Palworld

The Intel Core i7-12700KF paired with an AMD Radeon RX 570 ranks 3,543rd out of 3,711 tested combinations in Palworld. This places it in the bottom 5% of all tested systems, indicating that this combo is heavily underpowered for the game’s demands. The CPU itself is not the bottleneck—it sits at the 85th percentile among all CPUs—but the GPU drags the entire system down. The RX 570’s 4 GB VRAM and GCN 4.0 architecture are simply too dated for a modern survival title like Palworld. This ranking is a clear warning that while the processor is future-proof, the graphics card will limit you to low-settings play at best. If you are building or upgrading, this is a severely imbalanced pairing for Palworld’s benchmarks.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 3543 out of 3711 means that 95.4% of tested systems outperform it in Palworld. This is not a marginal shortfall; it is a fundamental mismatch between a high-end 12th-gen Intel CPU and an entry-level 2017-era GPU. The CPU’s 12 cores and 20 threads are capable of handling the game’s physics and AI, but the RX 570’s 5.095 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is a severe limiting factor. The GPU sits at the 74th percentile of all GPUs, but that percentile is misleading in this context—it is better than many older cards but still far below what Palworld requires for smooth gameplay. The single-threaded CPU performance (3dmark single-thread score of 1043) is more than adequate, but the GPU’s 4 GB memory and limited compute are the chokepoints. This is a classic case where the CPU’s potential is wasted by the GPU’s inability to keep up.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 570 is the defining component in this combo, and not in a good way. Its 4 GB of GDDR5 memory is the most critical bottleneck. Palworld’s open world, with its streaming assets and numerous Pals, quickly exceeds 4 GB at higher resolutions and settings. The memory bus width is 256-bit with a bandwidth of 224.0 GB/s, which is decent for its era, but the capacity is simply too small. The core runs at a base clock of 1168 MHz and a boost of 1244 MHz, with 2048 shading units. In practice, the GPU’s FP32 performance of 5.095 TFLOPS is not enough to maintain playable frame rates at any setting above Low at 1080p.

The GPU’s architecture is GCN 4.0, which lacks modern features like hardware ray tracing. Palworld does not require ray tracing, but the architecture’s age shows in its efficiency. The GPU’s own benchmark scores are telling: its best result is the Geekbench Vulkan score of 42752, but this does not translate to gaming performance. The nearest rivals for the RX 570 include the Radeon RX 470, which has a 0.8% lower average score, and the R9 M295X, which is 0.7% higher. None of these rivals are modern cards, which shows the RX 570 is at the bottom of the current GPU hierarchy. In Palworld, this GPU is the sole reason the combo ranks so poorly.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a stark pattern: as resolution increases, performance collapses. At 1080p Low, the combo manages 73 FPS, which is playable. But stepping up to 1440p Low drops that to 48 FPS, a 34% reduction. At 4K Low, the average falls to 27 FPS, which is a 63% reduction from 1080p Low. This scaling is characteristic of a GPU-bound system—the CPU is not the limiting factor, the GPU is. The i7-12700KF can feed the GPU at all resolutions, but the RX 570 cannot process the increased pixel load.

The same trend holds for High settings. From 46 FPS at 1080p, it drops to 30 FPS at 1440p (a 35% drop), and then to 17 FPS at 4K (a 63% drop from 1080p). This consistent pattern shows that the game is entirely GPU-bound. The CPU’s massive headroom is irrelevant because the GPU is saturated. The only way to improve performance is to reduce the resolution or lower the settings, but even at 1080p Low, the system is not delivering a high refresh-rate experience. The data clearly indicates that the GPU is the limiting component, and the CPU is never the cause of frame drops.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for this combo is sparse, with only average FPS recorded for most settings, but it is enough to create a complete picture. At 1920x1080, the results are as follows:

• Low: 73 FPS average
• Medium: 59 FPS average (with a min of 50 and max of 68)
• High: 46 FPS average
• Ultra: 35 FPS average

At 2560x1440, the performance drops significantly:

• Low: 48 FPS average
• Medium: 39 FPS average (with a min of 33 and max of 45)
• High: 30 FPS average
• Ultra: 23 FPS average

At 3840x2160, the system is nearly unplayable:

• Low: 27 FPS average
• Medium: 22 FPS average (with a min of 18 and max of 25)
• High: 17 FPS average
• Ultra: 13 FPS average

The data shows a consistent pattern: for every resolution, the difference between Low and Ultra is about a 50% reduction in FPS. For example, at 1080p, Low is 73 FPS and Ultra is 35 FPS, a 52% drop. At 1440p, Low is 48 FPS and Ultra is 23 FPS, a 52% drop. At 4K, Low is 27 FPS and Ultra is 13 FPS, a 52% drop. This linear scaling is typical of a GPU-bound system, where the GPU’s workload increases with each setting tier. The FPS data suggests that the only way to get a decent frame rate is to use Low settings at 1080p, which is the only configuration that consistently exceeds 60 FPS.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Palworld at 1080p?

A: Yes, but only at Low settings, where it averages 73 FPS. At Medium, it drops to 59 FPS, and at High and Ultra, it falls to 46 and 35 FPS respectively, which are below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest rivals?

A: The Intel Core i7-12700KF has an average benchmark score of 35365, which is less than 0.2% from its nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-13600T, which scores 35305. The CPU is not the bottleneck in this combo.

Q: Is the RX 570 a good match for the i7-12700KF?

A: The data suggests no. The GPU is the reason this combo ranks 3543rd out of 3711, and its 4 GB VRAM is insufficient for Palworld at higher resolution. The CPU is in the 85th percentile, while the GPU is in the 74th, but the GPU’s practical performance is far worse.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo?

A: 1080p is the only resolution where the combo can reach 60 FPS (at Low settings). At 1440p, the best average FPS is 48 at Low, and at 4K, it is 27 FPS, both of which are below playable levels for most users.

Q: How does the RX 570 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RX 570’s average benchmark score is 28766, which is 0.8% lower than the Radeon RX 470’s 28996, and 0.4% lower than the RX 6800M’s 28874. These differences are minimal, but none of these GPUs are suitable for modern gaming.

Q: Should a user choose Low or Medium settings at 1080p?

A: The data shows Low gives 73 FPS, while Medium gives 59 FPS, a 19% difference. For a smooth 60 FPS experience, Low is the only choice. Medium is close but may have frame drops, with a min of 50 FPS, which could be noticeable in action.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data is clear: this combo is only usable at 1080p with the Low preset. That setting yields an average of 73 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth play. The Medium preset at 1080p is a compromise, but with a min of 50 FPS, it may experience stutter during intense scenes. The High and Ultra presets at 1080p are not recommended, as they drop below the 60 FPS mark. At 1440p and 4K, all settings result in average FPS below 48 and 27, respectively, which are not suitable for the game. The Low preset at 1440p gives 48 FPS, but this is a playable if you can tolerate frame drops. The data suggests that the only way to enjoy Palworld with this combo is to use 1080p, but even then, the experience is not ideal. If you want a better visual experience, you would need to upgrade the GPU, as the CPU is not the bottleneck.

In summary, the i7-12700KF is a strong CPU, but the RX 570 is a weak GPU that holds the entire system back. For Palworld, this combo is only viable at 1080p with Low settings. Any other configuration results in unplayable frame rates. The 4 GB VRAM and 5.1 TFLOPS of compute are just not enough for this game’s demands. The FPS data shows that a GPU upgrade is the most effective way to improve performance. The CPU has enough headroom to support a much better graphics card, but as it stands, this combo is a clear example of a CPU bottlenecked by a weak GPU.