Palworld

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates across the three tested resolutions reveal a classic pattern of GPU-bound scaling, though with some interesting inflection points at the highest settings. At 1080p with Low settings, the combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 produces an average of 318 FPS, which drops to 209 FPS at 1440p and further to 116 FPS at 4K. This progression from 318 to 209 to 116 represents a 34% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and a 44% reduction from 1440p to 4K. The scaling is nearly linear with pixel count, which strongly indicates the GPU is the limiting factor even at lower resolutions.

Moving to High settings, the same pattern holds but with lower absolute numbers. The 1080p average of 198 FPS falls to 130 FPS at 1440p (a 34% drop) and then to 72 FPS at 4K (a 45% drop from 1440p). The consistency of these percentage drops across settings presets suggests that Palworld's rendering workload scales predictably with resolution, and the RTX 4080's 16 GB of GDDR6X memory is not creating any capacity-related bottlenecks at these tested configurations.

The Medium preset tells a slightly different story, as it is the only setting tier with complete min/max data recorded. At 1080p Medium, the average is 257 FPS with a minimum of 219 and maximum of 296. The 1440p Medium average drops to 169 FPS with a minimum of 144 and maximum of 195. At 4K Medium, the average falls to 94 FPS with a minimum of 80 and maximum of 108. The min-to-max spread widens as resolution increases, going from a 77 FPS range at 1080p to a 51 FPS range at 1440p and a 28 FPS range at 4K. This narrowing spread at higher resolutions is consistent with the GPU becoming more consistently saturated, reducing frame-time variability.

Ultra settings reveal the steepest scaling curve. The 1080p Ultra average of 150 FPS drops to 99 FPS at 1440p (a 34% reduction) and then to 55 FPS at 4K (a 44% reduction from 1440p). The fact that Ultra at 4K lands at 55 FPS average — just above the 50 FPS threshold commonly considered the floor for smooth gameplay — indicates that this preset at 4K is pushing the RTX 4080 to its practical limits in Palworld. The data suggests that at 1080p and 1440p, even Ultra settings leave headroom, but at 4K, the GPU is the clear limiting component across all settings.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the benchmark database, this specific CPU-GPU pairing achieves a combo rank of 247 out of 3,711 tested combinations in Palworld. This places the AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 configuration in the top 6.7% of all tested combos for this game. The ranking reflects the aggregate performance across all measured resolutions and settings, weighting the combination's ability to maintain high frame rates even under demanding conditions.

The CPU itself holds a percentile rank of 92 among all tested processors, meaning it outperforms 92% of CPUs in the database based on average benchmark scores. Its average benchmark score of 58,386 places it in close competition with several notable rivals. The Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M scores 58,323, a mere 0.1% below, while the Intel Xeon w5-2545 scores 58,504, sitting 0.2% above. The Intel Core i9-14900 trails at 58,115, which is 0.5% lower, and the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 470 leads the pack at 58,826, 0.7% higher than the 9850X3D.

The GPU's percentile rank is 86 among all tested graphics cards, with an average benchmark score of 54,247. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER, scores 54,209, just 0.1% lower — effectively a statistical tie. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X scores 54,828, which is 1.1% higher, while the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB and AMD Radeon 8060S score 55,698 and 55,757 respectively, representing 2.6% and 2.7% advantages. This clustering of rival scores within a narrow band suggests that the RTX 4080's position is well-established, and the combo rank of 247 reflects the synergy between a top-tier CPU and a high-end GPU rather than any single component carrying the load alone.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 brings substantial hardware resources to Palworld. Its 16 GB of GDDR6X memory operates across a 256-bit bus, delivering 716.8 GB/s of memory bandwidth. The GPU's memory clock runs at 1400 MHz, translating to 22.4 Gbps effective data rate. These memory specifications are directly relevant to Palworld's open-world survival gameplay, which typically involves streaming large terrain and texture data as the player traverses the map.

