Palworld

Palworld’s measured performance with the Intel Core i5-14400F and AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX reveals a system that scales predictably with resolution and settings, landing in the top 14% of all tested combinations. The data shows a clear hierarchy: at 1080p, the frame rates are extraordinarily high, while 4K Ultra pushes the hardware to its limits. This analysis breaks down the component roles, optimal settings, and scaling behavior based strictly on the measured rows.

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

The Intel Core i5-14400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor from the Raptor Lake Refresh generation, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. Its 20 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel memory support (DDR4 and DDR5) position it as a solid mid-range desktop part. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21914 and a single-core score of 3093, with a Geekbench multi-core score of 11209. Its PassMark multithread score of 25783 and single-thread score of 3723 place it in the 88th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 32508.

Relative to its nearest rivals, the i5-14400F is essentially performance-neutral. It sits within 0.2% of the Intel Core i7-12800H, AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 7645, AMD Ryzen 7 250, and Intel Core i7-13705H in average score. This suggests that in Palworld, the CPU is unlikely to be the primary bottleneck at any resolution, as even the highest frame rates observed (292.1 FPS at 1080p Low) are far below what would stress a 10-core processor's limits. The data indicates that the CPU's role is to feed the GPU efficiently, and its strong single-thread performance (a Cinebench R15 single-core score of 311) supports the game's primary thread demands without causing frame pacing issues. The high multi-core scores also ensure that background tasks or Palworld's simulation elements do not cause dips, though the measured FPS data shows no min-FPS values to confirm this directly.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX is the dominant component in this pairing. Built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with a Navi 31 chip, it features 24 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 384-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 960.0 GB/s. Its boost clock is 2498 MHz, with a game clock of 2365 MHz. The GPU's raw compute capability is substantial: 61.39 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, 6144 shading units, and 192 ROPs. In DirectX 12 benchmarks, it scores 6841 in 3DMark Steel Nomad, and its PassMark G3D score is 31238. The GPU sits in the 85th percentile of all graphics cards, with an average benchmark score of 44019.

Compared to its nearest rivals, the RX 7900 XTX is slightly ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile (0.8% delta) and the NVIDIA Quadro M6000 (1.6% delta), while trailing the AMD Radeon Pro 580 by 0.4% and the RTX 4070 Ti by 2%. In Palworld, the GPU's massive 24 GB VRAM pool is more than sufficient for any preset, even at 4K Ultra, eliminating any memory-related stutters. The high bandwidth and clock speeds directly translate to the FPS numbers: the GPU is clearly the limiting factor at higher resolutions and settings, as evidenced by the FPS drop from 292.1 at 1080p Low to 51.3 at 4K Ultra. The data suggests that the RX 7900 XTX's performance scales with resolution, but the CPU keeps up at lower settings, making the GPU the sole determinant of frame rates in most scenarios.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Examining the measured rows, the "Medium" preset offers the most balanced experience across all resolutions, providing a significant jump over "High" while maintaining playable frame rates at 4K. At 1920x1080, Medium yields 233.1 FPS, which is 50.2 FPS higher than High (182.9) and only 59 FPS below Low (292.1). At 2560x1440, Medium hits 153.6 FPS, comfortably above the 144 Hz refresh rate common on high-end monitors, while High drops to 117.4 FPS. At 3840x2160, Medium delivers 84.3 FPS, which is playable, whereas High manages 67.4 FPS and Ultra falls to 51.3 FPS.

For the best experience, the data points to Medium as the sweet spot. It provides the largest FPS gain over High relative to the visual quality cost, and it keeps the system well above the 60 FPS threshold for all resolutions except 4K, where it still exceeds it. Low settings are only recommended for competitive play at 1080p, where the 292.1 FPS figure maximizes refresh rate potential, but the visual trade-off is substantial. Ultra, while offering the best image quality, is only viable at 1080p (133.9 FPS) and 1440p (89 FPS), but the 4K Ultra score of 51.3 FPS suggests it is too demanding for smooth gameplay at that resolution.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

This specific combination of the Intel Core i5-14400F and AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX ranks 238th out of 1718 tested combos in Palworld, placing it in the top 13.8% of all systems. This is a strong showing, but the rank reveals that other pairings achieve higher average frame rates. Given that the CPU is in the 88th percentile and the GPU in the 85th percentile, the combo ranking suggests that Palworld is more sensitive to GPU performance, as the GPU's percentile is lower, indicating more room for improvement on the graphics side.

