Palworld

The Intel Core i5-11400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 580 ranks 3382 out of 3711 tested combos in Palworld, placing it in the bottom 9% of all configurations measured. This is a legacy pairing—a 2021 six-core CPU with an end-of-life 2017 graphics card—and the data reflects that age: the combo is playable at 1080p with lowered settings, but it struggles severely at higher resolutions and demanding presets. The benchmark results show a system that can handle Palworld’s survival gameplay at entry-level expectations, but it will not deliver smooth 4K or even consistent 1440p Ultra experiences. For builders considering this pairing, the FPS numbers clearly indicate where the bottlenecks lie and what compromises are necessary.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 3382 out of 3711 tested combinations places it in the bottom 9.1% of all systems benchmarked for Palworld. This is not a surprising outcome given the components involved. The RX 580’s individual GPU percentile sits at 53, meaning it outperforms just over half of all GPUs in the database, while the i5-11400F’s CPU percentile is 71, outperforming nearly three-quarters of all CPUs. The gap between those two percentiles—71 for the CPU versus 53 for the GPU—immediately signals that the graphics card is the limiting factor in most scenarios. When a mid-range CPU from 2021 is paired with a lower-midrange GPU from 2017, the GPU will typically dictate performance, and the measured FPS data confirms this pattern.

Looking at the nearest rivals for each component provides context. The i5-11400F’s average benchmark score is 17177, which is 0.3% ahead of the AMD EPYC 7H12 (17120) and 0.6% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 7 164U (17074). It trails the Intel Core i5-12450H by 0.4% (17239) and the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G by 0.6% (17278). These deltas are all within 1%, meaning the CPU is performing right at its expected level for its class. The RX 580’s average score is 12928, sitting 0.1% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile (12940) and 0.4% behind the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER (12986). It is 0.5% ahead of the AMD Radeon 740M (12870) and 0.6% ahead of the AMD FirePro W5100 (12847). Again, these are tight margins, showing the GPU is exactly where it should be for its hardware generation.

The bottom-9% overall ranking is driven primarily by the GPU’s limitations in Palworld. The game appears to be GPU-bound, and at 4K resolution, the RX 580 simply does not have the horsepower to maintain playable frame rates. Even at 1080p, which is the resolution where this combo performs best, the Ultra preset drops to 38 FPS average, which is below the 40 FPS threshold many players consider the minimum for acceptable gameplay. The rank reflects a system that works, but only within narrow parameters.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 580 is built on the Polaris 20 chip with a GCN 4.0 architecture, fabricated on a 14 nm process at GlobalFoundries. It has 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The memory runs at 2000 MHz, which translates to 8 Gbps effective. The GPU clock speeds are a base of 1257 MHz and a boost of 1340 MHz. These are modest figures by modern standards, and they directly explain the frame rates seen in Palworld.

The RX 580’s compute capabilities include 2304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 32 render output units. Its pixel rate is 42.88 GPixel/s, and its texture rate is 193.0 GTexel/s. The FP32 performance is 6.175 TFLOPS, with FP16 also at 6.175 TFLOPS (1:1). The GPU supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3, which covers Palworld’s requirements. However, the 6.175 TFLOPS figure is the key number—it is roughly half of what newer mid-range GPUs offer, and Palworld’s open-world environments with many creatures and physics interactions demand substantial fill rate and compute throughput.

In the measured FPS data, the GPU’s role is clear. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 81 FPS average, which is very playable. At 1080p Medium, it drops to 66 FPS, and at 1080p High, it drops further to 51 FPS. The jump from Medium to High costs 15 FPS, and from High to Ultra costs another 13 FPS, resulting in 38 FPS at Ultra. This scaling pattern indicates that the GPU is the primary bottleneck—as settings increase, the demand on the GPU’s shading units and texture units grows, and the RX 580 cannot keep up. The 8 GB VRAM is adequate for 1080p, but the sheer computational load of higher presets overwhelms the Polaris 20 chip.

