Steamworld Build

Steamworld Build is a city builder that stresses simulation logic heavily, and the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 combined with the Intel Arc B390 produces a specific bottleneck profile that is fully exposed in the measured data. The 14-core, 14-thread Arrow Lake processor, running at a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost of 5.00 GHz, provides the computational backbone for this pairing. However, the Arc B390, which relies on system shared memory and an integrated graphics design, acts as the primary constraint, particularly as resolution scales upward. The data indicates a system where the CPU’s headroom is almost entirely negated by the GPU’s output limits, resulting in a playable experience only at the lowest settings and resolutions.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 is a 14-core, 14-thread processor built on the Arrow Lake architecture using a 3 nm process from TSMC. Its configuration, which lacks hyper-threading, gives it a raw throughput that is still substantial for simulation-heavy titles. The 24 MB of shared L3 cache, combined with 3 MB of L2 per core, provides the low-latency access that city builders need when tracking thousands of individual entities. In synthetic tests, the chip achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 14769 and a single-core score of 2085, placing it in the 89th percentile of all CPUs tested. This raw computational power is what allows the CPU to feed frames to the GPU without becoming the limiting factor in most scenarios, but the measured FPS in Steamworld Build tells a different story.

The benchmark results show that the CPU’s performance is largely irrelevant when paired with the Arc B390 at higher resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 106 FPS, which suggests the CPU is capable of driving well over 100 frames per second in this title. However, at 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 14, a figure that has no correlation with CPU capability. The processor’s nearest rivals, which include the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 (0.1% higher average score) and the Intel Core i9-13900HX (0.1% lower average score), all sit within a 0.2% delta of the Ultra 5 235’s average benchmark score of 46062. This indicates that the CPU is not the bottleneck; any of these processors would deliver nearly identical frame rates when paired with the same GPU. The 14 threads are more than sufficient for Steamworld Build’s simulation logic, which typically scales well with cores but does not require the extreme multi-threading seen in rendering workloads.

FAQ — 4-6 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this setup?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 with Low settings is the only configuration that yields a consistently smooth experience, averaging 106 FPS. The Medium preset at the same resolution drops to 81 FPS, which is still acceptable, but the Ultra preset falls to 41 FPS, indicating a significant performance cliff.

Q: How does the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 compare to its nearest CPU rivals?

A: The Ultra 5 235 has an average benchmark score of 46062, which is 0.1% higher than the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 and 0.2% higher than the AMD EPYC 4364P. It is 0.1% lower than the Intel Core i9-13900HX. These deltas are negligible, meaning the CPU choice has almost no impact on gaming performance when the GPU is the limiting factor.

Q: Why does the FPS drop so dramatically from 1080p to 4K?

A: The frame rate falls from 106 FPS at 1080p Low to 35 FPS at 4K Low, a 67% reduction. At High settings, the drop is from 60 FPS to 20 FPS. This scaling indicates that the Intel Arc B390, which has a 9th percentile ranking among all GPUs, is completely saturated by the pixel count increase.

Q: Is the Arc B390 comparable to any dedicated graphics cards?

A: The Arc B390’s 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482 places it 1.3% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX and 2.7% ahead of the GT 710. These rivals are all legacy entry-level parts, confirming that the B390 is an integrated solution with performance far below modern discrete GPUs.

Q: Does the CPU’s 89th percentile ranking help in this game?

A: No. The CPU’s high percentile ranking is irrelevant because the GPU bottleneck limits the frame rate to 106 FPS at best. Even a top-tier CPU would produce identical results, as the Arc B390 cannot render frames faster than its hardware allows.

Q: What is the frame time consistency like at Medium settings?

A: The Medium preset shows the only min/max FPS data in the pack. At 1080p, the average is 81 FPS with a minimum of 69 and maximum of 93. At 1440p, the average is 51 FPS with a minimum of 44 and maximum of 59. At 4K, the average is 27 FPS with a minimum of 23 and maximum of 31, showing a tight but low range.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The resolution scaling pattern in Steamworld Build with this combo is a textbook example of a GPU-bound scenario. Starting at 1920x1080 Low, the system produces 106 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 Low drops the frame rate to 67 FPS, a 36.8% reduction. At 3840x2160 Low, the average falls to 35 FPS, which is a 47.8% drop from 1440p and a 67.0% drop from 1080p. This scaling is nearly linear with pixel count, which is the definitive signature of a render-bound system. If the CPU were the limiting factor, the FPS would remain relatively flat across resolutions, as the simulation logic would be the same regardless of output resolution.

