Steamworld Build

# Steamworld Build with Intel Core i9-14900K + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080

The Intel Core i9-14900K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 lands at rank 32 out of 1,730 tested combos in Steamworld Build, placing it in the top 2% of all configurations measured. This is a formidable pairing for a city builder, and the benchmark data confirms it clears the high-refresh-rate bar at every resolution except the most demanding Ultra preset at 4K. The combination leverages a 24-core, 32-thread processor with a 6.00 GHz boost clock alongside a Blackwell 2.0 GPU with 16 GB of GDDR7 memory, and the results show a system that is rarely the bottleneck in this simulation-heavy title.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 32 out of 1,730 tested configurations is an elite placement, but it does not represent the absolute ceiling for Steamworld Build. The data shows that this pairing sits comfortably in the top tier, yet there is meaningful headroom above it—likely occupied by more exotic hardware or configurations optimized specifically for this game's engine. In terms of raw component benchmarks, the CPU's average score of 79,824 places it at the 97th percentile among all processors, while the GPU's average score of 59,188 puts it at the 89th percentile among all graphics cards. This discrepancy in percentile ranking suggests that the CPU is relatively stronger than the GPU in the broader benchmark landscape, but in Steamworld Build specifically, the combination performs as a cohesive unit.

Looking at the nearest rivals for the CPU, the Intel Core i9-14900K sits within a razor-thin margin of its closest competitors. The AMD EPYC 7413 scores 80,041, a delta of -0.3% relative to the i9-14900K, meaning the i9 essentially matches a server-class chip in average benchmark score. The Intel Core i9-14900KF and Intel Core Ultra 7 265KF both post scores of 79,245 and 79,240 respectively, each showing a +0.7% delta that puts them statistically tied with the i9-14900K. The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K follows at 79,102 with a +0.9% delta. These sub-1% differences indicate that for this game's CPU demands, the i9-14900K is not gaining a decisive edge over its immediate rivals—the real advantage comes from the overall system balance.

For the GPU, the nearest rivals show a slightly wider spread. The Intel Arc Pro A60 scores 60,326, which represents a -1.9% delta versus the RTX 5080's average of 59,188, meaning the Arc Pro actually edges ahead in this specific benchmark metric. The Intel Arc A570M at 58,239 (+1.6% delta) and Intel Arc A580 at 57,756 (+2.5% delta) trail by small margins, while the AMD Radeon Pro W5500X at 57,661 (+2.6% delta) rounds out the comparison. These deltas are all modest, but they underscore that the RTX 5080's raw benchmark scores are not dramatically ahead of its nearest rivals—the measured FPS in Steamworld Build is where the real story emerges.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 brings 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus, yielding 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The memory clock runs at 1875 MHz, translating to 30 Gbps effective. The GPU's base clock is 2295 MHz with a boost clock of 2617 MHz, and it houses 10,752 shading units, 336 TMUs, and 112 ROPs. For a city builder like Steamworld Build, which scales with population size and simulation complexity, the memory capacity and bandwidth are critical—16 GB ensures that large, detailed cities with many assets stay within VRAM limits, while the 960.0 GB/s bandwidth prevents texture streaming bottlenecks.

The GPU's role in this combo is to handle the visual load as the player zooms into dense urban environments. The data shows that at 1080p Ultra, the RTX 5080 delivers 164.9 FPS average, which is a strong result but not the highest in the measured set. At 4K Ultra, the average drops to 53.8 FPS, indicating that the most demanding preset at the highest resolution pushes the GPU hard. The GPU's 84 RT cores and 336 tensor cores are present, though Steamworld Build's engine does not appear to leverage ray tracing heavily based on the FPS scaling pattern. The 56.28 TFLOPS FP32 compute rating and 293.1 GPixel/s pixel rate are more relevant to the game's draw calls and overdraw in dense city views.

