Doom

The combination of the Intel Core i7-12700KF and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 delivers a wide range of frame rates in Doom (2016), scaling from a very comfortable 69.3 FPS average at 4K High settings to a massively overkill 256.8 FPS average at 1080p Low settings. Benchmark results for this pairing show that the system is capable of clearing the 60 FPS playability threshold at every tested resolution and preset combination, with the only exception being 4K Ultra, which falls slightly short at 54.8 FPS average. This places the combo in the 1587th position out of 3712 tested combinations, indicating a strong but not top-tier standing among all possible CPU-GPU pairings for this title. The data is measured, not estimated, providing a reliable basis for evaluating performance across 1080p, 1440p, and 4K resolutions with Low, Medium, High, and Ultra settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for this configuration covers three resolutions and four quality presets, providing a complete picture of performance scaling. At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are exceptionally high across all settings. The Low preset produces an average of 256.8 FPS, which is the highest recorded figure for this combo in any configuration. Moving to Medium, the average drops to 224 FPS, while the High preset yields 188.1 FPS. The most demanding 1080p preset, Ultra, still maintains a robust 155.6 FPS average. These numbers indicate that at 1080p, the system is never remotely constrained by the 60 FPS threshold, and even the heaviest settings leave substantial headroom for high-refresh-rate displays.

At 2560x1440, the performance remains strong but shows a clear step down from 1080p. The Low preset averages 169.3 FPS, which is still far above the playability threshold. Medium settings produce an average of 144 FPS, while High drops to 123.7 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p averages 103.2 FPS, which is notable because it remains above 100 FPS despite being the most demanding setting at this resolution. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows an average reduction of roughly 33-35% across presets, which is consistent with the increased pixel count demanding more from the GPU.

At 3840x2160, the performance envelope tightens considerably. The Low preset averages 88.4 FPS, which is still comfortably playable. Medium settings yield 81.5 FPS, and High produces 69.3 FPS. The Ultra preset, however, drops to 54.8 FPS average, which falls below the 60 FPS playability threshold. This is the only configuration in the measured data where the system fails to maintain 60 FPS on average. The gap between High and Ultra at 4K is substantial, with a difference of 14.5 FPS, indicating a significant increase in rendering load for the Ultra preset at this resolution.

The data includes only average FPS values; no minimum or maximum frame times are provided in the benchmark results. This limits analysis of frame pacing and stutter, but the average figures across twelve distinct configurations provide a solid basis for understanding overall performance. The progression from Low to Ultra at each resolution follows a predictable pattern, with the largest relative drops occurring at 4K, where the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck.

CPU and GPU Roles

Examining the scaling between resolutions and presets reveals how the CPU and GPU divide responsibilities in Doom. The Intel Core i7-12700KF, with its 12 cores and 20 threads, provides substantial processing headroom. Its benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 28838 and a single-core score of 4071, indicate strong per-thread performance that is well-suited to game logic and draw call processing. The 3DMark scores further support this, with a max-thread score of 9983 and a single-thread score of 1043, showing that the CPU can handle both heavily threaded and lightly threaded workloads effectively.

The GPU, an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070, is the dominant factor in determining frame rates as resolution increases. At 1080p, the average FPS ranges from 155.6 to 256.8 across presets. The fact that even the Ultra preset at 1080p exceeds 150 FPS suggests that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU fast enough at this resolution, and the GPU is not yet fully saturated. However, the differences between presets at 1080p are relatively large, with a 101.2 FPS gap between Low and Ultra, indicating that the GPU still has headroom to be taxed by higher settings.

At 1440p, the GPU begins to take on a more prominent role. The average FPS drops from 169.3 at Low to 103.2 at Ultra, a reduction of 66.1 FPS. This scaling is more pronounced than the CPU’s influence, as the increased pixel count directly stresses the RTX 3070’s 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth. The CPU, with its high single-thread performance, does not appear to be a limiting factor here, as even the highest preset at 1440p stays above 100 FPS.

At 4K, the GPU is clearly the bottleneck. The average FPS at Low is 88.4, which drops to 54.8 at Ultra. This 33.6 FPS reduction across presets is the largest absolute drop of any resolution, and the fact that Ultra falls below 60 FPS indicates that the RTX 3070’s compute capabilities, rated at 20.31 TFLOPS FP32, are insufficient for the most demanding 4K settings in this title. The CPU’s role diminishes further at 4K, as the frame rate is increasingly determined by the GPU’s pixel and texture throughput. The data shows that the CPU is never the primary constraint in any configuration; even at 1080p Low with 256.8 FPS average, the i7-12700KF provides enough throughput to avoid capping performance.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the nearest rivals for both the CPU and GPU provides context for what other hardware would deliver similar performance in this combo. For the Intel Core i7-12700KF, the nearest rival is the Intel Core i7-13700T, which has an average benchmark score of 35403, representing a delta of -0.1% relative to the i7-12700KF’s average score of 35365. This means the i7-13700T performs essentially identically in synthetic benchmarks, so pairing it with the RTX 3070 would yield nearly the same frame rates in Doom. The Intel Core i5-13600T is another close match, with a score of 35305 and a delta of 0.2%, indicating it is slightly faster by a negligible margin. The Intel Core 5 213PE scores 35428, with a delta of -0.2%, again placing it within a fraction of a percent of the i7-12700KF. Finally, the Intel Core i7-12700K scores 35287, with a delta of 0.2%, making it a near-identical performer to the i7-12700KF, which is expected given the unlocked multiplier and same architecture generation.

