Palworld

Palworld, a survival title released in early 2024, presents a demanding workload that scales significantly with both resolution and graphics settings. This analysis examines the measured performance of the Intel Core i7-13700K paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT, using benchmark data collected at three resolutions and four quality presets. The data shows clear patterns in how the CPU and GPU contribute to frame rates, allowing for precise recommendations.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates reveal a strong relationship between resolution and performance. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 224 FPS. This drops to 148 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of roughly 76 FPS from the 1080p figure. By 4K, the average falls to 82 FPS. This pattern of scaling by a third from 1080p to 1440p and then by half from 1440p to 4K shows that the Radeon RX 7800 XT is the primary performance limiter as resolution increases.

At Ultra settings, the resolution scaling is even more pronounced. The combo produces 106 FPS at 1080p, 70 FPS at 1440p, and 39 FPS at 4K. Here, the 1080p to 4K drop is 67 FPS, a 63% reduction. This indicates that at higher quality presets, the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth are fully taxed, and the CPU's 16 cores and 24 threads are more than capable of feeding frames at these rates.

The same scaling pattern holds for High and Medium settings. At High, the 1080p average is 140 FPS, dropping to 92 FPS at 1440p and 51 FPS at 4K. At Medium, the figures are 182 FPS, 120 FPS, and 66 FPS respectively. In every preset, the frame rate roughly halves when moving from 1080p to 4K, which suggests that the RX 7800 XT's pixel throughput is the bottleneck. The GPU's 233.3 GPixel/s pixel rate and 583.2 GTexel/s texture rate are the measured attributes that dominate this scaling.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-13700K is a 16-core, 24-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture. It has a 30 MB shared L3 cache and 2 MB per core L2 cache. Its measured single-thread performance is strong at 4333 in PassMark, which aligns with the high frame rates observed at 1080p Low where the CPU must keep up with the GPU. The combo reaches 224 FPS at 1080p Low, indicating the CPU's 16 cores can generate enough draw calls and physics updates to feed the RX 7800 XT.

At 4K, the CPU's role becomes less significant. For example, at 4K Ultra, the frame rate is 39 FPS, which is far below the CPU's capability. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 10717 and 8-thread score of 8193 show strong multi-core performance, but Palworld's scaling appears to be limited by the GPU at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the 224 FPS Low result shows the CPU can drive the GPU to high frame rates, but the GPU's the frame rate is not bound by the CPU.

The CPU's cache hierarchy of 30 MB shared L3 and 2 MB per core L2 helps keep the game's data resident. The 13700K's average benchmark score of 46881, with a percentile of 89, shows it is a top-tier CPU. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 5900, has an average score of 46971 and a deltaPct of -0.2, indicating a very similar performance. The CPU's 3DMark single-thread score of 1136 and 2-thread score of 2262 support the notion that single-thread performance is a key factor at 1080p, where the 224 FPS result is achieved.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT uses the Navi 32 chip on a 5 nm process. It has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 624.1 GB/s of bandwidth. The boost clock of 2430 MHz and game clock of 2124 MHz are key to its performance. The GPU's 3840 shading units and 60 RT cores are the primary resources for rendering Palworld's environments.

At 1080p Medium, the combo produces 182 FPS, indicating the GPU has headroom. At 4K Medium, the 66 FPS with a min of 56 and max of 76 shows the memory bandwidth is stressed. The 16 GB VRAM is ample, but the bandwidth of 624.1 GB/s is the limiting factor at 4K. The 4K Ultra result of 39 FPS is a direct consequence of the GPU's compute and bandwidth.

The GPU's 233.3 GPixel/s pixel rate is not fully utilized at 1080p, but at 4K, the 39 FPS at Ultra indicates the pixel fill rate is a bottleneck. The 583.2 GTexel/s texture rate supports the high frame rates at 1080p Medium (182 FPS) and 1080p High (140 FPS). The GPU's average benchmark score is 24176 in PassMark G3D, but its nearest rivals include the GTX 1660 with an average score of 11680 and a deltaPct of -0.5, which is not a reliable indicator of gaming performance. The 51st percentile ranking shows that this is a mid-to-high-range GPU.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured frame rates, the Medium preset offers the most stable experience across all resolutions. At 4K Medium, the average FPS is 66 with a min of 56 and max of 76, providing a playable frame rate with a relatively narrow 20 FPS range. At 1440p Medium, the 120 FPS average is smooth, and at 1080p Medium, 182 FPS is well above the typical refresh rate.

High settings provide a better visual experience but at 4K the average drops to 51 FPS, which may not be ideal for smooth gameplay. At 1440p High, 92 FPS is acceptable. Low settings are the only preset that allows an average above 144 FPS at 4K, but with the trade-off of reduced visuals.

Ultra is only recommended for 1080p, where the 106 FPS average is playable, but at 4K the 39 FPS average is too low for most. The data suggests that Medium at 1440p is the best balance, with 120 FPS and a min of 102, ensuring a consistent experience. For 4K, Medium is the only preset that maintains an average above 60 FPS, at 66 FPS.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1080p Ultra?

A: The average frame rate at 1080p with Ultra settings is 106 FPS.

Q: How does the 4K Ultra frame rate compare to 4K Low?

A: At 4K Ultra, the average is 39 FPS, while at 4K Low, the average is 82 FPS. This shows a 43 FPS difference between the lowest and highest settings.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU limit performance at 4K?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K. The CPU has a high 3DMark score, but the frame rates drop with resolution, which is a GPU characteristic.

Q: What is the minimum FPS at 1440p Medium?

A: The minimum FPS at 1440p Medium is 102 FPS, with a maximum of 138 FPS and an average of 120 FPS.

Q: Is the 1080p Low frame rate higher than 1080p High?

A: Yes, the 1080p Low setting has an average FPS of 224, while High has 140 FPS.

Q: How does the RX 7800 XT's VRAM affect performance?

A: The 16 GB of GDDR6 memory with 624.1 GB/s bandwidth is sufficient for Palworld, as frame rates are more heavily influenced by the GPU's compute and texture rates.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates for the Intel Core i7-13700K and AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT are as follows:

At 1920x1080:

• Low: 224 FPS average
• High: 140 FPS average
• Medium: 182 FPS average (min 155, max 209)
• Ultra: 106 FPS average

At 2560x1440:

• Low: 148 FPS average
• High: 92 FPS average
• Medium: 120 FPS average (min 102, max 138)
• Ultra: 70 FPS average

At 3840x2160:

• Low: 82 FPS average
• High: 51 FPS average
• Medium: 66 FPS average (min 56, max 76)
• Ultra: 39 FPS average

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Intel Core i7-13700K and AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT ranks 1241st out of 3711 tested combinations in Palworld at the time of measurement. This places it in the top 33% of all combos tested. The high ranking is largely due to the CPU's strong single-thread performance and the GPU's robust compute capabilities. The CPU's 89th percentile ranking among all CPUs and the GPU's 51st percentile among all GPUs indicate a balanced pairing, but the GPU's mid-tier percentile (51) is the primary constraint on the combo's overall rank. The data shows that the CPU is not a bottleneck, as its nearest rivals (Ryzen 9 5900, Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 375, Ryzen 9 7845HX, Xeon w3-2535) all have similar average scores, with deltas of -0.2% to 0.5%. This suggests that the CPU's performance is consistent, and the frame rates are largely determined by the GPU. The combo's rank of 1241 indicates that many other combinations, likely with more powerful GPUs, achieve higher frame rates at 4K, but this pairing offers a strong 1080p and 1440p experience.