Doom

The AMD Ryzen 5 7400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 combination delivers exceptionally high frame rates in Doom, consistently pushing past the refresh rates of most monitors. The data shows a system that is overwhelmingly GPU-limited at higher resolutions, with the CPU only becoming a meaningful factor at 1080p. This pairing is a classic example of a strong mid-range CPU providing ample headroom for a high-end graphics card in a well-optimized title.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K clearly identifies the GPU as the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, while also revealing the CPU's limitations at lower settings. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves 301 FPS, but this drops to 195 FPS at 1440p and 105 FPS at 4K. This represents a 35% performance drop from 1080p to 1440p, followed by a 46% drop from 1440p to 4K, indicating that the GPU is being progressively overwhelmed by the increasing pixel count.

However, the scaling pattern changes dramatically when looking at the Ultra preset. At 1080p Ultra, the system produces 181 FPS, which falls to 117 FPS at 1440p (a 35% drop) and then to 63 FPS at 4K (a 46% drop from 1440p). The consistent percentage drops across resolutions at Ultra settings suggest the GPU is the sole limiting factor throughout. In contrast, the Low preset shows a different story: the 301 FPS at 1080p drops to 195 FPS at 1440p, but the 4K result of 105 FPS represents a smaller 46% drop from 1440p, suggesting that at 1080p Low, the CPU is preventing the GPU from reaching even higher frame rates.

The gap between resolutions narrows as settings increase. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 120 FPS (301 vs 181 FPS). At 4K, that same difference shrinks to 42 FPS (105 vs 63 FPS). This compression at higher resolutions is a textbook sign of GPU-bound performance, where the graphics card's workload becomes so heavy that the CPU has spare capacity. The 4K Medium result of 92 FPS with a minimum of 78 FPS and maximum of 106 FPS shows consistent frame pacing, reinforcing that the GPU is handling the load predictably.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data suggests that the High preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance for most users. At 1080p High, the system delivers 221 FPS, which is more than sufficient for any high-refresh-rate monitor. At 1440p High, the 143 FPS average is still excellent, providing a smooth experience on 144Hz displays. Even at 4K High, the 78 FPS average is playable, particularly for a fast-paced FPS where frame consistency matters more than absolute maximums.

For competitive play at 1080p, the Low preset's 301 FPS is the clear choice, as it maximizes the frame rate ceiling for the lowest input latency. The Medium preset offers a middle ground, delivering 262 FPS at 1080p and 170 FPS at 1440p, both of which are strong results. However, the jump from Medium to High at 1440p costs only 27 FPS (170 to 143), which is a modest price for the visual improvements.

The Ultra preset is the most demanding, and the data shows it is best reserved for 1080p gaming where the 181 FPS average remains competitive. At 1440p Ultra, the 117 FPS is still playable, but the 4K Ultra result of 63 FPS is borderline for a fast-paced shooter, as it may dip below 60 FPS during intense scenes. The absence of minimum FPS data for Ultra settings makes it difficult to assess frame consistency, but the averages suggest that High is the recommended preset for 1440p and 4K, while Low or Medium are better for maximizing refresh rates at 1080p.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 7400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. It features 32 MB of shared L3 cache and supports DDR5 memory on the AMD Socket AM5 platform. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21765 and a single-core score of 3072, placing it in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs.

The CPU's role in Doom becomes apparent when examining the 1080p Low preset results. The 301 FPS average at 1080p Low, compared to 195 FPS at 1440p Low, suggests that the CPU is approaching its limit at lower resolutions where the GPU has less work to do. The CPU's single-core performance, as measured by the Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3072, is critical for game logic and draw calls, and the data indicates that it can sustain frame rates above 300 FPS in this title.

However, the CPU's influence diminishes as resolution increases. At 4K, the frame rates are nearly identical across all settings when accounting for the GPU workload, with the difference between Low (105 FPS) and High (78 FPS) being entirely attributable to GPU rendering load. The CPU's multi-core performance, demonstrated by the Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21765, is more than adequate for the game's threading model, which is not heavily parallelized in this 2016 title.

The CPU's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks include the Intel Core i5-14600T with an average score of 32707 (0.1% difference) and the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6850H with an average score of 32812 (-0.2% difference). These scores are nearly identical, indicating that the 7400F is well-positioned in its performance class, though the in-game results show that it does not bottleneck the RTX 3080 at any resolution above 1080p Low.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Doom at 4K with playable frame rates?

A: Yes, at 4K with High settings, the system achieves an average of 78 FPS. At Medium settings, it reaches 92 FPS with a minimum of 78 FPS, which is comfortably playable. For the Ultra preset, the average drops to 63 FPS, which may be too low for competitive play.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1080p?

