Palworld

Palworld, a survival title built around creature collection and base building, presents a demanding workload that heavily stresses both processor and graphics hardware. In this configuration, pairing the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus with the Intel Arc B390 yields a system that is decisively constrained by its graphics solution, with benchmark data showing that playable frame rates are only achievable at the lowest settings and resolutions. The measured results indicate a fundamental imbalance, where the CPU’s substantial processing power is left largely untapped due to the GPU’s limited throughput, making this combination suitable only for low-fidelity, lower-resolution play.

FAQ

Q: What is the overall performance ranking of this CPU and GPU combo in Palworld?

A: The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and Intel Arc B390 ranks 2607 out of 2944 tracked combos for this game. This places it in the bottom 11% of all tested configurations, indicating a low-performance pairing for Palworld specifically.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its nearest rivals in benchmark scores?

A: The Intel Arc B390 has an average benchmark score of 1482. This puts it 1.3% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, 1.5% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce 800M, and 2.7% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710. These are all extremely close scores, indicating the B390 is in the same performance class as these older entry-level GPUs.

Q: What is the best frame rate achievable at 1080p with this hardware?

A: The highest average frame rate at 1920x1080 is 84 FPS, achieved with the Low settings preset. This is the only setting at this resolution that breaks the 60 FPS threshold, while the Medium preset drops to 68 FPS and the High preset falls to 53 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU's performance benchmark score compare to its closest rival?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus has an average benchmark score of 84003. This is 0.2% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K (83807) and 1.1% higher than the AMD EPYC 4584PX (83090), but it is 1.3% lower than the AMD EPYC 7F72 (85072). The performance delta between these top rivals is minimal.

Q: What is the GPU's memory configuration and how does it affect gaming?

A: The Intel Arc B390 has "System Shared" memory with a type and bus width also listed as "System Shared". This means it relies on the system's main memory rather than dedicated VRAM. Its bandwidth is "System Dependent", which in this case with a 115.2 GB/s memory bus and dual-channel DDR5 support, creates a bottleneck for high-resolution textures.

Q: What API features does the Intel Arc B390 support?

A: The Intel Arc B390 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. This ensures compatibility with modern game engines, though the raw performance of the GPU limits the practical use of these advanced features in Palworld.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is the unambiguous limiting factor in this system for Palworld. Its benchmark data reveals a GPU with minimal compute power, scoring only 1482 in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test. This places it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs, a staggeringly low position that is reflected in the game's frame rates. The GPU's architecture is Xe3-LPG and its chip is named Panther Lake, but its performance profile is that of an entry-level integrated part, not a discrete gaming card.

With a boost clock of 2500 MHz and a base clock of 300 MHz, the B390 has a wide frequency range, but its physical resources are too limited for demanding titles. The GPU has 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 24 render output units (ROPs). This configuration results in a pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 120.0 GTexel/s. The compute throughput is rated at 7.680 TFLOPS for FP32 operations, which is insufficient for the complex rendering and physics calculations in a world like Palworld's.

The most critical drawback is the memory system. The B390 uses "System Shared" memory, meaning it has no dedicated VRAM. This forces it to share the system's DDR5 memory, which has a dual-channel bus and a bandwidth of 115.2 GB/s. For a game like Palworld, which features large open environments with many objects and creatures, this shared memory architecture is a severe handicap. The GPU must constantly compete with the CPU for memory access, and the lack of dedicated high-bandwidth VRAM leads to significant stuttering and low average frame rates, as evidenced by the measured data showing a high of only 84 FPS at 1080p Low.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience with the Intel Arc B390 is found by prioritizing frame rate over visual fidelity. The data clearly shows that the Ultra preset is not viable at any resolution, and even High settings are only marginally playable at 1080p.

• At 1080p: The Low preset is the only viable option for a smooth experience, delivering an average of 84 FPS. The Medium preset is also playable, with an average of 68 FPS, and is the best balance between visual quality and performance if you can tolerate a frame rate below the 70s. High settings at 53 FPS are borderline, and Ultra at 40 FPS is not recommended for responsive gameplay.

