Palworld

# Palworld — Intel Core i5-9400 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER

The pairing of a six-core Coffee Lake CPU from 2018 with a flagship Ada Lovelace GPU from 2024 produces a fascinatingly lopsided benchmark profile in Palworld. At 1080p, the combo reaches 198.2 FPS on Low settings, yet drops to 150 FPS on Ultra — a modest 24.3% penalty that suggests the CPU is holding the RTX 4080 SUPER back from its full potential. The data reveals a system where the GPU's raw power is only partially unleashed, with the older processor acting as a bottleneck that becomes less relevant as resolution climbs.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS rows show a clear pattern: Palworld's frame rate scales almost linearly with pixel count, but the shape of that scaling changes dramatically depending on the preset. Going from 1080p to 1440p at Ultra settings, the average FPS falls from 150 to 96.6 — a 35.6% drop. Continuing to 4K Ultra yields 56.4 FPS, another 41.6% reduction from 1440p. This steep, compounding decline is classic GPU-bound behavior: the RTX 4080 SUPER's 52.22 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is being fully taxed at higher resolutions.

Low settings tell a different story. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 198.2 FPS, but 1440p Low only drops to 170.2 FPS (a 14.1% decline), and 4K Low still manages 116.9 FPS. The far gentler scaling between 1080p and 1440p Low suggests the CPU — with its 6 cores, 6 threads, and 2.90 GHz base clock — is the limiting factor at the lowest preset. The i5-9400's 9 MB of shared L3 cache and 42.7 GB/s memory bandwidth simply cannot feed frames fast enough to exploit the GPU's headroom.

The medium preset illustrates the transition zone. From 1080p Medium (184.7 FPS) to 1440p Medium (159.8 FPS), the drop is just 13.5% — again CPU-leaning. But from 1440p Medium to 4K Medium (90.9 FPS), the fall accelerates to 43.1%, matching the GPU-bound pattern seen at Ultra. High settings show a similar inflection: 1080p High (162.8 FPS) to 1440p High (129 FPS) is a 20.8% decline, while 1440p High to 4K High (70.1 FPS) is a 45.7% plunge.

What does this imply? At 4K, every preset shows the GPU working hard — even Low settings only reach 116.9 FPS, suggesting the 16 GB of GDDR6X memory and 736.3 GB/s bandwidth are being utilized but the frame rate is still far from the 1080p ceiling. The RTX 4080 SUPER's 88th percentile standing among all GPUs (avg benchmark score 53,610) contrasts sharply with the i5-9400's 50th percentile (avg 2,305), and this imbalance manifests most clearly at 1080p Low where the CPU's limits cap performance.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo achieves in Palworld?

A: The best result is 198.2 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The lowest measured average is 56.4 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings.

Q: How much faster is 1080p Low compared to 4K Ultra?

A: 1080p Low delivers 198.2 FPS, which is 3.5 times the 56.4 FPS seen at 4K Ultra. This 141.8 FPS gap highlights the combined impact of resolution and preset on the rendering load.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU bottleneck more at 1440p Medium?

A: The data shows 1440p Medium at 159.8 FPS versus 1080p Medium at 184.7 FPS — only a 13.5% drop. This modest scaling suggests the i5-9400's 6-core/6-thread configuration limits frame rates before the GPU becomes fully saturated.

Q: What is this combo's ranking among tested systems in Palworld?

A: The combo ranks 327th out of 1,718 tested combinations, placing it in the top 19% of all pairings. This is notable given the CPU's mid-tier 50th percentile benchmark standing.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 SUPER's memory bandwidth affect 4K performance?

A: With 736.3 GB/s of bandwidth and 16 GB of GDDR6X VRAM, the GPU sustains 70.1 FPS at 4K High. The 4K Ultra result of 56.4 FPS indicates the memory subsystem is adequate but not the primary constraint — compute load drives the drop.

Q: Is the i5-9400's clock speed sufficient for high-refresh gaming?

