Doom

The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 pairing delivers exceptionally high frame rates in Doom, positioning the combination well above the vast majority of tested systems. With a combo rank of 215 out of 3,712 tested configurations, this setup sits in the top percentile of all recorded results, indicating that users can expect a top-tier experience in this title.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X is a 6-core, 12-thread processor built on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge) using a 4 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, which are substantial frequencies for gaming workloads. The processor's cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1 MB of L2 per core, and a shared 32 MB L3 cache, providing ample fast-access storage for game data. This CPU supports DDR5 memory with dual-channel configuration and a memory bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s, which helps feed the GPU with data efficiently.

In synthetic benchmark tests, the Ryzen 5 9600X demonstrates strong single-threaded performance with a 3DMark single-thread score of 1,253 and a Geekbench single-core score of 2,923. Multi-threaded results are also robust, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 17,528.5 and a Geekbench multi-core score of 14,438. These figures indicate that the CPU can handle both lightly-threaded game logic and more demanding background tasks without bottlenecking the GPU.

When compared to its nearest rivals, the Ryzen 5 9600X shows remarkable consistency. It sits 0.2% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755GE in average benchmark score, while trailing the AMD Ryzen 7 7840H by 0.5%, the AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT by 0.6%, and the AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS by 0.8%. These sub-1% differences mean that in practice, users would not perceive any performance gap between these processors in Doom. The Ryzen 5 9600X's percentile rank of 81 among all CPUs further confirms its position as a solidly above-average processor for this application.

For Doom specifically, the CPU's role is significant but not limiting. At lower resolutions like 1080p, the CPU's capability to sustain high frame rates becomes more important. The data shows that at 1080p Low settings, the system achieves 401 FPS on average, which is nearly at the refresh-rate ceiling of most monitors. The Ryzen 5 9600X's strong single-thread performance ensures that the game's physics and AI calculations do not create a bottleneck, even when frame rates exceed 300 FPS. The processor's 65 W TDP also indicates efficient power consumption, though this does not directly impact gaming performance.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is a high-end graphics card based on the Ada Lovelace architecture with the AD103 chip, manufactured on a 5 nm process. It features 9,728 shading units, 304 texture mapping units, and 112 raster output units, along with 76 ray tracing cores and 304 tensor cores. The GPU operates with a base clock of 2,205 MHz and a boost clock of 2,505 MHz, providing substantial compute throughput for demanding graphics workloads. The memory subsystem includes 16 GB of GDDR6X on a 256-bit bus, delivering a memory bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s. The memory clock is rated at 1,400 MHz with 22.4 Gbps effective speed.

In synthetic benchmarks, the RTX 4080 achieves a Passmark G3D score of 34,457 and a Geekbench OpenCL score of 214,739. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6,567 indicates strong performance in modern DirectX 12 workloads. The GPU's percentile rank of 86 among all GPUs places it in the upper echelon of graphics cards. Compared to its nearest rivals, the RTX 4080 is 0.1% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER, while trailing the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X by 1.1%, the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB by 2.6%, and the AMD Radeon 8060S by 2.7%. These small deltas suggest that the RTX 4080 is very closely matched with its immediate competitors in raw performance.

For Doom, the GPU is the primary driver of frame rates at higher resolutions and settings. At 4K Ultra settings, the combination produces 85 FPS on average, which is a demanding workload that relies heavily on the GPU's compute capabilities. The 16 GB VRAM capacity is more than sufficient for Doom at any resolution, ensuring that texture streaming and high-resolution assets do not cause stuttering or frame drops. The GPU's high pixel rate of 280.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 761.5 GTexel/s allow it to handle the fast-paced, visually intense scenes characteristic of Doom without issue.

The RTX 4080's ray tracing cores are present but Doom (2016) does not significantly utilize ray tracing, so their impact on this specific game is minimal. However, the tensor cores and general compute performance contribute to the GPU's ability to maintain high frame rates even when the game is CPU-bound at lower resolutions. The GPU's boost clock of 2,505 MHz ensures that it can dynamically increase its performance under load, which is beneficial for maintaining consistent frame rates during intense gameplay moments.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of performance scaling across resolutions, with the GPU becoming increasingly dominant as resolution rises. At 1080p Low, the system achieves an average of 401 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low, the average drops to 260 FPS, representing a 35% decrease. At 4K Low, the average further drops to 141 FPS, which is a 46% decrease from 1440p and a 65% decrease from 1080p. This pattern indicates that at lower resolutions, the system is primarily CPU-bound, as the GPU has ample headroom to render frames at very high rates.

