Palworld

Palworld, a Survival title released on 2024-01-18, presents a demanding workload that heavily favors the CPU. The data from the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D and Intel Arc B580 combo reveals a pairing where the processor is clearly the dominant force, while the graphics card becomes the primary bottleneck at higher settings and resolutions. The benchmark results show a configuration that excels at high refresh rate 1080p gaming but struggles to maintain playable frame rates at 4K Ultra, making it a specialized choice for competitive or high-refresh gamers rather than a universal 4K solution.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience with this AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D and Intel Arc B580 combination, the data points to High settings at 1920x1080 as the optimal target. At this resolution, the High preset achieves an average of 90.3 FPS, which is a solid 23.3 FPS higher than the Medium preset's 115.4 FPS? No, that is incorrect. The High preset at 1080p delivers 90.3 FPS, while Medium delivers 115.4 FPS, meaning Medium is faster. The real advantage of High is the graphical uplift over Medium while still maintaining a high frame rate. The data shows that the 1080p High setting provides a balanced experience, offering a significant visual upgrade over Low (145.8 FPS) without the steep performance cost of Ultra (67 FPS).

At 2560x1440, the High preset produces an average of 58.5 FPS, which is still playable but begins to show the GPU's limits. The 4K resolution at High settings drops to 35.4 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay. Therefore, the best experience is at 1080p High, where the frame rate is high enough to take advantage of the CPU's strength, and the visual quality is substantially better than the Low preset. Choosing Ultra at any resolution is not recommended, as it produces the lowest frame rates across the board, including 67 FPS at 1080p and 25.4 FPS at 4K, which is a severe performance hit for marginal visual gains.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate achieved by this combo?

A: The highest average frame rate is 145.8 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset.

Q: Is this combo capable of 4K gaming in Palworld?

A: The data indicates it is not ideal for 4K. At 3840x2160, the average frame rates range from 56.1 FPS on Low to 25.4 FPS on Ultra, with the High preset only reaching 35.4 FPS, making smooth 4K gameplay difficult.

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

A: The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D has an average benchmark score of 37780, which is 0.1% lower than the Intel Xeon 6353P and the Intel Core Ultra 5 225, and 0.7% lower than the Intel Core i5-13600KF.

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

A: The Intel Arc B580 has an average benchmark score of 23021. It performs 0.7% worse than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060, but 1.3% better than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile and 0.1% better than the AMD Radeon 760M.

Q: What is the performance difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 1920x1080?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 145.8 FPS, while the Ultra preset delivers 67 FPS. This represents a performance drop of 78.8 FPS, or roughly 54%, when moving from Low to Ultra.

Q: What is the combo's overall rank among tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 1329th out of 1718 tested combinations in Palworld, placing it in the lower half of all tested configurations for this specific game.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate data reveals a clear and steep performance drop as resolution increases, highlighting the Intel Arc B580 as the primary limiting factor at higher pixel counts. Moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 at High settings, the average FPS falls from 90.3 to 58.5, a substantial decrease of 31.8 FPS. This pattern continues when scaling to 3840x2160, where the High preset yields only 35.4 FPS, a further drop of 23.1 FPS from the 1440p result.

This behavior is classic evidence of a GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions. The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D, with its 8 cores and 16 threads, has ample processing power to feed frames at 1080p, as evidenced by the 145.8 FPS at Low settings. However, as the resolution increases, the rendering workload on the Intel Arc B580's 2560 shading units and 160 TMUs becomes the bottleneck. The frame rate scaling is not linear; the gap between resolutions is more pronounced at lower settings, where the CPU is less stressed, further confirming that the GPU's rendering throughput is the constraining factor. The data suggests that to maintain a fluid experience at 2560x1440, users must select Medium settings (81 FPS) or lower, and at 4K, even Low settings (56.1 FPS) cannot guarantee a consistently smooth 60 FPS experience.

How This Combo Ranks

In the grand scheme of tested hardware combinations for Palworld, this pairing of the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D and Intel Arc B580 ranks 1329th out of 1718 total combos. This places it in the bottom 23% of all tested configurations, which is a surprisingly low position given the strength of the CPU. The ranking suggests that while the CPU is a top-tier performer in synthetic benchmarks, its capabilities are not fully utilized in this specific game when paired with this particular GPU.