The High settings tell an even clearer story. At 1080p High, the average is 60 FPS. At 1440p High, it drops to 38 FPS (a 36.7% reduction), and at 4K High, it falls to 20 FPS (a 47.4% reduction from 1440p and 66.7% from 1080p). The consistency of these percentage drops across different quality presets proves that the GPU’s fill rate and shading capacity are the sole limiting factors. The Intel Arc B390, with a boost clock of 2500 MHz and a pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s, simply cannot handle the load of 8.3 million pixels at 4K, especially when shader complexity increases. The CPU, which can handle the game’s logic at over 100 FPS, is left waiting for the GPU at every resolution above 1080p Low.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 and Intel Arc B390 ranks 2573 out of 2924 tested combos in Steamworld Build. This places it in the bottom 12% of all system configurations measured for this game. The ranking reflects the severe GPU limitation, as the CPU’s 89th percentile performance is dragged down by the GPU’s 9th percentile performance. The combo’s position is not an indictment of the processor but rather a clear signal that the integrated graphics solution is inadequate for anything beyond the most modest settings.

When compared to other tested combos, this pairing is near the bottom of the distribution. The rank of 2573 suggests that only 351 configurations performed worse, and these are likely older or lower-end integrated graphics solutions. The data indicates that any modern CPU paired with even a low-end discrete GPU would likely rank significantly higher. The combo’s ranking is consistent across all resolutions, with the 4K Ultra result of 14 FPS being an extreme outlier that contributes to the low overall position. This is not a system that can handle Steamworld Build’s higher presets, and the ranking reflects that reality.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of the combo’s capabilities across twelve distinct configurations. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers 106 FPS average, which is the highest frame rate recorded for this combo. Medium drops to 81 FPS, with a minimum of 69 and maximum of 93. High produces 60 FPS, and Ultra falls to 41 FPS. The 1080p results show a clear pattern: each step up in settings costs roughly 20-25% performance, with the gap between Medium and High being the largest single drop.

At 2560x1440, the numbers are significantly lower. Low averages 67 FPS, Medium averages 51 FPS with a range of 44 to 59, High averages 38 FPS, and Ultra averages 26 FPS. The 1440p results demonstrate that even Low settings cannot maintain the 60 FPS threshold, which is critical for smooth gameplay in a city builder. At 3840x2160, the performance collapses. Low averages 35 FPS, Medium averages 27 FPS with a range of 23 to 31, High averages 20 FPS, and Ultra averages 14 FPS. None of the 4K results are playable, and even the Low preset’s 35 FPS would be considered borderline at best.

The min and max FPS data, available only for the Medium preset, shows that frame pacing is relatively consistent at each resolution. At 1080p, the range is 69 to 93 FPS, a 24 FPS spread. At 1440p, the range narrows to 44 to 59 FPS, a 15 FPS spread. At 4K, the range is 23 to 31 FPS, only an 8 FPS spread. This tightening of the range at higher resolutions suggests that the GPU is being pushed to its absolute limit, leaving less variance for complex scenes.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Based on the measured data, the only playable configuration for this combo is 1920x1080 with Low settings, which delivers 106 FPS. This is the only preset that provides a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS threshold that most players consider the minimum for smooth gameplay. The 1080p Medium preset, at 81 FPS, is also viable, but the jump to High costs 21 FPS (down to 60), and Ultra costs another 19 FPS (down to 41). For players who prefer visual fidelity over raw frame rate, 1080p High at 60 FPS is the maximum acceptable option.

At 1440p, the situation is more constrained. Low settings at 67 FPS is the only configuration that maintains a playable frame rate, and it is still below the 72 FPS that some players prefer for high refresh rate monitors. Medium at 51 FPS is playable but may exhibit noticeable stutter in busy scenes. High and Ultra at 38 and 26 FPS respectively are not recommended. At 4K, no settings are playable, with even Low producing only 35 FPS. The data strongly suggests that users should stick to 1080p with Low to Medium settings, or 1440p with Low settings, to get the best experience from this hardware.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Arc B390 is the definitive bottleneck in this configuration. Its memory is system shared, meaning it relies on the CPU’s DDR5 memory bus for all graphics data. This design, combined with a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2500 MHz, results in a GPU that sits in the 9th percentile of all tested graphics cards. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482 is 1.3% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX and 2.7% higher than the GT 710, which are both from the early 2010s. This comparison underscores the B390’s position as an entry-level integrated solution.

The GPU’s 1536 shading units and 24 ROPs are insufficient for the demands of Steamworld Build at higher resolutions. The 60.00 GPixel/s pixel rate and 7.680 TFLOPS FP32 performance are simply too low to handle the fill rate requirements of 4K rendering. Even at 1080p, the GPU struggles with Ultra settings, dropping to 41 FPS. The system shared memory bandwidth, which is dependent on the CPU’s 102.4 GB/s dual-channel DDR5, is a further limitation. City builders like Steamworld Build require frequent texture updates and data transfers, which saturate the shared memory bus and contribute to the performance collapse at higher resolutions.

The GPU’s boost clock of 2500 MHz is respectable for an integrated part, but it cannot compensate for the lack of dedicated VRAM. The 12 RT cores and DirectX 12 Ultimate support are irrelevant when the fundamental rendering throughput is so limited. The data shows that the B390 is the primary factor preventing this combo from achieving playable frame rates at 1440p and above. Any discrete GPU, even one with a lower clock speed, would likely outperform this integrated solution due to dedicated memory and higher bandwidth.