Doom

The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9070 delivers a compelling 1080p experience in Doom, but the data suggests that the GPU becomes the defining factor as resolution climbs. This combination ranks in the 69th percentile of all tested CPU/GPU pairings for this title, and the measured frame rates reveal a clear narrative about where the performance ceiling lies.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K shows a classic GPU-bound scaling pattern. At 1080p with Ultra settings, the combo produces 178 FPS, but this drops to 115 FPS at 1440p and then to 62 FPS at 4K. That represents a 35% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, followed by another 46% drop from 1440p to 4K. The scaling is not linear, which indicates the GPU is being pushed progressively harder as pixel count increases.

The Low preset tells a similar story with even higher absolute numbers. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 278 FPS, which falls to 192 FPS at 1440p and 104 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops here are steeper: 31% from 1080p to 1440p, and 46% from 1440p to 4K. This steeper scaling at lower settings is revealing — it suggests that even when the graphical load is light, the GPU's raw throughput is still the primary limiter, rather than the CPU.

Medium settings show the most complete data with min and max frame rates recorded. The 1080p Medium result averages 258 FPS with a minimum of 219 FPS and maximum of 296 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 167 FPS with a 142-192 FPS range. The 4K Medium result averages 90 FPS with a 77-104 FPS range. The minimum frame rates at each resolution stay reasonably close to the averages, suggesting consistent frame pacing without severe hitches.

The gap between Low and Ultra at each resolution is substantial but shrinks at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 100 FPS (278 vs 178). At 1440p, that gap narrows to 77 FPS (192 vs 115). At 4K, the gap is 42 FPS (104 vs 62). This convergence at 4K reinforces the idea that the GPU is the bottleneck — when the pixel workload is massive, the settings presets matter less because the GPU is already saturated.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 7 3700X brings 8 cores and 16 threads to this pairing, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. This Zen 2 architecture, built on TSMC's 7 nm process, provides the computational foundation for this combo. The CPU's benchmark scores place it in the 84th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 34260.

Looking at the CPU's nearest rivals contextualizes its standing. The AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 scores 34222, a negligible 0.1% difference. The AMD EPYC 4244P also sits at 34220, again 0.1% away. The Intel Core i5-13450HX scores 34333, which is 0.2% higher than the 3700X. The Intel Core Ultra 7 165H comes in at 34083, 0.5% lower. This cluster of scores within a 0.7% band shows that the 3700X is competitively positioned among modern processors, though it is not a standout leader.

In the context of Doom, a 2016 title, the CPU's capabilities are likely more than sufficient. The game's engine was designed around the hardware of that era, and the 3700X's 8 cores and high boost clock provide ample headroom. The fact that frame rates scale so dramatically with resolution suggests the CPU is not the limiting factor at any of the tested settings. Even at 1080p Low, where the CPU would face its heaviest relative load, the system still produces 278 FPS — a figure that indicates the CPU is keeping pace with the GPU's output.

The single-thread performance of the 3700X, as measured by Geekbench at 1593, is solid for a processor of its generation. Doom is known for being well-optimized and not heavily dependent on single-core performance, so this score likely translates to smooth gameplay without CPU-induced frame dips. The data supports this interpretation: the minimum frame rates at Medium settings are within 8-15% of the averages, showing no signs of CPU bottlenecking that would cause stutters.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of Ryzen 7 3700X and RX 9070 achieves a combo rank of 1154 out of 3712 tested combinations in Doom. That places it in the top 31% of all pairings, which is respectable but not elite. The percentile positioning suggests that while this combo delivers high frame rates, there are many other combinations that perform better in this specific title.

The ranking becomes more meaningful when compared to the GPU's overall standing. The RX 9070 sits in the 69th percentile of all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 23877. The CPU's 84th percentile ranking is notably higher. This discrepancy between CPU and GPU percentiles suggests that the GPU is the weaker link in this pairing for Doom — the CPU has more relative headroom than the GPU can fully utilize.

