Doom

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

The measured FPS data for Doom with the AMD Ryzen 5 3600 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 reveals a steep performance curve as resolution climbs. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces 174.7 FPS. Stepping up to 1440p drops that to 110.8 FPS, a reduction of roughly 37%. Moving to 4K brings the average down to 61.3 FPS — barely a third of the 1080p Low result. This scaling pattern is typical of a system where the GPU becomes the dominant constraint as pixel count rises.

The drop from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings (174.7 to 110.8 FPS) is particularly sharp, suggesting the RTX 2060's rendering throughput is being taxed heavily by the 78% increase in pixel count. The further decline to 4K Low (61.3 FPS) reinforces this: the GPU is the limiting component here, not the CPU. If the Ryzen 5 3600 were the bottleneck, we would expect the FPS to remain relatively flat across resolutions, since the CPU workload doesn't scale with pixel count. Instead, the consistent degradation across every settings preset indicates the RTX 2060's 6 GB frame buffer and 336.0 GB/s memory bandwidth are being saturated at higher resolutions.

At Ultra settings, the scaling is even more punishing. The 1080p Ultra average of 105.9 FPS falls to 70.4 FPS at 1440p, then collapses to 40.2 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is below the 60 FPS threshold that many consider the minimum for smooth gameplay in a fast-paced FPS. This data suggests that 4K is only viable at Low settings for this combo, and even then, the 61.3 FPS average leaves little headroom for demanding scenes. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K (61.3 vs 40.2 FPS) is a 34% performance penalty, which is substantial but not as proportionally large as the 1080p gap (174.7 vs 105.9 FPS, a 39% penalty). This compression at 4K further confirms that the GPU is the primary constraint.

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

The RTX 2060's specifications provide important context for these results. With 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, the card offers 336.0 GB/s bandwidth. The 14 Gbps effective memory speed and 1920 shading units (CUDA cores) are paired with a boost clock of 1680 MHz. The GPU's pixel rate of 80.64 GPixel/s and texture rate of 201.6 GTexel/s directly influence how quickly it can fill frames at high resolutions. In Doom, which is known for its demanding texture work and fast-paced rendering, these numbers translate into the measured FPS figures.

The GPU's 12 nm Turing architecture (TU106 chip) with 10,800 million transistors on a 445 mm² die provides the compute foundation. The FP32 performance of 6.451 TFLOPS is the raw compute capacity available for shading work. At 4K Ultra, the 40.2 FPS result suggests the card is near its limits — the texture rate of 201.6 GTexel/s is likely being maxed out by Doom's high-resolution assets combined with the Ultra preset's additional effects.

Interestingly, the RTX 2060's percentile ranking is 58th among all GPUs, placing it in the upper-middle tier. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 7600S, scores 15996 in average benchmarks — just 0.5% lower than the RTX 2060's 16074. This close grouping means the RTX 2060's performance in Doom should be representative of its class. The 6 GB VRAM capacity, while adequate for 1080p and 1440p, may become a limiting factor at 4K Ultra where texture streaming demands more memory. The data doesn't show VRAM-specific metrics, but the FPS drop at 4K Ultra (40.2) versus 4K High (48.2) hints that the Ultra preset's additional memory pressure is costing about 17% performance.

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

The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 brings 6 cores and 12 threads to the pairing, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and boost clock of 4.20 GHz. This Zen 2 architecture (Matisse codename), built on TSMC's 7 nm process, includes a 32 MB shared L3 cache. The CPU's multi-threaded capabilities are evident in its benchmark scores: Cinebench R23 multicore reaches 15045, and Passmark multithread scores 17700. These numbers indicate the 3600 can handle game logic and physics calculations without becoming a bottleneck in most scenarios.

In Doom, the CPU's role appears secondary to the GPU based on the resolution scaling data. At 1080p Low, the 174.7 FPS result is likely approaching the CPU's frame delivery limit — the game engine's main thread and rendering thread need to communicate with the GPU at high rates. The 3DMark single-thread score of 696 and Cinebench R23 single-core of 2124 suggest solid per-core performance, but not exceptional. This is why the FPS doesn't go even higher at 1080p Low.

The CPU's 76th percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 18129, places it close to the Intel Core i5-11400 (18150, just 0.1% higher). This near-parity means the 3600 is a balanced mid-range processor. In Doom, the 12 threads help with the game's multi-threaded engine tasks, but the data indicates that at resolutions above 1080p, the GPU's workload dominates the frame time budget. The CPU's 65W TDP and 51.2 GB/s memory bandwidth (dual-channel DDR4) provide adequate support for the GPU without starving it of data.

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

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution. At 1080p, all presets exceed 100 FPS, with High (130.3) and Medium (150.1) offering a strong balance. Low at 1080p hits 174.7 FPS, which is excellent for competitive play, but the visual trade-off may not be worth it. The Ultra preset at 105.9 FPS is still smooth and provides the best visual fidelity — this is the recommended choice for 1080p gaming, as it stays well above 60 FPS.

