Palworld

Palworld pairs the 4-core Intel Core i3-12100F with the 16 GB NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER, creating a combination that exhibits starkly different bottlenecks depending on resolution and settings. The measured frame rates reveal a system that can push extremely high refresh rates at 1080p but becomes progressively more GPU-bound as pixel count rises, with the CPU's modest core count shaping the experience at lower resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and tells a clear story about which component dominates. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 293.1 FPS at 1920x1080 to 192.2 FPS at 2560x1440, then to 105.1 FPS at 3840x2160. That represents a 64% reduction from 1080p to 4K, indicating the GPU is being pushed much harder at higher resolutions while the CPU has plenty of headroom left.

The scaling pattern shifts with settings. At Ultra, the drop from 1080p to 4K is from 140.9 FPS down to 49.4 FPS — a 65% decline, nearly identical in relative terms to Low settings. This consistency suggests that even at Ultra, the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER remains the primary limiter across all resolutions, though the absolute numbers at 4K Ultra (49.4 FPS) show the GPU struggling with the heaviest load.

What is more revealing is the gap between settings at each resolution. At 1080p, Low (293.1 FPS) versus Ultra (140.9 FPS) shows a 108% difference, meaning the GPU has enough power to render Low easily, and the CPU can feed it frames quickly. At 4K, the same comparison shows Low at 105.1 FPS versus Ultra at 49.4 FPS — a 113% gap. The fact that the gap stays proportionally similar across resolutions implies the GPU is the bottleneck throughout, with the CPU's 4 cores not yet being saturated even at 1080p Low.

The real question is whether the i3-12100F's 4 cores and 8 threads can sustain the 293.1 FPS ceiling at 1080p Low. The data shows no min FPS values, so we cannot see frame-time consistency, but the average speaks to a CPU that is keeping up with the GPU at this resolution.

FAQ

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

A: The best result is 293.1 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings, which is the only configuration that breaks the 290 FPS mark in the measured data.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K Ultra compared to 1080p Ultra?

A: At 4K Ultra, the average is 49.4 FPS, versus 140.9 FPS at 1080p Ultra — a 65% reduction that shows the GPU working far harder at higher pixel counts.

Q: Is the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER's 16 GB VRAM sufficient for Palworld at 4K?

A: The measured data shows playable performance at 4K High (64.1 FPS) and Medium (90.1 FPS), with no VRAM-related crashes or stutters reported in the metrics, indicating 16 GB is enough for this game.

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

A: This combo ranks 196th out of 1718 tested combos, placing it in the top 11% of all configurations for Palworld.

Q: How much faster is Low settings compared to Ultra at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Low achieves 192.2 FPS while Ultra hits 94 FPS — Low is roughly 104% faster, showing the large performance headroom available when reducing graphics quality.

Q: Does the CPU's 4-core design limit performance at any resolution?

A: The data shows the GPU is the bottleneck at all resolutions, since the FPS drops consistently with resolution increases. The i3-12100F's 4 cores and 8 threads do not appear to cap frame rates, even at 1080p Low where the GPU is least stressed.

GPU Role

The RTX 4070 Ti SUPER's specifications directly explain its behavior in Palworld. With a 16 GB GDDR6X memory pool on a 256-bit bus, the GPU delivers 672.3 GB/s of bandwidth, which is ample for the game's open-world environments. The boost clock of 2610 MHz helps sustain high frame rates, and the 8448 shading units provide substantial raw compute power — reflected in the GPU's 86th percentile ranking among all GPUs.

The memory subsystem is particularly relevant at 4K, where the GPU's 16 GB capacity ensures that texture streaming and asset loading do not cause frame drops. The measured data supports this: 4K High runs at 64.1 FPS, which is respectable given the resolution. The GPU's 66 RT cores and 264 tensor cores are present but Palworld does not heavily utilize ray tracing, so their impact is minimal based on the results.

The GPU's transistor count of 45,900 million on a 379 mm² die contributes to its efficiency, allowing it to maintain high clocks without thermal throttling in the measured scenarios. The 285 W TDP is handled by the triple-slot cooler, but the data does not include temperature readings, so we only see the performance outcomes.

The closest rival to the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER in the benchmark database is the NVIDIA CMP 50HX, which scores 49071 versus 48704 — a mere 0.7% difference. This near-parity in synthetic benchmarks does not fully translate to Palworld, where the 4070 Ti SUPER's newer architecture (Ada Lovelace on 5 nm) likely provides better real-world game optimization.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience, the data points to High settings as the sweet spot across all resolutions. At 1080p, High delivers 180.4 FPS, which is more than enough for high-refresh monitors while still providing better visual quality than Medium (236.2 FPS) or Low (293.1 FPS). The jump from Medium to High costs about 24% performance but presumably adds significant visual fidelity.

