Doom

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT delivers an exceptionally strong performance profile in Doom, a 2016 FPS title that scales impressively across resolutions and settings. The measured data shows this combination is not only capable of high refresh rate gaming at 1080p but also maintains solid playability at 4K Ultra, placing it in the 66th percentile of all tested combos for this game.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep but predictable, revealing a system that remains GPU-bound at higher resolutions while showing signs of CPU headroom at lower ones. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 209 FPS at 1920x1080 to 135 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 74 FPS or roughly 35%. Moving from 1440p to 3840x2160 High sees the average drop further to 73 FPS, which is a 46% decrease from the 1440p figure and a 65% decrease from 1080p. This scaling pattern indicates that the Radeon RX 7800 XT is the primary limiting component as resolution increases, with the Ryzen 5 5600’s six Zen 3 cores providing ample headroom at 1080p where the frame rates exceed 200 FPS.

The trend becomes even more pronounced when examining the Low preset. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 284 FPS, but this falls to 184 FPS at 1440p and 99 FPS at 4K. The 4K Low result is particularly telling because it shows that even with minimal graphical load, the GPU cannot push past the 100 FPS mark at this resolution, confirming that pixel throughput is the bottleneck rather than CPU processing. Conversely, the fact that 1080p Low produces 284 FPS while 1080p Ultra produces 171 FPS suggests the CPU has enough single-thread performance to feed the GPU at lower settings, but the GPU’s rendering workload becomes the limiting factor once settings increase.

Looking at the Medium preset, which has min/max FPS data available, the scaling shows consistent behavior. At 1080p Medium, the average is 247 FPS with a minimum of 210 FPS and maximum of 284 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 160 FPS with a range of 136 to 184 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average is 87 FPS with a range of 74 to 100 FPS. The minimum FPS values track closely with the average drops, indicating stable frame pacing rather than sudden stutters or CPU-related hitches. This is a good sign for a game like Doom where fast-paced movement benefits from consistent frame delivery.

GPU Role

The Radeon RX 7800 XT is clearly the dominant component in this pairing for Doom, and its specifications explain why. The GPU features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus with 624.1 GB/s of bandwidth, which is more than sufficient for a 2016 title even at 4K Ultra settings. The memory clock runs at 2438 MHz (19.5 Gbps effective), and the boost clock reaches 2430 MHz, with a game clock of 2124 MHz. These clocks are moderate by modern standards but prove effective in this older engine that does not heavily tax the RDNA 3.0 architecture.

The GPU’s 3840 shading units and 60 ray accelerators are not fully utilized in Doom, as the game predates widespread ray tracing adoption, but the raw rasterization performance is what drives the high frame rates. The 37.32 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power translates directly into the pixel-pushing capability that delivers 171 FPS at 1080p Ultra. The 96 ROPs and 240 TMUs handle the fill rate and texture work efficiently, as evidenced by the smooth scaling between settings presets.

One notable observation is that the RX 7800 XT’s benchmark percentile ranking (51st among all GPUs) seems modest relative to its in-game performance, but this is because the average benchmark score of 11627 includes synthetic tests like Passmark DirectX 9 and 10, which may not reflect modern gaming workloads. In Doom, the GPU’s 16 GB VRAM capacity is never a constraint—even at 4K Ultra, the frame rate of 60 FPS suggests the GPU is compute-limited rather than memory-limited. The 624.1 GB/s bandwidth provides ample data throughput for the textures and geometry in this title, which uses a Vulkan-based engine known for efficient resource utilization.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 1238 out of 3712 tested combinations places this system in the top third of all configurations evaluated for Doom. This ranking is strong but not elite, reflecting the fact that the Ryzen 5 5600 is a mid-range CPU from 2022 while the RX 7800 XT is a higher-end GPU from 2023. The CPU’s percentile versus all CPUs is 74, meaning it outperforms nearly three-quarters of all processors in the database, while the GPU’s percentile is 51, which is slightly above average.

Looking at the CPU’s nearest rivals provides context for why this combo performs as it does. The Ryzen 5 5600 scores an average benchmark of 20468, which is within 0.2% of the Intel Core Ultra 7 258V’s 20454 and the AMD Ryzen 5 8500G’s 20425. This indicates that the 5600’s computing power is competitive with much newer processors, at least in synthetic workloads. The CPU’s Cinebench R23 multicore score of 18309 and single-core score of 2584 show balanced performance that can keep up with the GPU’s demands in Doom.

