Doom

The AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 delivers a highly capable 1080p and 1440p experience in Doom, with the data showing that the most balanced experience is found at Medium settings across all tested resolutions. This combination of a 6-core, 12-thread processor with 96 MB of L3 cache and a 3072-shader GPU produces frame rates that range from playable at 4K to exceptionally high at 1080p, though the limiting component shifts depending on the resolution and settings chosen.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data for this specific CPU-GPU combination in Doom indicates that the Medium preset offers the best overall experience, balancing visual fidelity with performance headroom. At 1920x1080, the Medium preset delivers an average of 198 FPS, which is only 30 FPS below the Low preset's 228 FPS but a substantial 61 FPS above the Ultra preset's 137 FPS. The Medium preset also provides a minimum FPS of 168, ensuring that even the most demanding scenes remain well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset continues to shine, producing an average of 128 FPS with a minimum of 109 FPS. This represents a significant improvement over the Ultra preset, which drops to 89 FPS average, while remaining close to the High preset's 108 FPS. The data suggests that the visual jump from Medium to High at 1440p is not worth the 20 FPS average loss, while the jump from Medium to Ultra costs 39 FPS, which is a substantial penalty for marginal graphical improvements.

The 4K resolution tells a more complicated story. At 3840x2160, the Medium preset produces 70 FPS average with a minimum of 59 FPS, which is right at the edge of playability. The High preset dips to 59 FPS average, which is technically playable but leaves no headroom for demanding scenes, while the Ultra preset falls to 48 FPS, which is below the standard for smooth gameplay. The Low preset at 4K produces 80 FPS, but this sacrifices too much visual quality for most users.

For players with high refresh rate 1080p monitors, the High preset at 167 FPS is the recommended choice, as it provides a strong visual upgrade over Medium while still maintaining frame rates that exceed most 144Hz displays. For 1440p users, Medium is the clear winner. For 4K, Medium is the only preset that consistently stays near the 60 FPS target, making it the practical ceiling for this combination at that resolution.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D brings 6 cores and 12 threads to this pairing, with a base clock of 4.00 GHz and a boost clock of 4.50 GHz. The processor's defining feature is its 96 MB of shared L3 cache, which is exceptionally large for a 6-core chip and is likely a significant factor in Doom's performance, as the game benefits from having large amounts of frequently accessed data stored close to the cores.

The CPU's PassMark single-thread score of 3494 and multithread score of 25047 place it in the 89th percentile among all CPUs, indicating strong processing power that is unlikely to bottleneck the GPU in most scenarios. The processor sits within 0.7% of its nearest rivals in average benchmark score, with the Intel Core i5-14600 being 0.7% faster, the Intel Core Ultra X9 388H being 0.2% faster, and the Intel Core i9-13950HX being 0.5% faster. This tight grouping suggests that the 7500X3D is competitively positioned against other high-end processors.

In Doom specifically, the CPU's role becomes more apparent at lower resolutions where the GPU has less work to do per frame. At 1080p with Low settings, the combination produces 228 FPS, which is likely approaching the practical limit of what this CPU can feed to the GPU. The fact that the 7500X3D can sustain these high frame rates without apparent CPU limitations reflects its strong single-thread performance and large cache. The 65 W TDP and 5 nm process node also indicate that the processor is efficient, which is relevant for sustained gaming sessions.

The processor supports DDR5 memory with a dual-channel bus and 83.2 GB/s bandwidth, which is more than sufficient for Doom's memory requirements. The 24 PCIe Gen 5 lanes provide ample bandwidth for the GPU and storage devices, ensuring that data transfer bottlenecks are unlikely. The integrated Radeon Graphics, while not used for gaming in this configuration, provides a fallback for basic display output.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture using a 5 nm process from TSMC, featuring 18,900 million transistors on a 159 mm² die. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1830 MHz and a boost clock of 2460 MHz, with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus providing 272.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The 3072 shading units, 96 texture mapping units, and 48 raster output pipelines give the GPU a pixel rate of 118.1 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 236.2 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance rated at 15.11 TFLOPS.

The GPU's PassMark G3D score of 19545 places it in the 61st percentile among all GPUs, which is notably lower than the CPU's 89th percentile ranking. This suggests that the GPU is the more limiting component in this pairing, particularly at higher resolutions and settings. The GPU's nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon HD 7790 (0.2% faster), AMD Radeon 780M (0.3% slower), AMD Radeon Pro 560 (0.5% slower), and AMD Radeon Pro 460 (0.7% slower), placing the RTX 4060 in a performance bracket that is competitive with older mid-range cards but not with modern high-end offerings.

In Doom, the GPU's 8 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for the game's requirements, as the measured data shows no signs of VRAM-related stuttering or performance degradation even at 4K Ultra settings. The memory bandwidth of 272.0 GB/s is adequate for the game's texture streaming needs, though it may be a limiting factor at 4K where the RTX 4060's average of 48 FPS on Ultra settings suggests the GPU is struggling to maintain the required fill rate.

The GPU's performance scaling across settings is consistent with its specifications. At 1080p, the GPU can deliver 228 FPS on Low settings, which is likely CPU-limited. As settings increase, the GPU becomes the bottleneck, with Ultra settings dropping to 137 FPS. This pattern becomes more pronounced at higher resolutions, where the GPU's 128-bit memory bus and 8 GB VRAM capacity become more significant constraints.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 ranks 1540 out of 2930 tested combos in Doom, placing it in the 47th percentile of all tested configurations. This ranking is notably lower than what the CPU's individual 89th percentile would suggest, confirming that the GPU is the limiting factor in this pairing.

