Palworld

The Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9070 delivers a strong 1080p and 1440p gaming experience in Palworld, with 4K remaining playable at medium settings. The data indicates a system where the GPU is the primary driver of frame rates at higher resolutions, while the CPU’s six performance cores provide a solid foundation for the game’s simulation and world-streaming demands.

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

The Intel Core i5-12400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, built on Intel’s 10 nm process. Its base clock runs at 2.50 GHz, and it boosts up to 4.40 GHz, with 18 MB of shared L3 cache. In synthetic benchmarks, this CPU achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 16518 and a single-core score of 2332, placing it in the 77th percentile of all CPUs tested. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-8700K, scores nearly identically on average, with a delta of just 0.1%, meaning the two are effectively interchangeable in CPU-bound scenarios.

For Palworld, a survival game that simulates a living world with numerous creatures and player-built structures, the multi-threaded performance is crucial. The 12 threads handle the game’s background simulation, AI pathfinding for Pals, and physics calculations. The data shows that at 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces 234.6 FPS, a figure that is not limited by the CPU. Even at 1080p Ultra, the system manages 111.8 FPS, which suggests the processor has ample headroom. The single-thread performance is also solid, as indicated by the Geekbench single-core score of 2221, which helps maintain smooth frame pacing and consistent hitches when new areas load.

The CPU’s performance class, relative to its rivals, shows it is a balanced mid-range part. Its Passmark multi-thread score of 19433 and 3DMark max-threads score of 5912 confirm it can keep up with the GPU across a wide range of scenarios. In this specific game, the 12400F is not the bottleneck; rather, it provides a stable platform, allowing the GPU to be the deciding factor in frame rates at higher detail settings.

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

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 is a high-end graphics card built on the RDNA 4.0 architecture, fabricated on TSMC’s 4 nm process. It features a game clock of 2070 MHz and a boost clock of 2520 MHz, with 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 644.6 GB/s. This generous memory allocation is a key asset for Palworld, which features large, open environments with dense foliage and many on-screen objects. The GPU’s 56 ray tracing cores and 3584 shading units give it substantial raw compute power, reflected in its 36.13 TFLOPS of FP32 performance.

In benchmark results, the RX 9070 sits in the 79th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 34780. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA A2, is only 0.2% faster on average, indicating that this card’s performance is well established. The GPU’s 16 GB of VRAM is particularly important for Palworld’s higher settings, as the game can consume significant memory when rendering long draw distances and numerous interactive objects. The data supports this, showing that at 4K Ultra, the combo drops to 42.4 FPS, a clear sign that the GPU is heavily stressed.

The card’s high pixel rate of 322.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 564.5 GTexel/s are directly relevant to how the game looks. These specifications allow the GPU to push high-detail textures and complex lighting without stuttering. At 1440p High, the system achieves 93.7 FPS, which is a smooth experience for a game like this. The GPU’s performance is the primary reason why 1080p and 1440p results are so high, and it shows that the RX 9070 is capable of handling Palworld’s visual demands.

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

The measured FPS data reveals a predictable trend of decreasing performance as resolution increases, which is classic GPU-bound behavior. At 1080p with High settings, the system delivers 147.6 FPS. Moving to 1440p High, the frame rate drops to 93.7 FPS, a reduction of about 36% from 1080p. This is a significant drop, indicating that the GPU is working much harder to fill the additional pixels. At 4K High, the frame rate plummets to 53.8 FPS, which is a 64% reduction from the 1080p result.

This scaling pattern is consistent across all settings. For example, at Low settings, the system goes from 234.6 FPS at 1080p, to 154.6 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 82.6 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is about 34%, and from 1440p to 4K is about 47%. These large percentage losses are a clear indicator that the RX 9070 is the limiting component as resolution rises. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see smaller differences between resolutions, especially at lower settings where the CPU load is more constant.

