Palworld

Palworld pairs the Intel Core Ultra 5 135H with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 in a combination that ranks 586th out of 2,944 tested combos for this game, placing it in the top 20% of all configurations. This is a curious outcome because the RTX 5090 is a flagship-class GPU, yet the overall combo ranking suggests that the mobile CPU is holding the system back from reaching the very top tier of performance. The data indicates a system with enormous graphical headroom constrained by a processor that, while capable, does not match the GPU's raw power in this specific title.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 586 out of 2,944 tested configurations places it in the 80th percentile of all pairings tested for Palworld. This is a strong showing, but it is not at the absolute pinnacle of performance. The CPU itself, the Intel Core Ultra 5 135H, has a percentile rank of 81 against all CPUs, which is a very similar standing to the combo's overall rank. This close alignment suggests that the system's final performance in Palworld is closely tied to the CPU's general capability. The GPU, however, is a different story; the RTX 5090 has a percentile rank of 92 against all GPUs, meaning it is a top-decile performer on its own. The gap between the GPU's 92nd percentile standing and the combo's 80th percentile ranking is a strong indicator that the CPU is the limiting factor in this pairing.

When looking at the CPU's nearest rivals, the data shows how close this processor is to its competition. The Intel Core Ultra 5 135H has an average benchmark score of 29,093. Its closest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X, scores 29,123, a negligible difference of -0.1%. This means the two are effectively tied in raw processing power. A similar story emerges with the Intel Core i5-13500HX, which scores 29,270, a -0.6% difference. The Intel Xeon Phi 7210 is also very close at 29,245 (-0.5%), while the AMD Ryzen 5 5600XT trails slightly at 28,940, a +0.5% difference in favor of the Ultra 5. These sub-1% deltas indicate that the 135H is in a performance dead heat with several desktop and mobile processors from the previous generation.

The RTX 5090's nearest rivals paint a different picture. Its average benchmark score is 79,842. The NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB is nearly identical at 79,605 (0.3% difference), and the 12 GB version is close at 79,396 (0.6%). The AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT is slightly behind at 78,940 (1.1%), while the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X is 1.4% ahead at 80,959. These are all very powerful parts, but the RTX 5090's 92nd percentile rank against all GPUs shows it is a cut above typical consumer graphics cards. The fact that this top-tier GPU is paired with a mid-range mobile CPU creates an imbalance that is clearly reflected in the final combo ranking for Palworld.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is a behemoth of a graphics card, built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture and the GB202 chip. It comes with 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, providing a massive 1.79 TB/s of memory bandwidth. This enormous memory pool and bandwidth are crucial for high-resolution gaming and future-proofing, but in Palworld, the data suggests that this capacity is not the primary bottleneck. The card's base clock is 2017 MHz with a boost clock of 2407 MHz, and it houses 21,760 shading units, 680 TMUs, and 176 ROPs. These specifications contribute to a pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s, which are exceptional figures.

In Palworld, the GPU's role is to render the game's vast open world, which includes complex geometry, dynamic lighting, and numerous creatures. The RTX 5090's raw compute power, measured at 104.8 TFLOPS for FP32, is more than sufficient to handle these tasks at any resolution. The measured FPS data shows that even at 4K with Ultra settings, the card is capable of producing 45 FPS on average. The fact that it can achieve 261 FPS at 1080p on Low settings shows that the card is never the limiting factor at lower resolutions. The GPU's performance in standard benchmarks, like a Passmark G3D score of 39,650, reinforces its position as a top-tier part. The data implies that the RTX 5090 is performing as expected, and any performance shortfalls in the combo are not due to the graphics card's capabilities.

