Doom

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 delivers a decisive performance profile for Doom, with measured data showing that the combination clears the 60 FPS threshold across nearly every tested setting at all three resolutions. The only exception is the Ultra preset at 3840x2160, where the average frame rate dips below the playable target. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS data, component roles, ranking, and optimal settings for this specific hardware pairing.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combination produces exceptionally high frame rates. The Low preset averages 241.9 FPS, which is the highest recorded figure for this pairing. Medium follows closely at 211.9 FPS, while High achieves 176 FPS. The most demanding preset, Ultra, still maintains an average of 143 FPS. All four settings at this resolution deliver well above the 60 FPS playable threshold, with the gap between Low and Ultra representing a 98.9 FPS spread.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains strong but shows expected scaling. Low averages 153.5 FPS, Medium reaches 135.1 FPS, and High hits 112.5 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 95.2 FPS, which remains comfortably above the 60 FPS target. The delta between Low and Ultra here is 58.3 FPS, indicating that resolution scaling has a noticeable but not prohibitive impact on performance.

At 3840x2160, the picture changes for the most demanding setting. Low averages 84.2 FPS, Medium achieves 72.4 FPS, and High maintains 60.3 FPS. Ultra drops to 50.1 FPS, falling below the 60 FPS playable threshold. The data shows a clear progression: each step from Low to Ultra at 4K costs roughly 10-12 FPS, with the final jump from High to Ultra being the most significant at 10.2 FPS.

Comparing across resolutions, the scaling from 1080p to 1440p at Ultra costs 47.8 FPS (from 143 to 95.2), while the jump from 1440p to 4K at Ultra costs 45.1 FPS (from 95.2 to 50.1). This indicates that the GPU handles the transition from 1080p to 1440p slightly better than from 1440p to 4K at the highest settings.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark data reveals a system that is primarily GPU-bound at higher resolutions, but the CPU still plays a meaningful role at lower settings. The Ryzen 5 5500, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, provides sufficient headroom for Doom’s engine. The CPU’s benchmark scores—including a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 16429 and a single-core score of 2319—indicate solid mid-range processing power that does not bottleneck the RTX 5060 in most scenarios.

At 1920x1080, the GPU’s performance ceiling is less likely to be the limiting factor. The average FPS at Low (241.9) approaches the refresh rate limits of many displays, suggesting that CPU overhead becomes more relevant at these high frame rates. The RTX 5060’s raw compute capabilities, including its 19.18 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 3840 shading units, are more than sufficient for this game at 1080p.

As resolution increases to 2560x1440 and then 3840x2160, the GPU’s role becomes more dominant. The RTX 5060’s 8 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 128-bit bus provides 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for Doom’s texture loads at 4K. The scaling between presets at each resolution is relatively consistent, suggesting that the GPU is the primary driver of performance differences.

The data shows that the CPU’s influence diminishes at higher resolutions. At 4K, the difference between Low and Ultra is 34.1 FPS, while at 1080p, the same preset difference is 98.9 FPS. This pattern indicates that the GPU becomes the bottleneck at higher resolutions, while at 1080p, the CPU’s ability to feed frames becomes more relevant, though neither component appears to cause severe stuttering or frame drops based on the average FPS figures.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Ryzen 5 5500 and RTX 5060 ranks 1821 out of 3712 tested combos for Doom, placing it in the 49th percentile of all tested configurations. This mid-pack ranking reflects the balance between the CPU and GPU: the RTX 5060 is a strong performer, but the Ryzen 5 5500 is a more modest processor that does not push the combo into the top tier.

The GPU’s benchmark percentile is 72, meaning it outperforms 72% of all tested GPUs. The CPU’s percentile is 73, indicating similar relative standing among processors. The combo’s ranking being lower than either component’s individual percentile suggests that the pairing does not maximize the GPU’s potential in all scenarios, likely due to the CPU’s limitations at lower resolutions where frame rates are extremely high.

