Doom

The AMD Ryzen 5 4600G paired with the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT delivers a compelling 1080p and 1440p experience in Doom, though the data reveals a clear shift in system bottleneck as resolution climbs. The measured frame rates show a consistent hierarchy across settings, with the GPU becoming the dominant limiting factor at 4K, while the CPU holds its own at lower resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings, indicating that the RX 5700 XT is the primary constraint at higher resolutions. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 139.1 FPS at 1920x1080 to 89.5 FPS at 2560x1440—a 35.7% reduction—and then to 48.9 FPS at 3840x2160, which represents a 64.9% drop from the 1080p figure. This pattern is not unique to High settings; the Low preset shows a similar trajectory, moving from 186.4 FPS at 1080p to 123.3 FPS at 1440p and finally 66.4 FPS at 4K.

The scaling behavior suggests that at 1080p, the system is not fully GPU-bound, as the large jump from High (139.1 FPS) to Low (186.4 FPS) demonstrates significant headroom. This 47.3 FPS difference at 1080p indicates that the CPU and memory subsystem are capable of feeding the GPU faster when graphical load is reduced. However, at 4K, the gap between Low (66.4 FPS) and High (48.9 FPS) narrows to just 17.5 FPS, showing that the GPU's compute and memory bandwidth are saturated regardless of settings. The RX 5700 XT's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for this title, but the raw pixel throughput at 3840x2160 becomes the limiting factor.

The 4K Ultra preset delivers only 43.1 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold many consider playable for a fast-paced FPS. The 1440p results are more balanced, with High settings hitting 89.5 FPS and Ultra at 73.7 FPS, showing that the GPU still has enough headroom to maintain smooth gameplay. The data indicates that the sweet spot for this combination is 1440p, where the CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads are not the bottleneck, and the GPU can flex its 9.754 TFLOPS of FP32 performance effectively.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows provide clear guidance on the optimal preset for each resolution. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset delivers 111.7 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay. The jump from High (139.1 FPS) to Ultra (111.7 FPS) costs 27.4 FPS, but the visual fidelity gains are substantial in a game like Doom, where fast motion benefits from higher detail. The Medium preset at 167.1 FPS is excessive for most displays, as 144 Hz monitors are not yet universal, making Ultra the sensible choice for 1080p users.

At 2560x1440, the High preset at 89.5 FPS is the best balance, as it remains above 60 FPS while offering near-maximum detail. The Ultra preset at 73.7 FPS is still playable, but the 15.8 FPS penalty over High may not justify the marginal visual improvements in this title. The Medium preset at 106.4 FPS is a viable alternative for those prioritizing frame rate, but it sacrifices notable texture and shadow quality. The data suggests that High is the recommended preset for 1440p, as it maintains a comfortable margin above 60 FPS.

For 3840x2160, the situation is more constrained. The Low preset at 66.4 FPS is the only setting that clears the 60 FPS bar, making it the default recommendation for 4K gaming. The Medium preset at 59.1 FPS is borderline, and the High preset at 48.9 FPS will introduce noticeable stutter in fast-paced combat. Given that the Ultra preset drops to 43.1 FPS, it is not recommended for this resolution. The data indicates that 4K gaming with this combo requires accepting Low settings to maintain fluidity, while 1440p High is the overall best experience.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU-GPU combo in Doom?

A: The data shows 2560x1440 with High settings as the optimal balance, delivering 89.5 FPS average, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold while maintaining high visual fidelity.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Doom?

A: Yes, but only at Low settings, which produce 66.4 FPS average. The Medium preset at 59.1 FPS is borderline, and Ultra at 43.1 FPS is not recommended for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, Ultra averages 111.7 FPS versus 139.1 FPS for High, representing a 27.4 FPS penalty. The Ultra preset is still well above 60 FPS, making it a viable choice for maximum detail.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1080p?

A: The data shows the system is not fully GPU-bound at 1080p, as the difference between Low (186.4 FPS) and High (139.1 FPS) is 47.3 FPS, indicating the CPU has headroom to feed the GPU at lower graphical loads.

Q: What is the frame rate at 1440p Ultra?

A: The 2560x1440 Ultra preset averages 73.7 FPS, which is above 60 FPS but significantly lower than the High preset's 89.5 FPS.

Q: Does the 8 GB VRAM on the RX 5700 XT cause issues at 4K?

A: The measured data does not indicate VRAM capacity as a limiting factor, as the performance scaling from 1440p to 4K is consistent with GPU compute limitations rather than memory exhaustion.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of AMD Ryzen 5 4600G and AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT ranks 1272 out of 1681 tested combos in Doom, placing it in the 75.7th percentile of all tested systems. This rank reflects the balanced nature of the pairing, where the CPU's 75th percentile performance across all CPUs and the GPU's 68th percentile across all GPUs combine to produce a mid-pack result for this title. The rank is influenced by the fact that Doom is not particularly demanding on the CPU, so the 4600G's 6-core, 12-thread configuration with a boost clock of 4.20 GHz is sufficient, while the GPU's 8 GB memory and 256-bit bus width are adequate but not exceptional.

The combo's rank of 1272 out of 1681 suggests that there are many faster systems, but it also indicates that this pairing is far from the bottom. The CPU's nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i3-14100T and Intel Core i3-13100F, have average scores within 1% of the 4600G, showing that the processor is competitive with modern budget options. The GPU's nearest rivals, including the NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile and Intel Arc A350M, have average scores within 0.9% of the RX 5700 XT, confirming that this GPU sits in a well-populated performance tier. In the context of Doom specifically, the measured FPS values show that this combo outperforms many higher-ranked systems at 1080p, as the game's Vulkan-based engine scales well with the RDNA 1.0 architecture.

The rank is also affected by the fact that many tested combos use newer, higher-end GPUs. The RX 5700 XT, with its 1605 MHz base and 1905 MHz boost clocks, delivers solid performance, but it is outclassed by more recent architectures. The data indicates that for Doom, the combo's rank is driven more by GPU capability than CPU, as the 4600G's performance is sufficient to avoid bottlenecking at most settings.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT is the decisive component in this pairing, as the measured FPS values across resolutions and settings demonstrate. The GPU's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is ample for Doom's textures at 1080p and 1440p. The clock speeds—1605 MHz base, 1755 MHz game, and 1905 MHz boost—allow the 2560 shading units to sustain high frame rates, but the 4K results show that the 9.754 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is the limiting factor at that resolution.

The GPU's 64 ROPs and 160 TMUs contribute to the pixel and texture fill rates of 121.9 GPixel/s and 304.8 GTexel/s, respectively. These figures explain the strong performance at 1080p and 1440p, where the GPU is not overwhelmed by pixel count. The transition from 1440p to 4K increases the pixel load by 2.25 times, which aligns with the observed frame rate drops. For example, at High settings, the 89.5 FPS at 1440p drops to 48.9 FPS at 4K, a 45.4% reduction that is consistent with the increased pixel workload.

The GPU's memory configuration also plays a role in the scaling behavior. The 448.0 GB/s bandwidth is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K, the higher resolution demands more memory throughput, which contributes to the performance degradation. The 14 Gbps effective memory speed on the 1750 MHz memory clock is adequate for this title, but it does not provide the headroom seen in higher-end GPUs. The GPU's 68th percentile ranking across all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 24731, places it in the upper-mid range, and the measured Doom results confirm that it is a capable performer for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K requiring settings compromises.