Palworld

Palworld, the survival title that blends creature collection with base building and exploration, presents a demanding workload that shifts between CPU-bound simulation and GPU-bound rendering. The combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X, a 12-core Zen 5 desktop processor, and the Intel Arc B370, an integrated graphics solution from Intel's Panther Lake platform, is an unconventional pairing. Benchmark results for this specific setup rank it at 2706 out of 2944 tested combos in Palworld, placing it in the bottom 8% of all system configurations. The measured frame rates across all resolutions and settings presets confirm that this pairing struggles to deliver a fluid experience, but the data reveals a consistent pattern of scaling that points to a single, clear bottleneck.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 2706 out of 2944 tested combinations places this system firmly in the lower percentile of performers for Palworld. This ranking is a direct consequence of the GPU's capabilities, as the Intel Arc B370 sits at the 5th percentile of all tested GPUs, with an average benchmark score of just 1184 in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test. The CPU, in contrast, is a high-end part; the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X sits at the 92nd percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 57498. The disparity between these two components is stark. The processor is a top-tier part, while the graphics solution is an entry-level integrated component.

The GPU's nearest rivals in the benchmark database are all older, low-power parts: the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570, the ATI Radeon HD 5770, and the AMD Radeon HD 7650M. The Arc B370 scores 0.2% lower than the Mobility Radeon HD 5570, 0.5% lower than the Radeon HD 5770, and 0.7% lower than the Radeon HD 7650M. It is only 1.4% faster than the AMD FirePro M2000. This places the Arc B370 in a performance class that is over a decade old, and its 6.144 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power and 48.00 GPixel/s pixel rate are simply insufficient for the rendering demands of a modern game like Palworld at playable settings.

For the CPU, the data shows a different story. The Ryzen 9 9900X is a formidable processor, and its nearest rivals include the AMD EPYC 9015, which is 0.1% faster, and the AMD EPYC 7313, which is 0.2% slower. The Intel Core i9-14900 is 1.1% faster, and the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M is 1.4% faster. These are all high-end server or desktop parts, and the 9900X holds its own against them. The measured FPS data for the whole combo, however, shows that this CPU power is almost entirely untapped. The system's overall rank is dragged down by the GPU, and the benchmark results indicate that in Palworld, the Arc B370 is the unequivocal limiting factor.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate this combo achieves in Palworld?

A: The highest measured average frame rate is 76 FPS. This figure is achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset.

Q: Is this combo capable of a smooth 60 FPS experience at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the data shows that only the Low preset achieves a playable average above 60 FPS, with 76 FPS. The Medium preset delivers 62 FPS, which is just above the threshold. The High preset drops to 47 FPS, and the Ultra preset falls to 36 FPS.

Q: How does the combo perform at 1440p resolution?

A: At 2560x1440, the performance drops significantly. The Low preset is the only one to achieve an average above 40 FPS, at 50 FPS. The Medium preset delivers 41 FPS, High drops to 31 FPS, and Ultra falls to 24 FPS.

Q: What is the performance impact of the Ultra preset compared to Low at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset averages 13 FPS, while the Low preset averages 28 FPS. This represents a 54% reduction in frame rate when moving from Low to Ultra at 4K resolution.

Q: What are the minimum and maximum FPS recorded for the Medium preset?

A: For the Medium preset, the measured data includes minimum and maximum frame rates. At 1920x1080, the range is 52 to 71 FPS. At 2560x1440, the range is 35 to 47 FPS. At 3840x2160, the range is 19 to 26 FPS.

Q: Based on the measured data, which component is the primary bottleneck for this combo?

A: The benchmark results indicate the Intel Arc B370 is the limiting component. Its low 5th percentile ranking, low average benchmark score, and the significant frame rate drops as resolution increases all point to a GPU bottleneck, while the CPU's high 92nd percentile ranking suggests it has ample headroom.

Resolution Scaling

The resolution scaling behavior of this combo reveals a system that is heavily constrained by its graphics processor. The data shows a clear and predictable decline in average FPS as the resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At the Low settings preset, the average frame rate drops from 76 FPS at 1080p to 50 FPS at 1440p, and then to 28 FPS at 4K. This represents a 34% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 44% drop from 1440p to 4K. The scaling is not linear, with the jump to 4K being particularly punishing.

This pattern is a classic indicator of a GPU-bound scenario. The CPU, the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X, has more than enough processing power to handle the game's simulation and logic at any of these resolutions. The workload per frame at 1080p is low enough for the GPU to render at 76 FPS, but as the pixel count increases, the fill rate and shading requirements of the Intel Arc B370 are quickly overwhelmed. The GPU's 48.00 GPixel/s pixel rate and 6.144 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power are simply too low to maintain performance at higher resolutions.

The scaling from High settings is similar. At 1080p, the High preset averages 47 FPS. This drops to 31 FPS at 1440p, a 34% decrease, and then to 17 FPS at 4K, a 45% decrease from the 1440p figure. The consistent percentage drops across different settings presets further confirm that the limiting factor is the GPU's raw rendering throughput, not any other system component. The CPU is not causing a bottleneck; it is waiting for the GPU to finish its work. The data implies that to get smoother performance, the resolution must be lowered to reduce the load on the Arc B370, as the CPU is not the source of the frame rate limitation.

