Palworld

Palworld presents a demanding workload for the Intel Core i5-9400 and AMD Radeon RX 570 pairing, with benchmark results placing this combo in the bottom percentile of tested configurations. The data indicates a system that is fundamentally limited by the graphics card at higher resolutions, yet shows surprising CPU headroom at 1080p, making it a legacy setup best suited for lower graphical presets and 1080p gaming.

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

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a 6-core, 6-thread processor from the Coffee Lake Refresh generation, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. It operates on the Intel Socket 1151 platform with a 65 W TDP and supports DDR4 memory via a dual-channel interface, providing 42.7 GB/s of memory bandwidth. The processor’s thermal and power profile is modest, and its 9 MB of shared L3 cache is a key resource for game logic and physics calculations.

In Palworld, the CPU’s role becomes apparent when examining the 1080p results. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the system achieves 72.1 FPS, but this drops to 47.5 FPS at High settings. This scaling suggests that while the CPU can push a high frame rate at low graphical loads, it is not the primary constraint; the GPU is already struggling to keep pace. The i5-9400’s benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 7969, place it at the 50th percentile of all CPUs, indicating a mid-range capability that is sufficient for this game’s demands. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i3-10305, has an average benchmark score of 2300, a mere 0.2% difference, confirming that the i5-9400 is not a performance outlier.

The CPU’s 6 threads are adequate for Palworld’s survival mechanics, which often involve many simultaneous entities and world interactions. However, the data shows that the CPU does not bottleneck the system until the frame rate is already low. For example, at 1440p with Low settings, the system hits 47.2 FPS, which is nearly identical to the 1080p High result of 47.5 FPS. This parity indicates that the CPU is not the limiting factor; instead, the GPU’s workload is the dominant variable. The i5-9400’s single-core performance, as seen in its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1125, is sufficient to feed the RX 570 at lower settings without introducing stutter, but it cannot compensate for the GPU’s limitations at higher resolutions.

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

The AMD Radeon RX 570 is a Polaris 20-based graphics card built on GCN 4.0 architecture, with a 14 nm process node and 5,700 million transistors. It features a base clock of 1168 MHz and a boost clock of 1244 MHz, paired with 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 224.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth. The card’s 2048 shading units and 32 ROPs give it a pixel rate of 39.81 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 159.2 GTexel/s, with a FP32 compute throughput of 5.095 TFLOPS.

The 4 GB VRAM is a critical constraint in Palworld. At 4K, the frame rates collapse: the system manages only 19.2 FPS at High settings and 14.4 FPS at Ultra. This is not just a compute limitation but a memory capacity and bandwidth issue, as the game’s textures and world data exceed the available VRAM, causing significant performance degradation. The GPU’s benchmark scores, such as a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 880, place it at the 74th percentile of all GPUs, but its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 and AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT, which have average scores around 30109 and 30097, respectively, showing only a 0.2% difference. This is misleading, as those rivals are far more modern; the RX 570’s position is simply due to the benchmark database’s normalization.

The GPU’s role is clearly the bottleneck in this combo. At 1080p, the card can achieve 60.1 FPS at Medium settings, but pushing to Ultra drops the frame rate to 35 FPS, a 41.8% reduction. The RX 570’s 150 W TDP and single 6-pin power connector suggest it is a modest card, and the data confirms that it cannot sustain high settings even at 1080p. The GPU’s memory clock of 1750 MHz (7 Gbps effective) is not sufficient to handle Palworld’s open-world streaming at high resolutions, making the 4 GB VRAM the primary architectural weakness.

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

The measured data clearly indicates that the Low preset is the only viable option for a consistently playable experience across most resolutions. At 1920x1080, Low settings yield 72.1 FPS, which is highly fluid, while Medium drops to 60.1 FPS and High falls to 47.5 FPS. For a survival game where reaction times matter, the Low preset provides the best balance of smoothness and visual clarity, sacrificing detail for responsiveness.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset still delivers a playable 47.2 FPS, but Medium drops to 36.5 FPS, which is borderline. High settings at 1440p produce 28.4 FPS, which is not recommended for active gameplay. The Ultra preset is essentially unplayable at all resolutions, with a maximum of 35 FPS at 1080p and a dismal 14.4 FPS at 4K. Therefore, for users who value frame rate over fidelity, the Low preset at 1080p is the sweet spot, offering a 20% performance increase over Medium and a 51.8% increase over High.

At 4K, no setting is playable, with the best result being 26.7 FPS at Low. This confirms that the RX 570 is not a 4K-capable card for this title. The data suggests that users should not attempt to run Palworld above 1440p with this combo, and even at 1440p, they must accept Low settings to maintain a fluid experience. The Medium preset at 1080p is a compromise for those who want some visual improvements, but the Low preset is the only setting that consistently exceeds 60 FPS in the measured rows.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The Intel Core i5-9400 and AMD Radeon RX 570 combo ranks 1659 out of 1718 tested combinations in Palworld, placing it in the bottom 3.4% of all systems. This is a poor standing, indicating that the majority of tested hardware configurations outperform this pairing by a significant margin. The rank reflects the GPU’s limitations more than the CPU’s, as the i5-9400’s average benchmark score of 2305 is near the median, while the RX 570’s average score of 30158 is also mid-pack but its real-world gaming performance is hampered by the 4 GB VRAM.

