Doom

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 delivers a compelling 1080p and 1440p experience in Doom, though 4K performance requires careful settings management. The measured data shows this combination sits in the 60th percentile of all tested combos, ranking 1766 out of 2930. The following analysis breaks down exactly how resolution, GPU, and CPU interact in this title.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial across all settings, revealing a workload that scales predictably with pixel count. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 202 FPS at 1920x1080 to 71 FPS at 3840x2160, representing a 65% reduction in performance. This steep decline indicates that at 4K, the rendering pipeline becomes heavily dependent on the GPU's raw throughput capabilities.

Moving from 1440p to 4K shows a similar pattern. At Medium settings, the average drops from 114 FPS at 2560x1440 to 62 FPS at 3840x2160, a 46% loss. The High preset sees a 46% reduction as well, going from 96 FPS to 52 FPS. Interestingly, the Ultra preset at 4K produces just 43 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold typically considered smooth for fast-paced action.

The scaling between 1080p and 1440p is more moderate. At High settings, the average goes from 149 FPS to 96 FPS, a 36% drop. The Low preset shows a 35% reduction, from 202 FPS to 131 FPS. These percentages suggest that while the GPU is still the primary bottleneck at 1440p, the CPU has enough headroom to keep feeding frames efficiently.

At 1080p, the frame rates are exceptionally high across all presets, ranging from 122 FPS at Ultra to 202 FPS at Low. This wide spread indicates that the RTX 5050 is capable of saturating the 5600X's output at lower resolutions, but the GPU remains the limiting factor even at 1080p Ultra. The data shows that the gap between 1080p and 1440p narrows as settings increase, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario where higher settings add shading complexity that scales with resolution.

The 4K Ultra result of 43 FPS is particularly telling. It represents a 65% drop from the 1080p Ultra figure of 122 FPS. This nonlinear scaling suggests that the 8 GB VRAM buffer and 128-bit memory interface become increasingly strained at 4K with maximum settings, not just the compute units. The measured min FPS of 52 at 4K Medium further confirms that frame pacing remains acceptable even when average performance dips.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with a GB207 chip manufactured on a 5 nm process at TSMC. The silicon packs 16,900 million transistors into a 149 mm² die, achieving a transistor density of 113.4 million per square millimeter. The GPU operates at a base clock of 2317 MHz and boosts to 2572 MHz, with memory running at 2500 MHz effective 20 Gbps.

Memory configuration is a critical factor in Doom's performance. The 8 GB GDDR6 VRAM sits on a 128-bit bus, yielding 320.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This bandwidth is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p at all settings, but the 4K Ultra result of 43 FPS suggests the frame buffer and memory bandwidth are being pushed to their limits. The 4K Medium result of 62 FPS with a min of 52 FPS indicates that reducing texture quality and shadow complexity helps alleviate memory pressure.

Compute resources are substantial for a 50-series entry point. The GPU features 2560 shading units, 80 texture mapping units, and 32 raster operation units. The 20 ray tracing cores and 80 tensor cores provide modern feature support, though Doom (2016) does not utilize ray tracing. The FP32 throughput of 13.17 TFLOPS, with FP16 running at the same 1:1 ratio, provides ample raw compute for this game's Vulkan-based renderer.

The pixel rate of 82.30 GPixel/s and texture rate of 205.8 GTexel/s directly impact fill-rate-bound scenarios. At 4K, the pixel throughput requirement is substantial, and the 82.30 GPixel/s rate explains why Ultra settings drop to 43 FPS. The 130 W TDP and dual-slot design with a single 8-pin power connector indicate this is a power-efficient card, though the suggested 300 W PSU requirement shows it still needs adequate headroom.

