Doom

Doom (the 2016 reboot of the classic FPS franchise) is the kind of title that rewards fast, consistent frame delivery, and the pairing of an Intel Core i5-9400 with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 raises an interesting question: does a six-core, six-thread Coffee Lake CPU hold back a modern Ada Lovelace card in a fast-paced shooter? The database contains measured frame rates for this exact combination across three resolutions and four presets, and the recorded data tells a clear story of a GPU-driven scaling profile with a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS playability threshold at nearly every setting tier. This analysis walks through those measurements, ranks the combo against the other configurations tested for this game, and identifies the settings that make the most of the hardware.

Measured FPS Breakdown

Starting at 1920x1080, the recorded data shows the pairing operating with a large surplus of performance. On Low settings the average frame rate is 228 FPS, and stepping up to Medium yields 198 FPS on average. The Medium entry also carries the only minimum and maximum figures recorded at this resolution: a floor of 168 FPS and a ceiling of 228 FPS, which brackets the Low preset's average almost exactly. High settings drop the average to 167 FPS, and even Ultra, the most demanding preset, sustains 137 FPS on average. That Ultra figure sits at more than double the 60 FPS playability threshold, which suggests the 1080p experience is essentially unconstrained by image quality choices.

At 2560x1440 the averages scale down in a notably orderly fashion. Low returns 147 FPS, Medium 128 FPS, High 108 FPS, and Ultra 89 FPS. The Medium measurement again includes full range data, with a minimum of 109 FPS and a maximum of 148 FPS, meaning the worst recorded moment at this preset still cleared the playability threshold by a wide margin. Ultra at 1440p lands at 89 FPS average, roughly 48 FPS below the 1080p Ultra result, and the drop from Low to Ultra across the preset ladder at this resolution spans 58 FPS.

At 3840x2160 the picture tightens considerably. Low averages 80 FPS, Medium 70 FPS, High 59 FPS, and Ultra 48 FPS. The Medium measurement at 4K records a minimum of 59 FPS and a maximum of 80 FPS, and it is telling that this minimum sits just one frame below the 60 FPS threshold even though the average clears it by 10. High at 59 FPS average is the first recorded result to fall below the threshold at any resolution, and Ultra at 48 FPS falls further behind. The data implies that 4K is where this combination's headroom runs out, with the Medium preset marking the practical ceiling for a smooth experience.

FAQ

Q: Can the Core i5-9400 and RTX 4060 run Doom at 4K?

A: Yes, but only on reduced settings. The measurements show Low averaging 80 FPS and Medium averaging 70 FPS at 3840x2160, both above the 60 FPS threshold. High (59 FPS) and Ultra (48 FPS) fall short.

Q: What is the highest frame rate recorded for this combo in Doom?

A: 228 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 on Low settings. The same 228 figure appears as the maximum recorded frame rate within the 1080p Medium run.

Q: Does the combo stay above 60 FPS at 1440p on every preset?

A: Yes. All four presets clear the threshold at 2560x1440, from Low at 147 FPS up to Ultra at 89 FPS.

Q: How close does the frame rate get to dipping below playable at 4K?

A: Very close. The Medium preset at 4K averages 70 FPS but records a minimum of 59 FPS, a single frame under the 60 FPS playability threshold.

Q: Is Doom on this system CPU-limited or GPU-limited?

A: The scaling pattern points to GPU limitation. Frame rates change substantially between resolutions at the same preset, indicating the RTX 4060 is the deciding component rather than the i5-9400.

Q: What engine API support does the RTX 4060 bring to a Vulkan-oriented title like Doom?

A: The recorded specifications list Vulkan 1.4 support, alongside DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) and OpenGL 4.6.

CPU and GPU Roles

The resolution scaling data makes the division of labor unusually easy to read. Take the Ultra preset: 137 FPS at 1080p, 89 FPS at 1440p, 48 FPS at 4K. If the Core i5-9400 were the limiting factor, frame rates would plateau as resolution rose, because the CPU workload does not change with pixel count. Instead, the averages fall steeply at every step, which is the signature of a GPU-bound configuration. The same pattern holds at every preset: Low drops from 228 to 147 to 80 FPS as resolution climbs, Medium from 198 to 128 to 70, High from 167 to 108 to 59.

