Doom

The Intel Core i5-12600KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 delivers an exceptional experience in Doom, with measured frame rates that far exceed the 60 FPS playability threshold across every tested resolution and preset combination. The data indicates this combination is not merely capable of running the game, but does so with a substantial performance margin, allowing for maximum visual fidelity at all resolutions. The benchmark results show a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at higher settings, though the CPU's strong single-thread performance ensures high frame rates remain achievable even at lower presets.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate this combination achieves in Doom?

A: The highest recorded average is 410 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. The Medium preset at the same resolution delivers 387 FPS average, while High reaches 327 FPS.

Q: Can this system maintain a playable frame rate at 4K with Ultra settings?

A: Yes, the data shows an average of 94 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, which is well above the 60 FPS playable threshold. This makes Ultra the recommended settings for 4K play.

Q: How does the frame rate scale when moving from 1080p to 1440p?

A: At Ultra settings, the average drops from 267 FPS at 1920x1080 to 173 FPS at 2560x1440, representing a 35% decrease. This scaling pattern is consistent across other presets, indicating a significant GPU workload increase with resolution.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for this hardware in Doom?

A: The only recorded minimum FPS values are 115 at 3840x2160 Medium, 213 at 2560x1440 Medium, and 329 at 1920x1080 Medium. All other settings and resolutions only provide average FPS data in the measurement set.

Q: Does the i5-12600KF bottleneck the RTX 4090 in this game?

A: The data suggests minimal CPU limitation. At 1080p Low, the average reaches 410 FPS, and the scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p shows a 35% frame rate reduction, suggesting the GPU becomes the limiting factor as settings increase. The CPU's benchmark scores, including a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 23391 and single-core score of 3302, support its capability to feed the GPU at high frame rates.

Q: What is the performance ranking of this specific CPU+GPU combination among all tested combos?

A: The combination ranks 113th out of 3712 tested combos for Doom, placing it in the top 3% of all tested configurations. This ranking reflects the hardware's strong aggregate benchmark scores, with the CPU at the 79th percentile and the GPU at the 88th percentile.

Best Settings per Resolution

For 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that maintains at least 60 FPS is Ultra, which delivers an average of 94 FPS. This is the only resolution where the Ultra preset dips below 100 FPS, yet it still provides a comfortable margin above the playability threshold. The High preset at this resolution averages 115 FPS, while Medium achieves 136 FPS and Low reaches 156 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset remains the best choice, with an average of 173 FPS. The performance headroom is substantial, with High averaging 211 FPS, Medium at 250 FPS, and Low reaching 287 FPS. Every preset at this resolution remains far above the 60 FPS threshold, meaning users can prioritize visual quality without concern.

For 1920x1080, Ultra settings produce an average of 267 FPS, making it the optimal choice for maximum visual fidelity. The lower presets offer diminishing returns in smoothness, as High averages 327 FPS, Medium 387 FPS, and Low 410 FPS. The data indicates that at 1080p, the system is so powerful that even the most demanding settings deliver frame rates that exceed the refresh rates of most displays.

CPU and GPU Roles

The performance scaling across resolutions reveals a clear division of labor between the CPU and GPU. At 1920x1080, the difference between Low and Ultra presets is 143 FPS (410 down to 267), a 35% reduction. This indicates that while the GPU does more work at higher settings, the CPU's strong single-thread performance—evidenced by its 3DMark single-thread score of 1016 and Geekbench single-core score of 2157—allows it to keep pace even at very high frame rates.

As resolution increases to 2560x1440, the gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 114 FPS (287 to 173), a 40% drop. The absolute frame rates decrease more significantly, suggesting the GPU is becoming the primary limiter. This trend accelerates at 3840x2160, where the difference between Low and Ultra is 62 FPS (156 to 94), a 40% reduction. The data shows that the GPU's workload grows disproportionately with resolution, while the CPU's role remains relatively constant.

The CPU's importance becomes most apparent at lower resolutions and settings, where the system approaches its maximum frame rate ceiling. With the RTX 4090's massive compute capabilities—82.58 TFLOPS FP32 and 1.01 TB/s memory bandwidth—the GPU can render frames faster than the CPU can issue draw calls at 1080p Low. The 410 FPS average at this setting likely approaches the practical limit for this CPU, suggesting that a faster processor could theoretically push even higher, though the gains would be marginal and irrelevant for actual gameplay. At 4K, the GPU's rendering workload dominates, and the CPU's role becomes secondary, as evidenced by the relatively smaller frame rate drop from Medium to Ultra compared to the drop from Low to Medium.

