Doom

The Intel Core i5-14600KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 is a mainstream desktop combination targeting high-refresh 1080p and capable 1440p gaming. This analysis covers how this specific CPU and GPU pairing performs in Doom (2016), a fast-paced FPS with a Vulkan/OpenGL engine that scales aggressively with hardware. The data below is drawn exclusively from measured FPS results, benchmark scores, and ranking positions provided for this exact configuration.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest resolution that maintains over 60 FPS on Ultra settings?

A: At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset delivers an average of 93.2 FPS, and at 1920x1080 Ultra reaches 143.4 FPS. At 3840x2160, Ultra drops to 51.2 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: How does the CPU benchmark relative to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core i5-14600KF has an average benchmark score of 49394, placing it in the 90th percentile among all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 7900, scores 49228 (0.3% lower), while the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G scores 49196 (0.4% lower). The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 scores 48995 (0.8% lower), and the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 388 scores 49796 (0.8% higher).

Q: What is the GPU’s percentile ranking and how close are its rivals?

A: The RTX 5060 sits in the 72nd percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 26331. The AMD Radeon 860M scores 26401 (0.3% higher), the NVIDIA GeForce MX550 scores 26421 (0.3% higher), and the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary scores 26553 (0.8% higher). The AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT scores 26011 (1.2% lower).

Q: Which preset at 3840x2160 is the best playable option?

A: Medium is the highest preset that stays above 60 FPS at 4K, with an average of 73.8 FPS. Low runs at 81.5 FPS, but High drops to 59.9 FPS, just below the threshold, and Ultra is unplayable at 51.2 FPS.

Q: Does raising the resolution from 1080p to 4K halve the performance?

A: No, the drop is more severe. At 1920x1080 Ultra the average is 143.4 FPS, at 2560x1440 Ultra it is 93.2 FPS, and at 3840x2160 Ultra it falls to 51.2 FPS. That represents a 64.3% reduction from 1080p to 4K on the same preset.

Q: How many total combinations were ranked for this game?

A: This CPU and GPU combo ranks 1814th out of 3712 tested combinations in Doom, placing it just below the median of all tested configurations.

CPU and GPU Roles

The measured FPS data across three resolutions and four presets shows a clear pattern: the GPU is the dominant constraint for this game, but the CPU’s headroom becomes visible at lower resolutions and higher settings. At 1920x1080, the RTX 5060 produces frame rates from 143.4 FPS (Ultra) to 240.9 FPS (Low). These numbers are high enough that CPU limitations would typically surface, yet the i5-14600KF’s 90th-percentile CPU ranking and strong single-thread scores (462 in Cinebench R15 single-core, 4273 in Passmark single-thread) prevent it from becoming the bottleneck. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p is a 40.5% performance drop, which is typical of a GPU-bound scenario where higher settings increase shading and texture work.

Moving to 2560x1440, the same preset ladder shows a more compressed range: Low runs at 158.8 FPS, Medium at 135.1 FPS, High at 116.8 FPS, and Ultra at 93.2 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra here is 41.3%, similar to 1080p, indicating that the GPU is still the limiting factor, but the absolute frame rates are high enough that even a weaker CPU could keep up. The i5-14600KF’s multi-threaded capabilities (32544 in Cinebench R23 multi-core) are more than sufficient for Doom’s engine, which rarely uses more than a few cores for rendering tasks.

At 3840x2160, the GPU workload increases dramatically. Low produces 81.5 FPS, Medium 73.8 FPS, High 59.9 FPS, and Ultra 51.2 FPS. The span from Low to Ultra is 37.2%, slightly smaller than at lower resolutions, but the absolute numbers are much closer to the 60 FPS threshold. This is a textbook case of GPU saturation: the RTX 5060’s 8 GB of GDDR7 memory and 128-bit bus (448.0 GB/s bandwidth) are pushed hard at 4K, and the CPU’s role diminishes further. The data shows no scenario where the i5-14600KF appears to limit performance, as even the lowest FPS at 4K (51.2) is still above what a CPU bottleneck would typically produce (usually below 60).

