Doom

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and Intel Arc B570 combination presents a fascinating split personality when running the 2016 classic Doom. At 1080p and 1440p, this pairing delivers a fluid, high-refresh-rate experience that easily clears the 60 FPS threshold. The story changes dramatically at 4K, where the system falls short of playability at every preset. This analysis breaks down the measured frame rates, contextualizes the hardware against its nearest rivals, and explains which component is pulling the weight at each resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The benchmark data for this CPU/GPU pairing reveals a clear pattern: performance scales predictably with resolution and settings, but the margins between presets are not uniform. At 1920x1080, the system is remarkably fast. The Low preset delivers an average of 164 FPS, which is the highest score recorded for this combo. Moving to Medium drops the average to 143 FPS, with a minimum of 121 FPS and a maximum of 164 FPS. The High preset still holds an average of 121 FPS. Even the demanding Ultra preset produces an average of 99 FPS, confirming that this resolution is well within the comfortable operating range for both components.

Stepping up to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain strong but begin to show the GPU's limitations. Low settings average 106 FPS. Medium follows with 92 FPS average, a minimum of 79 FPS, and a maximum of 106 FPS. High produces a respectable 78 FPS average. The Ultra preset still manages to stay above the 60 FPS playability threshold with an average of 64 FPS, but the margin is thin, suggesting that any scene complexity could cause dips below that mark.

The 3840x2160 results are a stark contrast. At 4K, the system cannot maintain playable frame rates on any setting. Low averages 57 FPS, just under the 60 FPS line. Medium drops to 50 FPS average, with a minimum of 43 FPS and a maximum of 58 FPS. High falls to 42 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 35 FPS. The data shows a consistent pattern: each preset step at 4K costs roughly 7-8 FPS on average, which is a significant penalty compared to the smaller gaps seen at lower resolutions.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X provide context for its compute capabilities. The AMD EPYC 9015 scores 57555 in the aggregate benchmark, which is -0.1% relative to the 9900X's 57498 average. The AMD EPYC 7313 is nearly identical, scoring 57399, a delta of 0.2%. On the Intel side, the Core i9-14900 scores 58115, putting it 1.1% ahead, while the Xeon Platinum 8260M is 1.4% behind with a score of 58323. These deltas are all within a narrow band, indicating that the 9900X's processing power is not a differentiating factor in this game; any of these CPUs would likely produce identical Doom frame rates.

For the Intel Arc B570 GPU, the closest alternatives are equally illuminating. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile scores 20534, a mere 0.1% behind the B570's 20556. The Intel Arc A750 scores 20582, which is 0.1% ahead. The NVIDIA Quadro M4000M and AMD Radeon R9 M390X are also within half a percentage point. This tells a compelling story: the B570 is performing in the same league as a mobile RTX 3070 and the previous-generation Arc A750. For a gamer, this means that swapping to any of these GPUs would yield nearly indistinguishable results in Doom across all tested resolutions and settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The overall rank for this specific CPU and GPU pairing in Doom is 2987 out of 3712 tested combinations. This places the combo in the bottom 20% of all possible system configurations. The rank is a direct consequence of the GPU's performance ceiling. While the CPU is a top-tier part with a 92nd percentile ranking among all CPUs, the GPU sits at the 65th percentile among all GPUs. This mismatch creates a bottleneck at higher resolutions.

The data suggests that the combo rank is heavily influenced by the 4K results, which are all unplayable. At 1080p and 1440p, the system would rank much higher, as it delivers frame rates in the 64-164 FPS range. However, the aggregate ranking penalizes the system for its inability to handle 4K, which is a common target for high-end desktop hardware. The rank indicates that while this system is perfectly capable for 1080p and 1440p gaming, it is not a top-tier 4K machine.

The Verdict

Can this PC run Doom? The answer is a definitive yes, but with important caveats regarding resolution. According to the verdict data, at 3840x2160, there are no playable settings. Every preset averages below 60 FPS, with the best case being Low at 57 FPS. This falls short of the playable threshold of 60 FPS, so 4K gaming is not viable.

At 2560x1440, the system clears the hurdle. The playable settings include High, Low, Medium, and Ultra. The best settings are Ultra, which achieves an average of 64 FPS. This is a passable experience, though the margin above 60 FPS is slim.

At 1920x1080, the system is unequivocally capable. All four presets are playable, with the best being Ultra at an average of 99 FPS. This indicates that the system is ideal for 1080p gaming with maximum visual fidelity, and even the Low preset's 164 FPS makes it suitable for high-refresh-rate monitors. The verdict is clear: this combo is a 1080p champion and a 1440p contender, but a 4K non-starter.

FAQ

*Q: What is the highest average FPS this system achieves in Doom?*

A: The highest recorded average is 164 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low preset.

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

A: No. At 3840x2160, all presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) average below the 60 FPS playable threshold, with the best being Low at 57 FPS.

Q: At 1440p, what is the most demanding preset that stays above 60 FPS?

A: The Ultra preset at 2560x1440 averages 64 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B570 compare to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile?

A: The two GPUs have nearly identical aggregate benchmark scores. The Arc B570 scores 20556, while the RTX 3070 Mobile scores 20534, a delta of just 0.1%.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1080p?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. At 1080p, the CPU has ample headroom, but the frame rates vary significantly between presets (99-164 FPS), which is a GPU-driven change.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for this system?

A: The minimum FPS recorded is 43, observed at 3840x2160 with Medium settings.

Best Settings per Resolution

The most demanding preset that maintains an average of at least 60 FPS is the target for optimal playability.

• 3840x2160: No preset qualifies. The highest average is 57 FPS on Low, which does not meet the 60 FPS requirement.
• 2560x1440: The Ultra preset is the best choice, with an average of 64 FPS. This provides the highest visual quality while staying above the playability threshold.
• 1920x1080: The Ultra preset is the clear winner, averaging 99 FPS. This allows for maximum graphical fidelity without sacrificing smoothness. The High preset at 121 FPS is also viable for users seeking higher frame rates.

CPU and GPU Roles

The division of labor between the Ryzen 9 9900X and the Arc B570 becomes clear when examining frame rate scaling across resolutions and presets. The CPU is a high-end 12-core, 24-thread part with a 92nd percentile ranking, and its benchmarks (like 32172 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 3010 in Geekbench single-core) show it has far more processing power than Doom requires. The GPU, however, is a mid-range part at the 65th percentile.

At 1920x1080, the GPU is the primary driver of performance. The frame rate drop from Low (164 FPS) to Ultra (99 FPS) is a 40% reduction, driven entirely by increased pixel shading and texture work. The CPU is not the bottleneck here, as even the most demanding preset yields nearly 100 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the GPU's workload increases further. The Low preset drops from 164 to 106 FPS (a 35% reduction), while Ultra drops from 99 to 64 FPS (also a 35% reduction). This consistent scaling across presets indicates that the GPU's fill rate and shading power are the determining factors. The CPU's role remains secondary, as the frame rates are still high enough that CPU overhead is not exposed.

The dynamic changes at 3840x2160. Here, the GPU is severely overtaxed. The Low preset at 57 FPS is just 46% of the 1080p Low score. The Ultra preset at 35 FPS is only 35% of its 1080p counterpart. This dramatic falloff highlights that the B570's 10 GB of VRAM and 160-bit memory bus are insufficient for the data throughput required at 4K. The CPU's performance is irrelevant at this resolution because the GPU cannot render frames fast enough. The data suggests that for this game, the GPU is the decisive component at every resolution, but the gap between the CPU's capability and the GPU's output becomes insurmountable at 4K.