This ranking is consistent with the measured FPS data, which shows the combo struggling to maintain 60 FPS even at 1080p Low. The combo’s position is not surprising given the age of both components; the CPU was released in 2018 and the GPU in 2017, both are end-of-life products. The data shows that this combo is not competitive for modern titles like Palworld, which launched in 2024 with demanding system requirements. The ranking also indicates that users with this hardware should consider it a legacy setup for older games or non-demanding indie titles, rather than a platform for current AAA releases.

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

The FPS scaling across resolutions reveals a classic GPU-bound scenario. At High settings, the system achieves 47.5 FPS at 1080p, drops to 28.4 FPS at 1440p (a 40.2% reduction), and falls to 19.2 FPS at 4K (a 59.6% reduction from 1080p). This steep decline is characteristic of a graphics card that is overwhelmed by pixel count and memory bandwidth demands. The RX 570’s 224.0 GB/s bandwidth is simply insufficient for 4K textures and geometry, causing the frame rate to plummet.

At Low settings, the scaling is less severe but still pronounced: 72.1 FPS at 1080p, 47.2 FPS at 1440p (a 34.5% reduction), and 26.7 FPS at 4K (a 63.0% reduction). The fact that the 4K Low result is still below 30 FPS confirms that the GPU is the limiting component, as even the lowest graphical load cannot overcome the resolution’s pixel fill rate demands. The CPU’s role is secondary; if the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect the FPS to remain relatively flat as resolution increases, but the data shows a consistent decline, which is a definitive sign of GPU limitation.

The resolution scaling also highlights the VRAM constraint. At 4K, the 4 GB buffer is likely exceeded, causing asset streaming stutters and frame drops. The data shows that the system cannot maintain a playable frame rate at 1440p High or 4K Low, making it clear that the RX 570 is the primary restriction. The CPU has enough headroom to handle the game’s logic at lower resolutions, but it cannot compensate for the GPU’s lack of memory and compute power at higher settings.

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

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers 72.1 FPS on Low, 60.1 FPS on Medium, 47.5 FPS on High, and 35 FPS on Ultra. The Medium to High drop is 12.6 FPS, while the High to Ultra drop is 12.5 FPS, showing a consistent performance degradation as settings increase. The Low to Medium difference is 12.0 FPS, indicating that the GPU has some headroom at the lowest settings but struggles to maintain it.

At 2560x1440, the results are 47.2 FPS on Low, 36.5 FPS on Medium, 28.4 FPS on High, and 22.6 FPS on Ultra. The Low to Medium drop is 10.7 FPS, and the Medium to High drop is 8.1 FPS, showing a narrowing gap as the GPU becomes more saturated. The High to Ultra drop is 5.8 FPS, suggesting that the card is hitting a compute limit rather than a memory limit at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the results are 26.7 FPS on Low, 21.7 FPS on Medium, 19.2 FPS on High, and 14.4 FPS on Ultra. The Low to Medium drop is 5.0 FPS, and the Medium to High drop is 2.5 FPS, indicating that the GPU is severely bottlenecked. The High to Ultra drop is 4.8 FPS, which is relatively large, showing that the Ultra preset’s extra effects are particularly punishing at 4K. None of these 4K results are playable, confirming the GPU’s limitations.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and setting for this combo in Palworld?

A: The best experience is at 1920x1080 with Low settings, which achieves 72.1 FPS. Medium settings at 1080p yield 60.1 FPS, but the Low preset provides the highest frame rate and is the only one to exceed 60 FPS.

Q: Can this system handle 1440p gaming in Palworld?

A: Yes, but only on Low settings, which produce 47.2 FPS. Medium settings at 1440p drop to 36.5 FPS, and High settings are not recommended at 28.4 FPS.

Q: Is the 4 GB VRAM on the RX 570 sufficient for Palworld?

A: No, the 4 GB VRAM is a major limitation. At 4K, even Low settings only reach 26.7 FPS, and the frame rate drops to 14.4 FPS on Ultra, indicating that the VRAM capacity and bandwidth are insufficient for high-resolution textures.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested systems?

A: It ranks 1659 out of 1718 tested combos, placing it in the bottom 3.4% of all systems tested for Palworld.

Q: What is the FPS drop from 1080p to 4K on High settings?

A: The FPS drops from 47.5 at 1080p to 28.4 at 1440p and 19.2 at 4K, representing a 59.6% reduction from 1080p to 4K.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this system?

A: The GPU is the limiting factor. The FPS scales downward consistently with resolution increases, which is a classic sign of a GPU bottleneck, and the CPU’s performance is sufficient to maintain frame rates at lower resolutions.