Doom

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 combination delivers a playable experience in Doom, but the performance curve across resolutions reveals a system that is heavily constrained by the graphics card. The data shows a dramatic drop in frame rates as resolution increases, a classic sign that the GPU is the limiting factor in this pairing.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS numbers demonstrate a steep performance cliff when moving from 1080p to 4K. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 129 FPS at 1920x1080 to 83 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 46 FPS. The drop continues to 45 FPS at 3840x2160, representing a 65% decrease from the 1080p result. This scaling pattern is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario where the RTX 2060's rendering throughput becomes the primary bottleneck at higher pixel counts.

The gap between Low and Ultra settings widens at higher resolutions, which further confirms GPU limitation. At 1920x1080, the spread between Low (175 FPS) and Ultra (105 FPS) is 70 FPS. At 2560x1440, that spread narrows to 45 FPS (113 FPS Low versus 68 FPS Ultra). By 3840x2160, the difference is just 24 FPS (61 FPS Low versus 37 FPS Ultra). This compression of the settings range at 4K indicates that even lowering graphical fidelity cannot overcome the raw pixel-pushing demands placed on the GPU.

The 4K Medium preset shows a minimum FPS of 45 and a maximum of 61, with an average of 53 FPS. This suggests that the experience at this resolution is inconsistent, with frame pacing potentially suffering during intense combat sequences. The 1440p Medium preset offers a more stable window, with a minimum of 84 FPS and a maximum of 113 FPS, averaging 99 FPS. At 1080p Medium, the minimum is 130 FPS and the maximum is 175 FPS, averaging 152 FPS, which indicates headroom that could allow for higher settings without dropping below smooth thresholds.

The fact that 1080p Low achieves 175 FPS while 4K Low only reaches 61 FPS is telling. The RTX 2060 simply does not have the raw fill rate to handle 4K output in Doom, regardless of how light the rendering load is. The CPU, a 6-core Zen 3 part with 12 threads, has ample processing power to feed the GPU at lower resolutions, but this advantage becomes irrelevant once the GPU is saturated at higher pixel counts.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Ryzen 5 5500 and RTX 2060 ranks 2934 out of 3712 tested combos in Doom. This places the pairing in the bottom 21% of all systems tested, which is a relatively low position. However, this ranking must be interpreted with context: the database includes combinations with far more powerful components, so a mid-range pairing like this is expected to sit below the median.

The CPU's own percentile ranking is 73rd among all processors, indicating that the Ryzen 5 5500 is a solidly above-average part in general compute tasks. The GPU, however, ranks in the 58th percentile among all graphics cards, which is closer to the middle of the pack. The discrepancy between these two percentiles suggests that the GPU is the weaker link in this pairing, dragging down the overall game-specific rank.

Looking at the nearest rivals for the CPU, the Ryzen 5 5500 scores 19,593 in the average benchmark, which is nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen AI 5 430 (19,617, -0.1% delta) and the Intel Core i5-12500 (19,668, -0.4%). It is slightly ahead of the Intel Core i7-10700F (19,499, +0.5% delta). This tight grouping indicates that the Ryzen 5 5500 is competitive with these alternatives in synthetic tests, but in Doom, the GPU pairing dictates the final outcome.

For the GPU, the RTX 2060's average benchmark score is 15,290, which is essentially tied with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 (15,283, 0% delta) and the AMD Radeon 680M (15,270, +0.1%). It sits slightly ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM (15,199, +0.6%) and the AMD Radeon RX 7600 (15,171, +0.8%). These near-identical scores suggest that in raw compute terms, the RTX 2060 is in a crowded performance tier, and its Doom results will be representative of that tier rather than standing out.

GPU Role

The RTX 2060 comes equipped with 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The memory clock is rated at 1750 MHz, or 14 Gbps effective. For a game like Doom, which was released in 2016 and is not particularly demanding on VRAM at moderate settings, the 6 GB capacity is sufficient at 1080p and 1440p, but may become a factor at 4K with higher detail levels.

The GPU's base clock is 1365 MHz with a boost clock of 1680 MHz. The measured frame rates show that this clock speed is adequate for 1080p gaming, where the card achieves 129 FPS on High settings. However, the architecture's limits become apparent at 4K, where the 45 FPS average on High settings indicates that the 6.451 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is simply not enough to maintain high frame rates at that resolution.

The card features 1920 shading units, 120 texture mapping units, and 48 ROPs. These specifications directly influence the pixel and texture fill rates, which are 80.64 GPixel/s and 201.6 GTexel/s respectively. The 4K performance drop can be attributed to these fill rate limits, as the GPU must process four times as many pixels as 1080p, and the ROP count of 48 becomes a bottleneck when pushing that many fragments.

