Palworld

Intel Core i5-14600K paired with the Intel Arc B390 presents a uniquely lopsided configuration for Palworld, where the CPU’s high-end compute capabilities are starkly contrasted by the GPU’s entry-level rendering throughput. The data indicates a system where the graphics card is the definitive bottleneck across all tested settings, with the processor’s substantial headroom going largely unused in this title. This analysis breaks down the measured performance, contextualizes the component roles, and answers common questions based strictly on the provided benchmark results.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a steep and consistent performance decline as resolution increases, a clear hallmark of GPU-bound rendering. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 84 FPS, which drops to 56 FPS at 1440p and further to 31 FPS at 4K. This represents a 33% performance loss from 1080p to 1440p, and a 63% loss from 1080p to 4K. Such a dramatic scaling pattern indicates that the Intel Arc B390’s rendering capabilities are exhausted well before the CPU can become a limiting factor.

The trend persists across all quality presets. With High settings, the system delivers 53 FPS at 1080p, 35 FPS at 1440p, and 19 FPS at 4K. The gap between Low and High settings also widens with resolution, suggesting that the GPU’s limited shading units and texture processors are overwhelmed by both pixel count and shader complexity. The 4K results are particularly telling: even at Low settings, the average FPS of 31 is below the 60 FPS threshold, and Ultra settings yield an unplayable 15 FPS. The data suggests that the limiting component is unequivocally the Intel Arc B390, as the Core i5-14600K’s performance metrics (90th percentile among all CPUs) would not produce such steep scaling curves on its own.

The scaling from Medium to Ultra at each resolution also reveals the GPU’s constraint. At 1440p, Medium produces 45 FPS while Ultra produces 26 FPS, a 42% reduction for the higher preset. At 4K, this drop is from 25 FPS to 15 FPS, a 40% reduction. This consistent percentage decline across resolutions points to a fixed resource limitation—likely the GPU’s 7.680 TFLOPS FP32 throughput and 24 ROPs—rather than memory bandwidth or CPU overhead. The system shared memory configuration further compounds this, as the GPU relies on system RAM, which is system dependent and likely contributes to the overall low performance ceiling.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the optimal experience for this combo is found at 1080p with Low settings, delivering an average of 84 FPS. This is the only configuration in the dataset that approaches high-refresh-rate playability. For users prioritizing smoothness over visual fidelity, this is the clear choice. The 1080p Medium preset offers a more balanced compromise at 68 FPS, which is still comfortably playable, but the step up to High drops the average to 53 FPS, introducing potential stutter in demanding scenes.

At 1440p, the data shows that Low settings at 56 FPS are the only viable option for maintaining a playable frame rate. Medium drops to 45 FPS, which may be acceptable for some users but falls below the 60 FPS standard. High and Ultra at 1440p (35 FPS and 26 FPS respectively) are not recommended for action-oriented gameplay, as the lower frame rates will negatively impact responsiveness. The 4K resolution is effectively out of reach for this combination, with even Low settings yielding only 31 FPS and Medium at 25 FPS, making any 4K preset unsuitable for real-time gameplay.

The data suggests that the "best experience" is heavily skewed toward the lowest settings. The performance delta between Low and Medium at 1080p is 16 FPS (84 vs 68), which is a 19% improvement for the lower preset. Given the GPU’s 9th percentile ranking among all GPUs, the system is fundamentally constrained, and visual settings must be sacrificed to achieve functional frame rates. For a survival game where reaction time matters, the 1080p Low preset is the only configuration that consistently stays above the 80 FPS mark, providing the smoothest experience possible with this hardware.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Palworld with this CPU and GPU combo?

A: The data shows 1920x1080 as the only resolution with playable frame rates. At 1080p, all presets except Ultra stay above 40 FPS, while 1440p only achieves 56 FPS on Low, and 4K never exceeds 31 FPS.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-14600K or the Intel Arc B390 the bottleneck?

A: The benchmark results clearly indicate the GPU is the limiting factor. The CPU ranks in the 90th percentile among all CPUs, while the GPU ranks in the 9th percentile. The steep FPS drops with resolution and settings changes are consistent with GPU-bound rendering.

Q: Can this system run Palworld at Ultra settings?

A: Technically yes, but not at acceptable performance levels. At 1080p Ultra, the average FPS is 40. At 1440p Ultra, it drops to 26 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it falls to 15 FPS, making these configurations impractical for actual gameplay.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The GPU’s 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1482 places it just 1.3% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463 score) and 2.7% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 (1443 score). These are all entry-level parts, confirming the B390’s low-end positioning.

Q: What is the expected frame rate difference between Low and High settings at 1080p?