In practical terms, this ranking means the combo sits in the upper half of all tested systems for Doom, but it is not among the elite configurations. For a game that is well-optimized and not particularly demanding by modern standards, this ranking is more than adequate for smooth gameplay at most settings and resolutions.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the RTX 5060 provide context for its performance level. The AMD Radeon 860M has an average score of 26401, which is 0.3% lower than the RTX 5060’s 26331 average. The NVIDIA GeForce MX550 scores 26421, also 0.3% higher. The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary scores 26553, 0.8% higher, while the AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT scores 26011, 1.2% lower. These deltas are minimal, indicating that the RTX 5060’s performance is closely matched by these alternatives.

For the CPU, the AMD Ryzen AI 5 430 scores 19617, just 0.1% higher than the Ryzen 5 5500’s 19593 average. The Intel Core i5-12500 scores 19668, 0.4% higher, and the Intel Core i7-10700F scores 19499, 0.5% lower. The Intel Core i5-11600KF scores 19723, 0.7% higher. These narrow margins mean that swapping the Ryzen 5 5500 for any of these processors would yield nearly identical performance in Doom.

Combining these rival lists, a system with any of the near-identical CPUs paired with any of the near-identical GPUs would produce benchmark results within roughly 1% of this tested configuration. For instance, a Ryzen AI 5 430 with an RX 6750 XT would perform nearly identically, as would an i5-12500 with an RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, all four presets are playable, and the Ultra preset delivers 143 FPS on average. This is the most demanding setting that maintains well above the 60 FPS threshold, making it the recommended choice for maximum visual quality at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset averages 95.2 FPS, which is still comfortably above 60 FPS. All settings are playable here, but Ultra provides the best visual fidelity without compromising smoothness.

At 3840x2160, the High preset is the most demanding option that stays at or above 60 FPS, averaging 60.3 FPS. The Ultra preset at 50.1 FPS falls short of the playable threshold, so High is the recommended maximum for 4K. Low and Medium are also playable, but they offer reduced visual quality.

The data shows that this system can handle the game at its highest settings at both 1080p and 1440p, while 4K requires a slight reduction to High settings for a stable 60 FPS experience.

The Verdict

This PC can run Doom effectively across most configurations. At 1920x1080, all four presets—Low, Medium, High, and Ultra—clear the 60 FPS threshold, with Ultra averaging 143 FPS. At 2560x1440, the same is true: Ultra averages 95.2 FPS, and all settings are playable. At 3840x2160, three of four presets are playable: Low (84.2 FPS), Medium (72.4 FPS), and High (60.3 FPS). The Ultra preset at 4K falls short at 50.1 FPS.

The verdict is clear: this system is fully capable of running Doom at high frame rates for the vast majority of settings and resolutions. The only scenario that fails the 60 FPS target is the Ultra preset at 4K, which still produces a playable frame rate of 50.1 FPS but does not meet the strict playability threshold. For users prioritizing frame rate over visual fidelity at 4K, the High preset offers the best balance.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Doom at 4K with Ultra settings?

A: No. At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 50.1, which falls below the 60 FPS playable threshold. The highest playable setting at 4K is High, which averages 60.3 FPS.

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

A: The Ultra preset at 2560x1440 averages 95.2 FPS, making it the most demanding setting that stays well above the 60 FPS target. All four presets at this resolution are playable.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations for Doom?

A: The combination ranks 1821 out of 3712 tested combos, placing it in the upper half of all tested systems. The GPU ranks in the 72nd percentile among all GPUs, while the CPU ranks in the 73rd percentile.

Q: What GPU performs similarly to the RTX 5060 in this system?

A: The AMD Radeon 860M (0.3% lower score), NVIDIA GeForce MX550 (0.3% higher), AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary (0.8% higher), and AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT (1.2% lower) all have benchmark scores within 1.2% of the RTX 5060.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 5500 a bottleneck for the RTX 5060 in Doom?

A: The data suggests the CPU is not a significant bottleneck at higher resolutions, as frame rates scale consistently with resolution changes. At 1080p, high average FPS values (241.9 at Low) suggest the CPU handles the workload well, though the combo’s mid-pack ranking indicates room for improvement with a stronger processor.

Q: What is the average FPS difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, Low averages 241.9 FPS while Ultra averages 143 FPS, a difference of 98.9 FPS. This is the largest preset gap across all tested resolutions.