Palworld

Palworld’s measured performance on the Intel Core i7-14700KF and AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT reveals a system that transitions from a GPU-bound state at high resolutions to a more balanced workload at 1080p. The data indicates a substantial 63.8% performance drop from the Low preset at 1080p (246.1 FPS) to the Ultra preset at 4K (42.1 FPS), highlighting the extreme demands of the game’s highest settings at 4K. This combination ranks in the 74th percentile (445th of 1718 combos) for Palworld, suggesting strong but not top-tier performance among all tested pairings.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling across resolutions provides a clear picture of where the bottleneck lies. At 1080p with Low settings, the system produces 246.1 FPS, which suggests the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU a massive number of frames. However, moving to 1440p at Low settings reduces the average to 161.3 FPS, a drop of 34.5%. This significant reduction indicates that even at Low settings, the higher pixel count is starting to engage the GPU more heavily, though the frame rate remains high.

The trend becomes more pronounced at 4K. At 4K Low, the average FPS is 92.1, which is 42.9% lower than at 1440p Low. This is a clear indicator that the Radeon RX 9070 XT is becoming the limiting component as the resolution increases. The scaling from 1080p to 4K at Low settings is a 62.6% reduction in FPS (from 246.1 to 92.1), which is a substantial hit that points directly at the GPU’s pixel-pushing capability rather than any CPU limitation.

At the High preset, the scaling is more consistent. The system delivers 152.1 FPS at 1080p, 101.5 FPS at 1440p, and 58.1 FPS at 4K. The relative drops are 33.3% from 1080p to 1440p, and 42.8% from 1440p to 4K. This pattern suggests that the game is becoming progressively more GPU-bound at higher resolutions, with the Ultra preset showing the most severe scaling: 120 FPS at 1080p drops to 77.3 FPS at 1440p (a 35.6% decrease), and then plummets to 42.1 FPS at 4K (a 45.5% decrease from 1440p). The data shows that Ultra settings at 4K are extremely demanding, and the RX 9070 XT is clearly the constraining factor in this scenario.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo can achieve in Palworld?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 246.1, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This indicates that the system can produce very high frame rates when GPU load is minimized.

Q: How does the CPU perform relative to its closest rivals?

A: The Intel Core i7-14700KF has an average benchmark score of 70104, putting it in the 96th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-14700K, has a nearly identical average score of 70074, a delta of 0%. The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X scores slightly higher at 70420, a 0.4% delta.

Q: Is the GPU or CPU the main bottleneck at 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the system manages only 42.1 FPS. Given that the CPU is in the 96th percentile and the resolution scaling shows a large FPS drop from 1440p to 4K, the GPU is the primary limiting factor at this extreme setting.

Q: What is the GPU’s benchmark percentile compared to other GPUs?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT has a percentile rank of 82 among all GPUs, based on its average benchmark score of 39647. Its closest rival, the AMD Radeon Pro 575, scores 39703, a negligible 0.1% difference.

Q: Does the CPU’s high core count benefit Palworld’s performance?

A: The i7-14700KF has 20 cores and 28 threads. The measured FPS at 1080p Low (246.1) suggests that the CPU can handle high frame generation, but the data does not isolate the core count’s direct impact on Palworld’s specific engine. The strong multi-core benchmark scores (e.g., 44557 in Cinebench R23) imply it has ample headroom.

Q: What is the combo’s overall rank in Palworld?

A: The Intel Core i7-14700KF and AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT combination ranks 445th out of 1718 tested combos in Palworld, placing it in the top 26% of all configurations.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700KF is a 20-core, 28-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. Its benchmark results are impressive, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44557 and a single-core score of 6290, placing it in the 96th percentile of all CPUs. This raw compute power is reflected in the high frame rates seen at 1080p, particularly at Low settings where the GPU is less burdened. The 246.1 FPS figure at 1080p Low suggests that the CPU’s 20 cores are sufficient to avoid bottlenecking the GPU at lower resolutions.

The data implies that Palworld can scale well with the CPU’s capabilities at lower resolutions. The transition from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings results in a 34.5% FPS drop, but the absolute frame rates (161.3 FPS) are still very high, indicating the CPU is not the primary constraint. However, the CPU’s role becomes less critical as resolution increases. At 4K, the FPS differences between settings are more pronounced, suggesting the GPU’s pixel throughput is the dominant factor. The CPU’s high single-thread performance, evidenced by a Passmark single-thread score of 4480, likely helps maintain consistent frame pacing, but the data shows that the RX 9070 XT is the limiting component in the most demanding scenarios.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo of the Intel Core i7-14700KF and AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT achieves a rank of 445 out of 1718 tested combinations in Palworld. This 74th percentile ranking indicates that the setup performs better than three-quarters of all tested configurations, yet it is not at the absolute top tier. Given that the CPU is in the 96th percentile and the GPU is in the 82nd percentile, the combo’s rank is pulled down by the GPU’s relative position among other graphics cards.

