Doom

The Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 delivers exceptional performance in Doom, with every tested resolution and settings combination exceeding the 60 FPS playable threshold by a significant margin. The data shows a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-limited at 4K, but increasingly CPU-bound at lower resolutions, where frame rates approach the practical limits of the game's engine. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS across all three resolutions and four presets, examines the scaling behavior, and contextualizes the combo's rank against 3,711 other tested configurations.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160 (4K), the RTX 5090 demonstrates its raw rasterization power, though the frame rate drops are consistent with increasing graphical load. The Low preset averages 162.9 FPS, which is the highest at this resolution. Moving to Medium reduces the average to 142.7 FPS, a 12.4% decrease from Low. High settings further reduce performance to 117.7 FPS, and the demanding Ultra preset still maintains a robust 98.6 FPS average. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 4K represents a 39.5% performance penalty, indicating that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at this resolution, as the CPU has ample headroom.

At 2560x1440 (1440p), the frame rates jump dramatically, showcasing the reduced pixel load. The Low preset achieves an average of 296.4 FPS, while Medium follows closely at 258.6 FPS. High settings deliver 217.6 FPS, and Ultra, the most demanding preset, still produces 179.4 FPS. The relative drop from Low to Ultra is 39.5%, identical to the 4K scaling, but the absolute delta is much larger (117 FPS vs. 64.3 FPS at 4K). This suggests that while the GPU is still the limiting factor, the CPU is beginning to contribute more to overall throughput.

At 1920x1080 (1080p), the combination becomes heavily CPU-bound, especially at lower presets. The Low preset yields a staggering 367.2 FPS average, which is the highest recorded for this combo. Medium settings produce 347.3 FPS, and High settings drop to 328.2 FPS. Even the Ultra preset maintains a blistering 275.2 FPS. The scaling here is compressed: the difference between Low and Ultra is only 25.1%, compared to the 39.5% seen at higher resolutions. This compression indicates that the CPU's single-thread performance, reflected in the 3DMark single-thread score of 909, is becoming the limiting factor, as the GPU is not fully utilized at these lower resolutions.

Across all settings, the minimum and maximum FPS values were not recorded in the dataset. The data only provides average FPS, which is sufficient to establish that this combo never falls below the playable threshold. The highest average FPS observed is 367.2 at 1080p Low, and the lowest is 98.6 at 4K Ultra. In every case, the average exceeds the 60 FPS threshold by at least 64%, with the 4K Ultra result being the closest to that threshold.

Best Settings per Resolution

For each resolution, the "best settings" are defined as the most demanding preset that still maintains an average FPS at or above 60 FPS. According to the verdict data, all four presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) are playable at every resolution. Therefore, the best settings are always Ultra, as it provides the highest visual fidelity while still meeting the performance criterion.

At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset delivers an average of 98.6 FPS. This is the lowest average FPS for any playable setting in this test, but it remains comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold. The data shows that even with maximum settings, the RTX 5090 has enough headroom to handle 4K rendering without any risk of dropping below playable frame rates.

At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset achieves 179.4 FPS. This is a 82% improvement over the 4K Ultra result, demonstrating that the resolution reduction significantly relieves the GPU load. The 1440p Ultra setting is likely the sweet spot for users with high-refresh-rate monitors, as it offers both high visual quality and frame rates that exceed 144 Hz.

At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset produces 275.2 FPS. This is the highest FPS for the Ultra preset across all resolutions, and it is more than four times the playable threshold. The 1080p Ultra setting is ideal for competitive play or for use with very high refresh rate displays (240 Hz or higher), as the frame rate is limited more by the CPU than the GPU at this point.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data reveals a clear shift in bottleneck behavior across resolutions. At 4K, the GPU is the dominant factor. The difference between Low and Ultra presets at 3840x2160 is 64.3 FPS (from 162.9 to 98.6), which is a direct consequence of the GPU's pixel and shading workload. The RTX 5090's 104.8 TFLOPS FP32 performance is strained by the 4K resolution, but it still delivers playable results.

At 1440p, the GPU remains the primary limiter, but the CPU's role becomes more pronounced. The absolute FPS values are higher across all presets, but the percentage drop from Low to Ultra remains consistent at 39.5%. This consistency suggests that the GPU is still the bottleneck, as the CPU can feed it enough frames to keep up with the increased load. The 1440p results show that the Core i5-12400F, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, can maintain high instruction throughput even when the GPU is producing over 250 FPS.

At 1080p, the CPU becomes the clear bottleneck. The scaling from Low to Ultra is compressed to 25.1%, indicating that the GPU is no longer the limiting factor. The 367.2 FPS at Low is likely close to the maximum frame rate that the CPU can generate in Doom, regardless of GPU headroom. This is supported by the CPU's benchmark scores, such as the 3DMark single-thread score of 909 and the Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1680, which reflect strong but not unlimited single-thread performance. The GPU's utilization at 1080p is likely lower than at higher resolutions, as it waits for the CPU to send draw calls.

