workload characteristics.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS values show a clear and consistent drop as resolution increases, but the pattern reveals important insights about where the bottleneck lies in this system. At Low settings, the transition from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 reduces average FPS from 397 to 253, a decline of 144 FPS or roughly 36%. Moving further to 3840x2160 at Low drops the average to 134 FPS, another 119 FPS reduction. This steep scaling curve at Low settings indicates that the GPU is becoming the limiting factor as pixel count rises, but the absolute numbers remain so high that the frame rates stay well above playable thresholds even at 4K.

At High settings, the resolution scaling is less dramatic in absolute terms but still significant. The average FPS goes from 228 at 1080p to 145 at 1440p, and then to 77 at 4K. The 4K figure represents a 66% reduction from the 1080p number, which is a typical pattern for a GPU-bound scenario. However, the fact that 4K High still maintains 77 FPS suggests the RTX 4080 has substantial headroom in this title. The Medium preset shows a similar trend: 304 FPS at 1080p, 194 FPS at 1440p, and 102 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset, which is the most demanding, produces 154 FPS at 1080p, 98 FPS at 1440p, and 52 FPS at 4K.

The scaling from 1080p to 1440p at Ultra costs 56 FPS, while the scaling from 1440p to 4K costs another 46 FPS. This near-linear relationship in FPS loss per resolution step suggests the GPU is the dominant constraint at Ultra settings across all resolutions. At 1080p Low, the 397 FPS figure is so high that CPU limitations likely begin to emerge, but the i9-14900K's performance in benchmarks — including a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 39,399.5 and a single-core score of 2,262.5 — indicates it has ample processing power to keep feeding the GPU. The data shows that at 4K, even with the most demanding preset, the combination never drops below 52 FPS, meaning the GPU handles the increased pixel workload without catastrophic frame loss.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance on which preset offers the best balance between visual quality and performance for this hardware combination. At 1920x1080, all presets deliver frame rates that far exceed display refresh rate capabilities: 397 FPS at Low, 304 FPS at Medium, 228 FPS at High, and 154 FPS at Ultra. Even the Ultra preset maintains a 154 FPS average, which is well above the 144 Hz threshold that many high-refresh monitors use. At this resolution, the recommendation is straightforward — Ultra provides the best experience without any meaningful performance compromise.

At 2560x1440, the picture becomes more nuanced. Ultra produces 98 FPS, which is still smooth for a city builder genre, but High produces 145 FPS and Medium produces 194 FPS. The jump from Medium to High costs 49 FPS, while the jump from High to Ultra costs 47 FPS. Given that Steamworld Build is a city builder where visual clarity matters for managing large settlements, High at 1440p offers a strong balance — it delivers 145 FPS, which is 47% higher than Ultra, while presumably maintaining close visual parity. The 4K resolution presents the most challenging scenario. At 3840x2160, Ultra produces 52 FPS, which is playable but may feel sluggish during complex city interactions. High produces 77 FPS, a 48% improvement over Ultra, and Medium produces 102 FPS. For 4K, the data suggests that High is the optimal preset: it maintains a 77 FPS average, which is smooth for the genre, while Medium's 102 FPS offers headroom for those who prefer higher frame rates over visual fidelity. The Low preset at 4K, at 134 FPS, is unnecessary given the quality trade-offs it would require.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 plays a central role in determining the frame rates observed in this dataset. The GPU's 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus provides 716.8 GB/s of bandwidth, which is directly relevant to a city builder like Steamworld Build where large amounts of texture data and geometry must be streamed as the city expands. The memory clock runs at 1,400 MHz with 22.4 Gbps effective speed, and the GPU's base clock of 2,205 MHz boosts to 2,505 MHz under load. With 9,728 shading units, 304 TMUs, and 112 ROPs, the RTX 4080 has substantial raw throughput — its FP32 performance is rated at 48.74 TFLOPS.