There is one hint of a CPU ceiling worth questioning. At 1080p, where GPU load is lightest, even Low settings top out at 228 FPS. That number is high, but the fact that the Medium run's maximum frame rate equals the Low preset's average suggests the system may be brushing against an upper bound set by something other than the graphics card, plausibly the six-core, six-thread processor. For a 60 FPS-targeted analysis this is academic, but it frames the combo's character: the RTX 4060 determines how high image quality can go, while the i5-9400 sits comfortably below the threshold where it would interfere at playable settings.

The CPU's own benchmark context supports this. The i5-9400 scores 935 single-core and 6629 multi-core in Cinebench R23, sits at the 47th percentile against all CPUs in the database, and posts a 5141 Geekbench multi-core score. For a fast shooter that prioritizes frame delivery over thread count, that single-core figure of 935 is the more relevant number, and it proves sufficient given that no recorded result at or below 1440p shows CPU-shaped bottlenecking.

Similar Performance Alternatives

On the CPU side, the database lists four near-equal rivals. The Intel Core i7-1068NG7 averages within 0.2 percent of the i5-9400's aggregate score, the Intel Core i7-10710U sits 0.3 percent behind, the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 is 0.4 percent behind, and the Intel Core i3-10305 is 0.4 percent ahead. Any of these processors would be expected to produce essentially identical Doom results in this GPU-bound scenario, since differences of half a percent in aggregate CPU performance are invisible when the graphics card is the constraint.

On the GPU side, the recorded nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon HD 7790 (within 0.2 percent of the RTX 4060's average benchmark score of 17639), the AMD Radeon 780M (0.3 percent behind), the AMD Radeon Pro 560 (0.5 percent behind), and the AMD Radeon Pro 460 (0.7 percent behind). Based on these aggregate scores, systems built around those GPUs would be expected to land within a narrow band of this configuration's frame rates, though aggregate compute scores do not always translate one-to-one into Vulkan gaming performance, so some divergence at specific presets is plausible.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the Doom results recorded in the database, the i5-9400 plus RTX 4060 pairing ranks 2001 out of 3712 tested combinations. That places it slightly above the midpoint, which aligns neatly with the component percentiles: the CPU sits at the 47th percentile against all CPUs and the GPU at the 61st percentile against all GPUs. A middle-of-the-pack rank from a middle-of-the-pack CPU and an above-median GPU is internally consistent, and it suggests the ranking is being pulled up by the graphics card more than the processor. Roughly 1711 combinations rank above this one, so players chasing leaderboard-topping Doom frame rates would need stronger hardware on both fronts, but for threshold-based playability the rank is largely irrelevant given the margins shown above.

The Verdict

Yes, this PC can run Doom, and in most configurations it can run it very well. At 1920x1080, every preset from Low through Ultra clears 60 FPS, with Ultra averaging 137 FPS. At 2560x1440, the same holds true: all four presets are playable, topping out at 89 FPS on Ultra. At 3840x2160 the verdict narrows, with Low (80 FPS) and Medium (70 FPS) clearing the threshold while High (59 FPS) and Ultra (48 FPS) do not. The database's own per-resolution assessment matches the raw numbers, designating Medium as the best playable setting at 4K and Ultra as the best at both 1440p and 1080p. The one caveat worth flagging is the 59 FPS minimum recorded during the 4K Medium run, a marginal dip that competitive players may notice even though the average remains smooth.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, delivering 137 FPS on average. At 2560x1440, Ultra again qualifies as the best setting, sustaining an 89 FPS average. At 3840x2160, the answer shifts to Medium, which averages 70 FPS; stepping up to High would drop the average to 59 FPS, just under the threshold. In short, players at 1080p and 1440p can maximize image quality without hesitation, while 4K players should hold the preset at Medium to keep the experience above the playability line.