The RTX 5090's 32 GB of VRAM is a standout feature. In Palworld, which is a survival game with a large, persistent world, texture loading and asset streaming can be demanding. However, with 32 GB of GDDR7, running out of video memory is unlikely to be a concern even at 4K with the highest quality textures. The memory clock of 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective) and the 512-bit bus width ensure that data can be fed to the GPU cores at an extremely high rate. This is reflected in the consistent frame rates seen in the Medium settings tests, which show a clear progression from 212 FPS at 1080p to 139 FPS at 1440p and 77 FPS at 4K. These numbers demonstrate a well-balanced GPU that scales predictably with resolution.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS data across resolutions reveals a classic pattern of GPU-bound performance at higher settings, but with some interesting nuances at lower settings. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 261 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops this to 172 FPS, a reduction of 34%. At 4K Low, the average is 95 FPS, which is a 64% drop from the 1080p figure. This steep decline indicates that even at Low settings, the resolution scaling is significant, and the system is still being challenged by the increased pixel count.

The scaling pattern changes when looking at Medium settings. At 1080p Medium, the average is 212 FPS. At 1440p Medium, it drops to 139 FPS, a 34% decrease. At 4K Medium, the average is 77 FPS, a 64% drop from 1080p. This consistent percentage drop across resolutions for Medium settings suggests that the GPU is the primary bottleneck here. The RTX 5090 is being tasked with more pixels, and its performance scales down accordingly. The minimum and maximum FPS for Medium settings are also recorded, showing a 180-243 FPS range at 1080p, a 118-160 FPS range at 1440p, and a 66-89 FPS range at 4K. These ranges show that the frame pacing is consistent, with no major stutters.

However, at High settings, the scaling is different. The average FPS at 1080p High is 163. At 1440p High, it is 107, a 34% drop. At 4K High, it is 59, a 64% drop from 1080p. The percentage drops are identical to Medium, which is curious. This suggests that the game's engine is scaling the workload in a linear fashion with resolution, regardless of the preset. The fact that 4K High produces 59 FPS, just shy of a 60 FPS target, indicates that the GPU is working hard but not fully saturated. The CPU's role becomes more evident when considering that the 1080p High score of 163 FPS is not as high as the 1080p Medium score of 212 FPS, a difference of 49 FPS. This gap is larger than the difference between Medium and Low at 1080p, suggesting that the CPU is starting to become a limiting factor at higher settings and lower resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear picture of how the game performs across different presets, and the choice of settings depends heavily on the target resolution and desired frame rate. The data shows that the RTX 5090 is powerful enough to handle high frame rates at all resolutions, but the CPU can create a bottleneck at the highest settings and lowest resolutions.

For 4K gaming, the Medium preset appears to be the sweet spot. It delivers an average of 77 FPS with a minimum of 66 FPS, which is smooth and playable. The High preset at 4K drops to 59 FPS, which is still playable but may not be ideal for fast-paced action. Ultra at 4K drops to 45 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target and may feel less responsive. Therefore, for a consistent 60+ FPS experience at 4K, Medium is the recommended preset.

At 1440p, the High preset delivers an excellent 107 FPS average, which is well above the 60 FPS target. Medium at 1440p offers 139 FPS, which is even smoother, but the visual fidelity of High is often preferred. Ultra at 1440p drops to 81 FPS, which is still very playable. Given the high frame rates available, High is the recommended setting at 1440p for the best balance of visuals and performance. At 1080p, the High preset provides 163 FPS, which is ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors. Medium at 1080p pushes to 212 FPS, and Low reaches 261 FPS. Ultra at 1080p still manages 123 FPS. For most players at 1080p, High is the best choice, as it offers a significant visual upgrade over Medium while still maintaining a very high frame rate. Choosing Ultra at 1080p would sacrifice 40 FPS for marginal visual gains.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following is a detailed breakdown of the measured FPS for the Intel Core Ultra 5 135H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 combination in Palworld.

At 1920x1080, the results show a clear hierarchy. With Low settings, the average FPS is 261, which is exceptionally high. With Medium settings, the average FPS is 212, with a minimum of 180 and a maximum of 243. High settings yield an average of 163 FPS. Ultra settings bring the average down to 123 FPS. This shows that at 1080p, the system is heavily GPU-limited, and even the most demanding settings are playable with high frame rates.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales down as expected. Low settings produce an average of 172 FPS. Medium settings average 139 FPS, with a range of 118 to 160 FPS. High settings average 107 FPS. Ultra settings average 81 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a consistent drop of roughly 30-40 FPS per step, indicating a balanced scaling of graphical demands.

