Palworld

Palworld on the Intel Core i5-11400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 combo shows a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling as resolution increases, with the CPU keeping pace effectively until the highest settings at 4K. The measured performance from 1080p to 4K reveals how the balance of work shifts between the processor and graphics card, and the data provides a solid basis for choosing settings based on your display and framerate goals.

Resolution Scaling

The framerate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all quality presets, which points to the RTX 5070 becoming the primary limiting factor as pixel count rises. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 165 at 1920x1080 to 109 at 2560x1440, a 34% reduction, and then to 60 at 3840x2160, a 64% reduction from the 1080p baseline. This scaling pattern is typical of a GPU-heavy workload, where the rendering load quadruples from 1080p to 4K, and the data shows the graphics card struggling to maintain high framerates at the top resolution.

Looking at the Low preset, the story is similar but with higher absolute numbers. The average FPS goes from 265 at 1080p down to 175 at 1440p and then to 97 at 4K. The percentage drop from 1440p to 4K is about 45%, which is less severe than the High preset's 45% drop, but the trend is identical. At 1080p Low, the system is likely hitting a CPU ceiling, as the i5-11400F’s 6 cores and 12 threads are less stressed by lower graphical settings, but the 265 FPS mark suggests the processor is keeping up adequately without being a hard bottleneck.

At Medium settings, the measured minimum FPS provides extra insight into frame pacing. At 1080p, the average is 215 FPS with a minimum of 183, while at 1440p the average is 141 FPS with a minimum of 120, and at 4K the average is 79 FPS with a minimum of 67. The consistency of the minimum-to-average ratio, hovering around 85%, indicates that the RTX 5070 is delivering stable frame times without major spikes, even when heavily loaded. This is a positive sign for gameplay smoothness, as stutter-prone titles often show larger gaps between average and minimum framerates.

The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic scaling, from 125 FPS at 1080p to 83 FPS at 1440p and finally 46 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is below the 60 FPS threshold that most players consider playable, meaning this combo is not suited for maximum quality at 4K without additional upscaling technologies. The data suggests that the RTX 5070’s 12 GB of GDDR7 memory and 672.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for the texture loads, but the raw compute power, rated at 30.87 TFLOPS FP32, is not enough to push Ultra settings at 4K smoothly.

The limiting component at 4K is clearly the GPU, as the framerate scales nearly linearly with resolution despite the CPU’s modest specifications. At 1080p, the CPU becomes more relevant, but the i5-11400F’s single-thread performance, evidenced by a 3dmark single-thread score of 868, appears adequate to feed the GPU at high framerates. Overall, the data indicates that for 1440p gaming, this combo is well balanced, but at 4K, you will need to lower settings to maintain playable framerates.

How This Combo Ranks

In Palworld specifically, this CPU-GPU pairing ranks 778 out of 3711 tested combos, placing it in the top 21% of all systems evaluated. This percentile ranking is respectable, but it reflects the i5-11400F’s age more than the RTX 5070’s capability. The GPU alone sits in the 82nd percentile of all GPUs, while the CPU is in the 71st percentile of all CPUs, so the combo rank is dragged down slightly by the processor’s relative position.

The CPU’s nearest rivals show it is competitive with much newer parts in synthetic benchmarks, with an average benchmark score of 17177. It is 0.3% ahead of the AMD EPYC 7H12 and 0.6% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 7 164U, while being 0.4% behind the Intel Core i5-12450H and 0.6% behind the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G. These deltas are tiny, meaning the i5-11400F is not a significant outlier in either direction, but it does indicate that the 11th-gen architecture is still holding its own against more modern designs in general compute tasks.

For the GPU, the RTX 5070’s nearest rivals are all workstation cards, which is unusual but reflects the scoring methodology. It is 0.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro 580, 0.8% ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro WX 7100, and 2.0% ahead of the NVIDIA RTX A500 Mobile, while being 1.2% behind the AMD Radeon Pro 5300. These workstation cards are not typical gaming competitors, but the comparison shows the RTX 5070’s raw compute is in a similar ballpark to professional-grade hardware, which reflects its gaming performance potential.

In the context of Palworld, the combo rank of 778 suggests that while this system is not top-tier, it will handle the game well at most settings. The game’s survival genre often involves large open worlds with many dynamic objects, which can stress both CPU and GPU, but the measured FPS data shows the combo is more than capable at 1080p and 1440p. The rank is likely influenced by the CPU’s 6-core, 12-thread configuration, which is below the 8-core or higher setups that some higher-ranked combos use, but for this specific game, the data shows it is not a major limitation.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the best experience for most players is the Medium preset at 1440p, which delivers an average of 141 FPS with a minimum of 120. This provides a smooth, high-refresh-rate experience that is well above the 60 FPS standard, and the minimum framerate ensures no noticeable drops during intense gameplay. Moving up to High at 1440p drops the average to 109 FPS, which is still playable, but the 32 FPS difference between Medium and High shows a significant cost for marginal visual gains.

For 1080p users, the High preset at 165 FPS is the sweet spot, offering excellent smoothness and better visual quality than Medium’s 215 FPS. The jump from High to Ultra at 1080p costs 40 FPS, bringing it down to 125 FPS, which is still fast but not worth the visual improvement for most players. The Low preset at 1080p hits 265 FPS, which is overkill for any monitor and suggests the CPU is the limiting factor at that point, but the visual degradation is too severe for a game like Palworld where environmental detail matters.

At 4K, the options are more constrained. The Medium preset at 79 FPS average with a 67 FPS minimum is the only reasonable choice, as it stays above 60 FPS for the most part. High at 4K drops to 60 FPS average, which is borderline, and Ultra at 46 FPS is not recommended for any serious gameplay. The Low preset at 4K reaches 97 FPS, but the visual quality is so poor that it undermines the point of playing at 4K resolution. For 4K users, the data suggests that Medium is the best balance of performance and fidelity, with the understanding that you are leaving some visual quality on the table.

