Palworld

Palworld pairs the Intel Core i5-12400 with the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT, a combination that lands at rank 718 out of 1718 tested combos in this game. The data shows a system that is clearly capable of high frame rates at mainstream resolutions, yet struggles to maintain fluidity at 4K Ultra settings, revealing a distinct performance ceiling dictated by the graphics card.

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

The Intel Core i5-12400 brings six Physical cores and 12 threads to the table, operating from a 2.50 GHz base clock up to a 4.40 GHz boost. This Alder Lake-S architecture chip, built on Intel's 10 nm process, offers a substantial 18 MB of shared L3 cache. Its benchmark profile indicates robust multi-threaded capability, with a 3DMark max-threads score of 5890 and a Cinebench R23 multi-core result of 15935. The single-thread performance is equally solid, with a 3DMark single-thread score of 910 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2249, which is crucial for a game like Palworld that often has a primary simulation thread.

In the context of Palworld's measured FPS, the CPU appears to provide a strong foundation. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo reaches 208.8 FPS, a figure that suggests the processor is not the limiting factor at this resolution. The CPU's percentile ranking of 77 against all CPUs further supports its competence for gaming workloads. However, the data shows that the CPU's headroom is only fully exposed when the GPU is not saturated, as evidenced by the dramatic frame rate drops when resolution increases. The i5-12400's nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-9700 with an average score of 19831 and a delta of 0.1%, and the Intel Core i7-8700 scoring 19894 with a -0.2% delta, indicating the 12400 sits in a well-populated performance tier. For Palworld, the 6-core/12-thread configuration is sufficient to feed the RX 7700 XT at 1080p and 1440p, but the CPU's influence wanes at 4K where the GPU workload becomes dominant.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

The measured data provides a clear gradient of performance across four presets, allowing for a direct recommendation based on target refresh rates. At 1080p, the Ultra preset delivers 98.9 FPS, which is excellent for high-refresh monitors. However, the High preset at 129.3 FPS offers a substantial 30.4 FPS uplift over Ultra, making it the superior choice for competitive play or smoother motion. The Medium preset at 170.4 FPS and Low at 208.8 FPS are also viable, but they represent diminishing returns in visual fidelity for marginal gains in smoothness.

Moving to 1440p, the High preset remains the sweet spot, delivering 85.6 FPS. This is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold and provides a great balance between visual quality and performance. The Ultra preset at 1440p drops to 65.3 FPS, which is still playable but does not offer the fluidity of High. For 4K gaming, the data presents a different story. The High preset yields only 49 FPS, which is below the ideal for fast-paced action. The Medium preset at 61.7 FPS becomes the most reasonable option for 4K, as it maintains playability while the Ultra preset plummets to 35 FPS, which is generally not recommended. The Low preset at 75.5 FPS is the only 4K option that provides a high refresh rate experience, but it sacrifices too much visual quality. Therefore, across all resolutions, the High preset appears to be the most balanced, offering the best experience per the measured rows.

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

The FPS scaling across resolutions reveals a classic GPU-bound scenario. Starting with the High preset, the combo achieves 129.3 FPS at 1080p, drops to 85.6 FPS at 1440p, and then falls to 49 FPS at 4K. This represents a 33.8% decrease from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 42.8% decrease from 1440p to 4K. This steep decline indicates that the graphics card is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, as the workload on the GPU increases exponentially with pixel count.

The Low preset shows a similar trend, with 208.8 FPS at 1080p, 139.4 FPS at 1440p, and 75.5 FPS at 4K. The fact that the 1080p Low result is so high suggests that the CPU is capable of driving much higher frame rates if the GPU were not the limiting factor. When the GPU load is reduced (by lowering settings), the FPS at 1080p scales up significantly, confirming that the RX 7700 XT is the component that caps performance. The Ultra preset tells the same story, with a 98.9 FPS result at 1080p falling to 35 FPS at 4K, a 64.6% drop. This consistent pattern across all presets is a definitive indicator that Palworld's performance with this combo is overwhelmingly dependent on the GPU's rendering capabilities rather than the CPU's processing power.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combination of the Intel Core i5-12400 and AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT holds a combo rank of 718 out of 1718 tested configurations in Palworld. This places the system in the upper-middle tier of all possible pairings, which is a reasonable expectation given the hardware's respective performance levels. The CPU's percentile of 77 against all CPUs and the GPU's percentile of 73 against all GPUs both indicate above-average components, but neither is a top-tier part, so the combined rank reflects a balanced but not extreme setup.

