Doom

The Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 delivers a decidedly playable experience in Doom across 1080p and 1440p, but stumbles at 4K where the GPU becomes the limiting factor. Benchmark data shows this combo clears the 60 FPS threshold at every resolution except for the most demanding 4K Ultra preset, with the sweet spot being 1440p Ultra at 89 FPS average. This is a classic case where a modest quad-core CPU proves sufficient for a well-optimized title, while the GPU dictates the upper bounds of performance scaling.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, this combo operates in a performance bracket that leaves little room for complaint. The Low preset hits an average of 228 FPS, which is the highest recorded for this configuration across all tested settings. Medium follows closely at 198 FPS average, with a minimum of 168 FPS and a maximum of 228 FPS, showing tight frame pacing. High drops to 167 FPS average, while the most demanding Ultra preset still manages 137 FPS average. All four presets at 1080p remain far above the 60 FPS playable threshold, with the gap between Low and Ultra being 91 FPS — a substantial but expected delta for a GPU-bound scenario.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance curve shifts downward but remains robust. Low yields 147 FPS average, Medium delivers 128 FPS with a minimum of 109 FPS and a maximum of 148 FPS, and High produces 108 FPS average. Ultra, the most intensive setting, still achieves 89 FPS average, which is comfortably above the 60 FPS line. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows a drop of roughly 35% on Ultra (137 to 89 FPS), indicating that pixel count begins to assert its influence on the GPU. Notably, the minimum FPS at Medium (109) is still higher than the average at Ultra (89), suggesting that the frame time distribution remains stable even as resolution increases.

At 3840x2160, the picture changes dramatically. Low settings produce 80 FPS average, Medium drops to 70 FPS with a minimum of 59 FPS and a maximum of 80 FPS, and High falls to 59 FPS average — just one frame short of the playable threshold. Ultra is the only preset that fails outright, with an average of 48 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra at 4K shows a 32 FPS average decline, and the fact that High sits at 59 FPS while Medium holds at 70 FPS indicates that the RTX 4060's 8 GB memory buffer and 128-bit bus are stretched thin at this resolution. The minimum FPS at Medium (59) being exactly at the threshold line suggests occasional stutter, but the average of 70 FPS provides enough headroom for most gameplay scenarios.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Doom at 60 FPS on Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: Yes. At 1920x1080 with Ultra settings, the Intel Core i3-12100F and RTX 4060 combination produces an average of 137 FPS, which is more than double the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: What is the highest resolution where this combo can maintain 60 FPS on Ultra?

A: The maximum resolution for Ultra settings at or above 60 FPS is 2560x1440, where the average FPS is 89. At 3840x2160, Ultra drops to 48 FPS average, which is below the playable threshold.

Q: How does the RTX 4060 compare to its closest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 4060 has an average benchmark score of 17639, placing it just 0.2% behind the AMD Radeon HD 7790 (17666) and 0.3% ahead of the AMD Radeon 780M (17588). It also leads the AMD Radeon Pro 560 by 0.5% and the AMD Radeon Pro 460 by 0.7%.

Q: Is the Intel Core i3-12100F a bottleneck at 4K resolution?

A: No. The data shows that at 3840x2160, performance scales primarily with GPU load — High settings yield 59 FPS while Medium yields 70 FPS, indicating the CPU has sufficient headroom. The CPU's multi-threaded score of 11860 in Cinebench R23 suggests it is not the limiting factor at this resolution.

Q: Which preset should be used for 1440p gaming?

A: Ultra is viable at 2560x1440, with an average of 89 FPS. This is the most demanding preset that remains above 60 FPS, making it the recommended choice for maximum visual quality without sacrificing smoothness.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p?

A: The gap is 91 FPS, with Low averaging 228 FPS and Ultra averaging 137 FPS. This represents a 40% reduction in average FPS when moving from the lowest to the highest preset.

CPU and GPU Roles

The division of labor between the Intel Core i3-12100F and the RTX 4060 becomes clear when examining scaling across resolutions. At 1920x1080, the CPU's single-thread performance (a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1674) is sufficient to feed the GPU, as evidenced by the 228 FPS average at Low settings. The 4-core, 8-thread configuration with a 4.30 GHz boost clock handles the game's draw calls without becoming a bottleneck, even at high frame rates. The transition from 1080p to 1440p shows a uniform ~35% drop across all presets, which points to GPU-bound behavior — the CPU is not the constraining factor here.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's role becomes dominant. The RTX 4060's 272.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 15.11 TFLOPS compute are pushed to their limits, as shown by the 48 FPS average at Ultra. The CPU's contribution is minimal at this resolution — the difference between Low (80 FPS) and Ultra (48 FPS) is purely a function of GPU workload. The fact that the combo maintains 70 FPS at Medium 4K, with a minimum of 59 FPS, suggests the GPU is operating near its memory ceiling rather than being starved by the CPU. The RTX 4060's 8 GB GDDR6 memory and 128-bit bus are the primary constraints at 4K, not the i3-12100F's processing power.