The GPU's compute capabilities include 9,728 shading units, 304 texture mapping units, and 112 raster output pipelines. It also features 76 ray tracing cores and 304 tensor cores, though Palworld's rendering workload as measured here does not appear to rely heavily on ray tracing given the high frame rates at lower resolutions. The base clock of 2205 MHz boosts to 2505 MHz, and the pixel rate is 280.6 GPixel/s with a texture rate of 761.5 GTexel/s. The FP32 performance of 48.74 TFLOPS provides ample compute headroom for the game's physics and simulation systems.

The RTX 4080 scores 34,457 in Passmark's G3D benchmark and 20,671 in GPU compute tests. Its DirectX 12 score of 132, DirectX 11 score of 314, and DirectX 10 score of 204 in Passmark tests indicate strong API support, which aligns with the game's modern rendering requirements. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6,567 and Geekbench scores of 214,739 (OpenCL) and 263,779 (Vulkan) provide additional context for the GPU's raw compute and graphics potential.

In Palworld specifically, the measured frame rates show that the GPU's 16 GB memory capacity is sufficient across all tested settings, as there is no anomalous performance collapse at 4K that would indicate memory swapping. The GPU's role becomes more pronounced as resolution increases, with the 4K Ultra result of 55 FPS showing the hardware being pushed to its limits while still maintaining playability.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the data shows a clear progression across settings. Low settings produce an average of 318 FPS, Medium produces 257 FPS with a minimum of 219 and maximum of 296, High produces 198 FPS, and Ultra produces 150 FPS. The step from Low to Medium represents a 19% performance reduction, Medium to High a 23% reduction, and High to Ultra a 24% reduction. This gradual scaling indicates that each settings tier adds a meaningful but proportionate rendering workload.

The 2560x1440 results follow a similar pattern with lower absolute values. Low averages 209 FPS, Medium averages 169 FPS with a minimum of 144 and maximum of 195, High averages 130 FPS, and Ultra averages 99 FPS. The percentage reductions between settings tiers at 1440p are 19% (Low to Medium), 23% (Medium to High), and 24% (High to Ultra) — nearly identical to the 1080p scaling. This consistency suggests that the settings presets affect the same rendering features regardless of resolution, and the GPU handles the increased pixel count without changing its relative performance characteristics.

At 3840x2160, the averages are 116 FPS for Low, 94 FPS for Medium with a minimum of 80 and maximum of 108, 72 FPS for High, and 55 FPS for Ultra. The Low-to-Medium reduction is 19%, Medium-to-High is 23%, and High-to-Ultra is 24%, maintaining the same proportional scaling seen at lower resolutions. However, the absolute numbers at 4K Ultra dip below the 60 FPS threshold, which is notable for players targeting smooth gameplay on high-refresh-rate displays.

The Medium preset is the only one with complete min/max data at all three resolutions. At 1080p, the spread from minimum to maximum is 77 FPS; at 1440p, it narrows to 51 FPS; and at 4K, it narrows further to 28 FPS. This tightening of frame-time variance at higher resolutions suggests that the GPU becomes the dominant factor, reducing the impact of CPU-side frame pacing variations. The minimum frame rates of 219, 144, and 80 at 1080p, 1440p, and 4K respectively all remain above 60 FPS, indicating that even the worst-case frames are playable at Medium settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate achievable with this CPU-GPU combination in Palworld?

A: The highest measured average is 318 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: Can this system maintain a smooth experience at 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average frame rate is 55 FPS. While this is below the 60 FPS threshold some players target, it remains playable. The Medium preset at 4K delivers 94 FPS average with a minimum of 80 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 compare to its closest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 4080 scores 54,247 in average benchmark scores, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER scores 54,209, a difference of just 0.1%. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X scores 54,828, which is 1.1% higher.

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

A: At 1920x1080, Low settings produce an average of 318 FPS while Ultra settings produce 150 FPS. This represents a 53% reduction in average frame rate when moving from Low to Ultra.