The GPU's nearest rivals in the benchmark database include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 with an average score of 30109 and a 0% delta, placing the RX 7700 XT in a very tight competitive cluster. The CPU's nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i7-9700, are also very close in average score, with a delta of only 0.1%. This suggests that the combo's rank is not due to any single component being a standout, but rather the synergy of two competent mid-to-high-end parts. The rank of 718 out of 1718 means that roughly 58% of tested combos are faster, but it also means this system outperforms over 1000 other configurations, making it a solid choice for 1080p and 1440p gaming in Palworld.

FAQ — 4-6 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data

Q: What is the expected average FPS at 1080p with High settings?

A: The measured data shows an average of 129.3 FPS for the Intel Core i5-12400 and AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT combo at 1920x1080 with High settings, indicating a very smooth experience for most monitors.

Q: Is this combo capable of 4K gaming at playable frame rates?

A: At 4K with Medium settings, the combo achieves 61.7 FPS, which is playable. However, High settings drop to 49 FPS and Ultra falls to 35 FPS, so 4K gaming is limited to Medium or Low presets for a fluid experience.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-9700?

A: The Intel Core i5-12400 has an average benchmark score of 19850, which is only 0.1% higher than the Intel Core i7-9700's score of 19831, meaning they perform nearly identically in synthetic tests.

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking among all tested graphics cards?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT has a percentile rank of 73 against all GPUs, meaning it performs better than 73% of all graphics cards in the benchmark database.

Q: What is the total number of combos this system outperforms in Palworld?

A: With a combo rank of 718 out of 1718, this system outperforms 1000 other tested combinations, placing it in the top 42% of all configurations.

Q: What is the impact of lowering settings from Ultra to High at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset delivers 65.3 FPS, while the High preset delivers 85.6 FPS. This represents a 20.3 FPS increase, or roughly a 31% improvement, by stepping down one preset level.

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

The following table details the exact average FPS figures measured for this combo in Palworld across all tested configurations:

| Resolution | Settings | Avg FPS |

|------------|----------|---------|

| 3840x2160 | High | 49 |

| 3840x2160 | Low | 75.5 |

| 3840x2160 | Medium | 61.7 |

| 3840x2160 | Ultra | 35 |

| 2560x1440 | High | 85.6 |

| 2560x1440 | Low | 139.4 |

| 2560x1440 | Medium | 114.1 |

| 2560x1440 | Ultra | 65.3 |

| 1920x1080 | High | 129.3 |

| 1920x1080 | Low | 208.8 |

| 1920x1080 | Medium | 170.4 |

| 1920x1080 | Ultra | 98.9 |

At 1080p, the spread between Low and Ultra is 109.9 FPS, showing a wide performance range. The 1440p results show a tighter spread of 74.1 FPS between Low and Ultra, while the 4K results compress further to a 40.5 FPS spread. This compression at higher resolutions reinforces the GPU-bound nature of the workload, as the graphics card has less headroom to differentiate between settings when the pixel count is the primary stressor.

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

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT is the dominant component in this pairing, equipped with 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 432.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's RDNA 3.0 architecture, built on a 5 nm process at TSMC, features 3456 shading units and a boost clock of 2544 MHz. Its memory clock runs at 2250 MHz, translating to 18 Gbps effective, which is a significant factor for texture-heavy scenes in Palworld. The GPU's 35.17 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power and 96 ROPs are well-suited for the game's stylized visuals, but the 4K results suggest a limitation in raw fill rate.

The data shows that the GPU's performance is the primary determinant of FPS in Palworld. At 1080p, the GPU has ample bandwidth and compute to push frame rates past 200 FPS on Low settings, but as resolution increases, the 12 GB VRAM and 432.0 GB/s bandwidth become more strained, leading to the substantial FPS drops observed. The GPU's 73rd percentile ranking against all GPUs, coupled with its average benchmark score of 30097, places it just behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060, which scores 30109 with a 0% delta. This indicates the RX 7700 XT is a strong performer for its class, but its 4K capabilities are modest, as evidenced by the 49 FPS result at High settings. The GPU's 245 W TDP and dual-slot design are consistent with its performance class, and the 12 GB VRAM allocation proves sufficient for Palworld at all tested settings, though the frame rate data suggests that the chip's compute capabilities, rather than memory capacity, are the limiting factor at 4K.