Palworld

Palworld pairs the Intel Core i5-12400F with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER, and the measured frame rates show a combo that is heavily balanced toward the GPU at higher resolutions but becomes increasingly CPU-bound as resolution drops. The RTX 4070 SUPER sits in the 84th percentile of all GPUs, while the i5-12400F lands in the 77th percentile of CPUs, suggesting a pairing where the graphics card is the stronger component on paper. This dynamic plays out clearly in the scaling behavior across 1080p, 1440p, and 4K, where the gap between Low and Ultra settings narrows dramatically as pixel count rises.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS deltas between settings compress as resolution increases, which is the classic signature of a GPU-limited scenario at 4K and a CPU-limited one at 1080p. At 1920x1080, the jump from Low to Ultra costs 149.7 FPS on average (278.6 down to 128.9), a 54% reduction in throughput. That massive spread indicates the CPU is feeding frames fast enough to expose the GPU’s full range of capability, but also that the i5-12400F’s six cores are the ceiling when settings drop. At 2560x1440, the same Low-to-Ultra transition drops from 181.5 to 86.3 FPS, a 95.2 FPS gap, showing the GPU starting to take on more work but still leaving headroom. By 3840x2160, the spread tightens to 50.2 FPS (99.3 Low versus 49.1 Ultra), meaning the RTX 4070 SUPER is now the primary bottleneck, and CPU speed matters far less.

The 4K data is particularly telling: High settings at 64.2 FPS and Ultra at 49.1 FPS both fall below the 60 FPS threshold, while Medium at 81.3 FPS clears it comfortably. This suggests that at 4K, the GPU’s 12 GB of VRAM and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth are the limiting factors, not the processor. Conversely, at 1080p, even Ultra hits 128.9 FPS, which is far above what most displays can show, indicating that the CPU is leaving performance on the table only if you chase maximum frame rates on low-end monitors. The scaling pattern implies that owners of high-refresh 1080p panels will see diminishing returns from the 4070 SUPER, while 4K users will need to accept Medium settings to stay fluid.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Palworld at 4K with playable frame rates?

A: Yes, but only at Medium or Low settings. Medium averages 81.3 FPS, while High drops to 64.2 FPS and Ultra falls to 49.1 FPS, the latter being below the 60 FPS target.

Q: What is the best resolution for this pairing if I want high refresh rates?

A: At 1920x1080, all settings exceed 128 FPS, with High at 171.4 FPS and Low at 278.6 FPS. Even 2560x1440 High hits 114.9 FPS, making 1440p the sweet spot for 100+ FPS gaming.

Q: How does the i5-12400F compare to its nearest CPU rivals?

A: The i5-12400F’s average benchmark score of 19221 is nearly identical to the Intel Core i7-8700K (19210, deltaPct 0.1) and Intel Core i5-1335U (19167, deltaPct 0.3), while it trails the AMD Ryzen 5 7533HS by 0.7% and beats the AMD EPYC 7773X by 1.3%.

Q: Is the RTX 4070 SUPER a strong performer relative to other GPUs?

A: Its average benchmark score of 42576 places it in the 84th percentile of all GPUs. It is slightly behind the NVIDIA RTX A6000 (42653, deltaPct -0.2) and AMD Radeon RX 7650 GRE (42723, deltaPct -0.3), but ahead of the AMD Radeon Pro 580X (41991, deltaPct 1.4) and NVIDIA Tesla M40 (41897, deltaPct 1.6).

Q: Does Palworld favor the CPU or GPU in this configuration?

A: The data shows a shift: at 1080p, the CPU limits maximum FPS, as evidenced by the 149.7 FPS spread between Low and Ultra. At 4K, the GPU becomes the bottleneck, with the spread shrinking to 50.2 FPS.

Q: What is the launch MSRP for both components?

A: The Intel Core i5-12400F had a launch MSRP of $174, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER had a launch MSRP of 599 USD.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F brings six cores and twelve threads to the table, running at a 2.50 GHz base clock and boosting up to 4.40 GHz. Its 18 MB of shared L3 cache and 10 nm Alder Lake architecture provide solid single-thread performance, as evidenced by a 3dmark single-thread score of 909 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2332. In Palworld, this translates to strong frame pacing at lower resolutions where the engine’s draw calls and physics calculations are more likely to hit the processor. The CPU’s multithreaded scores—Cinebench R23 multicore at 16518 and Geekbench multicore at 9138—suggest it can handle background tasks while gaming, but the real story is how it scales with GPU load.

At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 278.6 FPS, which is a clear indication that the CPU is not the limiting factor when the GPU is underutilized. However, the 128.9 FPS at Ultra shows that even a capable six-core part can become a constraint when the GPU is asked to do less work per frame. The percentile rank of 77 versus the GPU’s 84 highlights the imbalance: the CPU is slightly weaker relative to its peers than the GPU is, which explains why frame rates at 1080p do not scale linearly with GPU effort. The 3dmark 16-thread score of 5895 versus the max-thread score of 5912 indicates that the processor is well-utilized at higher thread counts, but Palworld’s engine likely does not scale perfectly beyond six cores, leaving the 12 threads partially idle in some scenes.

