Doom

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 is a combination that lands near the bottom of the database for Doom, ranking 1626 out of 1681 tested combos. This places the pairing in the bottom 4% of all systems tested, which is a direct reflection of the GPU's position in the market. The GTX 1650 sits at the 43rd percentile among all GPUs, and its average benchmark score of 8713 is within 0.5% of rivals like the AMD Radeon 550X and NVIDIA Quadro P2200. This is a system built around a capable budget processor that is held back by an entry-level graphics card, and the measured frame rates in Doom confirm that dynamic across every resolution and settings preset.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K in Doom is severe, and it clearly identifies the GPU as the limiting component. At High settings, the system delivers 66.9 FPS at 1920x1080, but that falls to 46.9 FPS at 2560x1440 (a 30% reduction), and then plummets to 23 FPS at 3840x2160. That 4K figure is less than half of the 1440p result, demonstrating a classic GPU-bound scaling curve. The GTX 1650 simply runs out of pixel-pushing capability as resolution increases, and the data shows that the CPU has plenty of headroom left unused.

The gap between Low and Ultra settings widens dramatically as resolution increases. At 1080p, the difference between Low (93.8 FPS) and Ultra (54.4 FPS) is 39.4 FPS, a substantial gap that still leaves Ultra playable. At 1440p, that gap shrinks to 22.9 FPS (57.3 vs 34.4), and at 4K it narrows further to 17.5 FPS (34.2 vs 16.7). This compression at higher resolutions is a textbook sign of a GPU bottleneck — when the pixel workload dominates, settings tweaks have less relative impact because the GPU is already saturated. The 4K Ultra result of 16.7 FPS is effectively unplayable, while 4K Low at 34.2 FPS is borderline at best.

GPU Role

The GTX 1650's specifications explain why it struggles at higher resolutions. It features 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 128.1 GB/s of bandwidth. For a game like Doom, which is known for its fast-paced textures and large environments, that memory configuration is a limiting factor at 4K. The GPU's boost clock of 1665 MHz and base clock of 1485 MHz drive 896 shading units, 56 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, producing a pixel rate of 53.28 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 93.24 GTexel/s. The FP32 throughput of 2.984 TFLOPS is modest by modern standards, and the data shows this translates to sub-60 FPS performance at 1440p across all settings.

The 4 GB VRAM capacity is particularly relevant when looking at the Ultra preset results. At 1080p Ultra, the card manages 54.4 FPS, which is playable, but at 1440p Ultra it drops to 34.4 FPS, and at 4K Ultra it collapses to 16.7 FPS. The step from Medium to Ultra at 1440p costs 19 FPS (53.4 down to 34.4), which is a massive penalty for higher texture quality. This pattern suggests that the card's memory bandwidth and capacity are being overwhelmed, not just its compute units. The GTX 1650's average benchmark score of 8713 places it just 0.4% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile and 0.5% ahead of the NVIDIA Quadro P2200, confirming it sits in a tightly packed tier of low-end GPUs.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600X is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, running on the AM4 socket. Its base clock of 3.70 GHz boosts up to 4.60 GHz, and it carries 32 MB of L3 cache. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU scores 18578 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2622 in single-core, with a Passmark single-thread score of 3364. The CPU's percentile vs all CPUs is 78, meaning it outperforms the majority of processors on the market. None of this matters in Doom with this GPU, because the data shows the CPU is rarely the bottleneck.

At 1080p Low, the system hits 93.8 FPS, which is the highest measured result in the entire dataset. That figure is still far below what the 5600X is capable of pushing in a game like Doom, which is well-known for scaling with single-thread performance. The 5600X's nearest rivals in the database include the AMD Ryzen 5 5600GT (-0.3% delta) and the Intel Core i7-10700 (-0.3% delta), meaning these CPUs are effectively interchangeable in performance. However, the GTX 1650 holds the system back so much that the CPU's strength is invisible in the frame rate data — the difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 39.4 FPS, a gap driven entirely by GPU workload, not CPU capability.

How This Combo Ranks

This combo ranks 1626 out of 1681 tested combinations in Doom, placing it in the bottom 3.3% of all systems. That rank is a direct consequence of the GPU's position rather than the CPU's, as the 5600X is a top-tier processor from its generation. The GTX 1650's 43rd percentile ranking among all GPUs is the anchor here, and it drags the entire system down. In practical terms, this means the combo is only suitable for 1080p gaming, and even then only at Medium settings or below if you want to stay above 60 FPS.

The data shows that the 5600X could support a much faster GPU without breaking a sweat. The CPU's average benchmark score of 20680 is within 0.5% of the Intel Core i5-12490F and 0.7% ahead of the Intel Xeon 6325P, indicating it holds its own against modern mid-range processors. But with the GTX 1650 attached, the system's in-game performance is capped at what a 75 W GPU with 4 GB of VRAM can deliver. If you own this CPU and are looking to upgrade, the benchmark data strongly suggests the GPU is the first thing to replace.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers playable results across most settings. Low averages 93.8 FPS, Medium drops to 79.3 FPS, and High comes in at 66.9 FPS. Ultra is the only preset that falls below 60 FPS, averaging 54.4 FPS. This is the only resolution where the combo approaches a smooth experience on High settings, and even then, the 66.9 FPS figure leaves little headroom for demanding scenes.

At 2560x1440, the picture degrades significantly. Low averages 57.3 FPS, which is just below the 60 FPS threshold, while Medium drops to 53.4 FPS and High falls to 46.9 FPS. Ultra is the worst at 34.4 FPS, making it marginal for anything but slower-paced play. The step from 1080p to 1440p at High settings costs exactly 20 FPS (66.9 down to 46.9), a 30% reduction that shows the GPU struggling with the extra pixels.

At 3840x2160, the combo is essentially out of its depth. Low averages 34.2 FPS, Medium drops to 29.8 FPS, and High falls to 23 FPS. Ultra is practically a slideshow at 16.7 FPS. The jump from 1440p to 4K at High settings costs 23.9 FPS (46.9 down to 23), which is a 51% reduction. This is not a 4K system by any reasonable standard, and the data makes that abundantly clear.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Doom at 1080p with playable frame rates?

A: Yes, at Low settings it averages 93.8 FPS, at Medium 79.3 FPS, and at High 66.9 FPS. Ultra drops to 54.4 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold but still playable for many users.

Q: How does the GTX 1650 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The GTX 1650's average benchmark score of 8713 is 0.4% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile and 0.5% ahead of the NVIDIA Quadro P2200. It is effectively equal to the AMD Radeon 550X, which scores 8749.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 5600X the bottleneck in this system?

A: No. The CPU ranks in the 78th percentile among all CPUs, while the GPU ranks in the 43rd percentile. The frame rate drops from 1080p to 4K follow a GPU-bound pattern, indicating the GTX 1650 is the limiting component.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p gaming?

A: Low settings average 57.3 FPS, which is the only preset above 55 FPS at this resolution. Medium drops to 53.4 FPS, High to 46.9 FPS, and Ultra to 34.4 FPS.

Q: How severe is the performance drop between 1080p and 4K?

A: At High settings, frame rates fall from 66.9 FPS at 1080p to 46.9 FPS at 1440p and 23 FPS at 4K. That represents a 51% reduction from 1440p to 4K alone.

Q: Where does this combo rank among all tested systems in Doom?

A: It ranks 1626 out of 1681 tested combinations, placing it in the bottom 3.3% of all systems. This is driven by the GPU's low standing rather than the CPU's capabilities.