Palworld

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

The Intel Core i5-13400F is a 10-core, 16-thread desktop processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process. It runs at a base clock of 2.50 GHz and boosts up to 4.60 GHz, with 20 MB of shared L3 cache. This CPU sits in the 82nd percentile of all processors tested, with an average benchmark score of 25236.

In Palworld, the CPU's role is most visible at lower resolutions and settings, where frame rates climb high enough to expose processor limits. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 140.4 FPS, which is the highest measured result across all configurations. The fact that the CPU can drive such high frame rates indicates it is not the limiting factor at this setting. The 3DMark multi-threaded score of 7314 and single-thread score of 960 suggest balanced performance that handles both the game's simulation and rendering threads.

However, the CPU's nearest rivals show how close the competition is. The Core i7-13620H scores 25201 on average, just 0.1% behind the i5-13400F. The AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D scores 25365, which is 0.5% ahead. These are essentially negligible differences in synthetic workloads, meaning the CPU choice among these parts would not meaningfully alter Palworld's frame rates.

The 10-core configuration with 16 threads proves sufficient for Palworld's survival-game workload, which involves world streaming, creature AI, and physics calculations alongside rendering. The 3DMark 8-thread score of 5591 versus the max-thread score of 7307 shows that the CPU scales well beyond eight threads, but the game does not appear to need the full 16 threads to perform well, as evidenced by the strong 1080p results.

FAQ

Q: How does the Intel Core i5-13400F compare to its closest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The i5-13400F's average benchmark score of 25236 puts it within 0.5% of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D (25365), 0.1% of the Intel Core i7-13620H (25201), and 0.5% ahead of the AMD EPYC 9474F (25103). These differences are minor and unlikely to produce noticeable performance gaps in Palworld.

Q: What is the highest frame rate this combo achieves in Palworld, and at what settings?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 140.4 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This drops to 113.7 at Medium, 84.9 at High, and 67.1 at Ultra for the same resolution.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 rank among all GPUs?

A: The GPU sits in the 58th percentile of all graphics cards, with an average benchmark score of 16074. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 7600S, scores 15996, which is 0.5% behind, while the Radeon Pro 5600M and Radeon Pro 5700 both score 16351, putting them 1.7% ahead.

Q: Is the RTX 2060's 6 GB VRAM sufficient for Palworld at 4K?

A: The data shows 4K performance is heavily constrained: 29.9 FPS at High, 43.0 FPS at Medium, and 22.9 FPS at Ultra. The 6 GB GDDR6 memory with 336.0 GB/s bandwidth appears to be a limiting factor at this resolution, as even Low settings only reach 49.7 FPS.

Q: What is the combo's overall ranking in this game?

A: This CPU-GPU combination ranks 1415 out of 1718 tested combos in Palworld, placing it in the lower portion of the field. This rank reflects the RTX 2060's mid-tier status rather than CPU limitations, given the strong 1080p results.

Q: Does the CPU hold back the GPU at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the combo delivers 93.8 FPS on Low and 57.9 FPS on High. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows approximately 33% to 44% frame rate reductions depending on settings, indicating the GPU becomes the primary constraint as resolution increases.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drops from 1080p to 4K reveal a clear GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions. At High settings, the combo delivers 84.9 FPS at 1920x1080, 57.9 FPS at 2560x1440, and 29.9 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 31.8% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 48.4% reduction from 1440p to 4K.

The pattern is consistent across all settings. At Low, the frame rates go from 140.4 at 1080p to 93.8 at 1440p (33.2% drop) to 49.7 at 4K (47.0% drop). At Medium, the values are 113.7, 72.9, and 43.0, representing a 35.9% drop to 1440p and a 41.0% drop to 4K. At Ultra, the numbers are 67.1, 40.4, and 22.9, with decreases of 39.8% and 43.3% respectively.

This scaling behavior indicates the RTX 2060 is the limiting component once resolution increases. The 4K results, which fall below 30 FPS at High and Ultra, show that this GPU cannot sustain playable frame rates at that resolution for this title. The 1440p results, while more playable, still show significant degradation from 1080p, suggesting that 1080p is the sweet spot for this combo.

The consistent percentage drops across settings reinforce that the GPU's rasterization and memory bandwidth constraints dominate at higher resolutions. The 192-bit memory bus and 336.0 GB/s bandwidth, combined with 6 GB of GDDR6, appear insufficient for 4K Palworld workloads.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rates, the Medium preset at 1080p provides the best balance of visual quality and performance for this combo. At 1920x1080 Medium, the combo achieves 113.7 FPS, which is comfortably above the 84.9 FPS seen at High and well above the 67.1 FPS at Ultra. The jump from Medium to High costs 28.8 FPS (25.3% reduction), while the jump from High to Ultra costs another 17.8 FPS (21.0% reduction).

