Doom

The pairing of AMD’s Ryzen 5 4600G with NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 4080 produces an unusual bottleneck profile in Doom: the GPU is capable of massive frame rates, while the CPU’s older Zen 2 architecture limits the upper ceiling at lower resolutions. The measured data shows this is a system that excels at high-resolution, high-fidelity gaming but leaves performance on the table for esports-style play.

Settings Recommendations

For this specific combination, the Ultra preset delivers the most visually consistent experience relative to the hardware’s capability, but it is not the fastest. At 1920x1080, Ultra produces an average of 232 FPS, which is only 17 FPS below the High preset’s 249 FPS. The gap widens at higher resolutions: at 2560x1440, Ultra averages 156 FPS versus 191 FPS on High, and at 3840x2160, Ultra averages 85 FPS versus 104 FPS on High. The Ultra preset’s cost is relatively uniform across resolutions, but the absolute frame rate remains playable everywhere.

The High preset is the best balance for most users. It provides 249 FPS at 1080p, 191 FPS at 1440p, and 104 FPS at 4K. These numbers suggest that High maintains a comfortable margin above 60 FPS at 4K while offering nearly 200 FPS at 1440p. The jump from High to Ultra costs roughly 15-19% of the average FPS at each resolution, which is a significant trade-off for visual gains that are unlikely to be noticeable in fast-paced gameplay.

For competitive play, the Low preset at 1080p yields the highest average at 277 FPS, and at 1440p it reaches 240 FPS. However, the Medium preset at 1080p (264 FPS) is only 13 FPS slower than Low while providing better visual quality. The data suggests that Medium is the optimal competitive preset at 1080p, as the frame rate difference between Low and Medium is smaller than the difference between Medium and High. At 1440p, Low’s 240 FPS versus Medium’s 226 FPS is a 14 FPS difference, which is marginal for most monitors.

At 4K, the choice is between High (104 FPS) and Medium (123 FPS). The Medium preset’s 19 FPS advantage over High makes it the better option for 4K displays, especially since the minimum FPS recorded for Medium at 4K is 104, matching High’s average. The Ultra preset at 4K drops to 85 FPS, which is the only measured configuration that approaches the 60 FPS threshold too closely for comfort.

GPU Role

The RTX 4080 is the dominant component in this pairing, with a 16 GB GDDR6X memory pool and a 256-bit bus delivering 716.8 GB/s of bandwidth. In Doom, the GPU’s role becomes more pronounced as resolution increases. The 4K data shows a clear scaling pattern: Low at 141 FPS, Medium at 123 FPS, High at 104 FPS, and Ultra at 85 FPS. This 56 FPS spread between Low and Ultra at 4K indicates that the game is heavily GPU-bound at this resolution, with the graphics card’s raw compute becoming the primary limiter.

The GPU’s clock behavior—base 2205 MHz and boost 2505 MHz—is consistent with the 40-series architecture’s ability to sustain high frequencies under load. The 76 RT cores and 304 tensor cores are present, though Doom is not a ray-traced title, so these features likely have minimal impact on the measured results. The 9728 shading units and 112 ROPs are more relevant to the rasterization workload, and the data reflects this: the 4K Ultra average of 85 FPS is a strong result for a 2016-era game engine running at maximum settings.

The GPU’s 86th percentile ranking among all tested GPUs, combined with its average benchmark score of 54247, places it in the upper tier of graphics hardware. The nearest rivals—RTX 4080 SUPER (0.1% higher), Radeon Pro W5700X (1.1% higher), RX 6750 GRE (2.6% higher), and Radeon 8060S (2.7% higher)—are all within a narrow band, suggesting that the RTX 4080’s performance in Doom is representative of its general standing. The measured FPS at 4K Medium (123 FPS) and High (104 FPS) both exceed what most systems achieve at this resolution, confirming that the GPU is not the limiting factor in most scenarios.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 5 4600G provides 6 cores and 12 threads based on the Zen 2 architecture, with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.20 GHz. Its 8 MB of shared L3 cache is modest by modern standards, and the CPU’s 71st percentile ranking among all CPUs reflects its mid-range position. The benchmark scores—Cinebench R23 multi-core at 13593 and single-core at 1919—indicate that this processor is adequate for gaming but not exceptional.