This rank suggests that while the CPU is a top-tier performer, the GPU, while capable, is not the highest-end option available. The data shows that the GPU’s average benchmark score (39647) is only 0.1% higher than the AMD Radeon Pro 575, which is an older workstation card. This indicates that the RX 9070 XT, despite being a modern RDNA 4.0 part, sits in a performance tier where many other GPUs outperform it. Consequently, in a game like Palworld, which appears to be GPU-heavy at higher settings, the combo’s rank is limited by the GPU’s mid-to-high-end positioning rather than the CPU’s clear top-tier status.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers a wide range of performance depending on the preset. With Low settings, the average FPS is 246.1, which is exceptionally smooth. Medium settings reduce this to 203.9 FPS, a 17.1% drop. High settings yield 152.1 FPS, and Ultra settings bring the average down to 120 FPS. This shows that even at the most demanding 1080p preset, the system maintains a very playable frame rate.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance scales down accordingly. Low settings produce 161.3 FPS, Medium settings 132.6 FPS, and High settings 101.5 FPS. Ultra settings at 1440p deliver 77.3 FPS, which is still above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. At 3840x2160, the system struggles more noticeably. Low settings yield 92.1 FPS, Medium settings 73.8 FPS, and High settings 58.1 FPS. Ultra settings at 4K are the most demanding, with an average of just 42.1 FPS, which may be below the preferred threshold for many users.

The data reveals that the gap between Low and Ultra settings widens as resolution increases. At 1080p, the difference is 126.1 FPS (246.1 vs 120). At 1440p, the difference is 84 FPS (161.3 vs 77.3). At 4K, the difference is 50 FPS (92.1 vs 42.1). This pattern suggests that the GPU’s ability to handle the increased shader complexity of Ultra settings is the main bottleneck, rather than raw pixel count alone.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the optimal settings depend heavily on the user’s target resolution and desired frame rate. For 1080p gameplay, the High preset at 152.1 FPS offers an excellent balance of visual quality and performance. The Ultra preset at 120 FPS is also viable and provides the best visual fidelity without dropping below the 100 FPS mark. For competitive play where maximum frame rate is desired, the Low preset’s 246.1 FPS is the clear choice.

At 1440p, the High preset at 101.5 FPS is the recommended choice for a high-refresh-rate experience. The Medium preset at 132.6 FPS offers a smoother experience if the user prioritizes frame rate over visual details. The Ultra preset at 77.3 FPS is playable but may not be ideal for fast-paced action. For 4K gaming, the data suggests that High settings at 58.1 FPS are borderline, while Medium settings at 73.8 FPS provide a more consistently smooth experience. Low settings at 92.1 FPS are the most fluid option at this resolution, but they significantly reduce visual fidelity. The Ultra preset at 42.1 FPS is not recommended for 4K as it falls below the 60 FPS threshold.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT is based on the RDNA 4.0 architecture and the Navi 48 chip, fabricated on a 4nm process. It features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 644.6 GB/s. The GPU has a boost clock of 2970 MHz and a game clock of 2400 MHz. Its compute capabilities are substantial, with an FP32 performance of 48.66 TFLOPS and a texture rate of 760.3 GTexel/s. These specifications place it in the 82nd percentile of all GPUs.

The GPU’s role in Palworld is clearly defined by the resolution scaling data. At 1080p, the GPU is not fully taxed, allowing the CPU to push frame rates to 246.1 FPS on Low settings. However, as the resolution increases, the GPU’s pixel and texture processing capabilities become the limiting factor. The 16 GB of VRAM is likely sufficient for the game’s textures at all tested settings, as the data does not show any anomalies that would indicate VRAM overflow. The GPU’s performance at 4K Ultra (42.1 FPS) reflects its position in the 82nd percentile; it is a capable card, but not a top-tier 4K powerhouse. The benchmark results, such as a 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 7260, support the observed in-game performance, showing a solid mid-to-high-end GPU that excels at 1080p and 1440p but struggles to maintain high frame rates at 4K with maximum settings.