Palworld

Palworld pairs the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER, and the measured data places this combo in the 650th spot out of 3,711 tested configurations. That top-18% ranking reflects a system that is heavily weighted toward high refresh rates, particularly at lower resolutions, where the GPU's headroom is fully exploited.

How This Combo Ranks

The combined performance of this CPU and GPU lands at rank 650 out of 3,711 combos, placing it in the 82nd percentile of all tested systems. This is a strong result for a mid-generation pairing, and the data suggests the bottleneck shifts decisively depending on resolution. At 1080p, the combo is likely CPU-limited at times, given the very high frame rates, but the overall rank indicates that the pairing is well-balanced for Palworld's demands. The CPU itself sits in the 90th percentile against all processors, with an average benchmark score of 48,995, while the GPU holds the 83rd percentile against all graphics cards, with an average score of 43,223. The near-identical percentile rankings for the two components suggest a harmonious pairing, where neither part dramatically outstrips the other in synthetic tests, though the game's measured frames show the GPU taking precedence as resolution climbs.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Palworld?

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 at High settings delivers 113 FPS average, which is a strong balance of visual quality and fluidity. 1920x1080 at High reaches 172 FPS, but 4K at High drops to 63 FPS, so 1440p appears to be the sweet spot for this pairing.

Q: How much faster is Low settings compared to Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 276 FPS, while Ultra averages 131 FPS. This represents a 145 FPS difference, meaning Low is roughly 110% faster than Ultra in this scenario.

Q: Is the RTX 4070 SUPER the limiting factor at 4K?

A: Yes, the data strongly indicates GPU limitation at 3840x2160. The Ultra preset drops to 48 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold, while the CPU's single-thread performance remains robust. The scaling from 1440p to 4K shows a significant frame rate loss, consistent with GPU-bound rendering.

Q: What is the CPU's strongest benchmark result?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 scores 32,924 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 4,648 in single-core, with the multi-core result being particularly notable for a 65W TDP part. Its PassMark multi-thread score of 38,706 further confirms its strong throughput.

Q: How does this CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The closest rival is the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G, which scores 49,196, just 0.4% higher than the Core Ultra 5 245's 48,995. The Intel Core i5-14600K trails by 0.8%, while the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 is 0.5% ahead, showing the Ultra 5 245 is statistically tied with its direct competition.

Q: Does the combo maintain playable frame rates at 4K with Medium settings?

A: Yes, at 3840x2160 with Medium settings, the average FPS is 82, with a minimum of 70 FPS and a maximum of 94 FPS. This is comfortably playable, though the 4K Ultra preset at 48 FPS would be more challenging for smooth gameplay.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 is a 14-core, 14-thread processor built on the Arrow Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz. This configuration, paired with 24 MB of shared L3 cache, provides substantial headroom for Palworld's simulation-heavy gameplay, which involves base building and creature AI. In synthetic testing, the chip achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32,924, which is 0.8% higher than the Intel Core i5-14600K's score of 48,618 in the average benchmark, indicating that the Ultra 5 245 is slightly ahead of a previous-generation mainstream favorite. The single-core performance is equally strong, with a Cinebench R20 score of 1,952, which directly impacts how quickly the game can process player input and world state updates.