In summary, the CPU and GPU roles are as follows: at 4K, the GPU is the sole bottleneck; at 1440p, the GPU is still primary but the CPU is contributing; at 1080p, the CPU is the limiting factor. This is a classic pattern for a high-end GPU paired with a mid-range CPU, where the CPU's lack of extreme single-thread performance caps frame rates in less demanding scenarios.

The Verdict

Based on the measured data, this PC can definitively run Doom at all tested resolutions and presets. The verdict by resolution is unequivocal: every setting at every resolution achieves an average FPS above the 60 FPS playable threshold.

At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset runs at 98.6 FPS, which is 64% above the threshold. This means users can enable maximum settings at 4K without any performance concerns. The Low preset at 162.9 FPS is the fastest at this resolution, but there is no need to compromise on visuals.

At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset runs at 179.4 FPS, which is 199% above the threshold. This is an excellent result for high-refresh-rate gaming, as it easily exceeds 144 Hz. Even the most demanding setting is more than adequate for smooth gameplay.

At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset runs at 275.2 FPS, which is 359% above the threshold. This is an outstanding result for competitive gaming, as it can drive 240 Hz monitors to their full potential. The Low preset at 367.2 FPS is the absolute maximum frame rate, but it is unnecessary for practical play.

The conclusion is that this combination is overkill for Doom at 1080p and 1440p, but it provides a comfortable 4K experience at maximum settings. There are no resolutions or settings in the dataset where the combo fails to meet the 60 FPS requirement.

FAQ

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

A: The highest average FPS is 367.2, recorded at 1920x1080 with the Low preset.

Q: At which resolution does the combo dip closest to the 60 FPS threshold?

A: The lowest average FPS is 98.6, achieved at 3840x2160 with the Ultra preset. This is still 38.6 FPS above the threshold.

Q: Is the Ultra preset playable at 4K?

A: Yes, the Ultra preset at 3840x2160 averages 98.6 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: Which component limits performance at 1080p?

A: The CPU is the limiting factor at 1920x1080, as the frame rate scaling between presets is compressed (25.1% from Low to Ultra), indicating the GPU is not fully utilized.

Q: How much faster is the Low preset compared to the Ultra preset at 1440p?

A: The Low preset at 2560x1440 averages 296.4 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 179.4 FPS. The Low preset is 117 FPS faster.

Q: Does the combo ever drop below 60 FPS in the tested scenarios?

A: No. The minimum average FPS observed is 98.6 at 4K Ultra, which is above the 60 FPS threshold. The dataset does not include minimum or maximum FPS values, only averages.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Intel Core i5-12400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 ranks 121st out of 3,712 tested combos for Doom. This places it in the top 3.3% of all tested configurations, which is an outstanding result given the mid-range CPU pairing. The high rank is primarily driven by the RTX 5090's immense rasterization performance, as it is one of the fastest GPUs in the database. The CPU's 73rd percentile ranking among all CPUs (with an average benchmark score of 19,039) is respectable, but it does not hold back the GPU to a significant degree, except at 1080p where the frame rate is capped.

The rank of 121 indicates that there are 120 other combos that perform better in Doom. These are likely combinations featuring even higher-end CPUs (such as the Core i9 or Ryzen 9 series) paired with the RTX 5090, which would achieve higher frame rates at 1080p due to better single-thread performance. However, for 4K gaming, the rank would likely be much higher, as the GPU is the bottleneck and the CPU's influence is minimal. The data shows that this combo is excellent for high-resolution gaming, but it is not the absolute top performer at lower resolutions where CPU speed matters more.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the CPU and GPU provide context for what other hardware would behave similarly in this system. For the Intel Core i5-12400F, the closest rivals are the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS (average score 19,047, delta 0%), the Intel Core 3 201E (average score 19,056, delta -0.1%), the Intel Core i5-1335U (average score 18,982, delta 0.3%), and the AMD EPYC 7773X (average score 18,979, delta 0.3%). These CPUs have nearly identical average benchmark scores, meaning they would likely produce very similar frame rates in Doom, especially at 4K where the GPU is the bottleneck. The Ryzen 5 7535HS is a mobile chip, but its performance parity suggests that the 12400F is well-matched with laptops that have similar processing power.

For the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090, the nearest rivals are the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB (average score 79,605, delta 0.3%), the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB (average score 79,396, delta 0.6%), the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (average score 78,940, delta 1.1%), and the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X (average score 80,959, delta -1.4%). These GPUs have average benchmark scores within 1.4% of the RTX 5090, indicating that they would deliver nearly identical FPS in Doom. The Tesla P100 cards are datacenter-oriented, but their performance parity is notable. The RX 6850M XT is a mobile GPU, while the Pro Vega 64X is a workstation part. In practical gaming terms, none of these are direct consumer alternatives, but the data shows that the RTX 5090's performance level is matched by a narrow band of other GPUs.

A system using any of these rival CPUs with the RTX 5090 would see virtually identical performance at 4K, with minor differences at 1080p due to CPU single-thread variations. Conversely, pairing the 12400F with any of these rival GPUs would yield similar results to the RTX 5090, though the RTX 5090's 32 GB of VRAM gives it an advantage in memory-heavy scenarios that the rivals may not match. Overall, the alternatives listed in the data confirm that this combo's performance is closely replicated by a handful of other hardware pairings.