Doom

The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 delivers a formidable performance profile in Doom, with average frame rates that scale predictably across resolutions. At 1080p, the combination is overwhelmingly powerful, pushing frame rates well beyond the refresh rate capabilities of most monitors. The data shows a 443.7 FPS average at Low settings, which drops to 389.1 FPS at Medium and 327.7 FPS at High. Crank the preset to Ultra, and the average still rests at a lofty 266.3 FPS. This pattern indicates that at 1080p, the CPU is doing the heavy lifting to feed the GPU, as the performance delta between settings is relatively compressed.

Moving to 1440p shifts the balance slightly toward the GPU, but the frame rates remain exceptionally high. The average FPS at Low is 290.7, which falls to 254 at Medium and 214.1 at High. At Ultra, the average is 173 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows a reduction of approximately 35% at Low settings, while the drop at Ultra is roughly 35% as well, illustrating that while the GPU is taking on more work, the system still has ample headroom. The 4K results, however, tell a clearer story of GPU-bound performance. At 3840x2160, the average FPS at Low is 157.2, which decreases to 135.8 at Medium, 116.9 at High, and 96 at Ultra. The progression from 1440p to 4K at Ultra (173 to 96 FPS) represents a 44.5% decline, a significant hit that highlights the immense pixel throughput demanded by 4K.

The resolution scaling data suggests that the limiting component changes with the target resolution. At 1080p, the frame rates are so high that the CPU's single-thread performance and memory latency become the primary constraints, preventing the GPU from reaching even higher numbers. At 4K Ultra, the RTX 4090's rendering capabilities are the clear bottleneck, as the frame rate settles into a range typical for a high-end card under extreme load. The data indicates a balanced system where neither component is wholly wasted, but the RTX 4090 is most fully utilized at 4K.

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

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is a behemoth of a graphics card, built on the Ada Lovelace architecture and fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC. Its specifications are staggering: 16,384 shading units, 512 texture mapping units, and 176 raster output pipelines. The card also features 128 ray tracing cores and 512 tensor cores, making it exceptionally well-equipped for modern rendering workloads. Its memory subsystem is equally impressive, with 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s. The GPU's base clock is 2235 MHz, with a boost clock of 2520 MHz.

In Doom, these specifications translate directly into the frame rates observed. The 24 GB VRAM buffer is far more than the game requires, even at 4K resolution with Ultra settings. This means there is no risk of texture thrashing or memory-related stutters. The massive memory bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s ensures that the GPU can feed its 16,384 shading units without starvation, which is critical for maintaining the high frame rates seen at 1080p and 1440p. The boost clock of 2520 MHz allows the GPU to sustain high throughput, though the card's performance is ultimately limited by the game's engine and the CPU's ability to issue draw calls.

The data shows that the RTX 4090 is not the bottleneck at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the 443.7 FPS average is far from the card's theoretical maximum, suggesting that the CPU is holding it back. However, at 4K Ultra, the 96 FPS average is a more realistic representation of the GPU's raw fill rate and pixel processing power. The card's pixel rate is 443.5 GPixel/s, and its texture rate is 1,290.2 GTexel/s, figures that are more than sufficient to handle Doom's id Tech 6 engine. The GPU's performance percentile of 91 indicates it sits near the top of all tested GPUs, and its average benchmark score of 66473 places it in rarefied air, though its nearest rivals in the data are professional-grade cards like the NVIDIA Tesla T4 and AMD Radeon Pro Vega 56.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

Within the database of tested CPU-GPU combinations, this pairing of the Ryzen 5 9600X and the RTX 4090 holds a respectable position. The comboRankInGame field shows a rank of 17 out of 1,681 tested combos. This places it in the top 1% of all tested configurations, a strong showing that underscores the raw capability of both components. The rank is a composite measure, reflecting how well this specific pair performs in Doom relative to other combinations.

The high rank is not surprising given the individual strengths of the components. The RTX 4090's percentile of 91 among all GPUs and the Ryzen 5 9600X's percentile of 85 among all CPUs suggest that this is a top-tier pairing. However, the rank of 17 indicates that there are 16 other combinations that achieve higher average frame rates in this game. While the data does not specify which combos rank higher, it is plausible that configurations with even more powerful CPUs, such as those with higher core counts or faster single-thread performance, could edge out this pairing at lower resolutions where CPU bottlenecks are more prevalent. The data shows that the 9600X is a capable partner, but it is not the absolute fastest CPU available, which likely costs the combo a few positions in the rankings.

