Doom

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 presents an unusual combination: a 2018 mid-range CPU driving a flagship 2022 GPU. In Doom, this pairing produces remarkably high frame rates across all tested resolutions and settings, though the data reveals interesting bottlenecks and scaling patterns. The measured results show that this combination is not only playable at every preset, but it exceeds the 60 FPS threshold by a substantial margin in all scenarios, with the least demanding workload at 4K Ultra still averaging 92.4 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The recorded data for this combination in Doom includes average FPS figures for three resolutions and four quality presets. Minimum and maximum FPS values were not recorded, so the analysis relies on average frame rates, which are consistently high.

At 3840x2160 (4K), the performance scales predictably with the graphics preset. The Low preset delivers an average of 157.5 FPS, which is the highest at this resolution. Moving to Medium reduces the average to 135.7 FPS, a drop of 21.8 FPS from Low. The High preset averages 117.4 FPS, while the most demanding Ultra preset still holds an average of 92.4 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra at 4K is 65.1 FPS, indicating that the GPU is handling the resolution scaling effectively, but the CPU begins to show its age as the workload shifts.

At 2560x1440 (1440p), the frame rates climb substantially. The Low preset averages 203.3 FPS, which is the peak at this resolution. Medium follows closely at 196.2 FPS, then High at 181.7 FPS, and finally Ultra at 170 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra here is 33.3 FPS, a narrower margin than at 4K. This suggests that at 1440p, the combination is less constrained by the GPU and more by the CPU's single-thread performance, which caps the upper ceiling even at lower settings.

At 1920x1080 (1080p), the results are the highest in the entire dataset. The Low preset reaches an average of 232.7 FPS. Medium averages 220.8 FPS, High averages 212.2 FPS, and Ultra averages 194.6 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra is 38.1 FPS. Notably, the jump from 1440p to 1080p does not produce a massive increase in frame rates, which indicates that the CPU is now the primary limiter. The Ryzen 5 2600's Zen architecture, with a boost clock of 3.90 GHz, appears to bottleneck the RTX 4090 at lower resolutions, preventing it from reaching even higher frame rates.

Best Settings per Resolution

The database's playable threshold is set at 60 FPS, and this combination clears that bar at every preset and resolution. The best settings are defined as the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS, which in this case is always Ultra.

At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset averages 92.4 FPS. This is the best visual quality available in the game, and it remains comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold. The data shows that even the most demanding settings at 4K are fully playable, with a 32.4 FPS headroom above the threshold.

At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset averages 170 FPS. This is more than double the threshold, providing a very smooth experience with ample headroom for potential frame drops. The difference between 4K Ultra and 1440p Ultra is 77.6 FPS, showing how resolution scaling impacts the GPU load.

At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset averages 194.6 FPS. This is the highest average at Ultra settings across all resolutions. The data shows that at 1080p, the combination is so far above the threshold that the user could enable any settings without concern for falling below 60 FPS.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Doom at 4K resolution?

A: Yes. The recorded data shows that at 3840x2160, all presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) average above 60 FPS. The most demanding preset, Ultra, averages 92.4 FPS.

Q: What is the highest average FPS achieved by this combination?

A: The highest recorded average FPS is 232.7, achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low preset. The lowest recorded average is 92.4, at 3840x2160 with the Ultra preset.

Q: How does the CPU affect performance at lower resolutions?

A: The data shows diminishing returns when moving from 1440p to 1080p. For example, the High preset at 1440p averages 181.7 FPS, while at 1080p it averages 212.2 FPS, an increase of only 30.5 FPS. This suggests the Ryzen 5 2600 limits the RTX 4090 from reaching its full potential at 1080p.

Q: Is the Ultra preset playable at all resolutions?

A: Yes. The Ultra preset averages 92.4 FPS at 4K, 170 FPS at 1440p, and 194.6 FPS at 1080p. All are above the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 157.5 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 92.4 FPS. This represents a difference of 65.1 FPS between the lowest and highest quality settings.

Q: Does the game scale well with resolution changes?