One notable observation is the GPU’s benchmark scores. In Passmark’s DirectX 11 test, the RX 580 scores 60, but in DirectX 12 it scores only 43. Palworld is a DirectX 12 title, and this score difference suggests the GPU may not be optimally efficient in the API the game uses. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1005 further underscores this—it is a low result that aligns with the 1080p and 1440p FPS numbers seen in the measured data.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and tells a clear story about which component limits performance. At 1080p Low, the combo averages 81 FPS. At 1440p Low, it drops to 53 FPS—a 34.6% reduction. At 4K Low, it falls to 30 FPS, which is a 63% reduction from 1080p. This scaling is far steeper than what a CPU-bound system would show. If the CPU were the limiting factor, the FPS would remain relatively flat across resolutions, since the CPU workload does not change with resolution. Instead, the FPS drops consistently as resolution increases, which is the hallmark of a GPU-bound system.

Looking at Medium settings, the pattern repeats. At 1080p Medium, the average is 66 FPS. At 1440p Medium, it drops to 43 FPS, and at 4K Medium, it falls to 24 FPS. The 4K Medium result includes a minimum FPS of 20 and a maximum of 28, showing that even the frame pacing is inconsistent at that resolution. At High settings, 1080p yields 51 FPS, 1440p yields 33 FPS, and 4K yields 18 FPS. At Ultra, 1080p gives 38 FPS, 1440p gives 25 FPS, and 4K gives 14 FPS.

The resolution scaling suggests that the RX 580’s memory bandwidth of 256.0 GB/s is insufficient for 4K workloads. At 4K, the GPU must process four times the pixels of 1080p, and the 256-bit memory bus simply cannot feed the shading units fast enough. The 14 FPS at 4K Ultra is essentially unplayable, and even 30 FPS at 4K Low is borderline. For anyone using this combo, 4K should be avoided entirely. The sweet spot is clearly 1080p, where even High settings achieve 51 FPS, and Low settings reach 81 FPS.

The data also shows that the CPU is not the limiting factor at any resolution. The i5-11400F has 12 threads and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, which is more than sufficient for Palworld’s CPU demands. The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K is entirely consistent with GPU limitations. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the 1080p Low result would not be 81 FPS—it would be lower, and the 4K Low result would be closer to the 1080p result.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows 1080p Low provides 81 FPS average, making it the smoothest experience. For better visuals, 1080p Medium at 66 FPS is a good compromise. 1080p High at 51 FPS is acceptable for players who prioritize quality over frame rate. Avoid 1440p Ultra (25 FPS) and all 4K settings except Low (30 FPS), which is marginal.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-11400F holding back the RX 580 in Palworld?

A: No. The CPU has a percentile rank of 71 versus the GPU’s 53, and the FPS scaling across resolutions indicates the GPU is the bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 81 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS target, showing the CPU can feed the GPU effectively. The i5-11400F’s boost clock of 4.40 GHz and 12 threads are adequate for this game.

Q: How does the RX 580 compare to its nearest rivals in raw benchmark scores?

A: The RX 580’s average benchmark score is 12928. It is 0.1% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile (12940) and 0.4% behind the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER (12986). It is 0.5% ahead of the AMD Radeon 740M (12870) and 0.6% ahead of the AMD FirePro W5100 (12847). These are all effectively equal in synthetic tests.

Q: Can this combo run Palworld at 4K?

A: Technically yes, but not well. At 4K Low, the average FPS is 30, which is borderline playable. At 4K Medium, it drops to 24 FPS, and at 4K High, it falls to 18 FPS. 4K Ultra is 14 FPS, which is unplayable. For a consistent experience, stick to 1080p.

Q: What does the 8 GB VRAM on the RX 580 mean for Palworld?

A: The 8 GB GDDR5 memory is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p in Palworld. The card never appears to hit a VRAM wall in the measured data—the FPS drops are consistent with compute and bandwidth limits rather than memory capacity. The 256.0 GB/s bandwidth is the more limiting factor, especially at 4K.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to all tested systems?