In benchmark comparisons, the RTX 5050 achieves an average score of 21035 across all tests, placing it in the 66th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL, scores 21153, which is 0.6% higher. The AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT scores 20713, putting it 1.6% behind the RTX 5050. The NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile scores 21379, which is 1.6% ahead. These close margins indicate the RTX 5050 sits in a competitive performance tier.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600X provides the processing foundation for this combo, built on the Zen 3 architecture with the Vermeer codename. It features 6 cores and 12 threads running at a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. The 7 nm process from TSMC houses 4,150 million transistors in a 74 mm² die, with a 65 W TDP that keeps thermals manageable.

Cache hierarchy is well-suited for gaming workloads. Each core has 64 KB of L1 and 512 KB of L2 cache, while a shared 32 MB L3 cache provides ample capacity for the game's frequently accessed data. The dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth is adequate for feeding the GPU, though it is not a bottleneck in the measured results.

In synthetic benchmarks, the 5600X demonstrates strong single-thread performance, which is crucial for Doom's game logic and draw call submission. The 3DMark single-thread score is 917, while the 2-thread score reaches 1793. The 4-thread score of 3363 shows good scaling, and the 8-thread score of 4811 indicates the processor efficiently utilizes additional cores. The max-thread score of 5588 and 16-thread score of 5582 are nearly identical, suggesting diminishing returns beyond 8 threads for most workloads.

Cinebench R23 results show a multicore score of 11838 and single-core score of 1541. The Geekbench scores of 9173 multicore and 1989 single-core align with expectations for a 6-core/12-thread processor. PassMark tests reveal strong integer math performance at 71161 and floating-point math at 39487, with data compression and encryption scores of 252306 and 15685 respectively.

The CPU's overall average benchmark score is 21771, placing it in the 75th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals are remarkably close: the AMD Ryzen 7 4800H scores 21749 (0.1% behind), the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 6650U scores 21874 (0.5% ahead), the Intel Core i7-11700 scores 21891 (0.5% ahead), and the AMD EPYC 9554P scores 21899 (0.6% ahead). This clustering shows the 5600X provides competitive processing power for its generation.

In the context of Doom's measured FPS, the CPU's role is to maintain frame pacing at high refresh rates. At 1080p Low, the 202 FPS average demonstrates that the 5600X can keep up with the GPU's output. The 149 FPS at 1080p High further confirms this, as the CPU still has headroom to feed the GPU efficiently. Even at 1440p, the 131 FPS Low result indicates the CPU is not artificially capping performance.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance across all resolutions. At 1920x1080, Medium produces an average of 176 FPS with a minimum of 150 FPS and maximum of 203 FPS. This maintains high refresh rate capability while providing improved visuals over Low, which averages 202 FPS. The minimum of 150 FPS ensures consistent frame delivery without dips that could affect gameplay responsiveness.

At 2560x1440, Medium averages 114 FPS with a minimum of 97 FPS and maximum of 131 FPS. This comfortably exceeds the 60 FPS threshold and provides a smooth experience on 1440p displays with high refresh rates. The High preset at 1440p averages 96 FPS, which is still playable but offers less headroom for demanding scenes. The Ultra preset at 79 FPS is acceptable but may show occasional stutters in chaotic combat.

The 4K Medium result of 62 FPS with a minimum of 52 FPS is the only 4K setting that approaches playable territory. The High preset at 52 FPS and Ultra at 43 FPS fall below the ideal smoothness threshold for a fast-paced FPS. For 4K users, the data suggests Medium is the maximum viable preset, and even then, the 52 FPS minimum indicates potential frame pacing issues during intense action sequences.

For competitive play at 1080p, the Low preset's 202 FPS average provides maximum responsiveness for high refresh rate monitors. The jump from Low to Medium costs 26 FPS (from 202 to 176), which may be acceptable given the visual improvements. The High preset at 149 FPS still exceeds 144 Hz displays, making it a good middle ground. The Ultra preset at 122 FPS is the least recommended at 1080p, as the visual gains over High are marginal relative to the 27 FPS performance loss.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 5600X + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 combination ranks 1766 out of 2930 tested combos in Doom, placing it in the 60th percentile of all systems evaluated. This position reflects a balanced pairing where neither component significantly bottlenecks the other at the resolutions tested. The GPU's 66th percentile ranking among all GPUs is slightly higher than the combo's overall ranking, suggesting the CPU may limit performance in some scenarios, particularly at 1080p where frame rates are extremely high.

