Doom

Measured FPS Breakdown

The recorded data for Doom with the Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER shows a clear progression of performance across resolutions and presets. At 1920x1080, the lowest resolution tested, the average frame rates are exceptionally high across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 253.3 FPS, which is the highest recorded figure in the entire dataset. Medium settings follow closely at 241.7 FPS, while High settings reach 229.8 FPS. Ultra settings, the most demanding preset, still maintain an average of 213.2 FPS. This represents a spread of roughly 40 FPS between the lowest and highest presets at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains very strong but shows a predictable step down from the 1080p results. Low settings deliver an average of 221.9 FPS, Medium settings produce 209.5 FPS, and High settings achieve 190.7 FPS. Ultra settings at this resolution drop to an average of 153.9 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra widens to roughly 68 FPS, indicating that the Ultra preset imposes a more substantial load at this resolution. The minimum and maximum frame rates were not recorded in the database, so the analysis relies solely on average figures.

At 3840x2160, the highest resolution in the dataset, the performance remains well above playable thresholds but shows a more pronounced impact from the Ultra preset. Low settings average 138.0 FPS, Medium settings reach 122.4 FPS, and High settings deliver 105.2 FPS. Ultra settings drop to an average of 82.7 FPS, which is still comfortably above the 60 FPS playable threshold. The difference between Low and Ultra at this resolution is approximately 55 FPS. Across all three resolutions, the pattern is consistent: the RTX 4080 SUPER paired with the i5-9400 keeps every preset well above 60 FPS, with the only notable slowdown occurring at 4K Ultra, where the average still lands at 82.7 FPS.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data indicates that the GPU plays the dominant role in this configuration for Doom, particularly at higher resolutions. The scaling between 1920x1080 and 2560x1440 shows a relatively modest drop in average FPS for most presets. For example, Low settings go from 253.3 FPS at 1080p to 221.9 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of about 12 percent. Ultra settings drop from 213.2 FPS to 153.9 FPS, a reduction of roughly 28 percent. This pattern suggests that the CPU, the Intel Core i5-9400 with 6 cores and 6 threads, is able to feed the GPU adequately at lower resolutions, but the frame rate ceiling becomes more dependent on the GPU as resolution increases.

The transition from 2560x1440 to 3840x2160 further confirms this trend. Low settings fall from 221.9 FPS to 138.0 FPS, a reduction of about 38 percent. High settings drop from 190.7 FPS to 105.2 FPS, a reduction of about 45 percent. Ultra settings decline from 153.9 FPS to 82.7 FPS, a reduction of about 46 percent. These larger percentage drops at 4K indicate that the RTX 4080 SUPER is the primary bottleneck at that resolution, as the pixel throughput requirements exceed what the GPU can deliver at the same frame rates as lower resolutions. The CPU's influence is more visible at 1080p, where the frame rates are so high that the i5-9400's single-thread and multi-thread capabilities (as reflected in its Cinebench R23 scores of 935 single-core and 6629 multi-core) may start to limit the maximum achievable FPS.

Comparing presets within each resolution reveals the same dynamic. At 1080p, the gap between Low and Ultra is about 40 FPS, while at 4K, the gap is about 55 FPS. The fact that Ultra at 4K still achieves 82.7 FPS, which is above the playable threshold of 60 FPS, suggests that the GPU has enough headroom to handle the most demanding settings even at the highest resolution tested. The CPU, despite being an older 14 nm Coffee Lake part with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and boost clock of 4.10 GHz, does not appear to drag down performance in a meaningful way for this game, as all recorded averages remain high.

FAQ

Q: Can this combination run Doom at 4K Ultra settings?

A: Yes. The recorded average FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 82.7 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: What is the best preset at 2560x1440?

A: At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset is the best choice, delivering an average of 153.9 FPS. All four presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) are listed as playable at this resolution.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 4K?

A: On Ultra settings, the average FPS drops from 213.2 at 1920x1080 to 82.7 at 3840x2160, a reduction of about 61 percent. On Low settings, the drop is from 253.3 to 138.0, a reduction of about 45 percent.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more important for this game?

A: The data shows that the GPU becomes the limiting factor as resolution increases. From 1440p to 4K, the percentage drop in FPS is larger than from 1080p to 1440p, indicating that the RTX 4080 SUPER is doing most of the heavy lifting at higher resolutions.

Q: Are there any settings that fall below 60 FPS?

A: No. Every recorded preset and resolution combination in the database shows an average FPS above 60. The lowest recorded average is 82.7 FPS at 4K Ultra.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations for Doom?

