Palworld

Palworld pairs the Intel Core i5-13400F with the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX, and the measured results show a combination that is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions but surprisingly capable at 1080p. The RX 7900 XTX delivers massive frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, while the i5-13400F provides enough throughput to keep up, though the data suggests the CPU becomes a limiting factor only at the lowest settings and highest frame rates.

FAQ

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

A: The combination produces an average of 181 FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings, indicating a very smooth experience for high-refresh-rate monitors.

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

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS drops to 50, which is playable but not ideal for competitive gaming, showing the demanding nature of 4K Ultra in Palworld.

Q: Is this combo more CPU or GPU limited?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck at 4K, as FPS scales significantly with settings changes. At 1080p Low, the CPU's limits become more apparent with a 290 FPS average, suggesting the i5-13400F is near its ceiling in this scenario.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested combinations?

A: The combo ranks 539 out of 3711 tested combos, placing it in the top 14.5% of all systems tested for Palworld.

Q: What are the minimum FPS figures for Medium settings?

A: The data includes min FPS only for Medium settings: 200 FPS at 1080p, 131 FPS at 1440p, and 73 FPS at 4K, providing a floor for performance in those configurations.

Q: Does the CPU's 10 cores and 16 threads help in this game?

A: The i5-13400F's 10 cores (with a boost clock of 4.60 GHz) and 16 threads deliver a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 22604, which is sufficient to drive high frame rates, but the GPU's 24 GB VRAM and 960.0 GB/s bandwidth are more critical for the game's visuals.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications directly explain the measured FPS results. With 24 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 384-bit bus, the card offers a memory bandwidth of 960.0 GB/s, which is ample for Palworld's open-world textures and asset streaming at high resolutions. The GPU's 6144 shading units and 192 ROPs, running at a game clock of 2365 MHz and a boost clock of 2498 MHz, provide the raw compute power needed for the game's rendering.

The data shows that the GPU's performance scales predictably with settings. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra settings is 153 FPS (290 vs 137), demonstrating that the GPU has headroom to handle increased graphical loads. The 4K results reinforce this: Ultra settings yield 50 FPS, while Low settings jump to 106 FPS, a 56 FPS swing that highlights the GPU's sensitivity to pixel count and shading complexity. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6841 and a Passmark G3D score of 31238 confirm that this is a high-end GPU, even if its average benchmark score of 19410 places it at the 64th percentile among all GPUs, with nearest rivals including the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB (deltaPct 0.4) and NVIDIA TITAN Xp (deltaPct 1.2) in synthetic tests.

In Palworld specifically, the GPU's 96 ray accelerators and DirectX 12 Ultimate support are less critical than raw rasterization, as the game's art style relies on vibrant environments rather than heavy ray tracing. The 24 GB VRAM is a future-proofing asset, but the measured FPS at 4K High (66 FPS) suggests that the GPU is the limiting factor in this resolution, as reducing settings to Medium increases the average to 86 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 539 out of 3711 tested combinations, which places it in the 85.5th percentile of all systems tested for Palworld. This is a strong result, indicating that the i5-13400F and RX 7900 XTX pairing is well above average for this game. The rank is driven primarily by the GPU's high-end performance, as the CPU's percentile rank of 77 among all CPUs is lower than the combo's overall percentile, suggesting the GPU boosts the system.

To contextualize the CPU's contribution, the i5-13400F has an average benchmark score of 25292, which is nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS (deltaPct 0) and the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D (deltaPct -0.3). These rivals show that the CPU is competitive in synthetic multi-threaded tests, but in Palworld, the GPU's 64th percentile rank among all GPUs is the more relevant metric for frame rates. The combo's rank of 539 means it outperforms the vast majority of systems, but it is not at the very top, likely due to the CPU's mid-range positioning in the 13th Gen lineup.

