Doom

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates across resolutions reveal a system that scales predictably with pixel count, but with some important nuances. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, this combo achieves 294.9 FPS, which drops to 194.7 FPS at 2560x1440 and further to 106.6 FPS at 3840x2160. That represents a 63.9% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, indicating that the GPU is the primary scaling factor as resolution increases.

The pattern holds across all settings presets. At High settings, the transition from 1080p (217.1 FPS) to 1440p (142.8 FPS) shows a 34.2% performance drop, while moving to 4K (77.9 FPS) costs another 45.4% from the 1440p figure. This consistent scaling behavior suggests the Radeon RX 9070's 16 GB frame buffer and 256-bit memory interface are handling the increased pixel loads without hitting memory capacity walls—if VRAM were the constraint, we would expect sharper drop-offs at 4K.

The Ultra preset tells a similar story: 176.3 FPS at 1080p, 112.5 FPS at 1440p, and 60.1 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is the only sub-60 FPS measurement in the entire dataset, which points to the GPU being fully saturated at that extreme configuration. Interestingly, the gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is substantial (118.6 FPS difference), but at 4K that gap narrows to 46.5 FPS. This compression of settings-based differences at higher resolutions confirms that pixel throughput becomes the dominant cost factor, rather than shading complexity or texture work.

The data indicates this is a GPU-limited scenario across most of the resolution spectrum. The Ryzen 5 5600's 6 cores and 12 threads appear sufficient to feed the GPU at 1080p, where the frame rates exceed 200 FPS at most settings. At 1440p and 4K, the GPU becomes even more clearly the limiting component, as evidenced by the proportional scaling with resolution changes.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 is the star of this benchmark dataset. Built on the RDNA 4.0 architecture with a Navi 48 chip, it brings 3584 shading units, 224 texture mapping units, and 128 render output units to the table. The 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 644.6 GB/s of bandwidth, which proves adequate for Doom's demands at all tested resolutions.

Clock behavior is notable: the base clock sits at 1330 MHz, but the boost clock reaches 2520 MHz, with a game clock rated at 2070 MHz. The memory runs at 2518 MHz (20.1 Gbps effective). These clock figures help explain why the GPU maintains strong performance even at 4K—the boost clock headroom allows the card to scale its workload dynamically.

The GPU's benchmark scores contextualize its position. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, it scores 6290, while Geekbench Vulkan shows 165532 and OpenCL shows 133741. PassMark G3D gives 25381, with PassMark GPU Compute at 14737. These synthetic results align with the measured Doom performance, which shows the card delivering playable frame rates at 4K across all settings except Ultra.

Comparing to nearest rivals, the RX 9070's average benchmark score of 34780 places it just 0.2% behind the NVIDIA A2 (34866) and 0.3% ahead of the NVIDIA Quadro GV100 (34677). The deltaPct values are tight—0.7% ahead of the AMD Radeon HD 7970 and 0.8% ahead of the AMD Radeon PRO W6400. This clustering suggests the GPU sits in a competitive performance band, though these rival comparisons are based on aggregate scores rather than Doom-specific results.

The GPU's 220 W TDP and dual-slot design with 2x 8-pin power connectors indicate a power-hungry but manageable card. The PCIe 5.0 x16 interface ensures no bandwidth bottleneck when communicating with the CPU. With a 79th percentile ranking among all GPUs, this card is positioned firmly in the upper tier of tested hardware.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600 provides the computational foundation for this pairing. Its 6 cores and 12 threads, running at a 3.50 GHz base clock and 4.40 GHz boost clock, deliver strong single-threaded and multithreaded performance for a 2022-era desktop processor. The Zen 3 architecture on TSMC's 7 nm process node packs 4,150 million transistors into a 74 mm² die.

Synthetic benchmarks show the CPU's capabilities: Cinebench R23 multicore scores 18309, with single-core at 2584. PassMark multithread hits 21541, and single-thread scores 3256. The 3DMark tests show scaling from 1737 (2 threads) to 5659 (max threads), indicating reasonable thread scaling efficiency. The CPU's 32 MB shared L3 cache helps keep frequently accessed data close to the cores.

In the context of Doom's measured results, the CPU appears to be a capable partner rather than a bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 294.9 FPS—a figure that approaches CPU-bound territory for many systems. The fact that it maintains 217.1 FPS at 1080p High suggests the Ryzen 5 5600's single-thread performance (Cinebench R15 single-core: 260) is sufficient to drive high frame rates.

The CPU's percentile ranking of 79th among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 21765, places it near the AMD EPYC 9554P (21899, -0.6%) and AMD EPYC 9534 (21900, -0.6%), while leading the Intel Xeon D-1746TER (21635, +0.6%) and Intel Core i7-11700F (21957, -0.9%). These tight deltaPct values show the Ryzen 5 5600 competing with much more expensive server and desktop parts in aggregate performance.

