Palworld

Palworld, a Survival title released on 2024-01-18, presents a demanding workload that scales significantly with resolution and quality settings. This analysis examines the measured performance of the Intel Core i5-13400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT, using the benchmark data provided. The data shows a configuration that is capable of high refresh rate gaming at 1080p, but which becomes increasingly GPU-bound as resolution climbs, with frame rates dropping below the 60 FPS threshold at 4K Ultra settings.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear and predictable pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 139.7 FPS at 1080p to 91.7 FPS at 2560x1440, and finally to 47.9 FPS at 4K. This represents a substantial 65.7% reduction in performance from 1080p to 4K, indicating that the rendering load scales heavily with pixel count. The same trend is evident across all quality presets, with the Low preset showing the most dramatic absolute drop from 223.5 FPS at 1080p to 84.1 FPS at 4K.

The scaling behavior points to the GPU as the primary limiting component at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the frame rates are exceptionally high across all settings, suggesting that the Intel Core i5-13400F is capable of feeding the Radeon RX 7800 XT adequately. However, the 4K results show the GPU struggling to maintain high frame rates, particularly at Ultra settings where the average FPS falls to 38.8. The gap between 1080p and 1440p performance is smaller than the gap between 1440p and 4K, which is consistent with the quadratic increase in pixel count. For instance, at Medium settings, the difference between 1080p (182 FPS) and 1440p (121.8 FPS) is 60.2 FPS, while the difference between 1440p and 4K (68.8 FPS) is 53 FPS, despite the larger absolute resolution jump. This indicates that the game's engine scales efficiently with resolution until it hits a hard GPU bottleneck at 4K.

FAQ

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

A: The average frame rate at 1920x1080 with High settings is 139.7 FPS. This is well above the 60 FPS standard for smooth gameplay, indicating a strong performance level for this resolution and preset.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS drops to 38.8. This is below the 60 FPS threshold, suggesting that the Radeon RX 7800 XT is heavily taxed at this resolution and quality level, and users may need to lower settings for a smoother experience.

Q: What is the best performance result in the measured data?

A: The highest average frame rate recorded is 223.5 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This demonstrates the combination's capability for very high refresh rate gaming when graphical demands are minimal.

Q: How much faster is 1080p compared to 4K at Medium settings?

A: At Medium settings, the average FPS at 1080p is 182, while at 4K it is 68.8. This represents a 164.5% higher frame rate at 1080p, showing a significant performance advantage at the lower resolution.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1440p High settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with High settings, the average FPS is 91.7. This solid result, combined with the sharp drop at 4K, suggests the GPU is becoming the primary bottleneck at 1440p, though the CPU still provides sufficient headroom for high frame rates.

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

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset delivers an average of 148.6 FPS, while the Ultra preset delivers 67.6 FPS. The difference of 81 FPS highlights the substantial performance cost of enabling the highest quality settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-13400F and AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT combination holds a combo rank of 617 out of 1718 tested combos in Palworld. This places the configuration in the top 35.9% of all tested systems, indicating a solid, above-average performance level for this specific game. The rank reflects a balance between the CPU and GPU, where the 10-core, 16-thread processor provides strong single and multi-threaded performance, and the GPU's 16 GB of memory and RDNA 3.0 architecture contribute to the frame rates observed.

The rank is consistent with the measured FPS data, which shows the combo achieving playable frame rates at most settings and resolutions, with the exception of 4K Ultra. The percentile ranking of the CPU at 82 and the GPU at 76 further contextualizes the pairing. The CPU's higher percentile suggests it is less of a limiting factor than the GPU, which aligns with the resolution scaling analysis that identified the GPU as the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. The combination's position in the middle of the pack is a reasonable outcome for a mid-range to upper-mid-range hardware pairing, offering substantial performance for Palworld without reaching the top tier of tested systems.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across three resolutions and four quality settings. At 1920x1080, the combination delivers high frame rates across the board, starting at 223.5 FPS on Low, dropping to 182 FPS on Medium, 139.7 FPS on High, and 104.2 FPS on Ultra. These results show that at 1080p, the i5-13400F and RX 7800 XT are well-matched, with even the most demanding Ultra preset producing frame rates that exceed 100 FPS, ensuring a smooth experience on high refresh rate monitors.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance remains strong but shows the expected decrease. The Low preset yields 148.6 FPS, Medium drops to 121.8 FPS, High to 91.7 FPS, and Ultra to 67.6 FPS. The 1440p results are particularly noteworthy because even with Ultra settings, the average FPS remains above 60, indicating that this resolution is a viable option for gamers who want high visual fidelity without sacrificing playability. At 3840x2160, the performance impact is more pronounced. The Low preset still achieves a respectable 84.1 FPS, but Medium drops to 68.8 FPS, High to 47.9 FPS, and Ultra to a demanding 38.8 FPS. The 4K data clearly shows that the Ultra preset is not suitable for competitive or fast-paced play, while the High preset may be acceptable for less demanding scenarios.

The data also reveals the scaling efficiency of the game's settings. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 119.3 FPS, at 1440p it is 81 FPS, and at 4K it is 45.3 FPS. This diminishing absolute difference at higher resolutions confirms that the GPU resource allocation becomes more critical as pixel count increases, with the quality settings having a relatively smaller impact on frame rate when the GPU is already saturated.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT plays a central role in the performance observed in Palworld, particularly at higher resolutions. The GPU's 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides a substantial bandwidth of 624.1 GB/s, which is sufficient for the game's texture and geometry data at 4K. The memory clock is listed at 2438 MHz with a 19.5 Gbps effective rate, and the boost clock reaches 2430 MHz. These specifications, combined with the RDNA 3.0 architecture and 3840 shading units, contribute to the GPU's compute capabilities of 37.32 TFLOPS FP32.

The benchmark results show that the GPU's performance is the deciding factor in the frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K. At 1080p, the GPU is not fully utilized, as evidenced by the high frame rates across all settings, including 223.5 FPS on Low. However, as resolution increases, the GPU workload scales proportionally, leading to the significant FPS reductions seen at 1440p and 4K. The 4K Ultra result of 38.8 FPS suggests that the RX 7800 XT is near its limit with this game's most demanding settings.

The GPU's percentile rank of 76 against all GPUs places it in the upper quartile of available graphics cards. Its nearest rivals, such as the AMD FirePro S9300 X2 with a deltaPct of 0.2, show that it is closely matched with other high-performance GPUs in synthetic benchmarks. The 16 GB memory capacity is a notable advantage for Palworld, as the game's open-world environments and numerous entities can consume significant VRAM, particularly at 4K. The GPU's DirectX 12 Ultimate support ensures compatibility with the game's modern rendering features. The data indicates that the RX 7800 XT is a strong partner for the i5-13400F, offering enough raw performance for high-refresh 1080p and playable 1440p, while 4K gaming requires careful settings management.