Doom

The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X and Radeon RX 6650 XT combination delivers a solid 1080p experience in Doom, but the data clearly shows the GPU is the limiting factor as resolution climbs. The measured FPS across all settings and resolutions reveals a consistent pattern: the RX 6650 XT handles 1080p with ease, remains playable at 1440p, and struggles to maintain smooth frame rates at 4K, particularly on higher presets.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and consistent across all settings, which is the classic signature of a GPU-bound scenario. At Ultra settings, the average FPS falls from 121.9 at 1920x1080 to 79.4 at 2560x1440, a reduction of 42.5 FPS, and then drops further to 40.6 at 3840x2160. This represents a 66.7% performance loss from 1080p to 4K, clearly indicating that the pixel throughput demands of 4K are overwhelming the GPU's 128-bit memory bus and 8 GB of VRAM.

The scaling pattern is less severe at lower settings, but the trend remains. At Low settings, the average FPS goes from 200.7 at 1080p to 130 at 1440p and finally to 70.4 at 4K. The fact that even the lowest settings cannot maintain 60 FPS at 4K underscores that the RX 6650 XT is not designed for that resolution in this title. Conversely, the relatively modest gap between the 1440p and 1080p results at High settings (96.1 vs 144.5 FPS) suggests the CPU is still feeding the GPU adequately at those resolutions, but the GPU simply runs out of headroom when pixel count rises.

The data indicates that the Ryzen 5 9600X, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, is not the bottleneck here. The 9600X's single-thread performance, as evidenced by a Geekbench single-core score of 3363, is more than sufficient for Doom's engine. The frame rate scaling is almost entirely dictated by the GPU's rendering capabilities, which are limited by its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 280.3 GB/s of bandwidth. At 4K, the GPU is clearly saturated, as even the jump from Medium (61.8 FPS) to Low (70.4 FPS) only yields a 13.9% improvement, far less than the scaling seen at lower resolutions.

GPU Role

The Radeon RX 6650 XT is the decisive component in this pairing. Its specifications—8 GB of GDDR6 VRAM, a 128-bit bus, and a boost clock of 2635 MHz—define the performance ceiling. The measured FPS data shows that the GPU's memory subsystem is the primary constraint at higher resolutions. The game's texture and geometry data at Ultra settings likely exceed the 8 GB VRAM capacity, causing the GPU to rely on system memory, which severely impacts frame times and average FPS.

The GPU's compute capabilities, rated at 10.79 TFLOPS FP32, are adequate for 1080p and 1440p, but the 4K results tell a different story. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS of 40.6 is below the threshold for smooth gameplay, and even at 4K High, the 49.4 FPS average is marginal. The GPU's 64 ROPs and 128 TMUs are not sufficient to sustain high fill rates at 4K, which explains the significant drop-off. The RX 6650 XT's nearest rivals, the AMD Radeon RX 6800M and RX 470, have average benchmark scores within 0.1% of this card, indicating that its performance class is well-established, but the 4K results show its limitations in a modern title like Doom.

The GPU's clock speeds are also a factor. The base clock of 2055 MHz and game clock of 2410 MHz are high for the RDNA 2 architecture, but they cannot compensate for the memory bandwidth deficit at 4K. The 280.3 GB/s bandwidth is sufficient for 1080p, where the GPU achieves 200.7 FPS at Low settings, but it becomes a bottleneck as the resolution increases. The data suggests that the RX 6650 XT is best utilized at 1080p, where it can fully leverage its compute and clock speeds without being constrained by memory limitations.

Settings Recommendations

The optimal settings for this combination depend on the target resolution. At 1920x1080, the High preset is the clear winner, delivering an average of 144.5 FPS. This is a 22.6 FPS improvement over Ultra (121.9 FPS) while still providing a high level of visual fidelity. The drop from High to Medium (172.4 FPS) yields a 27.9 FPS gain, but the visual difference between High and Medium is often more perceptible than the difference between High and Ultra. For competitive play, the Low preset offers 200.7 FPS, but the graphical compromises are substantial.