In Doom, the CPU’s influence is most visible at 1080p, where the frame rates approach or exceed 250 FPS. At 1080p Low, the average is 277 FPS, which is 37 FPS higher than the 1080p High result of 249 FPS. This difference suggests that the CPU can still push frames when the GPU is underutilized, but the ceiling is evident. The 1080p Medium average of 264 FPS with a minimum of 225 FPS and maximum of 304 FPS shows variance that points to CPU-driven frame pacing issues at very high frame rates.

The jump from 1080p to 1440p shows a smaller relative drop than expected for a CPU-bound scenario. At High settings, 1080p averages 249 FPS and 1440p averages 191 FPS, a 23% reduction. The same comparison between 1440p and 4K shows 191 FPS dropping to 104 FPS, a 45% reduction. This pattern indicates that the CPU is the limiter at 1080p and 1440p, while the GPU becomes the limiter at 4K. The CPU’s 12 threads are likely sufficient for Doom’s engine, but the per-core performance—evidenced by the Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1919—caps the maximum achievable frame rate.

The nearest CPU rivals are all within 0.8% of the 4600G’s average benchmark score, with the Ryzen 3 PRO 5355GE at 0.1% higher and the Intel Core 7 150U at 0.6% higher. None of these rivals would meaningfully change the Doom results, suggesting that the CPU is not a unique bottleneck but rather a typical mid-range performer.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination ranks 575th out of 3712 tested combos, placing it in the top 15.5% of all system pairings. The rank reflects the mismatch between the high-end GPU and mid-range CPU. The RTX 4080’s 86th percentile GPU ranking is significantly higher than the 4600G’s 71st percentile CPU ranking, and the combo rank of 575 reflects this imbalance.

The measured FPS data supports this interpretation. At 4K Ultra, the combo achieves 85 FPS, which is a strong result that many lower-ranked combos would not reach. However, at 1080p Low, the 277 FPS average is respectable but not exceptional for an RTX 4080 system; more balanced pairings with higher-end CPUs would likely exceed this figure. The combo’s rank suggests that it outperforms the majority of tested systems, but it is not in the top tier where both components are equally matched.

The gap between the GPU’s potential and the CPU’s delivery is most apparent in the 1080p to 1440p scaling. If the system were purely GPU-bound, the 1080p High average of 249 FPS would scale to roughly 165 FPS at 1440p (assuming a 1.5x pixel count increase), but the measured 191 FPS is significantly higher, indicating that the CPU is artificially limiting the 1080p result. This dynamic places the combo in a position where it excels at 4K but underperforms its GPU’s potential at lower resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K reveals the limiting component at each stage. For the High preset, the progression is 249 FPS at 1080p, 191 FPS at 1440p, and 104 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are 23% from 1080p to 1440p and 45% from 1440p to 4K. This non-linear scaling is characteristic of a system transitioning from CPU-bound to GPU-bound behavior.

At 1080p, the CPU is the primary limiter. The fact that Low (277 FPS) and Medium (264 FPS) are both above High (249 FPS) suggests that the CPU is saturating at around 260-280 FPS, and the GPU is not being fully exercised. The 1440p results show a similar pattern: Low at 240 FPS, Medium at 226 FPS, and High at 191 FPS. The CPU is still limiting at 1440p, but the larger pixel count begins to engage the GPU more fully.