A: At 1080p with Low settings, the system produces 301 FPS, suggesting the CPU is nearing its limit. However, at 1080p with Ultra settings, the frame rate drops to 181 FPS, indicating that the GPU becomes the bottleneck as settings increase. The CPU is only the limiting factor at the lowest settings.

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

A: At 1440p, the High preset delivers 143 FPS, which is just below the 144Hz refresh rate. The Medium preset provides 170 FPS, giving more headroom. At 1080p, the High preset's 221 FPS is more than enough for 144Hz, while the Low preset's 301 FPS is ideal for 240Hz monitors.

Q: How does the RTX 3080 compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 3080's average benchmark score is 23172, with its nearest rival being the NVIDIA P106-100 at 23249, a difference of -0.3%. The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 16 scores 23250 (-0.3%), and the AMD Radeon RX 6600M scores 23273 (-0.4%). These are all within a fraction of a percent, showing the 3080 is in a tight performance cluster.

Q: Does the Ryzen 5 7400F bottleneck the RTX 3080 in Doom?

A: The data shows that the CPU does not bottleneck the GPU at 1440p or 4K, as frame rates scale consistently with resolution. At 1080p Low, the 301 FPS result may be CPU-limited, but this is an extreme scenario. For all practical settings, the GPU is the limiting component.

Q: What is the frame consistency like at 1440p Medium?

A: The 1440p Medium preset shows an average of 170 FPS with a minimum of 144 FPS and a maximum of 195 FPS. This 26 FPS spread between minimum and maximum indicates good frame pacing, with no significant stuttering or drops.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 is built on the Ampere architecture with 8704 shading units, 272 texture mapping units, and 96 raster output units. It features 10 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 320-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 760.3 GB/s. The GPU has a base clock of 1440 MHz and a boost clock of 1710 MHz, with memory running at 19 Gbps effective. Its FP32 performance is rated at 29.77 TFLOPS.

In Doom, the GPU's capabilities are showcased by the frame rates across all resolutions. At 1080p, the GPU delivers between 181 FPS (Ultra) and 301 FPS (Low), demonstrating its ability to handle high refresh rates at the lowest resolution. The 1440p results are equally impressive, with the High preset achieving 143 FPS and the Low preset reaching 195 FPS. At 4K, the GPU manages 78 FPS on High and 105 FPS on Low, showing that it can handle 4K gaming with adjusted settings.

The GPU's memory bandwidth of 760.3 GB/s is likely a key factor in the strong 4K performance, as the 10 GB frame buffer is sufficient for Doom's texture requirements at 4K. The 320-bit memory bus and GDDR6X memory provide ample bandwidth for the game's rendering demands, as evidenced by the consistent frame rates at 4K Medium (92 FPS average with 78 FPS minimum). The GPU's 96 ROPs are also well-suited for the game's fill-rate requirements, particularly at higher resolutions.

The RTX 3080's synthetic benchmark scores place it in the 68th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 23172. Its nearest rivals in the database are all within 0.4% of its score, including the NVIDIA P106-100 (-0.3%), AMD Radeon Pro Vega 16 (-0.3%), AMD Radeon RX 6600M (-0.4%), and AMD Radeon R9 M290X (-0.4%). This tight clustering suggests that the 3080 is in a competitive performance tier, though the in-game results show it excels specifically in Doom's Vulkan-based engine.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system produces its highest frame rates across all settings. The Low preset achieves an average of 301 FPS, followed by Medium at 262 FPS with a minimum of 223 FPS and maximum of 301 FPS. The High preset delivers 221 FPS, while the Ultra preset produces 181 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 120 FPS, showing the significant impact of settings on performance.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but show the GPU's increasing workload. The Low preset averages 195 FPS, the Medium preset averages 170 FPS with a minimum of 144 FPS and maximum of 195 FPS, the High preset averages 143 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 117 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is consistent across settings, with approximately a 35% reduction in frame rate.

At 3840x2160, the system's performance is firmly GPU-bound. The Low preset achieves 105 FPS, the Medium preset averages 92 FPS with a minimum of 78 FPS and maximum of 106 FPS, the High preset delivers 78 FPS, and the Ultra preset produces 63 FPS. The 4K Medium result shows the tightest frame pacing in the dataset, with a 28 FPS range between minimum and maximum. Across all resolutions, the Medium preset consistently provides the most complete data with both minimum and maximum FPS recorded, allowing for the most accurate assessment of frame consistency. The system's overall ranking in Doom is 787 out of 2930 tested combinations, placing it in the top 27% of all hardware configurations for this game.