Palworld

The data for Palworld on the Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 presents a clear picture of a system that can handle the game smoothly at mainstream resolutions, but with significant compromises at the highest settings. The measured frames per second (FPS) across all resolutions and presets reveal a consistent pattern where the "Low" preset delivers the most playable experience, while "Ultra" consistently struggles to maintain fluid motion. This analysis will break down the measured performance, contextualize it against the hardware's known capabilities, and answer key questions about how this specific combination behaves.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark results indicate that for this combination of the Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060, the "Low" settings preset provides the best overall experience in Palworld. This is particularly evident at 1920x1080, where the Low preset achieves an average of 141.1 FPS, a figure that is 28.3 FPS higher than the Medium preset's 112.8 average. The gap widens considerably when compared to the High preset at 83.6 FPS, and the Ultra preset falls even further behind at 64.1 FPS. The data suggests that the "Low" preset is the only setting tier that consistently guarantees a frame rate well above 100 FPS, which is beneficial for a survival game where responsiveness matters.

At 2560x1440, the "Low" preset again leads with a 93.4 FPS average, which is a more playable figure than the 76.2 FPS of Medium and the 57.3 FPS of High. The "Ultra" preset at 1440p drops to an average of 41.6 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay on many displays. The trend continues at 3840x2160, where "Low" produces a 47.5 FPS average, while "High" and "Medium" fall to 32.8 and 44.2 FPS, respectively. The "Ultra" preset at 4K is essentially unplayable with a 24.7 FPS average. Given the data, players seeking the most fluid experience should prioritize the "Low" preset, as it offers a substantial performance headroom across all tested resolutions. For those who can tolerate lower frame rates, "Medium" at 1080p still provides a very solid 112.8 FPS average.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a six-core, six-thread processor based on the Coffee Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. Its performance in synthetic benchmarks places it at the 50th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 2305. This puts it in a dead heat with its nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i3-10305 which scores 0.2% higher, and the Intel Xeon E-2134 which scores 0.4% higher. The data shows that this CPU is a mid-range part, and in Palworld, its role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic.

The frame rates at 1920x1080 with the "Low" preset (141.1 FPS) suggest that the CPU is capable of driving high frame rates, but the scaling pattern across resolutions hints at its limitations. When moving from 1080p to 1440p with "Low" settings, the FPS drops from 141.1 to 93.4, a significant 47.7 FPS decrease. This indicates that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck at lower resolutions; instead, the GPU is being tasked with more work. However, the CPU's 6-thread configuration might be a limiting factor in the most demanding scenes, but the data provided does not isolate CPU-specific bottlenecks. The processor's 9 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support are typical for its generation, and the benchmark results show it performs in line with its direct competitors, which is adequate for a game like Palworld.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Palworld with this hardware?

A: Based on the measured data, 1920x1080 with the "Low" preset offers the highest average frame rate of 141.1 FPS. For a balance of quality and performance, 2560x1440 with the "Low" preset also provides a smooth 93.4 FPS average.

Q: Can this system run Palworld at "Ultra" settings?

A: Technically, yes, but the performance is suboptimal. At 1920x1080, the "Ultra" preset delivers a 64.1 FPS average. At 2560x1440, it drops to 41.6 FPS, and at 3840x2160, it falls to a 24.7 FPS average, which is not a fluid experience.

Q: How much of a performance difference is there between the "Low" and "Ultra" presets at 1080p?

A: The difference is substantial. The "Low" preset averages 141.1 FPS, while the "Ultra" preset averages 64.1 FPS. This represents a 77 FPS difference, meaning the "Ultra" preset provides less than half the frame rate of "Low" at the same resolution.

Q: How does this combo rank against other tested systems?

A: The Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 combination ranks 1400 out of 1718 tested combos in Palworld. This places it in the lower percentile of tested systems, indicating that most other combinations in the database deliver higher performance.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more likely to be the limiting factor at 4K?

A: The data suggests the GPU is the primary constraint at 3840x2160. The frame rates are very low across all settings, with the "Low" preset only achieving 47.5 FPS and the "Ultra" preset at 24.7 FPS. This pattern indicates that the RTX 2060's processing power is insufficient for the pixel load at this resolution.

Q: What is the ideal preset for a 1440p monitor?

