Doom

The AMD Ryzen 5 7400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT delivers a compelling 1080p experience in Doom, but the data reveals a predictable performance curve as resolution increases. This combination sits in the 2080th position out of 2930 tested combos for this title, placing it in the upper-middle tier of the database. The measured frames per second (FPS) tell a clear story of a system that excels at lower resolutions but begins to show strain at 4K, particularly when visual fidelity is pushed to its limits.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 has a dramatic impact on performance, and the pattern across all settings reveals where the bottleneck lies. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 192 FPS, but this drops to 124 FPS at 1440p and further to 67 FPS at 4K. This represents a 65.1% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, indicating that the rendering workload at higher resolutions is scaling heavily with pixel count.

The scaling behavior changes when looking at High settings, where the average frame rate drops from 141 FPS at 1080p to 91 FPS at 1440p, and then to 49 FPS at 4K. The percentage drop from 1080p to 1440p is 35.5%, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 46.2%. This non-linear degradation suggests that the GPU is becoming increasingly saturated as resolution climbs, with the 4K resolution pushing the RX 6600 XT to its limits even at High settings.

At Medium settings, the measured data shows a similar trend, with 167 FPS at 1080p, 108 FPS at 1440p, and 59 FPS at 4K. The minimum FPS values at Medium settings provide additional insight: at 1080p the minimum is 142 FPS, at 1440p it drops to 92 FPS, and at 4K it falls to 50 FPS. These minimums suggest that while average frame rates remain playable at 1440p, the 4K experience is approaching the edge of consistency, with the gap between average and minimum FPS widening from 25 FPS at 1080p to 9 FPS at 4K.

The Ultra preset tells the most demanding story, with frame rates dropping from 115 FPS at 1080p to 75 FPS at 1440p, and then collapsing to 40 FPS at 4K. This 65.2% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings is nearly identical to the Low preset reduction, which indicates that the resolution scaling penalty is consistent regardless of the graphics load. The data strongly suggests that the GPU is the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions, as the CPU's performance headroom at lower resolutions becomes less relevant when pixel count quadruples.

How This Combo Ranks

With a combo rank of 2080 out of 2930 tested combinations, this pairing sits in the 71st percentile of all tested combos for Doom. This ranking places it firmly in the upper third of the database, though not among the elite configurations. The rank reflects a balance between the CPU's strong multi-threaded performance and the GPU's mid-range capabilities, with the combination proving more capable at 1080p than the raw ranking might suggest.

The CPU's individual benchmark scores help contextualize this rank. The Ryzen 5 7400F achieves an average benchmark score of 32750, placing it in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs tested. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i5-14600T with an average score of 32707 and a delta of 0.1%, the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6850H at 32812 with a delta of -0.2%, and the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 360 at 32662 with a delta of 0.3%. These tight deltas indicate that the 7400F sits in a highly competitive performance band where the differences between processors are nearly negligible.

The GPU's individual performance metrics paint a slightly different picture. The RX 6600 XT achieves a Passmark G3D score of 16461 and an average benchmark score of 24442, placing it in the 70th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER, which scores 24170 with a delta of 1.1%, indicating that the RX 6600 XT slightly outperforms this older high-end card despite being positioned as a mid-range offering. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1630 trails closely at 24277 with a delta of 0.7%, while the Intel Arc A350M scores 24647 with a delta of -0.8%.

The discrepancy between the CPU's 83rd percentile ranking and the GPU's 70th percentile ranking explains the combined 71st percentile result. The data indicates that the GPU is the more limiting component in this pairing, which becomes increasingly evident as resolution increases. The combo rank of 2080 out of 2930 suggests that there are 850 combinations that perform better in Doom, but the specific strengths of this pairing at 1080p should not be overlooked.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 7400F is built on the Zen 4 architecture using TSMC's 5 nm process node, featuring 6 cores and 12 threads. Its base clock runs at 3.70 GHz with a boost clock of 4.70 GHz, and it carries a TDP of 65 W. The processor includes 64 KB of L1 cache per core, 1 MB of L2 cache per core, and 32 MB of shared L3 cache, which provides a substantial pool of fast memory for game data.