For the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070, the nearest rivals are more varied. The AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT has an average score of 17083, with a delta of 0.7% compared to the RTX 3070’s 17208 average. This suggests that the RX 7600 XT would deliver frame rates within 1% of the RTX 3070 in Doom, making it a viable alternative for similar performance. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690, an older dual-GPU card, scores 17037 with a delta of 1%, which is remarkably close despite its age, though driver support and power characteristics may differ. The AMD Radeon HD 7970M scores 17019 with a delta of 1.1%, again showing that the RTX 3070 is only marginally ahead of this mobile-derived chip in synthetic benchmarks. The NVIDIA Tesla K40c scores 17468, with a delta of -1.5%, meaning it is slightly faster than the RTX 3070 in the average benchmark score, though it is a compute-oriented card not designed for gaming. These rivals indicate that swapping the RTX 3070 for an RX 7600 XT would produce nearly identical FPS in Doom, while the CPU alternatives listed would maintain the same performance envelope.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo of the i7-12700KF and RTX 3070 ranks 1587th out of 3712 tested combinations in Doom, placing it in the 57th percentile of all combos (calculated from the rank and total). This suggests that while the system performs well, there are 1586 other CPU-GPU pairings that achieve higher average frame rates in this game. The ranking is influenced by both components, but given that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, the RTX 3070’s 61st percentile among all GPUs is a stronger indicator of the combo’s standing than the CPU’s 85th percentile among all CPUs. The CPU’s high percentile suggests it is not limiting the combo’s rank, while the GPU’s lower percentile drags the overall position down. In practical terms, this rank means the system is above average but not elite, with many combos featuring higher-end GPUs like the RTX 3080 or RX 6800 XT likely ranking higher. The combo’s performance is consistent with its hardware class, and the measured FPS data confirms that it sits comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold for most configurations, with the exception of 4K Ultra.

The Verdict

Based on the verdict by resolution, this PC can run Doom effectively across nearly all tested settings. At 1920x1080, all four presets—Low, Medium, High, and Ultra—are playable, with the best settings being Ultra at an average of 155.6 FPS. This means the system can handle the highest visual quality at 1080p with massive headroom above the 60 FPS threshold. At 2560x1440, all presets are also playable, with Ultra averaging 103.2 FPS, which clears the threshold by a wide margin. The best settings at 1440p are Ultra, providing a high-quality experience without sacrificing smoothness. At 3840x2160, the playable settings are High, Low, and Medium, with High being the best at 69.3 FPS. Ultra at 4K falls below 60 FPS at 54.8 FPS average, so it cannot be considered playable according to the 60 FPS threshold. In summary, this combo runs Doom at 60 FPS or higher in 11 out of 12 tested configurations, with only 4K Ultra failing to meet the threshold.

FAQ

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

A: The highest average FPS is 256.8, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

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

A: No, at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 54.8, which falls below the 60 FPS playability threshold.

Q: What settings are playable at 1440p with this combo?

A: All four presets are playable at 2560x1440, with Ultra averaging 103.2 FPS, High at 123.7 FPS, Medium at 144 FPS, and Low at 169.3 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 3070 compare to its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT?

A: The RTX 3070 has an average benchmark score of 17208, while the RX 7600 XT scores 17083, a delta of 0.7%, meaning the RTX 3070 is slightly faster by less than one percent.

*Q: What is the combo rank for this CPU-GPU pairing in Doom?*

A: The combo ranks 1587th out of 3712 tested combinations, placing it in the middle-to-upper range of all tested systems.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU limit performance more at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, the GPU has more influence on frame rates, as seen by the 101.2 FPS difference between Low (256.8 FPS) and Ultra (155.6 FPS), while the CPU’s high single-thread score of 4071 in Cinebench R23 indicates it is not the bottleneck.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, which averages 155.6 FPS. This provides the best visual quality while maintaining a frame rate that is more than double the playability threshold. At 2560x1440, the most demanding preset that clears 60 FPS is also Ultra, with an average of 103.2 FPS. This is a solid choice for high-refresh-rate 1440p monitors, as it remains above 100 FPS. At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is High, averaging 69.3 FPS. This offers a good balance of visual fidelity and performance for 4K displays. Ultra at 4K is not recommended, as it drops to 54.8 FPS average, below the 60 FPS threshold. For users prioritizing maximum frame rates over visual quality, the Low presets at each resolution provide the highest averages, but the best settings per resolution are Ultra at 1080p and 1440p, and High at 4K, based on the measured data.