Palworld

FAQ

Q: What is the combo rank of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 in Palworld?

A: This combination ranks 2327 out of 2944 tested combos in Palworld, placing it in the lower portion of the performance distribution.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 compare to its nearest rival in average benchmark score?

A: The RTX 2060 has an average benchmark score of 15290, which is essentially tied with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 (15283, 0% delta) and 0.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon 680M (15270).

Q: What is the best average FPS achieved by this combo at 1080p?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 138 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. With Medium settings, the average drops to 112 FPS, and at High it is 86 FPS.

Q: Does the combo achieve playable frame rates at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, the average FPS ranges from 24 (Ultra) to 51 (Low). The Medium preset yields 41 FPS on average, with a minimum of 35 FPS.

Q: What is the CPU's percentile ranking among all CPUs?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus sits in the 96th percentile among all CPUs, indicating very strong processor performance relative to the broader CPU market.

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking among all GPUs?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 sits in the 58th percentile among all GPUs, placing it slightly above the median of the GPU performance distribution.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is built on the Turing architecture with a TU106 chip manufactured on a 12 nm process at TSMC. It contains 10,800 million transistors on a 445 mm² die. The GPU operates with a base clock of 1365 MHz and a boost clock of 1680 MHz. Memory is configured as 6 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, delivering 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The memory clock is listed at 1750 MHz with 14 Gbps effective data rate.

The card has 1920 shading units, 120 texture mapping units, and 48 raster output pipelines. It also includes 30 RT cores and 240 tensor cores, enabling hardware-accelerated ray tracing and AI features. Pixel rate is 80.64 GPixel/s, texture rate is 201.6 GTexel/s, and FP32 performance is 6.451 TFLOPS. The GPU supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

In Palworld, the GPU's 6 GB VRAM capacity appears to be a limiting factor at higher resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the combo produces only 24 FPS on average. Dropping to 4K Low raises the average to 51 FPS, which suggests that memory bandwidth and capacity constraints are less severe at lower quality settings where texture data is reduced. The RTX 2060's 58th percentile ranking indicates it is a mid-range performer, and the measured FPS data confirms this, as the card struggles to maintain high frame rates at 1440p and 4K with this demanding survival title.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 ranks 2327 out of 2944 tested combos in Palworld. This places the combination in the bottom 21% of all tested systems for this specific game. The low ranking is primarily attributable to the GPU, which sits in the 58th percentile overall, while the CPU is in the 96th percentile. This is a clear case of a high-end processor being paired with a mid-range graphics card, creating a significant imbalance.

The combo rank of 2327 is surprisingly low given the CPU's strength. The Core Ultra 9 290K Plus has an average benchmark score of 84003, which is 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K (83807) and 1.1% ahead of the AMD EPYC 4584PX (83090). However, the RTX 2060's average score of 15290 is only 0.6% ahead of the RTX 3050 OEM (15199) and 0.8% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 7600 (15171). The GPU's modest performance relative to modern cards holds the entire system back in a GPU-intensive title like Palworld.

The measured FPS data reinforces this ranking. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 138 FPS, but at 4K Ultra, it drops to just 24 FPS. The wide spread between these two extremes indicates that the GPU is the primary bottleneck. A stronger GPU would likely push the combo rank significantly higher, as the CPU has ample headroom to feed a more powerful graphics card.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its best results. With Low settings, the average FPS is 138. Medium settings reduce the average to 112 FPS, with a minimum of 95 and a maximum of 129. High settings produce an average of 86 FPS, while Ultra drops to 65 FPS. The 1080p resolution is where this combo is most comfortable, with even Ultra settings staying above 60 FPS.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance drops noticeably. Low settings yield an average of 91 FPS. Medium settings average 74 FPS, with a minimum of 63 and a maximum of 85. High settings produce 57 FPS on average, and Ultra falls to 43 FPS. At this resolution, the GPU begins to struggle, with only Low and Medium presets maintaining averages above 60 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the combo is severely challenged. Low settings produce an average of 51 FPS. Medium settings average 41 FPS, with a minimum of 35 and a maximum of 47. High settings drop to 32 FPS, and Ultra averages just 24 FPS. None of the 4K presets reach a consistently playable 60 FPS, and only Low comes close to 50 FPS.

