Doom

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 and AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT pairing delivers a highly capable 1080p and 1440p experience in Doom, with the data showing a clear trade-off between visual fidelity and frame rate. This combination ranks 1182nd out of 1681 tested combos for this game, placing it in the upper-middle tier of all systems. The 8 GB of VRAM on the RX 6600 XT proves sufficient for the game’s demands, while the 6-core, 12-thread CPU provides ample processing headroom. The benchmark results show that this system is best suited for high-refresh-rate 1080p gaming, with 1440p still being very playable at most settings.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows 1920x1080 as the sweet spot, with average FPS ranging from 114.5 at Ultra to 192.5 at Low. At 2560x1440, the system still performs well, with averages between 74.8 at Ultra and 123.5 at Low, but 3840x2160 is only viable at lower settings.

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 5500 compare to its nearest CPU rivals?

A: The Ryzen 5 5500 has an average benchmark score of 20875. This places it virtually tied with the Intel Core i5-12500, which scores 20897 (a delta of -0.1%), and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 4655GE at 20900 (delta -0.1%). It is also 0.1% ahead of the AMD EPYC 7J13 and 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core i5-12600T.

Q: What is the 4K (3840x2160) performance like for this system?

A: At 4K, the frame rates are the weakest. The average FPS at 4K High is 52.1, dropping to 38.9 at Ultra. Lowering the settings to Low yields 65.3 FPS, which is the only 4K setting that clears 60 FPS on average.

Q: Does the RX 6600 XT have enough memory for Doom?

A: The GPU comes with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The benchmark results show that this is sufficient, as the system achieves playable frame rates across all resolutions and settings without indication of memory-related bottlenecks.

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

A: The data suggests the GPU is the primary constraint. The CPU’s high single-thread performance, evidenced by its 3dmark_single_thread score of 836 and cinebench_r23_singlecore score of 2319, allows frame rates to scale significantly with resolution and settings changes, indicating the GPU is the variable component.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to all other tested systems in Doom?

A: The combo ranks 1182nd out of 1681 tested combinations. This places it in the 70th percentile of all tested systems, indicating it outperforms a majority of other configurations for this specific game.

Settings Recommendations

For this hardware pairing, the optimal experience balances high visual quality with smooth frame rates. At 1920x1080, the High preset is the clear recommendation, delivering an average of 142.9 FPS. This is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay and provides a significant visual upgrade over Medium (169.8 FPS) and Low (192.5 FPS) presets. The jump from High to Ultra costs 28.4 FPS (from 142.9 to 114.5), a 20% performance hit for what is often a marginal visual gain in demanding titles.

At 2560x1440, the High preset again provides the best balance, with an average of 94.2 FPS. This is comfortably above 60 FPS and allows for a high refresh rate experience on 144Hz monitors. While Medium (107.1 FPS) and Low (123.5 FPS) offer higher frame rates, the visual compromise is more apparent at this resolution. The Ultra preset at 74.8 FPS is playable but is not recommended for competitive play where higher frame rates are advantageous.

For 3840x2160, the situation is different. The Low preset is the only one that consistently averages above 60 FPS, hitting 65.3 FPS. The Medium preset, at 59.1 FPS, is borderline, while High (52.1 FPS) and Ultra (38.9 FPS) will likely feel less smooth, especially in fast-paced action. Users with 4K displays should prioritize the Low preset for a responsive experience, or consider lowering the resolution to 1440p to use higher settings.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT is the primary driver of frame rates in this configuration. Its performance profile, based on the RDNA 2.0 architecture, shows a strong scaling of frames with lower settings. The GPU's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 256.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for Doom’s textures and geometry at all tested settings. The boost clock of 2589 MHz and game clock of 2359 MHz allow it to maintain high throughput, as reflected in its passmark_g3d score of 16461.

The GPU’s performance is the key differentiator between settings. The difference between Low and Ultra presets is stark: at 1080p, the average FPS jumps from 114.5 at Ultra to 192.5 at Low, a 78 FPS difference. This indicates that the GPU’s shading units (2048), TMUs (128), and ROPs (64) are heavily utilized by the game's visual effects. The FP32 compute capability of 10.60 TFLOPS ensures that the core rendering tasks are handled efficiently.

Benchmark comparisons show the RX 6600 XT is positioned closely to the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti, with an average score of 27985 versus 27956 (delta 0.1%). It also leads the AMD Radeon R9 M395X by 0.4% and trails the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 by 0.9%. This suggests that the card provides a solid baseline for modern game performance, and in Doom, it delivers a playable experience even at demanding 4K Ultra settings, albeit at lower frame rates.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the system is very fast. The average frame rates are 192.5 at Low, 169.8 at Medium, 142.9 at High, and 114.5 at Ultra. This scaling shows a consistent reduction in performance as visual quality increases, but all presets are well above the 60 FPS mark.

Moving to 2560x1440, the average FPS drops but remains strong. The results are 123.5 at Low, 107.1 at Medium, 94.2 at High, and 74.8 at Ultra. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is approximately 30-40 FPS across all settings, which is expected given the increased pixel count. The system still provides a smooth experience at High settings, making this a viable resolution for this combo.

At 3840x2160, the performance takes a significant hit. The average FPS figures are 65.3 at Low, 59.1 at Medium, 52.1 at High, and 38.9 at Ultra. Only the Low preset achieves an average above 60 FPS. This clearly indicates that 4K gaming is possible but requires significant compromises in visual settings to maintain smooth gameplay. The data shows a clear hierarchy: as resolution increases, the frame rate gap between presets narrows, suggesting the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Doom, this specific pairing of the Ryzen 5 5500 and RX 6600 XT holds a rank of 1182 out of 1681 total combos. This places it in the 70th percentile, meaning it outperforms roughly 70% of all other system configurations tested in this game. This is a solid ranking that reflects the balance of the CPU and GPU.

The ranking suggests that while this is not a top-tier enthusiast setup, it is far from a low-end system. The system is clearly capable of handling the game’s requirements, as evidenced by its measured FPS. The rank is a holistic measure that accounts for all tested resolutions and presets, and the consistent performance across the board contributes to this position.

When considering the individual components, the CPU’s percentileVsAllCpus of 79 and the GPU’s percentileVsAllGpus of 71 both indicate that each part is above average. The combo’s overall rank is slightly lower than the individual percentiles, which is common in gaming benchmarks where the GPU’s performance in a specific title can be the deciding factor. The data confirms that this is a well-matched pair for Doom, providing a reliable and enjoyable gaming experience without any significant bottlenecks.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture. Its base clock of 3.60 GHz and boost clock of 4.20 GHz provide strong single-threaded performance, which is crucial for game logic and physics in Doom. This is supported by its benchmark scores, such as a 3dmark_single_thread score of 836 and a cinebench_r23_singlecore score of 2319.

The CPU’s multi-threaded capabilities are also robust, with a cinebench_r23_multicore score of 16429 and a passmark_multithread score of 19330. This ensures that background tasks and the game’s threading do not cause stutters. The 16 MB of L3 cache and 512 KB of L2 per core help keep data access fast, reducing potential latency. The CPU’s overall performance is comparable to its rivals, with a delta of -0.1% against the Intel Core i5-12500.

In the context of Doom, the CPU appears to be less of a bottleneck than the GPU. The frame rates scale predictably with resolution and settings, which is a sign that the CPU is keeping up with the GPU’s output. The 12 threads are more than sufficient for this game, allowing the GPU to be the primary factor in determining the frame rate. The data indicates that the Ryzen 5 5500 is a capable partner for the RX 6600 XT, providing enough processing power to avoid limiting performance in this title.