Doom

The Intel Core i5-14600KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is an exceptionally potent combination for running Doom, placing in the 215th position out of 3,712 tested combos for this title. That top 6% standing underscores how well-matched this hardware is to the game’s engine, which favors high raw throughput. The data confirms that this is not a borderline setup; it is one that obliterates the 60 FPS playability threshold at every resolution tested, with the lowest recorded average still hitting 85 FPS at 4K Ultra settings. For a game released in 2016, this pairing represents overkill in the best possible sense, delivering frame rates that would satisfy even the most demanding high-refresh-rate display owners.

How This Combo Ranks

Out of 3,712 hardware combinations benchmarked for Doom, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i5-14600KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 achieves a rank of 215. That places it in the top 5.8% of all tested configurations, which is a remarkable result for a game that is now over a decade old. The ranking reflects the synergy between the CPU and GPU; the i5-14600KF sits in the 90th percentile among all CPUs, while the RTX 4080 holds the 86th percentile among all GPUs. When combined for this specific title, their performance is greater than the sum of their parts, as the game’s id Tech engine scales aggressively with both single-threaded CPU speed and raw GPU rasterization power.

The CPU’s nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks illustrate its strong standing. The AMD Ryzen 9 7900 scores just 0.3% higher, while the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G is a mere 0.4% ahead. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 trails by 0.8%, and the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 388 is 0.8% behind. This clustering means that for Doom, the choice of CPU among these top-tier chips is unlikely to be the limiting factor; the delta between them is negligible in real-world gaming scenarios. On the GPU side, the RTX 4080 is nearly identical in average benchmark score to the RTX 4080 SUPER, with a delta of just 0.1%. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X is 1.1% slower, and the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB trails by 2.6%. The consistency of these scores suggests that the RTX 4080 is a well-optimized, mature design that delivers predictable performance.

What matters for Doom specifically is that the combo’s rank of 215 is driven by the game’s ability to leverage both the CPU’s 14 cores and the GPU’s massive 48.74 TFLOPS of FP32 compute. The measured FPS data shows that even at 4K Ultra, the average frame rate of 85 FPS is 41.7% above the 60 FPS playability threshold. This headroom means that the combo is not just playable but genuinely smooth, with no risk of dipping below acceptable levels during intense combat sequences.

CPU and GPU Roles

The division of labor between the Intel Core i5-14600KF and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 shifts predictably as resolution changes, but the data reveals a few surprising nuances. At 1920x1080, the CPU is the primary driver of performance. The jump from Low to Ultra settings reduces the average FPS from 401 to 241, a 40% drop, which indicates that the GPU is being fed more work than it can handle at higher presets, but the CPU is still keeping up with the game’s physics and AI calculations. The fact that Low settings at 1080p hit 401 FPS suggests that the i5-14600KF’s 5.30 GHz boost clock is more than sufficient to avoid bottlenecking the RTX 4080 at lower graphical loads.

Moving to 2560x1440, the balance shifts slightly toward the GPU. The average FPS at Low settings is 260, which is 35% lower than at 1080p Low. This scaling shows that the GPU is now becoming the limiting factor, as the increased pixel count demands more from the RTX 4080’s 16 GB of GDDR6X memory and 9728 shading units. However, the CPU still plays a significant role, as the drop from Low to Ultra at 1440p (260 FPS to 156 FPS) is a 40% reduction, mirroring the 1080p scaling. This indicates that both components are being exercised proportionally.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is unequivocally the dominant factor. The average FPS at Low settings is 141, which drops to 85 FPS at Ultra, a 39.7% reduction. The CPU’s influence diminishes because the GPU is working so hard to fill the 8.3 million pixels that it becomes the sole bottleneck. The i5-14600KF’s role at 4K is to maintain a stable frame pacing; the data shows that the Medium preset at 4K has a minimum FPS of 104 and a maximum of 141, which is a tight band that suggests no CPU-induced stuttering. The scaling between resolutions at the same settings confirms this: 1080p Ultra averages 241 FPS, 1440p Ultra averages 156 FPS, and 4K Ultra averages 85 FPS. These are roughly linear reductions of 35% and 45% per step, which is consistent with a GPU-bound workload.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Doom at 4K Ultra settings above 60 FPS?

