Palworld

Palworld pairs the Intel Core i5-9400 with the AMD Radeon RX 9060, a combination that produces a wide spread of frame rates depending on resolution and quality settings. The data shows that this system can deliver high refresh rates at 1080p, but struggles to maintain playable performance at 4K Ultra, indicating a complex balance between the CPU's six cores and the GPU's 8 GB of VRAM.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to achieve 60 FPS?

A: At 1080p, all settings from Low to High exceed 60 FPS, with Medium at 135 FPS and High at 104 FPS. At 1440p, the Low preset reaches 110 FPS, and High manages 69 FPS. For a consistent 60+ FPS experience, 1440p High is the most demanding setting that still clears the threshold.

Q: How does the RX 9060's 8 GB VRAM affect performance at 4K?

A: The 8 GB GDDR6 memory with a 128-bit bus and 288.0 GB/s bandwidth appears to be a limiting factor at 3840x2160. The average FPS drops from 61 at Low to 29 at Ultra, with the High preset hitting only 38 FPS, suggesting that higher resolutions demand more memory bandwidth than the card can efficiently provide.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p?

A: The jump from Low to Ultra at 1920x1080 results in a 52.7% decrease in average FPS, going from 167 FPS to 79 FPS. This indicates that Ultra settings impose a significant load on the GPU, even at the lowest resolution tested.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-9400 a bottleneck for this GPU?

A: The CPU has 6 cores and 6 threads with a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 167 FPS, which is high enough to suggest the CPU can feed the GPU effectively at lower settings. However, at 4K Ultra, the 29 FPS result points more to GPU limitations than CPU constraints.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations for Palworld?

A: The combo ranks 1683 out of 2944 total combinations tested for this game. This places it slightly below the median, indicating that while it can run the game, many other CPU-GPU pairings deliver better overall performance.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for Medium settings?

A: The only settings with recorded minimum FPS values are Medium presets. At 4K, the minimum is 42 FPS; at 1440p, it is 76 FPS; and at 1080p, it is 115 FPS. These numbers provide a glimpse into frame time consistency for that specific preset.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9060 is built on the RDNA 4.0 architecture with a Navi 44 chip on a 4 nm process. It features 1792 shading units, 112 texture mapping units, and 64 raster operation pipelines, with a boost clock of 2990 MHz and a game clock of 2400 MHz. The GPU's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory operates at 2250 MHz with an 18 Gbps effective rate, delivering 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth across a 128-bit bus.

In Palworld, the GPU's role becomes increasingly dominant as resolution rises. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra settings is 88 FPS, showing that the GPU has headroom to handle more graphical work. At 1440p, the spread narrows to 58 FPS, and at 4K it tightens further to 32 FPS. This pattern suggests that the RX 9060's compute capabilities, rated at 21.43 TFLOPS FP32, are sufficient for lower resolutions but become saturated at higher ones.

The memory configuration is particularly telling. With 8 GB VRAM, the card can store textures and geometry for 1080p and 1440p scenes without issue. At 4K, however, the 128-bit memory bus and 288.0 GB/s bandwidth may struggle to feed the 1792 shading units, leading to the observed performance cliff. The pixel rate of 191.4 GPixel/s and texture rate of 334.9 GTexel/s are competitive for the mid-range segment, but the data indicates they are not enough to maintain fluid frame rates at 2160p with high-quality assets.

The GPU's benchmark scores support its mid-range positioning, with a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3322 and a Passmark G3D score of 17631. Its percentile rank of 59 places it above average, and it sits close to the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti in average benchmark score, trailing by only 0.7%. This proximity to a well-known mid-range card helps contextualize why 4K Ultra remains out of reach.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a consistent pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases from 1080p to 4K. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 104 at 1920x1080 to 69 at 2560x1440, then to 38 at 3840x2160. This represents a 33.7% decrease from 1080p to 1440p and a 63.5% decrease from 1080p to 4K.

The scaling behavior differs across presets. Low settings show a less steep decline, with 167 FPS at 1080p, 110 FPS at 1440p, and 61 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are 34.1% and 63.5%, respectively, which are nearly identical to High. Medium settings follow a similar trajectory: 135 FPS, 89 FPS, and 49 FPS, with drops of 34.1% and 63.7%. Ultra settings see the most severe decline, moving from 79 FPS at 1080p to 52 FPS at 1440p and 29 FPS at 4K, with drops of 34.2% and 63.3%.

This consistent scaling pattern across all presets suggests that resolution is the primary factor limiting performance, rather than specific graphical features. The GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth are likely the constraints, as the percentage drops remain stable regardless of quality level. The CPU's role in this scaling is minimal, as the workload shifts increasingly to the GPU at higher pixel counts.