At 4K, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck. The 4K Low average of 141 FPS versus 1080p Low of 277 FPS represents a 49% drop, which is roughly proportional to the pixel count increase. The 4K Ultra result of 85 FPS versus 1440p Ultra of 156 FPS is a 45% drop, further confirming GPU-bound behavior. The Medium preset at 4K shows a minimum FPS of 104 and maximum of 141, which mirrors the exact values of the 4K High and Low averages, respectively, suggesting that the Medium preset at 4K is hitting the CPU’s frame delivery ceiling at the top end.

The data indicates that users with 1080p or 1440p displays will see diminishing returns from the RTX 4080, while 4K users will experience the GPU’s full potential. The 4K High average of 104 FPS is a strong result, and the 4K Medium average of 123 FPS is even better, making 4K the resolution where this combo makes the most sense.

FAQ

Q: What is the best preset for 4K gaming with this combo?

A: The Medium preset at 3840x2160 achieves an average of 123 FPS with a minimum of 104 FPS, which is 19 FPS higher than High’s 104 FPS average. Given that the minimum for Medium matches High’s average, Medium provides a better experience without sacrificing smoothness.

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

A: The CPU is the limiting factor at 1920x1080. The Low preset reaches 277 FPS, but the High preset only reaches 249 FPS, indicating that the GPU is not fully utilized. The RTX 4080 is capable of higher frame rates, but the Ryzen 5 4600G’s single-thread performance caps the output.

Q: How does this combo compare to similar systems?

A: This combo ranks 575th out of 3712 tested combinations. The RTX 4080’s nearest rivals are within 2.7% of its average benchmark score, and the 4600G’s nearest rivals are within 0.8%, meaning that small component changes would not significantly alter the ranking.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Ultra and High settings?

A: At 1920x1080, Ultra averages 232 FPS versus High’s 249 FPS, a 17 FPS difference. At 2560x1440, the difference is 35 FPS (156 versus 191), and at 3840x2160, the difference is 19 FPS (85 versus 104). The relative cost of Ultra increases at 1440p.

Q: Can this system handle high-refresh-rate 1440p monitors?

A: Yes. The High preset at 2560x1440 averages 191 FPS, and the Medium preset averages 226 FPS with a maximum of 260 FPS. Both comfortably exceed 144 Hz and approach 240 Hz capabilities.

*Q: Does the 16 GB VRAM matter for Doom?*

A: The measured data does not show any VRAM-related performance degradation. The RTX 4080’s 16 GB GDDR6X memory with 716.8 GB/s bandwidth is more than sufficient for Doom at all tested settings, as evidenced by the consistent frame rates across presets.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete set of measured average FPS values is as follows:

1920x1080:

• Low: 277 FPS
• Medium: 264 FPS (minimum 225, maximum 304)
• High: 249 FPS
• Ultra: 232 FPS

2560x1440:

• Low: 240 FPS
• Medium: 226 FPS (minimum 192, maximum 260)
• High: 191 FPS
• Ultra: 156 FPS

3840x2160:

• Low: 141 FPS
• Medium: 123 FPS (minimum 104, maximum 141)
• High: 104 FPS
• Ultra: 85 FPS

The only configurations with recorded minimum and maximum values are the Medium presets at each resolution. At 1080p, the Medium preset spans 225 to 304 FPS, a 79 FPS range. At 1440p, the range is 192 to 260 FPS, a 68 FPS spread. At 4K, the range is 104 to 141 FPS, a 37 FPS spread. The narrowing range at higher resolutions confirms that the GPU’s increased workload smooths out frame delivery, while at lower resolutions the CPU causes more variance.

The scaling from Low to Ultra at each resolution shows a consistent pattern. At 1080p, the drop from Low to Ultra is 45 FPS (277 to 232). At 1440p, the drop is 84 FPS (240 to 156). At 4K, the drop is 56 FPS (141 to 85). The 1440p drop is the largest, which reflects the CPU’s ability to maintain high frame rates at Low settings while the GPU becomes more taxed at Ultra settings. At 4K, the CPU is less relevant, and the GPU’s performance scaling from Low to Ultra is more uniform.