A: Yes. The measured average FPS at 4K Ultra is 85, which is 41.7% above the 60 FPS threshold. The verdict data lists Ultra as the best settings at this resolution, confirming that even the highest preset is playable.

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

A: The highest recorded average FPS is 401, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is nearly seven times the playability threshold and indicates that the combo is vastly overqualified for 1080p gaming.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 compare to its nearest rival, the RTX 4080 SUPER?

A: In synthetic benchmarks, the RTX 4080 SUPER scores 0.1% higher on average. This delta is negligible in real-world gaming, meaning the two cards should perform nearly identically in Doom.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-14600KF a bottleneck for the RTX 4080 in this game?

A: At 1080p Low, the combo hits 401 FPS, which indicates the CPU can feed the GPU extremely fast. At 4K, the GPU becomes the limiting factor, as evidenced by the FPS dropping to 141 at Low settings. The CPU only becomes a potential bottleneck if you are chasing frame rates above 400 FPS.

Q: What is the most demanding preset that stays above 60 FPS at 1440p?

A: Ultra settings at 2560x1440 produce an average FPS of 156, which is well above the threshold. All four presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) are playable at this resolution.

Q: How much of a performance drop occurs when moving from Medium to Ultra at 4K?

A: The average FPS drops from 123 at Medium to 85 at Ultra, a reduction of 30.9%. This is a significant hit, but the Ultra preset remains comfortably playable.

The Verdict

This PC can absolutely run Doom, and it does so with exceptional headroom across all tested configurations. The verdict data is unambiguous: every resolution and every preset tested clears the 60 FPS playability threshold. At 1920x1080, the combo achieves a best average of 401 FPS on Low settings and 241 FPS on Ultra, which means it can drive a 240 Hz monitor at maximum quality. At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset averages 156 FPS, which is still high enough for a 144 Hz display. Even at 3840x2160, the most demanding scenario, the Ultra preset averages 85 FPS, making it playable on a 4K 60 Hz panel with room to spare, or on a 4K 120 Hz display if you are willing to drop to High settings, which average 104 FPS.

The i5-14600KF’s 14 cores and 20 threads, combined with a 5.30 GHz boost clock, ensure that the game’s logic and rendering commands are processed without delay. The RTX 4080’s 16 GB of GDDR6X memory and 716.8 GB/s bandwidth provide ample resources for high-resolution textures. For a game like Doom, which is fast-paced and requires high frame rates for smooth aiming, this combo is a definitive recommendation. The only scenario where you might feel limited is if you are targeting 4K 144 Hz with Ultra settings, where the 85 FPS average would not keep up, but that is an extreme requirement that few games can meet.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates. Low settings produce an average of 401 FPS, Medium settings average 350 FPS with a minimum of 297 and a maximum of 402, High settings average 295 FPS, and Ultra settings average 241 FPS. The narrow band between minimum and maximum at Medium settings indicates stable frame delivery, which is crucial for a fast-paced shooter.

At 2560x1440, the performance remains exceptionally high. Low settings average 260 FPS, Medium settings average 226 FPS with a minimum of 192 and a maximum of 260, High settings average 191 FPS, and Ultra settings average 156 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is roughly 35% across all presets, which is a typical scaling for a GPU-bound workload.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates are still far above playable. Low settings average 141 FPS, Medium settings average 123 FPS with a minimum of 104 and a maximum of 141, High settings average 104 FPS, and Ultra settings average 85 FPS. The minimum FPS at Medium settings is 104, which is 73.3% above the 60 FPS threshold, ensuring that even momentary dips do not compromise playability.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the best settings are Ultra, which produce an average FPS of 241. This is the highest quality preset and still delivers more than four times the playability threshold. At 2560x1440, Ultra is again the best choice, with an average FPS of 156. This provides a smooth experience on high-refresh-rate monitors. At 3840x2160, Ultra remains the best settings, with an average FPS of 85. While this is the lowest average FPS across all tested configurations, it is still 41.7% above the 60 FPS threshold, making it the ideal choice for maximizing visual fidelity on a 4K display. In all cases, the data supports choosing the highest preset available, as the combo has sufficient performance headroom to handle it without falling below the playable threshold.