Palworld

Palworld pairs the Intel Core i5-10400F with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070, a combination that lands in the 55th percentile of all tested combos in this game, ranking 781 out of 1718. The data reveals a system that is highly capable at mainstream resolutions but begins to show its structural limits as the graphical load intensifies, with the CPU’s six cores and the GPU’s 8 GB of VRAM playing distinct roles in shaping the final frame rates.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i5-10400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the Comet Lake architecture, built on Intel’s 14 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz, drawing a 65 W TDP. This is a desktop part from the 10th Gen Core series, and its cache layout includes 64 KB of L1 per core, 256 KB of L2 per core, and a shared 12 MB L3 cache. The processor supports DDR4 memory in a dual-channel configuration, with a memory bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s, and connects via PCIe Gen 3 with 16 lanes.

In synthetic benchmarks, the i5-10400F shows a notable scaling pattern that hints at its gaming behavior. Its 3DMark score jumps from 1350 with 2 threads to 3929 with 8 threads, and then plateaus at 4748 with 16 threads and 4735 with max threads. This plateau suggests that while the CPU can handle multi-threaded workloads, its gains diminish beyond 8 threads, which is typical for a 6-core part. Cinebench R23 results reinforce this: a multicore score of 10297 versus a singlecore score of 1453, indicating a roughly 7x scaling factor, which is reasonable but not exceptional for the core count.

For Palworld, this CPU profile matters because the game’s world simulation and entity logic can stress multiple threads. The i5-10400F’s 12 threads provide enough headroom to avoid being a bottleneck at lower resolutions where frame rates are high. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 205.9 FPS, a figure that is only achievable if the CPU can feed the GPU fast enough. However, the CPU’s 73rd percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 14168, places it just slightly above the AMD EPYC 7552 (0.4% delta) and below the Intel Core i5-8500 (-1.1% delta), suggesting it is a solid mid-range performer that won’t hold back the RTX 3070 in most scenarios.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combo of the i5-10400F and RTX 3070 achieves a rank of 781 out of 1718 tested combinations in Palworld, placing it in the 45.5th percentile of all combos. This is a middle-of-the-pack result, which is interesting because both components individually rank higher: the CPU is at the 73rd percentile and the GPU is at the 72nd percentile. The discrepancy suggests that Palworld’s specific demands do not perfectly align with the strengths of this pairing, or that other combos with higher-end CPUs or GPUs simply dominate the top ranks.

Looking at the GPU’s nearest rivals, the RTX 3070’s average benchmark score of 28238 is only 0.9% above the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT and 1% above the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti. This indicates that in raw compute, the RTX 3070 is not dramatically ahead of its closest competitors, yet in Palworld, the measured FPS at 1440p High (85.4 FPS) and 4K High (47.6 FPS) shows a capable card. The combo’s rank being lower than the component percentiles might reflect that many higher-ranked combos pair the RTX 3070 with newer or higher-core-count CPUs, which can better sustain the high frame rates seen at 1080p.

The data also shows that the combo’s rank is not fixed; it depends on the resolution and settings. At 1080p Ultra, the combo produces 98.1 FPS, which is a strong result, but at 4K Ultra, it drops to 33.8 FPS, which is likely below the threshold for smooth gameplay. This range of outcomes is what pushes the overall rank to 781, as the combo excels in some scenarios but struggles in others.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data shows a clear and consistent scaling pattern across all four settings presets as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 126.4 at 1080p to 85.4 at 1440p, and then to 47.6 at 4K. This represents a 32% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 44% drop from 1440p to 4K. The scaling is even more dramatic at Low settings, where 1080p produces 205.9 FPS, but 4K falls to 74.9 FPS, a 64% reduction.

This scaling pattern strongly indicates that the GPU becomes the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the CPU has enough headroom to push frame rates very high, especially at Low settings where the GPU is less taxed. The fact that 1080p Low reaches 205.9 FPS suggests the i5-10400F can handle the game’s logic at that speed. However, as resolution increases, the GPU’s workload grows quadratically with the pixel count, and the RTX 3070’s 8 GB of VRAM and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth start to become constraining.

The 4K Ultra result of 33.8 FPS is particularly telling. This is the only measured point below 40 FPS, and it shows that the combo cannot sustain 4K gaming at the highest settings. The difference between 4K Low (74.9 FPS) and 4K Ultra (33.8 FPS) is a 55% drop, which is more than the resolution scaling alone would suggest, indicating that the Ultra preset’s additional effects heavily tax the GPU’s compute and memory resources.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its strongest results. Low settings produce an average of 205.9 FPS, Medium yields 164.3 FPS, High follows at 126.4 FPS, and Ultra drops to 98.1 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 107.8 FPS, showing that the RTX 3070 has substantial headroom at this resolution, and even the most demanding preset remains well above 90 FPS. This suggests that Palworld at 1080p is not a GPU-bound scenario for this combo, and the CPU’s 12 threads are sufficient to maintain high frame rates.