At higher resolutions where the GPU becomes the limiting factor, the CPU's role diminishes. The data shows diminishing returns from CPU headroom as resolution increases—the performance differences between settings presets grow smaller at 4K compared to 1080p, which is consistent with a system where the GPU is doing the heavy lifting.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete dataset provides 12 measured configurations across three resolutions and four settings presets.

At 1920x1080, the system delivers exceptional performance across the board:

• Low: 294.9 FPS
• Medium: 258.1 FPS
• High: 217.1 FPS
• Ultra: 176.3 FPS

The 1080p numbers show a clear progression: each settings tier costs roughly 20-40 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 36.8 FPS, Medium to High is 41.0 FPS, and High to Ultra is 40.8 FPS. This consistent step-down suggests balanced scaling across graphics features.

At 2560x1440, performance remains strong:

• Low: 194.7 FPS
• Medium: 166.3 FPS
• High: 142.8 FPS
• Ultra: 112.5 FPS

The 1440p results show similar spacing: 28.4 FPS between Low and Medium, 23.5 FPS between Medium and High, and 30.3 FPS between High and Ultra. The system maintains over 112 FPS even at Ultra, making 1440p gaming with maximum settings a viable option.

At 3840x2160, the GPU begins to show its limits:

• Low: 106.6 FPS
• Medium: 91.2 FPS
• High: 77.9 FPS
• Ultra: 60.1 FPS

The 4K measurements reveal tighter spacing between presets: 15.4 FPS between Low and Medium, 13.3 FPS between Medium and High, and 17.8 FPS between High and Ultra. The Ultra preset barely clears 60 FPS, suggesting that 4K Ultra is at the edge of what this combo can sustain.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo holds a rank of 560 out of 1681 tested combinations in Doom, placing it in the upper-middle portion of the database. This ranking reflects the balanced nature of the pairing—neither component is so weak that it drags the other down significantly, nor so strong that it dominates the benchmark results.

Given that the GPU ranks in the 79th percentile among all GPUs and the CPU also ranks in the 79th percentile among all CPUs, the combo's position at position 560 out of 1681 (approximately the 67th percentile of combos) makes sense. The system benefits from having two reasonably well-matched components that complement each other's strengths.

The ranking suggests that many tested combos outperform this pairing, likely with more powerful CPUs or GPUs that push frame rates higher in Doom's engine. However, the measured results show this combo delivers smooth gameplay at 1080p and 1440p across all settings, with acceptable performance at 4K except at Ultra.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows 2560x1440 provides the best balance, maintaining 112.5 FPS at Ultra and 194.7 FPS at Low. At 1080p, the system exceeds 176 FPS at all settings, while 4K drops to 60.1 FPS at Ultra.

Q: Is this system capable of 4K gaming in Doom?

A: Yes, for most settings. The measured results show 106.6 FPS at Low, 91.2 FPS at Medium, and 77.9 FPS at High. Only Ultra at 4K falls to 60.1 FPS, which is still technically playable.

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 5600 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The CPU's average benchmark score of 21765 is 0.6% above the Intel Xeon D-1746TER (21635) and 0.6% below the AMD EPYC 9554P (21899). It trails the Intel Core i7-11700F (21957) by 0.9%.

Q: What GPU benchmark scores does the RX 9070 achieve?

A: The GPU scores 6290 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, 165532 in Geekbench Vulkan, 133741 in Geekbench OpenCL, and 25381 in PassMark G3D. Its average benchmark score is 34780.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU at any resolution?

A: The data suggests minimal CPU bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 294.9 FPS, which is high but not extreme. The consistent scaling across resolutions indicates the GPU becomes the limiting factor as pixel count increases.

Q: What is the launch MSRP of these components?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 5600 has a launch MSRP of $199, and the AMD Radeon RX 9070 has a launch MSRP of 549 USD.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate.

At 1920x1080, all settings presets deliver excellent performance. The Ultra preset at 176.3 FPS is the recommended choice for the best visual experience, as the frame rate remains well above any competitive threshold. Even the most demanding configuration leaves ample headroom.

For 2560x1440, Ultra at 112.5 FPS is the clear recommendation. The frame rate comfortably exceeds 100 FPS, making this the ideal resolution for players with 1440p displays who want maximum visual fidelity without sacrificing smoothness.

At 3840x2160, High settings at 77.9 FPS offers the best balance. The Medium preset at 91.2 FPS provides a more comfortable margin for those sensitive to frame rate dips, while Ultra at 60.1 FPS is only recommended for players who prioritize visuals over frame rate consistency.

The data shows that Medium settings at 4K (91.2 FPS) outperform High settings at 4K (77.9 FPS) by a significant margin, suggesting that the Medium preset is the sweet spot for 4K gaming. For players with high-refresh-rate displays at 1080p, the Low preset at 294.9 FPS is available for maximum frame rates, though the visual trade-offs may not be worth it given that Ultra already delivers 176.3 FPS.