Doom

Doom, the 2016 reboot from id Software, runs exceptionally well on the AMD Ryzen 5 7600 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 combination. The measured data shows a system capable of delivering high frame rates across all tested resolutions and settings, with the primary bottleneck shifting from the GPU at 4K to the CPU at 1080p. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS figures, scaling behavior, and component roles to provide a clear picture of expected performance.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 reveals the expected shift in system bottleneck. At 1080p with Low settings, the system produces 339 FPS, which is more than double the 4K Low average of 119.6 FPS. This substantial drop indicates that at lower resolutions, the CPU is the limiting factor, as the GPU has ample headroom to process frames quickly. The Ryzen 5 7600’s 6 cores and 12 threads, with a boost clock of 5.10 GHz, are being pushed to their limits to feed frames to the RTX 5070.

Stepping up to 1440p, the scaling is more moderate. At Low settings, moving from 1080p to 1440p reduces the average FPS from 339 to 219, a drop of 120 FPS. This still shows a significant CPU influence, but the gap narrows as the GPU begins to take on more work. At 4K, the scaling becomes much more gentle. For example, High settings produce 252.8 FPS at 1080p, 159.5 FPS at 1440p, and 87.2 FPS at 4K. The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K is roughly 65%, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario where the rendering resolution directly impacts the fill rate and pixel processing load.

The most telling data point for identifying the bottleneck is the difference between Low and Ultra settings at each resolution. At 1080p, the spread between Low (339 FPS) and Ultra (204.9 FPS) is 134.1 FPS. At 4K, the spread between Low (119.6 FPS) and Ultra (69.1 FPS) is 50.5 FPS. This narrowing gap at higher resolutions confirms that the GPU is the primary constraint at 4K, while at 1080p, the CPU’s ability to issue draw calls and manage game logic becomes the ceiling. The data shows a system that is balanced enough to provide playable frame rates at 4K Ultra (69.1 FPS) while also capable of esports-level performance at 1080p Low (339 FPS).

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows provide clear guidance on which settings preset offers the best experience. For a 4K display, the High preset at 87.2 FPS is the optimal choice, as it delivers a smooth frame rate that is well above the 60 FPS threshold for most displays, while providing a significant visual boost over Medium (101 FPS) and Low (119.6 FPS). The Ultra preset at 4K drops to 69.1 FPS, which is still playable but leaves less headroom for demanding scenes; the 18.1 FPS gain from High to Ultra may not justify the increased load for most users.

At 1440p, the High preset again stands out with 159.5 FPS. This is comfortably above the refresh rate of most high-end monitors (144 Hz or 165 Hz) and offers a better visual experience than Medium (191.6 FPS) or Low (219 FPS). The Ultra preset at 135.1 FPS is also viable for 1440p, especially if the user prioritizes visual fidelity over a small margin of frame rate. Given that the drop from High to Ultra is 24.4 FPS, users with 144 Hz displays may prefer High to maintain a locked frame rate.

For 1080p, every preset delivers a high frame rate, with the lowest being Ultra at 204.9 FPS. The recommendation here is to use Ultra settings to maximize visual quality, as the system has more than enough performance to handle it. The difference between Ultra (204.9 FPS) and High (252.8 FPS) is 47.9 FPS, but both are far beyond what any mainstream 1080p monitor can display. The data suggests that the RTX 5070 is overkill for 1080p in this title, making the Ultra preset the logical choice to fully utilize the GPU’s capabilities.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 7600 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, codenamed Raphael, manufactured on a 5 nm process by TSMC. Its base clock is 3.80 GHz, boosting up to 5.10 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. In the context of Doom, this CPU demonstrates strong single-thread and multi-thread performance, which is critical for a game that is well-optimized for modern hardware.

Benchmark data shows the Ryzen 5 7600 achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 22992 and a single-core score of 3246. The single-thread performance is particularly relevant for Doom, as the game’s engine often relies on a few heavily loaded threads for game logic and physics. The 3DMark scores show a scaling pattern from 999 (single-thread) to 6503 (max-threads), indicating that the CPU can effectively utilize additional cores, though the incremental gains diminish beyond 8 threads. This aligns with the game’s behavior, where the 1080p Low setting (339 FPS) likely represents the CPU’s frame generation limit.