The RTX 2060 also includes 30 RT cores and 240 tensor cores, features that are not utilized in Doom's standard rendering path. The game's Vulkan API support is listed, and the GPU supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), but the measured data does not specify which API was used for testing. The presence of these specialized cores does not help with traditional rasterization performance in this title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the RTX 2060 delivers strong performance across all settings. The Low preset achieves an average of 175 FPS, which is well beyond the refresh rate of most standard monitors. Medium averages 152 FPS, High averages 129 FPS, and Ultra averages 105 FPS. The minimum FPS for Medium is 130, indicating that even the lowest frames stay comfortably high.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains respectable but drops noticeably. Low averages 113 FPS, Medium averages 99 FPS with a minimum of 84, High averages 83 FPS, and Ultra averages 68 FPS. These numbers suggest that 1440p is a viable resolution for this combo, particularly on Medium or High settings where the average frame rate stays above 80 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the performance becomes marginal for smooth gameplay. Low averages 61 FPS, Medium averages 53 FPS with a minimum of 45 and a maximum of 61, High averages 45 FPS, and Ultra averages 37 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K is effectively unplayable for fast-paced action, while even the Low preset hovers near the 60 FPS threshold with no reported minimum to guarantee consistency.

The progression from Ultra to Low at each resolution shows a consistent pattern: lowering settings provides a significant boost, but the gains diminish as resolution increases. At 1080p, the jump from Ultra (105 FPS) to Low (175 FPS) is a 67% improvement. At 1440p, the same settings change yields a 66% improvement (68 to 113 FPS). At 4K, the improvement is 65% (37 to 61 FPS). This consistency indicates that the GPU's scaling efficiency is uniform across resolutions, but the absolute numbers remain too low at 4K.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that at 4K Low settings, the average FPS is 61, which is borderline playable. However, at 4K Medium, the average drops to 53 FPS with a minimum of 45 FPS, and at 4K High it falls to 45 FPS. For consistently smooth gameplay, 1440p is the safer choice.

*Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU and GPU pairing in Doom?*

A: Based on the measured results, 1920x1080 offers the best experience, with all settings achieving average frame rates above 105 FPS. The 2560x1440 resolution is also viable, particularly on Medium (99 FPS) or High (83 FPS) settings.

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 5500 compare to its closest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Ryzen 5 5500 has an average benchmark score of 19,593. This is 0.1% lower than the AMD Ryzen AI 5 430 (19,617), 0.4% lower than the Intel Core i5-12500 (19,668), and 0.5% higher than the Intel Core i7-10700F (19,499).

*Q: Is the RTX 2060's 6 GB VRAM sufficient for Doom?*

A: The measured data does not indicate VRAM limitations at any tested configuration. The GPU achieves 129 FPS at 1080p High and 83 FPS at 1440p High, suggesting that 6 GB is adequate for this game's requirements at these settings.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 175 FPS while the Ultra preset averages 105 FPS. This represents a 70 FPS difference, or a 67% increase in performance when using the Low preset.

Q: How does the RTX 2060 rank among all GPUs in the database?

A: The RTX 2060 ranks in the 58th percentile among all GPUs. Its average benchmark score is 15,290, which is essentially tied with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 (15,283) and 0.8% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 7600 (15,171).

Settings Recommendations

For a 1920x1080 display, the Ultra preset is the recommended choice. The average FPS of 105 is well above the 60 FPS threshold, and the minimum FPS for Medium (130) suggests that Ultra likely maintains acceptable frame times. If a higher refresh rate monitor is in use, the High preset at 129 FPS provides a better balance of visual quality and speed.

At 2560x1440, the High preset averaging 83 FPS is the optimal pick for most users. It provides a solid visual experience while keeping the frame rate above the 60 FPS mark. The Medium preset at 99 FPS is preferable for competitive play, as the minimum of 84 FPS ensures no significant drops during fast movement. The Ultra preset at 68 FPS is playable but leaves little headroom for demanding scenes.

For 3840x2160, the Low preset is the only configuration that achieves an average of 61 FPS, which is technically playable but may suffer from occasional dips. The Medium preset at 53 FPS is not recommended for fast-paced Doom gameplay, as the minimum of 45 FPS indicates that frame pacing will be inconsistent. The High and Ultra presets at 45 FPS and 37 FPS respectively are not viable for this game at 4K.

The data indicates that the RTX 2060's sweet spot for Doom is 1080p with Ultra settings or 1440p with High settings. Pushing to 4K requires sacrificing graphical fidelity to Low, which undermines the visual experience of the game. The Ryzen 5 5500's 6 cores and 12 threads provide sufficient processing power to avoid CPU bottlenecks at all tested resolutions, confirming that the GPU is the sole determinant of the final frame rate.