Palworld

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Palworld across three resolutions reveals a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling, with frame rates dropping sharply as pixel count increases. At 1080p High settings, the combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 5700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 produces an average of 212.7 FPS. Moving to 1440p High reduces that figure to 137.6 FPS, a 35% decrease, while 4K High further drops to 77.4 FPS, representing a 64% reduction from the 1080p baseline.

This scaling behavior is consistent with a system where the RTX 5080 is the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions. The frame rate decline from 1080p to 1440p (75.1 FPS difference) is nearly identical in magnitude to the decline from 1440p to 4K (60.2 FPS difference), though the relative percentage drops differ. The data indicates that at 1080p, the CPU still has headroom to feed the GPU, while at 4K, the GPU's rendering workload dominates.

The Low preset shows the most extreme scaling. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 318.7 FPS, dropping to 221.1 FPS at 1440p and 122 FPS at 4K. The 4K Low result being roughly 38% of the 1080p Low figure underscores how pixel throughput becomes the bottleneck even when graphical effects are minimized. Conversely, the Ultra preset shows the smallest absolute differences between resolutions: 157.3 FPS at 1080p, 104.4 FPS at 1440p, and 57.9 FPS at 4K.

The data suggests that for high-refresh-rate 1080p and 1440p displays, the system can comfortably maintain triple-digit frame rates across all settings except Ultra at 1440p, which still manages 104.4 FPS. At 4K, only the Low preset exceeds 120 FPS, with Medium achieving 101.5 FPS and High reaching 77.4 FPS. This resolution scaling profile is typical of a game where visual effects settings have a compounding effect on GPU load as resolution increases.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700X is an 8-core, 16-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. Its benchmark profile shows strong multi-threaded performance, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 22620 and a single-core score of 3193. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 6858 and max-thread score of 6850 indicate that the CPU scales well across its full thread count, which matters for a survival game like Palworld that can spawn numerous AI-controlled creatures and physics objects.

In the context of this Palworld benchmark, the CPU's role becomes apparent when examining the 1080p Low result. At 318.7 FPS, the game is running at a frame rate where CPU limitations typically begin to surface. The Ryzen 7 5700X's single-thread performance, evidenced by a 3DMark single-thread score of 921 and Geekbench single-core score of 2148, provides the per-core speed necessary to drive such high frame rates. The 32 MB of shared L3 cache also helps maintain consistent performance when the game's simulation thread accesses frequently used data.

The 5700X sits at the 83rd percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 26214. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i9-11900KF, scores 26196, a delta of just 0.1%. This near-parity with a high-end Intel chip from the same era suggests the 5700X is not leaving performance on the table in CPU-bound scenarios. The data indicates that at 1080p Low and Medium settings, where frame rates exceed 277 FPS, the CPU is likely contributing to frame pacing, but the overall system still delivers playable results.

Given that the RTX 5080 is a high-end GPU, the CPU's 8 cores and 16 threads are sufficient to avoid becoming a severe bottleneck. The benchmark results show that even at 4K Low, the system produces 122 FPS, which remains well above playable thresholds. The data does not indicate any scenario where the CPU's thread count or clock speed prevents the GPU from achieving its potential, aside from the inherent limits of the game engine at very high frame rates.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1440p High settings?

A: The measured average frame rate at 2560x1440 with High settings is 137.6 FPS. This represents a solid high-refresh-rate experience, roughly 60 FPS below the 1080p High result of 212.7 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The AMD Ryzen 7 5700X has an average benchmark score of 26214, which is 0.1% higher than the Intel Core i9-11900KF's score of 26196. The data shows the 5700X is also 0.2% behind the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X, which scores 26272.

Q: Can this system run Palworld at 4K Ultra?

A: Yes, but with a measured average of 57.9 FPS at 3840x2160 Ultra settings. This is the lowest result in the dataset, indicating that Ultra at 4K is playable but does not achieve 60 FPS on average.

Q: What is the best preset for 1440p gaming?

A: At 1440p, the Medium preset delivers 179 FPS, while High achieves 137.6 FPS and Ultra drops to 104.4 FPS. The data suggests Medium offers the highest frame rates while still maintaining visual quality improvements over Low, which produces 221.1 FPS.

Q: How does the GPU's benchmark score compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 has an average benchmark score of 59188, which is 1.6% higher than the Intel Arc A570M's score of 58239 and 2.5% higher than the Intel Arc A580's score of 57756. The RTX 5080 is 1.9% lower than the Intel Arc Pro A60, which scores 60326.