A: The data shows Low settings produce 84 FPS, while High settings produce 53 FPS. This represents a 31 FPS (37%) reduction in average frame rate when moving from the lowest to the higher preset.

Q: Does the CPU’s 14-core configuration provide any benefit in Palworld?

A: The Core i5-14600K has 14 cores and 20 threads, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 24491. However, given the GPU’s severe bottleneck, the CPU’s multi-threaded capabilities are unlikely to be fully utilized, as the frame rates are limited by the graphics card’s rendering speed.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured data shows a clear progression across settings. Low settings yield the highest average of 84 FPS. Medium settings produce 68 FPS, with a minimum of 58 FPS and a maximum of 79 FPS. High settings drop to 53 FPS, while Ultra settings bottom out at 40 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 44 FPS, indicating that the GPU’s limited resources are heavily taxed by higher-quality shaders and effects.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance drops significantly. Low settings average 56 FPS, making this the only 1440p preset that approaches playability. Medium settings average 45 FPS, with a range of 38 to 52 FPS. High settings produce 35 FPS, and Ultra settings fall to 26 FPS. The relative performance gap between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 30 FPS, showing that the GPU’s fill-rate limitations become more pronounced as pixel count increases.

At 3840x2160, the results are uniformly poor. Low settings manage an average of 31 FPS. Medium settings drop to 25 FPS, with a range of 21 to 29 FPS. High settings produce 19 FPS, and Ultra settings yield just 15 FPS. The data reveals that 4K resolution is entirely impractical for this combo, as even the lowest settings fail to reach 32 FPS. The scaling from 1080p Low (84 FPS) to 4K Low (31 FPS) represents a 63% performance loss, underscoring the GPU’s inability to handle high pixel throughput.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of Intel Core i5-14600K and Intel Arc B390 ranks 3297 out of 3711 tested combos in Palworld, placing it in the bottom 11% of all configurations. This ranking is heavily influenced by the GPU’s poor showing, as the CPU alone would rank much higher. The Intel Arc B390’s average benchmark score of 1482 places it in the 9th percentile among all GPUs, which is the primary driver of the combo’s low rank.

The combo’s rank of 3297 suggests that the vast majority of other tested systems outperform this setup in Palworld. Given that the CPU is a high-end desktop part (90th percentile) and the GPU is an integrated-style part (9th percentile), the ranking reflects a severe mismatch. The data indicates that the GPU’s performance class, comparable to the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX and GT 710, is simply too weak for a game like Palworld, which requires sustained rendering throughput. The combo’s position in the rankings is not a reflection of the CPU’s capabilities but rather the GPU’s fundamental limitations.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600K is a 14-core, 20-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, built on a 10 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz, with a 24 MB shared L3 cache. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU scores 24491 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2064 in single-core, placing it in the 90th percentile of all CPUs. Its average benchmark score of 48618 is nearly identical to the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H (48698, -0.2% delta) and slightly ahead of the AMD EPYC 4345P (48470, +0.3% delta).

In Palworld, the CPU’s role appears to be secondary due to the GPU bottleneck. The game’s frame rates are consistently low across all settings, which would typically indicate that the CPU has ample headroom. The 14-core configuration with 20 threads is overkill for a game that is clearly GPU-limited in this setup. The CPU’s high single-thread performance (2064 in Cinebench R23 single-core) and multi-thread performance suggest it could handle complex physics and AI workloads, but the measured FPS data shows no evidence of CPU limitation, as the performance scales directly with GPU load. The processor’s 125 W TDP and support for DDR4/DDR5 memory are irrelevant to the game’s performance here, as the GPU’s system shared memory configuration is the limiting memory factor.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is a 3 nm part based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, designed for integrated graphics (IGP) use. It has 1536 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 24 ROPs, with a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2500 MHz. Its FP32 performance is rated at 7.680 TFLOPS, and it supports DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4. The GPU’s memory is system shared, with bandwidth that is system dependent, which is a significant drawback for a game like Palworld that requires fast texture streaming.

The GPU’s benchmark score of 1482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 places it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs, with nearest rivals being the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463, +1.3%), GeForce 800M (1460, +1.5%), and GeForce GT 625 OEM (1446, +2.5%). This positioning confirms the B390’s entry-level performance class. In Palworld, the GPU’s limitations are evident in the measured FPS. The 24 ROPs and 48 TMUs are insufficient for high-resolution rendering, as shown by the 63% performance drop from 1080p to 4K on Low settings. The boost clock of 2500 MHz helps at lower resolutions, but the system shared memory and lack of dedicated VRAM create a bottleneck when higher-quality textures are used, as seen in the steep drops from Low to Ultra at each resolution.