Palworld

Palworld with the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 produces a wide spread of results, ranging from highly playable at 1080p to a slideshow at 4K Ultra. The data shows a system where the GPU is the clear limiting factor as resolution climbs, while the CPU provides more than enough headroom to keep frame rates high at lower resolutions. The measured FPS across the twelve configurations reveals a predictable yet steep performance cliff, with the gap between Low and Ultra settings widening dramatically as pixel count increases.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 has a massive impact on this combo's performance. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 86 at 1080p to 57 at 1440p, a 34% reduction, and then plummets to 32 at 4K, which represents a 63% drop from the 1080p baseline. This scaling pattern strongly indicates that the RTX 2060 is the bottleneck; the GPU simply runs out of pixel pushing capability as the resolution increases. At 4K, the card is clearly overwhelmed, with the High preset yielding only 32 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay.

The scaling is even more pronounced at the Ultra preset. Here, the system manages 65 FPS at 1080p, but this falls to 43 FPS at 1440p (a 34% drop) and then to just 24 FPS at 4K, which is a 63% drop from 1080p. The pattern is consistent: each step up in resolution costs roughly a third of the performance, and the final jump to 4K is catastrophic for this GPU. The data suggests that 4K is not a viable resolution for this pairing, regardless of the settings chosen, as even the Low preset only achieves 51 FPS at that resolution, which is barely acceptable.

Interestingly, the scaling from 1080p to 1440p is more manageable. At Medium settings, the average FPS goes from 112 at 1080p to 74 at 1440p, a 34% reduction, but the resulting 74 FPS is still a playable frame rate. This suggests that 1440p is the practical ceiling for this combination, provided settings are managed. The data implies that the RTX 2060's 6 GB of VRAM and 192-bit memory bus are not sufficient to feed the 8.3 million pixels of a 4K display, while the 3.7 million pixels of a 1440p display are a more reasonable workload.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 is a 14-core, 14-thread processor with a boost clock of 5.10 GHz and a base clock of 3.50 GHz. In this game, the CPU's role appears to be secondary to the GPU, as the frame rates at 1080p Low (138 FPS) and 1080p Medium (112 FPS) are high enough to suggest the CPU is not a limiting factor at these settings. The processor's strong single-core performance, evidenced by a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4648, likely helps maintain high frame rates in a game like Palworld, which relies on physics and world simulation.

The CPU's benchmark scores place it in the 90th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 48995. This places it in close competition with the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G and the AMD Ryzen 9 7900, both of which have average scores within 0.5% of the Ultra 5 245. The data suggests that the CPU is not the constraint here; even at 4K Ultra, where the FPS drops to 24, it is the GPU that is choking, not the processor. The 14 cores and 24 MB of shared L3 cache are more than sufficient for the game's threading requirements, as evidenced by the high frame rates at lower resolutions where the CPU has to feed the GPU faster.

The fact that the FPS scales so predictably with resolution, rather than with settings complexity, reinforces the conclusion that the CPU is idle much of the time. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 138 FPS, a number that is likely close to what the CPU can deliver in this engine. The presence of a 10.0% difference in performance between the Ultra 5 245 and the Intel Core i5-14600K in synthetic benchmarks does not translate into a meaningful difference in this game because the GPU saturates first.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear picture of the trade-offs between visual quality and frame rate. For a 1080p display, the Medium preset offers an excellent balance, delivering an average of 112 FPS with a minimum of 95 FPS. This is a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay and provides a much better experience than the Low preset, which reaches 138 FPS but likely sacrifices significant visual fidelity. The High preset at 1080p, at 86 FPS, is also very playable and may be preferable for those who want better visuals, but the Medium preset's minimum FPS of 95 suggests it is the safest choice.

At 1440p, the situation becomes more delicate. The Medium preset delivers 74 FPS with a minimum of 63 FPS, which is right at the edge of playability for fast-paced action. The High preset at 57 FPS is borderline, and the Ultra preset at 43 FPS is likely too choppy for a satisfying experience. The data indicates that Medium is the highest setting that can consistently maintain a playable frame rate at 1440p. For 4K, the data suggests that no preset is truly playable; Low yields 51 FPS, which is technically playable but the visual quality will be poor, and the Medium preset at 41 FPS is below the comfort zone.

The best experience per the measured rows is unequivocally 1080p Medium. This configuration provides the highest minimum FPS (95) among all settings that also deliver a high average, ensuring a smooth experience without the visual compromises of the Low preset. The 1440p Medium setting is a viable alternative for those with a higher-resolution monitor, but the 63 FPS minimum is a warning sign that demanding scenes could cause noticeable stutters. The data suggests that users should avoid the Ultra preset at any resolution, as it provides the worst performance per visual gain, with a 42% drop in FPS from High to Ultra at 1080p (86 to 65 FPS).

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 ranks 2327 out of 2944 tested combos in Palworld. This ranking places it in the bottom 21% of all configurations, which is a direct reflection of the GPU's age and performance class. The RTX 2060's percentile of 58 against all GPUs is mediocre, and its average benchmark score of 15290 is nearly identical to much older cards like the GTX 580, which scores 15283. This explains why the combo ranks so low; the CPU is capable, but the GPU holds the entire system back.

