Palworld

Palworld presents an exceptionally demanding workload for the AMD Radeon RX 570, and the measured data indicates that this combination of an Intel Core i9-14900K with the RX 570 is severely bottlenecked by the graphics card at every resolution and settings level. The benchmark results show a system where the CPU's substantial processing power is largely left idle, as the GPU becomes the definitive limiting factor, resulting in frame rates that range from merely playable at 1080p Low to completely unplayable at 4K Ultra.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is stark and unequivocally demonstrates that the graphics card is the primary constraint. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 73 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low, the average falls to 48 FPS, a reduction of 34%. At 4K Low, the average plummets to 27 FPS, which is a 63% decrease from the 1080p figure. This scaling pattern is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario, where the rendering resolution directly dictates the workload on the graphics processor.

The trend is consistent across all settings presets. For High settings, the frame rate drops from 46 FPS at 1080p to 30 FPS at 1440p, and then to 17 FPS at 4K. Similarly, with Medium settings, the averages are 59 FPS at 1080p, 39 FPS at 1440p, and 22 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic fall, from 35 FPS at 1080p to 23 FPS at 1440p, and finally to a mere 13 FPS at 4K. The consistent and significant frame rate drops with each resolution increase confirm that the RX 570's processing capabilities are being saturated, and the game's performance is not being limited by the CPU or memory bandwidth at any point in these tests.

This behavior indicates that the Intel Core i9-14900K is more than capable of feeding frames to the GPU. The data suggests that the CPU is not a bottleneck; instead, the GPU's fill rate, pixel throughput, and shader processing power are the deciding factors. The RX 570, with its 4 GB of GDDR5 memory and 224.0 GB/s bandwidth, is simply overwhelmed by the demands of Palworld at higher resolutions, leading to the observed exponential-like drop in performance as pixel count increases.

Settings Recommendations

Given the measured frame rates, the optimal settings for this combo are heavily dependent on the target resolution and desired smoothness. The data clearly shows that the only configuration that provides a consistently playable experience is 1080p with Low settings, which yields an average of 73 FPS. This is the only tested setting that approaches the 60 FPS threshold, making it the recommended choice for a fluid gameplay experience.

For users who prioritize visual fidelity over maximum frame rate, 1080p with Medium settings is the next viable option, producing an average of 59 FPS. This preset offers a balance between performance and visual quality, though it falls just short of the 60 FPS mark. The High preset at 1080p, with an average of 46 FPS, is still playable but will exhibit noticeable stutter in demanding scenes. The Ultra preset at 1080p, averaging 35 FPS, is generally not recommended for action-oriented gameplay.

At 1440p, the situation becomes more challenging. The Low preset achieves an average of 48 FPS, which is playable but not ideal. The Medium preset, at 39 FPS, and the High preset, at 30 FPS, are borderline and will feel sluggish. The Ultra preset at 1440p, with an average of 23 FPS, is effectively unplayable. At 4K, all settings are below playable thresholds, with the Low preset averaging 27 FPS and the Ultra preset at 13 FPS. The data strongly suggests that 4K gaming is not a realistic option for this hardware combination in Palworld, and even 1440p requires significant compromises on visual quality to achieve acceptable performance.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 570 is the definitive bottleneck in this configuration. Its specifications, including a base clock of 1168 MHz and a boost clock of 1244 MHz, are insufficient for the demands of Palworld at higher resolutions. The GPU's memory configuration of 4 GB of GDDR5 is also a limiting factor, as modern games often require more capacity at higher resolutions and texture settings. The measured data suggests that the 4 GB frame buffer is likely being exhausted, contributing to the severe performance drops observed at 1440p and 4K.

The GPU's benchmark scores place it in the 74th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 28766. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 6800M, which scores 28874 (a 0.4% difference), and the AMD Radeon RX 470, which scores 28996 (a 0.8% difference). This indicates that the RX 570 is positioned in the mid-range of GPU performance, but its capabilities are clearly not suited for the high-resolution, high-settings demands of this particular game. The GPU's 5.095 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 159.2 GTexel/s texture rate are simply not enough to maintain high frame rates in Palworld, especially when compared to the game's apparent graphical complexity.

The GPU's performance in synthetic benchmarks, such as a score of 42752 in Geekbench Vulkan, further highlights its limitations in a modern gaming context. The data indicates that while the RX 570 was a capable card in its era, it is now a significant hindrance to achieving a smooth experience in newer titles like Palworld at higher resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i9-14900K and the AMD Radeon RX 570 ranks at 3543 out of 3711 tested combos in Palworld. This places it in the bottom 5% of all tested configurations, a clear testament to the severe performance limitations imposed by the graphics card. The ranking is a direct consequence of the GPU's inability to keep pace with the CPU's potential, resulting in a system that performs far worse than the sum of its parts might suggest.

This rank of 3543 is particularly poor when considering the strength of the CPU. The Intel Core i9-14900K is a top-tier processor, ranking in the 95th percentile of all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 79097. Its performance is nearly identical to its nearest rivals, the Intel Core i9-14900KF (79371, -0.3%) and the Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus (79574, -0.6%). The fact that this powerful CPU is paired with a GPU that ranks in the 74th percentile creates a massive imbalance, dragging the overall combo rank down to near the bottom of the database. The data shows that this pairing is one of the most inefficient tested, with the CPU's capabilities almost entirely wasted.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i9-14900K plays a minimal role in the final frame rates, as the GPU is the clear limiting factor. This is evident from the resolution scaling, where performance drops significantly as resolution increases, a classic sign of GPU limitation. The CPU's 24 cores and 32 threads, with a base clock of 3.20 GHz and a boost clock of 6.00 GHz, are more than sufficient to handle the game's logic and physics. The CPU's substantial cache hierarchy, including 36 MB of shared L3 cache, ensures that data is readily available for processing.

The CPU's benchmark scores are exceptional, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 39399.5 and a single-core score of 2262.5. Its Geekbench multi-core score is 21697, and its PassMark multithread score is 58674. These results demonstrate that the CPU is not a bottleneck in any way. In fact, the data suggests that the CPU is so powerful that it is likely waiting for the GPU to finish rendering each frame, leaving most of its processing power idle. The CPU's performance in the game is effectively masked by the GPU's limitations, meaning that upgrading the graphics card would yield a dramatic improvement in frame rates, while upgrading the CPU would provide no tangible benefit.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of the performance envelope for this combo. At 1920x1080, the results are as follows: with Low settings, the average FPS is 73; with Medium settings, the average is 59, with a minimum of 50 and a maximum of 68; with High settings, the average is 46; and with Ultra settings, the average is 35. This shows a clear and expected decline in performance as settings are increased, with the GPU struggling more with each incremental increase in visual complexity.

At 2560x1440, the performance drops significantly. The Low preset averages 48 FPS, the Medium preset averages 39 FPS (with a minimum of 33 and maximum of 45), the High preset averages 30 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 23 FPS. The gap between 1080p and 1440p is substantial, highlighting the GPU's memory bandwidth and processing power limitations. At 3840x2160, the results are largely unplayable. The Low preset averages 27 FPS, the Medium preset averages 22 FPS (with a minimum of 18 and maximum of 25), the High preset averages 17 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 13 FPS. The 4K data confirms that this combination is not suitable for 4K gaming under any settings, as even the lowest preset fails to reach a consistent 30 FPS. The data across all resolutions shows a consistent and predictable pattern: the RX 570 is the sole performance arbiter, and its limitations are the defining characteristic of this hardware pairing.