Doom

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the AMD Ryzen 7 9700X with Intel Arc B390 delivers a narrow band of frame rates across all settings. Low preset averages 37 FPS, Medium averages 33 FPS with a minimum of 28 and maximum of 37, High averages 28 FPS, and Ultra drops to 22 FPS. None of these reach the 60 FPS playable threshold, and the spread between Low and Ultra is only 15 FPS, indicating that even drastic setting reductions cannot rescue 4K performance.

Moving to 2560x1440, the picture improves substantially. Low averages 69 FPS, Medium averages exactly 60 FPS with a recorded minimum of 51 and maximum of 69, High averages 51 FPS, and Ultra averages 41 FPS. The Medium preset sits precisely at the playable threshold, making it the boundary case for 1440p. The gap between Low and High is 18 FPS, while High to Ultra narrows to 10 FPS, showing diminishing returns at the upper end of the quality spectrum.

At 1920x1080, the combination becomes comfortable. Low averages 107 FPS, Medium averages 93 FPS with a minimum of 79 and maximum of 107, High averages 78 FPS, and Ultra averages 64 FPS. Every preset clears 60 FPS, and even the most demanding Ultra setting maintains a 4 FPS margin above the threshold. The progression from Low to Ultra sees a 43 FPS drop, but the curve is gradual: Low to Medium loses 14 FPS, Medium to High loses 15 FPS, and High to Ultra loses another 14 FPS.

The recorded minimums and maximums appear only for Medium presets. At 4K Medium, the range is 28 to 37 FPS, a 9 FPS swing. At 1440p Medium, the range widens to 51 to 69 FPS, an 18 FPS swing. At 1080p Medium, the range is 79 to 107 FPS, a 28 FPS swing. These ranges suggest that frame pacing becomes more variable as resolution drops, likely due to the GPU being less saturated at lower pixel counts.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data indicates that the Intel Arc B390 is the dominant constraint at higher resolutions. At 3840x2160, the GPU's pixel throughput of 60.00 GPixel/s and texture rate of 120.0 GTexel/s are insufficient to maintain fluid motion. The FP32 compute of 7.680 TFLOPS places this GPU in the 9th percentile of all GPUs, which explains why 4K results hover between 22 and 37 FPS regardless of settings. The CPU, with its 8 cores and 16 threads based on Zen 5 architecture, contributes little headroom when the GPU is saturated.

At 2560x1440, the balance shifts. The GPU still limits High and Ultra presets, but Low and Medium allow the system to approach playability. The 69 FPS at Low versus 60 FPS at Medium shows a 9 FPS cost for the quality upgrade, while High drops another 9 FPS to 51. This pattern suggests the GPU's shading units, 1536 total, become the bottleneck as texture and pixel workloads increase. The Ryzen 7 9700X, with a multi-thread benchmark score of 37161 in PassMark and a 16-thread 3DMark score of 9824, is not the limiting factor here.

At 1920x1080, the CPU and GPU roles invert partially. The CPU's strong single-thread performance, evidenced by a PassMark single-thread score of 4654 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2211, keeps minimum frame rates healthy even at Ultra. The GPU still matters, as shown by the 43 FPS drop from Low to Ultra, but the system has enough combined headroom to exceed 60 FPS at every preset. The scaling between resolutions is telling: 1080p Ultra averages 64 FPS, 1440p Ultra drops to 41 FPS, and 4K Ultra falls to 22 FPS. Each doubling of pixel count roughly halves the frame rate, a classic sign of GPU-bound rendering with limited fillrate headroom.

The memory system for the GPU is shared with the system, and bandwidth is system dependent. This architecture means the CPU's dual-channel DDR5 support with 89.6 GB/s of memory bandwidth directly influences GPU performance. At 1080p, the CPU can feed the GPU efficiently. At 4K, the shared memory bandwidth becomes a secondary constraint alongside the GPU's raw compute limits.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU, the nearest rivals in the database are tightly clustered. The Intel Core i9-14901E scores 37911 in average benchmark, a 0.1% difference from the Ryzen 7 9700X's 37943. The AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 scores 37904, also 0.1% behind. The Intel Core 5 211E scores 37829, 0.3% behind, and the AMD Ryzen AI Embedded P132 scores 37804, 0.4% behind. These four alternatives would behave nearly identically in CPU-bound scenarios, meaning any of them paired with the Arc B390 would produce similar frame rates at 1080p where the CPU has more influence.

For the GPU, the nearest rivals are dramatically weaker in the database ranking. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX scores 1463, just 1.3% behind the Arc B390's 1482. The NVIDIA GeForce 800M scores 1460, 1.5% behind. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM scores 1446, 2.5% behind, and the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 scores 1443, 2.7% behind. These are all legacy or entry-level parts, and the deltas are small enough that swapping the Arc B390 for any of them would yield nearly identical gaming results in Doom. None of these alternatives would improve the 4K or 1440p High/Ultra performance, as they all sit in the same low percentile band.