The ranking indicates that while this combination is capable of delivering excellent frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, it is not among the top performers when compared to systems with more powerful GPUs. The 2930 tested combos include configurations with much stronger GPUs, and the RTX 4060's 61st percentile GPU ranking pulls the overall combination down from where the CPU's performance would place it.

The data suggests that this combo is well-suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where the GPU can leverage the CPU's strong single-thread performance to deliver high frame rates. At 4K, the combination falls to the edge of playability, with only the Medium preset maintaining an average above 60 FPS. The rank of 1540 out of 2930 reflects this mixed performance profile, where the combo excels at lower resolutions but struggles to compete with higher-end GPU configurations at 4K.

FAQ

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

A: Yes, at Medium settings the combination produces an average of 70 FPS with a minimum of 59 FPS at 3840x2160. The High preset drops to 59 FPS average, and Ultra falls to 48 FPS, so Medium is the recommended preset for 4K.

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

A: The Medium preset delivers an average of 128 FPS with a minimum of 109 FPS at 2560x1440. This is the best balance, as High drops to 108 FPS and Ultra drops to 89 FPS, while Low produces 147 FPS but sacrifices visual quality.

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

A: The Ryzen 5 7500X3D has an average benchmark score of 44573, which is 0.2% behind the Intel Core Ultra X9 388H, 0.5% behind the Intel Core i9-13950HX, 0.6% behind the AMD Ryzen AI Max 385, and 0.7% ahead of the Intel Core i5-14600.

Q: Is the GPU the limiting factor in this combination?

A: Yes, the GPU ranks in the 61st percentile among all GPUs with a PassMark G3D score of 19545, while the CPU ranks in the 89th percentile. The combo's 1540 rank out of 2930 combos in Doom confirms that the GPU holds back overall performance.

Q: What frame rates can I expect at 1080p with High settings?

A: The combination produces an average of 167 FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings. This is 31 FPS below the Low preset's 228 FPS but 30 FPS above the Ultra preset's 137 FPS.

Q: Does the 8 GB VRAM cause issues at 4K?

A: No, the measured data shows no VRAM-related performance drops. The GPU maintains 59 FPS average at 4K High and 48 FPS at 4K Ultra, indicating that the 8 GB capacity is sufficient for Doom's requirements.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured frame rates show a clear progression across settings. The Low preset produces the highest average at 228 FPS, followed by Medium at 198 FPS (minimum 168, maximum 228), High at 167 FPS, and Ultra at 137 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 91 FPS, which is substantial and indicates that the GPU has significant headroom at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates drop predictably. Low produces 147 FPS, Medium produces 128 FPS (minimum 109, maximum 148), High produces 108 FPS, and Ultra produces 89 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 58 FPS, which is narrower than at 1080p, suggesting that the GPU is becoming more of a limiting factor.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates drop significantly. Low produces 80 FPS, Medium produces 70 FPS (minimum 59, maximum 80), High produces 59 FPS, and Ultra produces 48 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 32 FPS, which is the narrowest of all resolutions, indicating that the GPU is heavily constrained at 4K and settings have less impact on overall performance.

The data shows that the Medium preset consistently provides a minimum FPS that is well above the Low preset's minimum and close to the High preset's average. At 1080p, the Medium minimum of 168 FPS is within 1 FPS of the High average of 167 FPS, while at 1440p the Medium minimum of 109 FPS is just 1 FPS above the High average of 108 FPS. At 4K, the Medium minimum of 59 FPS is exactly equal to the High average of 59 FPS.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1080p to 1440p shows a consistent performance drop across all settings. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 228 to 147, a reduction of 81 FPS or 35.5%. At Medium settings, the drop is from 198 to 128, a reduction of 70 FPS or 35.4%. At High settings, the drop is from 167 to 108, a reduction of 59 FPS or 35.3%. At Ultra settings, the drop is from 137 to 89, a reduction of 48 FPS or 35.0%.

The consistency of these percentage drops across all settings indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting factor when moving from 1080p to 1440p. The pixel count increases by 77.8% from 1080p to 1440p, and the frame rates drop by approximately 35%, which suggests that the GPU's rendering capabilities scale predictably with resolution.

The transition from 1440p to 4K shows a different pattern. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 147 to 80, a reduction of 67 FPS or 45.6%. At Medium settings, the drop is from 128 to 70, a reduction of 58 FPS or 45.3%. At High settings, the drop is from 108 to 59, a reduction of 49 FPS or 45.4%. At Ultra settings, the drop is from 89 to 48, a reduction of 41 FPS or 46.1%.

The larger percentage drops from 1440p to 4K, compared to the 1080p to 1440p transition, indicate that the GPU is becoming increasingly constrained at 4K. The pixel count increases by 125% from 1440p to 4K, and the frame rates drop by approximately 45%, which is a steeper decline than the 35% drop seen from 1080p to 1440p.

The overall scaling from 1080p to 4K shows that the combination loses 64.9% of its performance at Low settings (228 to 80 FPS), 64.6% at Medium settings (198 to 70 FPS), 64.7% at High settings (167 to 59 FPS), and 65.0% at Ultra settings (137 to 48 FPS). This consistent ~65% performance loss across all settings from 1080p to 4K suggests that the GPU's 8 GB VRAM capacity and 128-bit memory bus are the primary constraints, as the GPU cannot maintain its 1080p performance levels when the rendering load increases by 300% at 4K.