Doom

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 570 in Doom presents a clear case study in how a previous-generation mid-range combination handles a modern classic. The measured frames per second (FPS) data reveals a system that is consistently playable at 1080p, but one that quickly runs out of headroom as resolution increases. The benchmark results indicate a pairing where the graphics card is the primary limiting factor, a conclusion drawn directly from the frame rate scaling across the three tested resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and tells a clear story about the bottleneck in this system. At 1080p with High settings, the combo produces an average of 68.3 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440, that figure falls to 41.6 FPS, a reduction of 26.7 FPS. Pushing further to 3840x2160, the average plunges to 22.7 FPS, which is a 45.6 FPS drop from the 1080p result. This scaling pattern—where performance is nearly cut in half at each major resolution step—is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario. The data implies that the RX 570's rendering throughput, rather than the CPU's processing power, is what dictates the frame rate.

The trend holds across all settings presets. At Low settings, the system manages 91.4 FPS at 1080p, 62.2 FPS at 1440p, and 34 FPS at 4K. The 4K Low result is a full 57.4 FPS lower than the 1080p Low result. Even at the lowest graphical load, the 4K resolution demands more from the GPU than it can deliver, reinforcing that the pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth of the RX 570 are the constraining factors. The CPU, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, appears to have ample headroom to feed the GPU at lower resolutions, but the GPU's work at 4K becomes the insurmountable wall.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Doom?

A: The data shows 1920x1080 as the only resolution where all settings presets achieve a playable frame rate. The lowest average FPS at 1080p is 58.6 on Ultra, while the highest is 91.4 on Low. At 1440p, only the Low preset surpasses 60 FPS with 62.2 FPS, and at 4K, no preset manages to average above 34 FPS.

Q: Does the Ultra preset offer a significant visual advantage over High?

A: The performance cost is measurable, but the data does not quantify the visual difference. At 1080p, the Ultra preset averages 58.6 FPS, which is 9.7 FPS lower than the High preset's 68.3 FPS. The choice between them is a trade-off of 9.7 FPS for the highest graphical fidelity.

Q: How does this combo's performance in Doom compare to other tested systems?

A: This specific combination of the Ryzen 5 2600 and RX 570 ranks 1590 out of 1681 tested combos in this game. This places it in the lower percentile of tested systems, indicating that most other CPU-GPU pairings in the database deliver higher frame rates in Doom.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 2600 holding back the RX 570 in this game?

A: The benchmark data suggests the CPU is not the primary bottleneck. The steep FPS drops when increasing resolution and settings point to the GPU as the limiting component. For example, at 1080p, the FPS varies significantly between presets (58.6 to 91.4), which is a characteristic of GPU load. The CPU's 12 threads are likely sufficient for this title.

Q: What is the impact of the RX 570's 4 GB VRAM on 4K performance?

A: While the data does not isolate VRAM usage, the 4K results are extremely low, with the highest average being 34 FPS at Low settings. This suggests that the GPU's overall capability, including its memory bus and bandwidth, is insufficient for smooth 4K gameplay, regardless of the VRAM capacity.

Q: Is this system more capable than its 4K results suggest?

A: Yes, the 1080p results are respectable. The system achieves over 60 FPS on High, Medium, and Low presets. The data implies this is a solid 1080p gaming setup that should not be used for 1440p or 4K gaming if high frame rates are desired.

How This Combo Ranks

The data places this pairing at rank 1590 out of 1681 tested combos in Doom, putting it in the bottom 5.4% of all tested systems. This low ranking is notable, as it suggests that the combination of the Ryzen 5 2600 and RX 570 is significantly outclassed by most other hardware pairings in the database for this specific game. The ranking reflects the measured FPS across all resolutions and settings, and the 4K and 1440p results heavily penalize the overall standing.