Q: Does the CPU's performance rank high among all tested processors?

A: The AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D holds a percentile rank of 92 among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 58,386. Its closest rival, the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M, scores 58,323, just 0.1% lower.

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

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the minimum frame rate is 144 FPS, with an average of 169 FPS and a maximum of 195 FPS.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rate data, the optimal settings preset depends heavily on the target display resolution and refresh rate. For 1080p displays with high refresh rates (144 Hz or above), the Ultra preset at 150 FPS average exceeds the refresh rate of most monitors, making it the recommended choice for maximum visual fidelity without sacrificing smoothness. The High preset at 198 FPS provides additional headroom for players with 240 Hz displays, while Medium at 257 FPS and Low at 318 FPS cater to competitive players seeking maximum frame rates.

At 1440p, the Ultra preset delivers 99 FPS average, which is suitable for 100 Hz displays but may not fully saturate 144 Hz panels. The High preset at 130 FPS provides a better balance for 144 Hz displays, offering a 31% performance increase over Ultra while presumably maintaining most visual quality features. Players with 165 Hz or higher refresh rate monitors should consider the Medium preset at 169 FPS, which provides sufficient headroom while still offering enhanced visuals over Low at 209 FPS.

For 4K displays, the choices become more constrained. The Ultra preset at 55 FPS average is below the 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay, so players prioritizing frame rate should select High at 72 FPS. The Medium preset at 94 FPS is the strongest recommendation for 4K, as it maintains an average above 60 FPS with a minimum of 80 FPS, ensuring consistent performance without drops below playability thresholds. The Low preset at 116 FPS offers the smoothest 4K experience but at a significant visual quality cost.

The data reveals that the Medium preset consistently provides the best balance of visual quality and performance across all three resolutions. At 1080p, it delivers 257 FPS with a minimum of 219; at 1440p, it delivers 169 FPS with a minimum of 144; and at 4K, it delivers 94 FPS with a minimum of 80. The minimum frame rates at Medium settings never drop below 80 FPS even at 4K, making it the safest recommendation for players who want a consistent experience without needing to monitor settings per scene.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D is an 8-core, 16-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture with the Granite Ridge codename. It operates with a base clock of 4.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, with a 120 W TDP. The CPU's cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 1 MB of L2 cache per core, and a substantial 96 MB of shared L3 cache. This large L3 cache is particularly relevant for gaming workloads, where frequently accessed data can be retained on-die to reduce memory latency.

The processor supports DDR5 memory with a dual-channel configuration, providing 89.6 GB/s of memory bandwidth. It also supports ECC memory and utilizes PCIe Gen 5 with 24 lanes from the CPU. The integrated Radeon Graphics provide basic display output capabilities, though the discrete RTX 4080 handles all rendering in this configuration. The CPU is built on TSMC's 4 nm process node with 8,315 million transistors on a 70.6 mm² die.

In synthetic benchmarks, the 9850X3D scores 22,807 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2,228 in single-core tests. Its Passmark scores include 41,318 in multithread, 4,704 in single-thread, and 4,171 in physics tests. The CPU's data compression score of 474,501 and data encryption score of 22,856 indicate strong throughput in memory-intensive workloads. The floating point math score of 81,998 and integer math score of 123,140 further characterize its compute capabilities.

In Palworld, the CPU's role is most evident at lower resolutions where the GPU is not fully saturated. At 1080p Low, the 318 FPS average indicates that the CPU can feed the GPU with enough draw calls to maintain extremely high frame rates. The Ryzen 7 9850X3D's 96 MB L3 cache likely helps with the game's open-world data streaming, reducing the frequency of main memory accesses. The 8-core, 16-thread configuration provides ample parallel processing for the game's simulation and AI systems, which run concurrently with rendering tasks. The CPU's percentile rank of 92 and its tight clustering with rival processors (all within 0.7% of its average score) suggest that it contributes consistent, high-level performance without becoming a bottleneck in this game combination.