The CPU's 65W TDP is notable, as it suggests efficient power delivery without sacrificing clock speeds, which is beneficial for sustained gaming sessions. The PassMark data compression score of 400,942 and encryption score of 30,236 show that the chip handles background tasks with ease, allowing it to focus on game logic. In Palworld, where large numbers of Pals can be active simultaneously, the 14 cores provide enough parallelism to keep the game world responsive, though the measured FPS data suggests that at 1080p, the GPU is still the primary driver of frame rates, as evidenced by the 276 FPS Low preset. The CPU's 90th percentile ranking against all processors, with an average benchmark score of 48,995, places it firmly in the upper echelon for gaming workloads.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers exceptional performance across all presets. The Low preset averages 276 FPS, which is nearly double the High preset's 172 FPS. Medium settings produce 224 FPS, with a minimum of 190 FPS and a maximum of 258 FPS, showing strong frame pacing. Ultra settings still manage 131 FPS, making even the highest preset at 1080p more than sufficient for high-refresh-rate monitors. The gap between Low and Ultra is substantial, but the absolute numbers are so high that any preset is playable.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain very strong but begin to show the GPU's workload. Low settings average 182 FPS, while High drops to 113 FPS. Medium settings hit 147 FPS, with a minimum of 125 FPS and a maximum of 170 FPS, indicating consistent performance. Ultra settings average 86 FPS, which is still responsive for a survival game, but the transition from 1080p to 1440p at Ultra represents a 34% performance drop, signaling that the RTX 4070 SUPER is being pushed harder.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck. Low settings average 101 FPS, which is impressive for 4K, but High drops to 63 FPS, and Ultra falls to 48 FPS. Medium settings provide a balance with 82 FPS, and the minimum of 70 FPS suggests that even the dips are manageable. The data shows a clear progression: 1080p is CPU-bound at times, 1440p is balanced, and 4K is firmly GPU-bound, with the RTX 4070 SUPER's 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth being sufficient for the game's textures but not for extreme frame rates at Ultra settings.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals how the system scales from 1080p to 4K, and the pattern is instructive. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 172 at 1080p to 113 at 1440p, a 34% reduction, and then to 63 at 4K, a 63% reduction from the 1440p figure. This steep decline is characteristic of GPU-bound rendering, where the RTX 4070 SUPER's compute resources are increasingly saturated as pixel count rises. The GPU's 35.48 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 80 ROPs are being taxed heavily at 4K, particularly with the Ultra preset, which pushes the frame rate down to 48 FPS.

Conversely, Low settings show a more moderate scaling curve. From 276 FPS at 1080p to 182 FPS at 1440p (34% drop) and then to 101 FPS at 4K (45% drop from 1440p), the relative performance loss is less severe. This suggests that at Low settings, the CPU's role becomes more prominent, and the 14-core Ultra 5 245 can maintain higher frame rates even as resolution increases. The Medium preset shows similar behavior, with 224 FPS at 1080p, 147 FPS at 1440p, and 82 FPS at 4K, representing a 35% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 44% drop from 1440p to 4K. The consistent scaling pattern across presets indicates that the RTX 4070 SUPER is the primary limiter at 4K, while the CPU has enough headroom to avoid becoming the bottleneck even at lower resolutions. The Ultra preset's 4K performance of 48 FPS is below the 60 FPS threshold, confirming that players seeking 4K gameplay should stick to Medium or High settings.

Settings Recommendations

For players targeting 1920x1080, the Ultra preset at 131 FPS is the best choice, as it provides the highest visual fidelity without compromising fluidity. The minimum frame rates are not listed for Ultra, but the average is well above the 60 FPS threshold, so there is no reason to sacrifice settings at this resolution. At 1080p, even the Low preset's 276 FPS is overkill for most monitors, making Ultra the clear recommendation for the best experience.

At 2560x1440, the High preset at 113 FPS offers an excellent balance, delivering smooth gameplay with strong visual quality. Medium settings are also viable at 147 FPS, but High's 113 FPS is still well within high-refresh-rate territory, and the visual uplift justifies the 34 FPS difference. Ultra at 1440p drops to 86 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for fast-paced combat, so High is the recommended preset for most players.

At 3840x2160, the Medium preset at 82 FPS is the data-backed recommendation, as it provides the best combination of playability and visual quality. High settings at 63 FPS are borderline, with the average just above 60 FPS, but the minimum frame rates are not listed, creating some risk of dips below that threshold. Ultra at 48 FPS is not recommended for 4K, as it falls below the smoothness threshold. The Low preset at 101 FPS is viable for competitive play, but it sacrifices too much visual detail for a survival game where environmental readability matters. Therefore, Medium at 4K is the optimal choice, while High at 1440p and Ultra at 1080p round out the best settings for each resolution.