Doom

The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X and AMD Radeon RX 580 pairing in Doom presents a classic study in bottleneck dynamics, where the 8-core, 16-thread Zen 2 processor significantly outclasses the Polaris-based graphics card. The CPU, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, sits in the 85th percentile of all CPUs, delivering an average benchmark score of 28,631. This places it in a dead heat with the Intel Core i5-12600, which scores 28,654, a delta of just -0.1%; the AMD Ryzen 5 5600XT is a hair behind at 28,591, a 0.1% delta. The processor’s multi-threaded muscle is evident in its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 19,087, while its single-core capability is represented by a Geekbench single-core score of 1,672. For a title like Doom, which is known for being well-optimized and often GPU-bound at higher settings, this CPU provides a massive headroom that the RX 580 simply cannot exploit.

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

The Ryzen 7 3700X’s architecture is built on the Zen 2 design, codenamed Matisse, fabricated on a 7 nm process from TSMC. With 8 cores and 16 threads, it offers a level of parallelism that is far beyond what Doom’s engine typically requires for smooth frame pacing. The processor’s L3 cache is a substantial 32 MB, which helps with game data locality, and its memory bandwidth is rated at 51.2 GB/s over a dual-channel DDR4 interface. The benchmark results show that the CPU’s single-threaded performance is robust, with a Passmark single-thread score of 2,656, ensuring that the game’s main render thread is not a limiting factor.

However, the measured FPS data reveals that the CPU is not the primary constraint in this configuration. At 1080p with Low settings, the RX 580 outputs 105.5 FPS, but the CPU is capable of far more. The data suggests that the processor’s role here is to ensure that frame times remain consistent without stuttering, even when the GPU is saturated. The 3700X’s Passmark multi-thread score of 22,458 and its 85th percentile ranking indicate that it is a high-end part, but in this pairing, its potential is capped by the GPU. The deltaPct against the Intel Core i5-12600H is -0.1%, showing that the 3700X is effectively tied with that mobile-class chip, yet the desktop platform’s extra threads do not translate to higher FPS in Doom because the workload is not CPU-bound. The result is a system where the CPU waits for the GPU to catch up, a scenario confirmed by the FPS scaling across resolutions.

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

The AMD Radeon RX 580 is the definitive performance ceiling in this benchmark configuration. Based on the Polaris 20 chip and the GCN 4.0 architecture, this 14 nm GPU from GlobalFoundries features 2,304 shading units and 32 ROPs. Its memory subsystem is a 256-bit bus carrying 8 GB of GDDR5 at a speed of 2000 MHz, yielding a bandwidth of 256.0 GB/s. The GPU’s boost clock is 1340 MHz, and it delivers a pixel rate of 42.88 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 193.0 GTexel/s. The FP32 compute is rated at 6.175 TFLOPS, which is modest by modern standards but was adequate for 2016’s Doom.

The RX 580 sits in the 53rd percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 13,559. Its nearest rivals, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 and the GTX 950, score 13,564 and 13,549 respectively, with deltas of 0% and 0.1%, placing the RX 580 in a very tight performance cluster. This mid-range positioning is the key to understanding the FPS results. In Doom, the GPU is the dominant factor at all measured settings. The 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for the game’s textures at 4K, but the raw shading power is not. The data shows that the RX 580’s performance scales predictably with resolution, and the GPU’s 53rd percentile ranking means that it is a mainstream part that struggles with high resolutions. The GPU’s memory clock of 2000 MHz and bandwidth of 256.0 GB/s are not the bottleneck; rather, it is the sheer number of pixels and the complexity of the shaders at Ultra settings that overwhelm the Polaris architecture.

FAQ

Q: Is the Ryzen 7 3700X holding back the RX 580 in Doom?

A: No, the data indicates the opposite. The CPU’s average benchmark score of 28,631 places it in the 85th percentile, far ahead of the GPU’s 53rd percentile. The CPU is not the limiting factor; the RX 580 is the bottleneck at every resolution and settings level tested.

Q: How does the RX 580 compare to its closest rivals in raw compute?

A: The RX 580’s average benchmark score of 13,559 is nearly identical to the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570’s 13,564, a delta of 0%. It is 0.1% ahead of the GTX 950, which scores 13,549. This shows the RX 580 is at the very edge of a performance tier, not a class leader.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1080p gaming with this combo?

A: At 1920x1080, the High preset yields 76.1 FPS, while Medium yields 86.7 FPS. For a smoother experience, Low provides 105.5 FPS. Ultra drops to 59.4 FPS, which is just at the edge of playability.

Q: Why does the FPS drop so significantly at 4K Ultra?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the RX 580 produces only 22.3 FPS. This is because the GPU’s 6.175 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and 256.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for the pixel count and shader complexity, making the GPU the absolute bottleneck.

Q: Does the RX 580’s 8 GB VRAM help at 4K?

A: The 8 GB memory size is present, but the data shows it does not prevent performance collapse. At 4K Low, the FPS is 34.3, and at 4K High it is 26.2. The VRAM capacity is not the issue; the GPU’s compute throughput is too low to maintain high frame rates.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations for Doom?

A: This combination ranks 1,567 out of 1,681 possible combos, putting it in the bottom 7% of all systems tested. This low rank is primarily due to the GPU’s mid-range performance, not the CPU.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides a clear gradient of performance across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the RX 580 demonstrates its best case scenario. With Low settings, the card achieves 105.5 FPS, which is a very playable frame rate. Medium settings reduce this to 86.7 FPS, while High drops to 76.1 FPS. Ultra settings bring the average down to 59.4 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS threshold but still usable. The delta between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 46.1 FPS, showing that the graphics settings have a substantial impact on the GPU load.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance takes a noticeable hit. Low settings yield 67.6 FPS, which is a 35.9% drop from the 1080p Low result. Medium settings produce 59.2 FPS, High produces 47.9 FPS, and Ultra drops to 40.5 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 27.1 FPS, which is smaller than at 1080p, indicating that the GPU is starting to become the hard limit even at lower settings. At 3840x2160, the RX 580 struggles significantly. Low settings only reach 34.3 FPS, Medium drops to 31.3 FPS, High to 26.2 FPS, and Ultra falls to 22.3 FPS. None of these 4K results are playable for a fast-paced FPS, underscoring the GPU’s limitations at high pixel densities.

Resolution Scaling

The scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a textbook GPU-bound scenario. At Low settings, the FPS drops from 105.5 at 1080p to 67.6 at 1440p and finally to 34.3 at 4K. This represents a 67.5% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K. At Ultra settings, the drop is from 59.4 at 1080p to 40.5 at 1440p and 22.3 at 4K, a 62.5% reduction. The fact that the percentage drop is similar across settings suggests that the GPU is being saturated consistently, and that the CPU is not stepping in to save frame times.

The data indicates that the limiting component is unequivocally the Radeon RX 580. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see a smaller FPS delta between 1080p and 4K, as the resolution increase would not affect the CPU load as much. Instead, the FPS falls roughly in line with the pixel count increase, which is a classic sign of a GPU limitation. The Ryzen 7 3700X, with its 85th percentile ranking, is likely idling in this game, waiting for the GPU to finish rendering each frame. The conclusion is that this system is well-suited for 1080p gaming on Medium to High settings, but it cannot handle 1440p or 4K at playable frame rates. The 4K Ultra result of 22.3 FPS is a clear indication that the RX 580 is the bottleneck, and no amount of CPU headroom can compensate for the lack of GPU compute power.