The average FPS of 100+ is not achieved at any tested configuration. The best-case scenario, 1080p Low, only reaches an average of 91.4 FPS. This indicates that while the system is functional, it is not a high-performance contender. The rank implies that gamers with this hardware are likely to experience frame rates well below what many other systems achieve, particularly at higher resolutions. The data suggests that the RX 570's age and mid-range positioning are the primary contributors to this low rank, as the CPU's performance percentile is strong.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system shows its best performance. The Ultra preset delivers an average of 58.6 FPS. The High preset improves on this, averaging 68.3 FPS. The Medium preset reaches 80.5 FPS, and the Low preset tops the charts at 91.4 FPS. The spread between the lowest and highest settings is 32.8 FPS, showing that the GPU has a significant impact on performance even at 1080p.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance drops are substantial. The Ultra preset averages 37.4 FPS. The High preset averages 41.6 FPS. The Medium preset climbs to 54.2 FPS, and the Low preset is the only one to break the 60 FPS barrier, with an average of 62.2 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 24.8 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the system struggles across the board. The Ultra preset averages a very low 20.2 FPS. The High preset is only slightly better at 22.7 FPS. The Medium preset reaches 28.8 FPS, and the Low preset achieves the playable threshold at 34 FPS. The data shows that even the lowest settings cannot provide a smooth experience at 4K.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 3.90 GHz. Its benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 11186 and a single-core score of 1579, indicate a capable processor. The data suggests that for Doom, this CPU provides sufficient processing power to not be the limiting factor in most scenarios.

The evidence for this lies in the FPS scaling. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see similar frame rates across different resolutions, as the CPU's workload would remain constant. However, the FPS drops dramatically as resolution increases, which is a classic sign of a GPU limitation. For instance, the 1080p High average of 68.3 FPS is 26.7 FPS higher than the 1440p High average of 41.6 FPS. The CPU is capable of feeding the GPU at 1080p, but the GPU cannot keep up with the increased pixel workload at higher resolutions.

The CPU's 12 threads are likely more than enough for a game like Doom, which is known for its efficient multi-threading. The benchmark results indicate that the processor has the single-thread performance and multi-core throughput to handle the game's logic and physics. The data implies that if the RX 570 were replaced with a more powerful GPU, the Ryzen 5 2600 would likely still be able to deliver higher frame rates without becoming a bottleneck.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience, the data clearly points to 1920x1080 as the target resolution. At this resolution, all settings presets are playable, but the choice of preset depends on the user's preference for frame rate versus visual fidelity. The High preset offers a balanced experience with an average of 68.3 FPS. This is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay and offers a meaningful visual upgrade over the Medium preset.

If a higher frame rate is the priority, the Medium preset at 80.5 FPS is an excellent choice, providing a significant 12.2 FPS boost over High with a likely minor visual compromise. The Low preset at 91.4 FPS is the fastest option, but the visual quality will be noticeably lower. The Ultra preset at 58.6 FPS is technically playable, but it is just below the 60 FPS mark, and the slight visual improvement over High may not be worth the 9.7 FPS loss in smoothness.

At 2560x1440, the only viable option is the Low preset, which achieves 62.2 FPS. All other presets at this resolution fall below 55 FPS, which may not provide a consistently smooth experience. The data suggests that 1440p is only playable with significant graphical compromises. The 4K resolution should be avoided entirely, as even the Low preset cannot achieve a consistent 60 FPS, with an average of 34 FPS.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 570 is a 14 nm Polaris 20 chip with a base clock of 1168 MHz and a boost clock of 1244 MHz. It has 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 224.0 GB/s. Its benchmark scores, including a Geekbench Vulkan score of 42752, show it to be a competent DirectX 12 and Vulkan performer. The data indicates that this GPU is the definitive performance limiter in this pairing.

The evidence is the consistent FPS collapse at higher resolutions. The GPU's 32 ROPs and 128 TMUs are responsible for pixel and texture processing, and the 4K workload overwhelms them. The transition from 1080p to 1440p results in a 39% performance drop on High settings (68.3 to 41.6 FPS), and the transition to 4K results in another 45% drop (41.6 to 22.7 FPS). This non-linear scaling is a direct result of the GPU hitting its memory bandwidth and pixel fill rate limits.

The GPU's 4 GB VRAM is likely a factor at 4K, where texture demands can exceed this capacity. While the data does not include VRAM usage, the extremely low frame rates at 4K suggest the card is under severe memory pressure. The data implies that while the GPU is a solid choice for 1080p gaming, it is not suited for high-resolution or high-detail gaming in Doom. Its performance here is firmly in the mid-range tier, and the ranking of 1590 out of 1681 combos confirms that it is outmatched by most contemporary graphics cards in this title.