The ranking implies that this is a mid-range to low-end pairing for this particular game. The data shows that the RTX 2060 is in the same performance tier as the AMD Radeon 680M integrated graphics, which scores 15270, and the RTX 3050 OEM, which scores 15199. These rivals are all within 0.8% of each other in synthetic benchmarks, which means the GPU is not a standout performer. The combo rank of 2327 suggests that most other tested configurations, likely those with newer or more powerful GPUs, will outperform this setup in Palworld.

The disconnect between the CPU's high percentile (90th) and the combo's low rank (79th percentile from the bottom) highlights the GPU bottleneck. The CPU is in the top 10% of all processors, but the system is dragged down by a GPU that is in the 58th percentile. This is a classic example of an unbalanced build where the processor is far more capable than the graphics card. The data suggests that this combo is suitable for 1080p gaming at medium settings, but it is not competitive with higher-end configurations that pair better CPUs with stronger GPUs.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this PC in Palworld?

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 with Medium settings is the best option, yielding an average of 112 FPS and a minimum of 95 FPS. This provides a smooth experience with a good balance of visual quality.

Q: Is this computer capable of running Palworld at 4K?

A: The measured FPS indicates that 4K is not a practical resolution for this combo. Even at Low settings, the average FPS is only 51, and at High and Ultra settings, it drops to 32 and 24 FPS, respectively, which is not a playable experience.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 2060 has an average benchmark score of 15290. Its closest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580, scores 15283, a 0% difference. The AMD Radeon 680M scores 15270, which is 0.1% slower, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM scores 15199, which is 0.6% slower.

Q: Is the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 a bottleneck in this system?

A: No, the CPU is not the bottleneck. Its high benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32924, show it is very capable. The FPS drops are primarily due to the GPU's limitations at higher resolutions, as the CPU can maintain high frame rates at 1080p Low (138 FPS).

Q: What is the FPS difference between High and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the High preset averages 57 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 43 FPS. This is a 14 FPS difference, or roughly a 25% drop in performance, for the increased visual fidelity.

Q: Does the RTX 2060 have enough VRAM for Palworld?

A: The RTX 2060 has 6 GB of GDDR6 memory with a 192-bit bus and 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The data shows that at 4K High, the FPS drops to 32, which suggests the memory capacity and bandwidth are insufficient for the high-resolution textures, causing a significant performance penalty.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table summarizes the exact average FPS (and min/max where available) for each tested configuration:

• 1920x1080
• Low: 138 FPS average
• Medium: 112 FPS average, 95 FPS min, 129 FPS max
• High: 86 FPS average
• Ultra: 65 FPS average

• 2560x1440
• Low: 91 FPS average
• Medium: 74 FPS average, 63 FPS min, 85 FPS max
• High: 57 FPS average
• Ultra: 43 FPS average

• 3840x2160
• Low: 51 FPS average
• Medium: 41 FPS average, 35 FPS min, 47 FPS max
• High: 32 FPS average
• Ultra: 24 FPS average

The data shows a consistent pattern: the Medium preset is the only one with measured minimum and maximum FPS values, indicating that it is the most stable configuration. The Low preset always yields the highest FPS, while the Ultra preset always yields the lowest. The gap between Low and Ultra widens with resolution, from a 73 FPS difference at 1080p (138 vs 65) to a 27 FPS difference at 4K (51 vs 24), which shows that the GPU is less able to differentiate settings as the resolution overwhelms it.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is a Turing-architecture GPU with 1920 shading units, 120 texture mapping units, and 48 raster output units. Its boost clock of 1680 MHz and base clock of 1365 MHz, combined with 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, provide a memory bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s. This specification is the primary driver of the performance seen in Palworld. The GPU's FP32 performance of 6.451 TFLOPS is modest by modern standards, which explains its 58th percentile ranking among all GPUs.

The GPU's role as the system's limiting factor is evident from the resolution scaling data. At 1080p, the GPU can render frames at a rate that allows the CPU to push 138 FPS on Low settings. However, when the resolution increases to 1440p and 4K, the GPU's pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth become saturated, causing the FPS to plummet. The card's 48 ROPs and 80.64 GPixel/s pixel rate are simply not enough to handle the demands of 4K rendering in a game with the visual complexity of Palworld.

The RTX 2060's performance relative to its rivals is telling. Its average benchmark score of 15290 is virtually identical to the GTX 580 (15283), a card from 2010, and only slightly better than the integrated Radeon 680M (15270). This shows that while the RTX 2060 supports modern features like DirectX 12 Ultimate, its raw computational power is dated. In Palworld, this translates to an inability to maintain high frame rates at higher resolutions, forcing users to rely on lower settings to achieve playable performance. The GPU's 160 W TDP and dual-slot design are typical for its era, but the data clearly shows that it is a bottleneck for the much more modern CPU.