Palworld

Palworld presents an interesting case study in how a powerful CPU and GPU combination behaves under varying resolution and settings loads. The measured data for the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 shows a configuration that is heavily GPU-limited at 4K but becomes increasingly CPU-bound as resolution drops. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS, scaling behavior, and the respective roles of the processor and graphics card in shaping the experience.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS data reveals a classic resolution scaling curve, but with some notable inflection points. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 351 FPS, which serves as the absolute ceiling for this pairing in Palworld. Moving to 1440p at the same Low preset drops the average to 231 FPS, a reduction of 120 FPS. The jump to 4K Low yields 128 FPS, which is 103 FPS lower than the 1440p result. This scaling pattern—where the largest absolute drop occurs between 1080p and 1440p—indicates that the CPU is still a significant contributor at 1080p, but the GPU begins to take over as the primary limiter at higher resolutions.

The High preset shows a similar trend. At 1080p, the average is 219 FPS. This falls to 144 FPS at 1440p, a 75 FPS drop. At 4K, the average plummets to 80 FPS, representing a 64 FPS decline from 1440p. The percentage drop from 1080p to 1440p is roughly 34%, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is about 44%. This increasing percentage loss at higher resolutions confirms that the RTX 4090's rendering workload is scaling non-linearly with pixel count, and the GPU is becoming the definitive bottleneck.

Analyzing the Medium preset, which includes min and max FPS data, provides additional insight. At 1080p Medium, the average is 285 FPS with a minimum of 242 FPS and a maximum of 327 FPS. The 1440p Medium result averages 187 FPS, with a min of 159 and max of 215. The 4K Medium average is 104 FPS, with a min of 88 and max of 120. The spread between min and max FPS remains proportionally consistent across resolutions, suggesting that frame time variance is not being disproportionately amplified by resolution changes. This points to a stable performance profile rather than one with severe stuttering or frame pacing issues.

The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic scaling. At 1080p, the average is 166 FPS. This drops to 109 FPS at 1440p, a 57 FPS reduction. At 4K, the average falls to 61 FPS, which is 48 FPS lower than the 1440p result. The 4K Ultra figure of 61 FPS is the lowest average recorded across all tested configurations, and it represents a 63% reduction from the 1080p Ultra score. This steep decline highlights the immense pixel throughput required by Palworld at 4K with maximum settings, which can stress even the flagship RTX 4090.

The data strongly suggests that for this specific combo, the limiting component shifts based on resolution. At 1080p, even with Ultra settings, the CPU is likely preventing the GPU from reaching its full potential, as evidenced by the relatively high FPS but the inability to push past the 351 FPS ceiling seen at Low settings. At 4K, the GPU is unequivocally the limiting factor across all presets, with the CPU's performance headroom becoming irrelevant.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the optimal experience depends heavily on the target resolution and refresh rate. For 4K gaming, the Medium preset stands out as the most balanced option. It delivers an average of 104 FPS, which is substantially higher than the 80 FPS of High and the 61 FPS of Ultra. The minimum FPS of 88 at 4K Medium is also above the 60 FPS threshold, ensuring a generally smooth experience. The step from Medium to High costs 24 FPS on average, while the step from High to Ultra costs another 19 FPS. Given that the visual uplift from Medium to Ultra is often less perceptible than the performance hit, Medium appears to be the sweet spot for 4K.

For 1440p, the High preset offers an average of 144 FPS, which aligns well with high-refresh-rate monitors. The Ultra preset at 1440p yields 109 FPS, which is still playable but represents a 35 FPS drop from High. The Medium preset at 1440p delivers 187 FPS, but the jump to High only costs 43 FPS and likely provides a significant visual improvement. Therefore, High at 1440p is the recommended preset for balancing visual fidelity and frame rate.

