Palworld

Palworld with an Intel Core i7-13700K and AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT presents a classic high-CPU, mid-range-GPU pairing. The benchmark data shows a system that is heavily constrained by the graphics card at higher resolutions, but which reveals strong CPU headroom at 1080p. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS numbers to show exactly where the bottleneck lies and what it means for playable settings.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K clearly identifies the GPU as the primary limiting factor. At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 95 FPS at 1920x1080 to 62 FPS at 2560x1440, and then falls sharply to 35 FPS at 3840x2160. That is a 63% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K, which is a textbook sign that the Radeon RX 6600 XT is being overwhelmed by the pixel count at higher resolutions. The CPU is not the issue here; the data suggests it is waiting on the GPU to finish rendering frames.

The scaling pattern becomes even more telling when looking at the Low settings preset. At 1080p Low, the system hits 152 FPS, which drops to 100 FPS at 1440p and 55 FPS at 4K. The 1080p Low result is particularly interesting because it shows the CPU can push well beyond 150 FPS in this game. Since the Low preset reduces GPU load significantly, this 152 FPS figure likely approaches the practical ceiling of the i7-13700K in Palworld's engine. The fact that 4K Low only manages 55 FPS confirms that even with minimal graphical work, the RX 6600 XT cannot keep up with the CPU's output at high pixel densities.

Medium settings provide the only complete min/max data in the pack, which helps illustrate the frame time stability. At 1080p Medium, the average is 123 FPS with a minimum of 104 and maximum of 141, showing a relatively tight 37 FPS spread. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 81 FPS with a min of 69 and max of 93, maintaining a similar spread. At 4K Medium, the average collapses to 45 FPS with a min of 38 and max of 52. The consistency of the min/max gap suggests the frame pacing remains stable even as the GPU gets saturated, which is a positive sign for playability.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-13700K is a 16-core, 24-thread Raptor Lake processor with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. Its benchmark scores are extremely strong, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 30745 and a single-core score of 2116. In Geekbench, it scores 19429 multi-core and 2529 single-core. These numbers place it in the 89th percentile of all CPUs, and its average benchmark score of 46881 puts it in a dead heat with the AMD Ryzen 9 5900 (46971, -0.2% delta) and the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 375 (47022, -0.3% delta).

For Palworld, the CPU's role is most evident at 1080p Low, where the GPU is least stressed. The 152 FPS result at that setting is likely near the engine's single-threaded limit, which the i7-13700K's strong single-core performance handles well. The processor's 30 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache also help with the game's world streaming and entity management. The data strongly suggests that this CPU is never the bottleneck in any resolution tested here; even at 1080p Low, the frame rate is high enough that most users would consider it more than sufficient.

The CPU's 3DMark scores reinforce this interpretation. The 2-thread score of 2262 and single-thread score of 1136 indicate that even lightly threaded workloads are handled with ease. Palworld is known for heavy physics and AI calculations, but the i7-13700K's 16 cores and 24 threads provide substantial parallel processing headroom. The PassMark multi-thread score of 45887 and integer math score of 154446 further confirm that complex simulations are unlikely to stall this processor.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Palworld at 4K with playable frame rates?

A: The data shows 35 FPS on High and 26 FPS on Ultra at 3840x2160. The 4K Medium preset averages 45 FPS with a minimum of 38 FPS. For smooth 4K gameplay, you would need to use Low settings, which hit 55 FPS.

Q: What is the best resolution for this system in Palworld?

A: 2560x1440 is the sweet spot. High settings average 62 FPS, Medium averages 81 FPS with a minimum of 69 FPS, and Low reaches 100 FPS. This resolution offers a good balance between visual quality and frame rate.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The GPU is the clear bottleneck at all resolutions except potentially 1080p Low. The CPU's capability is demonstrated by the 152 FPS result at 1080p Low, while the GPU struggles to exceed 55 FPS at 4K even on Low settings.

Q: How does the RX 6600 XT compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RX 6600 XT has an average benchmark score of 24442, which is 0.7% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1630 (24277) and 1.1% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER (24170). It trails the Intel Arc A350M (24647) by 0.8%.

Q: What frame rates can I expect at 1080p with this setup?

A: At 1920x1080, the measured averages are 152 FPS on Low, 123 FPS on Medium, 95 FPS on High, and 72 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 104 FPS, indicating solid stability.

