Doom

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 580 is a classic mid-range combination from the late 2010s, and in Doom (2016), the data reveals a system that is heavily constrained by its graphics card at higher resolutions. The measured frame rates show a clear and consistent pattern: as resolution increases, performance drops sharply, indicating that the RX 580 is the primary bottleneck in this pairing. This analysis breaks down the specific numbers, the role of each component, and the optimal settings for this configuration.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for this combo shows a pronounced and predictable decline as resolution scales from 1920x1080 up to 3840x2160. At the most common "High" settings preset, the average frame rate falls from 75 FPS at 1080p to 49 FPS at 1440p, and then down to 26 FPS at 4K. This represents a 35% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 47% drop from 1440p to 4K. The trend is consistent across all settings presets, with the "Low" preset dropping from 102 FPS at 1080p to 66 FPS at 1440p and 36 FPS at 4K.

This scaling pattern is a classic sign of a GPU-bound workload. When moving from 1080p to 4K, the number of pixels quadruples, placing an immense load on the rasterization and pixel processing units of the graphics card. The RX 580, with its 32 ROPs and 6.175 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, simply runs out of pixel throughput at higher resolutions. The CPU's role remains relatively static, but its performance is sufficient to feed the GPU at lower resolutions, as evidenced by the high frame rates at 1080p. The data indicates that at 1080p, the system is still largely GPU-limited, but the gap between the CPU's capability and the GPU's output narrows; at 4K, the GPU is unequivocally the limiting factor, with the CPU having ample headroom. The "Medium" preset at 4K shows a min FPS of 27 and max of 36, highlighting the struggle to maintain consistent frame pacing under heavy pixel load.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 2 architecture, built on a 7 nm process. Its base clock is 3.60 GHz with a boost clock of 4.20 GHz, and it features 32 MB of shared L3 cache. In the context of Doom, a fast-paced FPS that scales well with multiple threads, this processor provides a solid foundation. The benchmark data shows a single-thread score of 696 in 3dmark and a multi-thread score of 4605, indicating strong per-core performance for its generation.

For this specific game, the CPU is not the bottleneck. At 1080p with "Low" settings, the combo achieves 102 FPS, which is likely approaching the engine's frame rate ceiling for this hardware generation, but the GPU is still the primary limiter. The Ryzen 5 3600's 12 threads are more than sufficient to handle the game's draw calls and physics calculations, even when the GPU is producing high frame rates. The data suggests that the CPU's role is to provide a stable platform that won't hold back the RX 580 at lower resolutions. The processor's 71st percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17035, places it in a solid mid-to-high tier, but in this pairing, its performance headroom is largely untapped due to the GPU's limitations. The CPU is comparable to the Intel Core i5-11400, which has an average score of 17067 and a deltaPct of -0.2, meaning they are virtually identical in overall processing power.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 580 is the defining component in this analysis. It is based on the Polaris 20 chip, using the GCN 4.0 architecture on a 14 nm process. It has 2304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. The card's memory configuration is 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 256.0 GB/s. The core clocks are 1257 MHz base and 1340 MHz boost, with memory running at 2000 MHz (8 Gbps effective). The GPU's percentile ranking is 53, with an average benchmark score of 12928, placing it near the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER, which scores 12986 with a deltaPct of -0.4.

In Doom, the RX 580's performance is the sole determinant of the frame rates at higher resolutions. The 6.175 TFLOPS of compute power is adequate for 1080p gaming, but the 256.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 32 ROPs become severe bottlenecks at 1440p and especially 4K. The data shows that at 4K "Ultra" settings, the average FPS drops to a barely playable 22 FPS, while at 1080p "Ultra" it manages 62 FPS. The GPU's memory capacity of 8 GB is sufficient for this game, as Doom does not require massive frame buffers, but the memory bandwidth is insufficient for the pixel throughput demanded by 4K. The RX 580 is a capable 1080p card, but the measured results clearly show it struggles to maintain 60 FPS at 1440p on higher presets, and it is not suited for 4K gaming. The card's 53rd percentile ranking among all GPUs reflects its mid-range standing, and its performance in this title is consistent with that positioning.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Ryzen 5 3600 and the RX 580 ranks 3397 out of 3712 tested combos for Doom. This places it in the lower 8.5% of all tested configurations, which is a surprisingly low ranking given the individual component scores. This discrepancy is explained by the fact that the combo rank likely includes many high-end systems with top-tier CPUs and GPUs, whereas this pairing represents a mainstream, cost-conscious setup from a few generations ago. The rank indicates that while the components are functionally capable, they are far from the top of the performance pyramid.