The GPU's benchmark scores corroborate its performance in this game. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6,567, the Geekbench OpenCL score of 214,739, and the Geekbench Vulkan score of 263,779 all indicate strong compute capabilities. The Passmark G3D score of 34,457 places the RTX 4080 in the 86th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals in aggregate benchmarks are the RTX 4080 SUPER with a 0.1% higher average score, and the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X which is 1.1% lower. The RTX 4080's 16 GB VRAM buffer is likely sufficient for Steamworld Build's demands, as the game does not appear to cause memory-related stutters based on the consistent frame times reflected in the measured data.

The GPU's role becomes more pronounced at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra settings is 243 FPS (397 down to 154), which indicates the GPU has massive headroom at this resolution. At 4K, the same preset range produces a difference of 82 FPS (134 down to 52), showing that the GPU is being pushed closer to its limits. The RTX 4080's 320 W TDP and triple-slot design indicate it is a high-power component, but the measured performance justifies this power envelope for demanding 4K scenarios.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the frame rates are exceptionally high across all presets. The Low preset delivers 397 FPS average, which is the highest figure in the entire dataset. Medium produces 304 FPS with a minimum of 259 FPS and a maximum of 350 FPS, showing a tight frame time distribution. High delivers 228 FPS, and Ultra produces 154 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra at 1080p is 243 FPS, which demonstrates that the RTX 4080 is far from being the limiting factor at this resolution — even at Ultra, the system is likely constrained by other factors such as CPU draw call processing or game engine limits.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but begin to show the GPU's influence. Low produces 253 FPS, Medium delivers 194 FPS with a minimum of 165 FPS and maximum of 223 FPS, High achieves 145 FPS, and Ultra drops to 98 FPS. The Medium preset's frame time range of 165 to 223 FPS (a 58 FPS spread) is notable and suggests some variability in scene complexity, which is common in city builders where population and building density fluctuate. The 1440p Ultra figure of 98 FPS is within the range that high-refresh displays can utilize, though it is below the 144 FPS threshold that many gamers target.

At 3840x2160, the data shows the most dramatic scaling effects. Low produces 134 FPS, Medium delivers 102 FPS with a minimum of 87 FPS and maximum of 118 FPS, High achieves 77 FPS, and Ultra drops to 52 FPS. The 4K Medium frame time range of 87 to 118 FPS represents a 31 FPS spread, which is proportionally smaller than the 1440p Medium spread, indicating more consistent performance at the higher resolution. The 4K Ultra figure of 52 FPS is the lowest measured value in the entire dataset, but it remains playable for the city builder genre where precise frame timing is less critical than in fast-paced action games.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i9-14900K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 combination ranks 180th out of 3,706 tested combos in Steamworld Build, placing it in the top 4.9% of all configurations tested. This ranking reflects the strong performance observed in the measured FPS data. The i9-14900K itself sits in the 95th percentile of all CPUs based on its aggregate benchmark score of 79,097, while the RTX 4080 sits in the 86th percentile of all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 54,247.

The CPU's nearest rivals provide context for its performance tier. The Intel Core i9-14900KF has an average score of 79,371, which is 0.3% higher than the i9-14900K — a negligible difference that confirms the K variant's performance is essentially identical to the KF variant. The Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus scores 79,574, 0.6% higher, and the AMD EPYC 7413 scores 80,041, 1.2% higher. The AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 scores 77,740, which is 1.7% lower. These small deltas indicate that the i9-14900K is well-positioned among high-end processors, and its 24 cores and 32 threads with a boost clock of 6.00 GHz provide substantial compute headroom for simulation-heavy games like Steamworld Build.

