Doom

The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti combination delivers a highly playable experience across all tested resolutions in Doom, with the data showing that the GPU becomes the primary limiting factor as resolution increases, while the CPU’s strong single-thread performance ensures high frame rates at 1080p.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear and predictable scaling pattern as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At the High settings preset, the average frame rate drops from 174 FPS at 1080p to 113 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of approximately 35%, and then further declines to 61 FPS at 4K, which represents a further 46% drop from the 1440p figure. This steep decline at 4K strongly indicates that the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is the limiting component at higher resolutions, as the pixel count quadruples from 1080p to 4K while the frame rate does not scale proportionally.

The pattern is consistent across all settings presets. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 236 at 1080p to 153 at 1440p (a 35% drop) and then to 83 at 4K (a 46% drop from 1440p). At Medium settings, the figures are 206, 133, and 72 FPS respectively, showing a similar percentage decline. The Ultra preset demonstrates the same trend, with averages of 142, 92, and 50 FPS across the three resolutions. The consistency of these relative drops across different quality levels confirms that the scaling bottleneck is resolution-driven rather than settings-driven.

The data also shows that the gap between Low and Ultra settings narrows as resolution increases. At 1080p, the difference between Low (236 FPS) and Ultra (142 FPS) is 94 FPS, or approximately 66% higher for Low. At 4K, the difference shrinks to 33 FPS, with Low at 83 FPS and Ultra at 50 FPS. This convergence at higher resolutions further supports the conclusion that the GPU’s rendering workload dominates at 4K, leaving less headroom for settings-based performance differentiation.

For the 1440p resolution, the Medium preset shows a minimum FPS of 113 and a maximum of 153, which aligns with the High and Low averages respectively. This suggests that the Medium preset at 1440p provides a frame rate range that overlaps with the neighboring presets, indicating a smooth transition in performance as settings are adjusted. At 1080p Medium, the min-max range of 175 to 237 FPS brackets the High and Low averages, again showing consistent scaling behavior.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate achievable with this CPU-GPU combo in Doom?

A: The highest measured average frame rate is 236 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset. The Ultra preset at the same resolution still delivers a strong 142 FPS average.

Q: Is this combination capable of 4K gaming in Doom?

A: Yes, the data shows playable frame rates at 3840x2160. The High preset averages 61 FPS, while the Medium preset averages 72 FPS. The Ultra preset falls to 50 FPS, which may be less desirable for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the RTX 3060 Ti compare to its nearest rivals in benchmark scores?

A: The GPU’s average benchmark score is 16129, placing it slightly behind the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT, which scores 16361 and is 1.4% faster. It is also 1.4% slower than the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M (16351). Conversely, it outperforms the AMD Radeon RX 9060 by 0.7% (16014) and the AMD Radeon R9 370X by 1.7% (15862).

Q: What is the CPU’s performance percentile relative to all tested processors?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X ranks in the 81st percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 29713. Its closest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755GE, scores 29656, which is only 0.2% lower.

Q: Which resolution provides the best balance between visual quality and frame rate?

A: The 2560x1440 resolution with High settings offers a strong balance, delivering an average of 113 FPS. This is well above the 60 FPS threshold while providing higher visual fidelity than 1080p. The Ultra preset at this resolution still achieves 92 FPS.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU at any resolution?

A: At 1080p, the high frame rates (up to 236 FPS at Low) suggest the CPU’s strong single-thread performance is sufficient to feed the GPU. At higher resolutions, the GPU becomes the limiting factor, as evidenced by the larger FPS drops when moving from 1440p to 4K.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data indicates that the High settings preset provides the best overall experience across all three resolutions. At 1920x1080, High averages 174 FPS, which is sufficiently high for any display refresh rate and only 62 FPS lower than Low. Moving to Medium at 1080p yields 206 FPS, but the visual quality trade-off is unlikely to be worth the extra 32 FPS when High already exceeds 170 FPS.

At 2560x1440, High delivers 113 FPS, which is an excellent result for a 1440p panel. The Ultra preset at this resolution drops to 92 FPS, still playable but with a noticeable 21 FPS penalty. The Medium preset at 133 FPS offers a modest gain over High, but for most users, the High preset will provide the best balance of visual fidelity and performance. The Low preset at 153 FPS is unnecessary for competitive play at this resolution unless the user has a very high refresh rate display.

For 3840x2160, the situation changes. The High preset averages 61 FPS, which is right at the edge of smooth gameplay. The Medium preset at 72 FPS provides a more comfortable margin and is recommended for 4K users who prioritize frame rate stability. The Ultra preset at 50 FPS is below the ideal threshold and should be avoided for action-heavy sequences. The Low preset at 83 FPS is an option for those who prefer maximum smoothness over visual detail, but Medium offers a better compromise.

