Doom

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D pairs with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 to deliver a remarkably consistent experience in Doom, with the data showing a clear hierarchy where the GPU becomes the decisive factor as resolution climbs. This analysis examines the measured FPS across all settings and resolutions, contextualizing the performance against the broader benchmark database.

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

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D is a 6-core, 12-thread processor built on the Zen 3 architecture (Vermeer) using a 7 nm process from TSMC. It operates with a base clock of 3.00 GHz and a boost clock of 4.00 GHz, drawing a 105 W TDP. The chip’s standout feature is its cache configuration: 64 KB of L1 per core, 512 KB of L2 per core, and a substantial 96 MB of shared L3 cache. This large L3 pool is particularly relevant for Doom, a fast-paced FPS where the engine frequently reuses geometry and texture data. The processor’s memory bandwidth is rated at 51.2 GB/s over a dual-channel DDR4 interface.

Benchmark data from the FACT PACK indicates this CPU sits in the 85th percentile among all tested processors, with an average benchmark score of 37018. Its PassMark multithread score is 20363, while single-thread performance is 2941. For Doom, a game released in 2016, the single-thread performance is often what determines frame pacing in CPU-bound scenarios. At 1080p with Low settings, where the GPU is less stressed, the CPU’s ability to feed frames becomes visible. The data shows a 258 FPS average at that setting, indicating that the 5500X3D’s 4.00 GHz boost clock and efficient Zen 3 architecture are more than sufficient to keep up with the RTX 3070. The CPU’s nearest rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F (deltaPct 0.2) and Intel Core Ultra 5 225 (deltaPct 0.2), show nearly identical average scores, suggesting that the 5500X3D is well-balanced for this game’s CPU demands.

The 96 MB L3 cache is the key differentiator here. In Doom, which has many enclosed arenas and corridors, the game’s data set can often fit within this cache, reducing the need to access slower system memory. This likely explains why the CPU’s 6 cores and 12 threads are adequate; the game doesn’t require massive parallel processing, but it does benefit from low-latency data access. The data implies that the CPU is not a bottleneck in most scenarios, as the FPS scales more significantly with GPU settings changes than with resolution changes, which typically stress the CPU less.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 holds a rank of 1226 out of 2930 tested combos for Doom. This places it in the upper-middle tier of all configurations, roughly in the 58th percentile of tested systems. This rank is somewhat surprising given the strength of both components individually. The CPU is in the 85th percentile of all CPUs, and the GPU is in the 61st percentile of all GPUs, yet the combo only achieves a 58th percentile rank in this game. This suggests that Doom has specific optimization quirks or that the combination hits a performance ceiling not reflected by individual component scores.

Comparing to the GPU’s nearest rivals, the RTX 3070 has an average benchmark score of 17208, with the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT being 0.7% faster and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 being 1% slower. The data shows the combo’s rank is driven more by the GPU than the CPU, as the CPU holds a higher percentile. The fact that this combo ranks 1226th out of 2930 implies that many other pairings, likely with higher-end GPUs, achieve better frame rates. The CPU’s strong cache and core configuration do not boost the combo into the top tier, indicating that the GPU’s 8 GB memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth may be limiting factors at higher resolutions, which is typical for this game.

The rank also reflects the age of the GPU, released in 2020, compared to the newer CPU, released in 2025. The data suggests that this pairing is balanced but not exceptional; it will deliver smooth performance at 1440p, but it won’t top any charts. The deltaPct values for the CPU’s rivals are all within 0.3%, confirming that the CPU is not a weak link. The combo’s rank is likely suppressed by the GPU’s 61st percentile standing, which is the lower of the two components. The data implies that for Doom, a more modern GPU would yield a significantly higher combo rank, even with this same CPU.

