Doom

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX delivers a formidable performance profile in Doom, demonstrating that this 2016 shooter remains highly scalable on modern hardware. The measured data shows a system capable of triple-digit frame rates at virtually every configuration, with the bottleneck shifting predictably between the CPU and GPU as resolution and settings change. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS rows to explain what the numbers mean for actual gameplay.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling across resolutions reveals a classic GPU-bound scenario at higher settings, but with surprising headroom at lower presets. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces 366 FPS, which drops to 237 FPS at 1440p and further to 128 FPS at 4K. This represents a 35% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and a 65% reduction from 1080p to 4K. The sheer magnitude of these drops—especially the 4K figure nearly halving from the 1440p result—indicates that the RX 7900 XTX is the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions, as expected from a GPU-heavy workload.

However, the pattern shifts when examining the High and Ultra presets. At High settings, the transition from 1080p (269 FPS) to 1440p (174 FPS) shows a 35% drop, while moving to 4K (94 FPS) costs another 46%. This steeper decline at 4K suggests the GPU is working progressively harder, with the 24 GB of GDDR6 memory and 384-bit bus width being taxed by the increased pixel count. The Ultra preset tells a similar story: 220 FPS at 1080p, 143 FPS at 1440p, and 77 FPS at 4K, with the 4K result falling below the 100 FPS threshold that many players consider smooth.

The most telling data point comes from comparing the Low preset scaling. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 366 FPS, which is extraordinarily high and suggests the CPU is not the limiting factor at this resolution. Yet the 4K Low result of 128 FPS—a 65% drop—confirms that even with minimal graphical load, the GPU's rendering pipeline becomes the bottleneck. This is a clear sign that the Ryzen 5 8400F's six cores and twelve threads, running at a boost clock of 4.70 GHz, provide ample processing power to feed the GPU at lower resolutions, but the RX 7900 XTX's raw fill rate and shader throughput determine the ceiling as resolution climbs.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data strongly favors the High preset as the optimal balance between visual fidelity and performance. At 1080p, High delivers 269 FPS, which is 50 FPS above the Ultra preset's 220 FPS and only 97 FPS below the Low preset's 366 FPS. The gap between High and Ultra widens at 1440p (174 FPS vs 143 FPS) and becomes most pronounced at 4K (94 FPS vs 77 FPS), where the Ultra preset's additional graphical effects exact a 18% performance penalty over High. Given that the visual difference between High and Ultra in Doom is typically subtle, the High preset offers the best frame rate headroom.

The Medium preset provides a middle ground, with 319 FPS at 1080p, 206 FPS at 1440p, and 112 FPS at 4K. The min FPS data for Medium (271 at 1080p, 176 at 1440p, 95 at 4K) shows that even worst-case frame times remain well above playable thresholds. However, the jump from Medium to High costs only 50 FPS at 1080p (319 to 269) and 32 FPS at 1440p (206 to 174), making High a more attractive option for those seeking better image quality without sacrificing smoothness.

For 4K gaming, the High preset's 94 FPS average is the only configuration that keeps the experience above 90 FPS, while Ultra drops to 77 FPS and Medium sits at 112 FPS. Players prioritizing maximum refresh rate on a 144Hz display should stick with High at 1440p, where 174 FPS comfortably exceeds the refresh threshold. The Low preset, while producing 237 FPS at 1440p and 128 FPS at 4K, sacrifices too much visual quality to be recommended for a game with Doom's fast-paced environments, though it demonstrates the system's raw capability.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 5 8400F's specifications—six cores, twelve threads, base clock of 4.20 GHz, and boost clock of 4.70 GHz—are more than sufficient for Doom's engine. The CPU's benchmark scores reinforce this: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 20851 and single-core score of 2943 indicate strong per-thread performance, which is critical for a game that relies heavily on a few main threads. The 3DMark single-thread score of 951 further confirms that the Zen 4 architecture, built on a 4 nm process, delivers the IPC needed to avoid bottlenecking the GPU.

The data shows that the CPU is not the limiting factor until frame rates reach extreme levels. At 1080p Low, the 366 FPS result is likely approaching the engine's or CPU's practical ceiling, but even then, the 4K Low result of 128 FPS demonstrates that the six cores can maintain high instruction throughput without becoming a constraint. The CPU's 16 MB of shared L3 cache and 1 MB L2 per core provide sufficient data locality for Doom's level geometry and enemy AI, which are not particularly cache-intensive compared to modern titles.

