Doom

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 and AMD Radeon RX 9070 pairing in Doom presents a fascinating study in generational asymmetry. The data shows a 6-core/12-thread Zen+ processor from 2018 paired with a 2025 RDNA 4.0 graphics card, and the measured frame rates reveal exactly where each component's influence begins and ends. This combination ranks 644th out of 1,681 tested combos, placing it in the 62nd percentile of all configurations. The benchmark results indicate a system that is decisively GPU-bound at higher resolutions, yet the CPU's older architecture still manages to keep pace at 1080p, where frame rates exceed 200 FPS.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows 1920x1080 delivers the highest average frame rates across all settings, ranging from 175.5 FPS at Ultra to 234.6 FPS at Low. At 2560x1440, the average drops to between 117.6 FPS (Ultra) and 189.5 FPS (Low), while 3840x2160 sees the largest reduction, with Ultra averaging 60.1 FPS.

Q: How does the RX 9070's performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score is 34,780. Its closest rival is the NVIDIA A2, which scores 34,866, a delta of -0.2%. The AMD Radeon PRO W6400 trails by 0.8% with a score of 34,511. The RX 9070 sits just above the AMD Radeon HD 7970, which scores 34,541, a 0.7% difference.

*Q: Is the Ryzen 5 2600 holding back the RX 9070 in Doom?*

A: At 1920x1080, the average FPS on Low is 234.6, while at 3840x2160 on Low, it is 103.8. This 55.8% drop in frame rate when moving to 4K suggests the GPU is the primary scaling factor. However, the CPU's single-thread score of 1,579 in Cinebench R23 indicates it is not a bottleneck at lower resolutions, where the frame rates are high.

Q: What preset provides the most balanced experience at 2560x1440?

A: The High preset at 2560x1440 averages 141.8 FPS, which is 24.2 FPS higher than the Ultra preset's 117.6 FPS. Given that the gap between Medium (169.7 FPS) and High (141.8 FPS) is 27.9 FPS, High offers a substantial visual fidelity increase over Medium while maintaining a high refresh rate.

Q: How does the CPU rank among all processors?

A: The Ryzen 5 2600 has a percentile rank of 77 among all CPUs. Its average benchmark score is 19,616. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-11600KF, scores 19,740, which is 0.6% higher. The AMD Ryzen 5 7530U scores 19,508, a 0.6% difference.

Q: What is the GPU's memory configuration?

A: The RX 9070 features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 644.6 GB/s. The memory clock is 2518 MHz, which translates to 20.1 Gbps effective. This configuration is consistent across all measured FPS results.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor built on the Zen architecture, using a 12 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 3.90 GHz. The data shows its performance in Doom is sufficient to drive high frame rates, but the architecture's age is visible in the scaling patterns. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multicore score is 11,186, while its single-core score is 1,579, indicating a strong multi-threaded capability for its generation.

Its nearest rivals in the CPU benchmark database show a tight cluster: the Intel Core i5-11600KF has an average score that is 0.6% higher, while the AMD Ryzen 5 7530U is 0.6% lower. The Intel Core i7-10700F is 0.7% higher. This clustering suggests the 2600 performs in line with mid-range chips from several generations. In Doom, the CPU's role becomes apparent when comparing 1080p results. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the average FPS is 234.6, but at 2560x1440 with Low, it drops to 189.5. This 45.1 FPS reduction is less severe than the drop from 1440p to 4K, where Low settings yield 103.8 FPS, a 85.7 FPS difference. The data implies that at 1080p, the CPU is more involved in maintaining frame rates, while at higher resolutions, the GPU's rendering load dominates.

The 65W TDP and dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 46.9 GB/s bandwidth are modest, but the benchmark results confirm that the processor does not prevent the RX 9070 from achieving playable frame rates. The L3 cache is 16 MB shared, and the CPU has a PassMark single-thread score of 2,239. These specifications, combined with the measured FPS, suggest the 2600 is a capable partner for a high-end GPU in this specific title, though its percentile rank of 77 versus the GPU's 79 indicates a slight imbalance in overall compute potential.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 is the dominant component in this pairing, built on the RDNA 4.0 architecture with a 4 nm process. It features 3,584 shading units, 224 texture mapping units, and 128 raster operation units. The boost clock is 2520 MHz, and the game clock is 2070 MHz. The GPU has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 644.6 GB/s, which is critical for high-resolution textures.

Its average benchmark score is 34,780, placing it in the 79th percentile of all GPUs. The nearest rival, the NVIDIA A2, has a score of 34,866, a delta of -0.2%. The data from Doom shows the GPU's strength in raw throughput. At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset averages 60.1 FPS, which is demanding, but the High preset jumps to 77 FPS. The difference between Low (103.8 FPS) and High (77 FPS) at 4K is 26.8 FPS, showing that the GPU has enough headroom to handle significant graphical loads.

