Palworld

Palworld pairs the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus with the AMD Radeon RX 580, creating a stark contrast between a top-tier 24-core processor and an end-of-life graphics card from 2017. The measured frames per second across all resolutions and settings reveal a system where the GPU is the overwhelming performance limiter, with the CPU’s substantial capabilities largely untapped in this specific title. This analysis walks through the measured data to explain how the resolution, CPU, and GPU interact to produce the observed results.

Resolution Scaling

The data shows a classic GPU-bound scaling pattern as resolution increases. At 1080p with Low settings, the combination achieves an average of 81 FPS. Moving to 1440p at the same Low settings drops the average to 53 FPS, a reduction of 28 FPS. At 4K with Low settings, the average falls further to 30 FPS, which is a 51 FPS drop from the 1080p figure. This steep decline indicates that the rendering workload is scaling directly with pixel count, which is a hallmark of a graphics card operating at its maximum capacity.

The scaling pattern is consistent across all quality presets. For High settings, the average FPS goes from 51 at 1080p, to 33 at 1440p, and down to 18 at 4K. Medium settings show a similar trajectory: 66 FPS at 1080p, 43 at 1440p, and 24 at 4K. Even the Ultra preset, which starts at a lowly 38 FPS at 1080p, drops to 25 FPS at 1440p and 14 FPS at 4K. The consistent proportional decline suggests that the limiting component is the one responsible for pixel processing, and it is saturated at every resolution.

This behavior points directly to the Radeon RX 580 as the bottleneck. The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus, with its high core count and clock speeds, is not being stressed by the frame rates in this data. The GPU’s 8 GB of GDDR5 memory and 256-bit bus are likely being taxed heavily, especially at higher resolutions where the memory bandwidth requirement for textures and frame buffers increases. The result is a system where lowering the resolution provides a near-linear improvement in frame rate, confirming that the CPU is waiting on the GPU to finish each frame.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a 24-core, 24-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake Refresh architecture. Its benchmark scores are exceptional, placing it in the 96th percentile of all CPUs. In Cinebench R23, it scores 51,731 points in multi-core and 7,303 points in single-core tests. These numbers indicate a processor with immense parallel processing power and very strong single-thread performance.

However, the Palworld frame rate data does not reflect this CPU’s potential. At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 81, which is a moderate frame rate for a game but nowhere near what this CPU could theoretically support if paired with a more powerful GPU. The CPU’s nearest rivals include the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K with a delta of 0.2% and the AMD EPYC 4584PX with a delta of 1.1%, showing that this chip is at the absolute top of the performance stack. Yet, in this game, the CPU’s role is reduced to feeding frames to a GPU that cannot keep up.

The data suggests that the CPU is not the limiting factor in any of the measured configurations. The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is entirely attributable to the GPU’s rendering load. The CPU has enough headroom to handle the game’s simulation and draw calls, but the frame rate is capped by the GPU’s output. In CPU-bound scenarios, one would expect to see frame rates that remain relatively constant across different resolutions, but this is not the case here. The results indicate a system where the CPU is waiting idly for the RX 580 to complete its work, making the processor’s impressive specs largely irrelevant to the final FPS numbers.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 580 is a Polaris 20 chip built on a 14 nm process. It features 2,304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 32 render output units. Its base clock is 1257 MHz with a boost clock of 1340 MHz, and it has 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU’s benchmark scores place it in the 53rd percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 12,928. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile with a delta of -0.1% and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER with a delta of -0.4%.

The measured FPS data shows that this GPU is the primary constraint in Palworld. At 1080p Low, the 81 FPS average is a playable result, but it quickly deteriorates as resolution increases. The GPU’s 8 GB of VRAM is sufficient for 1080p, but at 4K, the higher memory demands for textures and geometry likely push the card to its limits. The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is severe, with the High preset falling from 51 FPS to 18 FPS, a 65% reduction in frame rate.

The GPU’s age is evident in its DirectX benchmarks, with a Passmark DirectX 12 score of only 43. While Palworld is not a modern graphics showcase, the RX 580’s compute capabilities are modest by modern standards. Its FP32 performance is 6.175 TFLOPS, which is low compared to contemporary cards. The data indicates that the GPU is fully saturated in all tested scenarios, and its performance ceiling is the single most important factor determining the final frame rates. The CPU’s power is wasted in this configuration, as the GPU cannot produce enough frames to utilize it.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive look at the performance across three resolutions and four quality settings. At 1080p, the results are as follows: Low averages 81 FPS, Medium averages 66 FPS with a minimum of 56 and a maximum of 76, High averages 51 FPS, and Ultra averages 38 FPS. This is the only resolution where the combination achieves a consistently playable frame rate, with even the Ultra preset staying above 30 FPS.

