Palworld

Palworld pairs the Intel Core i5-12600KF with the Intel Arc B390, a combination that produces a heavily GPU-limited experience across all tested settings. The measured data shows a system constrained by the graphics solution, with the CPU’s substantial multi-threaded capacity going largely underutilized in this survival title. The Arc B390’s benchmark percentile of 9 places it among the lowest-performing graphics processors, and the frame rates reflect that positioning. This analysis covers the measured FPS breakdown, resolution scaling, settings behavior, and the distinct roles the CPU and GPU play in Palworld’s performance profile.

FAQ

Q: What is the best average frame rate achieved with this combo at 1080p?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 84, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This drops to 68 at Medium, 53 at High, and 40 at Ultra, showing a clear performance hierarchy across presets.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in overall benchmark scores?

A: The Core i5-12600KF has an average benchmark score of 27799, which is 0.3% lower than the Intel Core i9-10900K (27872) and 0.3% higher than the AMD Ryzen 5 8500GE (27712). It also sits 0.3% below both the AMD Ryzen 7 6800U (27887) and AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D (27896), placing it essentially at parity with all four rivals.

Q: What is the combo’s rank among all tested CPU-GPU pairings for Palworld?

A: This configuration ranks 2607 out of 2944 total combos, placing it in the bottom percentile of tested systems. The rank reflects the GPU’s severe performance ceiling, as the CPU alone would rank much higher based on its 79th percentile standing among all CPUs.

Q: How much faster is the Arc B390 than its closest rival GPU?

A: The Intel Arc B390 scores 1482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, which is 1.3% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463) and 1.5% higher than the GeForce 800M (1460). It also leads the GeForce GT 625 OEM (1446) by 2.5% and the GeForce GT 710 (1443) by 2.7%.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset produces an average of 56 FPS, while Ultra drops to 26 FPS. This represents a 30 FPS reduction, or roughly 54% lower performance, when moving from the lowest to the highest quality preset.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU limit performance in Palworld with this combo?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. The Arc B390 ranks in the 9th percentile among all GPUs, while the Core i5-12600KF ranks in the 79th percentile among CPUs. The frame rate scaling across resolutions—from 84 FPS at 1080p Low to 19 FPS at 4K High—is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario where the graphics processor cannot keep pace with the CPU’s capability.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of which presets offer the most playable experience. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers 84 FPS average, the only setting that approaches high-refresh-rate territory. Medium produces 68 FPS, which remains smooth for most gameplay, while High drops to 53 FPS and Ultra falls to 40 FPS. For players prioritizing frame rate, Low at 1080p is the only preset that achieves a comfortable margin above 60 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the situation becomes more constrained. Low settings yield 56 FPS average, which is playable but not ideal for fast-paced action. Medium produces 45 FPS, High drops to 35 FPS, and Ultra falls to 26 FPS. The data suggests that 1440p gaming with this combo requires accepting Low or Medium presets to maintain acceptable smoothness, as anything above Medium risks dropping below 30 FPS.

At 3840x2160, none of the presets deliver playable frame rates. Low averages 31 FPS, Medium 25 FPS, High 19 FPS, and Ultra 15 FPS. The 4K resolution is simply beyond the Arc B390’s capabilities, even at the lowest quality settings. The jump from Low to Medium at 4K incurs a 6 FPS penalty, while High and Ultra are effectively slideshow territory.

The optimal experience balances visual quality and performance. At 1080p, Medium settings at 68 FPS provide the best compromise, offering a 15 FPS improvement over High while retaining more visual fidelity than Low. At 1440p, Low at 56 FPS is the recommended choice, as the 11 FPS gain over Medium does not justify the visual quality loss at higher resolutions. For 4K, the data shows no viable preset, with even Low failing to reach 32 FPS.

The Medium preset consistently shows the most balanced behavior across all resolutions, with measured minimum and maximum values of 58 and 79 FPS at 1080p, 38 and 52 at 1440p, and 21 and 29 at 4K. This consistency suggests Medium is the most stable setting for this hardware combination, providing predictable frame pacing even when average FPS is low.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12600KF is a 10-core, 16-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, fabricated on Intel’s 10 nm process node. It operates with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz, with a TDP of 125 W. The CPU’s cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 20 MB of shared L3 cache. These specifications place it firmly in the mid-range desktop segment, though its benchmark scores indicate strong multi-threaded performance.

