Palworld

Palworld’s measured performance with the Intel Core i5-9400 and AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT shows a pairing that is heavily GPU-limited at high resolutions but capable of excellent frame rates at 1080p. The data indicates a clear hierarchy: the RX 7600 XT provides the muscle for high refresh rates, while the six-core i5-9400 becomes a bottleneck primarily at lower resolutions and settings. This combination ranks in the 35th percentile of all tested combos for this game, placing it behind 596 other pairings but ahead of 596, indicating a mid-pack standing for a modern survival title.

FAQ

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

A: 1920x1080 is the clear winner. The data shows the lowest average FPS at this resolution is 76.8 (Ultra), while all other settings comfortably exceed 96 FPS. This is the only resolution where the combo can consistently deliver high-refresh-rate gameplay across all presets.

Q: Can this pairing handle 1440p gaming?

A: Yes, with caveats. At 2560x1440, the Low preset delivers an average of 103.5 FPS, and Medium achieves 84.1 FPS. However, High drops to 63.8 FPS, and Ultra falls to 46.6 FPS, making the higher presets less suitable for smooth play.

Q: Is 4K resolution viable with the RX 7600 XT and i5-9400?

A: Only at the Low preset. The 3840x2160 data shows an average of 60.6 FPS on Low, which is playable. Medium drops to 49.3 FPS, High to 33.8 FPS, and Ultra becomes unplayable at 28.5 FPS.

Q: How does the i5-9400 compare to its nearest rivals in general benchmarks?

A: The i5-9400’s average benchmark score of 2305 is nearly identical to the Intel Core i3-10305 (2300, 0.2% delta) and the Intel Core i3-1125G4 (2299, 0.2% delta). It is 0.4% ahead of the Intel Xeon E-2134 (2295) and 0.6% behind the Intel Core i7-8809G (2319).

Q: What is the GPU's standing relative to its closest competitors?

A: The RX 7600 XT’s average benchmark score of 20146 puts it 0.3% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 460 (20088) and 1.9% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER (19774). It trails the AMD Radeon RX 7600 by 0.6% (20258) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile by 1.9% (20534).

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU in Palworld?

A: The data suggests it can at lower settings. The FPS jump from 1080p Low (156.9 FPS) to 1080p High (96.3 FPS) is a 60 FPS difference, which indicates that at Low settings, the CPU is struggling to feed frames to the GPU, capping performance before the graphics card can reach its full potential.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience, the data points to the Medium preset at 1920x1080 as the sweet spot. It delivers an average of 127.4 FPS, which is a significant 31.1 FPS improvement over High (96.3 FPS) while maintaining a much higher visual quality than Low (156.9 FPS). This provides a smooth, responsive experience without sacrificing too much graphical fidelity.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset is again the balanced choice, producing 84.1 FPS. This is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth play and is 20.3 FPS faster than High (63.8 FPS). For users prioritizing visual quality over frame rate, High at 1440p is still viable at 63.8 FPS, but the Ultra preset at 46.6 FPS is not recommended for action-heavy gameplay.

For 3840x2160, the only reasonable option is the Low preset, which achieves an average of 60.6 FPS. The jump to Medium results in a 11.3 FPS drop to 49.3 FPS, which is a noticeable loss in smoothness. The High and Ultra presets at this resolution produce averages of 33.8 and 28.5 FPS respectively, which are not suitable for a game requiring quick reactions.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT is the primary driver of frame rates in this configuration, as evidenced by the significant FPS scaling between presets. The GPU’s 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus with 288.0 GB/s bandwidth is a substantial asset for a survival game like Palworld, which can have large open-world environments and numerous assets. The high memory capacity ensures that texture loading and asset streaming are unlikely to cause stuttering, even at higher settings.

The GPU's clock speeds are also relevant. With a base clock of 1980 MHz, a game clock of 2470 MHz, and a boost clock of 2755 MHz, the RX 7600 XT has a wide performance window. The 22.57 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power is what allows the card to push 103.5 FPS at 1440p Low, but the data clearly shows that as settings increase, the GPU’s workload rises, and the average FPS drops proportionally. At 4K Ultra, the card is fully saturated, resulting in the lowest measured average of 28.5 FPS.

