Palworld

Palworld’s measured performance with the Intel Core i3-12100F and AMD Radeon RX 7700 presents a study in balance and constraint. Across the tested configurations, the data reveals a system that scales predictably with resolution and settings, but whose final output is dictated by the interaction between a 4-core CPU and a 16 GB GPU. The benchmark results indicate that this combo lands in the 47th percentile of all tested pairs (rank 1732 out of 3711), suggesting a mid-pack standing that rewards careful settings selection.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent, revealing a GPU-bound workload at higher resolutions. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 119 FPS at 1920x1080 to 78 FPS at 2560x1440, a 34% reduction, and then further to 43 FPS at 3840x2160, a 64% reduction from the 1080p baseline. This pattern is not linear; the jump from 1440p to 4K costs 45% of the 1440p performance, while the jump from 1080p to 1440p costs 34%. The data implies that pixel throughput becomes the dominant bottleneck as resolution climbs, which is typical for a game with heavy environmental detail.

At Low settings, the scaling tells a different story. The average FPS at 1080p is 191, dropping to 126 at 1440p (a 34% decline) and 70 at 4K (a 63% decline from 1080p). The percentage drops are similar to High, but the absolute values are much higher, indicating that the GPU has headroom until the resolution demand becomes extreme. The fact that 4K Low still achieves 70 FPS, versus 43 FPS at 4K High, suggests that the graphics card is the limiting component at 4K; reducing settings has a massive impact, which would not be the case if the CPU were the primary constraint.

The Medium preset provides the only min/max data points in the pack. At 1080p, the range is 131 to 178 FPS, with an average of 155; at 1440p, the range narrows to 87 to 117 FPS, averaging 102; at 4K, the range is 48 to 65 FPS, averaging 56. The spread between minimum and maximum FPS grows with resolution — from 47 FPS at 1080p to 30 FPS at 1440p and 17 FPS at 4K — which indicates that frame pacing becomes more erratic as the GPU nears its limits. This suggests that at 4K, the system is more likely to dip below the average, making the experience feel less consistent than the average number implies.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain an average above 100 FPS?

A: At 1920x1080, every tested setting except Ultra (90 FPS) achieves an average above 100 FPS, with Low at 191, Medium at 155, and High at 119. At 2560x1440, only the Low preset (126 FPS) and Medium preset (102 FPS) cross the 100 FPS threshold, while High (78 FPS) and Ultra (59 FPS) fall short.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High at the same resolution?

A: Ultra is significantly more demanding. At 1080p, Ultra averages 90 FPS versus High's 119 FPS, a 24% reduction. At 1440p, Ultra averages 59 FPS versus High's 78 FPS, a 24% reduction. At 4K, Ultra averages 33 FPS versus High's 43 FPS, a 23% reduction. The consistent drop indicates that Ultra adds a near-uniform cost across resolutions.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1440p High?

A: The data points to the GPU. The 1440p High average of 78 FPS is 32% below the 1080p High average of 119 FPS, while the CPU's capabilities (4 cores, 8 threads) remain constant. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the FPS would not decline so sharply with resolution. The RX 7700's 16 GB memory and 256-bit bus are being taxed more heavily at higher pixel counts.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra at 4K?

A: Low at 4K averages 70 FPS, while Ultra at 4K averages 33 FPS. This is a 53% reduction in average frame rate. The gap underscores how much headroom exists in the Ultra preset's effects, which can be dialed back for a playable 4K experience.

Q: Does the combo's rank suggest it is a strong pairing for this game?

A: The combo ranks 1732 out of 3711 tested pairs, placing it just below the median. This suggests it is an average performer in Palworld, not a standout combination, but not a weak one either. The rank implies that many other CPU/GPU pairings offer better results, but the i3-12100F and RX 7700 can still deliver smooth gameplay at appropriate settings.

Q: Are there any settings where the minimum FPS is close to the average?

A: Only the Medium preset reports minimum FPS. At 4K, the min is 48 versus an average of 56 (a 14% gap); at 1440p, the min is 87 versus an average of 102 (a 15% gap); at 1080p, the min is 131 versus an average of 155 (a 15% gap). The relative gap is consistent, suggesting a stable frame pacing profile for this preset.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F brings 4 cores and 8 threads, with a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 11860 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 1674 in single-core, which places it in the 68th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i5-9500, score within 0.3% of its average benchmark score, indicating that the i3-12100F punches above its core count in raw compute.

In Palworld, the CPU's role becomes apparent when examining the high-FPS scenarios. At 1080p Low, the system averages 191 FPS, which approaches the CPU's single-thread ceiling. The 3dmark single-thread score of 893 and the Passmark single-thread score of 3444 suggest that the 4.30 GHz boost clock is sufficient to drive high frame rates, but the 4-core limit may cap performance in scenes with many AI entities or physics calculations. The fact that 1080p Low (191 FPS) is only 23% faster than 1080p High (119 FPS) — while 4K Low (70 FPS) is 63% faster than 4K High (43 FPS) — indicates that at lower resolutions, the CPU's 4 threads can become a secondary bottleneck, preventing the GPU from fully stretching its legs.

