Palworld

Palworld on the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and Intel Arc B390 combination presents a stark picture of GPU-limited performance. The data shows a system where the 12-core processor is largely idle while the integrated graphics struggle to maintain playable frame rates, making this pairing suitable only for the lightest settings at lower resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a predictable but severe drop as resolution increases, a classic symptom of a system bottlenecked by its graphics solution. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 84 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 Low drops that average to 56 FPS, a 33% reduction. Pushing further to 3840x2160 Low yields just 31 FPS, which is a 63% decrease from the 1080p figure. This scaling pattern is not linear, indicating that the GPU is running out of pixel throughput capability rapidly as the fragment workload multiplies.

The High settings tell a similar story. The average frame rate falls from 53 FPS at 1080p to 35 FPS at 1440p, and then to a marginal 19 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset is even more punishing, starting at 40 FPS at 1080p, dropping to 26 FPS at 1440p, and collapsing to 15 FPS at 4K. The fact that the 4K Ultra score is less than half of the 1080p Ultra score suggests that the Arc B390’s memory subsystem and shading units are overwhelmed, as the demand for pixel shading and texture fetches scales geometrically with resolution.

What is most telling is the delta between Low and Ultra at each resolution. At 1080p, the gap is 44 FPS (84 vs 40). At 1440p, it narrows to 30 FPS (56 vs 26). At 4K, it shrinks to 16 FPS (31 vs 15). This narrowing delta implies that at higher resolutions, the GPU is so saturated that even reducing the settings cannot restore performance. The limiting component is unequivocally the graphics processor; the Ryzen 9 9900X is not the constraint here, as its compute headroom is vast compared to the graphics workload being thrown at it.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics processor based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, built on a 3 nm process. Its performance profile is anchored by its 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 ROPs, with a boost clock of 2500 MHz. The data indicates that this configuration yields a peak FP32 throughput of 7.680 TFLOPS, which is modest for modern gaming. The GPU’s percentile ranking versus all other GPUs is 9, placing it in the bottom decile of the database, a position corroborated by its 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1482.

The memory configuration is a critical weakness. The Arc B390 uses "System Shared" memory, meaning it relies on the system’s DDR5 RAM rather than dedicated VRAM. The bandwidth is listed as "System Dependent," which in practice means it shares the 89.6 GB/s memory bandwidth of the Ryzen 9 9900X’s dual-channel setup. This shared bandwidth is a severe handicap for a game like Palworld, which requires constant streaming of textures and geometry. The benchmark results reflect this: at 1080p Medium, the minimum FPS is 58, but the maximum is 79, suggesting frame time inconsistency as the shared memory bus contends for access between CPU and GPU tasks.

The GPU’s clock behavior is also relevant. With a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost of 2500 MHz, the chip is designed for power efficiency (80 W TDP), not sustained high-performance gaming. The benchmark results show that in all measured scenarios, the frame rates are below 85 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, the average is 15 FPS. This indicates that the GPU’s compute units and memory interface are saturated long before the CPU can feed them data. The DirectX 12 Ultimate support (12_2) is present, but the raw execution resources are insufficient to leverage advanced features at playable framerates in Palworld.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank for this specific pairing in Palworld is 2607 out of 2944 tested combinations. This places it in the bottom 11% of all configurations, which is a clear signal of poor overall gaming performance. The ranking is a holistic metric that includes both CPU and GPU contributions, but given the GPU’s percentile of 9, the graphics processor is dragging the pairing down. The CPU, by contrast, has a percentile of 92 versus all CPUs, meaning it is in the top 8% of processors.

This disparity creates an unbalanced system. The CPU’s nearest rivals in terms of average benchmark score include the AMD EPYC 9015 (deltaPct -0.1), the AMD EPYC 7313 (deltaPct 0.2), the Intel Core i9-14900 (deltaPct -1.1), and the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M (deltaPct -1.4). These rivals are all high-end server or desktop parts, confirming that the Ryzen 9 9900X is a top-tier compute component. In contrast, the GPU’s nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (deltaPct 1.3), the GeForce 800M (deltaPct 1.5), the GT 625 OEM (deltaPct 2.5), and the GT 710 (deltaPct 2.7). These are all outdated or entry-level graphics parts, confirming the Arc B390’s position at the bottom of the GPU hierarchy.

The implication is that the combo rank of 2607 is almost entirely a consequence of the GPU. If the same CPU were paired with a mid-range discrete GPU, the rank would improve dramatically. Conversely, the current pairing is a case of extreme bottlenecking, where the CPU’s potential is never realized in this game.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete matrix of performance across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers the highest average at 84 FPS, which is the only setting that approaches a high-refresh experience. Medium follows at 68 FPS, with a minimum of 58 FPS and a maximum of 79 FPS, indicating playable but not perfectly smooth performance. High drops to 53 FPS, while Ultra falls to 40 FPS.

