Palworld

Palworld on the Intel Core i5-10400F paired with the Intel Arc B390 presents a challenging performance profile, with the data indicating a system that is heavily constrained by its graphics solution across nearly all tested configurations. The combination ranks 2607 out of 2944 tested combos in this game, placing it in the bottom 12% of systems, which aligns with the measured frame rates that struggle to maintain smooth gameplay even at lower resolutions. The benchmark results reveal a clear narrative: the Arc B390, despite its modern architecture, is the primary bottleneck, while the i5-10400F provides sufficient processing headroom that goes largely untapped in this title.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a steep and predictable decline as resolution increases, but the magnitude of that decline points directly at the GPU as the limiting factor. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the system achieves an average of 84 FPS, which drops to 56 FPS at 2560x1440 and further to 31 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 63% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, a scaling pattern that is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario where the render resolution directly taxes the graphics processor's pixel throughput and memory bandwidth.

The scaling becomes even more pronounced when examining the High preset. At 1080p High, the average is 53 FPS; at 1440p, it falls to 35 FPS; and at 4K, it plummets to 19 FPS. The transition from 1080p to 4K at High settings yields a 64% performance drop, nearly identical to the Low preset scaling, which suggests that the GPU is saturated at both settings levels and that the additional pixel count is the dominant cost. This behavior indicates that the Arc B390's rendering pipeline, which includes 24 ROPs and a pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s, is overwhelmed by the 4K workload regardless of the graphical complexity.

Interestingly, the scaling from 1080p to 1440p is less severe but still significant. At Medium settings, the average drops from 68 FPS at 1080p to 45 FPS at 1440p, a 34% reduction, while the 4K Medium average of 25 FPS represents a 63% drop from 1440p. The data suggests that while the GPU can partially cope with the moderate increase from 1080p to 1440p, the jump to 4K is disproportionately punishing, likely due to the system-shared memory architecture where bandwidth becomes a critical constraint as the framebuffer size grows.

The Ultra preset tells the most telling story. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 40 FPS; at 1440p, it falls to 26 FPS; and at 4K, it collapses to 15 FPS. The 62% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Ultra mirrors the other presets, confirming that resolution scaling is consistent regardless of settings. This uniformity strongly implies that the CPU, a 6-core 12-thread Comet Lake part with a 4.30 GHz boost clock, is not the limiting factor at any resolution, as a CPU bottleneck would typically show less severe scaling when moving to higher resolutions where the GPU workload increases.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is the undeniable performance ceiling for this system in Palworld. The GPU's benchmark score of 1482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 places it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rivals are all legacy NVIDIA parts: the GeForce GT 520MX scores 1463 (1.3% lower), the GeForce 800M scores 1460 (1.5% lower), the GeForce GT 625 OEM scores 1446 (2.5% lower), and the GeForce GT 710 scores 1443 (2.7% lower). This positioning alongside decade-old entry-level GPUs contextualizes the measured FPS, which struggle to reach playable thresholds even at 1080p.

The GPU operates with a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2500 MHz on a 3 nm process, featuring 1536 shading units and 48 texture mapping units. While the boost clock is respectable, the architecture's 24 ROPs and the system-shared memory configuration severely limit its effective performance in a game like Palworld, which relies on consistent frame pacing across open-world environments. The GPU's FP32 throughput is 7.680 TFLOPS, but this compute capability does not translate into rasterized gaming performance, as evidenced by the 4K High average of just 19 FPS.

The memory subsystem is particularly problematic. With "System Shared" memory, the bandwidth is listed as "System Dependent," meaning the GPU must compete with the CPU for DDR4 memory access. The i5-10400F supports dual-channel DDR4 with a theoretical bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s, but this is shared between the processor and the integrated graphics solution. At higher resolutions, where the framebuffer demands increase, this shared bandwidth becomes a severe bottleneck, explaining why the 4K results are so disproportionately low relative to the pixel count increase.

The GPU's TDP is rated at 80 W, which is modest, but this does not compensate for the architectural limitations. The Arc B390 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, meaning it is feature-complete for modern titles, yet the hardware execution units cannot deliver playable performance beyond 1080p Low to Medium settings. The data shows that at 4K, even the Low preset only achieves 31 FPS, which is below the 30 FPS threshold often considered the minimum for playability, and the Ultra preset at 15 FPS is effectively a slideshow.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-10400F plays a supporting role in this configuration, and the benchmark data suggests it is rarely the limiting component. With 6 cores and 12 threads, base clock of 2.90 GHz, and boost clock of 4.30 GHz, this Comet Lake processor offers adequate computational power for Palworld's gameplay logic. The CPU's benchmark scores reinforce its mid-range positioning: Cinebench R23 multi-core scores 10283, single-core scores 1451, and Geekbench multi-core scores 6257 with single-core at 1420. The processor sits at the 68th percentile of all CPUs, indicating it outperforms roughly two-thirds of the desktop processors in the database.

The CPU's role becomes evident when comparing the FPS across different resolutions at the same settings. At Low settings, the 1080p average is 84 FPS, which drops to 56 FPS at 1440p and 31 FPS at 4K. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the frame rates would remain relatively flat across resolutions, as the CPU's workload does not change significantly with resolution. The fact that FPS scales down consistently with resolution confirms that the GPU is the primary constraint, and the i5-10400F has ample headroom to feed the Arc B390.

The nearest CPU rivals in the database include the Intel Xeon 6756E with an average score of 14163 (0.2% higher), the Intel Core 7 160UL at 14232 (0.3% lower), the AMD EPYC 7552 at 14115 (0.5% higher), and the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C at 14277 (0.6% lower). These deltas are all within 1%, indicating that the i5-10400F is positioned in a tightly clustered performance band where minor architectural differences do not translate into meaningful gaming advantages in this context.

