Palworld

Intel Core Ultra 9 185H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 in Palworld: a 16-core Meteor Lake mobile processor paired with a 12 GB Ada Lovelace GPU. The measured results tell a story of a system that is balanced at 1080p, but increasingly GPU-bound as resolution climbs. The data below breaks down exactly how this combo behaves across settings and resolutions.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core Ultra 9 185H is a 16-core, 22-thread mobile processor based on the Meteor Lake architecture, built on Intel's 7 nm process node. It operates with a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz, with a 45 W TDP. The cache hierarchy includes 112 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 24 MB of shared L3 cache. Memory support is DDR5, dependent on motherboard, running dual-channel with a bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s.

In synthetic benchmarks, this CPU scores 17,984.5 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 1,810.5 in single-core. Its Geekbench scores are 11,657 multi-core and 1,794 single-core. The PassMark multithread score is 29,376, and single-thread score is 3,697. The CPU sits at the 85th percentile versus all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 35,670. Its nearest rivals are tightly clustered: the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 350 scores 35,719 (0.1% higher), the Intel Core 7 250H scores 35,728 (0.2% higher), the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 scores 35,802 (0.4% higher), and the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X scores 35,909 (0.7% higher). The Core Ultra 9 185H is essentially at parity with these alternatives, trailing by less than 1% in each case.

In Palworld, the CPU's role is most evident at 1080p Low settings, where the system achieves 180 FPS average. This is the highest frame rate measured across all configurations, suggesting that at this setting, the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with enough data to reach high frame rates. The 16 cores and 22 threads provide ample headroom for the game's survival mechanics, which often involve many concurrent entities and world simulations. However, the CPU's performance is not the limiting factor at higher resolutions, as the frame rate drops are more pronounced with resolution increases than with settings changes at the same resolution. The data indicates that while the CPU is strong, it does not prevent the system from becoming GPU-bound at 1440p and 4K.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is an Ada Lovelace architecture GPU with a chip designated AD104, built on TSMC's 5 nm process. It has 35,800 million transistors on a 294 mm² die. The GPU's base clock is 1920 MHz with a boost clock of 2475 MHz. Memory is 12 GB of GDDR6X on a 192-bit bus, providing 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU has 5,888 shading units, 184 TMUs, 64 ROPs, 46 RT cores, and 184 tensor cores. Its pixel rate is 158.4 GPixel/s, texture rate is 455.4 GTexel/s, and FP32 performance is 29.15 TFLOPS. The TDP is 200 W, requiring a 550 W suggested PSU and a single 16-pin power connector.

In synthetic benchmarks, the RTX 4070 scores 26,927 in PassMark G3D and 14,720 in GPU compute. It achieves 154,858 in Geekbench OpenCL and 174,152 in Geekbench Vulkan. The GPU sits at the 81st percentile versus all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 37,648. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA Tesla P4 (37,628, 0.1% lower), the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (37,507, 0.4% lower), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile (38,135, 1.3% higher), and the AMD Radeon PRO W6400 (37,157, 1.3% lower). The RTX 4070 is competitive, with the RTX 4080 Mobile being its closest performance threat.

In Palworld, the GPU's 12 GB VRAM is sufficient across all tested settings, with no indication of memory-related performance cliffs. The GPU's role becomes dominant at higher resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the system drops to 31 FPS average, a 83% reduction from the 1080p Low result. This steep decline points to the GPU being heavily taxed by the combination of high resolution and maximum settings. The 4K Medium setting yields 53 FPS average, while 4K High produces 41 FPS. These results show that the RTX 4070 can handle 4K only at reduced settings for smooth gameplay, and even then, it hovers around console-like frame rates.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 180 at 1080p to 118 at 1440p, and then to 66 at 4K. This represents a 34% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 44% drop from 1440p to 4K. At High settings, the progression is 112 FPS at 1080p, 74 FPS at 1440p, and 41 FPS at 4K. This is a 34% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a 45% drop from 1440p to 4K. The consistency of the percentage drops across different settings suggests that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at all resolutions above 1080p.

At Medium settings, the FPS goes from 146 at 1080p to 96 at 1440p, and then to 53 at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 34%, and from 1440p to 4K is 45%. This is nearly identical to the Low and High settings patterns. At Ultra settings, the FPS is 85 at 1080p, 56 at 1440p, and 31 at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 34%, and from 1440p to 4K is 45%. Again, the same proportional declines. This consistent behavior across all settings is a strong indicator that the limiting component is the GPU, not the CPU, once resolution increases. The CPU's performance is sufficient to maintain high frame rates at 1080p, but the GPU's rendering workload scales with resolution, causing the FPS to drop proportionally.

The data also shows that at 1080p, the CPU is not a bottleneck, as the difference between Low (180 FPS) and High (112 FPS) is a 38% reduction, which is likely due to increased GPU workload from higher graphical settings. However, at 4K, the difference between Low (66 FPS) and High (41 FPS) is also 38%, indicating that the GPU is equally taxed at both resolutions relative to settings changes. This suggests that the system is GPU-bound at all resolutions, but the CPU has enough headroom to avoid becoming a limiting factor, even at 1080p.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 ranks 1,566 out of 2,944 tested combos in Palworld. This places it in the 53rd percentile of all combos, meaning it performs better than about 53% of the systems tested. This is a mid-pack ranking, which is somewhat surprising given the individual components' percentiles (CPU at 85th, GPU at 81st). The ranking suggests that in Palworld, this specific pairing does not translate its synthetic benchmark strengths into top-tier gaming performance.