At 2560x1440, the High preset remains the best balance, with an average of 96.1 FPS. This is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold and provides a smooth experience. The Medium preset (115.3 FPS) is also viable, but Ultra (79.4 FPS) dips below the ideal range for fast-paced action. The data shows that High is the sweet spot for 1440p, offering a 16.7 FPS advantage over Ultra while maintaining most of the visual quality.

At 3840x2160, none of the presets achieve a fully smooth experience. The Low preset (70.4 FPS) is the only one that stays above 60 FPS, but it sacrifices significant visual detail. The Medium preset (61.8 FPS) is borderline, and High (49.4 FPS) and Ultra (40.6 FPS) are not recommended for serious gameplay. For 4K, the data suggests that the Low or Medium presets are the only viable options, and even then, the experience will be less than ideal. The recommendation is to stick with 1080p or 1440p for this GPU, where the High preset provides the best combination of performance and image quality.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete FPS data paints a clear picture of the system's capabilities. At 1920x1080, the averages are 200.7 FPS (Low), 172.4 FPS (Medium), 144.5 FPS (High), and 121.9 FPS (Ultra). The scaling from Low to Ultra shows a 39.2% performance reduction, which is typical for a GPU-limited scenario. The 1080p results are all playable, with even the Ultra preset exceeding 120 FPS, making this resolution ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages drop to 130 FPS (Low), 115.3 FPS (Medium), 96.1 FPS (High), and 79.4 FPS (Ultra). The performance degradation from 1080p is notable, with the High preset losing 33.5% of its frame rate. The 1440p results are still respectable, with all presets except Ultra maintaining an average above 90 FPS. The 1440p Ultra result of 79.4 FPS is a 34.9% drop from the 1080p Ultra result, indicating that the GPU is starting to struggle with the increased pixel load.

At 3840x2160, the averages tumble to 70.4 FPS (Low), 61.8 FPS (Medium), 49.4 FPS (High), and 40.6 FPS (Ultra). The 4K results demonstrate a severe bottleneck, with the Ultra preset falling to 40.6 FPS, a 66.7% reduction from 1080p. The spread between Low and Ultra at 4K is 29.8 FPS, which is narrower than at lower resolutions, further confirming that the GPU is saturated. The data shows that this combination is not suitable for 4K gaming in Doom, as even the lowest settings barely maintain 70 FPS.

FAQ

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

A: The data strongly favors 1920x1080, where all presets deliver an average above 120 FPS. At 2560x1440, the High preset still achieves 96.1 FPS, but 3840x2160 results in averages below 50 FPS for High and Ultra presets, making it unsuitable for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 9600X perform relative to its rivals?

A: The 9600X has an average benchmark score of 28246, which places it 0.3% ahead of the Intel Core i5-13490F (28173) and AMD Ryzen 5 230 (28164), and 0.4% behind the AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS (28369). It ranks in the 85th percentile of all CPUs.

Q: Is the RX 6650 XT the bottleneck at 4K resolution?

A: Yes, the data indicates a GPU bottleneck. The average FPS drops from 121.9 at 1080p Ultra to 40.6 at 4K Ultra, a 66.7% reduction. The GPU's 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit memory bus are insufficient for the demands of 4K rendering in Doom.

Q: Which settings preset offers the best experience at 1440p?

A: The High preset is the optimal choice, providing an average of 96.1 FPS. This is 16.7 FPS higher than Ultra (79.4 FPS) and only 19.2 FPS lower than Medium (115.3 FPS), offering a good balance between visual quality and performance.

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

A: At 1080p, the Low preset achieves 200.7 FPS, while Ultra achieves 121.9 FPS. This represents a 78.8 FPS difference, or a 39.2% performance loss when moving from Low to Ultra, which is a significant trade-off for visual fidelity.

Q: How does the RX 6650 XT compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RX 6650 XT has an average benchmark score of 29024. It is statistically tied with the AMD Radeon RX 6800M (29011, 0% delta) and the AMD Radeon RX 470 (28996, 0.1% delta), and is 0.5% behind the Intel Arc A370M (29175).