Palworld

Palworld is a survival game that scales heavily with both processor and graphics hardware, and this specific pairing of an Intel Core i7-12700KF with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti produces a consistently high-refresh-rate experience across most settings. The measured data shows this combo ranks 508th out of 3711 tested combinations, placing it in the top tier of systems for this title. The benchmark results reveal a system that is capable of pushing well past 100 FPS at 1440p and even approaching 300 FPS at 1080p on lower presets, though the most demanding Ultra settings at 4K will still require some compromises to maintain smooth gameplay.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i7-12700KF is a 12-core, 20-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, running on the Intel Socket 1700 platform. Its base clock is 3.60 GHz with a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, and it comes with an unlocked multiplier for overclocking. The chip features a substantial cache hierarchy, including 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and a shared 25 MB L3 cache. This processor supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration, and it provides Gen 4 PCIe with 20 lanes from the CPU itself.

In synthetic benchmarks, this CPU demonstrates strong multi-threaded performance, scoring 28,838 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 12,111 in Cinebench R20 multicore. Single-thread performance is also solid, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4,071 and a Geekbench single-core score of 2,255. The processor's 3DMark results are particularly telling for gaming: it scores 9,282 in the 16-thread test and 9,983 in the max-thread test, while the 4-thread and 2-thread scores drop to 4,011 and 2,065 respectively. This indicates that the CPU is capable of handling heavily threaded workloads, but its gaming performance in Palworld is more dependent on the higher-frequency P-cores.

The i7-12700KF sits at the 85th percentile when compared to all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 35,365. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-13700T (0.1% slower) and the Intel Core i5-13600T (0.2% faster), showing that it is squarely in the middle of a tightly packed performance bracket. The data suggests that in Palworld, the CPU is not the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, as the frame rate differences between 1080p and 1440p are more pronounced than typical CPU-bound scenarios would show. The processor's high boost clock of 5.00 GHz is likely contributing to the excellent low-resolution performance, where the game is less GPU-limited.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

The measured FPS data reveals a clear tiering of performance across the four settings presets. At 1080p, the Low preset delivers an average of 291 FPS, which is extraordinarily high and well beyond the refresh rate of most monitors. The Medium preset at 1080p drops to 236 FPS average, with minimums of 201 FPS and maximums of 271 FPS, still providing a massive headroom above 144Hz displays. The High preset at 1080p gives 182 FPS average, while the Ultra preset drops to 138 FPS average.

For the best balance of visual quality and performance, the Medium preset stands out as the sweet spot. At 1080p, it holds a 236 FPS average with a minimum of 201 FPS, ensuring that even the most demanding scenes never dip below 200 FPS. At 1440p, the Medium preset achieves a 155 FPS average with a minimum of 132 FPS, which is still well above the 120Hz threshold and provides a smooth experience on high-refresh-rate monitors. The High preset at 1440p delivers 120 FPS average, which is borderline for 120Hz displays but may experience occasional dips.

The Ultra preset is the most demanding, and the data shows it should be avoided for competitive play. At 1440p, Ultra averages 91 FPS, and at 4K it drops to just 50 FPS average. These numbers suggest that Ultra settings are best reserved for players who prioritize visual fidelity over frame rate and are willing to accept sub-100 FPS performance. For most players, the Medium preset offers the best experience, providing frame rates that are nearly double the Ultra preset at both 1080p and 1440p, with only a moderate reduction in visual quality.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The resolution scaling data shows a predictable pattern that highlights the GPU as the primary limiting component at higher resolutions. Moving from 1080p to 1440p on the Medium preset, the average FPS drops from 236 to 155, a reduction of approximately 34%. This is a significant drop, but the frame rate remains highly playable. Moving from 1440p to 4K on the Medium preset, the average FPS drops further from 155 to 86, another 45% reduction. This steep decline is typical of a GPU-bound scenario, where the rendering resolution directly impacts the workload on the graphics card.

The Low preset shows an even more dramatic scaling curve. At 1080p, it achieves 291 FPS, which drops to 192 FPS at 1440p (a 34% reduction) and then to 106 FPS at 4K (a 45% reduction from 1440p). The fact that the Low preset at 4K still achieves over 100 FPS indicates that even with minimal graphical load, the RTX 4070 Ti is being pushed hard at this resolution. The High preset follows a similar pattern: 182 FPS at 1080p, 120 FPS at 1440p, and 66 FPS at 4K.