At High settings, the scaling pattern is similar but with lower absolute values. The system achieves 295 FPS at 1080p, 191 FPS at 1440p (a 35% drop), and 104 FPS at 4K (a 46% drop from 1440p and a 65% drop from 1080p). The consistent percentage drops across settings suggest that the scaling is resolution-driven rather than settings-driven, reinforcing the conclusion that the GPU becomes the limiting factor as resolution increases.

The Medium settings row provides the most complete data, including minimum and maximum FPS values. At 1080p Medium, the average is 350 FPS with a minimum of 297 and maximum of 402. At 1440p Medium, the average is 226 FPS with a minimum of 192 and maximum of 260. At 4K Medium, the average is 123 FPS with a minimum of 104 and maximum of 141. The minimum-to-maximum spread is relatively narrow, indicating stable frame delivery without significant stuttering. The fact that the minimum FPS at 4K Medium (104 FPS) is nearly equal to the average at 4K High (104 FPS) suggests that the GPU is operating near its performance ceiling at 4K.

Ultra settings show the most substantial resolution scaling penalty. At 1080p Ultra, the system achieves 241 FPS. At 1440p Ultra, this drops to 156 FPS (a 35% decrease), and at 4K Ultra, it falls to 85 FPS (a 46% decrease from 1440p and a 65% decrease from 1080p). The 4K Ultra result of 85 FPS is the lowest measured average across all configurations, but it remains playable. The data clearly shows that for resolutions up to 1440p, the system is capable of delivering extremely high frame rates, while 4K pushes the GPU to its limits, especially at higher settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Doom with this hardware combination?

A: According to the data, 1440p provides an excellent balance between visual quality and performance. At High settings, the system achieves 191 FPS at 1440p, which is more than sufficient for smooth gameplay. At 1080p, frame rates exceed 295 FPS at High settings, but the visual difference between 1080p and 1440p is significant, making 1440p the recommended sweet spot.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 compare to its closest rival, the RTX 4080 SUPER?

A: The RTX 4080 has an average benchmark score of 54,247, which is 0.1% higher than the RTX 4080 SUPER's score of 54,209. This negligible difference means the two cards perform identically in real-world scenarios. The RTX 4080's percentile rank of 86 indicates it is well above the average GPU.

Q: Is the Ryzen 5 9600X a bottleneck for the RTX 4080 in Doom?

A: At 1080p, the system achieves 401 FPS on Low settingscars, which suggests the CPU is not a significant bottleneck. However, the 65% FPS drop from 1080p to 4K at every settings level indicates that the GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions. The CPU's strong single-thread performance (3DMark single-thread score of 1,253) ensures it can keep up with the GPU's demands.

Q: What are the minimum FPS values for the Medium settings at different resolutions?

A: At 1080p Medium, the minimum FPS is 297. At 1440p Medium, the minimum is 192 FPS. At 4K Medium, the minimum is 104 FPS. These minimum values indicate stable frame delivery without major drops, providing a consistent gaming experience.

Q: How does the Ryzen 5 9600X compare to the AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT in overall CPU performance?

A: The Ryzen 5 9600X has an average benchmark score of 29,713, which is 0.6% lower than the Ryzen 7 5800XT's score of 29,879. This difference is negligible, meaning the two CPUs perform nearly identically in most applications. The Ryzen 5 9600X's percentile rank of 81 places it in the top fifth of all CPUs.

Q: Does the RTX 4080's 16 GB VRAM provide enough memory for Doom at 4K?

A: Yes, the 16 GB of GDDR6X memory is more than sufficient for Doom at any resolution. The game's textures do not require more than 16 GB, and the high memory bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s ensures data is transferred quickly. The 4K Ultra result of 85 FPS demonstrates that the GPU can handle the memory demands of 4K gaming without issue.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance on which settings preset offers the best experience for this hardware combination. At 1080p, all settings levels are playable, with even Ultra delivering 241 FPS. However, the difference between Medium (350 FPS) and High (295 FPS) is minor, so players with high-refresh-rate monitors may prefer Medium for maximum frame rates. For most users, High settings at 1080p offer an excellent balance of visual fidelity and performance, with 295 FPS being far beyond what any monitor can display.