At 1440p, Medium delivers 72.9 FPS, which remains playable, while High drops to 57.9 FPS and Ultra falls to 40.4 FPS. The 1440p Medium setting is the highest resolution at which this combo maintains a smooth experience. At 4K, even Low settings only reach 49.7 FPS, and Medium drops to 43.0 FPS, making this resolution impractical for serious play.

The data suggests that players prioritizing frame rate should choose 1080p Low at 140.4 FPS, while those wanting a balance should select 1080p Medium at 113.7 FPS. For visual quality, 1440p Medium at 72.9 FPS offers the best compromise between image clarity and smoothness. Ultra settings are not recommended at any resolution, as the 4K Ultra result of 22.9 FPS and even the 1080p Ultra result of 67.1 FPS show diminishing returns.

How This Combo Ranks

This Intel Core i5-13400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 combination ranks 1415 out of 1718 tested combos in Palworld, placing it in the bottom 18% of the field. This rank is primarily a reflection of the GPU's mid-range positioning, as the CPU's 82nd percentile standing indicates it is not the bottleneck.

The combo's ranking means that a substantial majority of tested hardware configurations deliver higher frame rates in Palworld. This is consistent with the RTX 2060's 58th percentile GPU ranking and its 16074 average benchmark score. The GPU's nearest rivals — the RX 7600S at 15996, the Radeon Pro 5600M and Radeon Pro 5700 at 16351, and the Radeon Pro W5500 at 15786 — all fall within 1.8% of the RTX 2060's score, suggesting that similar-tier GPUs would produce comparable Palworld results.

For context, the CPU's nearest rivals (i7-13620H, Ryzen 5 5600X3D, EPYC 9474F, Ryzen AI 5 PRO 340) all have average scores within 0.5% of the i5-13400F, meaning CPU choice among these parts would not meaningfully alter the combo ranking. The ranking is therefore driven almost entirely by GPU performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured frame rate data for this combo in Palworld is as follows:

1920x1080:

• Low: 140.4 FPS average
• Medium: 113.7 FPS average
• High: 84.9 FPS average
• Ultra: 67.1 FPS average

2560x1440:

• Low: 93.8 FPS average
• Medium: 72.9 FPS average
• High: 57.9 FPS average
• Ultra: 40.4 FPS average

3840x2160:

• Low: 49.7 FPS average
• Medium: 43.0 FPS average
• High: 29.9 FPS average
• Ultra: 22.9 FPS average

The 1080p results show a clear progression from Low to Ultra, with each settings tier reducing frame rates by roughly 20-30 FPS. The 1440p results follow a similar pattern but with compressed absolute values. The 4K results are uniformly low, with even Low settings failing to reach 50 FPS.

The gap between Low and Ultra settings widens at lower resolutions: 73.3 FPS at 1080p, 53.4 FPS at 1440p, and 26.8 FPS at 4K. This indicates that the GPU's pixel processing capabilities are increasingly saturated as resolution rises, reducing the relative impact of settings changes.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is built on the Turing architecture using TSMC's 12 nm process, with a die size of 445 mm² and 10,800 million transistors. It operates at a base clock of 1365 MHz and a boost clock of 1680 MHz, with 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus providing 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU features 1920 shading units, 120 TMUs, and 48 ROPs, along with 30 RT cores and 240 tensor cores.

In Palworld, the RTX 2060's performance profile is clearly defined by the measured results. At 1080p, it delivers excellent frame rates across all settings, from 67.1 FPS at Ultra to 140.4 FPS at Low. The GPU's 6.451 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 201.6 GTexel/s texture rate prove sufficient for this resolution.

The GPU's limitations emerge at higher resolutions. The 4K results, ranging from 22.9 FPS at Ultra to 49.7 FPS at Low, show that the 336.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 6 GB capacity are inadequate for 4K Palworld. The 1440p results are more acceptable, with Medium settings achieving 72.9 FPS.

The RTX 2060 ranks in the 58th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 16074. Its nearest rivals all fall within 1.8% of this score, indicating tight competition in this performance tier. The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1242 and Passmark G3D score of 14111 provide additional context for its overall compute capabilities.

The GPU's Turing architecture supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, ensuring compatibility with Palworld's rendering requirements. The 30 RT cores and 240 tensor cores provide hardware acceleration for ray tracing and AI features, though these are not typically leveraged in Palworld's standard rendering path. The 160 W TDP and dual-slot design make it a moderately power-hungry card, with a suggested PSU of 450 W.