Settings Recommendations

Given the measured performance of this combo, the choice of settings preset is a trade-off between visual fidelity and playable frame rates. The data suggests that for a playable experience at 1080p, the Low preset is the only reliable option, delivering an average of 76 FPS. The Medium preset at 1080p is also viable, with an average of 62 FPS, but it comes with a higher risk of frame rate dips, as indicated by the 52 FPS minimum. For a more stable experience, Low is the safer choice.

At 1440p, the situation becomes more challenging. The Low preset is the only one that approaches playability, with an average of 50 FPS. The Medium preset at 41 FPS may be acceptable for some, but the 35 FPS minimum could lead to noticeable stuttering. High and Ultra presets at this resolution are not recommended, as their averages of 31 FPS and 24 FPS, respectively, fall below the threshold for a smooth experience.

At 4K, none of the settings presets deliver a playable frame rate. The Low preset averages 28 FPS, which is technically playable but not smooth. Medium, High, and Ultra averages of 23, 17, and 13 FPS, respectively, make the game feel unresponsive. The best experience, according to the data, is achieved at 1080p with the Low or Medium preset. The Ultra preset is not recommended at any resolution, as it yields average frame rates of 36 FPS at 1080p, which is a significant drop from the Medium preset's 62 FPS, and the visual benefit is unlikely to outweigh the performance cost. The data implies that users should prioritize frame rate over visual quality with this hardware.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for this combo shows the full extent of its performance limitations. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 76 FPS. The Medium preset at this resolution averages 62 FPS, with a minimum of 52 FPS and a maximum of 71 FPS. The High preset drops to an average of 47 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 36 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is a 53% reduction in average frame rate.

Moving to 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 50 FPS. The Medium preset averages 41 FPS, with a minimum of 35 FPS and a maximum of 47 FPS. The High preset averages 31 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 24 FPS. The reduction in performance from the 1080p results is consistent, with the Low preset losing 34% of its average FPS, and the High preset losing 34% as well.

At 3840x2160, the performance is severely limited. The Low preset averages 28 FPS. The Medium preset averages 23 FPS, with a minimum of 19 FPS and a maximum of 26 FPS. The High preset averages 17 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 13 FPS. This data shows that the combo is only capable of a smooth experience at the lowest resolution and settings. The Ultra preset at 4K is almost unplayable, with an average frame rate that is less than a quarter of what the system can achieve at 1080p Low. The measured numbers across all resolutions show a clear and consistent hierarchy, with Low being the fastest and Ultra being the slowest at every resolution.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X is a high-end desktop processor with 12 cores and 24 threads, based on the Zen 5 architecture. Its base clock is 4.40 GHz, with a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. This processor is a top-tier part, ranking in the 92nd percentile of all CPUs, and its performance is evident in its benchmark scores. It achieves a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 32172 and a single-core score of 2253. Its Geekbench scores are 22174 for multicore and 3010 for single-core.

In the context of Palworld, the CPU's role is to handle the game's simulation, including the AI of the Pals, the physics of the world, and the logic of the base-building mechanics. The 12 cores and 24 threads provide substantial parallel processing power, and the high boost clock of 5.60 GHz ensures strong single-threaded performance, which is often critical for the main game loop. The data suggests that the Ryzen 9 9900X is more than capable of handling these tasks. The CPU's nearest rivals, such as the AMD EPYC 9015 and the Intel Core i9-14900, are all high-performance parts, and the 9900X is competitive with them.

The bottleneck in this combo is not the CPU. The measured FPS data shows that performance scales directly with resolution and settings, which is a characteristic of a GPU-bound system. If the CPU were the limiting factor, the frame rates would be more consistent across different resolutions, as the CPU workload would not change significantly with pixel count. Instead, the frame rates drop dramatically as resolution increases, indicating that the CPU is waiting for the GPU to finish rendering each frame. The Ryzen 9 9900X has the processing headroom to feed a much more powerful graphics card, but with the Intel Arc B370, its capabilities are largely untapped in this game.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B370 is an integrated graphics processor based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, built on a 3 nm process. It has a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2400 MHz. Its memory is system shared, meaning it uses the host system's RAM, and its memory bandwidth is system dependent. The GPU has 1280 shading units, 40 texture mapping units, and 20 raster output units. It also features 10 ray tracing cores. Its performance is quantified by a 6.144 TFLOPS FP32 compute rate and a 48.00 GPixel/s pixel rate.

The Arc B370's benchmark performance is extremely low. It sits at the 5th percentile of all GPUs, and its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 1184. This places it in the same performance tier as the ATI Radeon HD 5770, a GPU from 2009. The data clearly shows that this integrated GPU is not designed for modern gaming at high resolutions or settings. In Palworld, its limitations are exposed by the measured FPS. The GPU is the primary bottleneck, and the frame rate is directly tied to its rendering capabilities.

The data shows that the Arc B370 is overwhelmed by the demands of Palworld. At 1080p Low, it can manage 76 FPS, but this is its peak performance. Any increase in resolution or graphical fidelity causes a rapid decline in frame rate. The 4K results are particularly poor, with the Ultra preset averaging only 13 FPS. The GPU's low pixel rate and compute power mean it cannot efficiently fill the millions of pixels at higher resolutions. The high boost clock of 2400 MHz does not compensate for the limited number of shading units. The system shared memory and system dependent bandwidth also contribute to the performance issues, as the GPU must compete with the CPU for memory access. The benchmark results indicate that the Intel Arc B370 is the sole reason for this combo's poor performance in Palworld, and its role is the definitive limiting factor.