The GPU’s nearest rivals, however, tell a different story. The RX 7800 XT’s average benchmark score of 11627 is within 0.5% of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660’s 11680, which is a significantly older and lower-tier card. This suggests that the synthetic benchmarks may not capture the RX 7800 XT’s strengths in modern titles like Doom, or that the GPU’s driver optimization for older games is not fully reflected in these metrics. Despite this, the in-game FPS numbers clearly show the RX 7800 XT delivering high refresh rate performance, so the benchmark scores should not be overinterpreted for this specific game.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the best experience for most users will be found at the High preset, balancing visual quality with performance headroom. At 1920x1080 High, the combo delivers 209 FPS, which is well above the 144 Hz refresh rate of most gaming monitors and provides headroom for demanding scenes. At 2560x1440 High, the 135 FPS average is still excellent for high refresh rate gaming, and even at 4K High, the 73 FPS average is playable for a single-player FPS.

The Ultra preset is only recommended for 1080p users who prioritize maximum visual fidelity over frame rate. At 1080p Ultra, the 171 FPS average is still very smooth, but at 1440p Ultra the 110 FPS average begins to dip, and at 4K Ultra the 60 FPS average is right at the edge of comfortable playability for a fast-paced shooter. For 4K users, the Medium preset (87 FPS) offers a better compromise than High (73 FPS) or Ultra (60 FPS), with the min FPS of 74 FPS at 4K Medium ensuring that the game does not drop below 70 FPS during intense combat sequences.

The Low preset is unnecessary for this hardware combination, as even the most demanding preset at 1080p produces frame rates well above playability thresholds. The 284 FPS at 1080p Low and 184 FPS at 1440p Low are more useful for competitive players using high refresh rate monitors (240 Hz or above), but most users will find the visual quality trade-off too steep. The data clearly shows diminishing returns for dropping below Medium settings, as the GPU has enough headroom to handle higher presets without sacrificing playable frame rates.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the full range of settings shows impressive scalability. The Low preset delivers 284 FPS average, Medium drops to 247 FPS with a range of 210 to 284 FPS, High produces 209 FPS, and Ultra yields 171 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 113 FPS, indicating that the GPU has significant headroom to absorb increased graphical loads. The Medium preset’s minimum of 210 FPS means that even in the most demanding scenes, the frame rate never drops below the 200 FPS threshold, which is exceptional for a mid-range CPU and high-end GPU pairing.

At 2560x1440, the performance remains strong but shows more variation between presets. The Low preset produces 184 FPS, Medium averages 160 FPS (range: 136 to 184 FPS), High averages 135 FPS, and Ultra averages 110 FPS. The 74 FPS spread between Low and Ultra is smaller than at 1080p, showing that the GPU is starting to become more constrained as pixel count increases. The Medium preset’s minimum of 136 FPS is still well above 120 FPS, making it a solid choice for 144 Hz monitors at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the performance drops significantly, but the game remains playable across all presets. The Low preset delivers 99 FPS, Medium averages 87 FPS (range: 74 to 100 FPS), High averages 73 FPS, and Ultra averages 60 FPS. The 39 FPS spread from Low to Ultra is the narrowest of all resolutions, indicating that at 4K the GPU is the absolute bottleneck and settings changes have less impact on frame rate. The Medium preset’s minimum of 74 FPS is the only sub-75 FPS value recorded in the entire dataset, but it remains playable for a single-player experience.

FAQ

*Q: Can this combo run Doom at 4K 60 FPS?*

A: Yes, at 4K Ultra the average FPS is exactly 60, while the High preset averages 73 FPS and Medium averages 87 FPS, so all presets meet or exceed the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: What is the best resolution for a 144 Hz monitor?

A: At 2560x1440, the High preset delivers 135 FPS, which is close to 144 Hz, while the Medium preset averages 160 FPS and Low averages 184 FPS. For 1920x1080, all presets exceed 144 FPS, with High at 209 FPS.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 4K?

A: At High settings, the average FPS drops from 209 at 1080p to 73 at 4K, a 65% reduction. At Low settings, the drop is from 284 to 99 FPS, a 65% reduction as well.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The GPU is the limiting component, as evidenced by the consistent FPS scaling with resolution. The Ryzen 5 5600’s six cores and 12 threads provide enough performance to allow the RX 7800 XT to reach 284 FPS at 1080p Low, but the GPU cannot exceed 99 FPS at 4K Low.

Q: Which settings preset provides the most balanced experience?

A: The High preset offers the best balance, with 209 FPS at 1080p, 135 FPS at 1440p, and 73 FPS at 4K. It provides a significant visual upgrade over Medium while maintaining playable frame rates at all resolutions.

Q: Does the game ever drop below 60 FPS with this hardware?

A: No, the lowest recorded minimum FPS in the entire dataset is 74 FPS, which occurs at 4K Medium settings. All other presets and resolutions maintain minimum frame rates above 100 FPS.