Doom

# Doom with AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090

The AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 combination delivers exceptional frame rates across all tested resolutions in Doom, with the data showing a clear performance hierarchy that shifts from GPU-bound at 4K to increasingly CPU-sensitive at 1080p. At 4K Ultra, the combo averages 94 FPS, while dropping to 4K Low pushes that figure to 156 FPS — a 66% improvement that highlights how much headroom remains in the GPU when settings are reduced. The RTX 4090's 24 GB of GDDR6X memory and 1.01 TB/s bandwidth ensure that even at maximum settings, memory bandwidth is never the limiting factor in this 2016 title.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a predictable scaling pattern as resolution increases, but the magnitude of the drops tells an important story about system balance. From 1080p to 1440p at High settings, average FPS falls from 327 to 211 — a 35% reduction. Moving from 1440p to 4K at High settings, the average drops from 211 to 115 FPS, another 45% reduction. This progressive decline indicates that the RTX 4090 is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, with the GPU's raw throughput being the deciding factor.

At Low settings, the scaling is even more pronounced. The 1080p Low result of 366 FPS drops to 287 FPS at 1440p (a 22% reduction) and then to 156 FPS at 4K (a 46% reduction from 1440p). The fact that 4K Low (156 FPS) is still far above 1080p Ultra (267 FPS) shows that the GPU has substantial reserve capacity, but the resolution scaling at Low settings suggests that even this flagship GPU cannot fully overcome the pixel throughput demands of 4K.

The Medium settings rows provide the only min/max FPS data in the pack, offering insight into frame time consistency. At 1080p Medium, the combo produces an average of 349 FPS with a min of 297 and max of 401 — a spread of 104 FPS that indicates some frame pacing variance, though the minimum remains well above any display refresh rate. At 1440p Medium, the average is 250 FPS with min/max of 213/288, showing a tighter relative spread. At 4K Medium, the average drops to 136 FPS with min/max of 115/156, meaning the minimum is still comfortably above 60 FPS for smooth gameplay.

Looking at the Ultra preset specifically, the resolution scaling from 1080p (267 FPS) to 1440p (173 FPS) represents a 35% drop, and from 1440p to 4K (94 FPS) another 46% drop. The 4K Ultra result of 94 FPS is the only measured configuration that falls below the 100 FPS threshold, suggesting that players seeking maximum visual fidelity at 4K will need to accept either a slight settings reduction or a high-refresh-rate display with adaptive sync.

How This Combo Ranks

Among the 2,930 tested combos in the database, this Ryzen 5 7500X3D + RTX 4090 pairing ranks 124th overall for Doom. That places it in the top 4.2% of all tested configurations, which is a strong showing given that the CPU is a 6-core/12-thread part rather than a flagship 16-core processor. The ranking reflects the game's engine characteristics — Doom's id Tech 6 engine scales well with raw GPU power but does not heavily penalize mid-range core counts, allowing the RTX 4090 to dominate the performance equation.

The CPU's average benchmark score of 44,573 places it in the 89th percentile among all CPUs, with nearest rivals including the Intel Core Ultra X9 388H (44,466, 0.2% ahead) and Intel Core i9-13950HX (44,342, 0.5% ahead). The AMD Ryzen AI Max 385 trails by 0.6% at 44,309, while the Intel Core i5-14600 leads by 0.7% at 44,889. This tight clustering around the 44,000–45,000 score range shows that the 7500X3D is competitive with high-end mobile and desktop parts from both AMD and Intel, despite its lower core count.

The GPU's average benchmark score of 60,347 places it in the 88th percentile among all GPUs, with nearest rivals being the Intel Arc Pro A60 (60,326, 0.0% delta) and AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 (60,140, 0.3% behind). The AMD Radeon Pro W6600M is 2.5% ahead at 61,896, while the AMD Radeon PRO V710 trails by 2.9% at 58,657. These rival comparisons are based on synthetic benchmark averages, but the in-game FPS data shows the RTX 4090 performing at a level that justifies its high percentile ranking.

The 124th rank out of 2,930 combos means this system outperforms the vast majority of tested configurations, but it is not at the absolute top. This is likely due to the CPU's 6-core architecture, which, while excellent for gaming, does not provide the same multi-threaded headroom as higher-core-count parts in synthetic benchmarks that weigh heavily on the average score.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications explain why Doom runs at such high frame rates. Based on the AD102 chip with 16,384 shading units, 512 TMUs, and 176 ROPs, the GPU delivers 82.58 TFLOPS of FP32 compute. Its boost clock of 2520 MHz (base 2235 MHz) provides the raw clock speed needed for high-frequency rendering, while the 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus achieves 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth.

In Doom specifically, the GPU's memory configuration is more than sufficient. The game's textures and geometry at 4K Ultra do not come close to exhausting 24 GB of VRAM, and the 1.01 TB/s bandwidth ensures that texture streaming and buffer updates never become a bottleneck. The pixel rate of 443.5 GPixel/s and texture rate of 1,290.2 GTexel/s are the key metrics for a fast-paced FPS, allowing the GPU to fill pixels and sample textures at rates that easily exceed the demands of 4K rendering.

The GPU's 128 RT cores and 512 tensor cores are not directly relevant to Doom, which is a non-ray-traced title from 2016, but they contribute to the overall die size (609 mm²) and transistor count (76,300 million) that make this such a large and powerful chip. The 450 W TDP and suggested 850 W PSU indicate the power requirements, though the measured FPS data suggests the GPU is rarely pushed to its absolute limit in this game.

