Palworld

The Intel Core i7-12700K and AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT form a desktop combination for Palworld, a survival game released in January 2024. The CPU, based on Alder Lake architecture, offers 12 cores and 20 threads with a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, while the GPU, built on RDNA 2.0, provides 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and a boost clock of 2635 MHz. Measured FPS data is available for three resolutions (1920x1080, 2560x1440, 3840x2160) and four settings (Low, Medium, High, Ultra), allowing a detailed analysis of performance scaling. The CPU has a launch MSRP of $409, and the GPU has a launch MSRP of 399 USD.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with High settings?

A: The measured average is 99.6 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU's average benchmark score compare to its nearest rival?

A: The i7-12700K scores 35684, which is 0.6% higher than the Intel Core i7-13700T's 35468, and 0.3% lower than the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845's 35802.

Q: What is the GPU's memory configuration?

A: The RX 6650 XT has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, with a bandwidth of 280.3 GB/s.

Q: What is the combo's rank in Palworld?

A: The combination ranks 1078 out of 1718 tested combos.

Q: What is the CPU's boost clock?

A: The i7-12700K has a boost clock of 5.00 GHz.

Q: What is the GPU's average benchmark score?

A: The RX 6650 XT has an average benchmark score of 29024, placing it in the 72nd percentile of all GPUs.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT is a RDNA 2.0 part with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus. Its memory clock is 2190 MHz (17.5 Gbps effective), yielding a bandwidth of 280.3 GB/s. The GPU's base clock is 2055 MHz, with a game clock of 2410 MHz and a boost clock of 2635 MHz. It contains 2048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, and delivers 10.79 TFLOPS of FP32 compute. In Palworld, the measured FPS at 1080p High is 99.6, which indicates that the GPU is well within its comfort zone at that resolution. At 4K Ultra, the FPS drops to 29.5, suggesting that the 8 GB VRAM and the 128-bit memory bus become limiting factors. The GPU's average benchmark score of 29024 places it in the 72nd percentile, and it is nearly identical to the AMD Radeon RX 6800M (29011) and the AMD Radeon RX 470 (28996), with deltas of 0% and 0.1% respectively. The boost clock of 2635 MHz is a key contributor to the GPU's ability to maintain high frame rates at lower resolutions. The CPU, with its 12 cores and 20 threads, provides ample processing power; its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 29241 and single-core score of 4128 are strong, and its average benchmark score of 35684 places it in the 89th percentile. This suggests that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck in Palworld, especially at higher resolutions where the GPU's workload increases.

Resolution Scaling

Across all four settings, the average FPS decreases as resolution increases. At Low settings, the FPS goes from 161.2 at 1080p to 103.7 at 1440p and 55.4 at 4K. At Medium, the values are 129, 82.4, and 50.1. At High, they are 99.6, 66.2, and 38. At Ultra, they are 76.1, 48.4, and 29.5. The pattern is clear: the drop from 1080p to 1440p is substantial, and the drop from 1440p to 4K is even more pronounced. For example, at High settings, the 4K result of 38 is less than half of the 1080p result of 99.6. This scaling behavior is typical of a GPU-bound scenario. The CPU's strong multi-threaded performance, evidenced by its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 29241, suggests that it can keep up with the game's logic even at lower resolutions. The GPU's 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit memory bus are likely the limiting factors at 4K, where the higher pixel count demands more memory bandwidth and capacity. The GPU's percentile of 72, compared to the CPU's 89, further supports the notion that the GPU is the weaker link in this combination. At 1080p Low, the FPS reaches 161.2, which is high, but at 4K Ultra it drops to 29.5, which is below the 30 FPS threshold for smooth play.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the optimal preset depends on the target resolution. For 1080p, High offers a good balance of visual quality and performance at 99.6 FPS, while Ultra at 76.1 FPS is still playable. Medium at 129 FPS and Low at 161.2 FPS provide higher headroom for competitive play. For 1440p, Medium at 82.4 FPS is a solid choice, and High at 66.2 FPS remains smooth; Ultra at 48.4 FPS is acceptable but not ideal. For 4K, Low at 55.4 FPS is the only setting that exceeds 50 FPS, and Medium at 50.1 FPS is borderline; High at 38 FPS and Ultra at 29.5 FPS are below the 30 FPS threshold for a consistent experience. The CPU's performance is sufficient to avoid bottlenecking at any of these settings, so the choice of preset is primarily dictated by the GPU's capabilities. The data indicates that High at 1080p and Medium at 1440p provide the best experience per the measured rows, balancing visual fidelity with frame rates that remain above 60 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table lists the measured average FPS for each resolution and settings combination. The data is measured, not estimated.

| Resolution | Settings | Avg FPS |

|------------|----------|---------|

| 3840x2160 | High | 38 |

| 3840x2160 | Low | 55.4 |

| 3840x2160 | Medium | 50.1 |

| 3840x2160 | Ultra | 29.5 |

| 2560x1440 | High | 66.2 |

| 2560x1440 | Low | 103.7 |

| 2560x1440 | Medium | 82.4 |

| 2560x1440 | Ultra | 48.4 |

| 1920x1080 | High | 99.6 |

| 1920x1080 | Low | 161.2 |

| 1920x1080 | Medium | 129 |

| 1920x1080 | Ultra | 76.1 |

The combination ranks 1078 out of 1718 in Palworld, placing it in the lower-middle tier of tested hardware. The CPU's average benchmark score of 35684 and the GPU's 29024 contribute to this ranking, with the GPU's 72nd percentile being the more limiting factor. The measured FPS data shows that the RX 6650 XT can deliver smooth performance at 1080p and 1440p with appropriate settings, but 4K gaming requires significant compromises, with only Low and Medium presets exceeding 50 FPS. The i7-12700K's strong single-thread and multi-thread scores ensure that the CPU does not become a bottleneck, even at lower resolutions where frame rates are high.