The CPU’s synthetic benchmarks reveal its capability. In Cinebench R23, it scores 23391 multi-core and 3302 single-core. Geekbench results show 12137 multi-core and 2157 single-core. The 3DMark multi-threaded tests show scaling from 1995 at 2 threads to 7952 at max threads, indicating good thread scaling. The PassMark multi-thread score is 27575, with a single-thread score of 3925. These numbers place the CPU in the 79th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 27799.

The nearest rival comparisons demonstrate the CPU’s competitive position. It trails the Intel Core i9-10900K by only 0.3%, which is remarkable given the architectural differences. It also sits within 0.3% of the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D, a processor widely regarded as strong for gaming. The parity with these rivals suggests the i5-12600KF provides ample processing headroom for most workloads.

In Palworld, however, this CPU power is not the primary determinant of performance. The measured FPS data shows that even at 1080p Low, where the CPU would theoretically have the most influence, the system achieves 84 FPS. The Arc B390’s low performance ceiling means the CPU rarely becomes the bottleneck. The 10 cores and 16 threads are more than sufficient for Palworld’s demands, which likely include world simulation and creature AI, but the GPU cannot translate that CPU capability into high frame rates.

The CPU’s memory support for both DDR4 and DDR5, along with dual-channel memory bus, provides flexibility for system configuration. Its PCIe Gen 4 support with 20 lanes ensures adequate bandwidth for storage and other peripherals. The unlocked multiplier allows overclocking, though the GPU limitation makes this largely irrelevant for Palworld performance.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of Intel Core i5-12600KF and Intel Arc B390 ranks 2607 out of 2944 tested combos in Palworld. This places it in the bottom 11.4% of all configurations, a position driven almost entirely by the GPU’s performance. The combo rank reflects the measured FPS data, which shows the Arc B390 struggling to maintain playable frame rates at higher resolutions and settings.

The rank disparity between CPU and GPU is stark. The CPU alone sits in the 79th percentile, meaning it outperforms 79% of all CPUs in the database. The GPU sits in the 9th percentile, meaning 91% of GPUs outperform it. This mismatch creates a system where the CPU is vastly more capable than the GPU, yet the GPU dictates overall game performance. In Palworld, the combo rank of 2607 out of 2944 places this system firmly in the low-performance tier, suitable only for 1080p gaming at reduced settings.

The implications of this rank are significant for users. The system cannot leverage the CPU’s multi-threaded strength in Palworld because the GPU cannot process frames fast enough. The 16 threads and high clock speeds of the i5-12600KF are wasted in this configuration, as the Arc B390’s 1536 shading units and 24 ROPs limit pixel throughput. The 7.680 TFLOPS FP32 performance of the GPU is insufficient for modern game rendering at high resolutions.

The rank also highlights the importance of balanced system configuration. A CPU in the 79th percentile paired with a GPU in the 9th percentile creates a severe bottleneck. In Palworld, this results in the system performing like a low-end machine despite having a capable processor. Users with this combo would see significant improvements by upgrading the GPU, as the CPU has substantial headroom to support a more powerful graphics card.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics processor based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, manufactured on Intel’s 3 nm process node. It operates with a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2500 MHz, with a TDP of 80 W. The GPU features 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 ROPs, along with 12 ray tracing cores. Its memory configuration uses system shared memory, with bandwidth described as system dependent. The FP32 performance is rated at 7.680 TFLOPS, with a pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s and texture rate of 120.0 GTexel/s.

The GPU’s benchmark performance is severely limited. Its only measured benchmark, 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, yields a score of 1482, placing it in the 9th percentile among all GPUs. The nearest rivals are all ancient NVIDIA GPUs: the GT 520MX (1463), GeForce 800M (1460), GT 625 OEM (1446), and GT 710 (1443). The Arc B390 leads these by margins of 1.3% to 2.7%, but these rivals represent some of the weakest GPUs in the database. This positioning confirms the Arc B390 is not competitive with even entry-level discrete graphics solutions.

In Palworld, the GPU’s limitations dominate the performance profile. The measured FPS data shows a clear pattern: the GPU cannot handle high resolutions or high settings. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 84 FPS, but this falls to 40 FPS at 1080p Ultra. At 4K, even Low settings only produce 31 FPS. The GPU’s 24 ROPs and low fill rate are insufficient for the pixel-heavy demands of 4K rendering.