The Verdict

This PC can absolutely run Doom, and it does so with extraordinary headroom. The verdictByResolution data confirms that all four settings presets—Low, Medium, High, and Ultra—are playable at every resolution tested, from 1920x1080 through 3840x2160. The minimum average frame rate recorded across all combinations is 94 FPS at 4K Ultra, which is 57% above the 60 FPS playable threshold.

At 1920x1080, the system delivers between 267 and 410 FPS depending on settings, making it ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors. The 2560x1440 results range from 173 to 287 FPS, which comfortably supports 144Hz displays even at Ultra settings. At 3840x2160, frame rates span 94 to 156 FPS, meaning that even the most demanding visual configuration remains fluid and responsive. The data does not include any measurement where the system falls below the playability threshold, indicating that users have complete freedom to choose settings based on their display's capabilities and personal preference for visual quality versus frame rate.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the Intel Core i5-12600KF provide insight into what other CPUs would deliver similar performance in Doom. The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D has an average benchmark score of 27896, which is 0.3% higher than the i5-12600KF's 27799 score. The Intel Core i9-10900K scores 27872, also 0.3% higher, while the AMD Ryzen 7 6800U scores 27887, showing a 0.3% advantage. The AMD Ryzen 5 8500GE scores 27712, which is 0.3% lower. These processors would behave nearly identically in Doom, with frame rate differences well within the margin of measurement error.

On the GPU side, the RTX 4090's nearest rivals are less likely to be found in gaming systems, as they are primarily professional or workstation cards. The Intel Arc Pro A60 matches the RTX 4090's average benchmark score exactly at 60326, though its gaming performance in Doom would likely differ due to driver optimizations. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 scores 60140, just 0.3% lower, while the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M scores 61896, which is 2.5% higher. The AMD Radeon PRO V710 scores 58657, a 2.9% deficit. These comparisons are based on aggregate benchmark scores, not direct Doom measurements, so real-world gaming performance may vary significantly.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-12600KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 combination ranks 113th out of 3712 tested configurations for Doom, placing it in the 96.9th percentile. This ranking reflects the synergistic balance between the CPU's strong multi-threaded performance—evidenced by a PassMark multi-thread score of 27575 and a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 23391—and the GPU's exceptional compute capabilities. The CPU alone sits at the 79th percentile among all processors, while the GPU ranks at the 88th percentile among all graphics cards.

The high ranking is particularly notable given that the CPU is not a flagship model. The data suggests that Doom benefits more from raw GPU power than from extreme CPU performance, as the game's engine appears to scale well with the RTX 4090's 16384 shading units and 512 TMUs. The combination's rank indicates that it outperforms many systems with more expensive or newer CPUs, demonstrating that the i5-12600KF provides sufficient processing headroom to avoid bottlenecking the flagship GPU in this title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system produces its highest frame rates across all settings. The Low preset averages 410 FPS, which is the single highest measurement in the entire dataset. Medium settings average 387 FPS, with a recorded minimum of 329 FPS and maximum of 445 FPS. High settings average 327 FPS, while Ultra settings deliver 267 FPS average. The spread from Low to Ultra represents a 35% reduction, showing the GPU's workload increases substantially with visual complexity.

At 2560x1440, performance remains exceptionally high, though the absolute numbers drop noticeably. Low settings average 287 FPS, Medium delivers 250 FPS with a minimum of 213 FPS and maximum of 288 FPS, High achieves 211 FPS, and Ultra averages 173 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 213 FPS is still more than triple the playability threshold, indicating no risk of frame rate drops affecting gameplay.

At 3840x2160, the system finally shows signs of being challenged, though it never approaches the 60 FPS limit. Low settings average 156 FPS, Medium delivers 136 FPS with a minimum of 115 FPS and maximum of 156 FPS, High averages 115 FPS, and Ultra produces 94 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 4K is the most pronounced, with a 40% reduction in average frame rate, reflecting the GPU's increasing dominance as the rendering resolution grows. The minimum recorded frame rate across all measurements is 115 FPS at 4K Medium, which is still 92% above the playable threshold.