Q: What is the FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves 318.7 FPS, while Ultra achieves 157.3 FPS. This represents a difference of 161.4 FPS, with Ultra producing approximately half the frame rate of Low.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates across all presets. The Low setting produces an average of 318.7 FPS, which is the single highest measured result in the dataset. Medium follows at 277 FPS, High at 212.7 FPS, and Ultra at 157.3 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a consistent decline, with each preset tier reducing performance by roughly 40-60 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 41.7 FPS, while the gap between Medium and High is 64.3 FPS, and High to Ultra is 55.4 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but show more pronounced scaling. Low achieves 221.1 FPS, Medium reaches 179 FPS, High drops to 137.6 FPS, and Ultra falls to 104.4 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 116.7 FPS, which is a larger absolute difference than at 1080p (161.4 FPS difference), though the relative reduction is similar. The Medium preset at 1440p still exceeds 144 Hz, making it suitable for high-refresh-rate monitors.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's workload becomes the dominant factor. Low produces 122 FPS, Medium achieves 101.5 FPS, High reaches 77.4 FPS, and Ultra drops to 57.9 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 64.1 FPS, with each preset tier costing roughly 20-25 FPS. Notably, the gap between High and Ultra at 4K is 19.5 FPS, which is the smallest tier-to-tier difference in the dataset, suggesting diminishing returns from High to Ultra at this resolution.

Across all resolutions, the Low preset consistently delivers more than double the frame rate of Ultra at 1080p (318.7 vs 157.3 FPS) and a similar ratio at 4K (122 vs 57.9 FPS). The Medium preset provides a balanced midpoint, with 277 FPS at 1080p, 179 FPS at 1440p, and 101.5 FPS at 4K.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with the GB203 chip, fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC. The GPU features 10752 shading units, 336 texture mapping units, and 112 raster output units, along with 84 ray tracing cores and 336 tensor cores. Its base clock is 2295 MHz with a boost clock of 2617 MHz, and it has 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 960.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth.

In Palworld, the GPU's role is most evident in the scaling from 1080p to 4K. The RTX 5080's compute capabilities, measured at 56.28 TFLOPS for FP32, drive the frame rates across all settings. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 8637 places the GPU at the 89th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 59188. Its nearest rival, the Intel Arc A570M, scores 58239, a delta of 1.6%, indicating the RTX 5080 holds a modest synthetic benchmark advantage.

The memory subsystem plays a critical role at 4K, where the 16 GB VRAM capacity and 960.0 GB/s bandwidth prevent capacity or bandwidth constraints. The measured FPS at 4K High (77.4 FPS) vs 4K Low (122 FPS) shows a 36.5% performance drop, which is attributable to the increased shader and texture workloads rather than memory limitations. The GPU's pixel rate of 293.1 GPixel/s and texture rate of 879.3 GTexel/s provide the raw throughput needed for Palworld's large open-world environments.

The RTX 5080's ray tracing cores and tensor cores are present in the hardware, but the benchmark data does not isolate their impact on Palworld's specific rendering paths. The GPU's performance at higher resolutions indicates that the Blackwell architecture's scaling efficiency holds up well under increasing pixel loads, with the 4K Ultra result of 57.9 FPS representing the only sub-60 FPS measurement in the dataset.

Settings Recommendations

For 4K displays, the data suggests that Medium settings provide the best balance, achieving 101.5 FPS compared to 122 FPS on Low and 77.4 FPS on High. The Medium preset at 4K maintains frame rates well above 60 FPS while offering improved visual fidelity over Low. High settings at 4K, at 77.4 FPS, remain playable and may be preferable for users who prioritize visual quality over frame rate headroom. Ultra at 4K, with 57.9 FPS, is only suitable for users who accept sub-60 FPS performance.

At 1440p, the Medium preset delivers 179 FPS, which exceeds the refresh rate of most high-refresh-rate monitors. High settings at 137.6 FPS remain above 120 FPS, making them a strong choice for competitive play or smooth camera movement. Ultra at 1440p, at 104.4 FPS, still exceeds 100 FPS and offers the highest visual quality without significant performance penalties. Low at 1440p, at 221.1 FPS, is only necessary for users with 240 Hz or higher refresh rate displays.

For 1080p, the data indicates that High settings at 212.7 FPS provide an excellent experience for most users, as this exceeds the refresh rate of common 144 Hz and 165 Hz monitors. Medium at 277 FPS and Low at 318.7 FPS are options for users with 240 Hz or 360 Hz displays, though the visual trade-offs may not justify the frame rate gains for all players. Ultra at 1080p, at 157.3 FPS, still delivers high frame rates and represents the best visual quality choice for users with 144 Hz displays.

The overall recommendation based on the measured rows is to prioritize Medium or High settings across all resolutions, as these presets offer the most favorable frame rate-to-visual quality trade-offs. Low settings are recommended only for maximizing frame rates on very high refresh rate displays, while Ultra is best reserved for 1080p and 1440p users who prioritize image quality and have sufficient frame rate headroom.