Doom

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 and AMD Radeon RX 7700 combination delivers a strong 1080p and 1440p experience in Doom, with the GPU acting as the primary performance driver at higher resolutions. The data shows that this pairing is well-balanced for the game’s engine, though the CPU’s older architecture becomes a limiting factor only at the very highest refresh rates. The measured FPS numbers indicate that ultra settings are playable at 4K, but the component bottleneck clearly shifts based on resolution and quality presets.

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

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 2 architecture, running at a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz. This processor belongs to the 3000 series and was released in July 2019, making it an older design compared to the GPU pairing. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU scores 15,045 points in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2,124 points in single-core, placing it in the 71st percentile of all CPUs tested.

For Doom, a game from 2016, the CPU’s thread count and clock speed are more than sufficient to feed the GPU. The data shows that at 1080p Low settings, the combo achieves 241 FPS, which suggests the CPU can handle high frame rates without becoming a hard bottleneck. The 12 threads allow the game’s engine to distribute workloads effectively, and the 32 MB of shared L3 cache helps with quick data access for game logic. The processor’s multi-threaded performance, evidenced by a PassMark multi-thread score of 17,700, is adequate for this title’s demands.

When comparing to its nearest CPU rivals, the Ryzen 5 3600’s average benchmark score of 17,035 is nearly identical to the Intel Core i7-1260P, which scores 17,007 (0.2% higher), and the AMD EPYC 7742, which scores 16,998 (0.2% lower). This means the CPU’s raw processing power is mid-pack relative to others, but for a game like Doom, the engine is well-optimized for lower core counts. The single-thread score of 2,562 in PassMark indicates that the CPU’s per-core performance is sufficient to avoid stutters at high FPS, as seen in the 1080p results.

The CPU’s role in this combo is to provide a stable baseline, not to push extreme frame rates. At 1080p Ultra, the combo produces 145 FPS, which is 38% lower than the 1080p Low result of 241 FPS. This drop is primarily due to the GPU’s workload increasing, not the CPU struggling. The processor’s 65 W TDP and AM4 socket mean it’s a power-efficient choice, but its age shows in that it cannot push beyond the 241 FPS ceiling seen at lower settings. Overall, the Ryzen 5 3600 is a capable partner for the RX 7700 in Doom, allowing the GPU to stretch its legs at most resolutions.

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

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 is a modern graphics card from the Radeon RX 7000 series, built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with a Navi 32 chip. It features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 624.1 GB/s. The GPU’s base clock is 1900 MHz, with a boost clock of 2459 MHz and a game clock of 2041 MHz. These specifications make it a high-end card for its generation, and it scores 20,974 in PassMark G3D, placing it in the 58th percentile of all GPUs.

In Doom, the GPU is the dominant performance component, especially at higher resolutions. The 16 GB VRAM is more than enough for this title, and the memory bandwidth ensures that textures load quickly without causing frame drops. The GPU’s raw compute power, measured at 25.18 TFLOPS FP32, allows for high detail settings without compromising frame rates. This is evident in the 4K Ultra result of 51 FPS, which is still playable, though it shows the card’s limits at maximum settings.

Comparing the GPU to its nearest rivals, the RX 7700’s average benchmark score of 15,852 is close to the AMD Radeon R9 370X, which scores 15,862 (0.1% higher), and the AMD Radeon Pro W5500, which scores 15,679 (1.1% lower). The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti scores 16,129, which is 1.7% higher, indicating that the RX 7700 is slightly behind that card in raw synthetic performance. However, in Doom, the RX 7700’s actual FPS results show it handles the game well, likely due to driver optimizations and the game’s Vulkan API support.

The GPU’s role becomes more critical as resolution increases. At 1440p High, the combo achieves 115 FPS, which is a 35% drop from 1080p High’s 178 FPS. At 4K High, the FPS drops further to 62, showing a clear scaling pattern that points to the GPU as the primary limiter. The card’s 96 ROPs and 160 TMUs help fill pixels efficiently, but the 4K Ultra setting still pushes the GPU to its brink, resulting in 51 FPS. The data indicates that for smooth 4K play, users should stick to Medium settings, where the combo hits 74 FPS.

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

The measured FPS data shows a clear pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases, which reveals the bottleneck characteristics of this combo. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 241 FPS, which is the highest recorded result. Moving to 1440p Low, the FPS drops to 156, a 35% reduction. At 4K Low, the FPS falls to 85, which is another 45% drop from 1440p. This scaling suggests that the GPU is the limiting factor beyond 1080p, as the CPU’s workload doesn’t increase proportionally with resolution.

For High settings, the pattern is similar but with lower absolute numbers. The 1080p High result is 178 FPS, which drops to 115 FPS at 1440p (a 35% decrease) and then to 62 FPS at 4K (a 46% decrease from 1440p). The consistent percentage drops indicate that the GPU is being saturated at higher pixel counts, while the CPU remains capable of keeping up. This is further supported by the Ultra settings, where 1080p Ultra yields 145 FPS, 1440p Ultra yields 94 FPS, and 4K Ultra yields 51 FPS.

The limiting component is clearly the GPU at 4K, but the CPU’s influence can be seen at 1080p. The jump from 1080p Low (241 FPS) to 1080p Medium (210 FPS) is a 13% drop, while the jump from 1080p Low to 1080p High (178 FPS) is a 26% drop. These reductions are larger than what would be expected if the GPU were the sole bottleneck, suggesting the CPU’s single-thread performance starts to matter at very high frame rates. However, the 1080p Ultra result of 145 FPS still shows no severe CPU limitation, as the frame rate remains high.