A: For a 1440p display, the "Low" preset is the most sensible choice, as it yields a 93.4 FPS average. The "Medium" preset is also playable at 76.2 FPS, but the "High" preset's 57.3 FPS average is less optimal for fast-paced gameplay.

How This Combo Ranks

The performance of this specific combination is positioned at rank 1400 out of 1718 tested combos in Palworld. This ranking places it in the bottom 18.5% of all tested systems, which is a clear indicator that this hardware configuration is not well-suited for high-end play. The Intel Core i5-9400's average benchmark score of 2305 is around the 50th percentile, while the RTX 2060's average score of 16074 places it at the 58th percentile. Despite these mid-range individual scores, the combination ranks poorly in this specific game.

This low ranking suggests that Palworld is particularly demanding on the GPU, and the RTX 2060's 6 GB of VRAM and 192-bit memory bus are likely insufficient for the game's high-resolution textures and world streaming. The data shows that even at 1080p, the "Ultra" preset cannot maintain a 60 FPS average, which is a common target for many gamers. The rank of 1400 implies that the vast majority of other tested combos, likely featuring more modern or higher-tier components, deliver superior performance in Palworld. This combo is best suited for 1080p gaming with lower graphical presets.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and predictable trend of performance degradation as resolution increases. At the "Low" preset, the average frame rate scales from 141.1 FPS at 1920x1080, to 93.4 FPS at 2560x1440, and finally to 47.5 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 33.8% drop in performance when moving from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 49.2% drop when moving from 1440p to 4K. This pattern is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario, where the rendering load increases with the number of pixels.

The impact of resolution scaling is most pronounced at the "Ultra" preset. At 1080p, the average FPS is 64.1. This falls to 41.6 at 1440p, a 35.1% decrease, and then to 24.7 at 4K, a 40.6% decrease from 1440p. The data strongly suggests that the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is the limiting component in this system for Palworld. The CPU, while not top-tier, is able to provide high frame rates at lower resolutions when the GPU is less stressed, as evidenced by the 141.1 FPS at 1080p "Low". However, as the resolution increases, the GPU's inability to keep up becomes the dominant factor, causing frame rates to plummet. The result is that this combo is only capable of delivering high refresh-rate experiences at 1080p with "Low" settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following is a detailed breakdown of the measured average FPS for each resolution and settings preset.

At 1920x1080:

• The "Low" preset delivers the highest average FPS at 141.1.
• The "Medium" preset achieves 112.8 FPS.
• The "High" preset produces 83.6 FPS.
• The "Ultra" preset yields the lowest average at 64.1 FPS.

At 2560x1440:

• The "Low" preset leads with 93.4 FPS.
• The "Medium" preset follows with 76.2 FPS.
• The "High" preset reaches 57.3 FPS.
• The "Ultra" preset drops significantly to 41.6 FPS.

At 3840x2160:

• The "Low" preset is the only playable option, averaging 47.5 FPS.
• The "Medium" preset falls to 44.2 FPS.
• The "High" preset averages 32.8 FPS.
• The "Ultra" preset is the slowest, with an average of 24.7 FPS.

These numbers show a consistent hierarchy, with "Low" always being the fastest and "Ultra" always being the slowest. The data also reveals that the gap between "Low" and "Ultra" widens with resolution, from a 77 FPS difference at 1080p to a 22.8 FPS difference at 4K, indicating that the settings have a greater relative impact on performance at lower resolutions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is a Turing-architecture GPU with 1920 shading units, 30 RT cores, and 240 tensor cores. It operates at a base clock of 1365 MHz and a boost clock of 1680 MHz. The GPU has 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s. Its performance is measured at the 58th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 16074. This places it close to rivals like the AMD Radeon RX 7600S, which scores 0.5% higher, and the AMD Radeon Pro 5700, which scores 1.7% higher.

In Palworld, the GPU's role is clearly the dominant factor in determining performance. The measured FPS data shows that the RTX 2060 struggles to maintain high frame rates as resolution and settings increase. The 6 GB of VRAM is a potential limitation for a modern survival game, which may require more memory for high-resolution textures and large world assets. The GPU's 160W TDP and dual-slot design are standard for its class, but its processing power is evidently not enough for this game at higher presets. The data shows that the RTX 2060 is the bottleneck, particularly at 4K where even the "Low" preset fails to reach 60 FPS. This indicates that the GPU's raw compute performance, rather than the CPU, is the primary constraint on this system's ability to run Palworld smoothly.