Palworld

Palworld pairs the Intel Core i5-9400 with the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT in a combination that ranks 1556th out of 3711 tested combos, placing it firmly in the upper-middle tier of the database. The measured frame rates reveal a system where the GPU is clearly the dominant performance driver at lower resolutions, while the six-core CPU begins to assert its influence as resolution climbs. This analysis interprets those results based strictly on the benchmark data.

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

The Intel Core i5-9400 brings six cores and six threads to this pairing, a configuration that has been a desktop staple since its release. Its base clock of 2.90 GHz and boost clock of 4.10 GHz determine how quickly it can process game logic, physics, and the AI routines that populate Palworld's open world. The CPU's L3 cache is 9 MB shared across all cores, while L1 and L2 caches are 64 KB and 256 KB per core, respectively. This is a Coffee Lake architecture part built on Intel's 14 nm process, and it supports DDR4 memory over a dual-channel bus with a bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s.

Synthetic benchmarks place this CPU at the 47th percentile among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 2254. In Cinebench R23, it scores 6629 in multi-core and 935 in single-core tests, while Geekbench yields 5141 multi-core and 1389 single-core. These numbers indicate a processor that is competent but not exceptional by modern standards. Its nearest rivals in the database include the Intel Core i7-1068NG7, which scores 2259 (0.2% higher), and the Intel Core i7-10710U, scoring 2248 (0.3% lower), showing the i5-9400 sits in a tightly contested performance band.

For Palworld specifically, the CPU's six threads must handle the simulation of Pals, base construction, and world state updates. At 1080p with Low settings, the measured average FPS is 196, which suggests the CPU is not the limiting factor at that resolution—the GPU is delivering frames faster than the processor needs to feed it. However, as resolution increases to 4K, the CPU's workload remains relatively constant while the GPU's rendering time balloons, shifting the bottleneck dynamics. The data shows no direct CPU utilization metrics, but the pattern of FPS scaling across resolutions implies the i5-9400 provides a stable baseline that neither dramatically boosts nor severely constrains the RX 7700 XT in this title.

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

Examining the measured FPS across all settings and resolutions reveals a clear hierarchy in Palworld's presets. At 1080p, the Low preset achieves 196 FPS, Medium hits 169 FPS, High reaches 130 FPS, and Ultra drops to 99 FPS. The step from Low to Medium costs 27 FPS (about 14% reduction), while Medium to High costs 39 FPS (a 23% drop), and High to Ultra costs 31 FPS (a 24% reduction). The Ultra preset is the only one that dips below 100 FPS at 1080p, making it the least attractive option for smooth gameplay.

At 1440p, the same pattern holds but with lower absolute numbers: Low delivers 138 FPS, Medium 112 FPS, High 86 FPS, and Ultra 65 FPS. The gaps between presets narrow in percentage terms, with Medium to High now costing 26 FPS (23%) and High to Ultra costing 21 FPS (24%). At 4K, the scales tip further: Low yields 76 FPS, Medium 62 FPS, High 48 FPS, and Ultra 36 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K has a minimum FPS of 53 and maximum of 71, indicating playable but not consistently smooth performance.

The best experience per the data is the Medium preset at 1080p, which balances 169 FPS average with a minimum of 144 FPS and maximum of 195 FPS—this is the only preset/resolution combination where the minimum stays above 140 FPS. For players prioritizing visual fidelity over raw speed, High at 1440p offers 86 FPS, which is respectable, but Medium at 1440p at 112 FPS provides a safer margin above the 60 FPS threshold. The Ultra preset at any resolution is the least efficient choice, as it delivers the largest FPS penalty for what the data implies is marginal visual gain.

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

The scaling behavior from 1080p to 4K is instructive for identifying the bottleneck. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 130 at 1080p to 86 at 1440p (a 34% reduction) and then to 48 at 4K (a 44% further reduction from 1440p). This is a classic GPU-bound scaling curve, where each doubling of pixel count (1080p to 4K is four times the pixels) imposes a predictable load on the renderer. The RX 7700 XT's 12 GB of GDDR6 memory and 432.0 GB/s bandwidth are being taxed heavily at 4K, which is why the frame rate falls to the 48 FPS range.

At Low settings, the drop from 1080p to 4K is from 196 to 76 FPS, a 61% reduction. This steeper percentage decline at Low settings suggests that when the GPU is less burdened by shading effects, the CPU begins to matter more—but even then, the i5-9400 appears to keep up, as the 4K Low result of 76 FPS is still above the 60 FPS playability threshold. The Medium preset shows 169 FPS at 1080p, 112 at 1440p, and 62 at 4K, with the 4K minimum being 53 FPS, indicating occasional dips below ideal smoothness.

The ultra preset follows the same trend: 99 FPS at 1080p, 65 at 1440p, and 36 at 4K. The 4K Ultra result of 36 FPS is the lowest in the entire dataset, clearly demonstrating that this combination is not suited for maximum settings at 4K. The pattern across all presets points to the GPU as the primary limiting component, since FPS scales inversely with pixel count in a consistent manner. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see less variation between resolutions, but the data shows a strong resolution-dependent response that is characteristic of a graphics-bound workload.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The Intel Core i5-9400 and AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT combination holds the 1556th rank out of 3711 tested combos in Palworld, which places it in the 58th percentile of all pairings. This is a solid middle-tier result, indicating that the combo outperforms the majority of tested systems but is far from the top echelon. The rank reflects the aggregate performance across all measured resolutions and settings, weighted toward the average experience a user would encounter.