The data suggests that at 1080p, the CPU is doing more of the heavy lifting, allowing the GPU to push out very high frame rates. However, as the resolution increases, the GPU’s fill rate and memory bandwidth become the primary constraints. The 4K Ultra result of 42.4 FPS is particularly telling, as it shows the GPU is saturated at the highest visual fidelity, making the experience less fluid. For players, this means the system is best suited for high-refresh-rate gaming at 1080p or 1440p, while 4K is viable only at lower settings.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

In the database of tested hardware combinations for Palworld, the Intel Core i5-12400F and AMD Radeon RX 9070 combo ranks 544th out of 1718 total combinations. This places it in the upper third of all tested systems, which is a respectable position given the breadth of hardware tested. This rank reflects a balanced pairing where neither component is severely underpowered for the other.

The rank suggests that this specific combo outperforms a majority of systems, but it is not at the very top tier. The high percentile of the GPU (79th) compared to the CPU (77th) indicates that the graphics card is the stronger component in this pairing. This is a typical configuration for a gaming-focused build, where the GPU receives more of the budget to ensure high visual quality. The combo’s position in the rankings is a direct result of the RX 9070’s ability to deliver high frame rates, as seen in the measured FPS data.

While it does not break into the top 500, the 544th rank out of 1718 is a strong showing. It means that the system is capable of providing a smooth experience in Palworld at most settings, as evidenced by the 1440p High result of 93.7 FPS. The rank also implies that there are many more powerful (and likely more expensive) combinations ahead of it, but for this pairing, the performance is well-balanced and suited for its intended use case.

FAQ

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-12400F sufficient for Palworld at 1080p?

A: Yes. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the combo reaches 234.6 FPS, and at 1080p Ultra, it still manages 111.8 FPS. These high frame rates indicate the CPU is not a bottleneck at this resolution.

Q: Can the AMD Radeon RX 9070 handle 4K gaming in Palworld?

A: It can, but with compromises. At 4K High, the system produces 53.8 FPS, which is playable. At 4K Ultra, it drops to 42.4 FPS, which may be less desirable for smooth gameplay. For a better 4K experience, Medium settings at 71.3 FPS are recommended.

Q: How much of a performance difference is there between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 1440p, the difference is substantial. Low settings yield 154.6 FPS, while Ultra settings drop to 75.6 FPS. This represents a 51% reduction in frame rate, showing the significant load that Ultra settings place on the GPU.

Q: What is the main limiting component in this system for Palworld?

A: The GPU is the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions. The frame rate drops significantly from 1080p to 4K (e.g., from 147.6 to 53.8 FPS at High settings), which is a classic sign of GPU saturation. The CPU provides sufficient support at all tested settings.

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

A: This combo ranks 544th out of 1718 tested combinations for Palworld. This places it in the upper third of all systems, indicating it is a capable configuration for the game.

Q: Does the CPU’s 6-core, 12-thread configuration hold back the GPU in any way?

A: The data suggests not. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 234.6 FPS, which is a very high frame rate. If the CPU were a bottleneck, we would expect to see the frame rates plateau across different resolutions, but instead, they scale consistently with GPU load, showing the CPU has enough headroom.

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

The following data represents the measured average FPS for the Intel Core i5-12400F and AMD Radeon RX 9070 combination in Palworld.

1920x1080:

• Low: 234.6 FPS
• Medium: 190.2 FPS
• High: 147.6 FPS
• Ultra: 111.8 FPS

2560x1440:

• Low: 154.6 FPS
• Medium: 125.5 FPS
• High: 93.7 FPS
• Ultra: 75.6 FPS

3840x2160:

• Low: 82.6 FPS
• Medium: 71.3 FPS
• High: 53.8 FPS
• Ultra: 42.4 FPS

The data shows a clear and consistent scaling pattern across all settings. At each resolution, the frame rate decreases as settings increase from Low to Ultra. The most demanding configuration is 4K Ultra, which produces 42.4 FPS, while the least demanding is 1080p Low, which produces 234.6 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p at Ultra settings is from 111.8 to 75.6 FPS, a 32% reduction, while the drop from 1440p to 4K at Ultra is from 75.6 to 42.4 FPS, a 44% reduction. These figures confirm that the GPU is the determining factor in performance, with its limitations becoming more pronounced at higher resolutions and detail levels.