Doom

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti combination delivers a remarkably fluid experience in Doom, with the data showing that the most significant performance bottleneck shifts decisively from the CPU to the GPU as resolution increases. At 1080p, the system demonstrates exceptional headroom, while at 4K, the graphics card becomes the clear limiting factor, though the frame rates remain highly playable across all tested settings.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a classic resolution scaling curve, with performance declining steadily as pixel count increases. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo posts an average of 230 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 at the same High preset, the average drops to 149 FPS, a 35% reduction. At 3840x2160 High, the average falls further to 81 FPS, which is 65% lower than the 1080p result. This steep decline indicates that the GPU is being progressively saturated as resolution climbs, while the CPU maintains adequate headroom even at the highest pixel counts.

The scaling pattern is consistent across all settings presets. With Low settings, the system achieves 306 FPS at 1080p, 202 FPS at 1440p, and 109 FPS at 4K. The Medium preset shows 272 FPS at 1080p, 176 FPS at 1440p, and 95 FPS at 4K. Ultra settings produce 188 FPS at 1080p, 122 FPS at 1440p, and 66 FPS at 4K. In every case, the transition from 1440p to 4K incurs a larger percentage loss than the jump from 1080p to 1440p, confirming that the RTX 3080 Ti's rendering workload grows disproportionately with pixel count.

The min and max FPS data for the Medium preset provides additional insight into frame pacing. At 1080p Medium, the minimum is 231 FPS and the maximum is 313 FPS, a 35% spread. At 1440p Medium, the range is 150 to 202 FPS. At 4K Medium, the minimum drops to 81 FPS with a maximum of 110 FPS. The narrowing range at higher resolutions suggests that the GPU is working closer to its sustained limit, reducing the variance that occurs when the CPU can feed frames faster than the GPU can process them.

This resolution scaling behavior indicates that the RTX 3080 Ti is the primary constraint at 4K, where even the lowest settings only reach 109 FPS. The 5500X3D's six cores and twelve threads appear sufficient to keep the GPU fed at lower resolutions, as evidenced by the 306 FPS result at 1080p Low. The data suggests that users targeting 4K will see diminishing returns from CPU upgrades, while those at 1080p or 1440p have substantial performance headroom available.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, built on a 7 nm process. Its base clock is 3.00 GHz with a boost clock of 4.00 GHz, and it features a substantial 96 MB of shared L3 cache. In Doom, the measured FPS at 1080p indicates that this CPU is more than capable of driving high frame rates, with the 306 FPS result at Low settings suggesting that the processor is not the limiting factor at this resolution.

The PassMark benchmarks for this CPU show a multithread score of 20363 and a single-thread score of 2941. The single-thread performance is particularly relevant for Doom, a game that historically benefits from strong per-core throughput. The 5500X3D's 4.00 GHz boost clock, combined with the large L3 cache, likely contributes to the consistently high frame rates observed across all settings at 1080p and 1440p.

The CPU's average benchmark score of 37018 places it at the 85th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F with an average score of 36945 (0.2% higher), the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 at 37093 (0.2% higher), and the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 at 36938 (0.2% higher). The Intel Core i9-12900T scores 37112, which is 0.3% higher. These extremely small deltaPct values indicate that the 5500X3D sits in a tightly contested performance band, with no meaningful differences among these competitors.

In the context of Doom's measured results, the CPU's role becomes more prominent at lower resolutions where frame rates exceed 200 FPS. At 1080p Medium, the 272 FPS average suggests the CPU is still providing ample instructions to the GPU. However, the fact that increasing resolution to 1440p drops the frame rate to 176 FPS at Medium settings indicates that the GPU's workload is scaling faster than the CPU's ability to feed it, reinforcing that the graphics card is the dominant factor in this pairing.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti ranks 737 out of 2930 tested combos in Doom, placing it in the top 25% of all configurations evaluated. This ranking reflects the strong overall performance of the pairing, though it is not at the very top tier where the most extreme CPUs and GPUs would be found.

The rank of 737 out of 2930 suggests that while this combo delivers excellent frame rates, there are still a substantial number of configurations that outperform it. Given that the RTX 3080 Ti was released in 2021 with a 12 GB GDDR6X memory configuration, newer GPUs with higher memory bandwidth or more advanced architectures may achieve better results in Doom. However, the data shows that this pairing is still highly capable, with no settings preset at any resolution dropping below 66 FPS average.

The GPU's benchmarks provide context for its performance tier. The RTX 3080 Ti has an average benchmark score of 41187, placing it at the 83rd percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 with a score of 40870 (0.8% lower), the NVIDIA Tesla M40 24 GB at 41707 (1.2% higher), and the NVIDIA Tesla M40 at 41897 (1.7% higher). The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 scores 40377, which is 2% lower. These small deltaPct values indicate that the RTX 3080 Ti remains competitive with more recent offerings, despite its age.