The system shared memory configuration means the GPU uses system RAM, which introduces latency and bandwidth limitations. The 2500 MHz boost clock provides some computational capability, but the 7.680 TFLOPS FP32 is modest by modern standards. The 12 ray tracing cores are present, but Palworld likely does not utilize them significantly, and the low overall performance would make ray tracing impractical.

The GPU’s integrated nature (slot width IGP, bus interface IGP) explains its performance characteristics. It is designed for portable devices, as indicated by its display outputs being "portable device dependent." This suggests the Arc B390 is not intended for desktop gaming, yet it is paired with a desktop CPU in this test configuration. The mismatch is apparent in the results.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across three resolutions and four settings. At 1920x1080, the system achieves 84 FPS average on Low, 68 FPS on Medium, 53 FPS on High, and 40 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset shows the most complete data with minimum 58 FPS and maximum 79 FPS, indicating reasonable frame consistency. The spread from Low to Ultra is 44 FPS, with each settings tier costing roughly 10-15 FPS.

At 2560x1440, performance drops significantly. Low averages 56 FPS, Medium 45 FPS, High 35 FPS, and Ultra 26 FPS. The Medium preset again shows the full range: minimum 38 FPS, maximum 52 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p at each setting is substantial: Low loses 28 FPS, Medium loses 23 FPS, High loses 18 FPS, and Ultra loses 14 FPS. The diminishing absolute difference at higher settings suggests the GPU is already heavily loaded at 1080p Ultra.

At 3840x2160, the system cannot maintain playable frame rates. Low averages 31 FPS, Medium 25 FPS, High 19 FPS, and Ultra 15 FPS. The Medium preset shows minimum 21 FPS and maximum 29 FPS. The 4K resolution overwhelms the GPU, with even Low settings failing to reach 32 FPS. The progression from 1080p to 4K at Low settings is 84 to 56 to 31 FPS, showing a steep decline.

The settings scaling within each resolution reveals the GPU’s sensitivity to quality presets. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 44 FPS (84 to 40). At 1440p, the difference is 30 FPS (56 to 26). At 4K, the difference is 16 FPS (31 to 15). The reducing absolute differences at higher resolutions indicate the GPU becomes the limiting factor more severely, with settings changes having less impact when the resolution already exceeds the GPU’s capability.

Resolution Scaling

The resolution scaling from 1080p to 4K shows a consistent pattern of performance degradation, but the rate of degradation varies by settings. At Low settings, the system delivers 84 FPS at 1080p, 56 FPS at 1440p, and 31 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 33.3%, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 44.6%. This accelerating decline indicates the GPU’s pixel throughput limits become more pronounced as resolution increases.

At Medium settings, the progression is 68 FPS at 1080p, 45 FPS at 1440p, and 25 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are 33.8% and 44.4%, respectively, nearly identical to Low settings. This similarity suggests the GPU is pixel-bound rather than shader-bound, as the resolution affects performance similarly regardless of the quality preset.

At High settings, the system achieves 53 FPS at 1080p, 35 FPS at 1440p, and 19 FPS at 4K. The drops are 34.0% and 45.7%. At Ultra settings, the progression is 40 FPS at 1080p, 26 FPS at 1440p, and 15 FPS at 4K, with drops of 35.0% and 42.3%. The consistency of these percentage drops across all settings—roughly one-third loss from 1080p to 1440p and another 44% loss from 1440p to 4K—points to a purely resolution-bound GPU.

This scaling behavior indicates the Arc B390 is the limiting component. The CPU’s performance is independent of resolution, so any resolution-based performance change must come from the GPU. The fact that 4K performance is roughly 37% of 1080p performance at every settings level confirms the GPU cannot handle the increased pixel count. The CPU’s 10 cores and 16 threads have no influence on this scaling, as they provide the same processing capability regardless of resolution.

The limiting component analysis is straightforward: the GPU is the bottleneck. The CPU has sufficient headroom, as evidenced by its 79th percentile ranking and strong multi-threaded scores. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would see similar FPS across resolutions, which is not the case. The 84 FPS at 1080p Low versus 31 FPS at 4K Low shows a 2.7x difference, far more than any CPU-related scaling would produce. The Arc B390’s 9th percentile ranking and 7.680 TFLOPS FP32 performance simply cannot support higher resolutions in Palworld. Users seeking better performance at 1440p or 4K would need a significantly more powerful GPU, as the current configuration is firmly capped by the graphics solution.