At 1080p, the situation is different. The Ultra preset achieves 166 FPS, which is already above the refresh rate of most standard 1080p displays. The High preset at 219 FPS is excellent, but the Ultra preset provides a more complete visual experience while still maintaining a high frame rate. The Low preset, at 351 FPS, is primarily useful for competitive play or for users with 360Hz displays. For most users at 1080p, the Ultra preset is the best choice, as it offers the maximum visual quality that still allows the RTX 4090 to stretch its legs.

The data also shows an interesting anomaly: the performance gap between the Low and Medium presets is significant at all resolutions. At 1080p, the gap is 66 FPS; at 1440p, it is 44 FPS; and at 4K, it is 24 FPS. This suggests that the Medium preset introduces substantial graphical features that are more taxing than the jump from Medium to High, which only costs 66 FPS at 1080p, 43 FPS at 1440p, and 24 FPS at 4K. Users seeking maximum performance should consider Low, but those wanting a balance should be aware that Medium is a significant step up in demand.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 and RTX 4090 combination ranks 112th out of 2944 tested combos in Palworld. This places it in the top 3.8% of all configurations, which is an exceptionally strong showing. The rank reflects the high absolute performance of this pairing, particularly in a game that can be demanding on both the CPU and GPU.

However, the ranking is somewhat surprising given the raw power of the RTX 4090. The fact that this combo does not rank higher suggests that the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 is holding back the GPU in certain scenarios. The CPU's percentile rank is 89, meaning it performs better than 89% of all CPUs, but the GPU's percentile rank is 88. In Palworld, which is known for its physics and world simulation, the CPU's performance can be a limiting factor.

The combo's rank of 112 implies that there are 111 other configurations that achieve higher average FPS in this game. Given that the RTX 4090 is the fastest consumer GPU in the data, those higher-ranked combos must be paired with faster CPUs. The Core Ultra 5 235, with its 14 cores and 14 threads, is a capable processor, but it is not the top-tier option for gaming. Its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks, such as the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 and Intel Core i9-13900HX, have nearly identical average scores, but they may have different gaming characteristics that give them an edge in Palworld.

The rank of 112 out of 2944 is a strong result, but it also highlights the importance of CPU selection when pairing with a flagship GPU. The data suggests that to fully maximize the RTX 4090's potential in Palworld, a higher-end CPU would be necessary to push the combo into the top 100 or even top 50.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete set of measured FPS data for this combo is as follows. At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 351 FPS. The Medium preset averages 285 FPS, with a minimum of 242 and a maximum of 327. The High preset averages 219 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 166 FPS. The data shows a clear progression, with each settings tier costing a significant number of frames.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 231 FPS. The Medium preset averages 187 FPS, with a minimum of 159 and a maximum of 215. The High preset averages 144 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 109 FPS. The relative scaling between settings is similar to 1080p, but the absolute values are lower, reflecting the increased pixel workload.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 128 FPS. The Medium preset averages 104 FPS, with a minimum of 88 and a maximum of 120. The High preset averages 80 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 61 FPS. At 4K, the differences between settings become more compressed in absolute terms, but the percentage differences remain significant. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 67 FPS, which is a 52% reduction in performance.

The min and max FPS data for the Medium preset provides insight into frame pacing. At 1080p, the min is 242 and the max is 327, giving a range of 85 FPS. At 1440p, the range is 56 FPS (159 to 215). At 4K, the range is 32 FPS (88 to 120). The narrowing range at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU is more consistently saturated, leading to less variance in frame times. At 1080p, the CPU can cause more significant frame rate fluctuations, as evidenced by the wider range.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is a behemoth of a graphics card, with 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s. This massive memory allocation is more than sufficient for Palworld at any resolution or settings preset, and it is unlikely to be a limiting factor. The card's 16,384 shading units and 512 texture mapping units are responsible for its immense raw compute power, which is reflected in its FP32 performance of 82.58 TFLOPS.

The RTX 4090's clock speeds are also relevant. Its base clock is 2235 MHz, and its boost clock is 2520 MHz. This high boost clock allows the card to maintain high performance under load, which is evident in the measured FPS at 1080p and 1440p. The card's pixel rate of 443.5 GPixel/s and texture rate of 1,290.2 GTexel/s are key metrics for understanding its ability to handle high resolutions and detailed textures.