The GPU's benchmark percentile of 63 versus all GPUs confirms it is a mid-to-upper-tier performer. Its average benchmark score of 20146 places it in a tight cluster with rivals like the RTX 2060 SUPER and RX 7600, but its 16 GB VRAM is a differentiating feature that is not reflected in those raw scores. This memory capacity is likely a key reason why the combo can still achieve playable frame rates at 4K Low, as the game can fit within the memory buffer.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-9400 and AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT ranks 1122 out of 1718 tested combos in Palworld. This places it in the lower-middle tier of performance, meaning that while it can run the game, there are many other pairings that deliver higher frame rates. This ranking is a direct result of the CPU’s age and the GPU’s mid-range positioning.

The CPU’s average benchmark score of 2305 puts it in the 50th percentile of all CPUs, which is a modest standing. The GPU’s score of 20146 puts it in the 63rd percentile of all GPUs. This creates a disparity where the GPU is relatively stronger than the CPU, but the combo’s overall rank of 1122/1718 suggests that Palworld can be demanding on both components. The fact that the combo is not in the top half of results indicates that for this specific game, the hardware pairing is not optimal for pushing maximum frame rates at high settings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400, with its 6 cores and 6 threads, plays a crucial role in determining the upper limits of performance in Palworld. Its base clock of 2.90 GHz and boost clock of 4.10 GHz are modest by modern standards, which is reflected in its 50th percentile ranking among all CPUs. The lack of Hyper-Threading means it has 6 threads to handle all game logic, AI, and physics calculations.

The CPU’s impact is most visible at 1080p. At the Low preset, the average FPS is 156.9, but at Medium, it drops to 127.4, and at High, it drops further to 96.3. This scaling shows that the processor is able to feed the GPU enough data at lower settings, but as the CPU load increases with higher settings, it starts to become a limiting factor. The performance difference between Low and High at 1080p is 60.6 FPS, which is a larger gap than the 44.9 FPS difference seen at 1440p between the same presets, indicating that the CPU has a stronger relative influence on frame rates at the lower resolution.

The i5-9400’s performance is closely matched by its nearest rivals, including the Intel Core i3-10305 and Intel Core i3-1125G4, with a delta of only 0.2%. This suggests that upgrading from this CPU to a comparable newer model would not yield significant gains in Palworld if the GPU remains the same, as the bottleneck would simply shift or remain similar.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive look at performance across a matrix of resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the combo delivers an average of 156.9 FPS on Low, 127.4 FPS on Medium, 96.3 FPS on High, and 76.8 FPS on Ultra. These figures show a steady decline in performance as graphical fidelity increases.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages are 103.5 FPS on Low, 84.1 FPS on Medium, 63.8 FPS on High, and 46.6 FPS on Ultra. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is significant, with the Low preset losing 53.4 FPS and the Ultra preset losing 30.2 FPS. This indicates that the resolution increase places a much larger burden on the GPU.

At 3840x2160, performance is considerably lower. The averages are 60.6 FPS on Low, 49.3 FPS on Medium, 33.8 FPS on High, and 28.5 FPS on Ultra. The High and Ultra presets are clearly not playable, while Low barely maintains a 60 FPS average. The data across all resolutions shows that the RX 7600 XT is the dominant factor, as the FPS scales consistently with the GPU workload imposed by each preset.

Resolution Scaling

The scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a predictable and steep decline in average FPS, which is a classic sign of GPU-bound performance. From 1080p to 1440p, the FPS drops by 53.4 FPS on Low (from 156.9 to 103.5), 43.3 FPS on Medium (from 127.4 to 84.1), 32.5 FPS on High (from 96.3 to 63.8), and 30.2 FPS on Ultra (from 76.8 to 46.6). The absolute FPS loss is larger at lower settings because the starting frame rate is higher.

The scaling from 1440p to 4K is even more punishing. The Low preset drops by 42.9 FPS (from 103.5 to 60.6), Medium by 34.8 FPS (from 84.1 to 49.3), High by 30 FPS (from 63.8 to 33.8), and Ultra by 18.1 FPS (from 46.6 to 28.5). This pattern indicates that the GPU is hitting its limits as the pixel count increases.

The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K is 61.4% for Low, 61.3% for Medium, 64.9% for High, and 62.9% for Ultra. This relatively consistent percentage drop across all settings strongly suggests that the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT is the limiting component at these resolutions. The CPU’s influence is lessened at 4K because the GPU is unable to render frames fast enough to be constrained by the processor’s capabilities. The data ultimately shows that this combo is best suited for 1080p and entry-level 1440p gaming, where the GPU can leverage its power without being completely overwhelmed by the resolution.