A: The 4.10 GHz boost clock helps reach 198.2 FPS at 1080p Low, but the 2.90 GHz base clock and lack of hyper-threading (6 threads total) create a ceiling. At 1080p Ultra, the frame rate only drops to 150 FPS, showing the CPU still keeps up, but the scaling pattern suggests it is near its limit.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 brings 6 cores and 6 threads from the Coffee Lake architecture, built on Intel's 14 nm process. Its 2.90 GHz base clock boosts to 4.10 GHz, and the 9 MB shared L3 cache provides a modest buffer for game data. In synthetic benchmarks, this CPU scores 7,969 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 1,125 in single-core, with an average benchmark score of 2,305 — placing it at the 50th percentile of all CPUs.

Its nearest rivals in the benchmark database are the Intel Core i3-10305 (avg 2,300, deltaPct 0.2) and Intel Core i3-1125G4 (avg 2,299, deltaPct 0.2), while the Intel Core i7-8809G sits slightly ahead at 2,319 (deltaPct -0.6 from the i5-9400's perspective, meaning the i5 is 0.6% behind). These are tight margins, showing the i5-9400 is functionally equivalent to a modern i3 in raw compute.

In Palworld, the CPU's influence is most visible at 1080p. The gap between Low (198.2 FPS) and Ultra (150 FPS) is only 48.2 FPS, or 24.3%. Compare this to 4K, where Low (116.9 FPS) and Ultra (56.4 FPS) differ by 60.5 FPS, or 51.8%. At 1080p, the CPU cannot push frames fast enough to let the GPU's quality settings matter as much — the processor is the ceiling. At 4K, the GPU takes over as the dominant component, and preset choice becomes the primary lever.

The 65 W TDP and dual-channel DDR4 memory support (42.7 GB/s bandwidth) are consistent with a mid-range 2018 processor. The data suggests that for Palworld, the i5-9400's six threads are adequate for maintaining 60+ FPS at 4K on any preset, but they cap high-refresh 1080p performance well below what the RTX 4080 SUPER could theoretically deliver on its own.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its strongest results. Low settings hit 198.2 FPS, Medium reaches 184.7 FPS, High manages 162.8 FPS, and Ultra stays at 150 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 48.2 FPS, with each step up in quality costing roughly 12-22 FPS. Notably, Ultra at 1080p is only 8.5% slower than High, suggesting diminishing returns on the highest preset.

Moving to 2560x1440, the numbers compress. Low yields 170.2 FPS, Medium 159.8 FPS, High 129 FPS, and Ultra 96.6 FPS. The Low-to-Ultra gap widens to 73.6 FPS, and the jump from High to Ultra (32.4 FPS) is the largest single-step drop in the entire dataset. This indicates the Ultra preset at 1440p introduces a significant GPU workload that the RTX 4080 SUPER handles with a 96.6 FPS average — still smooth, but far from the 144Hz territory seen at lower settings.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly the limiting factor. Low produces 116.9 FPS, Medium 90.9 FPS, High 70.1 FPS, and Ultra 56.4 FPS. The progression is nearly linear: each preset tier costs roughly 15-20 FPS. The 4K Low result is telling — it is 41% slower than 1080p Low (198.2 FPS), and this gap cannot be attributed to CPU limits. Rather, the 8.3 million pixels at 4K demand more from the GPU's 10,240 shading units and 112 ROPs, which operate at a 2550 MHz boost clock.

Across all resolutions, the Medium preset shows the most balanced scaling. From 1080p to 1440p, the drop is 13.5%; from 1440p to 4K, it is 43.1%. This consistent behavior makes Medium the most predictable preset for estimating performance at untested resolutions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is a 5 nm Ada Lovelace part with 45,900 million transistors on a 379 mm² die. Its 16 GB of GDDR6X memory runs at 23 Gbps effective across a 256-bit bus, yielding 736.3 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's 10,240 shading units, 320 TMUs, and 112 ROPs deliver 52.22 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, with 80 RT cores and 320 tensor cores for ray tracing and AI workloads.

In the benchmark database, the RTX 4080 SUPER scores 34,245 in Passmark G3D and 24,6994 in Geekbench OpenCL, with an average benchmark score of 53,610 — the 88th percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT (avg 53,489, deltaPct 0.2), AMD Radeon Pro W6600M (avg 53,414, deltaPct 0.4), AMD Radeon RX 7700S (avg 52,505, deltaPct 2.1), and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti (avg 52,086, deltaPct 2.9). The 4080 SUPER leads all of them, but by narrow margins in the case of the RX 6900 XT.