Q: Is the i7-13700K overkill for the RX 6600 XT in this game?

A: The data suggests the CPU has significant headroom. Its average benchmark score of 46881 places it in the 89th percentile, and it matches the AMD Ryzen 9 5900 within 0.2%. In Palworld, the CPU only appears to become relevant at 1080p Low, where it helps achieve 152 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Intel Core i7-13700K and AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT ranks 2619 out of 3711 tested combos in Palworld. That places it in the 29th percentile of all tested configurations, meaning roughly 70% of other CPU-GPU pairs deliver higher frame rates in this game. The ranking reflects that the RX 6600 XT is a mid-range GPU that holds back the high-end CPU.

The GPU's individual performance metrics explain this ranking. The RX 6600 XT sits in the 70th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 24442. Its nearest rival, the GTX 1630, is essentially tied at 24277 (0.7% delta), which shows how close the mid-range GPU field is. The RTX 2080 SUPER is also within 1.1% of the RX 6600 XT's score, which is surprising given its older architecture but highlights how competitive this segment is.

The CPU's high percentile ranking (89th) does not translate into a high combo ranking because Palworld's frame rates at 1440p and 4K are so heavily GPU-limited. The combo rank of 2619 suggests that for this game, a more balanced pairing — such as a lower-end CPU with a higher-end GPU — would likely produce better overall results. However, the CPU headroom means that upgrading the GPU later would yield significant gains without needing to replace the processor.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT is built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture with a Navi 23 chip manufactured on TSMC's 7 nm process. It features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU has 2048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs. Its boost clock is 2589 MHz, with a game clock of 2359 MHz and a base clock of 1968 MHz.

In Palworld, the GPU's role is decisive. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p at all settings, but the 4K Ultra preset likely stresses the memory capacity and bandwidth. The 256.0 GB/s bandwidth is adequate for 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K, the pixel throughput requirement exceeds what this card can deliver, as seen in the 26 FPS Ultra result at 3840x2160.

The GPU's compute performance is moderate: 10.60 TFLOPS FP32 and 21.21 TFLOPS FP16 (2:1). Its texture rate of 331.4 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 165.7 GPixel/s are in line with its mid-range positioning. The PassMark G3D score of 16461 places it in the 70th percentile of all GPUs, which confirms it is an upper-mid-range part. However, Palworld's engine appears to be particularly demanding on raw pixel throughput, as evidenced by the steep FPS drops at higher resolutions.

The GPU's 32 ray tracing cores are present, but Palworld does not appear to benefit significantly from them based on the data. The measured FPS numbers show no indication that ray tracing is a factor in the results. The card's DirectX 12 Ultimate support (12_2) ensures compatibility, but the bottleneck remains pure rasterization performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its best results. Low settings average 152 FPS, making for an exceptionally smooth experience. Medium settings average 123 FPS with a minimum of 104 FPS and a maximum of 141 FPS, showing strong frame pacing. High settings average 95 FPS, which is still very playable. Ultra settings drop to 72 FPS, which is acceptable but shows the first signs of GPU limitation.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates become more moderate. Low settings average 100 FPS, maintaining high refresh rate capability. Medium settings average 81 FPS with a minimum of 69 FPS and a maximum of 93 FPS, which remains smooth. High settings average 62 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for competitive play. Ultra settings fall to 47 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold most players prefer.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly overwhelmed. Low settings average 55 FPS, which is the only 4K preset that approaches playability. Medium settings average 45 FPS with a minimum of 38 FPS and a maximum of 52 FPS, which will show noticeable stutter in fast-paced scenes. High settings average 35 FPS, and Ultra settings average 26 FPS, both of which are generally considered unplayable for this genre.

The full data set is as follows: 1080p Low 152 FPS, 1080p Medium 123 FPS (min 104, max 141), 1080p High 95 FPS, 1080p Ultra 72 FPS. 1440p Low 100 FPS, 1440p Medium 81 FPS (min 69, max 93), 1440p High 62 FPS, 1440p Ultra 47 FPS. 4K Low 55 FPS, 4K Medium 45 FPS (min 38, max 52), 4K High 35 FPS, 4K Ultra 26 FPS. This data indicates the best experience is at 1080p with Medium or High settings, or at 1440p with Low or Medium settings, depending on whether you prioritize visual fidelity or frame rate consistency.