Palworld

Palworld with an Intel Core i7-12700K and AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT shows a clear performance curve that hinges on resolution and settings. The data indicates this pairing is capable of high refresh rate play at 1080p, but its limits become apparent as pixel count climbs, particularly under heavier graphical loads.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS deltas reveal how the workload shifts from the CPU to the GPU as resolution increases. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo delivers an average of 113 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 drops that to 75 FPS, a reduction of roughly 34%. At 3840x2160, the average falls to 41 FPS, which is another 45% drop from the 1440p figure. This steepening decline points to the GPU becoming the principal limiting factor at 4K.

The scaling pattern is consistent across all settings tiers. With Low settings, the frame rate goes from 182 FPS at 1080p, to 120 FPS at 1440p, and down to 66 FPS at 4K. The absolute FPS loss from 1080p to 4K is 116 FPS, which is larger than the 72 FPS loss seen at High settings. This suggests that at Low settings, the CPU is able to feed frames more easily, and the GPU’s raw throughput is the sole determinant of performance.

Conversely, the gap between resolutions tightens slightly at Ultra settings. The average FPS at 1080p Ultra is 86, at 1440p Ultra it is 57, and at 4K Ultra it is 31. The percentage drop from 1080p to 1440p is about 34%, but from 1440p to 4K it is 46%. This indicates that the most demanding settings create a bottleneck where even the jump to 1440p is heavily constrained by the graphics card’s capabilities.

Benchmark results indicate that Palworld is not particularly CPU-bound at this pairing. If the processor were the main constraint, we would expect to see a smaller relative drop between 1440p and 4K, as the GPU would have more headroom. Instead, the consistent and substantial FPS declines at every step suggest that the RX 6700 XT is the component that determines the playable resolution ceiling.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT is built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture with a 7 nm process. Its memory configuration includes 12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 384.0 GB/s. The card’s boost clock is rated at 2581 MHz, with a game clock of 2424 MHz. These specifications align with its benchmark percentile of 72, meaning it outperforms roughly 72% of all GPUs in the database.

In Palworld, the GPU’s role is most evident in the 4K results. At 3840x2160 with High settings, the average FPS is 41. This is below the 60 FPS threshold that many players consider the baseline for smooth action, indicating the card is working near its limit. The 12 GB VRAM buffer is likely sufficient for the game’s textures, but the raw compute power of the GPU—rated at 13.21 TFLOPS FP32—is what caps performance here.

The card’s nearest rival in average benchmark score is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile, with a deltaPct of 0. This means the RX 6700 XT and that mobile GPU perform nearly identically in synthetic tests. The data also shows it sits just 0.5% behind the desktop RTX 3090 in average score, which is a notable result for a card with a 192-bit memory interface versus the 384-bit interface on that higher-tier competitor.

The measured FPS at lower resolutions shows the GPU still has headroom. At 1080p Low, the 182 FPS average suggests the card is never the limiting factor, as the frame rate is more than triple the 4K High result. The RDNA 2.0 architecture’s efficiency is evident here—it can push high frame rates when the resolution is manageable, but the 4K Ultra result of 31 FPS shows that turning every setting to maximum at that resolution is not viable for consistent play.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700K is a 12-core, 20-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. It has 25 MB of shared L3 cache and supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory. Its benchmark percentile is 84, meaning it outperforms 84% of all CPUs in the database, and its average benchmark score is 35287.

In Palworld, the CPU’s influence is most visible when comparing Low settings across resolutions. At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 182, which is likely near the engine’s frame rate cap or the point where the CPU can no longer feed the GPU fast enough. The fact that this number does not increase further at lower resolutions, and that it drops significantly to 120 FPS at 1440p, shows that the GPU is still the primary bottleneck even at Low settings.

The processor’s single-thread performance, as measured by a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1850.5, is strong enough to avoid major stutters in Palworld’s open-world survival gameplay. The multi-core score of 19784 in the same test suggests that the CPU can handle background tasks and game logic without contention. However, the data does not show any scenario where the CPU is the limiting factor—the FPS scales down with resolution in a way that is typical of a GPU-bound scenario.