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

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of degradation as resolution increases, which is a classic indicator of GPU-bound performance. At 1080p with High settings, the combo achieves 190 FPS. Moving to 1440p on the same settings drops the average to 123 FPS, a reduction of 67 FPS or about 35%. At 4K, the High setting average falls further to 67 FPS, a 123 FPS drop from 1080p. This steep decline, particularly from 1440p to 4K, points directly at the GPU as the limiting component. The RTX 3070’s 8 GB VRAM and 256-bit memory bus are being saturated as pixel count quadruples from 1080p to 4K.

Looking at the Low settings, the pattern is similar but with higher absolute numbers. At 1080p Low, the system posts 258 FPS. At 1440p Low, it drops to 167 FPS, and at 4K Low, it falls to 90 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 91 FPS, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 77 FPS. This suggests that even on Low settings, the GPU is the primary constraint, as the CPU would be less stressed at lower resolutions and settings. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect tighter FPS numbers across different resolutions, but the data shows a consistent 30-40% drop each time resolution increases.

The Medium settings row provides the only min and max FPS data, which is useful for understanding frame consistency. At 1080p Medium, the average is 225 FPS, with a min of 191 and a max of 258. At 1440p Medium, the average is 145 FPS, with a min of 124 and a max of 167. At 4K Medium, the average is 79 FPS, with a min of 67 and a max of 91. The min FPS values are not drastically lower than the averages, suggesting that the GPU maintains a stable frame rate without major hitches. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p Medium shows a 35% drop, and from 1440p to 4K Medium shows a 45% drop, reinforcing that the GPU is the limiting factor.

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

At 1920x1080, the data shows a wide range of performance across settings. The Low preset delivers the highest average at 258 FPS. The Medium preset achieves 225 FPS, with a recorded minimum of 191 FPS and maximum of 258 FPS. The High preset drops to 190 FPS, and the Ultra preset delivers 155 FPS. This is a 103 FPS spread between Low and Ultra, indicating that the game’s settings have a significant impact on frame rate at this resolution. The 1080p numbers suggest that the GPU is not fully saturated on Low settings, as the CPU can keep up, but as settings increase, the GPU workload rises.

At 2560x1440, the performance scales down. The Low preset averages 167 FPS, which is a 91 FPS drop from 1080p Low. The Medium preset averages 145 FPS, with a min of 124 and max of 167. The High preset achieves 123 FPS, and the Ultra preset delivers 100 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 67 FPS, which is narrower than at 1080p. This indicates that the GPU is becoming more of a bottleneck, as the absolute difference between settings shrinks. The 1440p numbers are still highly playable, with even the Ultra preset exceeding 100 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the performance drops significantly. The Low preset averages 90 FPS, which is the only setting at 4K that exceeds 60 FPS comfortably. The Medium preset averages 79 FPS, with a min of 67 and max of 91. The High preset delivers 67 FPS, which is right at the threshold for smooth play on a 60 Hz display. The Ultra preset drops to 54 FPS, which is below the standard 60 FPS target. The spread between Low and Ultra at 4K is only 36 FPS, further confirming that the GPU is heavily constrained. The data shows that at 4K, the RTX 3070’s 8 GB memory allocation is likely being exceeded on Ultra settings, causing the frame rate to plummet.

FAQ

*Q: Is the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D a bottleneck for the RTX 3070 in Doom?*

A: No, the data does not indicate a CPU bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 258 FPS, and the CPU’s nearest rivals show a deltaPct of only 0.2%, meaning the CPU is performing as expected. The FPS drops are more correlated with resolution increases, which stresses the GPU.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain 120+ FPS?

A: At 1440p, the High settings average 123 FPS, and the Low settings average 167 FPS. Both are above 120 FPS. At 1080p, all settings except Ultra exceed 190 FPS. The 1440p Medium setting also achieves 145 FPS, so 1440p is the sweet spot for high refresh rate gaming.

Q: How does the RTX 3070 compare to its nearest rivals in terms of overall score?