In Doom, the CPU's role is significant at lower resolutions where frame rates are high. At 1080p Low settings, the system achieves 192 FPS, which requires the CPU to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic updates at a rapid pace. The Ryzen 5 7400F's single-thread performance is demonstrated by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3072, which is a strong result for a 6-core processor. This single-thread capability is crucial for Doom, as the game engine relies heavily on a few primary threads for rendering and physics.

Multi-threaded performance is equally important for handling the game's background tasks and AI calculations. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21765 shows that the 7400F can handle substantial parallel workloads, with Passmark multithread score of 25645 and Passmark physics score of 1660 further confirming its multi-threading capabilities. The processor's ability to maintain high frame rates at 1080p across all settings, from 115 FPS at Ultra to 192 FPS at Low, suggests that it is not the bottleneck at this resolution.

However, the data implies that the CPU's influence diminishes as resolution increases. The frame rate drops from 1080p to 4K are largely consistent across all settings, with roughly 65% reductions regardless of whether the game is running at Low or Ultra. This consistency points to the GPU becoming the limiting factor at higher resolutions, as the CPU's workload does not scale significantly with pixel count. The Ryzen 5 7400F's 83rd percentile ranking among all CPUs indicates that it has ample headroom for Doom's CPU demands, and the measured FPS at 4K (67 FPS at Low, 49 FPS at High, 40 FPS at Ultra) are more indicative of GPU limits than CPU limits.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo demonstrates its strongest performance across all settings. The Low preset yields an average of 192 FPS, while Medium produces 167 FPS with a minimum of 142 FPS and a maximum of 192 FPS. High settings achieve 141 FPS on average, and Ultra drops to 115 FPS. These numbers indicate that the system provides smooth, high-refresh-rate gameplay at 1080p, with even the most demanding Ultra preset staying well above the 100 FPS threshold.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance scales down predictably. Low settings maintain an average of 124 FPS, which is still excellent for 1440p gaming. Medium averages 108 FPS with minimum and maximum values of 92 and 124 FPS respectively, while High achieves 91 FPS on average. Ultra settings drop to 75 FPS, which remains playable but begins to approach the range where fast-paced FPS gameplay might feel less fluid. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 49 FPS, compared to 77 FPS at 1080p, showing that the GPU's limited resources compress the performance envelope as resolution increases.

At 3840x2160, the system's limitations become apparent. Low settings average 67 FPS, which is technically playable but represents a significant drop from the 192 FPS at 1080p. Medium averages 59 FPS with a minimum of 50 FPS and a maximum of 67 FPS, while High drops to 49 FPS. Ultra settings average just 40 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay in a fast-paced shooter. The 4K results show that this combination is not well-suited for 4K gaming in Doom, with even Low settings struggling to maintain 70 FPS.

The Medium preset is the only one with complete minimum and maximum data across all resolutions, providing the most detailed view of frame time consistency. At 1080p, the range from minimum to maximum is 50 FPS (142 to 192), at 1440p it narrows to 32 FPS (92 to 124), and at 4K it becomes 17 FPS (50 to 67). This narrowing range at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU becomes consistently saturated, reducing the variance in frame rendering times but also lowering the overall performance ceiling.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT is built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture using TSMC's 7 nm process, featuring the Navi 23 chip. It comes with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 256.0 GB/s. The GPU's clocks are set at 1968 MHz base, 2359 MHz game, and 2589 MHz boost, with memory running at 2000 MHz or 16 Gbps effective.

