Doom

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

The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X is an 8-core, 16-thread processor built on the Zen 2 architecture (codenamed Matisse) using a 7 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, backed by a 32 MB L3 cache. This CPU sits in the 85th percentile against all tested processors, with an average benchmark score of 28631. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i5-12600 (scoring 28654, a delta of -0.1%) and the AMD Ryzen 5 5600XT (scoring 28591, a delta of 0.1%), placing the 3700X in a tight performance cluster where no rival is more than 0.2% apart.

For a 2016-era FPS like Doom, the CPU's role is primarily to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic. The 8-core/16-thread configuration provides substantial headroom for modern game engines that can parallelize tasks, though Doom's id Tech 6 engine is known for scaling well across multiple cores. The data shows that at 1080p Low settings, the system achieves 262.4 FPS, which indicates the CPU is not a bottleneck in this configuration — the frame rate is high enough to suggest the GPU is still the primary limiter even at lower settings. The single-core performance, measured by Cinebench R23 at 2694 points, is adequate for the game's primary thread, but the multi-core score of 19087 ensures that background tasks and the game's secondary threads do not cause frame pacing issues.

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

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT, based on the Navi 32 chip with RDNA 3.0 architecture, brings 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 432.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its boost clock reaches 2544 MHz, with a game clock of 2171 MHz and a base clock of 1435 MHz. The GPU's 3456 shading units and 96 ROPs provide a raw compute capability of 35.17 TFLOPS FP32. This card occupies the 73rd percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 30097. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060, scores 30109 (a delta of 0%), while the AMD Radeon RX 570 trails at 30158 (a delta of -0.2%), showing these cards are effectively tied in aggregate benchmarks.

In Doom, the GPU's 12 GB VRAM is more than sufficient for the game's textures, even at 4K Ultra settings where the average frame rate drops to 56.6 FPS. The 432.0 GB/s memory bandwidth keeps the texture streaming smooth, and the high boost clock of 2544 MHz ensures that the Vulkan API — which Doom supports — can extract maximum throughput from the RDNA 3 architecture. The data indicates that the GPU is the dominant factor in this pairing: at 1080p Low, the frame rate of 262.4 FPS is nearly double the 4K High result of 67 FPS, a scaling pattern characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured data shows a clear and steep FPS decline as resolution increases, which is the signature of a GPU-limited configuration. From 1080p Low (262.4 FPS) to 4K Low (91 FPS), the frame rate drops by 65.3%. This is a massive reduction that cannot be attributed to CPU overhead — the Ryzen 7 3700X's multi-core throughput is far beyond what Doom requires at any resolution. The scaling pattern across all settings confirms this: at High settings, 1080p delivers 195.5 FPS, 1440p delivers 123.2 FPS (a 37.0% drop), and 4K delivers 67 FPS (a 65.7% drop from 1080p).

The fact that the 4K-to-1080p ratio is consistently around 2.9x across Low, Medium, and High settings indicates that the GPU's pixel throughput is the binding constraint. If the CPU were limiting, the frame rates would plateau at 1080p and the relative drops would be smaller. The Ultra preset shows the most extreme scaling: 156.2 FPS at 1080p versus 56.6 FPS at 4K, a 63.8% reduction. This suggests that the Ultra settings introduce additional GPU workload (likely higher-quality shadow maps and post-processing) that amplifies the resolution penalty. The CPU, with its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 19087, has enough headroom to maintain consistent frame delivery even when the GPU is saturated.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The dataset provides 12 measured average FPS values across three resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the results are: Low 262.4 FPS, Medium 231 FPS, High 195.5 FPS, and Ultra 156.2 FPS. The step from Low to Medium costs 31.4 FPS (12.0%), while Medium to High costs 35.5 FPS (15.4%), and High to Ultra costs 39.3 FPS (20.1%). This progressive penalty indicates that each quality tier adds roughly similar GPU workload, with Ultra being the most demanding.

At 2560x1440, the values are: Low 167.4 FPS, Medium 147.2 FPS, High 123.2 FPS, and Ultra 101.4 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings is 95 FPS (36.2%), which is proportionally larger than the 64.5 FPS (24.6%) drop at Ultra settings from 1080p to 1440p. This is because at 1080p Ultra, the GPU is already working harder, so the relative impact of increasing pixel count is slightly muted. At 1440p, all presets remain above 100 FPS, which is comfortably playable on high-refresh monitors.