The L3 cache of 12 MB (shared) is modest by modern standards, but the architecture's efficiency compensates. The 3dmark 8-thread score of 4026 is nearly identical to the max-thread score of 4023, confirming that the 8 threads are fully utilized. This means that games like Palworld, which can leverage multiple threads for world simulation, will see benefit from the 8 threads, but the physical 4-core limit may cause stutter in heavy load scenarios, as hinted by the min FPS data at Medium settings (e.g., 131 FPS minimum at 1080p versus a 155 average).

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the results are as follows: Low averages 191 FPS, Medium averages 155 FPS (min 131, max 178), High averages 119 FPS, and Ultra averages 90 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra is a 53% performance drop, with each settings tier costing roughly 20-25% of the previous tier's performance. This resolution is clearly where the combo shines, as even Ultra stays above 90 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the averages are: Low at 126 FPS, Medium at 102 FPS (min 87, max 117), High at 78 FPS, and Ultra at 59 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is substantial, but the system remains playable on Medium and Low. The gap between Low and Ultra here is 53% (126 to 59 FPS), mirroring the 1080p pattern, which indicates that the GPU's workload scales predictably with settings at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the averages are: Low at 70 FPS, Medium at 56 FPS (min 48, max 65), High at 43 FPS, and Ultra at 33 FPS. This is the only resolution where no preset achieves a 60 FPS average. The minimum FPS at 4K Medium (48) is below the 60 FPS threshold, suggesting that even the "playable" preset will experience dips below smoothness. The 4K data firmly establishes the RX 7700 as the limiting factor, as the CPU's performance is identical across resolutions, yet FPS collapses as pixel count rises.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's ranking of 1732 out of 3711 tested pairs places it in the 47th percentile, meaning 46.6% of tested combinations perform worse and 53.4% perform better. This is a middling result for Palworld, reflecting the i3-12100F's 68th percentile CPU standing and the RX 7700's 58th percentile GPU standing. The GPU's nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, scores 1.7% higher in average benchmarks, which suggests that the RX 7700 is competitive but not class-leading.

The rank implies that the system is not optimally balanced for this game. The CPU's 4 cores may hold back the GPU at lower resolutions, while the GPU's raw power is insufficient for 4K Ultra. The sweet spot appears to be 1080p High or 1440p Medium, where the combo's strengths align. The rank also suggests that other pairings with a stronger CPU (e.g., 6-core parts) would extract more from the RX 7700, but the data only shows this specific pairing's results.

Settings Recommendations

For a smooth experience, the data points to 1080p High as the best balance of visual quality and performance, with an average of 119 FPS. This is 24% faster than Ultra (90 FPS) but only 22% slower than Medium (155 FPS), offering a meaningful visual upgrade for a modest FPS cost. At 1440p, Medium is the recommended preset, averaging 102 FPS with a minimum of 87 FPS, which stays above the 60 FPS threshold for sustained gameplay. High at 1440p (78 FPS) is acceptable, but the 24% drop from Medium may not justify the visual gains.

At 4K, no preset achieves a 60 FPS average, but Low (70 FPS) is the only playable option. Medium (56 FPS) dips to 48 FPS minimum, which may cause noticeable stutter. For players prioritizing resolution over fidelity, 4K Low is the only viable choice. The data suggests that the "Ultra" preset is effectively unplayable at 4K (33 FPS) and should be avoided entirely, as even High at 4K (43 FPS) falls below the smoothness threshold.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with a Navi 32 chip, featuring 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 624.1 GB/s of bandwidth. Its boost clock of 2459 MHz and base clock of 1900 MHz position it as a mid-range part, with a Passmark G3D score of 20974 and a 58th percentile ranking among all GPUs. The nearest rival, the AMD Radeon R9 370X, scores within 0.1%, but that is a legacy part; the more relevant comparison is the RTX 3060 Ti, which is 1.7% faster in average benchmarks.

In Palworld, the GPU's 16 GB memory is a clear advantage, as the game's open-world survival genre likely demands large textures. The data shows that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at 4K, where even Low settings (70 FPS) cannot reach the 1080p Low performance (191 FPS). The 5 nm process node and 28,100 million transistors provide ample compute, but the 2560 shading units and 96 ROPs are taxed heavily at high resolutions. The 3dmark Steel Nomad score of 2865 and the Passmark DirectX 12 score of 96 indicate that the GPU is capable, but its 58th percentile rank means it is not a top-tier performer for this game's demands. The memory bandwidth of 624.1 GB/s appears sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K, the GPU's processing power, not memory, becomes the limiting factor, as evidenced by the 33 FPS Ultra result.