The CPU's 12 MB of shared L3 cache and 256 KB L2 per core are sufficient for Palworld's streaming assets, but the system-shared memory for the GPU creates a contention point. The CPU's memory bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s is shared with the GPU, and at 4K resolutions, the increased memory traffic from the GPU likely starves the CPU of bandwidth, potentially causing micro-stutters even if the average FPS remains above the GPU-bound baseline. However, the measured numbers do not show a CPU-induced collapse at any resolution, reinforcing that the i5-10400F is not the performance ceiling.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Palworld at 1080p with playable frame rates?

A: Yes, but only at lower settings. The measured data shows 84 FPS at 1080p Low, 68 FPS at 1080p Medium, and 53 FPS at 1080p High. The Ultra preset drops to 40 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target but still technically playable.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-10400F holding back the Intel Arc B390?

A: No, the data indicates the opposite. The FPS scales consistently with resolution changes, dropping from 84 FPS at 1080p Low to 31 FPS at 4K Low, which is a GPU-bound behavior. The CPU's 68th percentile ranking and 6-core/12-thread configuration provide sufficient headroom for this game.

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

A: According to the measured FPS, 1920x1080 is the only resolution that delivers consistently playable frame rates. At 1440p, only the Low preset (56 FPS) exceeds 30 FPS, while 4K remains below 31 FPS even at Low settings.

Q: How does the Arc B390 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B390 scores 1482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad, which is 1.3% higher than the GeForce GT 520MX, 1.5% higher than the GeForce 800M, 2.5% higher than the GeForce GT 625 OEM, and 2.7% higher than the GeForce GT 710. All of these are legacy entry-level parts.

Q: Does Palworld perform better at Medium or High settings at 1440p?

A: The Medium preset achieves 45 FPS average with a minimum of 38 FPS and maximum of 52 FPS, while High achieves 35 FPS average. Medium provides a smoother experience with a higher minimum frame rate, making it the better choice at 1440p.

Q: Will the 4K Ultra preset ever be playable on this hardware?

A: No, the measured 4K Ultra average is 15 FPS, which is far below any playable threshold. The 4K Low preset at 31 FPS is borderline, but the system-shared memory architecture limits the GPU's ability to handle 4K workloads effectively.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its best results. The Low preset achieves an average of 84 FPS, which is the highest measured value across all configurations. Medium settings produce 68 FPS average with a minimum of 58 FPS and maximum of 79 FPS, providing a stable experience for the majority of gameplay. High settings drop to 53 FPS average, which is still above the 30 FPS minimum for playability but may feel less smooth during intense scenes. The Ultra preset at 40 FPS average is the least desirable 1080p option, as the visual gains do not compensate for the 24% performance drop compared to High.

At 2560x1440, the performance becomes more marginal. Low settings yield 56 FPS average, which is acceptable for casual play. Medium settings produce 45 FPS average with a minimum of 38 FPS and maximum of 52 FPS, and this configuration offers the best balance of visual quality and smoothness at this resolution. High settings fall to 35 FPS average, which is playable but with noticeable frame rate fluctuations. The Ultra preset at 26 FPS average drops below the 30 FPS threshold, making it unsuitable for sustained gameplay.

At 3840x2160, the system is clearly out of its depth. Low settings achieve 31 FPS average, which is borderline playable but will suffer during busy scenes. Medium settings produce 25 FPS average with a minimum of 21 FPS and maximum of 29 FPS, which is too inconsistent for a smooth experience. High settings drop to 19 FPS average, and Ultra settings collapse to 15 FPS average, both of which are unplayable for an action-oriented survival game. The 4K data consistently shows that this resolution is beyond the Arc B390's capabilities in Palworld.

The Medium preset is the only settings level that provides minimum FPS data across all resolutions, with 58 FPS at 1080p, 38 FPS at 1440p, and 21 FPS at 4K. This suggests that the Medium preset is the most stable configuration, as the minimum frame rates remain within 28% of the averages, whereas the other presets lack min/max data and may exhibit more variance.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience on this hardware, the 1920x1080 Medium preset is the recommended configuration. The measured average of 68 FPS with a minimum of 58 FPS provides a smooth and consistent experience that avoids the frame rate dips that plague the Low preset in crowded areas. The Medium preset outperforms High by 15 FPS and Ultra by 28 FPS, making it the clear sweet spot for visual fidelity versus performance.

If higher resolutions are desired, 1440p Low is the only viable option, delivering 56 FPS average. However, this sacrifices significant visual quality compared to the 1080p Medium preset, and the 12 FPS difference may not justify the resolution upgrade. The 1440p Medium preset at 45 FPS is a compromise for users who prioritize resolution over smoothness, but the 38 FPS minimum could result in stutters during combat or exploration.

The 4K resolution should be avoided entirely on this system. Even the Low preset at 31 FPS is below the 30 FPS threshold for playability in many scenes, and the Medium preset's 21 FPS minimum makes it unsuitable for any serious gameplay. Users with 4K displays should instead run the game at 1080p or 1440p to maintain acceptable frame rates.

The Ultra preset offers no compelling reason to use it at any resolution. At 1080p, it delivers 40 FPS, which is 13 FPS lower than Medium, and the visual improvements from High to Ultra are typically marginal in Palworld's art style. At 1440p and 4K, the Ultra preset falls to 26 FPS and 15 FPS respectively, both of which are unplayable. The data strongly suggests that Medium settings at 1080p is the optimal configuration, providing a 68 FPS average with a solid minimum frame rate of 58 FPS, which balances the GPU's limitations with the game's visual requirements.