The RX 9070's FP32 performance is 36.13 TFLOPS, and its texture rate is 564.5 GTexel/s. These figures correlate with the measured results: at 2560x1440, the Medium preset averages 169.7 FPS, while Ultra averages 117.6 FPS. The GPU's 128 ROPs and 322.6 GPixel/s pixel rate are sufficient to maintain high fill rates. The memory bandwidth of 644.6 GB/s ensures that the 16 GB frame buffer is not a constraint in Doom, as the average FPS scales consistently with resolution changes. The GPU's PassMark G3D score is 25,381, and its DirectX 12 score is 74, which are lower than the OpenCL score of 133,741, but the game's Vulkan API support (1.4) likely leverages the architecture efficiently.

How This Combo Ranks

This combination of the Ryzen 5 2600 and RX 9070 ranks 644th out of 1,681 tested combos in Doom. This places it in the top 38% of all systems. The rank suggests that while the GPU is high-performing, the CPU's older architecture limits the combo from reaching the top tiers. The data shows the combo is more competitive at higher resolutions, where the GPU's workload is heavier, but less so at 1080p, where the CPU's single-thread performance (Cinebench R23 score of 1,579) becomes more relevant.

The rank of 644 is notable because the GPU alone sits in the 79th percentile, while the CPU is in the 77th percentile. The slight difference in percentiles does not fully explain the combo's rank, implying that other factors, such as memory bandwidth or PCIe Gen 3 interface, may play a role. The CPU's PCIe Gen 3, 16 lanes could limit the GPU's data transfer rates compared to a PCIe 5.0 system. However, the measured FPS at 1920x1080 on High (212.4 FPS) and Ultra (175.5 FPS) are strong, indicating the combo is well-balanced for this game's engine, which is known for its scalability.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience, the data suggests prioritizing the High preset at 1920x1080 or 2560x1440. At 1920x1080, High averages 212.4 FPS, which is only 22.2 FPS lower than Low (234.6 FPS) but provides significantly better visual quality. At 2560x1440, High averages 141.8 FPS, which is sufficient for high refresh rate monitors. The Ultra preset at 1440p drops to 117.6 FPS, a 24.2 FPS reduction, which may not justify the visual gains.

At 3840x2160, the High preset averages 77 FPS, which is playable, but the Ultra preset drops to 60.1 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K averages 88.3 FPS, offering a middle ground. The data indicates that Low settings are unnecessary for this combo, as even at 4K, Low (103.8 FPS) is only 26.8 FPS higher than High, which is a marginal gain for a significant loss in fidelity. The optimal balance is High at 1440p or 1080p, where the frame rates are well above 140 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of performance across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the average FPS ranges from 234.6 (Low) to 175.5 (Ultra). The Medium preset averages 226.1 FPS, and High averages 212.4 FPS. The step from Medium to High is 13.7 FPS, while from High to Ultra is 36.9 FPS, indicating a significant performance cost for the Ultra preset.

At 2560x1440, the averages are 189.5 (Low), 169.7 (Medium), 141.8 (High), and 117.6 (Ultra). The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 45.1 FPS on Low, 56.4 FPS on Medium, 70.6 FPS on High, and 57.9 FPS on Ultra. The largest absolute drop is on High, suggesting that the combination of resolution and settings taxes the GPU more heavily. At 3840x2160, the averages are 103.8 (Low), 88.3 (Medium), 77 (High), and 60.1 (Ultra). The difference between 1440p and 4K is 85.7 FPS on Low, 81.4 FPS on Medium, 64.8 FPS on High, and 57.5 FPS on Ultra.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial, but the pattern reveals the limiting component. At Low settings, the average FPS goes from 234.6 at 1080p to 103.8 at 4K, a 55.8% reduction. At High settings, the drop is from 212.4 to 77, a 63.7% reduction. The percentage drop is larger at higher settings, which is typical for a GPU-bound scenario. However, the absolute FPS at 4K (103.8 on Low) is still high, indicating the RX 9070 has significant headroom.

The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows a smaller percentage drop: Low goes from 234.6 to 189.5 (19.2% reduction), while Ultra goes from 175.5 to 117.6 (33.0% reduction). This suggests that at 1080p, the CPU may be limiting the GPU's potential, as the frame rates are high but the scaling is less linear. The data implies that the Ryzen 5 2600's single-thread performance (Cinebench R23 score of 1,579) is sufficient for 1080p, but as resolution increases, the GPU becomes the bottleneck. The 4K results, with a maximum of 103.8 FPS on Low, show that the GPU is fully utilized, and the CPU's role diminishes. The 2560x1440 results are the sweet spot, where the combo's rank of 644 is likely determined, as the frame rates are high enough to be smooth but not so high that the CPU becomes the limiting factor.