Moving to 2560x1440, the numbers scale down predictably. Low settings produce 135 FPS, Medium comes in at 108.3 FPS, High at 85.4 FPS, and Ultra at 66.6 FPS. The relative performance gap between presets narrows slightly, with Ultra now being 51% slower than Low, compared to 52% at 1080p. This resolution appears to be the sweet spot for a 60+ FPS experience, with all presets except Ultra staying above 85 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the GPU starts to struggle. Low settings yield 74.9 FPS, Medium drops to 59 FPS, High falls to 47.6 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 33.8 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 41.1 FPS, but the absolute numbers are what matter: only Low and Medium are playable above 60 FPS, and High is borderline at 47.6 FPS. This resolution clearly pushes the RTX 3070 to its limits, and the 8 GB VRAM buffer may be a factor in the steep drop-off at Ultra.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 is built on the Ampere architecture using Samsung’s 8 nm process, with a chip size of 392 mm² and 17,400 million transistors. It features 5888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, and 96 raster operation units, along with 46 RT cores and 184 tensor cores. The GPU runs at a base clock of 1500 MHz and a boost clock of 1725 MHz, with memory clocked at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). It has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

The 8 GB VRAM capacity is a critical factor in Palworld’s 4K performance. At 4K Ultra, the combo only achieves 33.8 FPS, which is a 28% drop from the 4K High result of 47.6 FPS. This steep decline suggests that the Ultra preset’s texture and shadow quality demands exceed the 8 GB buffer, causing the GPU to spill over into system memory or reduce its effective throughput. At 1080p, the VRAM is less of an issue, as evidenced by the 98.1 FPS Ultra result, but the trend is clear: this GPU is optimized for 1080p and 1440p gaming, not 4K.

The GPU’s benchmark scores further contextualize its performance. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 3162, and its Passmark G3D score is 22214, placing it at the 72nd percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT, is only 0.9% slower in average score, yet in Palworld, the RTX 3070’s measured FPS at 1440p High (85.4) appears to be a strong result. The GPU’s FP32 compute of 20.31 TFLOPS and texture rate of 317.4 GTexel/s are high enough to handle Palworld’s open-world rendering, but the 4K Ultra data shows that raw compute is not enough to overcome the memory bandwidth and capacity constraints.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 is the optimal resolution, with High settings delivering 85.4 FPS and Ultra at 66.6 FPS. At 1920x1080, all presets exceed 98 FPS, but the higher resolution offers a better visual-to-performance balance.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Palworld?

A: It depends on the settings. At 4K Low, the combo achieves 74.9 FPS, and at Medium it reaches 59 FPS. However, 4K High drops to 47.6 FPS, and Ultra falls to 33.8 FPS, indicating that 4K is only viable at lower presets.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this system?

A: At 1080p, the CPU appears to be the limiting factor, as frame rates are very high (205.9 FPS at Low) but not unlimited. At 4K, the GPU is clearly the bottleneck, with the FPS dropping dramatically due to increased pixel load and VRAM pressure.

Q: How does the RTX 3070 compare to its closest rivals in raw performance?

A: The RTX 3070 has an average benchmark score of 28238, which is 0.9% above the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT and 1% above the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti. This shows it is only marginally faster than these cards in synthetic tests.

Q: What is the CPU’s multi-threading capability?

A: The i5-10400F’s 3DMark score scales from 1350 at 2 threads to 4748 at 16 threads, but max threads score is 4735, indicating a plateau. Cinebench R23 shows a multicore score of 10297 versus 1453 single-core, demonstrating a 7x multi-thread scaling.

Q: What settings preset gives the highest FPS at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset delivers 135 FPS, Medium yields 108.3 FPS, High produces 85.4 FPS, and Ultra achieves 66.6 FPS. Low is the fastest, but High offers a better balance between visuals and playability.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the best experience depends on the target resolution. For 1920x1080, the Ultra preset is the clear choice, as it delivers 98.1 FPS while providing the highest visual fidelity. The gap between Ultra and High is 28.3 FPS, but both are well above 60 FPS, so users with high refresh monitors can opt for High at 126.4 FPS for smoother motion.

At 2560x1440, the High preset appears to be the sweet spot, delivering 85.4 FPS. This is above the 60 FPS threshold and offers a significant visual upgrade over Medium (108.3 FPS) with only a 22.9 FPS cost. Ultra at 66.6 FPS is also viable for those who prioritize visuals, but the drop below 70 FPS may be noticeable on high-refresh displays.

For 3840x2160, the recommendations change drastically. The Low preset at 74.9 FPS is the only setting above 60 FPS, making it the sole playable option for competitive play. Medium at 59 FPS is borderline and may be acceptable for single-player, but High at 47.6 FPS and Ultra at 33.8 FPS are not recommended for smooth gameplay. Users targeting 4K should stick to Low or Medium presets to maintain playable frame rates.