The GPU's 8 GB VRAM capacity plays a role in Doom's performance at higher resolutions. At 4K, texture memory requirements increase significantly, and the 8 GB allocation can become a limiting factor when Ultra settings demand larger texture pools. The measured 4K Ultra average of 40 FPS, compared to 49 FPS at High and 59 FPS at Medium, suggests that the GPU's compute capability rather than memory capacity is the primary constraint, as the frame rate drops steadily with each quality increase regardless of VRAM usage.

The RX 6600 XT's computational specifications include 2048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 64 render output units, with 32 ray tracing cores. Its FP32 performance is rated at 10.60 TFLOPS, which is modest by modern standards but adequate for Doom's Vulkan-based rendering. The GPU's Passmark G3D score of 16461 and its 70th percentile ranking among all GPUs indicate that it performs well within its class, though it is not designed to handle the most demanding 4K workloads.

The GPU's performance in Doom follows a clear pattern: it excels at 1080p where it can maintain 115 FPS at Ultra and 192 FPS at Low, performs well at 1440p with 75 FPS at Ultra and 124 FPS at Low, but struggles at 4K where even Low settings only reach 67 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows a 34.8% reduction in FPS at Low settings, while the step from 1440p to 4K shows a 46.0% reduction, indicating that the GPU's fill rate and shading capability become increasingly taxed as pixel count grows. The 8 GB memory and 256.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming but are not enough to maintain high frame rates at 4K.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 is the optimal resolution, with all settings achieving above 115 FPS. At 2560x1440, performance ranges from 75 FPS at Ultra to 124 FPS at Low, which is still playable. 3840x2160 is not recommended, as even Low settings only reach 67 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Ryzen 5 7400F has an average benchmark score of 32750, placing it 0.1% above the Intel Core i5-14600T (32707) and 0.2% above the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H (32697). It is 0.2% below the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6850H (32812) and 0.3% above the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 360 (32662).

Q: What is the difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves 192 FPS while Ultra achieves 115 FPS, a difference of 77 FPS. This indicates that the GPU has significant headroom at 1080p to handle increased graphical fidelity without compromising playability.

Q: Is the GPU or CPU the limiting factor at 4K?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary limiting factor at 3840x2160. The frame rate drops consistently by approximately 65% from 1080p to 4K across all settings, which is characteristic of GPU-bound rendering. The CPU's 83rd percentile ranking suggests it retains headroom, while the GPU's 70th percentile ranking indicates it approaches its limits.

Q: What is the combo's ranking among all tested configurations?

A: This combination ranks 2080th out of 2930 tested combos for Doom, placing it in the 71st percentile. This means approximately 850 tested combinations perform better in this game.

Q: How consistent are frame times at different resolutions?

A: At Medium settings, the minimum to maximum FPS range narrows from 50 FPS at 1080p (142-192) to 32 FPS at 1440p (92-124) to 17 FPS at 4K (50-67). This indicates that frame times become more consistent at higher resolutions, but at the cost of lower average performance.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1920x1080, all presets deliver smooth gameplay, but the High preset at 141 FPS represents the best balance of visual quality and performance. The Ultra preset at 115 FPS is also excellent for users who prioritize visual fidelity, as it remains comfortably above the 100 FPS threshold for fast-paced FPS gaming.

For 2560x1440, the High preset at 91 FPS is the recommended choice, as it provides a good balance between visual quality and frame rate. The Medium preset at 108 FPS is also viable for users who prefer higher frame rates, while the Ultra preset at 75 FPS may be acceptable for those who prioritize graphics over smoothness. The Low preset at 124 FPS is the best option for competitive play where maximum frame rate is paramount.

At 3840x2160, the data suggests that this combination is not well-suited for 4K gaming. The Low preset at 67 FPS is the only setting that approaches playable frame rates, while Medium at 59 FPS and High at 49 FPS may cause noticeable stuttering in fast-paced action. The Ultra preset at 40 FPS is not recommended for Doom, as it falls below the threshold for smooth gameplay. Users with 4K displays should consider lowering the resolution to 1440p for a significantly better experience, as the performance difference is substantial.