Palworld

Palworld on the Intel Core Ultra 7 165H with the AMD Radeon 760M integrated GPU produces a playable experience only at the lowest settings and resolution, with the data showing a steep performance curve that heavily favors graphical compromises. The measured frame rates place this combo near the bottom of the database, ranking 2933 out of 2944 tested combinations, indicating that the Radeon 760M is the decisive bottleneck. While the CPU is capable, the integrated graphics solution struggles to maintain fluid motion, making preset selection and resolution the primary levers for any semblance of playability.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark results are unambiguous: for this hardware pairing, the Low preset is the only viable option for a reasonably smooth experience, and even then, only at 1080p. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 52 FPS, which is the only measured configuration to cross the 50 FPS threshold. This is a full 20 FPS ahead of the next best option, the Medium preset at 42 FPS, and represents a 63% performance increase over the High preset at 32 FPS. The data strongly suggests that players should accept the visual downgrade to Low to achieve a frame rate that approaches standard display refresh rates.

Choosing Medium at 1080p is a compromise that yields 42 FPS average, with a minimum of 36 FPS and a maximum of 48 FPS. This indicates that while the average is playable, the frame pacing will be inconsistent, with drops that could be noticeable during intense moments. The High preset at 1080p, at 32 FPS average, is borderline, and the Ultra preset at 24 FPS average is generally considered too choppy for a game requiring quick reactions. For a smoother experience, the data suggests that users should prioritize the Low preset; the jump from Low to Medium only adds 10 FPS on average while increasing the resolution of visual detail, but the cost in frame rate stability is significant.

At higher resolutions, the Low preset remains the best choice, but the absolute performance is marginal. At 2560x1440, Low yields 34 FPS, which is playable but not ideal, while at 3840x2160, Low drops to 19 FPS, which is a slideshow. The data indicates that the Ultra preset is essentially unplayable at all resolutions, with averages of 9 FPS at 4K, 16 FPS at 1440p, and 24 FPS at 1080p. Therefore, the recommendation is to stick with Low settings for any playable session, and to consider lowering the resolution if the target is 60 FPS, as even the best-case scenario at 1080p Low falls short of that goal.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon 760M is the primary determinant of performance in Palworld for this combo, and the data shows it is severely underpowered for this title. The GPU operates with a boost clock of 2599 MHz and a base clock of 800 MHz, but its memory is "System Shared," meaning it relies on the system's main memory rather than dedicated VRAM. This architecture, combined with a 15 W TDP, limits its throughput significantly. The benchmark scores reflect this limitation; the GPU sits in the 35th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 6019, placing it in the company of older discrete cards like the NVIDIA Quadro P2000, which scores 6049 and is 0.5% ahead.

The Radeon 760M's raw compute capabilities, such as 5.323 TFLOPS FP32 performance, are not sufficient for the demands of Palworld at higher settings. The benchmark results show a clear pattern: as the graphical load increases from Low to Ultra, frame rates collapse. This indicates that the GPU's shading units (512) and texture mapping units (32) are quickly saturated. The GPU's nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6400, scores nearly identically (6001, a 0.3% difference), which contextualizes the 760M's performance level: it is roughly equivalent to an entry-level discrete GPU from a few generations ago, but without the dedicated memory bandwidth. The "System Dependent" bandwidth is a critical weakness, as the shared memory architecture likely causes stuttering and lower minimum frame rates in memory-intensive scenes.

The data implies that the GPU is not just the bottleneck; it is the overwhelming constraint. Even with a powerful CPU, the 760M cannot push frames. The measured FPS at 4K Ultra (9 FPS) versus 1080p Low (52 FPS) shows a 5.8x improvement, which is directly attributable to reducing the pixel shader workload. This suggests that any attempt to improve visuals will have a disproportionate negative impact on performance, reinforcing the necessity of the Low preset.

Resolution Scaling

The impact of resolution on frame rate is dramatic and confirms that the system is entirely GPU-limited. Scaling from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 (a 4x increase in pixel count) results in a massive performance drop across all settings. For the Low preset, the average FPS falls from 52 at 1080p to 34 at 1440p, a 35% decrease, and then to 19 at 4K, a 63% decrease from the 1080p baseline. This non-linear drop indicates that the GPU is running out of fillrate and pixel processing capability.

The scaling behavior is consistent across all presets. High settings see a drop from 32 FPS at 1080p to 21 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 12 FPS at 4K. Medium settings follow the same pattern: 42 FPS to 28 FPS to 15 FPS. The data suggests that the limiting component is the GPU's pixel throughput, not the CPU. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see less of a performance penalty when increasing resolution, but the consistent halving of frame rates from 1440p to 4K confirms the GPU is the sole constraint.

