Steamworld Build

Steamworld Build, a city builder from 2023, presents an interesting workload that diverges from typical first-person shooters. The benchmark data for the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 reveals a configuration that is heavily skewed by resolution and settings, showcasing the distinct roles of the CPU and GPU.

FAQ

Q: What is the performance difference between the Ultra and High settings at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset averages 52 FPS, while the High preset averages 77 FPS. This represents a 48% increase in frame rate when dropping from Ultra to High.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 compare to its closest rival in this system?

A: The RTX 4080's average benchmark score is 54247, which is 0.1% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER's score of 54209. It also leads the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X by 1.1% and the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB by 2.6%.

Q: What is the frame rate at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the system achieves an average of 194 FPS, with a minimum of 165 FPS and a maximum of 223 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more likely to be the limiting factor at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the frame rates are exceptionally high, with Low settings reaching 397 FPS and High settings hitting 228 FPS. These figures suggest that at this resolution, the CPU's performance ceiling is the primary constraint.

Q: What is the game's performance ranking for this specific combo?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 combination is ranked 180th out of 3706 total tested combos for Steamworld Build.

Q: How does the CPU's multi-threaded performance compare to its direct rival?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 has an average benchmark score of 48995, which is 0.4% lower than the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G's score of 49196.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is the primary driver of visual fidelity in Steamworld Build. Its 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s, which is crucial for handling the high-resolution textures and complex scenes typical of a city builder at 4K. The GPU's architecture, Ada Lovelace, is built on a 5 nm process and features 9728 shading units, 304 TMUs, and 112 ROPs.

The data shows a clear pattern where the GPU becomes the dominant bottleneck as resolution increases. At 1080p, the GPU is often idle waiting for CPU instructions, but at 4K, its workload becomes significantly more demanding. This is evident in the scaling from Low to Ultra settings. At 4K, the RTX 4080 delivers 134 FPS on Low, 102 FPS on Medium, 77 FPS on High, and only 52 FPS on Ultra. The significant drop from High to Ultra, a 32% performance hit, indicates that the Ultra preset introduces rendering features that heavily tax the GPU's compute and memory resources.

The RTX 4080's performance is consistent with its position in the broader market. It holds the 86th percentile among all GPUs. Its average benchmark score of 54247 places it in a tight competitive group, where it is 0.1% ahead of the RTX 4080 SUPER and 1.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X. However, it trails the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB by 2.6% and the AMD Radeon 8060S by 2.7% in these aggregate scores. In this specific game, the GPU's raw power is sufficient to provide playable frame rates at 4K High, but its architecture shows limitations when pushed to the absolute maximum visual settings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 serves as the central processor, managing the game's simulation logic, pathfinding, and object management. It is a 14-core, 14-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, manufactured on a 3 nm process by TSMC. Its base clock is 3.50 GHz and it can boost up to 5.10 GHz. The CPU has a 24 MB shared L3 cache and supports DDR5 memory with a dual-channel bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s.

In Steamworld Build, the CPU's role is most pronounced at lower resolutions. The benchmark results show that at 1080p, the system is clearly CPU-limited. The jump from Low to Medium settings yields a 397 to 304 FPS transition, and High still produces 228 FPS. These extremely high frame rates indicate that the CPU is able to feed the GPU with data faster than the GPU can render at these lower resolutions, but it also caps the maximum achievable performance. The CPU's single-core performance, as measured by a Cinebench R23 score of 4648, is likely the key factor in this scenario, as city builders often rely heavily on a few primary threads for simulation updates.

The CPU's overall performance is competitive, as it sits in the 90th percentile of all CPUs. Its average benchmark score of 48995 is nearly identical to its nearest rivals, with a 0.4% deficit to the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G (49196) and a 0.5% deficit to the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 (49228). It does, however, edge out the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H by 0.6% and the Intel Core i5-14600K by 0.8%. This indicates that the Ultra 5 245 is a balanced processor that provides sufficient throughput for modern games without becoming a significant liability, except in the most extreme frame rate scenarios.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the system's performance across three resolutions and four settings presets.