The GPU's nearest rivals show a similar pattern. The RTX 4080 SUPER scores 54,209, just 0.1% higher, meaning the standard RTX 4080 offers nearly identical aggregate performance. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X scores 54,828, 1.1% higher, though this is a workstation-oriented card. The AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB scores 55,698, 2.6% higher, and the AMD Radeon 8060S scores 55,757, 2.7% higher. The ranking of 180 out of 3,706 combos suggests that while there are many configurations that outperform this pairing, it sits comfortably in the upper echelon for Steamworld Build specifically.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combination achieves in Steamworld Build?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 397, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This is the maximum frame rate recorded in the dataset.

Q: Can this system handle 4K Ultra settings in Steamworld Build?

A: Yes, but with a modest frame rate. At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 52, which is playable for a city builder but noticeably lower than lower resolution presets.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 compare to its closest rival, the RTX 4080 SUPER?

A: In aggregate benchmarks, the RTX 4080 SUPER scores 54,209, which is 0.1% higher than the RTX 4080's 54,247. This places the two cards at effectively the same performance level.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Medium and High settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Medium produces 194 FPS (with a minimum of 165 FPS) while High produces 145 FPS. This represents a 49 FPS difference, or roughly 25% lower performance at High settings.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the primary bottleneck at 1080p resolution?

A: At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the system reaches 397 FPS, which is extremely high. The fact that lower resolutions do not produce proportionally higher frame rates suggests the CPU or game engine becomes the limiting factor at this point, despite the i9-14900K's strong single-threaded performance.

Q: What is the lowest measured frame rate in the dataset?

A: The lowest average FPS is 52, recorded at 3840x2160 resolution with Ultra settings. This is the only preset and resolution combination that drops below 60 FPS average.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i9-14900K serves as the processing backbone for this combination, and its specifications directly influence how Steamworld Build performs, particularly at lower resolutions where GPU load is lighter. The CPU features 24 cores and 32 threads, with a base clock of 3.20 GHz and a boost clock of 6.00 GHz. This high boost clock is critical for the single-threaded operations that city builders rely on for game logic, pathfinding, and simulation updates. The processor's L3 cache is 36 MB shared across all cores, with 2 MB of L2 cache per core and 80 KB of L1 cache per core, providing ample fast memory for frequently accessed game data.

The i9-14900K's benchmark results demonstrate its capability across both multi-threaded and single-threaded workloads. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 39,399.5 and single-core score of 2,262.5 are particularly relevant, as they show the CPU can excel at both parallel and serial tasks. The Geekbench multi-core score of 21,697 and single-core score of 2,655 further confirm this dual strength. In Passmark tests, the CPU achieves 58,674 in multithread performance and 4,697 in single-thread performance, with additional scores like 152,975 in floating point math and 210,622 in integer math indicating strong computational throughput.

The CPU's role in Steamworld Build becomes most apparent when examining the frame rate consistency across resolutions at low settings. At 1080p Low, the system produces 397 FPS, while at 1440p Low it produces 253 FPS — a 144 FPS drop that is primarily GPU-driven. However, the fact that 1080p Low does not exceed 400 FPS suggests that even with the RTX 4080's massive GPU headroom, the CPU's ability to submit draw calls and process game state limits the maximum achievable frame rate. The i9-14900K's 6.00 GHz boost clock and 95th percentile CPU ranking (with an average benchmark score of 79,097) indicate this is one of the fastest processors available, yet Steamworld Build's simulation and rendering demands still create a ceiling around 400 FPS at minimum settings.

The CPU's 125 W TDP and support for both DDR4 and DDR5 memory (dual-channel) provide flexibility, and its Intel Socket 1700 platform with PCIe Gen 5 support (16 lanes from the CPU) ensures the RTX 4080 — which uses PCIe 4.0 x16 — is not bandwidth-limited. The integrated UHD Graphics 770 provides a fallback but is not relevant for gaming with a discrete GPU present. Overall, the i9-14900K's combination of high clock speeds, substantial core count, and strong single-threaded performance ensures that Steamworld Build's CPU-intensive aspects — city simulation, agent pathfinding, and resource management — do not become a bottleneck except at the most extreme frame rates.