Doom

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6600 delivers a highly capable 1080p experience in Doom, but the data reveals a clear and expected shift in performance scaling as resolution increases. At 1080p, the combination is firmly in high-refresh-rate territory, while 4K presents a significant challenge that pushes the GPU to its limits.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a steep, predictable decline as resolution climbs from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At the High preset, the average frame rate drops from 127.5 FPS at 1080p to 82.9 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of 44.6 FPS, and then plummets to 43.8 FPS at 4K. This 4K figure represents just over one-third of the 1080p performance, indicating that the rendering load at 4K is overwhelming the GPU.

The pattern across all presets is consistent. The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic scaling loss: it delivers 105 FPS at 1080p but falls to 70.8 FPS at 1440p and only 37.5 FPS at 4K. The Low preset, while faster at every resolution, still suffers a massive drop from 173.4 FPS at 1080p to 64.5 FPS at 4K. The data strongly indicates that at 4K, the AMD Radeon RX 6600 becomes the limiting component; the frame rates are too low for smooth competitive play on any preset.

At 1080p, the scaling from Low to Ultra shows a narrower band (173.4 FPS down to 105 FPS), suggesting that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU adequately. However, at 4K, the delta between Low (64.5 FPS) and Ultra (37.5 FPS) is proportionally larger, confirming that the GPU's pixel throughput is the bottleneck. The Ryzen 5 3600's 6 cores and 12 threads are sufficient to keep frame rates high at lower resolutions, but they cannot compensate for the raw pixel fill rate demands of 4K.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 is the primary driver of performance in this benchmark, and its specifications directly explain the observed results. The GPU's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 224.0 GB/s, which is adequate for 1080p and 1440p but becomes strained at 4K with high-resolution textures. The card's boost clock of 2491 MHz and game clock of 2044 MHz are crucial for maintaining the high frame rates seen at 1080p.

The GPU's RDNA 2.0 architecture, built on a 7 nm process, delivers 8.928 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. This compute throughput is what allows the card to achieve 173.4 FPS on Low at 1080p. However, the 4K results tell a different story. The Ultra preset at 4K, which likely utilizes the full 8 GB VRAM and stresses the 64 ROPs, yields only 37.5 FPS. This is a clear sign that the RX 6600 is not designed for 4K gaming in demanding titles like Doom.

The GPU's benchmark percentile of 69 places it in the mid-to-upper tier of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon 890M, is virtually identical in average benchmark score (25246 vs 25235, a 0% delta), yet the RX 6600's dedicated VRAM and bandwidth give it a distinct advantage in sustained gaming loads. The data suggests that the RX 6600 is optimized for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where it can fully exercise its clock speeds and shading units without hitting memory bandwidth walls.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average FPS achievable at 1080p with this combo?

A: The highest average FPS recorded at 1920x1080 is 173.4 FPS on the Low preset.

Q: Can this system run Doom at 4K smoothly?

A: No. The best 4K result is 64.5 FPS on Low, but the Ultra preset drops to 37.5 FPS, which is not a smooth experience for fast-paced gameplay.

Q: How much faster is 1080p compared to 4K on the High preset?

A: The 127.5 FPS at 1080p is roughly 2.9 times faster than the 43.8 FPS at 4K on the High preset.

Q: Which preset offers the highest frame rate at 1440p?

A: The Low preset at 2560x1440 delivers the highest average FPS at 116.6 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more responsible for the performance drop at 4K?

A: The data shows the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K, as the frame rate drops drastically across all presets regardless of CPU load.

Q: What is the lowest average FPS recorded in this dataset?

A: The lowest average FPS is 37.5 FPS, which occurs at 3840x2160 with the Ultra preset.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers excellent performance across all settings. The Low preset achieves 173.4 FPS, Medium reaches 154.7 FPS, High hits 127.5 FPS, and Ultra still manages 105 FPS. These figures indicate that the Ryzen 5 3600 can sustain high frame rates, and the RX 6600 has ample headroom for competitive play.

Moving to 2560x1440, the results remain strong but show the GPU beginning to strain. Low preset produces 116.6 FPS, Medium drops to 97.3 FPS, High falls to 82.9 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 70.8 FPS. The 1440p numbers are still playable, but the gap between Low and Ultra widens significantly compared to 1080p.

At 3840x2160, the performance collapses. The Low preset yields 64.5 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS threshold. Medium drops to 53.4 FPS, High falls to 43.8 FPS, and Ultra plummets to 37.5 FPS. The 4K data clearly shows that this combination is not suited for high-fidelity 4K gaming, as even the lowest settings struggle to maintain a stable 60 FPS.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz. Its performance in synthetic benchmarks shows strong multi-threaded capability, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 15045 and a single-core score of 2124. The CPU's 32 MB of shared L3 cache is beneficial for gaming, as it reduces memory latency and improves frame pacing.

In Doom, the CPU's role is evident in the 1080p results. The high frame rates on the Low preset (173.4 FPS) suggest that the CPU is not a bottleneck at this resolution. The CPU's percentile rank of 76 places it above most processors, and its nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-11400, is virtually identical in average benchmark score (18150 vs 18129, a -0.1% delta). This parity confirms that the Ryzen 5 3600 is a balanced partner for the RX 6600.

At 4K, the CPU's impact diminishes. The frame rate is primarily dictated by the GPU's pixel throughput, and the CPU's 12 threads are more than sufficient to handle the game's logic at the lower frame rates. The data shows that the Ryzen 5 3600 provides a solid foundation for the RX 6600 across all resolutions, but it cannot overcome the GPU's 4K limitations.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience at 1920x1080, the High preset is the optimal choice. It delivers 127.5 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, while offering significantly better visual quality than the Low preset. The Ultra preset at 105 FPS is also viable, but the 22.5 FPS loss over High is not worth the marginal visual gains for most players.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset provides the best balance, hitting 97.3 FPS. This is a smooth experience that retains more visual fidelity than Low (116.6 FPS) while avoiding the performance hit of High (82.9 FPS) and Ultra (70.8 FPS). For players prioritizing frame rate, Low is the better choice, but Medium is recommended for a balanced experience.

At 3840x2160, no preset provides an ideal experience. The Low preset at 64.5 FPS is the only option that approaches playability, but it requires significant visual compromises. The data suggests that 4K should be avoided with this combo, as the Ultra preset's 37.5 FPS is too choppy for a fast-paced FPS. For 4K, the Low preset is the only recommendation, and even then, players should expect frame drops in intense scenes.

How This Combo Ranks

In the benchmark database, this combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 3600 and AMD Radeon RX 6600 ranks 1357 out of 1681 tested combos for Doom. This places it in the 19th percentile of all tested systems, meaning it outperforms roughly 19% of the combinations tested. The ranking reflects the GPU's mid-tier status, as the RX 6600's percentile of 69 is respectable but not top-tier.

The combo's rank is heavily influenced by the 4K results, where the RX 6600 struggles. At 1080p, the system would rank significantly higher, as the 127.5 FPS on High is a strong result. The CPU's performance is adequate, but the GPU's 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit bus limit its ability to compete with higher-end cards that feature more memory and wider memory interfaces. The rank of 1357 is a direct consequence of the GPU's performance ceiling at higher resolutions, making this combo a solid 1080p performer but a poor 4K solution.