The CPU's 75th percentile ranking among all CPUs is notably higher than the combo's overall position, which indicates that the processor has more headroom than the GPU is able to utilize. This is consistent with the resolution scaling data, where the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck as resolution increases. At 4K, the combo's performance is constrained almost entirely by the RTX 5050, while at 1080p, the 5600X provides sufficient processing power to let the GPU reach its full potential.

Comparing to the nearest rivals, the CPU's average score of 21771 is within 0.6% of the AMD EPYC 9554P's 21899, showing that the 5600X holds its own against much larger processors in synthetic benchmarks. The GPU's average score of 21035 is within 1.6% of the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT's 20713, demonstrating competitive rasterization performance. The combination of a 75th percentile CPU with a 66th percentile GPU produces a system that excels at 1080p and 1440p gaming but struggles at 4K with high settings.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows 1920x1080 provides the highest frame rates, with the Low preset achieving 202 FPS and Medium achieving 176 FPS. At 2560x1440, Medium still delivers 114 FPS, making it viable for high refresh rate monitors. 4K performance is limited, with only Medium reaching 62 FPS.

Q: How does the RTX 5050 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 5050 scores 21035 in average benchmarks, which is 0.6% behind the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL at 21153 and 1.6% behind the NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile at 21379. It is 1.6% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT at 20713.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 5600X a bottleneck for the RTX 5050?

A: The CPU's 75th percentile ranking versus the GPU's 66th percentile suggests the processor has more headroom. At 1080p Low, the 202 FPS result indicates the CPU can keep up, but at 4K, the GPU becomes the limiting factor with scores dropping to 43-71 FPS.

Q: What is the minimum FPS at 1440p Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the measured minimum FPS is 97, with an average of 114 FPS and a maximum of 131 FPS. This provides consistent frame delivery without significant drops.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested systems?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 5600X + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 ranks 1766 out of 2930 tested combos in Doom, placing it in the 60th percentile of all systems evaluated.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Doom?

A: At 3840x2160, Medium settings average 62 FPS with a minimum of 52 FPS, which is playable but not ideal. High averages 52 FPS, and Ultra drops to 43 FPS, making 4K viable only at Medium or lower settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 202 FPS, the highest measured result. Medium averages 176 FPS with a minimum of 150 FPS and maximum of 203 FPS. High averages 149 FPS, and Ultra averages 122 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 80 FPS, indicating significant performance scaling with visual fidelity.

At 2560x1440, Low averages 131 FPS, Medium averages 114 FPS with a minimum of 97 FPS and maximum of 131 FPS. High averages 96 FPS, and Ultra averages 79 FPS. The 52 FPS spread between Low and Ultra is narrower than at 1080p, reflecting the increased GPU load at higher resolution.

At 3840x2160, Low averages 71 FPS, Medium averages 62 FPS with a minimum of 52 FPS and maximum of 71 FPS. High averages 52 FPS, and Ultra averages 43 FPS. The 28 FPS spread between Low and Ultra is the smallest across all resolutions, confirming that the GPU is the dominant constraint at 4K.

The data shows consistent scaling across all three resolutions, with Medium settings providing the best balance of performance and visual quality. The minimum FPS values recorded only for Medium settings (150 at 1080p, 97 at 1440p, 52 at 4K) demonstrate that this preset maintains frame pacing within acceptable bounds. The maximum FPS values at Medium (203 at 1080p, 131 at 1440p, 71 at 4K) indicate the combo can push higher in less demanding scenes.