The resolution scaling also reveals the GPU’s memory bandwidth limits. At 1080p, the RTX 5060 can push over 240 FPS on Low, but at 4K the same preset only manages 81.5 FPS. That is a 66.2% reduction, which aligns with the pixel count increase from 1080p to 4K (4x more pixels) being partially offset by higher GPU utilization efficiency. The CPU’s contribution is most visible at 1080p Low, where the 240.9 FPS result suggests the i5-14600KF’s boost clock of 5.30 GHz and 14 cores (20 threads) are feeding the GPU without stalling. In contrast, at 4K Ultra, the 51.2 FPS result is almost entirely GPU-determined, as the CPU would easily handle the same scene at higher FPS if the GPU allowed it.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of 3712 tested CPU and GPU combinations for Doom, this pairing ranks 1814th. That position places it slightly above the midpoint of all tested configurations, meaning there are 1898 combos that perform worse and 1813 that perform better. Given that the RTX 5060 is in the 72nd percentile of all GPUs and the i5-14600KF is in the 90th percentile of all CPUs, the combo rank of 1814 out of 3712 (48.9th percentile) is lower than either component’s individual percentile. This discrepancy suggests that Doom’s performance is more sensitive to GPU raw throughput than to CPU compute, and that many lower-ranked CPUs paired with higher-ranked GPUs would still outperform this combo.

The rank also reflects the measured FPS data. At 1920x1080 Ultra, the combo achieves 143.4 FPS, which is high for most games but not exceptional for Doom given its optimized engine. The 3840x2160 Ultra result of 51.2 FPS is below the playable threshold, which likely drags the overall rank down. Combos ranked higher than 1814 probably maintain 60+ FPS at 4K or achieve much higher frame rates at 1440p. The nearest GPU rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT, scores 1.2% lower on average in GPU benchmarks, yet in actual gaming this combo’s rank could shift depending on driver optimization and memory bandwidth differences. The CPU’s nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 9 7900, scores nearly identically (0.3% difference), so swapping the CPU for that model would likely produce a negligible change in Doom’s FPS numbers.

The combo rank also highlights that the i5-14600KF is overkill for this specific title. The CPU’s 90th-percentile ranking is far higher than the combo’s 48.9th-percentile ranking, which implies that a weaker CPU paired with the same GPU would not meaningfully change the outcome. The RTX 5060’s 72nd-percentile GPU ranking is closer to the combo’s rank, suggesting that the GPU is the limiting factor. For users considering upgrades, the data indicates that improving the GPU would have a larger impact on Doom performance than upgrading the CPU, though the i5-14600KF’s high multi-thread scores (38697 in Passmark multithread) provide future-proofing for other titles.

The Verdict

Yes, this PC can run Doom at playable frame rates across most resolutions and settings, with the single exception of 4K Ultra. The verdict by resolution is clear: at 1920x1080, all four presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) are playable, with the best setting being Ultra at 143.4 FPS average. At 2560x1440, all presets also exceed 60 FPS, with Ultra at 93.2 FPS as the best playable option. At 3840x2160, only Low (81.5 FPS) and Medium (73.8 FPS) maintain 60 FPS, while High (59.9 FPS) falls just short and Ultra (51.2 FPS) is not playable.

For a 60 FPS target, the most demanding preset that clears the threshold at each resolution is: 1920x1080 Ultra (143.4 FPS), 2560x1440 Ultra (93.2 FPS), and 3840x2160 Medium (73.8 FPS). The 4K High result of 59.9 FPS is a borderline miss, but it is close enough that minor driver updates or in-game tweaks could push it over 60. The 4K Ultra result of 51.2 FPS is a hard miss, representing a 14.7% deficit below the playable threshold.

The data also shows that this combo excels at high-refresh gaming. At 1080p Low, the 240.9 FPS average would fully utilize a 240 Hz monitor, and even at 1440p High, the 116.8 FPS average supports 120 Hz displays. The 4K Medium result of 73.8 FPS is suitable for standard 60 Hz 4K panels, but users with 144 Hz 4K monitors would need to drop to Low (81.5 FPS) to stay closer to refresh rates. Overall, the verdict is positive: this is a capable gaming PC for Doom, with the only caveat being that 4K Ultra requires a stronger GPU.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Based on nearest rival data, several alternative components would produce near-identical performance in Doom. On the CPU side, the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 scores 0.3% lower in average benchmarks than the i5-14600KF, meaning it would deliver essentially the same frame rates in this game. The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G (0.4% lower) and Intel Core Ultra 5 245 (0.8% lower) are also within 1% of the i5-14600KF’s compute performance, so swapping to any of these CPUs would not change the measured FPS numbers by more than a fraction of a frame. The AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 388 scores 0.8% higher, which could yield a marginal FPS improvement, but likely within the margin of error.