In Palworld, the GPU's role becomes increasingly dominant as resolution increases. At 4K Ultra, the card is clearly the limiting factor, as the average FPS drops to 61. This is a direct consequence of the pixel fill rate requirements at 3840x2160. The card's performance is also affected by the settings preset, with the Low preset at 4K achieving 128 FPS, demonstrating that the GPU can handle the resolution but is constrained by the graphical features enabled at higher presets.

The RTX 4090's percentile rank of 88 indicates that it outperforms 88% of all GPUs in the database. Its average benchmark score is 60,347, which is high, but its nearest rivals in the benchmark database are not other gaming GPUs, but rather professional and workstation cards like the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M and the Intel Arc Pro A60. This reflects the RTX 4090's versatility, but in gaming, its performance is more directly compared to other consumer cards.

The data shows that the GPU is not the bottleneck at 1080p, as the FPS is likely limited by the CPU. However, at 4K, the GPU's performance defines the experience. The 24 GB of VRAM is a future-proofing asset, but in Palworld specifically, it is not a differentiator, as the game's requirements are likely well below this capacity.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS achieved by this combo in Palworld?

A: The highest average FPS is 351, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset.

Q: At 4K resolution, which settings preset provides the highest average FPS?

A: At 3840x2160, the Low preset provides the highest average FPS at 128, followed by Medium at 104, High at 80, and Ultra at 61.

Q: Is the RTX 4090 the limiting factor at 1080p in Palworld?

A: No, the data suggests the CPU is the primary limiter at 1080p. The FPS scales significantly with settings, but the ceiling of 351 FPS at Low indicates the CPU is preventing the GPU from reaching even higher frame rates.

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

A: The minimum FPS recorded at 2560x1440 with Medium settings is 159 FPS, with a maximum of 215 FPS and an average of 187 FPS.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations in Palworld?

A: This combo ranks 112th out of 2944 tested combos, placing it in the top 3.8% of all configurations.

Q: What is the average FPS difference between High and Ultra settings at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, the High preset averages 80 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 61 FPS, resulting in a difference of 19 FPS.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 is a 14-core, 14-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture. It has a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. The CPU has a 24 MB shared L3 cache and supports DDR5 memory with a dual-channel bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s. This is a modern, capable processor, but it is not a high-end enthusiast chip.

In Palworld, the CPU's role is most apparent at lower resolutions. At 1080p, the average FPS at Low settings is 351, which is likely near the CPU's practical limit. The fact that the FPS does not scale linearly with resolution at Low settings (351 to 231 to 128) suggests that the CPU is still contributing to the frame rate at 1440p, but its influence wanes at 4K.

The CPU's benchmark scores provide context for its gaming performance. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score is 14,769, and its single-core score is 2,085. In Passmark, its multithread score is 37,816, and its single-thread score is 4,516. These scores indicate a strong all-around processor, but its nearest rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 and Intel Core i9-13900HX, have nearly identical average benchmark scores. This suggests that the Core Ultra 5 235 is competitive with these chips, but it does not have a decisive advantage.

The CPU's percentile rank of 89 means it is better than 89% of all CPUs. However, the combo's rank of 112 out of 2944 suggests that in Palworld, other CPU-GPU pairings are able to achieve higher frame rates. This is likely due to the CPU's core configuration. With 14 cores and 14 threads, it lacks the additional threads that some competing processors offer, which could be beneficial in Palworld's simulation-heavy gameplay.

The CPU's boost clock of 5.00 GHz is high, and its single-thread performance is solid, which is crucial for games that rely on a few fast cores. However, the data shows that the CPU is a bottleneck at 1080p, preventing the RTX 4090 from reaching its full potential. At 4K, the CPU's performance is sufficient, as the GPU becomes the limiting factor. The CPU's TDP of 65 watts is relatively low, indicating it is an efficient processor, but this efficiency comes at the cost of peak performance compared to higher-TDP chips.