At 3840x2160, the results are: Low 91 FPS, Medium 82.2 FPS, High 67 FPS, and Ultra 56.6 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K dips below 60 FPS, which is notable for a game as well-optimized as Doom. The gap between Low and Medium at 4K is 8.8 FPS (9.7%), while Medium to High costs 15.2 FPS (18.5%), and High to Ultra costs 10.4 FPS (15.5%). The data shows that 4K High and Ultra both struggle to maintain 60+ FPS, making 1440p the practical ceiling for high-refresh gameplay with this combo.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

This pairing of the AMD Ryzen 7 3700X with the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT achieves a rank of 754 out of 1681 tested combinations in Doom. This places it in the upper-middle tier, at approximately the 55th percentile of all combos. The rank reflects that while the GPU is capable (73rd percentile among all GPUs), the CPU's 85th percentile standing does not boost the combo into the top quartile because the game is heavily GPU-bound.

The combo's 4K Ultra result of 56.6 FPS is below the 60 FPS threshold that many would consider the minimum for smooth gameplay, which likely contributes to the mid-pack ranking. In contrast, the 1080p Low result of 262.4 FPS is competitive with much more expensive combinations. The data suggests that this combo is well-balanced for 1440p gaming, where it achieves 101.4 FPS at Ultra — a result that would put it ahead of many combos with weaker GPUs but stronger CPUs. The nearest CPU rival, the Intel Core i5-12600 (with a delta of -0.1% in average score), would likely produce near-identical results given the GPU bottleneck, reinforcing that the RX 7700 XT is the performance arbiter here.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo achieve 60+ FPS at 4K Ultra settings in Doom?

A: No. The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 Ultra is 56.6 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS threshold. The 4K High preset achieves 67 FPS, so dropping from Ultra to High is necessary for 60+ FPS at 4K.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain 100+ FPS?

A: Both 1080p and 1440p can sustain 100+ FPS. At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset averages 101.4 FPS, while 1080p Ultra averages 156.2 FPS. For 1440p, all presets including Ultra stay above 100 FPS.

Q: How does the Ryzen 7 3700X compare to its nearest CPU rival in this system?

A: The Intel Core i5-12600 has an average benchmark score of 28654, which is 0.1% higher than the 3700X's 28631. The AMD Ryzen 5 5600XT scores 28591, 0.1% lower. These differences are negligible and would not affect Doom's frame rates given the GPU-bound nature of the game.

Q: Is the RX 7700 XT's 12 GB VRAM sufficient for Doom at 4K?

A: Yes. The data shows that 4K Ultra averages 56.6 FPS, indicating the 12 GB VRAM is not a limiting factor. The game's textures fit comfortably within the memory allocation, as frame rates are consistent with GPU compute limitations rather than memory capacity issues.

Q: What GPU performance tier does the RX 7700 XT occupy?

A: It sits in the 73rd percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 30097. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060, has a score of 30109 (a delta of 0%), meaning they are statistically identical in aggregate performance.

Q: How much FPS does dropping from Ultra to High save at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset averages 56.6 FPS, while High averages 67 FPS. This is a gain of 10.4 FPS (18.4%) by reducing the settings from Ultra to High.

Settings Recommendations

For 60+ FPS at 4K, the High preset is the clear choice — it delivers 67 FPS, which is 10.4 FPS above the Ultra preset's 56.6 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K provides 82.2 FPS, which is a substantial margin above 60 FPS and could be preferred for smoother motion, but High offers a better visual quality-to-performance ratio with only a 15.2 FPS penalty over Medium. At 1440p, the Ultra preset at 101.4 FPS is the optimal pick for high-refresh displays, as it remains well above the 100 FPS mark while providing maximum visual fidelity. The 1080p resolution is so far beyond the refresh rate of most monitors (262.4 FPS at Low, 195.5 FPS at High) that the choice of preset is irrelevant for playability — users should select Ultra (156.2 FPS) for the best image quality without any risk of frame rate dips. The data shows that this combo's sweet spot is 1440p Ultra, where the 101.4 FPS average provides both the visual quality and the frame rate headroom that modern displays can exploit, while 4K requires the High preset to stay above 60 FPS.