The CPU’s memory support for both DDR4 and DDR5, paired with a dual-channel bus, means memory bandwidth is unlikely to be a bottleneck in this game. The 65W TDP also suggests thermal headroom for sustained boosts, which is beneficial for long sessions. In practice, the i5-12400F is enough to push high frame rates at 1440p and below, but its influence wanes at 4K where the GPU’s 35.48 TFLOPS of FP32 performance takes over. The nearest rival comparison shows the i5-12400F is essentially tied with the older i7-8700K (deltaPct 0.1), meaning generational improvements have not translated into a meaningful lead in raw compute, but the newer architecture’s efficiency helps in gaming workloads.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the RTX 4070 SUPER and i5-12400F combination delivers exceptional headroom for competitive play. Low settings average 278.6 FPS, Medium drops to 225.1 FPS, High sits at 171.4 FPS, and Ultra still manages 128.9 FPS. The step from Low to Medium is a 53.5 FPS loss, while Medium to High loses 53.7 FPS, and High to Ultra loses 42.5 FPS, showing a relatively even degradation as settings increase. This resolution is clearly GPU-bound only at the highest presets, since the CPU can feed frames faster than the GPU can render them at lower settings.

Moving to 2560x1440, the numbers become more balanced. Low averages 181.5 FPS, Medium hits 149.9 FPS, High reaches 114.9 FPS, and Ultra falls to 86.3 FPS. The gaps between settings are 31.6 FPS (Low to Medium), 35.0 FPS (Medium to High), and 28.6 FPS (High to Ultra), which are more uniform than at 1080p. This suggests the GPU is starting to become the limiting factor, but the CPU still has enough headroom to avoid major bottlenecks. High at 114.9 FPS is the standout for 1440p gaming, offering a smooth experience on 120Hz monitors without needing to drop quality.

At 3840x2160, the story changes completely. Low averages 99.3 FPS, Medium drops to 81.3 FPS, High falls to 64.2 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 49.1 FPS. The deltas are 18.0 FPS (Low to Medium), 17.1 FPS (Medium to High), and 15.1 FPS (High to Ultra), indicating that each setting tier has a similar cost but the absolute numbers are lower. This resolution is unambiguously GPU-limited, and the 12 GB of GDDR6X memory at 504.2 GB/s bandwidth is likely the constraining factor at Ultra settings. The 49.1 FPS at Ultra is below the 60 FPS target, making Medium at 81.3 FPS the recommended choice for 4K.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER, built on the 5 nm Ada Lovelace architecture with the AD104 chip, is the dominant component in this pairing. Its 7168 shading units, 224 texture mapping units, and 80 ROPs deliver a raw FP32 throughput of 35.48 TFLOPS, which is more than sufficient for Palworld’s stylized graphics. The GPU’s 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus provides 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth, a figure that becomes critical at 4K where texture streaming and asset loading demand high throughput. The boost clock of 2475 MHz ensures that the card can sustain high clocks under load, and the 220W TDP is reasonable for the performance on offer.

The GPU’s benchmark scores reinforce its position in the 84th percentile: the Passmark G3D score of 29995 and the 3dmark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 4627 indicate strong DirectX 12 performance, which is relevant for a game like Palworld running on modern APIs. The Geekbench OpenCL score of 192684 and Vulkan score of 179271 show that the card is well-optimized across different compute interfaces. In Palworld, the GPU’s role is most evident at 4K, where it becomes the sole bottleneck. The fact that Low at 4K (99.3 FPS) is still slower than High at 1440p (114.9 FPS) highlights how resolution scaling taxes the rasterization pipeline.

The nearest rival comparisons show the 4070 SUPER is nearly identical to the RTX A6000 (deltaPct -0.2) and RX 7650 GRE (deltaPct -0.3) in average benchmark score, which puts it in a competitive tier despite being a consumer card. The 1.4% lead over the AMD Radeon Pro 580X and 1.6% over the Tesla M40 suggests that the 4070 SUPER is well-positioned for gaming workloads. In Palworld specifically, the GPU’s 12 GB VRAM is sufficient for all settings at 1080p and 1440p, and only at 4K Ultra does the memory pressure become apparent, as evidenced by the 49.1 FPS average. The card’s support for DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4 ensures it can handle the game’s rendering features, but the data suggests that Ultra presets at 4K are pushing the limits of what this GPU can deliver smoothly.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend entirely on your display’s resolution and refresh rate. For 1920x1080, any preset is viable, but High at 171.4 FPS is the best balance of visual quality and performance, especially since Ultra at 128.9 FPS offers diminishing returns for the extra GPU load. If you have a 240Hz monitor, Low at 278.6 FPS is the only way to get close to that refresh ceiling, but Medium at 225.1 FPS is a more practical choice for most high-refresh panels.

At 2560x1440, High at 114.9 FPS is the clear winner, providing a smooth experience on 120Hz displays without sacrificing much visual fidelity. Medium at 149.9 FPS is the option for those with 144Hz monitors who want to stay well above the refresh rate, while Ultra at 86.3 FPS is still playable but not ideal for competitive play. Low at 181.5 FPS is overkill and will introduce more visual artifacts than necessary.

For 3840x2160, Medium at 81.3 FPS is the only preset that comfortably exceeds 60 FPS, making it the recommended setting for 4K gaming. High at 64.2 FPS is borderline acceptable for slower-paced exploration, but it will drop below 60 FPS in busy scenes. Ultra at 49.1 FPS should be avoided unless you are willing to accept stutter-prone frame times. Low at 99.3 FPS is surprisingly playable, but the visual downgrade is significant, so Medium is the sweet spot for 4K. The data strongly suggests that this combo is best used at 1440p High for the ideal experience, with 4K Medium as a fallback for those who prioritize resolution over frame rate.