On the GPU side, the RTX 5060’s nearest rivals are more varied. The AMD Radeon 860M scores 0.3% higher on average, which is a surprising result given that the 860M is an integrated GPU, but the benchmark data shows it as statistically equivalent. The NVIDIA GeForce MX550 also scores 0.3% higher, and the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary scores 0.8% higher. The AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT scores 1.2% lower. In practice, these rivals would produce frame rates within 1-2 FPS of the RTX 5060 in Doom at the same settings. For example, at 1080p Ultra where the RTX 5060 gets 143.4 FPS, an RX 6750 XT would likely get around 141.7 FPS, and an RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary might get 142.5 FPS. These differences are imperceptible in gameplay.

The practical implication is that users with any of these alternative CPUs or GPUs should expect the same playable settings and FPS ranges as reported here. The combo rank of 1814 out of 3712 would shift slightly with different pairings, but the overall verdict (playable at 1080p and 1440p Ultra, playable at 4K Medium) would remain unchanged. For building a similar system, any of these rival components would offer a comparable experience, with the CPU choice having virtually no impact on Doom performance due to the game’s GPU-bound nature.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the highest preset that maintains at least 60 FPS is Ultra, with an average of 143.4 FPS. This is the optimal choice for 1080p gaming, as it provides the best visual quality while still leaving substantial headroom above the 60 FPS threshold. The next option down, High, runs at 177.7 FPS, but Ultra’s higher settings do not cause any frame rate concerns.

At 2560x1440, Ultra is also the best playable setting, averaging 93.2 FPS. This is comfortably above 60 FPS and allows for high-refresh 1440p monitors. The preset ladder at this resolution shows High at 116.8 FPS and Medium at 135.1 FPS, but Ultra’s visual improvements justify the 20.2% performance cost compared to High.

At 3840x2160, Medium is the highest playable preset, with an average of 73.8 FPS. This provides a solid 4K experience at 60+ FPS, though users seeking higher visual fidelity would need to accept the 59.9 FPS High result, which is borderline playable. Ultra is not viable at 4K, as the 51.2 FPS average falls below the 60 FPS playable threshold. Low runs at 81.5 FPS, but Medium offers better visuals for only a 9.4% performance penalty.

The data indicates that this combo’s sweet spot is 1440p Ultra, which balances high visual quality with a 93.2 FPS average. For 1080p users, Ultra is the clear choice, and for 4K users, Medium is the recommended preset. These settings maximize visual fidelity while maintaining the 60 FPS playable standard.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the RTX 5060 and i5-14600KF produce the following average frame rates across presets: Low runs at 240.9 FPS, Medium at 207.8 FPS, High at 177.7 FPS, and Ultra at 143.4 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 40.5% reduction in performance, with each step down in quality yielding a larger absolute FPS gain. The margin between Medium and High is 30.1 FPS, while the margin between High and Ultra is 34.3 FPS, indicating that Ultra settings impose a heavier load.

At 2560x1440, the measured averages are: Low at 158.8 FPS, Medium at 135.1 FPS, High at 116.8 FPS, and Ultra at 93.2 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra is 41.3%, nearly identical to 1080p. The step from Medium to High is 18.3 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 23.6 FPS, showing that the GPU’s fill rate limits become more pronounced at higher resolutions.

At 3840x2160, the averages are: Low at 81.5 FPS, Medium at 73.8 FPS, High at 59.9 FPS, and Ultra at 51.2 FPS. The difference between Low and Medium is 7.7 FPS, between Medium and High is 13.9 FPS, and between High and Ultra is 8.7 FPS. This is the only resolution where High falls below 60 FPS, and Ultra drops to 51.2 FPS, which is 14.7% below the playable threshold. The 4K results show that the RTX 5060’s 8 GB memory capacity and 128-bit bus become limiting factors, as the game’s higher-resolution textures and effects exceed the available bandwidth.

No minimum or maximum FPS values are provided in the data, so these averages represent the complete measured performance picture. The lack of min/max figures means that frame time consistency cannot be assessed, but the high averages at 1080p and 1440p suggest smooth gameplay. At 4K, the 51.2 FPS Ultra result would likely exhibit more variance, but the 73.8 FPS Medium average should remain stable for a 60 FPS experience.