Palworld

Palworld with an Intel Core i5-11400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is a pairing that heavily favors the graphics card. The data shows a system where the GPU is the clear performance driver, but the CPU still manages to keep up at every resolution tested. This analysis breaks down the measured frames per second (FPS) to show exactly where this combo excels and where settings matter most.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and reveals a classic GPU-bound scenario. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the system averages 198 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 drops that to 130 FPS, a 34% reduction. At 3840x2160, the average falls further to 72 FPS, which is 64% below the 1080p result. This scaling pattern is typical for a high-end GPU paired with a mid-range CPU; the RTX 4080 is doing the heavy lifting, and its load increases dramatically with pixel count.

The gap between Low and Ultra settings widens as resolution increases. At 1080p, the difference between Low (281 FPS) and Ultra (150 FPS) is 131 FPS. At 4K, that spread narrows to 61 FPS (116 FPS on Low versus 55 FPS on Ultra). This indicates that at lower resolutions, the CPU can feed frames fast enough to let the GPU stretch its legs, but at 4K, the GPU's raw pixel-pushing capability becomes the limiting factor. The 4K Medium setting (94 FPS) sits much closer to Low (116 FPS) than to Ultra (55 FPS), suggesting that the jump from Medium to Ultra carries a disproportionate cost.

The data shows that 1440p is the sweet spot for this pairing. Here, High settings deliver 130 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth play, while Ultra still manages 99 FPS. At 4K, only Medium (94 FPS) and Low (116 FPS) stay comfortably playable; High (72 FPS) is borderline, and Ultra (55 FPS) dips below the 60 FPS line. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p at High settings costs 68 FPS, but from 1440p to 4K costs another 58 FPS, showing that the transition to 4K is the most demanding step.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is the star of this configuration, and its specifications align with the measured results. It comes with 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 716.8 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory capacity is more than sufficient for Palworld at any resolution, as the game's demands do not appear to exceed even 8 GB based on the FPS stability. The GPU's boost clock of 2505 MHz and base clock of 2205 MHz, combined with 9728 shading units, provide the raw compute needed for the high frame counts seen here.

The RTX 4080's benchmark scores reinforce its position. It holds an 86th percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 54247. Its nearest rival, the RTX 4080 SUPER, scores 54209, a mere 0.1% difference, meaning the two are practically interchangeable in performance. The data shows the RTX 4080 is also 1.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X and 2.6% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB. These margins are small, but they place the RTX 4080 firmly in the upper echelon of graphics cards.

The GPU's 76 ray tracing cores and 304 tensor cores are part of the Ada Lovelace architecture, but Palworld's measured FPS does not include ray tracing data. The 320 W TDP and triple-slot cooler are physical realities of this card, but the performance metrics show it is well-utilized in this game. The fact that 4K Ultra still produces 55 FPS on a game that is not typically a GPU stress test indicates that the RTX 4080 has headroom, but the CPU may start to hold it back at lower resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual quality and frame rate for this hardware. At 1440p, Medium averages 169 FPS with a minimum of 144 FPS, ensuring no drops below the refresh rate of most high-end monitors. At 4K, Medium averages 94 FPS with a minimum of 80 FPS, keeping the experience smooth even during demanding scenes. This preset is the only one that provides a minimum FPS above 60 at both 1440p and 4K, making it the safest choice for consistent gameplay.

For players prioritizing maximum frame rates, Low settings are the clear winner. At 1080p, Low hits 281 FPS, and even at 4K, it maintains 116 FPS. This setting is ideal for competitive play or for users with high-refresh-rate displays who want to maximize smoothness over visual fidelity. However, the jump from Low to Medium is significant: 94 FPS at 4K Medium versus 116 FPS at 4K Low, a 23% improvement in performance for Medium, which suggests that the visual upgrade is worth the cost.

High settings are a middle ground that works well at 1440p (130 FPS) but struggles at 4K (72 FPS). Ultra settings should be avoided at 4K, as the 55 FPS average falls below the playable threshold. At 1080p, Ultra still delivers 150 FPS, which is fine, but the performance cost over High is steep. The data supports Medium as the recommended preset for a 4K display, while High is acceptable for 1440p, and Low is best for maximum frame rates.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Palworld at 4K 60 FPS?