The rank of 238 implies that there are 237 combinations that outperform this setup, likely featuring higher-end CPUs or GPUs, but the margin is not extreme. The data shows that the i5-14400F's nearest rivals perform within 0.2% of it, so swapping the CPU would not meaningfully change the rank. Conversely, the GPU's nearest rivals show a wider delta (up to 2%), meaning that a GPU upgrade could push this combo higher. The rank is a direct reflection of the measured FPS across all settings and resolutions, and it validates the balance of this pairing for 1440p and high-refresh 1080p gaming.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K is stark and reveals the GPU as the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 182.9 at 1920x1080 to 117.4 at 2560x1440, a 35.8% decrease, and then to 67.4 at 3840x2160, a further 42.6% decrease from 1440p. This halving of frame rates from 1080p to 4K is a classic sign of GPU-bound performance, as the CPU's workload does not increase with resolution.

At Low settings, the pattern is even more pronounced: 292.1 FPS at 1080p falls to 191.5 at 1440p (a 34.4% drop) and then to 107.2 at 4K (a 44.0% drop from 1440p). The fact that the FPS still drops significantly at Low settings indicates that even with reduced graphical load, the GPU's pixel throughput and shading resources are the limiting factor. The CPU, with its 10 cores and 4.70 GHz boost clock, is not saturating at any point, as evidenced by the 292.1 FPS ceiling at 1080p Low, which is a frame rate that most processors would struggle to feed. This scaling behavior confirms that the RX 7900 XTX is the component that dictates playable resolutions, and the i5-14400F provides ample headroom for the GPU to express its full potential.

FAQ — 4-6 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo achieves at 1080p?

A: The highest measured average FPS at 1920x1080 is 292.1, achieved with Low settings. The Ultra preset at the same resolution yields 133.9 FPS.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested systems in Palworld?

A: This pairing ranks 238th out of 1718 total tested combos, placing it in the top 13.8% of systems.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more likely to be the bottleneck at 4K Ultra?

A: The GPU is the bottleneck. At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS drops to 51.3, while the CPU's benchmark scores (88th percentile) suggest it has ample headroom, and the FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is consistent with GPU-bound scaling.

Q: What is the recommended preset for a balance of visual quality and frame rate?

A: The Medium preset offers the best balance. It produces 233.1 FPS at 1080p, 153.6 FPS at 1440p, and 84.3 FPS at 4K, all of which are higher than the High preset's scores.

Q: How does the RX 7900 XTX compare to the RTX 4090 Mobile in average benchmark score?

A: The RX 7900 XTX has an average benchmark score of 44019, which is 0.8% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile's score of 43667.

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

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset achieves 191.5 FPS, while the Ultra preset achieves 89 FPS, a difference of 102.5 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The measured FPS data is comprehensive, covering three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the average FPS ranges from 292.1 on Low to 133.9 on Ultra. The Medium preset scores 233.1, and High scores 182.9. This shows a clear linear progression, with each step up in settings costing roughly 50-60 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the values drop across the board. Low yields 191.5, Medium 153.6, High 117.4, and Ultra 89. The gap between Low and Ultra here is 102.5 FPS, indicating that the GPU's workload at 1440p is substantial but still manageable. At 3840x2160, the numbers compress: Low hits 107.2, Medium 84.3, High 67.4, and Ultra 51.3. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 55.9 FPS, which is proportionally smaller than at lower resolutions, confirming that the GPU is nearing its limit. Notably, the 4K High score of 67.4 FPS is just above the 60 FPS threshold, while 4K Ultra falls below it, making Medium the highest playable preset at 4K based on the data.