A: The scaling is consistent but not linear. At Ultra settings, moving from 1080p to 1440p reduces the average from 194.6 to 170 FPS, a 24.6 FPS drop. Moving from 1440p to 4K reduces it further to 92.4 FPS, a 77.6 FPS drop, indicating the GPU is increasingly stressed at higher resolutions.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the CPU and GPU provide context for how this combination compares to other hardware. The Ryzen 5 2600 has an average benchmark score of 21484, placing it in the 75th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rival is the Intel Core Ultra 5 228V, which scores 21440, a delta of 0.2 percent. This means the two processors are nearly identical in overall performance. The Intel Core i9-11900H scores 21367, a 0.5 percent delta, while the Intel Xeon D-1746TER scores 21635, a negative 0.7 percent delta. The AMD EPYC 9454 scores 21223, a 1.2 percent delta. For gaming in Doom, these rivals would likely produce similar CPU-bound behavior at 1080p, where the Ryzen 5 2600's single-thread performance is the limiting factor.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 has an average benchmark score of 60347, placing it in the 88th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival is the Intel Arc Pro A60, which scores 60326, a delta of 0 percent. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 scores 60140, a 0.3 percent delta, and the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M scores 61896, a negative 2.5 percent delta. The AMD Radeon PRO V710 scores 58657, a 2.9 percent delta. These rivals are all within a few percentage points of the RTX 4090 in average benchmark performance, suggesting they would produce very similar frame rates in Doom, especially at 4K where the GPU is the dominant factor.

The Verdict

The verdict by resolution is clear: this combination can run Doom at all tested settings and resolutions. At 3840x2160, the playable settings include High, Low, Medium, and Ultra, with the best settings being Ultra at an average of 92.4 FPS. At 2560x1440, all settings are playable, with Ultra averaging 170 FPS. At 1920x1080, all settings are playable, with Ultra averaging 194.6 FPS.

The data indicates that the 60 FPS threshold is exceeded everywhere, with the lowest margin at 4K Ultra (32.4 FPS above threshold) and the highest margin at 1080p Low (172.7 FPS above threshold). The RTX 4090's raw compute power, evidenced by its 82.58 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 1.01 TB/s memory bandwidth, ensures that even the heaviest preset at 4K remains smooth. The Ryzen 5 2600, despite being an older six-core, twelve-thread processor, provides sufficient throughput for this game's engine, though it does cap the maximum frame rates at lower resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database's ranking for Doom, this specific CPU and GPU combination ranks 800 out of 3712 tested combos. This places it in the top 21.5 percent of all combinations tested for this game. The rank reflects the balance between the high-end GPU and the mid-range CPU. While the RTX 4090 is among the fastest GPUs available, the Ryzen 5 2600's lower single-thread performance prevents the combo from reaching the very top of the rankings, where newer CPUs with higher boost clocks would allow the GPU to stretch further at 1080p and 1440p.

The ranking is likely driven by the 4K results, where the GPU dominates. At 4K Ultra, the combo averages 92.4 FPS, which is a strong result. However, at 1080p Low, the 232.7 FPS average is impressive but not the highest possible, as faster CPUs paired with the same GPU would push higher. The rank of 800 suggests that many combos with newer, faster CPUs achieve higher frame rates, particularly at lower resolutions.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data reveals distinct roles for the CPU and GPU at each resolution. At 3840x2160, the GPU is the primary driver. The frame rates scale significantly with settings: from 157.5 FPS at Low to 92.4 FPS at Ultra, a 65.1 FPS drop. This indicates that the RTX 4090 is heavily loaded, and its performance directly determines the output. The CPU, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, has enough headroom to feed the GPU at this resolution without becoming the limiting factor.

At 2560x1440, the balance shifts. The frame rates increase, but the gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 33.3 FPS. This suggests that the CPU is starting to become more relevant. At Low settings, the GPU is less stressed, and the CPU's single-thread performance (a score of 1154 in Geekbench single-core) begins to cap the frame rate. The difference between 1440p Low (203.3 FPS) and 1080p Low (232.7 FPS) is only 29.4 FPS, showing that the CPU cannot push much higher regardless of resolution.

At 1920x1080, the CPU is the clear bottleneck. The frame rates across all settings are the highest in the dataset, but they are also the most compressed in relative terms. The Low preset at 1080p averages 232.7 FPS, while the Low preset at 1440p averages 203.3 FPS. The 29.4 FPS difference is modest compared to the resolution change, indicating that the CPU is limiting the maximum achievable frame rate. The RTX 4090 is capable of far more, but the Ryzen 5 2600's Zen architecture, with a boost clock of 3.90 GHz, cannot deliver the instruction throughput needed to exceed roughly 233 FPS in this game.

In summary, the GPU dictates performance at 4K, while the CPU becomes the limiting factor at 1080p and, to a lesser extent, at 1440p. The optimal experience is at 1440p Ultra, where the 170 FPS average balances visual fidelity with a frame rate that fully utilizes the GPU while not being overly constrained by the CPU.