At 1440p, High runs at 119.9 FPS, which is ideal for 120 Hz displays. The drop from Medium (159 FPS) to High (119.9 FPS) is substantial, but the visual improvement justifies it for most users. At 4K, High drops to 64.1 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for competitive play; Medium at 90.1 FPS offers a better balance for 4K.

Ultra settings are the most demanding, reducing performance by 22-35% compared to High depending on resolution. At 4K Ultra, the 49.4 FPS average falls below the 60 FPS threshold that most gamers consider playable, making Ultra less recommended unless the player prioritizes graphics over smoothness.

The data suggests that High is the optimal preset because it maintains 60+ FPS at 4K while offering 120+ FPS at 1440p and 180+ FPS at 1080p. Low settings are useful for maximum competitive advantage at 1080p, but the visual compromise is severe based on the performance gains.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are 293.1 FPS for Low, 236.2 FPS for Medium, 180.4 FPS for High, and 140.9 FPS for Ultra. The scaling shows diminishing returns as settings increase — the jump from Low to Medium costs 56.9 FPS, while the jump from High to Ultra costs 39.5 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the numbers are 192.2 FPS (Low), 159 FPS (Medium), 119.9 FPS (High), and 94 FPS (Ultra). The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 98.2 FPS, compared to 152.2 FPS at 1080p, confirming the GPU becomes more limiting as resolution increases.

At 3840x2160, the averages drop to 105.1 FPS (Low), 90.1 FPS (Medium), 64.1 FPS (High), and 49.4 FPS (Ultra). The difference between Low and Ultra here is just 55.7 FPS, showing that the GPU is the dominant constraint at 4K regardless of settings.

Notably, the performance gap between 1080p and 1440p is smaller than the gap between 1440p and 4K. For example, at High settings, the drop from 1080p to 1440p is 60.5 FPS, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 55.8 FPS — but the percentage drop is steeper at higher resolutions, reinforcing the GPU-bound nature of 4K.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i3-12100F provides 4 cores and 8 threads, with a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. Its benchmark scores show solid single-thread performance (3DMark single-thread score of 893) and moderate multi-thread capability (Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 11912). The CPU ranks in the 72nd percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 13516 — close to the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX which scores 13534.

In Palworld, the CPU appears sufficient to avoid bottlenecking the GPU. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the combo achieves 293.1 FPS, which would require the CPU to handle a high draw call rate. The 4 cores and 8 threads are enough for this game's engine, which likely does not utilize more than 8 threads effectively.

The CPU's 12 MB of shared L3 cache is moderate by modern standards but adequate for the game's asset streaming. The 3.30 GHz base clock and 4.30 GHz boost clock provide good headroom, and the 58 W TDP means thermal throttling is unlikely in typical gaming scenarios.

The nearest rival in terms of average benchmark score is the Intel Core i7-7700K, which scores 13280 — 1.8% lower than the i3-12100F. This suggests that despite having half the cores, the newer i3 matches older high-end CPUs in synthetic tests, which translates to comparable gaming performance.

How This Combo Ranks

This combination of i3-12100F and RTX 4070 Ti SUPER ranks 196th out of 1718 tested combos in Palworld, placing it in the top 11.4% of all configurations. This ranking is notable because the CPU is a budget-oriented 4-core part, yet the GPU's strength boosts the overall performance.

The rank suggests that the GPU is the primary driver of gaming performance in this title, as the i3-12100F's modest core count does not hold back the RTX 4070 Ti SUPER significantly. The 196th position means there are 195 combos that perform better, but the vast majority of those likely feature higher-end CPUs paired with similar or better GPUs.

Compared to the GPU's own percentile (86th among all GPUs) and the CPU's percentile (72nd among all CPUs), the combo rank of 196/1718 (top 11%) is closer to the GPU's percentile, reinforcing that the graphics card dominates Palworld performance. The data shows that this pairing delivers 4K High at 64.1 FPS and 1080p High at 180.4 FPS, which are strong results for a system with a 4-core CPU.

The ranking also implies that users with this combo can expect consistent performance across resolutions, with the GPU being the limiting factor at all settings. This is a positive indicator for the CPU's longevity, as it suggests the i3-12100F will not need an upgrade until the GPU is also replaced.