The data suggests that this combo is outperformed by a vast majority of more modern or higher-tier systems. The GPU's 53rd percentile ranking drags the overall combo down, as the CPU is relatively stronger. The frame rates at 1080p "High" (75 FPS) are respectable, but the 4K results are poor. The combo's ranking is a reflection of the GPU's inability to handle higher resolutions, which are increasingly common in modern gaming. It is important to note that this rank is specific to Doom, a game known for its excellent optimization and Vulkan API support, so the results might be better than in other titles. However, within this benchmark, the combo sits firmly in the bottom quartile of all tested systems.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal experience for this combo is at 1920x1080 resolution. At this resolution, the "High" preset yields an average of 75 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The "Medium" preset at 1080p yields 89 FPS with a minimum of 76 FPS, providing a more consistent frame rate with a small visual trade-off. The "Low" preset reaches 102 FPS, but the visual quality reduction is significant.

For 1440p, the data shows that the "Low" preset is the only viable option, achieving 66 FPS. The "Medium" preset drops to 58 FPS, which is still playable but not ideal for a fast-paced shooter. The "High" preset at 1440p falls to 49 FPS, which is below the desired 60 FPS threshold. At 4K, no preset achieves playable frame rates; the "Low" preset averages 36 FPS, and the "Ultra" preset drops to 22 FPS. Therefore, the recommendation is to play at 1080p with the "High" preset for the best balance of visual fidelity and performance. If a higher frame rate is preferred for competitive play, the "Medium" preset offers a 19% FPS increase over "High" while maintaining a minimum of 76 FPS. Avoid 4K entirely, as the game is not playable at that resolution with this hardware.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following is the complete dataset of measured average FPS for this combo, organized by resolution and settings preset.

3840x2160 (4K)

• Low: 36 FPS
• Medium: 31 FPS (min 27, max 36)
• High: 26 FPS
• Ultra: 22 FPS

2560x1440 (1440p)

• Low: 66 FPS
• Medium: 58 FPS (min 49, max 66)
• High: 49 FPS
• Ultra: 40 FPS

1920x1080 (1080p)

• Low: 102 FPS
• Medium: 89 FPS (min 76, max 103)
• High: 75 FPS
• Ultra: 62 FPS

The data shows a clear hierarchy: 1080p is the only resolution where all presets are playable, with the "Ultra" preset still managing 62 FPS. At 1440p, only the "Low" preset stays above 60 FPS. The 4K results are uniformly low, with the best case being the "Low" preset at 36 FPS, which is below the threshold for comfortable play. The "Medium" preset at 1440p shows the most variance, with a 17 FPS gap between min and max, suggesting inconsistent frame pacing under load.

FAQ

*Q: Can this system run Doom at 4K with acceptable performance?*

A: No. The measured data shows that at 3840x2160, the highest average FPS achieved is 36 on the "Low" preset. The "High" and "Ultra" presets drop to 26 and 22 FPS respectively, which are below playable thresholds.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1080p gaming?

A: The "High" preset at 1920x1080 delivers 75 FPS average, which is a good balance. The "Medium" preset offers a higher 89 FPS average with a minimum of 76 FPS, making it the best choice for consistent high frame rates.

Q: How does the RX 580 compare to its nearest rival, the GTX 1660 SUPER?

A: The RX 580 has an average benchmark score of 12928, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER scores 12986. The deltaPct is -0.4, meaning the GTX 1660 SUPER is marginally faster by 0.4% in general benchmarks.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 3600 a bottleneck for the RX 580 in this game?

A: The data does not indicate a CPU bottleneck. At 1080p "Low", the combo reaches 102 FPS, and the CPU's 3dmark single-thread score of 696 suggests it has sufficient headroom. The GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions, as evidenced by the steep FPS drops.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The lowest minimum FPS recorded is 27 FPS, which occurs at 3840x2160 with the "Medium" preset. At 1440p "Medium", the minimum is 49 FPS, and at 1080p "Medium", the minimum is 76 FPS.

*Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested systems for Doom?*

A: The combo ranks 3397 out of 3712 total tested combinations. This places it in the lower portion of the ranking, indicating that most other tested systems outperform it in this game.