At 1440p, the performance drops noticeably. Low averages 53 FPS, Medium averages 43 FPS with a minimum of 37 and a maximum of 50, High averages 33 FPS, and Ultra averages 25 FPS. The 1440p results show that the GPU is starting to struggle, with the Ultra preset falling below the 30 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The frame time consistency is also a concern, as the minimum FPS of 37 on Medium suggests potential stuttering in demanding scenes.

At 4K, the performance is largely unplayable for most presets. Low averages 30 FPS, Medium averages 24 FPS with a minimum of 20 and a maximum of 28, High averages 18 FPS, and Ultra averages 14 FPS. None of these averages reach the 60 FPS target, and even the Low preset barely hits 30 FPS. The data shows a clear pattern: the RX 580 is not capable of handling Palworld at 4K with this CPU, and users would need to significantly reduce resolution or settings to achieve a playable experience.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 1080p is the only resolution where all presets achieve an average FPS above 30. At 1440p, the Ultra preset drops to 25 FPS, and at 4K, even the Low preset only averages 30 FPS. Therefore, 1080p is the recommended resolution for this combination.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus has an average benchmark score of 84,003. Its closest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, scores 83,807, which is a 0.2% difference. The AMD EPYC 4584PX scores 83,090, a 1.1% difference, and the AMD EPYC 9135 scores 82,980, also a 1.2% difference.

Q: Is the GPU or CPU the bottleneck in this configuration?

A: The measured FPS data clearly indicates the GPU is the bottleneck. The frame rates drop significantly as resolution increases, which is a sign of a GPU-limited system. The CPU has a 96th percentile performance ranking, but its power is untapped because the Radeon RX 580 cannot produce frames fast enough.

Q: What is the difference in average FPS between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 1440p, the Low preset averages 53 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 25 FPS. This represents a 28 FPS difference, or a 53% reduction in performance when moving from the lowest to the highest quality settings.

Q: Does the RX 580 have enough VRAM for 4K gaming in Palworld?

A: The RX 580 has 8 GB of GDDR5 memory. At 4K, the average FPS for all presets is below 30, with the highest being 30 FPS on Low. While the data does not specify VRAM usage, the severe performance drop suggests that the GPU’s memory bandwidth and capacity are insufficient for smooth 4K operation.

Q: How does this combo rank against other tested combinations?

A: This combination ranks 2685 out of 2944 tested combos in Palworld. This places it in the bottom 9% of all tested systems, indicating that the GPU is severely limiting the overall performance potential.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combination depend on the user’s performance target. For a smooth 60 FPS experience, the data shows that even 1080p Low only reaches an average of 81 FPS, which is above 60, but 1080p Medium averages 66 FPS, also above 60. However, the 1080p High preset averages 51 FPS, falling short of the 60 FPS target. Therefore, 1080p Medium is the highest quality preset that maintains an average FPS above 60.

For users who prioritize visual quality over frame rate, the 1080p High preset offers a balance, with an average of 51 FPS. This is a playable frame rate for a survival game, though it may not be as smooth as 60 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1080p averages 38 FPS, which is borderline playable but may feel sluggish in combat or when exploring dense areas.

At 1440p, the data suggests that users should stick to the Low preset, which averages 53 FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p averages 43 FPS, which is acceptable for slower-paced gameplay, but the minimum FPS of 37 indicates potential frame drops. The High and Ultra presets at 1440p are not recommended, as they average 33 and 25 FPS respectively, which will likely result in a poor experience. 4K is not a viable option for this combination, as even the Low preset only achieves an average of 30 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and AMD Radeon RX 580 combination ranks 2685 out of 2944 tested combos in Palworld. This puts it in the bottom 9% of all systems tested, which is a poor result for a CPU that ranks in the 96th percentile. The ranking is a direct consequence of the GPU’s age and performance class. The RX 580 is an end-of-life product with a 53rd percentile ranking among all GPUs, and its performance is simply not sufficient to drive the game at higher resolutions or settings.

The data shows that this combo performs far worse than what the CPU alone would suggest. The CPU’s nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, have similar synthetic benchmark scores, but when paired with a GPU like the RX 580, the in-game results are heavily constrained by the graphics card. The combo’s low rank indicates that users with this configuration would see significant benefits from upgrading the GPU to a more modern part, as the CPU has ample headroom to support a much faster graphics card. The current setup is a prime example of a CPU-GPU imbalance, where the processor’s power is wasted due to the graphics card’s inability to keep up.