Doom

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 combination delivers a highly capable 1080p and 1440p experience in Doom, though 4K Ultra settings push the GPU to its limits. The data shows a clear performance hierarchy where resolution scaling dictates playability, with the CPU providing ample headroom at lower resolutions and the GPU becoming the primary bottleneck as pixel count rises.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen architecture, manufactured on a 12 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 3.90 GHz. This configuration places it in the 77th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19616. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i5-1345U (deltaPct -0.4), Intel Core i5-11600KF (deltaPct -0.6), AMD Ryzen 5 7530U (deltaPct 0.6), and Intel Core i7-10700F (deltaPct 0.7). This indicates the Ryzen 5 2600 sits in a tightly contested mid-range segment, with performance within 1% of its closest competitors.

In Doom, the CPU's role is most apparent at 1080p, where frame rates reach 176.4 FPS on Low settings. This high ceiling demonstrates that the 6-core/12-thread design with a 16 MB shared L3 cache provides sufficient processing power to feed the GPU at lower resolutions. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 11186 and single-core score of 1579 further contextualize this capability. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 176.4 FPS, which is a substantial 63.7% higher than the 4K Low result of 61.8 FPS, indicating that the CPU is not the limiting factor at lower resolutions.

However, the CPU's influence diminishes as resolution increases. The data shows that from 1080p High (129.1 FPS) to 1440p High (82.2 FPS), there is a 36.3% drop, while from 1440p High to 4K High (42.5 FPS), the drop is 48.3%. This accelerating decline with resolution points to GPU saturation rather than CPU limitations. The Ryzen 5 2600's PassMark multi-thread score of 13160 and physics score of 673 suggest it can handle the game's computational demands, but the RTX 2060 becomes the constraining component at higher pixel counts.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is built on the Turing architecture with a TU106 chip, manufactured on a 12 nm process at TSMC. It features 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU operates with a base clock of 1365 MHz and a boost clock of 1680 MHz, with memory clocked at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). This configuration places the GPU in the 58th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 16074. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 7600S (deltaPct 0.5), AMD Radeon Pro 5600M (deltaPct -1.7), AMD Radeon Pro 5700 (deltaPct -1.7), and AMD Radeon Pro W5500 (deltaPct 1.8).

The GPU's 6 GB VRAM capacity and 192-bit memory bus are critical for Doom's performance scaling. At 1080p, the card delivers 107.3 FPS on Ultra settings, which drops to 68.7 FPS at 1440p Ultra and further to 38.9 FPS at 4K Ultra. This 63.7% reduction from 1080p Ultra to 4K Ultra (107.3 to 38.9 FPS) highlights the memory bandwidth and shading unit constraints at higher resolutions. The GPU's 1920 shading units and 48 ROPs, producing a pixel rate of 80.64 GPixel/s, are adequate for 1080p but struggle to maintain smooth frame rates at 4K.

The RTX 2060's 30 RT cores and 240 tensor cores, while not directly utilized by Doom's traditional rendering path, contribute to the card's overall architecture. The FP32 performance of 6.451 TFLOPS provides the raw compute necessary for the game's particle effects and lighting. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1242 and PassMark G3D score of 14111 offer synthetic benchmarks that align with the measured FPS results, showing consistent performance across different testing methodologies.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of resolution scaling that identifies the GPU as the dominant bottleneck at higher resolutions. From 1080p to 1440p, the average frame rate drops by approximately 36-40% across all settings. From 1440p to 4K, the drop accelerates to 48-52%. This non-linear decline is characteristic of a GPU-limited scenario, where the rendering workload grows exponentially with pixel count.

Specifically, at Low settings, the system achieves 176.4 FPS at 1080p, 113.8 FPS at 1440p, and 61.8 FPS at 4K. The 1080p to 1440p drop is 35.5%, while the 1440p to 4K drop is 45.7%. At Ultra settings, the progression is 107.3 FPS (1080p), 68.7 FPS (1440p), and 38.9 FPS (4K), representing drops of 36.0% and 43.4% respectively. This consistent pattern across all settings confirms that the GPU's rendering capabilities, particularly its 6 GB VRAM and 336.0 GB/s bandwidth, are the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

The CPU's influence is most visible at 1080p Low, where 176.4 FPS demonstrates the Ryzen 5 2600 can handle the game's engine demands. However, as resolution increases, the GPU's workload grows, and the RTX 2060's 192-bit memory bus and 48 ROPs become insufficient to maintain high frame rates. The 4K Ultra result of 38.9 FPS falls below the 60 FPS threshold, indicating that this combination is not suited for 4K gaming with maximum settings.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

This specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 2600 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 ranks 1379 out of 1681 tested combos in Doom. This places it in the 82nd percentile of all combos (calculated by rank/combos), meaning it outperforms approximately 82% of tested configurations while being outperformed by the top 18%. The rank reflects the balanced nature of this pairing, where the CPU and GPU are well-matched for 1080p and 1440p gaming but fall short of top-tier performance.