In Palworld, the GPU's role becomes dominant at 4K. The jump from High (70.1 FPS) to Ultra (56.4 FPS) at 4K costs 19.6% performance, a substantial penalty that reflects the increased shading and texture work. The GPU's 16 GB VRAM is never a constraint — even at 4K Ultra, the frame rate is limited by compute, not memory capacity. The 736.3 GB/s bandwidth appears sufficient, as the 4K Medium (90.9 FPS) result is respectable, and the GPU maintains playable frame rates even at the highest preset.

However, the GPU's 88th percentile standing is not fully realized in this combo. At 1080p Low, the 198.2 FPS is likely CPU-bound, as the i5-9400's six threads cannot generate enough draw calls to saturate the GPU. The 4K results better reflect the RTX 4080 SUPER's true capability, with the 70.1 FPS at 4K High being a strong indicator of its high-end positioning.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the High preset at 1440p offers the best balance of visual quality and performance. At 129 FPS, it exceeds the 120 Hz refresh threshold many monitors support, while the step to Ultra (96.6 FPS) costs 25.1% performance for what the data suggests is a marginal visual gain. The 1440p High result also leaves headroom for drops during busy scenes, maintaining an average well above the 60 FPS playability floor.

For players prioritizing frame rate, 1080p Low at 198.2 FPS is the clear choice, though the drop to Medium (184.7 FPS) costs only 6.8% and likely provides noticeably better visuals. At 4K, Medium at 90.9 FPS is the recommended sweet spot — it is 29.7% faster than High (70.1 FPS) and 60.8% faster than Ultra (56.4 FPS), while still delivering acceptable image quality.

Avoid 4K Ultra (56.4 FPS) unless visual fidelity is paramount; the step from High to Ultra at 4K costs 13.7 FPS, which is a 19.6% reduction that may push the experience below 60 FPS in demanding scenes. Similarly, 1080p Ultra at 150 FPS is only 7.8% slower than 1080p High (162.8 FPS), making it a viable option for high-refresh displays, but the CPU bottleneck at this resolution means the GPU is not the limiting factor — the i5-9400 is.

The data suggests that 1440p Medium (159.8 FPS) is a strong alternative for users with 144 Hz monitors, as it delivers 23.9% more FPS than 1440p High while keeping the visual preset moderate. Overall, the combo performs best when the GPU is allowed to stretch its legs — choose 1440p or 4K with Medium or High settings to leverage the RTX 4080 SUPER's power rather than the CPU's constraints.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-9400 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER pairing ranks 327th out of 1,718 tested combinations in Palworld, placing it in the top 19% of all systems. This ranking is impressive given the CPU's modest 50th percentile standing (avg benchmark 2,305) and the GPU's strong 88th percentile (avg 53,610). The combo outperforms its CPU-centric expectations, indicating that Palworld is not heavily CPU-dependent at the resolutions where this system excels.

The gap between the CPU's and GPU's percentile rankings — 38 points — is among the largest mismatches one might expect in a pairing. Yet the measured FPS data shows the system still delivers playable performance at all tested settings, with the worst case being 56.4 FPS at 4K Ultra. The 327th rank out of 1,718 means the combo sits ahead of roughly 1,391 other tested systems, a strong showing for a CPU that is now end-of-life.

Comparatively, the CPU's nearest rivals (Intel Core i3-10305, i3-1125G4, Xeon E-2134) all have nearly identical avg benchmark scores (within 0.2-0.4% deltaPct), so swapping the i5-9400 for any of these would likely produce similar Palworld results. The GPU's nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT (deltaPct 0.2), is essentially tied in synthetic benchmarks, suggesting that this combo's ranking would be comparable with that GPU installed.

The data implies that the RTX 4080 SUPER is the primary driver of this combo's 327th rank, as the GPU's 88th percentile performance pulls the overall result upward despite the CPU's mediocrity. For users considering upgrades, the bottleneck is clear — replacing the i5-9400 with a higher-percentile CPU would likely improve the 1080p results (198.2 FPS Low, 150 FPS Ultra) significantly, while 4K performance would remain largely unchanged since the GPU is already the limiting factor there.