To contextualize this rank, consider the GPU's position relative to its rivals. The RX 7700 XT has an average benchmark score of 22549, placing it at the 67th percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile, which scores 22435 (0.5% lower), and the RTX 4060 Mobile at 22729 (0.8% higher). The RX 7700 XT also edges out the RTX 2080 by 1.5% and the RX 5700 by 1.7%. This GPU-centric view suggests the combo's rank is driven more by the graphics card's strength than the CPU's, given that the i5-9400 sits at the 47th percentile for processors.

The gap between the CPU's modest percentile (47th) and the GPU's stronger percentile (67th) implies that the combo rank of 1556 could be higher if paired with a more capable processor. However, the measured FPS data shows that at 1080p and 1440p, the system achieves high frame rates that many players would consider excellent, meaning the rank is not necessarily a reflection of poor playability—just that other combos with faster CPUs achieve even higher scores. The data suggests that in Palworld, the RX 7700 XT is doing the heavy lifting, and the i5-9400 is adequate but not exceptional as a partner.

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

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT is the star of this pairing, built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with the Navi 32 chip on TSMC's 5 nm process. Its 12 GB of GDDR6 memory over a 192-bit bus provides 432.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is crucial for Palworld's large open-world textures and many on-screen objects. The GPU has a base clock of 1435 MHz, a game clock of 2171 MHz, and a boost clock of 2544 MHz, with memory running at 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective). These clocks translate to 35.17 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, which is a substantial compute capability.

The GPU's 3456 shading units, 216 texture mapping units, and 96 ROPs handle the rendering workload, while 54 ray tracing cores provide additional features that Palworld may or may not utilize heavily. The 12 GB VRAM is a key asset at 4K, where the High preset still requires enough memory for high-resolution textures. The measured FPS at 4K High is 48, which is below the 60 FPS ideal but expected given the pixel load. The GPU's percentile ranking of 67th among all GPUs, with a Passmark G3D score of 22547, reinforces its mid-to-high-end positioning.

The GPU's performance in Palworld is best illustrated by the 1080p results, where it achieves 196 FPS at Low and 130 FPS at High. These numbers show that at lower resolutions, the card has ample headroom, and the CPU becomes the potential bottleneck—but the i5-9400 manages to keep up, as evidenced by the high frame rates. At 4K, the GPU's limits are exposed, with only the Low preset (76 FPS) staying comfortably above 60 FPS. The data implies that players should target 1440p for the best balance of visual quality and performance, where the GPU can deliver 86-112 FPS depending on preset.

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

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS across settings is as follows: Low yields 196 FPS, Medium 169 FPS (with a minimum of 144 and maximum of 195), High 130 FPS, and Ultra 99 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 144 FPS is notable because it represents the floor of performance, and it is still above the refresh rate of most standard monitors. The spread from Low to Ultra is 97 FPS, showing a wide range of performance depending on quality settings.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages drop: Low produces 138 FPS, Medium 112 FPS (minimum 95, maximum 128), High 86 FPS, and Ultra 65 FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p maintains a minimum of 95 FPS, which is still highly playable, while Ultra's 65 FPS average is just above the 60 FPS threshold. The percentage reduction from 1080p to 1440p is roughly 30% across all settings, consistent with the increase in pixel count.

At 3840x2160, the data shows the most significant degradation: Low averages 76 FPS, Medium 62 FPS (minimum 53, maximum 71), High 48 FPS, and Ultra 36 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 53 FPS dips below 60, indicating potential stutter on demanding scenes. High and Ultra at 4K are below 50 FPS, which is not ideal for a fast-paced survival game where reaction times matter. The complete dataset shows that this combo is best utilized at 1080p or 1440p, with 4K reserved for Low or Medium settings if playability is the priority.

FAQ — 4-6 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data

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

A: Based on the measured FPS data, 1440p at Medium settings provides 112 FPS average with a minimum of 95 FPS, which balances visual quality and smoothness. At 1080p, the Medium preset offers 169 FPS average with a minimum of 144 FPS, which is ideal for high-refresh-rate displays.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Palworld?

A: Yes, but with limitations. At 4K Low settings, the average FPS is 76, which is playable. The Medium preset drops to 62 average with a 53 FPS minimum, while High (48 FPS) and Ultra (36 FPS) are below the 60 FPS threshold and will not deliver consistently smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the RX 7700 XT compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RX 7700 XT has an average benchmark score of 22549, which is 0.5% higher than the RTX 5060 Mobile (22435), 0.8% lower than the RTX 4060 Mobile (22729), 1.5% higher than the RTX 2080 (22895 is actually higher, so it's 1.5% lower), and 1.7% higher than the RX 5700 (22170). The data shows it sits in a tightly contested performance band.

Q: Is the i5-9400 a bottleneck for the RX 7700 XT in Palworld?

A: The data does not show explicit bottleneck measurement, but the FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K is consistent with a GPU-bound workload. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 196 FPS, indicating the CPU can feed the GPU adequately at lower resolutions. The CPU's 47th percentile ranking suggests it is not a top-tier part, but it appears sufficient for this game.

Q: What are the minimum FPS values for the Medium preset across resolutions?

A: The Medium preset shows a minimum of 144 FPS at 1080p, 95 FPS at 1440p, and 53 FPS at 4K. These minimums represent the worst-case performance and are all above 50 FPS, though the 4K value dips below the 60 FPS ideal.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested combinations?

A: The combo ranks 1556th out of 3711 tested combos, placing it in the upper-middle range. This rank is influenced by the GPU's 67th percentile standing versus the CPU's 47th percentile, suggesting the graphics card contributes more to the overall performance score.