Doom

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 with the Intel Arc B390 delivers a fully playable experience across every preset. The most demanding option, Ultra, holds an average of 64 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS threshold with a small margin. High runs at 78 FPS, Medium at 93 FPS, and Low at 107 FPS. For a 1080p monitor, Ultra is the recommended choice because it stays above 60 FPS while offering the highest visual quality.

Moving to 2560x1440, the situation tightens. The database records playable performance only on Low and Medium presets. Low averages 69 FPS, while Medium lands exactly at 60 FPS. The best settings for this resolution are Medium, since it provides better visuals while still meeting the 60 FPS playability threshold. High drops to 51 FPS, and Ultra falls to 41 FPS, both below the playable mark.

At 3840x2160, no preset reaches 60 FPS. The measured averages are 37 FPS on Low, 33 FPS on Medium, 28 FPS on High, and 22 FPS on Ultra. The verdict data lists no playable settings for 4K, meaning this combo cannot sustain smooth gameplay at that resolution. If you own a 4K display, you would need to lower the resolution to 1440p or 1080p to get a playable frame rate.

The pattern is clear: 1080p is fully playable at max settings, 1440p requires dropping to Medium for a stable 60 FPS, and 4K is not viable for this combination.

CPU and GPU Roles

The recorded FPS scaling across resolutions reveals how the workload shifts between the CPU and GPU. At 1920x1080, the Arc B390 is less burdened, and the Core Ultra 5 225's strong single-thread performance, reflected in its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3655, helps push frame rates high. The jump from Low at 107 FPS to Ultra at 64 FPS shows that the GPU is still the limiting factor when settings rise, but the CPU has enough headroom to keep minimums respectable.

At 2560x1440, the GPU starts to dominate. The drop from Medium at 60 FPS to High at 51 FPS is a 15% reduction in average FPS, while the CPU's role remains constant. The Arc B390's modest compute resources, evidenced by its 7.680 TFLOPS FP32 rating, become the bottleneck as pixel count increases. The CPU's PassMark single-thread score of 4412 indicates it can feed frames fast enough; the GPU simply cannot render them quickly at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is almost entirely responsible for the low frame rates. The difference between Low at 37 FPS and Ultra at 22 FPS is a 41% drop, which is purely a GPU workload scaling. The CPU's performance is effectively irrelevant here, as even the lowest settings cannot reach 60 FPS. The Arc B390's 24 ROPs and 48 TMUs are insufficient for 4K rendering, regardless of how capable the processor is.

In summary, at 1080p the CPU matters more because the GPU can keep up with lower resolution demands. At 1440p, the GPU becomes the primary constraint, and at 4K, the GPU is the sole limiting factor. The Core Ultra 5 225 is never the weak link; the Arc B390's performance ceiling is what determines playability.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080: The database shows a full range of playable settings. Low averages 107 FPS, Medium averages 93 FPS with a minimum of 79 and maximum of 107, High averages 78 FPS, and Ultra averages 64 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 43 FPS, indicating that each preset tier costs a meaningful chunk of performance.

2560x1440: Low averages 69 FPS, Medium averages 60 FPS with a minimum of 51 and maximum of 69, High averages 51 FPS, and Ultra averages 41 FPS. The Medium preset is the only one that both looks good and stays at the 60 FPS threshold, though its minimum of 51 FPS suggests occasional dips below the target during intense scenes.

3840x2160: Low averages 37 FPS, Medium averages 33 FPS with a minimum of 28 and maximum of 37, High averages 28 FPS, and Ultra averages 22 FPS. None of these are playable, and the minimums would cause noticeable stutter in a fast-paced game like Doom.

The data shows a consistent pattern: each resolution step down from 4K to 1440p to 1080p roughly doubles the frame rate at the same settings. For example, Low goes from 37 to 69 to 107 FPS. This is typical for a GPU-bound title where pixel count is the dominant factor.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 paired with the Intel Arc B390 ranks 3300 out of 3712 tested combos in Doom. This places it in the bottom 11% of all combinations in the database. The rank reflects the GPU's limited performance, as the CPU alone would rank much higher; the Core Ultra 5 225 sits at the 85th percentile among all CPUs.

In practical terms, this combo is far below what most gamers would consider for a modern FPS title. The 1080p Ultra result of 64 FPS is playable, but the low overall rank means that most other tested systems would outperform it. The Arc B390's 9th percentile ranking among all GPUs, based on its 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1482, drags the combined result down significantly.

The rank of 3300 out of 3712 is a strong indicator that this is a low-end gaming setup. It will handle older or less demanding titles, but for Doom specifically, the 4K and 1440p high-settings results are below the playability threshold. Only at 1080p does this combo reach acceptable performance, and even then, it is not a high-refresh-rate experience.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 are all AMD or older Intel parts with nearly identical average benchmark scores. The AMD Ryzen 5 5600F scores 36945, which is essentially tied with the Core Ultra 5 225's 36938 average, showing a 0% delta. The AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D scores 37018, just 0.2% higher. The AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 scores 37093, 0.4% higher. The Intel Core i9-12900T scores 37112, 0.5% higher.

For the GPU, the nearest rivals are much older, low-end NVIDIA parts. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX scores 1463, which is 1.3% lower than the Arc B390's 1482. The GeForce 800M scores 1460, 1.5% lower. The GeForce GT 625 OEM scores 1446, 2.5% lower. The GeForce GT 710 scores 1443, 2.7% lower.

If you have a system with one of these rival CPUs, the gaming performance in Doom would be nearly identical, since the CPU is not the bottleneck. Similarly, if you swapped the Arc B390 for a GeForce GT 710, you would see a small drop in frame rates, but the overall experience would be similar: playable at 1080p on lower settings, struggling at higher resolutions. The practical takeaway is that this combo behaves like a low-end integrated-graphics-class setup, despite the Arc B390 being marketed as a discrete GPU.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Doom at 1080p with maximum settings?

A: Yes. The recorded data shows 64 FPS average on Ultra at 1920x1080, which is above the 60 FPS playability threshold.

Q: What is the best settings preset at 1440p?

A: Medium is the best choice at 2560x1440, averaging exactly 60 FPS. Low also works at 69 FPS, but Medium offers better visuals while still meeting the threshold.

Q: Is 4K playable with this hardware?

A: No. The highest average at 3840x2160 is 37 FPS on Low settings, and all four presets fall below the 60 FPS playability threshold.

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

A: The Core Ultra 5 225 scores 36938 on average, which is within 0.5% of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F, Ryzen 5 5500X3D, Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450, and Intel Core i9-12900T. The CPU performance is essentially identical to these alternatives.

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

A: The Arc B390 scores 1482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad, which is 1.3% to 2.7% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, GeForce 800M, GT 625 OEM, and GT 710. The performance difference is minimal.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 1080p on High settings?

A: The database records 78 FPS average on High at 1920x1080, which is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold and leaves room for some headroom in fast-paced scenes.