Interestingly, the CPU's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks—the AMD Ryzen 5 7500F (0.2% higher average score), Intel Core i7-11850H (0.3% higher), and Intel Core i7-13620H (0.4% higher)—all sit within a narrow performance band. This suggests that the 8400F's gaming performance in Doom would be virtually identical to these alternatives, with the GPU doing the heavy lifting. The CPU's 65W TDP and DDR5 memory support with 83.2 GB/s bandwidth are adequate for feeding the RX 7900 XTX, though the GPU's 960.0 GB/s memory bandwidth is the more critical factor in this pairing.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F + AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX combination ranks 500th out of 3712 tested combos in Doom, placing it in the top 13.5% of all configurations. This is a strong result, though not exceptional given the GPU's high-end positioning. The rank reflects that while the RX 7900 XTX is a capable card—its PassMark G3D score of 31238 and 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 6841 demonstrate solid DirectX 12 performance—there are faster CPUs and GPUs in the database that push higher frame rates.

The GPU's percentile ranking of 64 against all GPUs is notably lower than its raw performance would suggest, likely because the benchmark database includes many professional and workstation cards with different scoring characteristics. The RX 7900 XTX's nearest rivals in the GPU benchmarks—the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB (0.4% higher score) and NVIDIA TITAN Xp (1.2% higher)—are surprising comparisons, indicating that the average benchmark score is not purely indicative of gaming performance. In Doom specifically, the combo's rank of 500 suggests that the GPU's strengths in raw throughput translate well to this title's Vulkan-based engine.

The CPU's percentile rank of 77 against all CPUs is solidly above average, and its average benchmark score of 25005 is nearly identical to its nearest rivals. This means the 8400F is not dragging the combo down; rather, the RX 7900 XTX's end-of-life production status and the presence of newer GPUs in the database likely explain why the combo doesn't rank higher. For a 1440p or 4K gaming setup, this pairing offers a robust foundation, as evidenced by the measured FPS across all settings.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Doom at 4K with maximum settings?

A: Yes, but with a caveat. At 4K Ultra settings, the average FPS is 77, which is playable but not ideal for competitive play. Dropping to High settings raises the average to 94 FPS, and Medium settings achieve 112 FPS with a minimum of 95 FPS.

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

A: The data shows 1440p as the sweet spot. At High settings, the combo delivers 174 FPS, which is well above 144Hz refresh rates. Even at Ultra settings, 143 FPS remains smooth, while 1080p offers excess headroom (269 FPS at High) that most monitors cannot display.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 8400F a bottleneck for the RX 7900 XTX in Doom?

A: The evidence suggests no. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 366 FPS, indicating the CPU can sustain very high frame rates. The bottleneck shifts to the GPU at higher resolutions, as shown by the 4K Low result of 128 FPS, which is significantly lower than the 1080p Low figure.

Q: How does the combo's performance compare to other tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 500th out of 3712 tested combinations, placing it in the top 13.5%. This is a strong result, but not top-tier, reflecting the GPU's position in the database rather than any deficiency in the CPU-GPU pairing.

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

A: The measured average FPS is 269, with no minimum FPS reported for this configuration. This is sufficiently high for any 240Hz monitor and leaves significant headroom for background tasks or streaming overhead.

Q: Does the Low preset provide a meaningful performance boost?

A: Yes, but with diminishing returns. At 1080p, Low produces 366 FPS compared to High's 269 FPS, a 36% improvement. At 1440p, the gain is 237 FPS vs 174 FPS (36% faster), and at 4K, 128 FPS vs 94 FPS (36% faster). The relative improvement is consistent across resolutions, but the visual downgrade may not justify it for most players.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: 366 FPS average
• Medium: 319 FPS average, 271 FPS minimum, 367 FPS maximum
• High: 269 FPS average
• Ultra: 220 FPS average

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: 237 FPS average
• Medium: 206 FPS average, 176 FPS minimum, 237 FPS maximum
• High: 174 FPS average
• Ultra: 143 FPS average

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: 128 FPS average
• Medium: 112 FPS average, 95 FPS minimum, 129 FPS maximum
• High: 94 FPS average
• Ultra: 77 FPS average

The Medium preset is the only configuration with reported minimum and maximum FPS values, providing the most complete picture of frame time stability. At 1080p, the minimum of 271 FPS ensures no perceptible stutter. At 1440p, the 176 FPS minimum remains above 144Hz thresholds. At 4K, the 95 FPS minimum shows occasional dips below 100 FPS but stays within a playable range. These numbers confirm that the combo handles Doom's fast-paced action without significant frame pacing issues, regardless of resolution or settings.