The data shows a clear pattern: the RTX 2060 is capable of smooth performance at 1080p across all settings, playable performance at 1440p with Low or Medium settings, and only marginal performance at 4K with the lowest quality presets. The 6 GB VRAM and 336.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for high-resolution textures and effects in Palworld.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate.

At 1920x1080, the High preset with 86 FPS average is the best balance of visual quality and performance. The Ultra preset at 65 FPS is also playable, but the 21 FPS drop from High to Ultra may not justify the visual improvement for most users. For players who prioritize smoothness above all, Low at 138 FPS provides an exceptionally responsive experience, but the visual sacrifice is substantial.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset at 74 FPS average is the recommended choice. It maintains a minimum of 63 FPS, ensuring that dips remain above the 60 FPS threshold. The High preset at 57 FPS is borderline, and the Ultra preset at 43 FPS is not recommended for smooth gameplay. Low at 91 FPS is viable, but Medium offers a noticeably better visual experience at a reasonable performance cost.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset at 51 FPS is the only option that approaches playability. Medium at 41 FPS and High at 32 FPS are too slow for a smooth experience, and Ultra at 24 FPS is not viable. Players who insist on 4K should accept the Low preset or consider lowering the resolution to 1440p for a more enjoyable experience.

The 1080p High preset appears to be the sweet spot for this combination, delivering 86 FPS on average while maintaining a substantial level of visual fidelity. This aligns with the GPU's 58th percentile ranking, which suggests it is best suited for 1080p gaming in demanding titles.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a 24-core, 24-thread processor from the Core Ultra Series 2, codenamed Arrow Lake Refresh. It has a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.80 GHz. The CPU is manufactured on a 3 nm process at TSMC with 17,800 million transistors on a 243 mm² die. It features a complex cache hierarchy: 192 KB of L1 per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and 36 MB of shared L3 cache.

The CPU supports DDR5 memory on a dual-channel bus with a bandwidth of 115.2 GB/s and includes ECC memory support. It has 20 PCIe Gen 5 lanes from the CPU and an integrated Arc Xe-LPG Graphics 64EU. The processor is unlocked for overclocking and consumes 125 W TDP. It uses the Intel Socket 1851.

In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU demonstrates exceptional performance. It scores 51731 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 7303 in single-core. In PassMark, it achieves 60860 in multithread and 4823 in single-thread tests. The CPU's 96th percentile ranking reflects its elite status among all processors.

In Palworld, the CPU's role is secondary to the GPU. The measured FPS data shows that performance scales primarily with resolution and settings, which are GPU-bound factors. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 138 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it drops to 24 FPS. This wide range indicates that the GPU is the limiting component. The CPU's 24 cores and 5.80 GHz boost clock provide ample processing power for the game's simulation and AI tasks, but they cannot compensate for the GPU's limited memory bandwidth and shading power.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS data shows a significant drop as resolution increases from 1080p to 4K. At Low settings, the average FPS goes from 138 at 1080p to 91 at 1440p to 51 at 4K. This represents a 34% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 63% drop from 1080p to 4K. At High settings, the averages are 86, 57, and 32 FPS respectively, showing a 34% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 63% drop to 4K.

The consistency of these percentage drops across different settings presets reveals that the GPU is the limiting component at all resolutions. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see less variation between resolutions, as the CPU workload remains relatively constant regardless of resolution. Instead, the FPS scales inversely with the number of pixels, which is a classic sign of GPU limitation.

The RTX 2060's 336.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 6 GB VRAM are insufficient for handling the increased pixel count and texture data at higher resolutions. At 4K, the GPU must process four times as many pixels as at 1080p, and the memory bus simply cannot deliver data fast enough to maintain frame rates. The 192-bit bus width is a structural limitation that cannot be overcome by the CPU's strength.

The data suggests that this combo is best suited for 1080p gaming, where the GPU can maintain high frame rates with headroom to spare. At 1440p, the combo is playable with Medium settings, but the GPU is clearly working near its limits. At 4K, the combo is not viable for smooth gameplay, regardless of settings. The CPU's 96th percentile performance is wasted at higher resolutions, as the GPU becomes the primary constraint.