A: The combo rank is 745 out of 3712 tested combos, which places it in the top 20 percent of all recorded configurations for this game.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER combination holds a rank of 745 out of 3712 tested combos for Doom. This places the configuration in the upper tier of the database, meaning that a substantial majority of other CPU and GPU pairings produce lower average frame rates in this game. The percentile positioning is consistent with the GPU's overall standing, as the RTX 4080 SUPER sits at the 86th percentile among all GPUs in the database. The CPU, by contrast, is ranked at the 47th percentile among all CPUs, which indicates that the graphics card is the primary driver of this combo's strong performance in Doom.

The rank of 745 out of 3712 also suggests that there are many faster configurations, but those typically involve newer or higher-end CPUs paired with similarly powerful GPUs. The fact that this combo still reaches 82.7 FPS at 4K Ultra, which is well above the playable threshold, shows that the i5-9400 does not create a severe bottleneck in Doom, even when paired with a top-tier GPU. The data supports the interpretation that the RTX 4080 SUPER is doing the majority of the work, and the CPU's role is secondary, especially at resolutions above 1080p.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the nearest rivals for both components provides context for what other hardware would behave similarly in this configuration. For the CPU, the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 has an average benchmark score of 2259, which is 0.2 percent higher than the i5-9400's score of 2254. The Intel Core i3-10305 scores 2264, which is 0.4 percent higher. The AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 scores 2246, which is 0.4 percent lower, and the Intel Core i7-10710U scores 2248, which is 0.3 percent lower. These four CPUs are all within a narrow band of performance, meaning that swapping the i5-9400 for any of these would result in nearly identical frame rates in Doom, assuming the same GPU and settings.

For the GPU, the closest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080, which has an average benchmark score of 54247, only 0.1 percent below the RTX 4080 SUPER's score of 54209 (note: the delta is listed as -0.1, indicating the RTX 4080 scores slightly higher in this comparison). The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X scores 54828, which is 1.1 percent higher, while the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB scores 55698, which is 2.7 percent higher, and the AMD Radeon 8060S scores 55757, which is 2.8 percent higher. These deltas are small, so any of these GPUs paired with the i5-9400 would produce very similar average FPS in Doom, with differences of only a few frames per second at most.

In practical terms, a user with an RTX 4080 (non-SUPER) or an AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB would see almost the same performance in Doom as with the RTX 4080 SUPER, given the same CPU and settings. Likewise, swapping the i5-9400 for an i3-10305 or a Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 would not change the outcome meaningfully, as these CPUs are all within 0.4 percent of each other in average benchmark scores.

The Verdict

The recorded data for this combination is unambiguous: the Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER can run Doom at every resolution and preset tested, with all average frame rates clearing the 60 FPS playable threshold. At 1920x1080, the lowest average is 213.2 FPS on Ultra, which is more than three times the playable threshold. At 2560x1440, the lowest average is 153.9 FPS on Ultra, still far above 60 FPS. At 3840x2160, the lowest average is 82.7 FPS on Ultra, which remains comfortably playable.

The verdict by resolution confirms that all four settings (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) are playable at each of the three resolutions. There is no scenario in the database where this combo drops below 60 FPS. The best settings per resolution, as defined by the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS, are Ultra at all resolutions. This means the system is not just capable of running the game, but it can run it with the highest visual quality settings without sacrificing playability. The only caveat is that the minimum and maximum frame rates were not recorded, so the analysis is based on averages, but the averages are consistently high enough to leave substantial headroom.

Best Settings per Resolution

For 1920x1080, the Ultra preset is the best choice, delivering an average of 213.2 FPS. This is well above the 60 FPS threshold and leaves room for other applications or streaming overhead. For 2560x1440, Ultra is also the recommended preset, with an average of 153.9 FPS. The margin over 60 FPS is still large, so there is no need to reduce settings for a smoother experience. For 3840x2160, Ultra remains the best preset, achieving an average of 82.7 FPS. While this is the lowest average in the dataset, it still clears the 60 FPS threshold by a significant margin of 22.7 frames.

In all three cases, the most demanding preset is also the most playable, which indicates that the RTX 4080 SUPER has more than enough performance headroom for Doom. Users who prefer even higher frame rates could drop to High settings, which yields 229.8 FPS at 1080p, 190.7 FPS at 1440p, and 105.2 FPS at 4K, but the data shows that Ultra is not a compromise at any resolution. The recommendation is to run Ultra everywhere, as the recorded averages demonstrate that this combination handles the game's maximum settings without issue.