Palworld

Palworld, a survival title released in early 2024, presents a demanding workload that scales significantly with both resolution and quality settings. For the configuration pairing the Intel Core i5-14400F with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060, the measured frame rates across a matrix of resolutions and presets reveal a system where the GPU becomes the primary constraint at higher pixel counts, while the CPU provides a robust foundation for high-refresh-rate play at 1080p. The data indicates a balanced pairing that is capable of smooth gameplay at 1440p, but which requires settings adjustments to maintain fluidity at 4K.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K clearly illustrates the increasing burden on the graphics card. At 1080p with High settings, the combo produces an average of 109.9 FPS. Moving to 1440p High, the average drops to 72.2 FPS, a reduction of approximately 34% from the 1080p figure. When scaling further to 4K High, the average falls to 41.7 FPS, which is only about 38% of the 1080p performance. This steep decline is a classic indicator that the rendering load is scaling faster than the GPU's ability to process it, confirming the RTX 4060 as the limiting factor as resolution increases.

The impact of resolution is even more pronounced at the lower quality presets. At Low settings, the system achieves 183.9 FPS at 1080p, which is a very high frame rate. However, this plummets to 117.0 FPS at 1440p and further to 63.5 FPS at 4K. This suggests that even when the graphical load is reduced, the sheer number of pixels at 4K still overwhelms the GPU. The delta between 1080p and 4K at Low is a substantial 120.4 FPS, highlighting that while the CPU can push high frame rates at lower resolutions, the GPU's pixel throughput is the bottleneck.

The pattern repeats across all settings, with the gap between 1080p and 4K widening as the preset quality increases. For instance, at Medium settings, the average FPS goes from 146.5 at 1080p to 99.1 at 1440p, and then to 53.8 at 4K. At Ultra, the figures are 82.9, 59.1, and 34.1 FPS respectively. The 4K Ultra result of 34.1 FPS is the lowest in the dataset, demonstrating that this combination is not suited for maximum-quality 4K gaming. The data suggests that for a consistent 60 FPS experience, the user must be at 1440p High or lower, as 4K High falls short of that threshold.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. Its benchmark scores, including a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21914 and a single-core score of 3093, position it as a strong performer, ranking in the 88th percentile among all CPUs. This processing power is crucial for Palworld, which likely involves complex world simulations and entity tracking, common in survival games.

The CPU's capability is evident in the 1080p Low result of 183.9 FPS. This high frame rate, achieved when the GPU is not heavily taxed, indicates that the processor is able to feed the graphics card with enough data to maintain a very high output. In contrast, at 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 34.1, a figure that is far below what the CPU is capable of supporting. This demonstrates that the CPU is not the bottleneck in this scenario; the GPU is. The data shows a clear division: at lower resolutions and settings, the i5-14400F can drive frame rates beyond what many displays can show, but at higher resolutions, its potential is left untapped.

Comparing it to its nearest rivals, the i5-14400F's average benchmark score of 32508 is nearly identical to that of the Intel Core i7-12800H (32513) and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 7645 (32446). This suggests that in CPU-bound scenarios, performance would be very similar among these processors. The 0.2% delta against the Ryzen 5 PRO 7645 is negligible, meaning the choice between them would have little impact on Palworld's frame rates. The processor’s 20 MB of shared L3 cache and support for DDR4 and DDR5 memory provide a solid foundation for gaming, though the specific impact on Palworld is not quantified in the data.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060, built on the Ada Lovelace architecture, is the unequivocal performance limiter at higher resolutions in this pairing. With 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 272.0 GB/s, it has a finite amount of data it can process per second. Its Passmark G3D score of 19545 places it in the 66th percentile of all GPUs, and its performance is closely matched by rivals like the AMD Radeon RX 6600M, which scores 23321, a delta of -0.6%. This indicates the RTX 4060 is a capable mid-range card, but not a high-end one.

The GPU's role is most clearly defined by the scaling of its own clock speeds and the resulting frame rates. The boost clock of 2460 MHz is not enough to compensate for the massive increase in pixel count at 4K. The 4K High result of 41.7 FPS and the 4K Ultra result of 34.1 FPS are below the 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay, underscoring that the card's raw throughput is insufficient for this resolution at high quality. The data suggests that the 8 GB VRAM capacity, while sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, may also be a limiting factor at 4K with higher texture detail, though the specific VRAM usage is not provided.

The GPU's performance relative to its peers is consistent with its positioning. The nearest rival, the Intel Arc B580, has an average score of 23021, a delta of 0.7% compared to the RTX 4060, indicating they are on par in synthetic benchmarks. However, in Palworld, the measured frame rates show the RTX 4060's real-world behavior, which is what matters for this analysis. The GPU's 15.11 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is a theoretical metric; the actual frame rates at various resolutions provide a more practical measure of its capabilities in this specific game.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, this pairing of the Intel Core i5-14400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 holds a rank of 961 out of 1718 combos for Palworld. This places it in the lower-middle portion of all tested systems, which is a logical outcome given the GPU's mid-range status. The rank is a holistic measure, likely incorporating all resolutions and settings, and it reflects that while the combo can achieve high frame rates at 1080p, it struggles to do so at 4K.

The combination's rank is a direct result of the balance between the high-performing CPU and the moderate-performing GPU. The CPU's high percentile ranking (88th) ensures that it will not hold back the system at lower resolutions. However, the GPU's 66th percentile ranking means that the system's overall capabilities are capped by the graphics card. This is evident in the 4K results, where the frame rates are much lower than what the CPU could theoretically support. The system is well-suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but its position in the rankings is dragged down by its poor 4K performance.

The data suggests that this combo is a quintessential 1080p and 1440p performer. At 1440p High, it achieves a solid 72.2 FPS, which is a smooth experience for most players. The rank of 961 indicates that there are 960 other combinations that perform better, but many of those will include higher-tier GPUs. For a mid-range system, this rank is a realistic representation of its capabilities. The system's performance in Palworld is more dependent on the GPU than the CPU, and this is a key factor in understanding its overall ranking.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate this combo can achieve in Palworld?

A: The highest measured average is 183.9 FPS, which occurs at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: Can this system maintain 60 FPS at 4K resolution?

A: No. The highest average at 3840x2160 is 63.5 FPS at Low settings. At High settings, the average drops to 41.7 FPS, and at Ultra, it falls to 34.1 FPS.

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

A: The GPU is the limiting factor. The system achieves 72.2 FPS at 2560x1440 High, a figure that is well below the 109.9 FPS seen at 1080p High. The CPU is capable of higher frame rates, as shown by the 183.9 FPS result at 1080p Low, so the GPU's rendering capacity is the constraint.

Q: How does this combo's performance compare to its closest rivals in terms of overall score?

A: The CPU's average benchmark score of 32508 is nearly identical to the Intel Core i7-12800H's 32513, with a delta of 0%. The GPU's average score of 23181 is close to that of the AMD Radeon RX 6600M, which scores 23321, a delta of -0.6%.

Q: What is the performance difference between 1080p and 4K at Ultra settings?

A: At 1080p Ultra, the combo averages 82.9 FPS. At 4K Ultra, the average is 34.1 FPS. This represents a significant drop of 48.8 FPS, or about a 41% reduction in performance.

Q: Given the data, what is the best resolution for this system to play Palworld at High settings?

A: The data suggests 2560x1440 is the optimal resolution for High settings. The system achieves a smooth 72.2 FPS there, which is above the 60 FPS threshold, while 4K High falls below it at 41.7 FPS.