Doom

Measured FPS Breakdown

The recorded database measurements for Doom on the AMD Ryzen 5 3600 with the Intel Arc B390 show a wide performance spread across resolutions and presets. At 3840x2160, the game is largely unplayable by the 60 FPS standard. The High preset returns an average of 28 FPS, Low averages 37 FPS, and Medium sits between them at 33 FPS with a minimum of 28 and a maximum of 37. The Ultra preset drops to 22 FPS average, the lowest figure recorded for this combination.

Moving to 2560x1440, the situation improves considerably. The Low preset averages 69 FPS, which clears the playable threshold. Medium averages exactly 60 FPS, with a minimum of 51 and a maximum of 69, meaning it is borderline but technically playable on average. High falls to 51 FPS, and Ultra drops further to 41 FPS. These results indicate that the 1440p resolution is the dividing line between playable and unplayable for this hardware pairing.

At 1920x1080, every preset clears the 60 FPS mark. Low averages 107 FPS, Medium averages 93 FPS with a minimum of 79 and a maximum of 107, High averages 78 FPS, and Ultra averages 64 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p represents a drop of 43 FPS, but even the most demanding preset remains playable. The data shows a clear pattern: the Arc B390 has enough headroom at 1080p to handle the full range of settings, but at higher resolutions the gap between Low and Ultra widens significantly.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark results indicate that the GPU is the dominant constraint in this pairing, particularly at higher resolutions. At 3840x2160, the difference between Low and Ultra is 15 FPS (37 down to 22), showing that the graphics card is heavily saturated even at the lowest settings. The CPU, a six-core, twelve-thread Zen 2 part, has ample headroom at these frame rates; the bottleneck is clearly the Arc B390's rendering throughput.

At 2560x1440, the scaling between presets becomes more pronounced. Low averages 69 FPS while High drops to 51 FPS and Ultra to 41 FPS. The 18 FPS gap between Low and High at 1440p suggests the GPU is still the primary limiting factor, but the CPU's single-thread performance begins to matter more as frame rates approach and exceed 60 FPS. The Ryzen 5 3600's 3DMark single-thread score of 696 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2124 place it in a reasonable position for this era of game, though Doom's engine is well optimized for multi-threaded workloads.

At 1920x1080, the picture shifts. Low averages 107 FPS, and the fact that Medium, High, and Ultra all remain above 60 FPS suggests the CPU is now capable of feeding the GPU adequately at lower resolutions. The 43 FPS spread from Low to Ultra at 1080p, compared to the 15 FPS spread at 4K, indicates that resolution scaling is doing most of the heavy lifting. When the GPU is not overwhelmed at 4K, the CPU's multi-threaded capabilities, reflected in its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 15045 and PassMark multi-thread score of 17700, are sufficient to keep frame pacing stable.

The recorded data also shows that the Arc B390's memory bandwidth is system-dependent, meaning performance at higher resolutions could vary with the host platform's RAM configuration. The GPU's pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s and texture rate of 120.0 GTexel/s are modest figures, and its 7.680 TFLOPS FP32 throughput is the limiting factor when resolution increases.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, no preset achieves a playable average frame rate. The verdict data confirms that the playable settings list is empty for this resolution. The best recorded average is 37 FPS at Low, which is still far below the 60 FPS playable threshold.

At 2560x1440, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS on average is Medium, which averages exactly 60 FPS. The minimum of 51 FPS means there will be dips below the threshold, but the average clears it. Low also qualifies with an average of 69 FPS, but Medium is the highest quality option that maintains the 60 FPS average.

At 1920x1080, all four presets clear the threshold. The most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, which averages 64 FPS. This is the recommended configuration for users who want maximum visual quality while maintaining playability. The 64 FPS average provides a small buffer above the 60 FPS line, though the lack of a recorded minimum for Ultra means the worst-case frame rate is unknown from the database.

The Verdict

The question of whether this PC can run Doom depends entirely on the target resolution. The verdict by resolution is clear. At 3840x2160, the combination of the Ryzen 5 3600 and the Arc B390 cannot achieve playable performance at any preset. The best case is Low at 37 FPS average, which is 23 FPS short of the playable threshold. The database lists no playable settings for 4K, meaning this machine is not suitable for that resolution in this game.