The scaling pattern between presets reinforces this analysis. At 1080p, the delta from Low to Ultra is 91 FPS (228 to 137), while at 1440p it is 58 FPS (147 to 89), and at 4K it narrows to 32 FPS (80 to 48). This compression of the performance gap as resolution increases is a hallmark of GPU saturation — the CPU has ample headroom to maintain high frame rates, but the GPU's pixel throughput becomes the limiting factor. The i3-12100F's 12 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel memory support (DDR4/DDR5) are adequate for this workload, as the CPU never falls below the GPU's output capability in any tested configuration.

The Verdict

This PC can run Doom successfully at all three tested resolutions, but with caveats at the highest settings. At 1920x1080, every preset — Low, Medium, High, and Ultra — clears the 60 FPS threshold, with Ultra delivering 137 FPS average. This is the most forgiving resolution for this combo, offering full visual fidelity without performance concerns. At 2560x1440, the system also achieves playable frame rates across all presets, with Ultra at 89 FPS average being the standout choice for balanced quality and smoothness. The 1440p Ultra setting is the highest visual quality that maintains a comfortable margin above the playable threshold.

At 3840x2160, the system is only partially viable. Low settings (80 FPS average) and Medium settings (70 FPS average) are playable, but High drops to 59 FPS average — just below the 60 FPS line — and Ultra falls to 48 FPS average. The verdict data confirms this: the playable settings at 4K are limited to Low and Medium, with Medium being the best option at 70 FPS average. Gamers targeting 4K must accept reduced quality to stay above 60 FPS, and even then, the Medium preset's minimum FPS of 59 suggests occasional dips to the threshold. For the best overall experience, 1440p Ultra at 89 FPS is the recommended configuration, as it offers high visual fidelity with robust frame rates.

How This Combo Ranks

Among the 3712 tested combinations in the database for Doom, this CPU-GPU pairing ranks 2001st. This places it in the 46th percentile of all tested systems, meaning roughly 54% of configurations deliver higher performance. The ranking reflects the i3-12100F's position in the broader CPU landscape — it sits at the 68th percentile among all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 13494, while the RTX 4060 ranks at the 61st percentile among GPUs with a score of 17639. The combo's mid-pack ranking is consistent with its component-level positioning: neither part is a top-tier performer, but both are solidly above average.

The CPU's nearest rivals highlight its competitive standing. The Intel Core 3 N355 (avg score 13492) is effectively tied with a 0% delta, while the Intel Core i5-9500 (13452) trails by 0.3%. The Intel Core 5 120UL (13594) leads by 0.7%, and the Intel Core i7-1250U (13351) lags by 1.1%. For the GPU, the AMD Radeon HD 7790 (17666) leads by 0.2%, with the AMD Radeon 780M (17588) trailing by 0.3%, the AMD Radeon Pro 560 (17551) by 0.5%, and the AMD Radeon Pro 460 (17509) by 0.7%. These narrow deltas show that the RTX 4060 sits in a tightly contested performance band, where small benchmark differences translate to negligible real-world FPS variations in a game like Doom.

Best Settings per Resolution

For 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, with an average of 137 FPS. This provides the highest visual quality while maintaining a 77 FPS margin above the threshold, making it the clear recommendation for 1080p displays.

At 2560x1440, Ultra is again the optimal choice, averaging 89 FPS. This is 29 FPS above the playable threshold, offering enough headroom for demanding scenes without compromising visual fidelity. The 89 FPS average is sufficient for smooth gameplay on high-refresh-rate monitors up to 90 Hz.

For 3840x2160, the best playable setting is Medium, which averages 70 FPS with a minimum of 59 FPS. While this is above the 60 FPS threshold on average, the minimum dipping to 59 FPS suggests occasional frame drops during intense sequences. Low settings (80 FPS average) provide a safer margin but at reduced visual quality. Medium is the recommended choice for 4K, balancing fidelity and performance, though users with sensitivity to frame drops may prefer Low for a more consistent experience.