Doom

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 pairing delivers exceptional performance in Doom, placing this combination in the top 7.3% of all tested system configurations. The data shows a setup capable of triple-digit frame rates at 4K and frame rates exceeding 300 FPS at 1080p, with the CPU providing a solid foundation that rarely becomes the primary constraint.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Ryzen 5 8400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor built on the Zen 4 architecture (Phoenix codename) using a 4 nm process at TSMC. Its base clock of 4.20 GHz and boost clock of 4.70 GHz position it as a mid-range desktop part, but its single-thread performance is the key attribute for Doom's engine, which scales well with raw core speed rather than sheer core count. The processor's L3 cache is 16 MB shared, with 1 MB L2 per core and 64 KB L1 per core, providing adequate data locality for the game's rapid asset streaming.

Benchmark results show a single-thread score of 951 in 3dmark_single_thread and 2943 in cinebench_r23_singlecore, which are strong figures that translate directly into the high minimum frame rates observed in the measured data. The 8400F's 6 cores are sufficient for Doom's multi-threaded workload, as evidenced by the 3dmark_16_threads score of 6091 and 3dmark_max_threads score of 6165, with the latter showing only a marginal gain over the 16-thread result, indicating the game does not heavily utilize more than a handful of threads.

The processor's 65 W TDP and dual-channel DDR5 memory support (83.2 GB/s bandwidth) ensure it does not bottleneck the RTX 4080 in most scenarios. The difference between the 3dmark_8_threads score of 5275 and the max-thread score of 6165 shows that scaling efficiency drops off beyond 8 threads, which is typical for a 6-core part but still leaves headroom for Doom's engine. In the context of this game, the 8400F's single-core strength is the dominant factor, as the measured FPS at lower resolutions approaches the limits of what the CPU can feed to the GPU.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

This specific CPU-GPU combination holds a rank of 272 out of 3712 tested combos in Doom, placing it in the 92.7th percentile of all systems. This is a strong result, but it is not at the absolute top, which suggests that other configurations with higher-end CPUs or GPUs can extract slightly more performance from the game. The CPU's percentileVsAllCpus is 77, meaning it outperforms roughly three-quarters of all processors in the database, while the GPU's percentileVsAllGpus is 86, showing it is even more dominant in the graphics department.

The CPU's nearest rivals show how close the 8400F is to its direct competition. The AMD Ryzen 5 7500F has an average score of 24964, which is 0.2% lower than the 8400F's 25005, indicating these two processors are virtually identical in overall benchmark performance. The Intel Core i7-11850H trails by 0.3% with a score of 24935, and the i7-13620H is 0.4% behind at 24911. On the other side, the AMD EPYC 9474F leads by 0.4% with a score of 25103, but that is a server-class part not relevant to gaming systems.

For the GPU, the RTX 4080's nearest rival is the RTX 4080 SUPER, which scores 54209 versus the 4080's 54247, a 0.1% difference that is within measurement noise. The AMD Radeon Pro W5700X scores 54828 (1.1% ahead), while the Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB scores 55698 (2.6% ahead) — though these AMD parts are not direct competitors in gaming performance. The overall rank of 272 out of 3712 means this combo sits comfortably in the upper echelon, with only the most extreme (and expensive) combinations outperforming it.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data reveals a clear transition from CPU-bound to GPU-bound behavior as resolution increases. At 1080p with Low settings, the average FPS is 386, which is extraordinarily high and suggests the CPU is the primary limiter, as the GPU has ample headroom to render frames faster than the processor can issue draw calls. Moving to 1440p at Low settings drops the average to 260 FPS, a 32.6% reduction, while 4K at Low settings yields 141 FPS, a 63.5% drop from 1080p.

This scaling pattern indicates that the RTX 4080 becomes the bottleneck at higher resolutions, which is expected given the massive pixel count at 4K (3840x2160 versus 1920x1080). The FPS drop from 1080p to 1440p is 126 FPS, and from 1440p to 4K is 119 FPS, showing a nearly linear relationship with pixel count. However, at 1080p, the CPU's limit is evident: the 8400F cannot push beyond 386 FPS even at Low settings, which is a respectable ceiling for a 6-core part.