At 1920x1080, the system excels, with all presets delivering high frame rates. The Low preset achieves an average of 397 FPS. Medium settings produce an average of 304 FPS, with a minimum of 259 and a maximum of 350 FPS. High settings reduce the average to 228 FPS, while the Ultra preset brings it down to 154 FPS. Even at the most demanding 1080p preset, the system is far above the threshold for smooth gameplay.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains very strong but begins to show the GPU's increasing workload. The Low preset delivers an average of 253 FPS. Medium settings average 194 FPS, with a min/max range of 165 to 223 FPS. High settings drop to an average of 145 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p still manages an average of 98 FPS, which is just shy of the 100 FPS mark that many users consider ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the definitive bottleneck. The Low preset still provides a high average of 134 FPS. Medium settings average 102 FPS, with a minimum of 87 FPS. High settings deliver a more console-like 77 FPS average. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, pushing the system down to a 52 FPS average, which may not be ideal for all users. The data shows a clear and consistent performance hierarchy, with each step up in either resolution or settings taxing the hardware further.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic pattern of a system transitioning from CPU-bound to GPU-bound. At 1080p High, the system produces 228 FPS. At 1440p High, this drops to 145 FPS, a 36% reduction. Moving to 4K High, the frame rate falls to 77 FPS, a further 47% reduction from the 1440p figure. This steep decline indicates that the GPU is being saturated as the pixel count increases.

This scaling is even more pronounced when looking at the Low preset. The system hits 397 FPS at 1080p, 253 FPS at 1440p, and 134 FPS at 4K. The relative drop from 1080p to 4K is 66%, suggesting that while the GPU is still heavily involved, the initial high frame rates are likely limited by the CPU's ability to issue draw calls and update the game world. The CPU's 14 cores and 5.10 GHz boost clock are sufficient to prevent a total bottleneck, but the data suggests that even a more powerful CPU might not yield significantly higher frame rates at 1080p Low.

The scaling pattern points to the RTX 4080's 16 GB memory buffer and 716.8 GB/s bandwidth being sufficient for 4K textures, but the sheer computational load of the game's shaders at 4K Ultra is what causes the performance to plummet. The 52 FPS result at 4K Ultra, compared to 77 FPS at 4K High, shows that the Ultra preset likely enables effects like advanced ambient occlusion or high-quality shadows, which are disproportionately expensive at high resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the optimal settings for this configuration depend heavily on the target resolution and desired frame rate.

For 4K gaming, the High preset is the clear recommendation. It provides a 77 FPS average, which is a substantial 48% improvement over the Ultra preset's 52 FPS. The visual difference between High and Ultra is likely less noticeable in a city builder than the smoothness gained from a higher frame rate. The Medium preset at 4K offers an alternative for those who prioritize frame rate, delivering 102 FPS, but the jump from Medium to High is modest in performance cost (24% decrease) and likely provides a significant visual uplift.

At 1440p, the Ultra preset becomes more viable, with an average of 98 FPS. This allows users to experience the game's maximum visual quality without sacrificing smoothness. For those with high-refresh-rate monitors, the High preset at 145 FPS is an excellent choice, providing a near-fluid experience.

At 1080p, the Ultra preset is easily achievable with an average of 154 FPS. This is the recommended settings level for this resolution, as the system has ample headroom to run the game at its highest visual fidelity while still maintaining frame rates well above 100 FPS. Users with 240Hz monitors could also consider the High preset at 228 FPS for the ultimate competitive edge, but the visual trade-off may not be worth it for a single-player city builder.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 ranks 180th out of 3706 tested combinations for Steamworld Build. This places the system in the top 5% of all tested configurations, demonstrating that it is a high-end pairing capable of delivering an excellent gaming experience.

This ranking is a result of the balanced performance of both components. The CPU's 90th percentile ranking ensures that it does not hold back the GPU, while the GPU's 86th percentile ranking provides the raw graphical horsepower needed for high resolutions. The data shows that this is not a system where one component is significantly overpowering the other. Instead, they are well-matched, with the CPU taking the lead at lower resolutions and the GPU at higher ones.

The rank of 180 suggests that while there are many configurations that can run Steamworld Build, this particular setup is among the most capable. The 3706 total combos include a wide range of hardware, from entry-level to enthusiast, and this pairing clearly sits at the higher end. The measured FPS data supports this, as the system only struggles to maintain high frame rates at the most demanding 4K Ultra preset. For the vast majority of gaming scenarios, this combo provides a fluid and responsive experience, solidifying its position as a top-tier choice for this game.