At 1440p, the recommendation shifts to High settings, which delivers 191 FPS. This is a significant improvement over Ultra's 156 FPS while still providing excellent visual quality. The difference between High and Medium (226 FPS) is 35 FPS, but High settings offer better visual details that are noticeable in Doom's fast-paced action. For players who prioritize frame rate above all else, Medium at 1440p provides 226 FPS, but High is the recommended choice for the best overall experience.

At 4K, the choice becomes more nuanced. Ultra settings deliver 85 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for competitive play. High settings provide 104 FPS, which is a substantial improvement and offers a smoother experience. Medium settings at 4K deliver 123 FPS, which represents the best balance of performance and visual quality at this resolution. Given that the minimum FPS at 4K Medium is 104 FPS, this preset ensures a consistently playable experience without frame drops. For the best 4K experience, Medium settings are recommended, as they provide a 45% improvement over Ultra (123 FPS vs 85 FPS) with only a moderate reduction in visual quality.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers exceptional performance across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 401 FPS, while Medium settings average 350 FPS with a minimum of 297 and maximum of 402. High settings reduce the average to 295 FPS, and Ultra settings bring it down to 241 FPS. The progression shows a consistent decrease as settings increase, with Ultra being 40% slower than Low.

At 2560x1440, performance remains very high. Low settings average 260 FPS, Medium settings average 226 FPS with a minimum of 192 and maximum of 260, High settings average 191 FPS, and Ultra settings average 156 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra is 40%, identical to the 1080p scaling, indicating that settings have a proportional impact on performance regardless of resolution.

At 3840x2160, the system still delivers playable frame rates. Low settings average 141 FPS, Medium settings average 123 FPS with a minimum of 104 and maximum of 141, High settings average 104 FPS, and Ultra settings average 85 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra at 4K is 40%, consistent with the other resolutions. The minimum FPS values at Medium settings show that the system maintains frame rates above 100 FPS even at 4K, providing a smooth experience.

The overall pattern shows that the performance scaling from 1080p to 4K is consistent across all settings, with an approximate 65% reduction in frame rates. This indicates that the GPU is the primary determinant of performance at higher resolutions, while the CPU's role is more significant at 1080p where frame rates exceed 400 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 5 9600X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 ranks 215th out of 3,712 tested combinations in Doom. This places the system in the top 5.8% of all tested configurations, indicating that it delivers performance that is superior to the vast majority of setups. The ranking reflects the strength of both components, with the CPU's high single-thread performance and the GPU's substantial compute capabilities working together effectively.

The CPU's percentile rank of 81 among all processors and the GPU's percentile rank of 86 among all graphics cards both contribute to this high overall ranking. While the CPU is not the absolute fastest available, its performance is sufficient to avoid bottlenecking the RTX 4080 in Doom. The GPU's position in the 86th percentile ensures that it handles the graphical demands of the game admirably.

Compared to the nearest rival combinations, this setup is positioned favorably. The CPU's closest rivals (Ryzen 7 PRO 5755GE, Ryzen 7 7840H, Ryzen 7 5800XT, Ryzen 7 8845HS) all have average scores within 0.8% of the Ryzen 5 9600X, meaning that swapping the CPU for any of these would result in nearly identical performance. Similarly, the GPU's closest rivals (RTX 4080 SUPER, Radeon Pro W5700X, Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB, Radeon 8060S) are all within 2.7% of the RTX 4080's score, so any of these alternatives would produce similar results.

The combination's rank of 215 out of 3,712 demonstrates that this is a high-end configuration that will handle Doom with ease at all resolutions and settings. The measured FPS data confirms that the system can achieve frame rates well above 60 FPS at 4K Ultra (85 FPS) and exceeds 240 FPS at 1080p Ultra (241 FPS), making it suitable for high-refresh-rate displays at lower resolutions and for smooth 4K gaming at moderate settings. This ranking positions the combo as a premium choice for enthusiasts seeking maximum performance in Doom.