Palworld

Palworld on the Intel Core i5-14600KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER combination shows a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling as resolution increases. The measured data indicates that the RTX 2060 SUPER is the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions, while the i5-14600KF provides ample headroom at 1080p.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 reveals a dramatic performance drop that is characteristic of a mid-range GPU struggling with pixel throughput. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 96.7 FPS at 1080p to 60.6 FPS at 1440p, then plummets to 32 FPS at 4K. This represents a 66.9% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K, indicating that the RTX 2060 SUPER's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for the pixel workload at Ultra HD.

The scaling pattern is consistent across all settings presets. At Low settings, the system delivers 153.3 FPS at 1080p, 101.3 FPS at 1440p, and 57.9 FPS at 4K. The 4K Low result is particularly telling — it is only 60.3% of the 1440p Low figure, showing that even with reduced graphical fidelity, the GPU cannot maintain playable frame rates at 4K. At Ultra settings, the drop is even steeper: 74.9 FPS at 1080p falls to 47.8 FPS at 1440p and just 26.5 FPS at 4K.

The 1080p to 1440p transition shows a more moderate decline, averaging around 37-40% fewer frames depending on the preset. This suggests that 1440p is the practical ceiling for this combination, with 4K being viable only at Low settings and even then barely crossing the 60 FPS threshold. The data strongly indicates that the RTX 2060 SUPER, which sits at the 63rd percentile of all GPUs, is the bottleneck at resolutions above 1080p.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU-GPU combo in Palworld?

A: The measured data shows that 1920x1080 delivers the most consistent performance, with all presets exceeding 74 FPS. At 2560x1440, only Low and Medium settings maintain averages above 78 FPS, while 3840x2160 falls below 58 FPS even at Low settings.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 SUPER compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score of 19774 places it 0.3% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN and 0.5% ahead of the RTX 2070, though it trails the Quadro K5200 by 0.8% and the Tesla K40m by 1.3%.

Q: Is the CPU holding back performance at any resolution?

A: The i5-14600KF sits at the 93rd percentile of all CPUs and its nearest rival, the i5-14600K, is only 0.4% faster. Given that frame rates drop by roughly 40% from 1080p to 1440p across all presets, the GPU is clearly the limiting component, not the processor.

Q: What is the playable frame rate ceiling for this setup?

A: At 1080p, the system achieves 153.3 FPS at Low, 124.5 FPS at Medium, and 96.7 FPS at High settings. At 1440p, only Low (101.3 FPS) and Medium (78.6 FPS) exceed 60 FPS comfortably.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from Medium to Ultra at 1440p?

A: The average frame rate drops from 78.6 FPS at Medium to 47.8 FPS at Ultra, a 39.2% reduction. This is consistent with the 4K scaling pattern, where Ultra produces only 26.5 FPS compared to 46.7 FPS at Medium.

Q: What does the combo's rank in Palworld indicate?

A: This combination ranks 1178 out of 1718 tested combos in the game, meaning it outperforms roughly 31% of all configurations. This places it firmly in the mid-range tier for Palworld specifically.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER is built on the Turing architecture with a TU106 chip manufactured on a 12 nm process at TSMC. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is the key constraint at higher resolutions. The GPU's boost clock of 1650 MHz and base clock of 1470 MHz allow it to reach 7.181 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, but this is insufficient for 4K gaming in Palworld.

The memory configuration is particularly relevant for Palworld's open-world survival gameplay, which requires streaming large texture sets. The 8 GB capacity is adequate for 1080p and 1440p at most presets, but the 4K results show that the memory bandwidth and capacity become limiting factors. The fact that 4K High produces only 32 FPS while 4K Low produces 57.9 FPS suggests that texture detail and shadow quality are the primary memory consumers.

The GPU's benchmark results place it at the 63rd percentile of all GPUs, with a PassMark G3D score of 16462 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2011. Its nearest rival, the GTX TITAN, is only 0.3% behind, while the RTX 2070 is 0.5% behind. This indicates that the 2060 SUPER performs as expected for its class — adequate for 1080p and entry-level 1440p, but not designed for high-refresh 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its strongest results. Low settings produce 153.3 FPS, Medium achieves 124.5 FPS, High reaches 96.7 FPS, and Ultra manages 74.9 FPS. All presets are above 60 FPS, with even Ultra providing a smooth experience for high-refresh monitors.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates drop but remain playable for most presets. Low settings deliver 101.3 FPS, Medium produces 78.6 FPS, High reaches 60.6 FPS, and Ultra falls to 47.8 FPS. The 60.6 FPS at High is borderline for competitive play but acceptable for casual survival gaming, while Ultra requires a variable refresh rate display to avoid visible stutter.

At 3840x2160, performance degrades significantly. Low settings yield 57.9 FPS, which is just below the 60 FPS target. Medium drops to 46.7 FPS, High to 32 FPS, and Ultra to 26.5 FPS. These numbers make 4K viable only at Low settings, and even then, the frame rate is not stable for fast-paced action sequences. The 4K Medium result of 46.7 FPS is 40.5% lower than the 1440p Medium result, showing the steep cost of pixel density.

Settings Recommendations

For 1080p gaming, the High preset at 96.7 FPS offers the best balance of visual quality and performance. Ultra at 74.9 FPS is also viable if the player prioritizes image fidelity over frame rate, but the 22.5% reduction from High to Ultra may not justify the visual gains in a survival game with frequent UI elements.

At 1440p, Medium settings at 78.6 FPS is the recommended sweet spot. It provides smooth gameplay while maintaining reasonable visual quality. High at 60.6 FPS is acceptable for players who prefer better textures, but the margin is thin — any demanding scene could push the frame rate below 60 FPS. Ultra should be avoided at 1440p since the 47.8 FPS average indicates inconsistent frame pacing.

For 4K, Low settings at 57.9 FPS is the only viable option. The Medium preset at 46.7 FPS is playable but will feel sluggish in combat scenarios. Players with 4K displays should strongly consider lowering resolution to 1440p for a better experience, as the 4K Low result is only 73.8% of the 1440p Medium frame rate.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600KF is a 14-core, 20-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, with a boost clock of 5.30 GHz and a base clock of 3.50 GHz. Its 24 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache provide ample data locality for game logic and physics calculations. The processor's Cinebench R23 multicore score of 32889 and single-core score of 4643 demonstrate strong all-around performance.

In Palworld, the CPU's role is secondary to the GPU at higher resolutions, but it becomes more relevant at 1080p where frame rates exceed 100 FPS. The 153.3 FPS result at Low settings suggests that the i5-14600KF can feed the RTX 2060 SUPER enough data to reach high frame rates, but the GPU's 7.181 TFLOPS of compute throughput is the limiting factor.

The CPU's benchmark performance places it at the 93rd percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 49367. Its nearest rival, the i5-14600K, is only 0.4% faster, while the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X is 0.6% slower. This indicates that the i5-14600KF is a top-tier processor for gaming, and its 125 W TDP is reasonable for the performance it delivers. The processor's memory support for both DDR4 and DDR5, along with PCIe Gen 5 lanes, ensures it will not bottleneck future GPU upgrades, making it a solid long-term foundation despite the current GPU's limitations.