Overall, the data indicates that for 1080p and 1440p gaming, the RX 7700 is the primary performance driver, with the Ryzen 5 3600 providing adequate support. At 4K, the GPU’s limitations are more pronounced, but the combo still delivers playable frame rates at Medium and High settings. The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K shows a classic GPU-bound scenario, with the CPU only becoming a minor factor at the lowest settings and highest resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

This specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 3600 and AMD Radeon RX 7700 ranks 1724 out of 3712 tested combos in Doom, placing it in the 46th percentile of all systems tested. This ranking indicates that the combo is slightly below average in performance when compared to all other pairings in the database. The rank suggests that while the GPU is powerful, the older CPU may be holding back the system relative to combos with more modern processors.

The combo’s rank is influenced by the CPU’s age, as the Ryzen 5 3600 is from 2019, while the GPU is from 2025. This mismatch means that many other combos with newer CPUs and similar GPUs likely perform better, especially at lower resolutions where CPU speed matters more. However, the combo’s performance in Doom is still solid, as evidenced by the high frame rates at 1440p and 1080p. The 46th percentile ranking puts it ahead of more than half of the tested systems, which is respectable for a mid-range CPU paired with a high-end GPU.

Looking at the nearest rivals for the CPU and GPU individually, the combo’s rank can be understood better. The CPU’s average score of 17,035 is nearly tied with the Intel Core i7-1260P, and the GPU’s score of 15,852 is close to the RTX 3060 Ti. If the CPU were paired with a slightly faster GPU, the rank might improve, but the current pairing is balanced enough to avoid major bottlenecks. The data shows that the combo outperforms many systems with weaker GPUs, but it falls short of those with newer CPUs that can push higher frame rates at 1080p.

In context, the combo’s rank of 1724 out of 3712 means it is not a top-tier performer, but it is far from the bottom. For a game like Doom, which is well-optimized, this rank translates to a playable experience at all tested settings and resolutions. The ranking highlights that while the GPU is capable of 4K gaming, the CPU’s limitations prevent the combo from achieving the highest possible FPS at lower resolutions, which is why it doesn’t break into the top quartile.

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

The measured FPS data provides a detailed look at how this combo performs across different settings and resolutions. At 1920x1080, the results are consistently high, with the Low setting achieving an average of 241 FPS. The Medium setting yields 210 FPS, with a minimum of 179 FPS and a maximum of 242 FPS, showing some variance but still maintaining excellent smoothness. The High setting produces 178 FPS, and the Ultra setting drops to 145 FPS, which is still well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance scales down as expected. The Low setting achieves 156 FPS, the Medium setting hits 136 FPS with a minimum of 116 FPS and a maximum of 156 FPS, and the High setting yields 115 FPS. The Ultra setting produces 94 FPS, which remains playable for most users. The data shows that 1440p is the sweet spot for this combo, with all settings providing frame rates above 90 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the GPU starts to show its limits. The Low setting achieves 85 FPS, the Medium setting hits 74 FPS with a minimum of 63 FPS and a maximum of 85 FPS, and the High setting yields 62 FPS. The Ultra setting produces 51 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target but still playable for a single-player game. The minimum FPS at 4K Medium (63 FPS) indicates that there are occasional dips, but the average remains stable.

The FPS breakdown reveals that the combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where it can handle Ultra settings with ease. At 4K, users will need to compromise on settings, with Medium being the recommended choice for a consistent experience. The data shows that the scaling from Low to Ultra at each resolution is consistent, with approximately a 40% drop in FPS from Low to Ultra at 1080p, 40% at 1440p, and 40% at 4K, indicating that the GPU is the primary bottleneck across all resolutions.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo can achieve in Doom?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 241 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This is the maximum performance the combo can deliver, limited by the CPU’s single-thread speed.

Q: Can this combo run Doom at 4K with playable frame rates?

A: Yes, the combo can run Doom at 4K, but not at Ultra settings. The 4K Medium setting yields an average of 74 FPS, while High produces 62 FPS. Ultra drops to 51 FPS, which is still playable but below the 60 FPS standard.

Q: How does the combo’s 1080p performance compare to its 1440p performance?

A: At 1080p High, the combo achieves 178 FPS, which drops to 115 FPS at 1440p High, a 35% reduction. This indicates that the GPU is the main limiting factor, as the CPU can handle both resolutions without significant strain.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this combo for Doom?

A: The GPU is the primary bottleneck at all settings and resolutions. The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K shows consistent drops that align with GPU workload, while the CPU’s impact is only noticeable at 1080p Low where the FPS ceiling of 241 is reached.

Q: What is the combo’s ranking compared to other tested systems?

A: The combo ranks 1724 out of 3712 tested combos in Doom, placing it in the 46th percentile. This means it performs better than 46% of all tested systems, but the older CPU prevents it from being a top-tier performer.

Q: Does the combo maintain stable frame rates at 1440p Medium?

A: Yes, at 1440p Medium, the combo achieves an average of 136 FPS with a minimum of 116 FPS and a maximum of 156 FPS. The minimum FPS indicates that the frame rate stays well above 60 FPS, ensuring smooth gameplay.