Doom

The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus paired with the Intel Arc B390 presents a highly unusual performance profile in Doom. The CPU is a flagship-tier desktop processor, while the GPU is an integrated graphics solution with a very low benchmark standing. The recorded data shows that this combination struggles at higher resolutions but becomes viable at 1080p, with the playable threshold of 60 FPS only being crossed at lower settings and resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the system fails to deliver playable frame rates across all tested presets. The High preset averages 28 FPS, which is less than half of the 60 FPS target. Lowering to Medium improves the average to 33 FPS, with a recorded minimum of 28 and a maximum of 37 FPS. The Low preset reaches an average of 37 FPS, still far below the playable threshold. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, resulting in an average of 22 FPS. No settings at this resolution clear the 60 FPS bar, making 4K unplayable for this configuration.

At 2560x1440, the situation improves but remains limited. The High preset averages 51 FPS, just under the 60 FPS target. The Low preset is the first to cross the threshold, delivering an average of 69 FPS. Medium also clears the bar with an average of 60 FPS, with a recorded minimum of 51 and a maximum of 69 FPS. The Ultra preset drops to an average of 41 FPS, which is not playable. The data indicates that only Low and Medium settings are viable at this resolution.

At 1920x1080, the system shows its best performance. The Low preset averages 107 FPS, providing a substantial margin over the 60 FPS target. Medium averages 93 FPS, with a minimum of 79 and a maximum of 107 FPS. The High preset averages 78 FPS, which is still comfortably playable. The Ultra preset averages 64 FPS, just above the threshold, making it the highest quality setting that remains playable. All four presets at 1080p clear the 60 FPS requirement.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data reveals a stark contrast between the capabilities of the two components. The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus is a 24-core, 24-thread processor with a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, and it performs in the 96th percentile compared to all CPUs in the database. This indicates that the processor is not the limiting factor in Doom. The Intel Arc B390, however, is an integrated GPU with 1536 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 24 ROPs, and it ranks only in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. Its benchmark score in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 is 1482, a figure that places it near entry-level discrete GPUs from over a decade ago, such as the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, which scores 1463.

The scaling between resolutions and presets confirms that the GPU is the bottleneck. At 3840x2160, dropping from High to Low improves the average FPS from 28 to 37, a gain of about 32%. At 2560x1440, the same preset change improves performance from 51 to 69 FPS, a gain of about 35%. At 1920x1080, the Low preset reaches 107 FPS compared to 78 FPS on High, a gain of about 37%. This consistent pattern indicates that the graphics workload, which is influenced by resolution and preset, is what dictates performance. The CPU, with its PassMark multithread score of 68574 and single-thread score of 5068, has ample headroom for this game's engine.

The gap between the CPU and GPU performance is extreme. The CPU's average benchmark score is 93785, while the GPU's is 1482. This means the graphics solution is responsible for the frame rate limitations, and the processor's high-end compute capabilities are largely underutilized in this title. At higher resolutions, the pixel output and shading demands overwhelm the GPU, while at 1080p, the same GPU can finally produce enough frames to approach the CPU's potential.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Doom at 4K resolution?

A: No. The recorded data shows no playable settings at 3840x2160. The best result is 37 FPS on Low, which is below the 60 FPS playable threshold.

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

A: Medium is the best playable preset at 2560x1440, delivering an average of 60 FPS. Low also works with an average of 69 FPS, but High and Ultra do not reach 60 FPS.

Q: Is the Ultra preset playable on this system?

A: Yes, but only at 1920x1080. At that resolution, Ultra averages 64 FPS. At 2560x1440, it averages 41 FPS, and at 3840x2160, it averages 22 FPS, both of which are not playable.

Q: Which component limits performance in Doom?

A: The GPU, the Intel Arc B390, is the limiting factor. The CPU ranks in the 96th percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU ranks in the 9th percentile. The frame rate changes with resolution and preset, which are GPU-bound workloads.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The GPU's 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1482 is 1.3% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, 1.5% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce 800M, 2.5% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM, and 2.7% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710. These are all very low-end parts.

Q: Does the CPU's high core count help in Doom?

A: The CPU has 24 cores and 24 threads, but the benchmark results indicate the game's performance is dictated by the GPU. The CPU's capabilities, such as a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 44253, far exceed what this workload requires, but the GPU cannot keep up.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the GPU, the nearest rivals all score within a few percentage points of the Intel Arc B390 in 3DMark Steel Nomad. The NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX is the closest with a delta of 1.3% higher, meaning the Arc B390 is slightly slower. The NVIDIA GeForce 800M is 1.5% slower, the NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM is 2.5% slower, and the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 is 2.7% slower. Any of these GPUs would produce similar frame rates in Doom, though the Arc B390 does support DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4, which may offer feature advantages not available on those older NVIDIA parts.

For the CPU, the nearest rivals are all server-class processors. The Intel Xeon 6520P has an average score of 93786, which is essentially identical to the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus's 93785 (0% delta). The AMD EPYC 4564P is 1.5% slower, the AMD EPYC 9175F is 1.9% slower, and the AMD EPYC 4565P is 2.1% slower. These comparisons show that the Core Ultra 7 270K Plus offers compute performance in line with high-end enterprise CPUs, but this does not translate into gaming performance because of the weak GPU pairing.

The Verdict

This PC can run Doom, but the playable experience is strictly limited to 1080p and lower resolutions. At 1920x1080, the system clears the 60 FPS threshold on all four presets, with the best setting being Ultra at an average of 64 FPS. This is the only resolution where the full range of settings is available. At 2560x1440, the system is partially playable, with Low and Medium being the only presets that reach 60 FPS, and Medium is the best of those at exactly 60 FPS. At 3840x2160, the system fails to reach 60 FPS on any preset, with the highest average being 37 FPS on Low. The verdict is clear: for a smooth experience, the user must play at 1080p, and for high-quality visuals, the Ultra preset at 1080p is the maximum feasible option.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database, this combination of the Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus and the Intel Arc B390 ranks 3300 out of 3712 tested combos in Doom. This places it in the bottom 11% of all recorded configurations. The ranking reflects the severe imbalance between the processor and graphics solution. While the CPU is a top-tier part, the GPU's low standing in the 9th percentile drags the overall gaming performance down. The data shows that similar CPUs in the database, when paired with more capable GPUs, would rank much higher, but this specific pairing is constrained by the integrated graphics. For the user, this means the system is far better suited for productivity tasks given the CPU's strength, but for gaming, it is a low-performing configuration in this title.