At 3840x2160, the system begins to feel the pressure of the higher resolution. Low settings still manage an average of 95 FPS. Medium settings average 77 FPS, with a minimum of 66 and a maximum of 89. High settings average 59 FPS. Ultra settings drop to an average of 45 FPS. This data shows that 4K Ultra is the only configuration that dips below a comfortable 60 FPS, while 4K High is borderline. The Medium preset at 4K offers a very stable experience, as indicated by the recorded minimum FPS.

FAQ

Q: Is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 the bottleneck in this combo for Palworld?

A: No. The GPU has a percentile rank of 92 against all GPUs, while the combo ranks 586th out of 2,944. The CPU has a lower percentile rank of 81, suggesting it is the limiting factor in achieving a higher combo ranking.

Q: Can this system run Palworld at 4K with a stable 60 FPS?

A: Yes, but only with the Medium preset, which averages 77 FPS with a minimum of 66 FPS. The High preset averages 59 FPS, which is just below the 60 FPS target.

Q: What is the best setting for 1440p gaming on this combo?

A: The High preset at 1440p delivers an average of 107 FPS, which is well above 60 FPS and provides a good balance between visual quality and performance. Ultra averages 81 FPS, which is also playable.

Q: How does the CPU's performance compare to its closest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 135H has an average benchmark score of 29,093, while the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X scores 29,123, a negligible difference of -0.1%. They are effectively tied in performance.

Q: Is the 32 GB of VRAM on the RTX 5090 necessary for Palworld?

A: The data does not indicate VRAM capacity is a bottleneck. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 45, which is more likely due to the CPU's limitations at lower resolutions, not a lack of memory. The GPU's high memory bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s ensures smooth texture streaming.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between 1080p Low and 1080p Ultra?

A: At 1080p, the Low preset averages 261 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 123 FPS. This represents a 138 FPS difference, showing the significant performance cost of the Ultra settings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 135H is a mobile processor with 14 cores and 18 threads, based on the Meteor Lake architecture. It has a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. The CPU's cache hierarchy includes 112 KB of L1 cache per core, 2 MB of L2 cache per core, and 18 MB of shared L3 cache. This configuration is designed for power efficiency, with a TDP of 28 watts, making it suitable for laptops. Its benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 11,875.5 and a single-core score of 1,700, show it is a competent performer for its class.

In Palworld, the CPU's role is to manage game logic, physics, and the simulation of the open world. The game is known for having a large number of active entities, which can be demanding on the CPU. The data suggests that the 135H is sufficient for high frame rates, but it does cap the system's maximum performance. For instance, at 1080p Low, the system hits 261 FPS, but at 1080p Ultra, it drops to 123 FPS. This 138 FPS difference is largely due to the increased CPU workload from the higher settings, which involve more complex physics and AI calculations. The fact that the RTX 5090 is capable of much higher frame rates, as seen in its raw benchmark scores, indicates that the CPU is not able to feed the GPU data fast enough to reach its full potential.

The CPU's performance relative to its peers, such as being 0.1% slower than the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X and 0.6% slower than the Intel Core i5-13500HX, places it in a competitive mid-range bracket. This means that while it is not the fastest CPU available, it is far from a weak link. The bottleneck in this system is more about the imbalance between a top-tier GPU and a mid-range mobile CPU. The CPU's 18 MB of L3 cache is shared across all cores, and its dual-channel memory support with 89.6 GB/s bandwidth is standard for its class. For Palworld, the CPU's multi-threading capabilities are important, and its Passmark multithread score of 22,422 indicates it can handle complex simulations, but it is not in the same league as the GPU it is paired with. The data clearly shows that for an optimal experience, the game's settings should be adjusted to reduce CPU load, such as lowering the settings or resolution.