At 1440p, the situation changes. Ultra drops to 70.4 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for a fast-paced shooter. Medium (98.6 FPS) and High (80.8 FPS) offer better headroom. Given Doom's emphasis on smooth frame times, Medium at 1440p is the sweet spot — it delivers 98.6 FPS, close to the 100 FPS mark, while maintaining decent visual quality. Low at 110.8 FPS is viable for competitive players, but the visual downgrade is significant.

At 4K, only Low (61.3 FPS) achieves a playable average. Medium (55.3) and High (48.2) fall below 60 FPS, and Ultra (40.2) is too choppy for comfortable gameplay. The recommendation for 4K is Low settings, with the understanding that even this preset is near the GPU's limit. Players prioritizing visual quality over frame rate might accept Medium at 55.3 FPS, but the data suggests this is a compromise.

Overall, the best experience per the measured rows is 1080p Ultra (105.9 FPS) for visual quality, or 1440p Medium (98.6 FPS) for a balance of resolution and smoothness. The 4K options are marginal at best.

FAQ

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

A: Only at Low settings, where the average FPS is 61.3. Medium drops to 55.3 FPS, High to 48.2 FPS, and Ultra to 40.2 FPS — all below the 60 FPS threshold.

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

A: Ultra at 105.9 FPS is recommended, as it provides the highest visual quality while maintaining a frame rate well above 60 FPS. Low reaches 174.7 FPS if maximum frame rate is the priority.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 2060 has an average benchmark score of 16074, while the AMD Radeon RX 7600S scores 15996 — a delta of 0.5% in favor of the RTX 2060. The AMD Radeon Pro 5600M scores 16351, which is 1.7% higher.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 3600 a bottleneck for the RTX 2060 in Doom?

A: At 1080p Low (174.7 FPS), the CPU may be near its frame delivery limit, but at higher resolutions the GPU becomes the bottleneck. The CPU's 12 threads and 4.20 GHz boost clock are sufficient for Doom's engine.

Q: What FPS can I expect at 1440p with High settings?

A: The measured average is 80.8 FPS. This is smooth, but Medium (98.6 FPS) offers more headroom if you prefer higher frame rates over visual fidelity.

Q: How does the 4K Ultra performance compare to 1080p Low?

A: 4K Ultra averages 40.2 FPS, while 1080p Low averages 174.7 FPS — a 77% reduction in frame rate. This highlights the massive GPU workload increase at higher resolutions.

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

1920x1080:

• Low: 174.7 FPS
• Medium: 150.1 FPS
• High: 130.3 FPS
• Ultra: 105.9 FPS

2560x1440:

• Low: 110.8 FPS
• Medium: 98.6 FPS
• High: 80.8 FPS
• Ultra: 70.4 FPS

3840x2160:

• Low: 61.3 FPS
• Medium: 55.3 FPS
• High: 48.2 FPS
• Ultra: 40.2 FPS

The data shows a consistent pattern: at each resolution, the FPS drops by roughly 10-20% as you move from Low to Medium, then another 10-15% from Medium to High, and a final 15-20% from High to Ultra. The largest absolute drop occurs between 1080p Medium (150.1) and 1080p High (130.3) — a 19.8 FPS difference. The smallest absolute gap is between 4K High (48.2) and 4K Ultra (40.2) — just 8.0 FPS, indicating diminishing returns on visual fidelity at the highest settings.

The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is particularly steep: at Low settings, the drop is 63.9 FPS (174.7 to 110.8), while at Ultra, it's 35.5 FPS (105.9 to 70.4). This suggests the GPU's memory bandwidth and pixel rate become increasingly strained as resolution increases, with the 6 GB VRAM potentially causing texture thrashing at higher presets.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The Ryzen 5 3600 + RTX 2060 combo ranks 1358th out of 1681 tested combos in Doom. This places it in the lower-middle tier of all tested systems, which is somewhat surprising given that the individual components rank in the upper-middle percentile (CPU at 76th percentile, GPU at 58th percentile). The rank of 1358/1681 means roughly 19% of tested combos perform worse, while 81% perform better in this specific game.

The discrepancy between component percentiles and the combo's in-game rank suggests that Doom is particularly demanding on the GPU, and the RTX 2060's 6 GB VRAM and mid-range compute capabilities (6.451 TFLOPS FP32) hold the combo back more than the CPU does. The CPU's percentile ranking (76) is significantly higher than the GPU's (58), indicating that the GPU is the weaker link in this pairing.

In the context of the nearest rivals, the CPU's performance is nearly identical to the Intel Core i5-11400 (delta of -0.1%) and AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS (delta of 0.2%). The GPU's closest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 7600S (0.5% lower score), would likely produce very similar in-game results. The combo's rank of 1358 suggests that while the individual parts are competent, the combination doesn't excel in Doom's specific rendering workload — likely due to the RTX 2060's limitations at higher resolutions and the game's heavy use of texture and pixel processing. For context, the combo's performance is measured data (dataIsMeasured: true), meaning these are real observed results, not estimates.