Doom

Similar Performance Alternatives

The Intel Core i5-9400 occupies a mid-pack position in the database, sitting at the 47th percentile of all CPUs tested. Its average benchmark score of 2254 places it within a tight cluster of comparable processors. The nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-1068NG7, scores 2259, a mere 0.2% advantage. The Intel Core i3-10305 comes in at 2264, which is 0.4% ahead. On the other side, the Intel Core i7-10710U trails by 0.3% with a score of 2248, and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 also sits 0.4% behind at 2246. These delta values are all within a single percentage point, meaning that for CPU-bound tasks, swapping between these four processors would yield nearly indistinguishable frame pacing.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 shows a similar clustering pattern among its nearest rivals, though the comparison pool differs. The RTX 5060 holds the 72nd percentile among all GPUs with an average score of 26331. The AMD Radeon 860M scores 26401, just 0.3% higher, while the NVIDIA GeForce MX550 achieves 26421, also 0.3% ahead. The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary is 0.8% faster at 26553, and the AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT sits 1.2% behind at 26011. This sub-2% spread means that in GPU-limited scenes, any of these four cards would deliver comparable throughput.

For Doom specifically, the practical takeaway is that the RTX 5060's performance envelope closely mirrors these alternatives. A user stepping from an RX 6750 XT to the RTX 5060 would see a modest uplift, while moving to an RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary would be nearly a lateral move. The CPU side follows the same logic: the i5-9400's six cores at 2.90 GHz base and 4.10 GHz boost provide enough headroom that the nearest rivals, none of which deviate more than 0.4%, would not meaningfully change the frame rates recorded for this combo.

CPU and GPU Roles

The division of labor between the Intel Core i5-9400 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 becomes clear when examining how frame rates scale across resolutions and presets. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset delivers 145.4 FPS, while dropping to Low raises that to 238.4 FPS. That is a 63.9% improvement from preset alone, indicating that the GPU has ample headroom and the CPU is not the limiting factor at this resolution. The gap between High (179.2 FPS) and Medium (211.2 FPS) further confirms this: the GPU's workload scales heavily with settings, and the CPU can feed frames fast enough at every step.

Moving to 2560x1440, the same pattern persists but with tighter margins. Ultra runs at 92.9 FPS, High at 112.4 FPS, Medium at 134.3 FPS, and Low at 156.1 FPS. The preset-to-preset delta shrinks compared to 1080p, which is expected as the GPU begins to spend more time on pixel throughput rather than geometry. The CPU still holds its end, as even the lowest preset at 1440p exceeds 150 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the dominant constraint. Ultra drops to 50 FPS, below the 60 FPS playable threshold, while High recovers to 65 FPS and Low reaches 83.7 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra at 4K is 33.7 FPS, a 67.4% reduction, which is a far larger relative swing than at lower resolutions. This indicates that the RTX 5060's 8 GB of GDDR7 memory and 128-bit bus are being pushed hard at 4K, and the CPU's role fades into the background. The data shows that at 1080p and 1440p, the GPU's settings scaling dominates frame rate, while the CPU provides a stable base that never bottlenecks the measured scores.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo performs well above any playability concern. The Low preset averages 238.4 FPS, which is the highest recorded value for this configuration. Medium follows at 211.2 FPS, High at 179.2 FPS, and Ultra at 145.4 FPS. Every setting clears the 60 FPS threshold by a wide margin, and even the most demanding preset leaves more than double the playable frame rate on the table. The min and max FPS values were not recorded in the database, so the analysis relies solely on average scores, but the averages alone tell a clear story of headroom.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain robust but show the expected decline. Low averages 156.1 FPS, Medium 134.3 FPS, High 112.4 FPS, and Ultra 92.9 FPS. The step from High to Ultra costs 19.5 FPS, which is the largest single-preset drop at this resolution. Still, all four presets stay comfortably above 60 FPS, with the lowest average (Ultra) being 54.8% higher than the playability threshold.

At 3840x2160, the picture changes. Low averages 83.7 FPS, Medium 73.8 FPS, and High 65 FPS, all clearing the 60 FPS mark. Ultra, however, falls to 50 FPS, which is 10 FPS below the playable threshold. The gap between High and Ultra at 4K is 15 FPS, the largest absolute preset delta in the entire dataset. This means that 4K Ultra is the only configuration in this test set that fails to maintain 60 FPS, and it does so by a significant margin. The High preset at 4K is the best playable option, offering 65 FPS on average.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 ranks 1809th out of 3712 tested combinations for Doom. That places it in the 48.7th percentile of all combos in the database, meaning just under half of all tested configurations perform better and just over half perform worse. This mid-tier ranking aligns with the CPU's 47th percentile and the GPU's 72nd percentile, suggesting that the combo's overall standing is dragged down by the CPU's relative position while the GPU pulls it upward.

The ranking is a composite measure, so it reflects the balance of both components. A combo with a weaker GPU but a stronger CPU might rank similarly, but the data for this specific pair shows that the RTX 5060 is the stronger link. The GPU's 72nd percentile versus the CPU's 47th percentile indicates that the processor is the more likely bottleneck in demanding scenes, though the measured FPS values show that this bottleneck rarely manifests at playable settings. The 3712-combo pool is large, and a rank of 1809 places this system in the solid middle tier: not a top performer, but far from a weak one.

The Verdict

This PC can run Doom, and it does so with substantial margin at most settings. The verdict by resolution confirms that 1920x1080 is fully playable across all four presets, with the best setting being Ultra at 145.4 FPS. At 2560x1440, every preset also clears the 60 FPS threshold, and Ultra is again the best choice at 92.9 FPS. At 3840x2160, the system remains playable on High, Low, and Medium, with High being the best option at 65 FPS. The only failure point is 4K Ultra, which averages 50 FPS and falls short of the 60 FPS playable threshold.

The data shows a clear pattern: this combo is built for high-refresh 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K capability limited to less demanding presets. A player targeting 1440p Ultra will see nearly 93 FPS, which is smooth for fast-paced FPS action. At 1080p, the frame rates exceed 145 FPS even at Ultra, making this a strong match for high-refresh monitors. For 4K, sticking to High or lower will keep the experience above the playable line, but pushing to Ultra requires a frame rate sacrifice that drops below 60 FPS.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Doom at 60 FPS on 1920x1080?

A: Yes, all four presets at 1920x1080 exceed 60 FPS. The lowest average is Ultra at 145.4 FPS, and Low reaches 238.4 FPS.

Q: What is the best preset for 2560x1440?

A: Ultra is the best playable setting at 2560x1440, averaging 92.9 FPS. All presets from Low to Ultra clear the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: Is 4K Ultra playable with this hardware?

A: No, 4K Ultra averages 50 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS playable threshold. The High preset at 4K averages 65 FPS and is the best playable option.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core i5-9400 scores 2254 on average, which is within 0.4% of the Intel Core i3-10305, Intel Core i7-1068NG7, Intel Core i7-10710U, and AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500. None of these rivals deviate by more than a single percentage point.

Q: How does the GPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 scores 26331 on average. The AMD Radeon 860M is 0.3% ahead, the NVIDIA GeForce MX550 is 0.3% ahead, the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary is 0.8% ahead, and the AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT is 1.2% behind.

Q: What is the combo's overall rank in the database for Doom?

A: The combo ranks 1809th out of 3712 tested combinations, placing it near the middle of the pool. The GPU sits at the 72nd percentile while the CPU sits at the 47th percentile.