At 2560x1440, all averages drop below 60 FPS. Low is the most playable at 56 FPS, followed by Medium at 45 FPS (min 38, max 52). High averages 35 FPS, and Ultra is at 26 FPS. The 1440p Medium frame time range (38-52 FPS) shows a 14 FPS spread, which can lead to noticeable stutter in a survival game where quick reactions are needed.

At 3840x2160, the results are mostly unplayable. Low averages 31 FPS, Medium 25 FPS (min 21, max 29), High 19 FPS, and Ultra 15 FPS. The 4K Low score of 31 FPS is below the threshold for smooth gameplay, and the 4K Ultra score of 15 FPS is a slideshow. The minimum FPS data for Medium settings at 4K (21 FPS) confirms that even the average is not representative of the worst-case experience.

The data also shows a consistent pattern: the gap between Low and Ultra settings narrows as resolution increases. At 1080p, the difference is 44 FPS; at 1440p, it is 30 FPS; at 4K, it is 16 FPS. This suggests that at higher resolutions, the GPU is the bottleneck regardless of settings, and the CPU’s ability to push frames is irrelevant.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the only configuration that yields a consistently playable experience is 1920x1080 with Low settings, which averages 84 FPS. This is the recommended preset for any user who wants a smooth frame rate above 60 FPS. The 1080p Medium preset, at 68 FPS average, is also viable, but the minimum of 58 FPS means there will be occasional dips below the 60 FPS threshold.

For users who prefer higher visual fidelity at 1080p, the High preset (53 FPS) is a borderline choice. It is playable but may feel less fluid during busy scenes with many Pals on screen. The Ultra preset at 1080p (40 FPS) is not recommended for action-heavy gameplay, as the frame rate is too low for a survival game where combat and building require responsive controls.

At 2560x1440, no setting achieves a 60 FPS average. The Low preset (56 FPS) is the closest, but it is below the ideal threshold. Medium (45 FPS) is playable on a 60 Hz monitor but will show stutter. High and Ultra are not recommended due to sub-40 FPS averages. At 3840x2160, all settings are below 32 FPS, making the game effectively unplayable for anything but static screenshots.

The data implies that the best experience is to prioritize frame rate over quality. The Low preset at 1080p is the only setting that fully utilizes the hardware without hitting the GPU bottleneck. Medium at 1080p offers a slight visual upgrade with a 16 FPS cost, but the minimum FPS is still above 55, which is acceptable.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X is a 12-core, 24-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge), with a base clock of 4.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. It has a 64 MB L3 cache and supports DDR5 memory with a dual-channel bus. Its benchmark scores are impressive: Cinebench R23 multicore is 32172, single-core is 2253, and Geekbench multicore is 22174. The CPU’s percentile versus all CPUs is 92, indicating it is a high-end part.

In Palworld, however, the CPU’s role is diminished because the GPU is the limiting factor. The game is not CPU-bound in this configuration; the data shows that frame rates are consistently low across all settings, which would not be the case if the CPU were struggling. The CPU’s 12 cores and 24 threads are far more than Palworld requires, even at high settings with many AI-driven Pals. The game’s simulation logic is likely single-threaded or lightly threaded, meaning the Ryzen 9 9900X’s single-core performance (Cinebench R23 single-core 2253) is more than adequate.

The memory bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s is shared with the integrated GPU, which is a potential source of contention. However, the benchmark results do not show a clear CPU-side bottleneck; the FPS drops are consistent with GPU saturation. The CPU’s 3DMark 16-thread score of 12552 and max-thread score of 13929 indicate that it can handle far more complex workloads than Palworld presents. The data suggests that the CPU is idle most of the time, waiting for the GPU to finish rendering frames. This is a classic case where upgrading the GPU would yield a massive performance increase, while the CPU has headroom to spare.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 with Low settings is the only configuration that averages above 60 FPS, at 84 FPS. Medium at 1080p is also playable at 68 FPS, but Low is the safest for consistent performance.

Q: Why is the 4K Ultra performance so low at 15 FPS?

A: The Intel Arc B390 has 1536 shading units and uses System Shared memory, which is severely bandwidth-limited. At 4K Ultra, the GPU’s pixel and texture processing requirements exceed its capabilities, leading to an average of 15 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in Palworld?

A: The GPU is the clear bottleneck. The Ryzen 9 9900X has a percentile of 92 versus all CPUs, while the Arc B390 has a percentile of 9. The FPS data shows consistent low frame rates regardless of resolution, indicating the graphics processor is saturated.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to others?

A: It ranks 2607 out of 2944 tested combos in Palworld. This places it in the bottom 11%, which is primarily due to the GPU’s low performance, as the CPU is a top-tier part.

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

A: At 1080p, Low averages 84 FPS, while Ultra averages 40 FPS. This 44 FPS difference shows that the GPU has some headroom at Low settings, but it is still the limiting factor at Ultra.

Q: Is the Intel Arc B390 a dedicated GPU?

A: No, it is an integrated graphics processor (IGP) with a slot width of "IGP" and no power connectors. It uses System Shared memory, which means it relies on the system’s DDR5 RAM instead of dedicated VRAM.