The passmark single-thread score of 3910, coupled with a multi-thread score of 27058, places the Ryzen 5 7600 in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D (avg score 26574) and the Intel Core i9-12900HK (avg score 26672), with the Ryzen 5 7600 posting an average benchmark score of 26617. This places it within 0.2% of the 5800X3D and 0.2% ahead of the EPYC 8024P, showing that the 7600 is a competitive mid-range desktop part. For Doom, the CPU’s high boost clock and efficient architecture ensure that it does not become a bottleneck at 1440p or 4K, where the GPU takes over as the limiting factor.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average FPS achievable with this combo at 1080p?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 339, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: Is the system capable of 4K gaming at high refresh rates?

A: At 4K with High settings, the average FPS is 87.2. This is above 60 FPS but not sufficient for 120 Hz or 144 Hz displays. To reach higher frame rates at 4K, settings must be lowered to Medium (101 FPS) or Low (119.6 FPS).

Q: How does the RTX 5070 compare to its nearest rival in raw benchmark scores?

A: The RTX 5070 has an average benchmark score of 41687, which is 0.2% higher than the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 (41610) and 0.6% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 (41441).

Q: What is the CPU’s single-thread performance indicative of for this game?

A: The Ryzen 5 7600’s Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3246 and 3DMark single-thread score of 999 suggest strong single-thread capability, which is important for Doom’s game logic and directly impacts the high FPS numbers seen at 1080p Low settings.

Q: What is the FPS difference between 1440p Ultra and 4K Ultra?

A: The average FPS at 1440p Ultra is 135.1, while at 4K Ultra it is 69.1. This represents a drop of 66 FPS when moving from 1440p to 4K at the highest preset.

Q: Does the system maintain playable frame rates at 4K on all presets?

A: Yes. The lowest 4K average FPS is 69.1 (Ultra setting), which is still above the common 60 FPS playability threshold. All other 4K presets exceed 87 FPS.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with the GB205 chip, manufactured on a 5 nm process by TSMC. It features 6144 shading units, 192 TMUs, and 80 ROPs, with a base clock of 2325 MHz and a boost clock of 2512 MHz. The GPU is equipped with 12 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 672.0 GB/s. This memory configuration is sufficient for Doom at 4K, as the game’s texture requirements are modest by modern standards.

The RTX 5070’s FP32 performance is rated at 30.87 TFLOPS, with a texture rate of 482.3 GTexel/s and a pixel rate of 201.0 GPixel/s. These figures explain the GPU’s ability to handle 4K resolutions, where pixel processing and texture filtering become critical. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 5077 and the Geekbench OpenCL score of 185269 place the GPU in the 83rd percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090, has an average score of 41441, with the RTX 5070 posting an average benchmark score of 41687, a 0.6% advantage.

In Doom, the GPU’s role becomes dominant at 4K, where the data shows a clear scaling pattern based on settings. At 4K, the FPS ranges from 69.1 (Ultra) to 119.6 (Low), a spread of 50.5 FPS. This demonstrates that the GPU is the primary limiter at this resolution, as changes in settings directly impact the rendering load. The 12 GB VRAM is not a limiting factor in this title, as even at 4K Ultra, the game does not appear to exceed the memory capacity based on the consistent frame rates. The GPU’s boost clock of 2512 MHz, combined with its high memory bandwidth, ensures that it can sustain high frame rates even when the CPU is providing a steady stream of frames at 1440p and 1080p.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following data represents the measured average FPS for each resolution and settings combination.

At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset produces 204.9 FPS. The High preset increases performance to 252.8 FPS. The Medium preset delivers 292.4 FPS, and the Low preset achieves the highest score of 339 FPS. The progression from Ultra to Low shows a total gain of 134.1 FPS, indicating that the CPU is the primary bottleneck at this resolution, as the settings changes have a limited impact on the GPU load.

At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset averages 135.1 FPS. The High preset yields 159.5 FPS. The Medium preset produces 191.6 FPS, and the Low preset delivers 219 FPS. The difference between Ultra and Low at 1440p is 83.9 FPS, which is smaller than at 1080p, showing a gradual shift toward GPU limitation.

At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset averages 69.1 FPS. The High preset produces 87.2 FPS. The Medium preset delivers 101 FPS, and the Low preset achieves 119.6 FPS. The difference between the highest and lowest settings at 4K is 50.5 FPS, confirming the GPU as the limiting component. The data shows that this hardware combination is well-suited for high-refresh-rate 1080p and 1440p gaming, while still providing a solid 4K experience on High settings.