Doom

# Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for Doom with the Intel Core i7-14700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 combination shows a system that is overwhelmingly capable at every tested resolution and preset. At 1920x1080, the lowest average FPS recorded is 180.9 at Ultra settings, which is triple the playable threshold of 60 FPS. Low settings at 1080p push the average to 300.6 FPS, while Medium and High land at 260.9 and 220.1 FPS respectively. These numbers indicate that at 1080p, the system is never remotely constrained, with even the most demanding preset delivering nearly 3x headroom over the playable threshold.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains exceptional. Ultra settings produce an average of 119.4 FPS, which is still nearly double the 60 FPS threshold. High settings deliver 144.9 FPS, Medium reaches 167.6 FPS, and Low scales up to 193.7 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 74.3 FPS, showing that the preset ladder has meaningful impact but that even the heaviest option stays comfortably above playable levels.

At 3840x2160, the system begins to show its limits, but only in relative terms. Ultra settings still clear 60 FPS with an average of 61.4 FPS, making it technically playable at the highest preset. High settings deliver 78.6 FPS, Medium reaches 91.6 FPS, and Low hits 104.9 FPS. The scaling from 1440p to 4K at Ultra settings shows a drop from 119.4 to 61.4 FPS, a reduction of 58 FPS, which highlights the resolution's substantial load on the GPU. However, even at 4K Ultra, the system never drops below the playable threshold.

Across all resolutions, the data shows no min or max FPS values recorded, meaning only average FPS is available for analysis. The pattern is consistent: each resolution step down from 4K to 1080p yields roughly a 1.5x to 2x improvement in average FPS at the same preset, and each preset step from Low to Ultra costs approximately 20-40% of performance depending on resolution.

# FAQ

Q: Can this system run Doom at 60 FPS on Ultra settings at 4K resolution?

A: Yes. The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 61.4 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS playable threshold. This is the most demanding configuration tested, and it still passes.

Q: What is the best preset to use at 1440p for maximum quality?

A: Ultra settings at 2560x1440 deliver an average of 119.4 FPS, which is nearly double the playable threshold. Since all four presets (Low, Medium, High, Ultra) clear 60 FPS at 1440p, Ultra is the recommended choice for maximum visual quality without sacrificing smoothness.

Q: How much performance is lost when going from 1080p to 1440p?

A: At Ultra settings, the average FPS drops from 180.9 at 1920x1080 to 119.4 at 2560x1440, a reduction of 61.5 FPS. At Low settings, the drop is from 300.6 to 193.7 FPS, a reduction of 106.9 FPS. The percentage loss is larger at lower presets, but in all cases the system remains well above 60 FPS.

Q: Which resolution shows the largest gap between Low and Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160, the gap between Low (104.9 FPS) and Ultra (61.4 FPS) is 43.5 FPS. At 2560x1440, the gap is 74.3 FPS (193.7 vs 119.4), and at 1920x1080, the gap is 119.7 FPS (300.6 vs 180.9). The absolute gap widens at lower resolutions, but the relative impact of settings is most pronounced at 4K, where Ultra is only 58.5% of Low's performance.

Q: Is the RTX 3080 the bottleneck at 4K Ultra, or does the CPU matter?

A: The data shows that at 3840x2160 Ultra, the average FPS is 61.4, which is just barely above the threshold. This tight margin indicates the GPU is heavily loaded at 4K, as the same preset at 1440p yields 119.4 FPS. The resolution scaling points to the GPU as the limiting factor at 4K, while at 1080p, the CPU's high single-thread performance (2160 in Cinebench R23 single-core) keeps the system from being CPU-bound.

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

A: The combination ranks 1082 out of 3712 tested combos, placing it in the top 29% of all systems. This percentile ranking is consistent with the GPU's 68th percentile among all GPUs and the CPU's 94th percentile among all CPUs, indicating that the CPU is a stronger relative component than the GPU for this title.

# CPU and GPU Roles

The measured FPS data across resolutions reveals a clear division of labor between the Intel Core i7-14700K and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 in Doom. At 1920x1080, the system produces 300.6 FPS on Low settings and 180.9 FPS on Ultra. The fact that even Ultra at 1080p exceeds 180 FPS indicates that the GPU is not fully saturated at this resolution, leaving headroom that the CPU must fill. The i7-14700K's strong single-thread performance—evidenced by its 2160 score in Cinebench R23 single-core and 4472 in Passmark single-thread—provides ample processing power to drive high frame rates at lower resolutions.

At 2560x1440, the FPS drops to 193.7 on Low and 119.4 on Ultra. This represents a 35.6% reduction in Low settings performance compared to 1080p, and a 34% reduction at Ultra. The scaling is roughly linear with pixel count, suggesting that the GPU is now becoming more influential, but the CPU still has enough headroom to avoid becoming the primary bottleneck. The i7-14700K's 20 cores and 28 threads, with a boost clock of 5.60 GHz, ensure that even at 1440p, the CPU can feed the GPU without stalling.

At 3840x2160, the performance drops to 104.9 FPS on Low and 61.4 FPS on Ultra. The 4K Ultra result is particularly telling: it is only 1.4 FPS above the 60 FPS threshold. This tight margin indicates that the RTX 3080 is nearly maxed out at 4K with maximum settings. The GPU's 10 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 320-bit bus with 760.3 GB/s bandwidth is being pushed hard, and the 29.77 TFLOPS FP32 compute is the limiting factor. The CPU, by contrast, has significant headroom remaining, as evidenced by the fact that dropping to Low settings at 4K more than doubles the FPS to 104.9.