This resolution scaling analysis has practical implications. Playing at 1080p is essential for any playable frame rate, and even then, the system cannot maintain 60 FPS. The transition from 1440p to 4K is particularly punishing, with average frame rates dropping to the low teens and single digits. For users with a 4K display, the data strongly advises running the game at a lower resolution, such as 1080p, as the internal render resolution will be the only way to achieve acceptable performance. The frame rate data for Medium at 4K (15 FPS average, 13 FPS min) shows that even the "middle" ground is unplayable, making resolution scaling the most critical setting to adjust before any others.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete dataset provides a clear picture of performance across all tested combinations.

At 3840x2160 (4K), performance is uniformly poor. The Low preset achieves an average of 19 FPS. Medium is slightly behind at 15 FPS average, with a minimum of 13 FPS and a maximum of 18 FPS. High drops to 12 FPS average, and Ultra is effectively a slideshow at 9 FPS average. None of these are playable, but the data shows a consistent order: Low > Medium > High > Ultra.

At 2560x1440 (1440p), the situation improves but remains marginal. Low is the only preset that approaches playability, with an average of 34 FPS. Medium averages 28 FPS (min 23, max 32), High averages 21 FPS, and Ultra drops to 16 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 6 FPS, while the gap between High and Ultra is 5 FPS, showing a steady degradation as settings increase.

At 1920x1080 (1080p), the best performance is found. Low leads with an average of 52 FPS. Medium follows at 42 FPS average, with a minimum of 36 FPS and a maximum of 48 FPS. High is next at 32 FPS average, and Ultra is last at 24 FPS average. The data shows that the difference between Medium and High (10 FPS) is the largest step in the 1080p range, suggesting that the High preset introduces a significant graphical feature that taxes the GPU heavily.

Here is the complete data summary:

• 1080p Low: 52 FPS avg
• 1080p Medium: 42 FPS avg (min 36, max 48)
• 1080p High: 32 FPS avg
• 1080p Ultra: 24 FPS avg
• 1440p Low: 34 FPS avg
• 1440p Medium: 28 FPS avg (min 23, max 32)
• 1440p High: 21 FPS avg
• 1440p Ultra: 16 FPS avg
• 4K Low: 19 FPS avg
• 4K Medium: 15 FPS avg (min 13, max 18)
• 4K High: 12 FPS avg
• 4K Ultra: 9 FPS avg

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset for playing Palworld on this hardware?

A: The data indicates the Low preset is the only viable option. At 1080p, it is the only setting that achieves an average frame rate above 50 FPS (52 FPS), while Medium drops to 42 FPS and High to 32 FPS.

Q: Can this system run Palworld at 4K resolution?

A: No. The measured frame rates at 3840x2160 are extremely low across all presets, ranging from 19 FPS on Low to just 9 FPS on Ultra. This resolution is not playable.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The GPU is the overwhelming bottleneck. The frame rate drops dramatically when resolution is increased (e.g., 52 FPS at 1080p Low to 19 FPS at 4K Low), which indicates the graphics processor is saturated, not the processor.

Q: How does the Radeon 760M compare to other GPUs in the database?

A: It ranks in the 35th percentile of all GPUs. Its average benchmark score of 6019 is nearly identical to the AMD Radeon RX 6400 (6001, 0.3% difference) and the NVIDIA Quadro P2000 (6049, 0.5% difference).

Q: What frame rate can be expected at 1080p with Medium settings?

A: The average frame rate is 42 FPS, but the minimum measured FPS is 36 and the maximum is 48. This indicates variable performance that may dip during intense gameplay.

Q: Is the Intel Core Ultra 7 165H a powerful processor?

A: Yes, the CPU is relatively strong, ranking in the 84th percentile of all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 34083. However, its performance is irrelevant in this pairing, as the GPU holds the system back.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 165H is a high-end mobile processor, and its benchmark results confirm it is not the source of the performance issues in Palworld. The CPU ranks in the 84th percentile of all processors, with an average benchmark score of 34083. It features 16 cores and 22 threads, with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. Its multi-threaded performance is strong, as evidenced by a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 14551, and its single-thread performance is also solid, with a score of 1759 in the same test.

The CPU's performance is on par with other strong processors. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 5 338H, scores 33989, which is a 0.3% difference, while the AMD Ryzen 7 3700X scores 34260, a 0.5% difference. This places the 165H in the same performance class as these desktop and mobile parts. In the context of Palworld, the CPU's 24 MB of shared L3 cache and 89.6 GB/s memory bandwidth provide ample resources for game logic and physics simulation.

However, the benchmark results for the game show that this CPU power is untapped. The frame rates scale almost entirely with resolution and settings, which are GPU-bound tasks. If the CPU were limiting, we would expect to see frame rate plateaus at lower resolutions, but the data shows a continuous climb from 4K to 1080p. The conclusion is that while the Core Ultra 7 165H is more than capable of handling Palworld's CPU demands, its potential is completely capped by the AMD Radeon 760M's inability to render frames quickly enough. The processor is a non-factor in determining the playability of this title.