The combo's rank of 1,566 out of 2,944 indicates that while the CPU and GPU are both above-average performers individually, the system as a whole is not exceptional in this game. This could be due to the game's optimization, which may not fully utilize the CPU's multi-core capabilities, or the GPU's 12 GB VRAM being adequate but not outstanding for the game's demands. The nearest rival GPUs include the RTX 4080 Mobile, which is 1.3% faster in synthetic benchmarks, suggesting that a stronger GPU could push this combo higher in the rankings. However, the data does not show what specific combos outperform this one, only that there are 1,378 combos ranked above it.

The mid-pack ranking also implies that there are many systems with lower-tier CPUs or GPUs that achieve better results in Palworld. This could be due to the game being more sensitive to certain hardware characteristics, such as single-core performance or memory bandwidth, rather than raw multi-core or GPU compute power. The CPU's single-core score of 1,810.5 in Cinebench R23 is respectable, but not top-tier, which may impact performance in a game that relies heavily on single-threaded game logic.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Palworld with this combo for a balance of FPS and visual quality?

A: The data shows that at 1440p High, the system achieves 74 FPS average, which is a solid balance. At 1080p High, it hits 112 FPS, but 1440p offers higher visual clarity with only a 34% FPS reduction.

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

A: At 4K Medium, the average FPS is 53, and at 4K High, it drops to 41. For smooth gameplay, 4K Medium is the highest setting that exceeds 50 FPS, but 4K Ultra falls to 31 FPS, which may not be ideal.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 compare to the RTX 4080 Mobile in Palworld?

A: In synthetic benchmarks, the RTX 4080 Mobile scores 1.3% higher than the RTX 4070. However, the measured FPS data for Palworld specifically shows that the RTX 4070 achieves 112 FPS at 1080p High, so the RTX 4080 Mobile would likely be slightly higher, but the exact Palworld FPS is not provided.

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck at any resolution?

A: At 1080p Low, the system reaches 180 FPS, indicating the CPU can handle high frame rates. The consistent FPS drops from 1080p to 4K across all settings suggest the GPU is the primary bottleneck, not the CPU.

Q: What is the impact of settings on FPS at 1440p?

A: At 1440p, the FPS ranges from 118 at Low to 56 at Ultra. Medium yields 96 FPS, and High yields 74 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 62 FPS, showing a significant performance cost for higher settings.

Q: How does this combo's rank compare to its component percentiles?

A: The CPU is at the 85th percentile and the GPU is at the 81st percentile, but the combo ranks 1,566 out of 2,944, which is about the 53rd percentile. This indicates the combo underperforms relative to what the individual component scores might suggest.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Based on the measured FPS data, the best experience depends on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1080p, the High preset delivers 112 FPS average, which is smooth and visually appealing. The Ultra preset at 1080p yields 85 FPS, which is still playable, but the 24% FPS reduction from High to Ultra may not be worth the visual gains. Medium at 1080p hits 146 FPS, which is excellent for high-refresh-rate monitors, but High offers a better visual quality-to-FPS ratio.

At 1440p, the High preset provides 74 FPS, which is a good balance for most gamers. Medium at 1440p gives 96 FPS, which is smoother but with lower visual fidelity. Ultra at 1440p drops to 56 FPS, which is borderline for fast-paced gameplay. Low at 1440p hits 118 FPS, but the visual quality may be too compromised for a pleasant experience. The data suggests that 1440p High is the sweet spot for this combo.

At 4K, the Medium preset is the only option that stays above 50 FPS, with 53 FPS average. High at 4K yields 41 FPS, which may be acceptable for slower-paced games but is not ideal for action. Low at 4K hits 66 FPS, but the visual quality is significantly reduced. Ultra at 4K is not recommended, as it drops to 31 FPS. For 4K, the Medium preset is the best compromise between playability and visual quality.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS by settings is as follows: Low produces 180 FPS, Medium produces 146 FPS with a minimum of 124 and maximum of 168, High produces 112 FPS, and Ultra produces 85 FPS. The data shows that at 1080p, the system can easily exceed 100 FPS at High settings, making it suitable for high-refresh-rate displays.

At 2560x1440, the average FPS drops to 118 at Low, 96 at Medium (with a minimum of 82 and maximum of 110), 74 at High, and 56 at Ultra. This resolution provides a significant visual upgrade over 1080p while still maintaining playable frame rates at Medium and High settings. The 34% drop from 1080p to 1440p at each setting level indicates the GPU's workload is scaling with resolution.

At 3840x2160, the average FPS is 66 at Low, 53 at Medium (with a minimum of 45 and maximum of 61), 41 at High, and 31 at Ultra. The 4K resolution is the most demanding, with only Low settings exceeding 60 FPS. Medium is the highest setting that maintains an average above 50 FPS, while Ultra falls below 35 FPS, which is likely too low for smooth gameplay. The data clearly shows that 4K is only viable at lower settings for this combo.