The data implies that 1440p is the sweet spot for this combination. At this resolution, the GPU can maintain playable frame rates across all settings, with even Ultra reaching 52 FPS. At 4K, only Low settings break the 60 FPS barrier, and High and Medium fall below 50 FPS. This suggests that users targeting 4K must make significant compromises, while 1440p offers a balanced experience.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its strongest performance across all presets. Low settings produce an average of 167 FPS, Medium reaches 135 FPS with a minimum of 115 FPS and maximum of 156 FPS, High achieves 104 FPS, and Ultra settles at 79 FPS. These numbers indicate that 1080p is well within the capabilities of the RX 9060, providing smooth gameplay even at maximum quality.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages shift downward but remain respectable. Low hits 110 FPS, Medium averages 89 FPS with a range of 76 to 103 FPS, High maintains 69 FPS, and Ultra drops to 52 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 76 FPS ensures that even the most demanding scenes stay above the 60 FPS threshold, making 1440p a viable option for high-refresh-rate monitors.

At 3840x2160, the performance drops become pronounced. Low averages 61 FPS, which is just above the playability mark. Medium averages 49 FPS with a minimum of 42 FPS and maximum of 57 FPS, showing noticeable frame time variability. High falls to 38 FPS, and Ultra reaches only 29 FPS. These results suggest that 4K gaming is only feasible with reduced settings, and even then, the experience may be inconsistent.

Across all resolutions, the Medium preset is the only one with complete min and max data. At 1080p, the range from 115 to 156 FPS shows a 35.6% variance, while at 1440p the range is 76 to 103 FPS, a 35.5% variance. At 4K, the range narrows to 42 to 57 FPS, a 35.7% variance. This consistency in relative variance suggests that frame pacing is stable regardless of resolution, even as absolute performance declines.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a six-core, six-thread processor from the Coffee Lake architecture, manufactured on a 14 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz, with 9 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU supports DDR4 memory in dual-channel configuration, providing 42.7 GB/s of bandwidth, and connects via PCIe Gen 3 with 16 lanes.

In Palworld, the CPU's influence is most apparent at lower resolutions where the GPU is not the limiting factor. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 167 FPS, which is a high enough frame rate to stress the processor's ability to handle game logic and draw calls. The i5-9400's benchmark scores, including a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 6629 and single-core score of 935, indicate modest computational power by modern standards.

The CPU's percentile rank of 47 places it slightly below average among all tested processors. Its average benchmark score of 2254 puts it within 0.4% of the Intel Core i7-10710U and 0.4% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500. These close rivalries suggest that the i5-9400 is a competent mid-range processor, but not one that will push frame rates in CPU-bound scenarios.

At higher resolutions, the CPU's role diminishes. The 4K results show a clear GPU bottleneck, as the frame rates drop dramatically regardless of settings. The CPU's 6 threads may limit performance in scenes with many AI-driven creatures, which Palworld is known for, but the data does not show a specific CPU-related bottleneck at 1440p or above. The consistent percentage drops across resolutions point to the GPU as the primary constraint in this pairing.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance across all resolutions. At 1080p, Medium delivers 135 FPS average with a minimum of 115 FPS, ensuring smooth gameplay without the need for maximum settings. At 1440p, the average of 89 FPS with a minimum of 76 FPS keeps the experience fluid, and even at 4K, the 49 FPS average is playable, though the 42 FPS minimum may cause noticeable stutters.

For users prioritizing frame rate over visuals, the Low preset is the clear choice. It provides 167 FPS at 1080p and 110 FPS at 1440p, making it ideal for high-refresh-rate displays. At 4K, Low achieves 61 FPS, which is the only preset to cross the 60 FPS threshold at that resolution. This makes Low the recommended setting for 4K users who demand smoothness.

The High preset is a viable alternative for 1440p, offering 69 FPS average, which is above the playability threshold. However, at 4K, High's 38 FPS is too low for comfortable gameplay. The Ultra preset is only recommended for 1080p, where it achieves 79 FPS, but it fails to maintain playable frame rates at higher resolutions. For most users, Medium provides the best compromise, delivering consistent performance without requiring significant sacrifices in visual fidelity.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-9400 and AMD Radeon RX 9060 combination ranks 1683 out of 2944 tested combos for Palworld, placing it in the 57th percentile of all configurations. This ranking indicates that the system performs slightly below the median, with many other CPU-GPU pairings achieving better results in this specific game.

The GPU's individual percentile rank of 59 is higher than the combo's overall ranking, suggesting that the CPU may be holding back the system. The RX 9060's nearest rival, the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, has an average benchmark score that is 0.7% higher, yet the combo rank suggests that this pairing does not fully leverage the GPU's capabilities. Similarly, the CPU's percentile rank of 47 is below the GPU's, reinforcing the notion that the processor is the weaker link.

Palworld's open-world survival genre often relies on CPU performance for physics, AI, and world streaming. The i5-9400's six threads may struggle with the game's simulation demands, even when the GPU has headroom. This is evident in the 1080p Low result of 167 FPS, which is high but not exceptional for a modern GPU, indicating that the CPU may be imposing a ceiling on maximum frame rates. For users seeking higher rankings, upgrading the CPU would likely yield better results than upgrading the GPU, as the current combination appears to be CPU-limited in many scenarios.