The low rank is primarily attributable to the GPU's performance. The Intel Arc B580's average benchmark score of 23021 places it in the 66th percentile of all GPUs, which is respectable but not exceptional. In a game like Palworld, which appears to be heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions, the B580's performance ceiling limits the overall system's capabilities. The CPU's high benchmark scores, including a 34004 in Cinebench R23 multicore and a 4800 in single-core, are largely irrelevant if the GPU cannot render frames fast enough to keep up. The combination's ranking indicates that in this game, the graphics card is the deciding factor, and its mid-range performance prevents the system from achieving a higher standing among the 1718 tested combos.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D is a high-end desktop processor built on the Zen 5 architecture, featuring 8 cores and 16 threads. Its base clock of 4.70 GHz and boost clock of 5.20 GHz, combined with a substantial 96 MB of shared L3 cache, make it a powerhouse for gaming workloads. The synthetic benchmarks reflect this strength, with an average benchmark score of 37780, placing it in the 90th percentile of all CPUs. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 34004 and single-core score of 4800 indicate exceptional performance in both multi-threaded and single-threaded tasks.

In Palworld, this CPU's role is to handle the game's simulation and logic, which includes the open-world survival mechanics. The benchmark results show that the CPU is not the bottleneck at lower resolutions. For instance, at 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 145.8 FPS. This high frame rate is a direct result of the CPU's ability to process game data quickly and feed the GPU with enough draw calls. However, the data also shows that the CPU's potential is capped by the GPU. At 4K resolution, the frame rates are significantly lower regardless of the CPU's capabilities, proving that the system is GPU-limited. The CPU's performance relative to its nearest rivals is marginal, being 0.1% slower than the Intel Xeon 6353P and 0.7% slower than the Intel Core i5-13600KF, showing it is at the top of its class.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the combo's performance across all settings and resolutions. At 1920x1080, the system is most capable, delivering an average of 145.8 FPS on Low, 115.4 FPS on Medium, 90.3 FPS on High, and 67 FPS on Ultra. This shows a clear and consistent performance scaling with settings, where the Low preset is 61.5% faster than the High preset and 117.6% faster than Ultra.

At 2560x1440, performance drops significantly. The average frame rates are 98.1 FPS on Low, 81 FPS on Medium, 58.5 FPS on High, and 47.6 FPS on Ultra. The gap between Low and Ultra is 50.5 FPS, indicating that the GPU's workload is becoming more demanding. Finally, at 3840x2160, the system struggles. The average frame rates are 56.1 FPS on Low, 44.7 FPS on Medium, 35.4 FPS on High, and 25.4 FPS on Ultra. At this resolution, even the Low preset fails to reach 60 FPS, and the Ultra preset is essentially unplayable, with a frame rate that is 55% lower than the 1080p Low setting. The data shows a consistent pattern: as resolution increases, the performance penalty grows, and the difference between settings becomes more pronounced, confirming the GPU as the limiting factor.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B580 is a mid-range graphics card based on the Xe2-HPG architecture, featuring 2560 shading units, 80 ROPs, and a 192-bit memory bus with 12 GB of GDDR6 memory. Its memory bandwidth of 456.0 GB/s is substantial for its class, and its base and boost clocks are both set to 2670 MHz. The GPU's average benchmark score is 23021, placing it in the 66th percentile of all GPUs. Its performance is closely matched with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060, being 0.7% slower, but it outperforms the RTX 4060 Mobile by 1.3%.

In Palworld, the GPU's role is to render the game's world, which involves complex shaders and textures. The benchmark results clearly show that the B580 is the primary bottleneck for this combo. The frame rate scaling with resolution is the key indicator. At 1080p, the GPU can handle the load, producing up to 145.8 FPS on Low settings. However, as the resolution increases to 1440p and 4K, the GPU's rendering capabilities are overwhelmed. The 4K High preset's 35.4 FPS reflects this, showing that the GPU cannot maintain playable frame rates at higher resolutions even with a top-tier CPU. The GPU's performance is also highlighted by its pixel rate of 213.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 427.2 GTexel/s, which are sufficient for 1080p but insufficient for the demands of 4K in this title. The data indicates that the B580 is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where it can deliver high frame rates, but it is not a 4K-capable card for demanding games like Palworld.