The CPU's percentile rank of 86 versus the GPU's percentile rank of 9 highlights the mismatch. The processor could comfortably drive a much stronger GPU, but the current pairing caps overall performance. Users upgrading from one of the rival GPUs to the Arc B390 would see a negligible performance change, while upgrading the CPU from one of the rival processors to the Ryzen 7 9700X would also produce minimal gains in this game, since the GPU remains the bottleneck at all resolutions.

The Verdict

This PC can run Doom, but only at specific resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the system clears the 60 FPS threshold at every preset. Ultra averages 64 FPS, High averages 78 FPS, Medium averages 93 FPS, and Low averages 107 FPS. The verdict data lists all four 1080p presets as playable, with Ultra as the best setting at 64 FPS average.

At 2560x1440, the system is partially playable. Low and Medium both clear 60 FPS, with Medium averaging exactly 60 FPS. High and Ultra fall short at 51 FPS and 41 FPS respectively. The verdict data confirms this, listing Low and Medium as playable settings with Medium as the best at 60 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the system cannot reach playable status. The verdict data lists no playable settings, and the best average FPS across any preset is 37 at Low. Even the most aggressive quality reduction cannot bridge the gap to 60 FPS. The 4K resolution is not viable for this combination.

The playable threshold in the database is set at 60 FPS, and the system meets it in 9 out of 12 tested configurations. The gap at 4K is substantial, ranging from 23 FPS below threshold at Low to 38 FPS below at Ultra. At 1440p High, the shortfall is 9 FPS, and at 1440p Ultra it is 19 FPS.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that maintains 60 FPS or higher is Ultra, with an average of 64 FPS. This is the recommended configuration for 1080p, as it delivers the highest visual quality while still maintaining a 4 FPS safety margin above the playable threshold.

At 2560x1440, the most demanding playable preset is Medium, averaging exactly 60 FPS. This is a precise boundary condition: the recorded minimum is 51 FPS and maximum is 69 FPS, so individual scenes may dip below the threshold, but the average holds. High preset at 51 FPS and Ultra at 41 FPS are not recommended for consistent playability.

At 3840x2160, no preset meets the 60 FPS threshold. The highest average is 37 FPS at Low, which is 23 FPS short of playable. Users targeting 4K would need to accept frame rates in the 22 to 37 FPS range, which falls below the database's playability standard. The best settings field in the verdict data is null for 4K, confirming that no configuration is recommended.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database's ranking of tested combinations for Doom, this system ranks 3300 out of 3712 combos. This places it in the bottom 11% of all tested configurations. The rank reflects the GPU's severe limitation: the Arc B390 sits in the 9th percentile of all GPUs, while the CPU sits in the 86th percentile. The combination's overall standing is dragged down by the graphics component.

The rank of 3300 means that 411 other combinations performed worse, but 3299 performed better. The GPU's nearest rivals, all scoring within 2.7% of the Arc B390, would likely produce similar ranks when paired with equivalent CPUs. The CPU's nearest rivals, all within 0.4% of the Ryzen 7 9700X, would not change the ranking meaningfully because the GPU dominates the gaming performance profile.

The percentile gap between CPU and GPU is the defining characteristic of this combo. The processor is a high-end desktop part with a 65 W TDP and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, while the GPU is an integrated-class part with a 80 W TDP and no dedicated memory. This mismatch explains why the system performs well at 1080p, where the CPU can compensate, but fails at 4K, where the GPU's 7.680 TFLOPS and 24 ROPs become insurmountable bottlenecks.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Doom at 1080p with Ultra settings?

A: Yes. The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 Ultra is 64, which exceeds the 60 FPS playable threshold. All four presets at 1080p are listed as playable in the verdict data.

Q: What is the best playable setting at 2560x1440?

A: Medium is the best playable setting at 1440p, with an average of 60 FPS. Low also clears the threshold at 69 FPS, while High at 51 FPS and Ultra at 41 FPS do not meet the playable standard.

Q: Is 4K gaming possible with this hardware?

A: No. At 3840x2160, no preset reaches 60 FPS. The highest average is 37 FPS at Low, and the verdict data lists no playable settings for this resolution.

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

A: The Arc B390 scores 1482 in the database, which is 1.3% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, 1.5% ahead of the GeForce 800M, 2.5% ahead of the GeForce GT 625 OEM, and 2.7% ahead of the GeForce GT 710. These are all within a narrow performance band.

Q: How does the Ryzen 7 9700X compare to its nearest CPU rivals?

A: The Ryzen 7 9700X averages 37943 in benchmark scores. The Intel Core i9-14901E is 0.1% behind, the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 is 0.1% behind, the Intel Core 5 211E is 0.3% behind, and the AMD Ryzen AI Embedded P132 is 0.4% behind.

Q: What is the frame rate range at 1440p Medium?

A: The recorded data shows an average of 60 FPS, with a minimum of 51 FPS and a maximum of 69 FPS. This indicates that while the average meets the threshold, individual scenes can drop below 60 FPS.