The pattern across resolutions shows that Doom is primarily GPU-bound at 4K, moderately GPU-bound at 1440p, and balanced between CPU and GPU at 1080p. The CPU's 94th percentile ranking among all CPUs versus the GPU's 68th percentile ranking among all GPUs further supports this interpretation. At 1080p, the GPU's lower relative standing means it can keep up with the CPU's output; at 4K, the GPU's absolute limits become the determining factor. The i7-14700K's L3 cache of 33 MB and high boost clock help maintain consistent frame delivery in fast-paced FPS scenes, but the data shows that resolution scaling is the dominant variable in this configuration.

# The Verdict

The Intel Core i7-14700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 combination can definitively run Doom at playable frame rates across all tested resolutions and presets. The verdict data confirms that every single configuration—from 4K Ultra at 61.4 FPS to 1080p Low at 300.6 FPS—clears the 60 FPS playable threshold.

At 3840x2160, the system is playable on all four presets, with Ultra settings delivering 61.4 FPS. This is a narrow margin of just 1.4 FPS above the threshold, so players who prefer 4K should be aware that the game will run at the edge of playability with maximum settings. Dropping to High settings provides 78.6 FPS, which offers more comfortable headroom, while Medium and Low deliver 91.6 and 104.9 FPS respectively.

At 2560x1440, the system is thoroughly playable on all presets, with Ultra settings achieving 119.4 FPS. This is nearly double the threshold, providing a smooth experience even in demanding scenes. High settings reach 144.9 FPS, Medium hits 167.6 FPS, and Low reaches 193.7 FPS. For 1440p display users, this system offers substantial performance reserves.

At 1920x1080, the system is overwhelmingly playable, with Ultra settings delivering 180.9 FPS. This is triple the threshold, and even the most demanding preset leaves massive headroom. Medium settings reach 260.9 FPS, High delivers 220.1 FPS, and Low hits 300.6 FPS. For 1080p users, this system will never feel constrained by Doom's engine.

The overall ranking of 1082 out of 3712 combos places this system in the upper third of tested configurations. Given that the game released in 2016, this modern hardware combination is far more powerful than needed for the game's requirements. The only scenario where players might want to consider settings adjustments is 4K Ultra, where the 61.4 FPS average offers limited margin above the threshold.

# Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the Intel Core i7-14700K provide context for how other CPUs would perform in this system. The AMD EPYC 9115 is the closest match with an average benchmark score of 69288, just 0.1% below the i7-14700K's average of 69355. This means a system with the EPYC 9115 would deliver nearly identical FPS in Doom, provided the GPU remains the same. The AMD Ryzen 9 7950X scores 69515, which is 0.2% higher, placing it marginally above the i7-14700K. The AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX at 69875 is 0.7% faster, and the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F at 69996 is 0.9% faster. These deltas are all within 1%, meaning that swapping the i7-14700K for any of these CPUs would result in imperceptible FPS changes in Doom.

For the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080, the nearest rivals are less obvious in terms of gaming performance. The NVIDIA P106-100 has an average score of 23249, which is 0.3% lower than the RTX 3080's 23172 (note the negative delta indicates the rival is slightly higher). The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 16 scores 23250, also 0.3% higher. The AMD Radeon RX 6600M at 23273 is 0.4% higher, and the AMD Radeon R9 M290X at 23276 is 0.4% higher. These delta values are all within a fraction of a percent, suggesting that these GPUs would produce nearly identical FPS in Doom at the same settings and resolution. However, it is importantly the RTX 3080's 68th percentile ranking among all GPUs indicates that these rivals are all clustered around the same performance tier.

The practical implication is that a system built with any of these CPU or GPU alternatives would perform within 1% of the i7-14700K + RTX 3080 combination in Doom. For example, pairing the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X with the RTX 3080 would yield approximately the same 61.4 FPS at 4K Ultra, since the CPU delta is negligible at that resolution where the GPU is the bottleneck. Conversely, pairing the i7-14700K with the AMD Radeon RX 6600M would also produce similar results, since the GPU delta is minimal.

# Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, which delivers an average of 61.4 FPS. This is the maximum quality option that remains playable, but the margin is thin. Players who prefer a safety buffer should consider High settings at 78.6 FPS, which provides 17.2 FPS of additional headroom while still offering excellent visual quality. Medium at 91.6 FPS and Low at 104.9 FPS are also viable options for those prioritizing frame rate over visual fidelity.

At 2560x1440, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is also Ultra, achieving 119.4 FPS. This provides nearly double the threshold, making it the clear recommendation for 1440p users who want maximum quality without compromising smoothness. High settings at 144.9 FPS, Medium at 167.6 FPS, and Low at 193.7 FPS are all well above playable levels, but Ultra offers the best balance of visual quality and performance.

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, delivering 180.9 FPS. This is triple the threshold, meaning the system has enormous headroom at 1080p. All four presets—Low at 300.6 FPS, Medium at 260.9 FPS, High at 220.1 FPS, and Ultra at 180.9 FPS—are far above playable levels, so the choice of preset at 1080p is purely a matter of visual preference rather than performance necessity. Ultra settings are recommended for the best experience, as the system can handle them with ample margin.