The data strongly suggests that the RTX 4070 Ti is the bottleneck at 4K, as the frame rates at this resolution are heavily dependent on the graphics settings. The CPU's performance headroom is evident at 1080p, where even the Ultra preset achieves 138 FPS, indicating that the processor can feed the GPU sufficiently at lower resolutions. However, as the resolution increases, the GPU's workload grows exponentially, and the frame rates drop accordingly. This analysis is further supported by the 4K Ultra result of 50 FPS, which is the only setting that dips below the 60 FPS threshold, confirming that the GPU is the limiting factor at this resolution.

FAQ — 4-6 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data

Q: What is the maximum average frame rate this system can achieve in Palworld?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 291, which occurs at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset. This is followed by 236 FPS at 1080p Medium and 192 FPS at 1440p Low.

Q: Is the Ultra settings preset playable at 4K with this hardware?

A: No, the 4K Ultra preset produces an average of only 50 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The 4K High preset achieves 66 FPS, and 4K Medium reaches 86 FPS, making Medium the lowest playable 4K preset.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 Ti compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 4070 Ti has an average benchmark score of 44,795 and sits at the 84th percentile of all GPUs. Its closest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile, is 0.8% faster, while the AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT is 1.3% faster. The NVIDIA RTX A6000 is 1.6% slower.

Q: What is the difference in frame rate between the Low and Ultra presets at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset achieves an average of 192 FPS, while the Ultra preset achieves only 91 FPS. This represents a difference of 101 FPS, or roughly 111% more performance when using the Low preset.

Q: Does the CPU become a bottleneck at any resolution tested?

A: The data suggests the CPU is not a bottleneck at any resolution. At 1080p, where CPU overhead is highest, the system still achieves 291 FPS on Low and 138 FPS on Ultra, indicating the processor has ample headroom to feed the GPU.

Q: What is the minimum frame rate recorded in the entire test suite?

A: The lowest minimum FPS recorded is 73, which occurs at 3840x2160 resolution with the Medium preset. The 1440p Medium preset has a minimum of 132 FPS, and the 1080p Medium preset has a minimum of 201 FPS.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture using a 5 nm process from TSMC, featuring the AD104 chip with 35,800 million transistors. It has 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 504.2 GB/s. The GPU operates at a base clock of 2310 MHz and a boost clock of 2610 MHz, with memory running at 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective). The card is equipped with 7,680 shading units, 240 TMUs, and 80 ROPs, along with 60 RT cores and 240 tensor cores.

In synthetic benchmarks, the RTX 4070 Ti achieves a Passmark G3D score of 31,624 and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 213,808. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 5,024, and the Passmark GPU Compute score is 18,396. The GPU sits at the 84th percentile of all graphics cards, with an average benchmark score of 44,795. Its nearest rival, the RTX 5090 Mobile, is only 0.8% faster, indicating that the 4070 Ti is at the upper edge of its performance class.

The GPU's 12 GB of VRAM is sufficient for Palworld at all tested settings, as the data shows no signs of texture thrashing or memory-related stutters. The high boost clock of 2610 MHz is instrumental in achieving the high frame rates seen at 1080p and 1440p, and the 504.2 GB/s bandwidth provides ample throughput for the game's streaming assets. The GPU's performance is the defining factor in this pairing, particularly at 4K where the frame rates are directly proportional to the settings preset. The card's 285 W TDP and 600 W suggested PSU indicate it is a power-hungry component, but the measured results justify the power draw.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

At 1920x1080, the system delivers exceptional performance across all presets. The Low preset achieves an average of 291 FPS, the highest of any configuration tested. The Medium preset averages 236 FPS, with a minimum of 201 FPS and a maximum of 271 FPS. The High preset averages 182 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 138 FPS. These numbers indicate that at 1080p, the system is never below 138 FPS, even on the most demanding settings.

At 2560x1440, performance remains very strong but shows a clear step down. The Low preset averages 192 FPS, the Medium preset averages 155 FPS with a minimum of 132 FPS and a maximum of 179 FPS, and the High preset averages 120 FPS. The Ultra preset drops to an average of 91 FPS, which is still playable but noticeably lower than the other presets. The 1440p Medium preset is the most balanced, offering a 155 FPS average that exceeds the refresh rate of most 1440p monitors.

At 3840x2160, the system begins to show its limits. The Low preset averages 106 FPS, which is still smooth and playable. The Medium preset averages 86 FPS, with a minimum of 73 FPS and a maximum of 99 FPS. The High preset averages 66 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages just 50 FPS. The 4K results demonstrate that the RTX 4070 Ti is the limiting factor at this resolution, and players seeking 4K gameplay should stick to the Low or Medium presets to maintain frame rates above 60 FPS. The 4K Medium preset, with its 86 FPS average and 73 FPS minimum, is the recommended choice for 4K play, as it provides a smooth experience without the extreme visual downgrades of the Low preset.