Palworld

Palworld on the AMD Ryzen 5 8400F and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 combination presents a clear case of GPU-limited performance, with the measured frames per second (FPS) showing a wide gulf between playable settings at lower resolutions and slideshow territory at 4K. Data indicates that this pairing ranks near the bottom of the tested combos in this game, suggesting that the GTX 1650 is the primary constraint in almost every scenario.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data for this combination shows that the preset selection is the single most important factor in achieving a usable frame rate. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 73.9 FPS, which is the only measured configuration that clears the 60 FPS threshold. The Medium preset at the same resolution produces a still-respectable 60.7 FPS average, making it a viable alternative for users who prioritize visual fidelity over a higher frame rate cushion. High settings drop to 46.8 FPS, which is playable but noticeably less smooth, while the Ultra preset falls to 36 FPS, which may feel stuttery in a survival game where quick reactions matter.

Given the benchmark results, the recommended experience is the Medium preset at 1080p. This choice balances the 60.7 FPS average with improved visuals over Low, without the steep performance penalty seen when moving to High. For users who demand the highest possible frame rates, Low at 1080p is the only option that provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS. At 2560x1440, the situation degrades significantly; even the Low preset only yields 48.9 FPS, and the Medium preset drops to 41.3 FPS. This indicates that 1440p is only feasible with Low settings, and even then, the frame rate is not ideal for competitive play. The data strongly suggests that 4K is not a viable option for this combo, with even Low settings producing just 24.6 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

The benchmark database places this specific CPU-GPU pairing at rank 1664 out of 1718 tested combinations for Palworld. This percentile placement, in the bottom 3% of all combos, underscores that this hardware configuration is poorly suited for this game's demands. The data implies that a substantial majority of other tested systems will outperform this setup, making it a low-end option for Palworld. The rank is not surprising given the GPU's age; the GTX 1650's average benchmark score of 8713 places it at the 43rd percentile among all GPUs, which is decidedly below average. This combination's position in the database is a direct reflection of the GPU's limited capabilities relative to the game's requirements, especially when paired with a modern CPU like the Ryzen 5 8400F, which sits at the 82nd percentile among all CPUs. The discrepancy in percentiles between the two components highlights a significant bottleneck in the system.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 is the defining component in this pairing, and its specifications explain the measured performance. With 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus, the memory bandwidth is capped at 128.1 GB/s. The GPU's base clock is 1485 MHz with a boost clock of 1665 MHz, and it features 896 shading units. The 4 GB VRAM capacity is a critical limitation for a modern game like Palworld, which often requires more memory for textures and assets at higher settings. The data shows that the FPS drops precipitously when moving from Low to Ultra settings at any resolution, which is consistent with a GPU that is both compute-bound and memory-constrained. For instance, at 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is a 37.9 FPS drop, from 73.9 to 36 FPS. This performance scaling suggests that the GTX 1650 cannot handle the increased shader complexity and texture loads of higher presets.

The GPU's 75 W TDP and lack of power connectors indicate a low-power design, which is typical of entry-level cards. The benchmark results for the GPU itself show a DirectX 12 score of 35, which is notably low and predictive of poor performance in modern titles that rely heavily on DX12 features. The data shows that the GPU is the limiting factor across all tested resolutions, as the CPU's strong single-threaded and multi-threaded scores (e.g., 2943 in Cinebench R23 single-core) are not enough to compensate for the GPU's inability to render frames quickly.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of this combo's capabilities across resolutions and presets. At 1920x1080, the averages are as follows: Low at 73.9 FPS, Medium at 60.7 FPS, High at 46.8 FPS, and Ultra at 36 FPS. This resolution is the only one where the combo achieves a playable experience, with Low and Medium both being above or near the 60 FPS mark. Moving to 2560x1440, the averages drop to 48.9 FPS on Low, 41.3 FPS on Medium, 27.7 FPS on High, and 22.9 FPS on Ultra. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is significant, representing a reduction of roughly 25 FPS on the Low preset and around 19 FPS on the Medium preset. At 3840x2160, the results are largely unplayable: Low averages 24.6 FPS, Medium 22.5 FPS, High 13.8 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 11.1 FPS. The data shows a clear pattern of diminishing returns; the gap between Low and Ultra widens as resolution increases, indicating that the GPU is struggling to fill the larger frame buffer.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is stark and reveals the nature of the bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 73.9 FPS, but at 4K Low, it falls to 24.6 FPS, a reduction of 49.3 FPS or roughly 33% of the original frame rate. This scaling is non-linear and steep, indicating that the GPU is the limiting component. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the FPS would remain relatively flat across resolutions, as the CPU's workload is less dependent on pixel count. Instead, the data shows a consistent and dramatic decline with each resolution step, which is the hallmark of a GPU that is saturated. The same pattern holds for Medium settings, which drop from 60.7 FPS at 1080p to 22.5 FPS at 4K. This behavior suggests that the GTX 1650's 4 GB VRAM and 128.1 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for the higher memory pressure of 1440p and 4K, causing the GPU to thrash and lose performance. The data implies that the sweet spot for this combo is 1080p, where the GPU can still keep up with the CPU's frame generation, but at higher resolutions, the GPU's limitations become the dominant factor.

FAQ

Q: What is the best preset to use with this CPU-GPU combo for Palworld?

A: The data shows that the Medium preset at 1920x1080 yields an average of 60.7 FPS, making it the best balance of visual quality and performance. Low at 1080p provides a higher 73.9 FPS average but with reduced visual fidelity.

Q: Is this combination capable of running Palworld at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the only viable preset is Low, which produces an average of 48.9 FPS. Medium drops to 41.3 FPS, and High falls to 27.7 FPS, suggesting that 1440p is only marginally playable with the lowest settings.

Q: Why is the 4K performance so poor for this setup?

A: At 3840x2160, even the Low preset only achieves 24.6 FPS, and Ultra drops to 11.1 FPS. The GTX 1650's 4 GB VRAM and limited bandwidth are insufficient for the high memory demands of 4K rendering, making it unplayable.

Q: How does the GPU compare to its closest rivals in terms of average benchmark score?

A: The GTX 1650 has an average benchmark score of 8713, which is 0.4% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile's score of 8746 and 0.5% higher than the NVIDIA Quadro P2200's score of 8671.

Q: What is the CPU's performance percentile relative to all CPUs?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F is at the 82nd percentile among all CPUs, indicating it is a strong performer. Its multi-threaded score in Cinebench R23 is 20851, which is significantly higher than what the GPU can utilize in this game.

Q: Does the game run better at High or Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: The data shows High at 1080p produces an average of 46.8 FPS, while Ultra produces 36 FPS. Both are below the 60 FPS threshold, but High offers a more stable experience than Ultra.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F is a modern 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, with a base clock of 4.20 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. Its benchmark scores are strong, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 20851 and a single-core score of 2943, placing it at the 82nd percentile among all CPUs. The CPU also has 16 MB of shared L3 cache and supports DDR5 memory with a bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s. In Palworld, however, the data indicates that the CPU's capabilities are largely underutilized due to the GPU's limitations. The frame rates across all resolutions are consistent with a GPU-bound scenario, where the CPU is not the limiting factor. For instance, the FPS scales dramatically with resolution changes, which would not happen if the CPU were the bottleneck. The CPU's high single-threaded performance is beneficial for the game's logic and physics, but it cannot compensate for the GPU's low fill rate. The data suggests that the Ryzen 5 8400F is more than adequate for this game, and users would see no benefit from a faster CPU with this GPU. The bottleneck is unequivocally the GTX 1650, as evidenced by the steep FPS drops at higher resolutions and settings.