The nearest CPU rivals in average benchmark score are the Intel Core i5-13600T and the Core i7-12700KF, with deltaPct values of -0.1% and -0.2% respectively. This indicates that the i7-12700K is essentially on par with these other processors in synthetic workloads. For Palworld specifically, this means that swapping to a slightly faster CPU would yield no measurable FPS gains, as the GPU is the constraint in nearly all tested configurations.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i7-12700K and AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT achieves a combo rank of 1951 out of 3711 tested combos in Palworld. This places it in the lower half of the database, which is expected given the GPU’s 72nd percentile ranking versus the CPU’s 84th percentile. The rank indicates that while the CPU is a high performer, the GPU drags the overall combo down in this specific title.

This ranking suggests that the pairing is not optimized for maximum Palworld performance. The CPU is capable of more, but the GPU’s absolute limits are reached at 1440p Ultra and 4K High. In the database’s context, this combo sits near the middle of the pack, meaning many other GPU and CPU pairings will deliver higher frame rates. However, the rank also implies that there are 1760 combinations that perform worse, so it is not a bottom-tier setup either.

The disparity between the CPU and GPU percentiles is telling. A combo with a more powerful GPU, or a weaker CPU, might achieve a better rank in this game, since the GPU is the limiting factor. The data shows that the i7-12700K has headroom to support a faster graphics card, as it is not being fully utilized in the frame generation process at 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the results are strong across the board. Low settings produce an average of 182 FPS, Medium produces 147 FPS with a minimum of 125 and a maximum of 170, High produces 113 FPS, and Ultra produces 86 FPS. This resolution is clearly the sweet spot for this combo, as even Ultra settings achieve playable frame rates.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages drop to 120 FPS on Low, 97 FPS on Medium (with a min of 83 and max of 112), 75 FPS on High, and 57 FPS on Ultra. The 1440p results are still smooth for most settings, but Ultra dips below the 60 FPS mark, which may be a concern for competitive play or fast-paced moments.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates become marginal. Low settings yield an average of 66 FPS, Medium yields 54 FPS (with a min of 46 and a max of 62), High yields 41 FPS, and Ultra yields 31 FPS. Only Low settings maintain an average above 60 FPS at 4K. The Medium setting’s minimum of 46 FPS indicates that there will be noticeable dips below the average, which could cause hitches in gameplay.

The data shows a clear hierarchy: 1080p is fully playable at all settings, 1440p is playable at Low through High, and 4K is only suitable for Low settings. The measured FPS values are consistent with the GPU’s benchmark percentile; it is a mid-range card that excels at 1080p and struggles with 4K Ultra.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Palworld at 4K?

A: Yes, but only at Low settings, where it averages 66 FPS. At Medium settings, the average drops to 54 FPS, and at High it falls to 41 FPS. Ultra settings average 31 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth play.

Q: What is the best resolution for the Intel Core i7-12700K and RX 6700 XT in Palworld?

A: The data shows 1920x1080 is the strongest resolution, with all settings achieving averages above 86 FPS. Low settings hit 182 FPS, and even Ultra maintains 86 FPS, making it the most consistent choice.

Q: How does the RX 6700 XT compare to its nearest GPU rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RX 6700 XT has an average benchmark score of 27425. Its closest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile, with a deltaPct of 0, meaning they are statistically tied. It is also 0.5% behind the RTX 3090 and 1.1% ahead of the RTX PRO 4000 Blackwell.

Q: Is the i7-12700K a bottleneck for the RX 6700 XT in this game?

A: No. The FPS drops consistently as resolution increases, which is a classic sign of GPU limitation. The CPU’s high benchmark percentile (84) and strong single-core score of 1850.5 in Cinebench R23 indicate it is not holding back the GPU in the tested configurations.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between 1080p and 1440p on High settings?

A: At 1080p High, the average FPS is 113. At 1440p High, it drops to 75 FPS. This is a reduction of 38 FPS, or roughly 34%, showing the GPU’s workload increases significantly with pixel count.

Q: How many total combos does this pairing rank against in Palworld?

A: The combo rank is 1951 out of 3711 tested combos. This places it in the lower half of the database, indicating that while the CPU is a strong performer, the GPU’s limits prevent a higher ranking in this specific game.