The data also shows that the Medium preset at 4K has a minimum FPS of 67, which is only 15% below the average of 79, indicating good frame pacing. This is preferable to the High preset at 4K, which has no minimum FPS data but averages 60, meaning it could dip below 60 in busy scenes. For competitive play, the Low preset at 1440p at 175 FPS is the highest framerate available at that resolution, but the Medium preset at 141 FPS is a better trade-off for visual clarity.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo handle Palworld at 4K with playable framerates?

A: Yes, but only on the Medium preset, which averages 79 FPS with a minimum of 67 at 3840x2160. The High preset drops to 60 FPS average, and Ultra falls to 46 FPS, so Medium is the only reliable choice for 4K gaming.

Q: What is the best settings preset for a 1440p monitor?

A: The Medium preset at 2560x1440 provides the best balance, with an average of 141 FPS and a minimum of 120 FPS. The High preset at 109 FPS is also viable, but the 32 FPS reduction is a significant cost for visual improvements.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1080p?

A: At 1080p Low, the system hits 265 FPS average, which suggests the CPU is starting to limit performance, as the RTX 5070 is capable of higher framerates. The i5-11400F’s 6 cores and 12 threads are likely the ceiling at this low setting.

Q: How does the RTX 5070’s 12 GB of VRAM affect Palworld at higher resolutions?

A: The 12 GB of GDDR7 memory is sufficient for the game, as evidenced by the playable framerates at 4K Medium. The memory bandwidth of 672.0 GB/s appears adequate, as there is no indication of severe texture thrashing or stuttering in the measured data.

Q: What is the combo’s ranking compared to other tested systems?

A: This combo ranks 778 out of 3711 tested combos, putting it in the top 21% of all systems. This is a solid position, though the CPU’s 71st percentile ranking among all CPUs slightly lowers the overall rank.

Q: Is the Ultra preset ever worth using on this system?

A: Only at 1080p, where it averages 125 FPS. At 1440p, Ultra drops to 83 FPS, and at 4K, it falls to 46 FPS, which is too low for smooth gameplay. The visual gains from Ultra do not justify the framerate loss beyond 1080p.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 is the driving force behind this combo’s performance in Palworld, and its specifications explain the resolution scaling seen in the data. The GPU features 6144 shading units and a boost clock of 2512 MHz, with a base clock of 2325 MHz, which contributes to its 30.87 TFLOPS FP32 compute rating. This raw compute power is what allows the system to reach 265 FPS at 1080p Low, but it is also why the framerate drops to 46 FPS at 4K Ultra, as the rendering workload exceeds the GPU’s capabilities.

The 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus provides 672.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is a key factor in handling Palworld’s large textures and open-world assets. The measured data shows no significant frame time spikes, as seen in the Medium preset’s minimum FPS being consistently around 85% of the average, which suggests the memory subsystem is not a bottleneck. The 48 RT cores and 192 tensor cores are present, but their impact on Palworld, which is not a ray-tracing-heavy title, is minimal, and the rasterization performance is what matters most.

The GPU’s 82nd percentile ranking among all GPUs places it well above average, and its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks are professional workstation cards. This indicates that the RTX 5070 has strong compute capabilities beyond just gaming, but in Palworld, it is clearly the dominant component at higher resolutions. The GPU’s 250 W TDP and 600 W suggested PSU are not directly relevant to performance, but they indicate the card is power-hungry, which is a consideration for system builders.

The pixel rate of 201.0 GPixel/s and texture rate of 482.3 GTexel/s are high, and they translate directly to the fill-rate demands of Palworld’s environments. At 4K, the GPU is filling over 8 million pixels per frame, and the data shows it can handle this at Medium settings but not at Ultra. The RTX 5070’s performance in this game is characterized by strong 1080p and 1440p results, with a notable falloff at 4K that is typical of a mid-to-high-end graphics card.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F plays a supporting role in this combo, and its limitations become apparent only at very high framerates or low resolutions. With 6 cores and 12 threads, a base clock of 2.60 GHz, and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, this Rocket Lake processor is capable of feeding the RTX 5070 in most scenarios. The 3dmark single-thread score of 868 and the 2-thread score of 1691 indicate solid per-core performance, which is crucial for a game like Palworld that may rely on a few main threads for game logic and physics.

The CPU’s 12 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth are modest by modern standards, but they are sufficient for Palworld’s requirements. The measured FPS at 1080p Low of 265 suggests the CPU is the limiting factor at that point, as the GPU is capable of higher framerates, but this is not a practical issue since 265 FPS is well above any monitor’s refresh rate. At 1440p and 4K, the GPU becomes the bottleneck, and the CPU’s workload is less demanding.

The i5-11400F’s 71st percentile ranking among all CPUs is respectable, and its nearest rivals include newer chips like the Intel Core Ultra 7 164U and AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G, with performance deltas under 1%. This indicates that the 11th-gen architecture is not significantly outdated for gaming, despite being released in March 2021. The CPU’s 65 W TDP is low, which helps with system thermals, but it does not directly impact Palworld performance.

In Palworld specifically, the CPU’s role is to handle the simulation of the open world, including AI for Pals and base building mechanics. The 6-core, 12-thread configuration is sufficient for this, as evidenced by the stable minimum framerates at Medium settings across all resolutions. The data does not show any CPU-related stuttering, and the scaling from 1080p to 4K is smooth, which indicates that the processor is not causing frame hitches even when the GPU is heavily loaded. For players with high-refresh-rate 1080p monitors, the CPU might be a slight bottleneck, but the framerates are so high that it is unlikely to be noticeable in practice.