At 4K Ultra, the average of 94 FPS represents a significant achievement for a game that predates the GPU by six years. The fact that the same GPU achieves 366 FPS at 1080p Low demonstrates that the RTX 4090 has substantial headroom, and the resolution scaling confirms that the GPU is the primary performance driver across all settings. Even at the most demanding configuration (4K Ultra), the GPU maintains an average above 90 FPS, which is excellent for a game with fast-paced action.

Settings Recommendations

For players with a 1080p display, the Medium preset at 349 FPS is the sweet spot — it delivers a 7% improvement over High (327 FPS) while maintaining a minimum of 297 FPS, ensuring no frame drops below the refresh rate of even the fastest 360 Hz monitors. The Ultra preset at 267 FPS is still excellent, but the jump from Medium to Ultra only costs 82 FPS while providing diminishing visual returns.

At 1440p, the Medium preset at 250 FPS (min 213, max 288) offers the best balance of visual quality and performance. The High preset at 211 FPS is also viable, but the 39 FPS difference between High and Medium is not worth the visual degradation for most players. The Ultra preset at 173 FPS is playable but represents a 31% drop from Medium, making it a less attractive option for competitive play.

At 4K, the High preset at 115 FPS is the recommended choice for most users. It provides a 21 FPS improvement over Ultra (94 FPS) while maintaining near-maximum visual quality. The Medium preset at 136 FPS (min 115, max 156) is the best option for players with 120 Hz or 144 Hz 4K displays, as it ensures the minimum frame rate stays above the refresh rate. The Low preset at 156 FPS is only recommended for players who prioritize maximum frame rates over all else, as the visual degradation is significant.

The data shows that the Ultra preset at 4K is the only configuration that drops below 100 FPS, so players with 4K displays should consider whether the visual upgrade from High to Ultra is worth the 21 FPS cost. For the vast majority of gamers, the Medium or High preset at their native resolution will provide the best experience, with the GPU's massive headroom ensuring that even the most demanding settings remain playable.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows 1440p Medium at 250 FPS (min 213, max 288) as the best balance of visual quality and performance. At 4K, the High preset at 115 FPS is recommended, while 1080p Medium at 349 FPS is the maximum performance option.

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

A: Yes, the 4K Ultra preset averages 94 FPS, and the High preset averages 115 FPS. Even the most demanding configuration stays above 90 FPS, making 4K gaming comfortable on most displays.

Q: How does the RTX 4090's 24 GB VRAM affect Doom performance?

A: The 24 GB of GDDR6X memory with 1.01 TB/s bandwidth is far more than Doom requires, ensuring that VRAM capacity and bandwidth never limit performance. The GPU's 443.5 GPixel/s pixel rate and 1,290.2 GTexel/s texture rate are the limiting factors.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 7500X3D sufficient for this GPU?

A: The CPU's PassMark multithread score of 25,047 and single-thread score of 3,494 place it in the 89th percentile, and the combo ranks 124th out of 2,930. The 6-core/12-thread design with 96 MB L3 cache provides adequate gaming performance without bottlenecking the RTX 4090.

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

A: At 1080p, Low averages 366 FPS while Ultra averages 267 FPS, a 99 FPS difference. The Medium preset at 349 FPS with a minimum of 297 FPS offers the best frame time consistency.

Q: How does this combo compare to other tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 124th out of 2,930 tested, placing it in the top 4.2% of all configurations. The CPU's nearest rivals are within 0.7% of its average score, while the GPU's nearest rivals are within 2.9%.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D, part of the 7000 series, provides 6 cores and 12 threads with a base clock of 4.00 GHz and boost clock of 4.50 GHz. Its 96 MB of shared L3 cache is the standout feature, offering more than triple the L3 of typical 6-core parts. This cache size is particularly beneficial for gaming workloads, as it reduces memory latency and improves frame pacing in CPU-bound scenarios.

The CPU's PassMark multithread score of 25,047 and single-thread score of 3,494 demonstrate solid performance, but the 89th percentile ranking shows it is not at the absolute top of the CPU hierarchy. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core Ultra X9 388H (44,466 avg, 0.2% higher), Intel Core i9-13950HX (44,342 avg, 0.5% higher), and AMD Ryzen AI Max 385 (44,309 avg, 0.6% higher), with the Intel Core i5-14600 (44,889 avg, 0.7% lower) trailing slightly. This clustering indicates that the 7500X3D is competitive with higher-core-count parts in synthetic tests, likely due to the cache advantage.

In Doom specifically, the CPU's role is secondary to the GPU. The measured FPS data shows that at 1080p Low, the combo achieves 366 FPS, which is high enough to stress the CPU, but the 6-core/12-thread design handles this without issue. The fact that the combo ranks 124th out of 2,930 suggests that the CPU is not holding back the RTX 4090, as even top-ranked combos with more powerful CPUs would only see marginal gains.

The CPU's 65 W TDP and 5 nm process node from TSMC make it an efficient part, and its DDR5 memory support with 83.2 GB/s bandwidth ensures the GPU has adequate data feeding. The 4.50 GHz boost clock is sufficient for Doom's single-threaded engine components, while the 12 threads provide enough multi-threading for background tasks and game logic. Overall, the Ryzen 5 7500X3D is well-matched to the RTX 4090 for this title, with the GPU doing the heavy lifting and the CPU providing consistent, cache-optimized performance.