At 2560x1440, the system is playable at Low and Medium presets. Medium averages exactly 60 FPS, making it the highest quality option that meets the threshold on average. However, the minimum of 51 FPS at Medium indicates that demanding scenes will push the frame rate below 60, so players sensitive to frame drops may prefer Low for consistency.

At 1920x1080, the system is fully playable across all presets, including Ultra at 64 FPS average. This is the resolution where the hardware pairing makes the most sense. The combo ranks 3300 out of 3712 combinations in the database, placing it in the lower third of tested hardware, but for Doom specifically, 1080p is a viable experience.

The Arc B390's overall standing is weak, with a percentile rank of 9 among all GPUs and an average benchmark score of 1482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. This is not a high-performance part, and the data shows it is best suited for 1080p gaming in Doom, with 1440p possible only at lower presets.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the nearest rivals for the CPU, the Ryzen 5 3600's average benchmark score of 17035 is closely matched by several other processors. The Intel Core i7-1260P scores 17007, a delta of 0.2 percent, meaning it would behave nearly identically in CPU-bound scenarios. The Intel Core i5-11400 scores 17067, a delta of -0.2 percent, also effectively equivalent. The AMD EPYC 7573X scores 17070, again within 0.2 percent, and the AMD EPYC 7742 scores 16998, within 0.2 percent. All four rivals would deliver similar CPU performance in Doom, though the EPYC parts are server-class chips not typically found in gaming systems.

For the GPU, the Arc B390's nearest rivals are all significantly older or lower-end parts. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX scores 1463, a delta of 1.3 percent. The NVIDIA GeForce 800M scores 1460, a delta of 1.5 percent. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM scores 1446, a delta of 2.5 percent, and the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 scores 1443, a delta of 2.7 percent. These deltas mean the Arc B390 is only slightly faster than these legacy parts in the 3DMark Steel Nomad test, which is a poor sign for its gaming performance. In practice, a system with any of these GPUs would likely produce similar or slightly lower frame rates in Doom at the same settings and resolutions.

The implication for a user with the Ryzen 5 3600 is that swapping to any of the rival CPUs would not change the gaming experience meaningfully, since the GPU is the bottleneck in most scenarios. Conversely, the GPU rivals listed are all less capable, so the Arc B390 is the better choice among its immediate peers, even if that bar is low.

FAQ

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

A: No. At 3840x2160, the best recorded average is 37 FPS at Low settings. The verdict data lists no playable settings for this resolution, as all presets fall below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: What is the highest preset that maintains 60 FPS at 2560x1440?

A: Medium is the highest preset that averages 60 FPS at 1440p. It has a minimum of 51 FPS and a maximum of 69 FPS. Low also averages 69 FPS, but Medium offers better visual quality while still meeting the average threshold.

Q: Is the Ultra preset playable at 1920x1080?

A: Yes. Ultra averages 64 FPS at 1080p, which clears the 60 FPS playable threshold. All four presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) are listed as playable at this resolution.

Q: How does the Arc B390 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B390 scores 1482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12. Its nearest rivals are the GeForce GT 520MX at 1463 (1.3 percent slower), GeForce 800M at 1460 (1.5 percent slower), GeForce GT 625 OEM at 1446 (2.5 percent slower), and GeForce GT 710 at 1443 (2.7 percent slower). The Arc B390 is the fastest of this group.

Q: Which component is the main bottleneck in Doom?

A: The GPU is the primary constraint. At 4K, the difference between Low and Ultra is only 15 FPS, indicating the graphics card is saturated even at the lowest settings. The Ryzen 5 3600 has sufficient CPU performance, as shown by its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 15045, to keep up at lower resolutions.

Q: What frame rates can I expect at 1080p with Medium settings?

A: The database records an average of 93 FPS at 1080p Medium, with a minimum of 79 FPS and a maximum of 107 FPS. This is a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS playable threshold.