The combo's rank is influenced by both components' individual standings. The CPU's 77th percentile ranking and the GPU's 58th percentile ranking combine to produce a system that is better than the sum of its parts in Doom's optimized engine. The game's Vulkan-based renderer appears to scale well with the Ryzen 5 2600's 6-core/12-thread design, as evidenced by the high 1080p frame rates. The RTX 2060's Turing architecture also benefits from Doom's efficient use of modern GPU features.

Relative to other combos, this system's performance is competitive in the mid-range segment. The 1379th rank out of 1681 combos indicates that while there are more powerful configurations available, this pairing delivers solid frame rates at mainstream resolutions. The 1080p High result of 129.1 FPS and 1440p High result of 82.2 FPS position this combo as a strong choice for high-refresh-rate 1080p monitors and capable 1440p gaming.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain 60+ FPS?

A: The data shows that all 1080p settings achieve over 107 FPS, and all 1440p settings except Ultra (68.7 FPS) exceed 82 FPS. At 4K, only Low settings (61.8 FPS) reach above 60 FPS, while Medium (51.8 FPS), High (42.5 FPS), and Ultra (38.9 FPS) fall below the threshold.

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 2600 compare to its nearest CPU rivals?

A: The Ryzen 5 2600 has an average benchmark score of 19616, which is 0.4% lower than the Intel Core i5-1345U (19691), 0.6% higher than the AMD Ryzen 5 7530U (19508), 0.6% lower than the Intel Core i5-11600KF (19740), and 0.7% higher than the Intel Core i7-10700F (19485). All rivals are within 1% of each other.

Q: What is the FPS difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 1440p, Low settings deliver 113.8 FPS while Ultra settings deliver 68.7 FPS, representing a 39.6% performance drop. Medium settings (97.1 FPS) and High settings (82.2 FPS) fall between these extremes.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 2060 has an average benchmark score of 16074, which is 0.5% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 7600S (15996), 1.7% lower than the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M (16351), 1.7% lower than the AMD Radeon Pro 5700 (16351), and 1.8% higher than the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 (15786).

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, the system achieves 176.4 FPS on Low settings, which is the highest measured result across all resolutions and settings. This indicates the CPU is not the limiting factor, as the GPU is still able to produce very high frame rates. The CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads provide sufficient throughput for Doom's engine at this resolution.

Q: What is the frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: At High settings, the system delivers 129.1 FPS at 1080p and 42.5 FPS at 4K, representing a 67.1% reduction. This dramatic drop highlights the GPU's limitations at 4K resolution, where the 6 GB VRAM and 192-bit memory bus struggle with the increased pixel workload.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the system delivers 176.4 FPS on Low, 151.1 FPS on Medium, 129.1 FPS on High, and 107.3 FPS on Ultra. These results show a smooth scaling curve where each settings tier costs approximately 15-20% performance.

At 2560x1440, the measured FPS values are 113.8 (Low), 97.1 (Medium), 82.2 (High), and 68.7 (Ultra). The scaling pattern remains consistent, with Ultra settings delivering 39.6% less performance than Low. The 1440p results demonstrate that this combo can handle high-refresh-rate gaming at this resolution with adjusted settings.

At 3840x2160, the performance drops significantly: 61.8 FPS (Low), 51.8 FPS (Medium), 42.5 FPS (High), and 38.9 FPS (Ultra). The 4K results show that even Low settings barely reach 60 FPS, while Ultra settings fall to 38.9 FPS, which is below the smoothness threshold for most gamers. The 4K Ultra result is 77.9% lower than the 1080p Low result, illustrating the extreme workload increase at this resolution.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

For 1080p gaming, the Ultra preset delivers 107.3 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS standard and suitable for high-refresh-rate monitors. The High preset at 129.1 FPS offers a 20.3% improvement over Ultra, providing a smoother experience for competitive play. Given that even Ultra exceeds 100 FPS, players can safely use the highest settings at this resolution without sacrificing fluidity.

At 1440p, the Ultra preset (68.7 FPS) remains above 60 FPS, making it viable for standard 60 Hz displays. However, the High preset (82.2 FPS) offers a 19.7% performance increase with minimal visual compromise, making it the best balance for 1440p gaming. The Medium preset (97.1 FPS) is recommended for those prioritizing frame rates, as it provides a 41.3% improvement over Ultra while maintaining acceptable visual quality.

For 4K gaming, the data suggests this combo is not ideal. The Low preset (61.8 FPS) barely achieves 60 FPS, while Medium (51.8 FPS) and High (42.5 FPS) fall below this threshold. The Ultra preset (38.9 FPS) is not recommended for smooth gameplay. Players seeking 4K performance should consider the Low preset as the only viable option, though the visual quality reduction may not justify the resolution increase over 1440p. The 1440p High preset (82.2 FPS) provides a superior experience compared to 4K Low (61.8 FPS) in terms of both frame rate and visual fidelity.