• At 1440p: The Low preset is the only option that provides a playable experience, with an average of 56 FPS. The Medium preset drops to 45 FPS, which is below the ideal threshold for fast-paced action. High and Ultra settings are not recommended, with 35 FPS and 26 FPS respectively, as they will feel sluggish.

• At 4K: No settings preset is playable. The Low preset is the only option that comes close, with an average of 31 FPS, but this is still well below the 60 FPS target. Medium dips to 25 FPS, High to 19 FPS, and Ultra to 15 FPS, making the game effectively unplayable at this resolution.

The recommendation is to play on Medium at 1080p if a visual upgrade is desired, but the Low preset at 1080p is the only configuration that guarantees a consistently high frame rate. The data confirms that the GPU is too weak for higher settings and resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of the system's performance envelope across different resolutions and settings. The frame rates are consistently low, with the best case scenario being 84 FPS at 1080p Low.

At 1920x1080, the performance scales predictably with settings. The Low preset yields an average of 84 FPS. Moving to Medium reduces the average to 68 FPS, with a measured minimum of 58 and maximum of 79 FPS. The High preset drops the average to 53 FPS, and the Ultra preset further reduces it to 40 FPS. This shows that the GPU is capable of a smooth experience only at the lowest settings, and the frame rate drops by approximately 19% when moving from Low to Medium.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates become more constrained. The Low preset produces an average of 56 FPS. The Medium preset averages 45 FPS, with a minimum of 38 and maximum of 52 FPS. The High preset falls to an average of 35 FPS, and the Ultra preset drops to 26 FPS. This resolution is only viable on the Low preset, as the Medium preset is on the edge of playability.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is overwhelmed. The Low preset yields a 31 FPS average, which is below the playable threshold. The Medium preset averages 25 FPS, with a minimum of 21 and maximum of 29 FPS. The High preset averages 19 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages just 15 FPS. These numbers confirm that 4K is not a viable resolution for this GPU in Palworld.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K highlights the GPU-bound nature of the system. When comparing the Low preset across resolutions, the performance drops from 84 FPS at 1080p to 56 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of 33%. Moving from 1440p to 4K, the frame rate drops from 56 FPS to 31 FPS, a further reduction of 45%. This steep decline indicates that the GPU is the primary bottleneck, as the workload increases with the number of pixels.

The scaling pattern is consistent across all settings. The Ultra preset, for example, goes from 40 FPS at 1080p to 26 FPS at 1440p and finally to 15 FPS at 4K. This shows that the Intel Arc B390 is simply unable to handle the increased pixel count of higher resolutions. The data suggests that the limiting component is the GPU itself, not the CPU or memory bandwidth, since the performance drops are directly proportional to the increase in resolution. The CPU, being a high-end model, has enough headroom to feed the GPU, but the GPU cannot process the frames fast enough.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a high-performance processor that is severely underutilized in this configuration. The data shows that it is not the bottleneck in Palworld, as the frame rates are consistently low regardless of the CPU's capabilities. The CPU features 24 cores and 24 threads, which is a substantial amount of processing power. Its base clock is 3.70 GHz, and it can boost up to 5.80 GHz. The processor also has a large 36 MB of shared L3 cache, which helps with data access for game logic.

Benchmark results confirm the CPU's strength. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score is 51731, and its single-core score is 7303. This performance places it in the 96th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 84003. It is virtually tied with the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, which has a score of 83807, a negligible 0.2% difference. The CPU's processing power is far beyond what this GPU can utilize in Palworld.

However, this strength is irrelevant to the gaming experience here. The CPU's role is to handle game logic, physics, and AI, which it does easily. But the graphics rendering is entirely dependent on the GPU. The measured FPS data, which shows a maximum of 84 FPS at 1080p Low, is a direct result of the GPU's limitation. The CPU is not holding the system back; instead, it is waiting for the Intel Arc B390 to produce frames. This system is a clear case where the CPU is overpowered for the GPU, and upgrading the graphics card would yield a massive performance increase, while upgrading the CPU would have no effect on Palworld's frame rates.