Across all resolutions, the Medium preset shows consistent performance with min-max ranges that align with the Low and High presets. This indicates that Medium is a reliable fallback if the High preset proves too demanding at 4K. For the best experience at each resolution, the data supports High at 1080p and 1440p, and Medium at 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the RTX 3060 Ti paired with the Ryzen 5 9600X produces its highest frame rates. The Low preset achieves an average of 236 FPS, with Medium at 206 FPS (min 175, max 237), High at 174 FPS, and Ultra at 142 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a consistent decline, with each step up in settings costing roughly 30-40 FPS. The Medium preset’s minimum of 175 FPS ensures that even demanding scenes stay well above 144 Hz, making this resolution ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors.

At 2560x1440, the averages drop to 153 FPS for Low, 133 FPS for Medium (min 113, max 153), 113 FPS for High, and 92 FPS for Ultra. The Medium preset’s minimum of 113 FPS matches the High average, indicating that scenes with heavy effects can push Medium down to High’s performance level. The 92 FPS average at Ultra is still respectable for 1440p, but the 21 FPS gap between High and Ultra suggests diminishing returns for the extra visual settings.

At 3840x2160, the performance landscape tightens considerably. The Low preset averages 83 FPS, Medium averages 72 FPS (min 61, max 83), High averages 61 FPS, and Ultra averages 50 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K shows a minimum of 61 FPS, which is identical to the High average, and a maximum of 83 FPS, matching the Low average. This overlap illustrates that at 4K, the GPU’s workload is so heavy that settings adjustments have a compressed effect on frame rates.

The 4K data also reveals that the RTX 3060 Ti is unable to maintain 60 FPS at the Ultra preset, with an average of 50 FPS. The High preset barely clears 60 FPS at 61 FPS, making it a borderline choice for VRR displays. For consistent smoothness at 4K, the Medium preset at 72 FPS is the safest recommendation based on the measured results.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 9600X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti ranks 1839 out of 3712 tested combos in Doom, placing it in the upper half of all configurations. This rank of 1839 represents a percentile position of approximately 50.4%, meaning the combo performs better than just over half of all tested systems in this specific game.

The CPU’s individual performance contributes significantly to this ranking. With an 81st percentile standing among all CPUs, the Ryzen 5 9600X is a strong performer in general benchmarks, with an average score of 29713. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755GE, scores 29656, a mere 0.2% difference. The other close competitors include the AMD Ryzen 7 7840H (29868, -0.5%), the AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT (29879, -0.6%), and the AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS (29955, -0.8%). All these CPUs are within 1% of the 9600X’s performance, indicating a very tight cluster at this performance level.

The GPU’s ranking is more modest, sitting at the 59th percentile among all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 16129. Its nearest rivals show a slightly wider performance spread: the AMD Radeon RX 9060 is 0.7% slower (16014), the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M is 1.4% faster (16351), the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT is 1.4% faster (16361), and the AMD Radeon R9 370X is 1.7% slower (15862). The GPU’s mid-pack percentile explains why the overall combo rank is not higher, as the RTX 3060 Ti is a solid but not exceptional performer in 2024 benchmarks.

The combination’s rank of 1839 out of 3712 indicates that while the CPU is a top-tier processor, the GPU holds the combo back from reaching the upper echelons of the ranking. In Doom specifically, the game’s optimization for high frame rates means that the GPU’s 59th percentile standing is the more relevant factor for the final rank.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge), manufactured on a 4 nm process by TSMC. It has a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, with a TDP of 65 W. The CPU’s cache configuration includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1 MB of L2 per core, and 32 MB of shared L3 cache, totaling a substantial amount of fast memory for game data.

In Doom, the CPU’s performance is best evidenced by its benchmark scores. The single-thread performance is particularly strong, with a 3DMark single-thread score of 1253 and a Geekbench single-core score of 2923. The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2183.5 further confirms this strength. These results are critical for Doom, which is a game that benefits from high IPC and fast single-thread performance, especially at lower resolutions where the CPU must feed the GPU with as many frames as possible.

The multi-threaded performance is also robust, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 17528.5 and a Geekbench multicore score of 14438. The 3DMark scores show scaling from 2456 at 2 threads to 7590 at max threads, indicating that the 12 threads are effectively utilized. However, in Doom, the game’s engine is not heavily multi-threaded, so the single-thread performance is more relevant to the measured FPS results.

The CPU’s nearest rivals in benchmark scores include the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755GE (29656, +0.2%), the AMD Ryzen 7 7840H (29868, -0.5%), the AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT (29879, -0.6%), and the AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS (29955, -0.8%). All of these competitors have higher core counts (8 cores) but score similarly to the 6-core 9600X, highlighting the efficiency of the Zen 5 architecture.

The measured FPS data at 1080p Low (236 FPS) suggests that the CPU is not a bottleneck in Doom, as the frame rates are extremely high and would require a powerful GPU to render. The boost clock of 5.40 GHz, combined with the high single-thread scores, ensures that the CPU can keep up with the RTX 3060 Ti’s output at lower resolutions. At 4K, the CPU’s role diminishes as the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck, evidenced by the larger FPS drops between 1440p and 4K across all settings.