Palworld

Palworld presents an unusual pairing in this benchmark set: the AMD Ryzen 5 9600X, a modern 6-core desktop processor, drives the Intel Arc B390, an integrated graphics solution from the Panther Lake generation. The data reveals a system overwhelmingly constrained by its graphics component, where even a strong CPU cannot compensate for the GPU's limited throughput. This analysis examines the measured FPS across resolutions and settings, contextualizes the combo's standing, and explores the CPU's role in a GPU-bound scenario.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS progression from 1080p to 4K clearly identifies the graphics processor as the primary bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 84 FPS, which drops to 56 FPS at 1440p Low and further to 31 FPS at 4K Low. This represents a 63% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K, a steep decline that indicates the GPU is working at its absolute limit as pixel count increases. The scaling is not linear; the jump from 1440p to 4K at Low settings costs 25 FPS, while the jump from 1080p to 1440p costs 28 FPS, showing that the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth are severely taxed at higher resolutions.

The pattern persists across all quality presets. At High settings, the system delivers 53 FPS at 1080p, 35 FPS at 1440p, and only 19 FPS at 4K. The 4K High result is a 64% drop from the 1080p High result, confirming that the Arc B390's 24 ROPs and 60.00 GPixel/s pixel rate cannot sustain playable frame rates at 4K. Even at Medium settings, which show minimum and maximum values, the 4K average of 25 FPS (with a range of 21-29 FPS) sits well below the 1080p average of 68 FPS (with a range of 58-79 FPS). This scaling behavior suggests that the limiting component is the GPU's raw processing power, not the CPU or memory subsystem, because the frame rate collapses as the resolution increases, which directly increases GPU workload.

The 1080p to 4K scaling also reveals that the system is not memory-bandwidth constrained in the traditional sense. The GPU uses System Shared memory, making bandwidth "System Dependent," yet the consistent FPS drops across all settings indicate a compute or pixel-throughput limitation rather than a bandwidth bottleneck. If bandwidth were the issue, we would expect less predictable scaling across presets. The data points to a GPU that is simply outclassed by the resolution demands, making 1080p the only viable target for this combo in Palworld.

How This Combo Ranks

In the broader context of all tested combinations, this pairing ranks 2607th out of 2944 combos in Palworld. This places it in the bottom 11.5% of all configurations, a position that reflects the GPU's weak absolute performance. The Intel Arc B390 holds a percentile rank of 9 among all GPUs, meaning it outperforms only 9% of the graphics cards in the database. The combo's rank is a direct consequence of this GPU percentile, as the CPU's strong performance cannot boost the overall gaming experience.

The GPU's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks help contextualize this rank. The Arc B390 scores 1482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad, which is 1.3% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX and 2.7% ahead of the GeForce GT 710. These are all legacy or entry-level discrete GPUs, and the Arc B390 only marginally outperforms them. In Palworld, this translates to a combo rank that is far below what a modern 9000-series CPU would typically achieve. The CPU's own percentile rank is 81, placing it in the top 19% of all CPUs, but this advantage is entirely negated by the GPU's bottom-tier placement.

The deltaPct values against the GPU's rivals are narrow, ranging from 1.3% to 2.7%, indicating that the Arc B390 is not significantly faster than these older parts. In a game like Palworld, which has moderate graphics demands, this GPU performance level results in the observed FPS figures. The combo rank of 2607 out of 2944 is a clear signal that users should not expect a smooth experience at high resolutions or settings, as the data confirms that this configuration is optimized for low-resolution, low-detail play.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture, codenamed Granite Ridge. It operates on the AMD Socket AM5 platform with a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. This CPU is a strong performer in synthetic benchmarks, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 17528.5 and a single-core score of 2183.5. Its Geekbench scores are equally impressive, at 14438 for multicore and 2923 for single-core. These numbers place the CPU in the 81st percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 29713.

In the context of Palworld, the CPU's role is largely secondary due to the GPU bottleneck. The game's performance at 1080p Low, where the GPU is least stressed, shows 84 FPS, which is still below the CPU's potential maximum frame rate. The CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads are sufficient for Palworld's threading model, and the high boost clock of 5.40 GHz ensures that single-threaded game logic is not a limitation. The CPU's cache configuration, with 32 MB of shared L3 cache, provides adequate data locality for game assets.

The CPU's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755GE, which has a 0.2% higher average score, and the AMD Ryzen 7 7840H, which is 0.5% lower. These deltas are negligible, showing that the 9600X is competitively positioned among similar processors. However, in Palworld, the CPU's performance ceiling is never reached because the Arc B390 cannot push frame rates high enough to tax the CPU. The measured FPS at all resolutions and settings are GPU-bound, meaning the CPU is effectively idle waiting for the GPU to complete its work. This is evident from the fact that even at 1080p Low, the system only achieves 84 FPS, a figure that a 6-core Zen 5 processor could exceed in less GPU-limited scenarios.