A: The RTX 3070 has an average benchmark score of 17208. The AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT is 0.7% faster, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 is 1% slower. The RTX 3070 sits in the 61st percentile of all GPUs.

Q: Why does the 4K Ultra setting only achieve 54 FPS?

A: The 4K Ultra preset demands significant GPU memory bandwidth and processing power. The RTX 3070 has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 20.31 TFLOPS of FP32 compute. At 4K Ultra, the game’s texture and shading demands likely exceed what the GPU can handle efficiently, causing the frame rate to drop below the 60 FPS target.

Q: Does the CPU’s 96 MB L3 cache help in this game?

A: The data shows the CPU is in the 85th percentile, but the combo only ranks 1226th out of 2930. While the large cache likely helps with data access, the game’s performance is more limited by the GPU at higher resolutions. The cache doesn’t prevent the GPU from being the primary bottleneck.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The only min FPS values in the data are for the Medium settings. At 1080p, the min is 191 FPS; at 1440p, the min is 124 FPS; and at 4K, the min is 67 FPS. No min FPS data is provided for Low, High, or Ultra settings.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear picture for optimal settings. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset delivers 155 FPS, which is excellent for competitive play. However, the High preset at 190 FPS offers a significant boost with likely minor visual differences, making it the better choice for high refresh rate monitors. The Medium preset at 225 FPS is the best for maximizing frame rate without sacrificing too much visual fidelity, but the data shows that High is the most balanced option, offering a 35 FPS jump over Ultra.

At 2560x1440, the High preset achieves 123 FPS, which is ideal for 120 Hz displays. The Ultra preset drops to 100 FPS, which is still playable but not optimal for high refresh rate. The Medium preset at 145 FPS is the best value for performance, as it stays above 144 FPS, which is the target for 144 Hz monitors. For a smoother experience, the High preset is recommended, but for maximum frame rate, Medium is the choice.

At 3840x2160, the situation changes. The High preset averages 67 FPS, which is playable on a 60 Hz display but not ideal. The Medium preset at 79 FPS provides a better experience, but the Low preset at 90 FPS is the only setting that offers headroom above 60 FPS. For 4K gaming, the data suggests using Medium settings to balance visual quality and performance, as the Ultra preset at 54 FPS is below the acceptable threshold. The Low preset is recommended for those who prioritize frame rate over visuals at 4K.

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

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 is built on the Ampere architecture with a GA104 chip fabricated on an 8 nm process from Samsung. It features 5888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, and 96 raster output units. The GPU has 46 ray tracing cores and 184 tensor cores, which are not heavily utilized by Doom (released in 2016) but contribute to its overall compute capabilities. The RTX 3070 operates with a base clock of 1500 MHz and a boost clock of 1725 MHz. Its memory subsystem is 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

The GPU’s performance in Doom is directly tied to its memory bandwidth and VRAM capacity. The data shows a significant drop from 1440p to 4K, which is consistent with the 8 GB VRAM being filled. At 4K Ultra, the 54 FPS average suggests that the GPU is either hitting a VRAM limit or a compute limit. The 20.31 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is substantial, but the 448.0 GB/s bandwidth may be insufficient for 4K Ultra textures. The GPU’s nearest rivals, such as the Radeon RX 7600 XT (0.7% faster), show similar limitations, indicating that this class of GPU is not designed for 4K Ultra in modern titles.

The GPU’s percentile rank is 61, which is lower than the CPU’s 85. This explains why the combo’s overall rank is 1226th out of 2930. The RTX 3070 is a solid mid-range card for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but its 8 GB memory is a bottleneck at 4K. The data shows that at 1440p, the GPU can deliver 123 FPS on High and 100 FPS on Ultra, which are good numbers. The 4K results, however, show that the GPU is out of its depth, with only the Low preset providing a comfortable frame rate. The launch MSRP of 499 USD reflects its positioning as a high-end card at release, but the data indicates it is now best suited for 1440p gaming.