The GPU's 89th percentile ranking among all GPUs, combined with its measured performance, suggests it is a capable but not top-tier card in the broader landscape. However, in Steamworld Build, the RTX 5080's performance is sufficient to keep frame rates high at most settings, with the CPU taking on a larger role in simulation tick rates that affect overall responsiveness.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS achieved by this combo?

A: The highest measured average is 416.8 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This represents the ceiling for the combo in this game, far exceeding any display refresh rate.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS drops to 53.8. This is the lowest result in the measured set, indicating that 4K Ultra is the most demanding configuration for this pairing.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in Steamworld Build?

A: The data suggests the GPU becomes the primary limiter at higher resolutions and settings. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 416.8 FPS, showing massive headroom, while 4K Ultra drops to 53.8 FPS—a clear GPU-bound scenario.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested configurations?

A: It ranks 32nd out of 1,730 tested combos, placing it in the top 2% of all systems measured for this game.

Q: How much performance is lost from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: At High settings, the average FPS drops from 238.8 at 1920x1080 to 82.4 at 3840x2160, representing a significant reduction as resolution scales up.

Q: Does the RTX 5080's 16 GB VRAM appear sufficient for this game?

A: The measured FPS data shows no signs of VRAM-related stuttering or crashes at any settings, suggesting 16 GB is adequate for Steamworld Build's demands at 4K Ultra.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers exceptional frame rates across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 416.8 FPS, which is a staggering figure that highlights the raw horsepower available. Medium settings yield 324.8 FPS, High settings achieve 238.8 FPS, and Ultra settings still manage 164.9 FPS. These numbers indicate that at 1080p, the system is almost entirely CPU-limited, as the simulation logic and draw calls dominate over GPU rendering.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains strong but shows the expected scaling. Low settings average 269.4 FPS, Medium drops to 204.5 FPS, High hits 151.3 FPS, and Ultra settles at 105.5 FPS. The transition from 1080p to 1440p shows a consistent reduction of roughly 35-40% across all settings, which is typical for a resolution increase of approximately 78% more pixels. The frame rates at 1440p Ultra are still well above the 60 FPS threshold, making this resolution the sweet spot for high-refresh-rate monitors with maximum visual fidelity.

At 3840x2160, the performance landscape changes dramatically. Low settings average 142.8 FPS, which is still very playable, but Medium drops to 108.7 FPS, High falls to 82.4 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 53.8 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 89 FPS, a much larger spread than at 1080p where the gap is 251.9 FPS. This compression indicates that at 4K, the GPU becomes the dominant constraint, and the settings scaling has a more pronounced effect on the final frame rate.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K at each settings level reveals the balance of this combo. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 416.8 at 1080p to 269.4 at 1440p, then to 142.8 at 4K—a total reduction of 65.7% from the starting point. This steep decline suggests that even at Low settings, the GPU's workload scales significantly with resolution, though the absolute numbers remain high.

At Medium settings, the progression is from 324.8 FPS at 1080p to 204.5 FPS at 1440p to 108.7 FPS at 4K, a 66.5% drop overall. High settings show a similar pattern: 238.8 FPS at 1080p falls to 151.3 FPS at 1440p and then to 82.4 FPS at 4K, a 65.5% reduction. Ultra settings follow the same trend, with 164.9 FPS at 1080p dropping to 105.5 FPS at 1440p and finally to 53.8 FPS at 4K, representing a 67.4% decline from start to finish.

The consistency of these percentage drops—all hovering around 66-67%—indicates that the limiting component is the GPU across all settings levels when moving to higher resolutions. If the CPU were the primary bottleneck, the FPS would remain flatter as resolution increases, because the simulation workload stays constant while pixel count rises. Instead, the nearly identical percentage reductions at every settings level point to the RTX 5080 being the dominant constraint at 1440p and above. At 1080p, the extremely high frame rates suggest the CPU is more involved, but the scaling pattern shows that Steamworld Build is primarily a GPU-limited title for this configuration once resolution exceeds 1080p.