A: Yes, but only on certain presets. The measured data shows 4K Medium averaging 94 FPS with a minimum of 80 FPS, and 4K Low averaging 116 FPS. However, 4K High averages 72 FPS, and 4K Ultra drops to 55 FPS, meaning those two presets do not maintain a consistent 60 FPS.

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU-GPU combo?

A: The data indicates 2560x1440 is the optimal resolution. At High settings, it produces 130 FPS average, and at Ultra, it still manages 99 FPS. This provides a high frame rate with room for visual quality without the steep performance penalty seen at 4K.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 compare to its closest rival in this context?

A: The RTX 4080's average benchmark score is 54247, which is 0.1% higher than the RTX 4080 SUPER's score of 54209. This difference is negligible in real-world terms, meaning the two cards would perform nearly identically in Palworld.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-11400F a bottleneck for the RTX 4080?

A: The data suggests it is not a major bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 281 FPS, which is very high and indicates the CPU can feed the GPU adequately. At higher resolutions, the GPU becomes the limiting factor, as seen in the FPS drops from 1080p to 4K. The CPU's 71st percentile ranking among all CPUs supports its adequacy.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for this system?

A: The only preset with a recorded minimum FPS is Medium. At 1080p, the minimum is 219 FPS; at 1440p, it is 144 FPS; and at 4K, it is 80 FPS. No minimum FPS data is available for Low, High, or Ultra presets in the measured rows.

Q: How does the CPU's single-thread performance affect the game?

A: The CPU has a 3dmark_single_thread score of 868 and a passmark_single_thread score of 2981. These scores indicate strong single-core performance, which is important for game logic and physics. The high FPS at 1080p Low (281 FPS) suggests the CPU's single-thread capability is sufficient to avoid holding back the GPU.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the Rocket Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. Its benchmark scores show it is a capable mid-range CPU. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 14340 and single-core score of 2024 highlight its balanced performance. The CPU holds a 71st percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17177. Its nearest rival, the AMD EPYC 7H12, scores 17120, a 0.3% difference, indicating they are statistically tied.

In Palworld, the CPU's role is to handle game logic, world simulation, and draw calls, while the GPU renders the visuals. The measured FPS at 1080p Low (281 FPS) demonstrates that the i5-11400F can push frames fast enough to keep the RTX 4080 busy. The 3dmark_16_threads score of 5619 and the 3dmark_8_threads score of 4691 show that multi-threaded performance is solid, which helps in a survival game with many entities and interactions. However, the gap between the CPU's best and worst benchmark scores (from 868 single-thread to 5652 max-threads) suggests that scaling beyond 8 threads yields diminishing returns, which is typical for games.

The CPU's 12 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth are adequate for this workload. The data shows no evidence of CPU limitation at 4K, where the GPU is clearly the bottleneck, but at 1080p, the CPU's performance ceiling is tested. The 0.4% difference to the Intel Core i5-12450H (score 17239) and 0.6% to the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G (score 17278) shows the i5-11400F is closely matched with newer budget chips, meaning it does not hold back the system in this game.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system's performance is exceptional across all presets. Low settings produce an average of 281 FPS, Medium averages 257 FPS with a minimum of 219 FPS and a maximum of 296 FPS, High averages 198 FPS, and Ultra averages 150 FPS. This resolution is clearly CPU-bound in the sense that the GPU has ample headroom, but the frame rates are so high that playability is never an issue.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain strong. Low settings average 209 FPS, Medium averages 169 FPS with a minimum of 144 FPS and a maximum of 195 FPS, High averages 130 FPS, and Ultra averages 99 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 144 FPS is notable, as it matches the refresh rate of many gaming monitors, ensuring a tear-free experience with V-Sync enabled.

At 3840x2160, the GPU begins to show its limits. Low settings average 116 FPS, Medium averages 94 FPS with a minimum of 80 FPS and a maximum of 108 FPS, High averages 72 FPS, and Ultra averages 55 FPS. The drop from 1440p to 4K is most pronounced at High settings, where the average falls from 130 FPS to 72 FPS. This breakdown confirms that the RTX 4080 can handle 4K, but only with settings adjustments, while 1080p and 1440p offer a much smoother experience.