The deltaPct values for the CPU's nearest rivals are minimal, with the Intel Core i5-13490F and AMD Ryzen 5 230 both within 0.3% of the 9600X's average score. This indicates that the CPU's performance is competitive with its peers, and the overall combo rank is likely determined more by the GPU's performance and the specific game's optimization. The 4090's nearest rivals, the Tesla T4 and P40, are not gaming cards, so the 4090's dominance in this gaming title is expected. The 17th place ranking out of 1,681 combos is an excellent result, confirming that this system is capable of delivering some of the highest frame rates possible in Doom.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate for this combo at 4K with Ultra settings?

A: The average frame rate at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 96 FPS. This is the most demanding configuration tested in the data, and the result indicates that the RTX 4090 is fully engaged at this resolution.

Q: How does the CPU's multi-threaded performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X has an average benchmark score of 28246. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-13490F, scores 28173, representing a delta of 0.3%. The AMD Ryzen 5 230 also scores 28164, with a 0.3% delta. The AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS scores 28369, which is -0.4% relative to the 9600X.

Q: Is the GPU's memory bandwidth a limiting factor in this game?

A: The RTX 4090 has a memory bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s. The data shows that at 1080p and 1440p, the frame rates are extremely high, suggesting that memory bandwidth is not a bottleneck. At 4K Ultra, the frame rate of 96 FPS is more likely limited by the GPU's compute and pixel processing capabilities rather than memory bandwidth.

Q: What is the boost clock of the RTX 4090, and does it affect performance?

A: The RTX 4090 has a boost clock of 2520 MHz. The benchmark results indicate that the card is capable of sustaining high frame rates, and this boost clock contributes to the card's ability to maintain its high throughput during intense gaming sessions.

Q: How does the combo rank compared to other tested combinations?

A: This specific combination of the Ryzen 5 9600X and RTX 4090 ranks 17th out of 1,681 tested combos in Doom. This places it in the top tier of all tested configurations, reflecting its exceptional performance.

Q: What is the GPU's benchmark score and what does its percentile mean?

A: The RTX 4090 has an average benchmark score of 66473 and a percentile of 91, meaning it outperforms 91% of all tested GPUs. This is a high placement, though its nearest rivals in the data are professional cards like the Tesla T4 and Quadro P6000, which are not optimized for gaming.

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

The AMD Ryzen 5 9600X is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture, codenamed Granite Ridge. It is built on a 4 nm process at TSMC and operates with a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. The CPU has a total of 32 MB of shared L3 cache, with 1 MB of L2 cache per core and 80 KB of L1 cache per core. It supports DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration, providing a memory bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s. The processor's TDP is 65 W, and it is an unlocked multiplier, allowing for overclocking.

In Doom, the CPU's role is critical, particularly at lower resolutions. The game's engine is well-optimized for multi-threading, but it still relies heavily on a few fast cores for game logic and draw call submission. The 9600X's high boost clock of 5.40 GHz is a significant advantage here, as it ensures that the primary game thread can execute quickly. The CPU's single-thread performance is excellent, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3603. This strength is what allows the system to achieve frame rates like 443.7 FPS at 1080p Low, where the CPU is the primary bottleneck.

The data shows that the CPU's multi-threaded performance is also strong, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 25525. This suggests that the 6 cores are capable of handling the game's background tasks, such as physics and audio, without impeding the main thread. The CPU's average benchmark score of 28246 places it in the 85th percentile of all CPUs, indicating it is a strong performer. Its nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i5-13490F and AMD Ryzen 5 230, are within a 0.3% performance delta, showing that the 9600X is competitive with its direct peers. The data suggests that the CPU is well-matched to the RTX 4090, providing enough throughput to avoid severely bottlenecking the GPU, though at 1080p, the CPU does limit the frame rate to sub-450 FPS levels. The 65 W TDP reflects the efficiency of the Zen 5 architecture, delivering high performance without excessive power draw.