The combo's rank of 737 reflects the balance between the CPU's 85th percentile performance and the GPU's 83rd percentile performance. When combined, they produce results that are strong but not exceptional, as the rank suggests. For users seeking higher frame rates, particularly at 4K where the GPU is the bottleneck, a more powerful graphics card would likely improve the ranking more than a CPU upgrade.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo achieves in Doom?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 306, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rival in benchmark scores?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D has an average benchmark score of 37018. Its closest rival, the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F, scores 36945, which is 0.2% higher. The AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 scores 37093, also 0.2% higher.

Q: What is the lowest average FPS recorded across all tested configurations?

A: The lowest average FPS is 66, recorded at 3840x2160 resolution with Ultra settings.

Q: Does the GPU show a significant performance difference from its nearest rival?

A: The RTX 3080 Ti has an average benchmark score of 41187. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon Pro 5300, scores 40870, which is 0.8% lower. The NVIDIA Tesla M40 24 GB scores 41707, which is 1.2% higher.

Q: How does the combo rank compared to all tested combinations?

A: The combo ranks 737 out of 2930 tested combinations, placing it in the upper quartile of configurations.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth of the GPU in this combo?

A: The RTX 3080 Ti has a memory bandwidth of 912.4 GB/s, supported by a 384-bit bus and 12 GB of GDDR6X memory.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti is a formidable graphics card based on the Ampere architecture, built on an 8 nm process at Samsung. It features 10,240 shading units, 320 texture mapping units, and 112 render output units. The GPU has a base clock of 1365 MHz and a boost clock of 1665 MHz, with memory running at 1188 MHz (19 Gbps effective). The 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus provides 912.4 GB/s of bandwidth, which is critical for high-resolution gaming.

In Doom, the GPU's role is clearly demonstrated by the resolution scaling data. At 1080p, the frame rates are exceptionally high, with 306 FPS at Low settings, indicating that the GPU has significant headroom. However, at 4K, the frame rates drop to 109 FPS at Low and 66 FPS at Ultra, showing that the GPU is being pushed much harder. The 912.4 GB/s memory bandwidth and 34.10 TFLOPS of FP32 performance are likely sufficient for Doom's engine, but the data shows that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at 4K.

The GPU's compute capabilities, as measured by benchmarks, show a passmark_g3d score of 26896 and a passmark_gpu_compute score of 15282. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test yields a score of 5077, while Geekbench Vulkan scores 192697 and OpenCL scores 170037. These results indicate strong overall performance, though the GPU's percentile rank of 83 suggests that there are more powerful options available.

The RTX 3080 Ti's 12 GB of VRAM is ample for Doom at all tested settings, as the game's requirements are moderate by modern standards. The fact that even at 4K Ultra, the average FPS stays at 66, suggests that the GPU is not running out of memory but rather hitting its compute limits. The 350 W TDP and suggested 750 W PSU indicate that this is a power-hungry card, but the performance data justifies the power draw for demanding resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution. At 1920x1080, all settings presets deliver excellent performance, with even Ultra achieving 188 FPS average. The Low preset reaches 306 FPS, but the jump from Low to Medium (272 FPS) is substantial, and the difference between Medium and High (230 FPS) is also significant. For 1080p gaming, the High preset offers the best balance between visual quality and frame rate, as the 230 FPS average far exceeds the refresh rate of most monitors.

At 2560x1440, the High preset delivers 149 FPS average, which remains very smooth for competitive play. The Ultra preset drops to 122 FPS, which is still playable but with reduced headroom. The Medium preset at 176 FPS provides the highest frame rate among the higher quality settings, making it a strong choice for 1440p gaming. The Low preset at 202 FPS offers the maximum performance, but the visual compromise may not be worth the extra 53 FPS over High.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the limiting factor. The Low preset achieves 109 FPS, which is the only 4K setting above 100 FPS. The Medium preset drops to 95 FPS, High to 81 FPS, and Ultra to 66 FPS. For 4K gaming, the Low preset is the only option that maintains triple-digit frame rates, while Medium provides a decent balance at 95 FPS. The Ultra preset at 66 FPS may be acceptable for slower-paced gameplay but will struggle with fast motion.

The data suggests that for most users, the High preset at 1440p offers the best overall experience, with 149 FPS providing smooth gameplay without the visual compromises of lower settings. At 1080p, High is similarly recommended, while at 4K, users should expect to use Medium or Low settings to maintain high frame rates. The Medium preset consistently shows a small min-to-max FPS variance, indicating stable frame pacing, which is beneficial for consistent gameplay experiences.