The data shows that this combo is not CPU-bound in most scenarios, as evidenced by the high FPS at 1440p High (119 FPS) and 4K High (66 FPS). If the CPU were the bottleneck, these numbers would be lower and more consistent across resolutions. Instead, the rank reflects a balanced system where the GPU does the heavy lifting, making it a solid choice for Palworld players who prioritize graphical fidelity.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across three resolutions and four settings tiers. At 1920x1080, the combo delivers exceptional frame rates: 290 FPS on Low, 235 FPS on Medium (with min FPS of 200 and max of 270), 181 FPS on High, and 137 FPS on Ultra. These numbers indicate that the RX 7900 XTX is overkill for 1080p, as even Ultra settings exceed 144 Hz, making this setup ideal for high-refresh-rate esports or smooth exploration.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales down but remains very strong: 191 FPS on Low, 155 FPS on Medium (min 131, max 178), 119 FPS on High, and 90 FPS on Ultra. The 1440p High result is particularly notable, as it provides a balance of visual quality and speed that suits most gamers. The drop from 1080p High to 1440p High is 62 FPS, a 34% reduction, which is consistent with the increased pixel count.

At 3840x2160, the GPU starts to show its limits: 106 FPS on Low, 86 FPS on Medium (min 73, max 99), 66 FPS on High, and 50 FPS on Ultra. The 4K High result of 66 FPS is playable, but the Ultra setting at 50 FPS may require adaptive sync or a lower resolution for a smoother experience. The Medium setting at 4K (86 FPS) is a sweet spot, offering a significant improvement over High and Ultra while maintaining visual integrity.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K reveals the GPU's dominance in this pairing. At High settings, the average FPS decreases from 181 at 1080p to 119 at 1440p (a 34% drop) and then to 66 at 4K (a 45% drop from 1440p). This scaling is non-linear, indicating that the GPU's fill rate and bandwidth are being taxed as resolution increases. The RX 7900 XTX's 960.0 GB/s bandwidth is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K, the memory subsystem and pixel throughput become limiting factors.

At Low settings, the scaling is even more dramatic: 290 FPS at 1080p drops to 191 at 1440p (34% drop) and then to 106 at 4K (45% drop). The fact that 1080p Low reaches 290 FPS suggests that the CPU is starting to bottleneck, as the GPU has ample headroom. This is supported by the 3DMark single-thread score of 960 and Passmark single-thread score of 3634, which are modest for a modern CPU. At 4K Low (106 FPS), the GPU is clearly the limiting component, as the resolution demands more from the render pipeline.

The scaling pattern suggests that for 4K gaming, users should stick to Medium or High settings to maintain 60+ FPS, while 1440p is the sweet spot for this combo, offering high visual fidelity with frame rates above 90 FPS in all settings. The 1080p results are best for competitive play, but the CPU's limits prevent the GPU from reaching its full potential at Low settings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-13400F plays a supporting role in this combo, and its specifications show why it is adequate but not exceptional for Palworld. With 10 cores (6 Performance and 4 Efficient) and 16 threads, the CPU offers a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. This configuration yields strong multi-threaded performance, as evidenced by a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 22604 and a 3DMark max-threads score of 7307. The CPU's 20 MB of shared L3 cache and support for DDR4/DDR5 memory provide solid fundamentals for gaming.

In Palworld, the CPU's role is to handle game logic, physics, and AI, which are typically single-threaded or lightly threaded. The 3DMark single-thread score of 960 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3191 indicate that the CPU has decent single-core performance, but it is not top-tier. This is reflected in the 1080p Low result of 290 FPS, which is likely CPU-limited, as the GPU could theoretically push higher frame counts.

The nearest rivals in CPU benchmarks include the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS (deltaPct 0) and AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D (deltaPct -0.3), both of which have similar average scores. This shows that the i5-13400F is competitive with other mid-range to high-end CPUs, but it does not stand out. For Palworld, the CPU's 10 cores and 16 threads are sufficient to avoid becoming a bottleneck at standard settings, but at 1080p Low, the game's frame rate is constrained by the CPU's processing speed. The data suggests that for most players using 1440p or 4K, the CPU will not be a limiting factor, making the RX 7900 XTX the primary driver of performance.