A: It ranks 3382 out of 3711 tested combos, placing it in the bottom 9.1%. This low rank is driven by the GPU’s age and performance, not the CPU. The i5-11400F’s 71st percentile CPU rank is respectable, but the RX 580’s 53rd percentile GPU rank pulls the overall combo down.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its best results. Low settings produce an average of 81 FPS. Medium settings average 66 FPS, with a minimum of 56 FPS and a maximum of 76 FPS. High settings average 51 FPS. Ultra settings average 38 FPS. This resolution is the only one where the combo consistently exceeds 50 FPS across multiple presets. The jump from Low to Medium costs 15 FPS, from Medium to High costs another 15 FPS, and from High to Ultra costs 13 FPS. This linear degradation is typical of a GPU-bound system.

At 2560x1440, the performance drops significantly. Low settings average 53 FPS—a 28 FPS drop from 1080p Low. Medium settings average 43 FPS, with a minimum of 37 FPS and a maximum of 50 FPS. High settings average 33 FPS. Ultra settings average 25 FPS. The 1440p results show that only Low settings are reliably playable, and even then, 53 FPS is not ideal for a fast-paced survival game. Medium at 43 FPS is playable for some, but the minimum of 37 FPS indicates occasional drops below 40.

At 3840x2160, the combo falls apart. Low settings average 30 FPS, which is the bare minimum for playability. Medium settings average 24 FPS, with a minimum of 20 FPS and a maximum of 28 FPS. High settings average 18 FPS. Ultra settings average 14 FPS. None of the 4K results are recommended for regular play. The 4K Medium data is the only 4K entry with min/max values recorded, showing a tight range of 20-28 FPS, which indicates consistent but very low performance.

Across all resolutions, the pattern is consistent: Low settings offer the highest FPS, Ultra offers the lowest, and the gaps between presets are roughly even. The 1080p Medium result of 66 FPS with a minimum of 56 FPS is arguably the best balance of visual quality and performance for this combo. The 1440p Medium result of 43 FPS is the only 1440p setting that approaches playability, but its 37 FPS minimum is concerning. The 4K results are all below 30 FPS except for Low, which barely hits 30.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F is a six-core, 12-thread processor from the Rocket Lake architecture, built on Intel’s 14 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. The cache configuration includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 512 KB of L2 per core, and 12 MB of shared L3 cache. It supports DDR4 memory in a dual-channel configuration with a bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s. The CPU uses the Intel Socket 1200 and is PCIe Gen 4 with 20 lanes. Its TDP is 65 watts, and it was released in March 2021 with a launch MSRP of $157.

In terms of benchmark performance, the i5-11400F scores 14340 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 2024 in single-core. In Geekbench, it scores 7737 multicore and 1777 single-core. In Passmark, its multithread score is 16908, and its single-thread score is 2981. These numbers place it in the 71st percentile of all CPUs, which is solid for a mid-range desktop processor from 2021. Its nearest rivals include the AMD EPYC 7H12 (0.3% higher average score), Intel Core i5-12450H (0.4% higher), AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G (0.6% higher), and Intel Core Ultra 7 164U (0.6% lower).

In Palworld, the CPU’s role is to handle game logic, physics, and the many creatures that populate the world. The 12 threads are more than adequate for this task. The measured FPS data shows that the CPU does not bottleneck the system. Evidence for this is the 81 FPS at 1080p Low—if the CPU were limiting, this number would be lower, regardless of GPU settings. Additionally, the FPS drops consistently across resolutions, which would not happen if the CPU were the bottleneck. A CPU-bound system would show similar FPS at 1080p and 4K, but the data shows a 51 FPS drop from 1080p Low to 4K Low.

The i5-11400F’s boost clock of 4.40 GHz is particularly important for Palworld, as the game’s single-threaded performance can impact frame pacing. The CPU’s 3DMark single-thread score of 868 and Cinebench R20 single-core score of 850 indicate strong single-thread capability for its generation. However, the GPU is so far behind that even this CPU’s strengths cannot compensate. The combo rank of 3382 out of 3711 is almost entirely attributable to the RX 580’s limitations. While the CPU is not the star of this pairing, it is also not the weak link—it performs exactly as expected for its class, and it has headroom for a future GPU upgrade without needing a platform change.