The CPU's 65W TDP and 4nm process node indicate an efficient design, but these characteristics do not influence the gaming results. The data shows no CPU-related stutter or frame pacing issues, as the minimum FPS values at Medium settings (58 at 1080p, 38 at 1440p, 21 at 4K) are consistent with the average FPS. This suggests the CPU is providing stable frame delivery, but the overall performance is capped by the GPU's 7.680 TFLOPS FP32 throughput and 120.0 GTexel/s texture rate.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the system's capabilities across three resolutions and four quality presets. At 1080p, the system performs as follows: Low averages 84 FPS, Medium averages 68 FPS (with minimum 58 and maximum 79), High averages 53 FPS, and Ultra averages 40 FPS. The 1080p results show a smooth degradation from Low to Ultra, with a 44 FPS spread between the lowest and highest settings. This resolution is the only one where any preset approaches playable frame rates, with Low and Medium both exceeding 60 FPS.

At 1440p, the performance drops significantly. Low averages 56 FPS, Medium averages 45 FPS (with minimum 38 and maximum 52), High averages 35 FPS, and Ultra averages 26 FPS. The 1440p results show that even Low settings cannot maintain a consistent 60 FPS, and the Ultra preset at 26 FPS is borderline unplayable. The spread between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 30 FPS, which is narrower than at 1080p, indicating that the GPU is hitting its limits. The Medium preset's minimum of 38 FPS suggests occasional dips below the average, which could be noticeable during gameplay.

At 4K, the system struggles to maintain playable frame rates regardless of settings. Low averages 31 FPS, Medium averages 25 FPS (with minimum 21 and maximum 29), High averages 19 FPS, and Ultra averages 15 FPS. The 4K results are uniformly poor, with even the lowest settings failing to reach 35 FPS. The Ultra preset at 15 FPS is effectively a slideshow, and the High preset at 19 FPS is not much better. The Medium preset's minimum of 21 FPS and maximum of 29 FPS show a tight range, indicating that the GPU is fully saturated and cannot burst above its average output.

Comparing presets across resolutions, the data shows that dropping from Ultra to Low at any resolution provides a significant FPS boost: 44 FPS at 1080p, 30 FPS at 1440p, and 16 FPS at 4K. However, the absolute gains diminish as resolution increases, because the GPU's pixel throughput becomes the dominant constraint. The Medium preset consistently offers a balance between quality and performance, with 68 FPS at 1080p, 45 FPS at 1440p, and 25 FPS at 4K, but these figures confirm that only 1080p is viable for a reasonable gaming experience.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Palworld?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 is the only resolution where the system can achieve playable frame rates. At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 84, and at 1080p Medium it is 68, both above the 60 FPS threshold. At 1440p, even Low settings only reach 56 FPS, and at 4K, all settings fall below 32 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU's performance compare to its rivals?

A: The Ryzen 5 9600X has an average benchmark score of 29713, which is 0.2% higher than the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755GE, 0.5% higher than the AMD Ryzen 7 7840H, and 0.6% higher than the AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT. It also outperforms the AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS by 0.8%.

Q: Is the game CPU-bound or GPU-bound with this hardware?

A: The benchmark results indicate that the game is heavily GPU-bound. The FPS drops consistently as resolution increases, which is a classic sign of a GPU bottleneck. The CPU's high single-thread score of 2183.5 in Cinebench R23 suggests it could handle higher frame rates, but the Intel Arc B390's performance limits the system.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, the Low preset averages 84 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 40 FPS. This is a 44 FPS difference, representing a 110% improvement when switching from Ultra to Low settings.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Palworld?

A: No, the data shows that 4K performance is inadequate. Even at Low settings, the average FPS is only 31, and at Ultra it drops to 15 FPS. The minimum FPS at 4K Medium is 21, indicating that the experience would be choppy and unsatisfying.

Q: How does the GPU's performance rank among all graphics cards?

A: The Intel Arc B390 has a percentile rank of 9, meaning it performs better than only 9% of all GPUs in the database. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1482 is just 1.3% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX and 2.7% ahead of the GeForce GT 710.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the recommended preset for Palworld is Low at 1920x1080. This configuration delivers an average of 84 FPS, which is the highest frame rate recorded for this combo. The Low preset provides a smooth, responsive experience that is suitable for the game's survival mechanics, where quick reactions are more important than visual fidelity. The 1080p Low setting also leaves headroom for occasional dips, as the minimum FPS is not recorded but the average is well above the 60 FPS target.

For users who prioritize visual quality over raw frame rate, Medium at 1920x1080 is the best compromise. This preset averages 68 FPS with a minimum of 58 FPS and a maximum of 79 FPS, ensuring that the game remains playable even in demanding scenes. The Medium preset at 1080p offers a noticeable improvement in texture detail and shadow quality over Low, while still maintaining an average above 60 FPS. This is the highest quality setting that consistently stays in playable territory.

The High preset at 1920x1080 is not recommended, as it averages 53 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. While this may be acceptable for some players, the drop from Medium to High costs 15 FPS, a 22% reduction, for marginal visual gains. The Ultra preset at any resolution is not viable, as the highest average FPS is 40 at 1080p, which is too low for a game that requires constant character and base management. At 1440p and 4K, all presets fall below 56 FPS, making these resolutions unsuitable for a satisfactory experience. The data strongly supports staying at 1080p with Low or Medium settings to maximize playability.