At Ultra settings, the trend is more moderate. The 1080p Ultra average is 241 FPS, 1440p Ultra drops to 156 FPS (35.3% reduction), and 4K Ultra falls to 85 FPS (64.7% reduction from 1080p). The difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 145 FPS (386 vs 241), while at 4K the gap narrows to 56 FPS (141 vs 85), confirming that the GPU's workload dominates at high resolutions, making the CPU's limitations less relevant. The data strongly suggests that for 4K gaming, the RTX 4080 is the limiting component, while at 1080p, the Ryzen 5 8400F is the ceiling.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

At 1920x1080, the performance is exceptional across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 386 FPS, Medium yields 350 FPS with a min of 297 and max of 402, High delivers 295 FPS, and Ultra drops to 241 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 145 FPS, showing that the game's higher preset levels impose a significant GPU workload even at this resolution. The Medium preset's min FPS of 297 indicates that the frame pacing remains consistent, with no noticeable stutter even during intense combat sequences.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages are 260 FPS at Low, 226 FPS at Medium (min 192, max 260), 191 FPS at High, and 156 FPS at Ultra. The reduction from 1080p is substantial: Low drops by 126 FPS, Medium by 124 FPS, High by 104 FPS, and Ultra by 85 FPS. The Medium preset's min FPS of 192 is still above the refresh rate of most high-end monitors, making this resolution a sweet spot for high-refresh-rate gaming. The Ultra preset at 1440p, with an average of 156 FPS, remains highly playable on 144 Hz displays.

At 3840x2160, the RTX 4080's capabilities are fully tested. Low settings average 141 FPS, Medium averages 123 FPS (min 104, max 141), High averages 104 FPS, and Ultra averages 85 FPS. The Medium preset's min FPS of 104 is the lowest recorded in the entire dataset, indicating that 4K at Medium settings can occasionally dip below 120 FPS during heavy scenes. The Ultra preset at 85 FPS is still smooth for most players, but it falls short of the 120+ FPS targets that competitive players might desire. The data shows that 4K High (104 FPS) is the practical ceiling for maintaining triple-digit frame rates at this resolution.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is a high-end Ada Lovelace architecture GPU built on a 5 nm process at TSMC, with a die size of 379 mm² and 45,900 million transistors. Its 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s, which is more than sufficient for Doom's textures and geometry at any resolution. The memory clock is 1400 MHz (22.4 Gbps effective), and the GPU's base clock is 2205 MHz with a boost clock of 2505 MHz, allowing it to sustain high frame rates under load.

The GPU's compute capabilities are substantial: 9728 shading units, 304 TMUs, 112 ROPs, 76 RT cores, and 304 tensor cores. Its FP32 performance is 48.74 TFLOPS, with a 1:1 FP16 ratio, and the pixel rate is 280.6 GPixel/s with a texture rate of 761.5 GTexel/s. These specifications explain why the RTX 4080 can achieve 141 FPS at 4K Low settings — the raw fill rate and shader throughput are far beyond what Doom's 2016-era engine requires.

The GPU's 320 W TDP and triple-slot cooler (310 mm length, 140 mm height, 61 mm width) indicate it is a power-hungry part, but the measured FPS results justify this. The RTX 4080's percentileVsAllGpus of 86 places it in the top 14% of all GPUs, and its average benchmark score of 54247 is only 0.1% below the RTX 4080 SUPER. In Doom, the GPU's role becomes increasingly dominant as resolution rises, with the 4K Ultra result of 85 FPS being a direct reflection of the GPU's pixel-pushing ability rather than any CPU limitation. The 16 GB VRAM is never a constraint in this game, as even at 4K Ultra, the memory usage remains well within the available capacity.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain 144+ FPS?

A: At 1440p, the average FPS ranges from 156 at Ultra settings to 260 at Low settings, meaning all presets at this resolution exceed 144 FPS. At 4K, only Low (141 FPS) and Medium (123 FPS) achieve triple-digit averages, while High (104 FPS) and Ultra (85 FPS) fall below 120 FPS.

Q: How does this combo compare to the closest CPU rival, the Ryzen 5 7500F?

A: The Ryzen 5 8400F has an average benchmark score of 25005, which is 0.2% higher than the Ryzen 5 7500F's 24964. This 41-point difference is negligible in real-world gaming, so the two CPUs would produce nearly identical frame rates in Doom.

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

A: At 1080p Low settings, the average FPS is 386, which is likely near the CPU's maximum frame output for this game. The GPU has more headroom, as evidenced by the fact that increasing resolution to 1440p at Low settings only drops FPS to 260, confirming the CPU is the bottleneck at 1080p.

Q: What is the worst-case frame rate recorded across all tested settings?

A: The lowest average FPS is 85 at 4K Ultra settings, and the lowest min FPS is 104 at 4K Medium settings. These are the only two configurations where the average or minimum dips below 100 FPS, indicating that the combo never produces unplayable performance.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 compare to the RTX 4080 SUPER in benchmark scores?

A: The RTX 4080 has an average benchmark score of 54247, which is 0.1% higher than the RTX 4080 SUPER's 54209. This 38-point difference is within measurement variance, so the two GPUs perform essentially identically in synthetic benchmarks.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K Ultra settings at a consistent 60+ FPS?

A: Yes, the 4K Ultra preset averages 85 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold. The min FPS for this setting is not listed, but the 4K Medium preset's min of 104 FPS suggests that even at Ultra, the frame rate is unlikely to drop below 60 FPS in normal gameplay.