The GPU's nearest rivals help contextualize its performance tier. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z scores 23736, just 0.6% lower than the RX 9070. The AMD Radeon RX 6800S scores 24063, which is 0.8% higher. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile comes in at 23628, 1.1% lower, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER scores 24170, 1.2% higher. This tight clustering indicates that the RX 9070 performs in a well-established performance band, with no dramatic advantages or disadvantages over its closest competitors.

The combo's rank of 1154 out of 3712 means there are 2558 combinations that perform worse and 1153 that perform better. For a game as old and well-optimized as Doom, this middle-upper positioning is expected — the title runs well on a wide variety of hardware, so the top ranks are dominated by the absolute fastest components available.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1080p, the RX 9070 and Ryzen 7 3700X combination delivers exceptional frame rates across all presets. The Low preset produces 278 FPS average, which is the highest measured result in the entire dataset. Medium follows at 258 FPS, High at 218 FPS, and Ultra at 178 FPS. The Medium preset includes min and max readings of 219 FPS and 296 FPS respectively, showing a broad but consistent performance envelope.

Moving to 1440p, the results remain highly playable. Low averages 192 FPS, Medium 167 FPS, High 141 FPS, and Ultra 115 FPS. The Medium preset's min and max are 142 FPS and 192 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows a 31-35% reduction across presets, which aligns with the 2.25x pixel count increase — though the actual percentage is lower, suggesting some headroom remains.

At 4K, the frame rates become more modest. Low averages 104 FPS, Medium 90 FPS, High 76 FPS, and Ultra 62 FPS. The Medium preset records a minimum of 77 FPS and maximum of 104 FPS. These numbers indicate that 4K Ultra is borderline for a smooth 60 FPS experience, while 4K Low and Medium provide comfortable margins above that threshold.

The Ultra preset at 4K produces exactly 62 FPS average, which is just above the 60 FPS target but with no recorded minimum to confirm stability. The Medium preset at 4K is the only 4K configuration with full min/max data, and its 77 FPS minimum suggests that even at 4K, this combo maintains respectable frame pacing when not maxing out every setting.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 is built on the Navi 48 chip using RDNA 4.0 architecture on a 4 nm process from TSMC. It features 3584 shading units, 224 texture mapping units, and 128 render output units. The GPU's boost clock reaches 2520 MHz, with a game clock of 2070 MHz and a base clock of 1330 MHz. Memory consists of 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, providing 644.6 GB/s of bandwidth.

The GPU's compute capabilities are substantial, with FP32 performance rated at 36.13 TFLOPS. The pixel rate of 322.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 564.5 GTexel/s indicate strong rasterization throughput. These specifications are well-suited to Doom, which relies heavily on traditional rasterization rather than ray tracing or tensor core acceleration — features the RX 9070 does not emphasize, with no tensor cores listed.

The GPU's 69th percentile ranking among all GPUs places it in the upper-middle tier. Its average benchmark score of 23877 is within 1.2% of its nearest rivals, showing that it sits in a competitive performance band. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 6290 provides a synthetic benchmark reference, while the Geekbench OpenCL score of 131539 and Vulkan score of 58705 offer additional compute perspectives.

In Doom, the GPU's role becomes increasingly dominant as resolution rises. At 1080p, the GPU can render frames fast enough to potentially outpace the CPU's ability to feed it, but the measured frame rates stay within reasonable bounds — the 278 FPS at Low is high but not absurdly so. At 4K, the GPU is clearly the limiting factor, as evidenced by the significant frame rate drops and the convergence of performance across settings.

FAQ

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

A: The measured average at 4K Ultra is 62 FPS, which is just barely above the 60 FPS threshold. However, no minimum frame rate was recorded for this setting, so stability at this level is not confirmed. For a safer margin, 4K Medium averages 90 FPS with a recorded minimum of 77 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest rivals in overall performance?

A: The Ryzen 7 3700X has an average benchmark score of 34260. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen AI 7 350, scores 34222, which is 0.1% lower. The Intel Core i5-13450HX is 0.2% higher at 34333, while the Intel Core Ultra 7 165H is 0.5% lower at 34083. All four processors are within a 0.7% performance band.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 1440p, the Low preset averages 192 FPS while Ultra averages 115 FPS, a difference of 77 FPS. The Medium preset sits between them at 167 FPS, with a minimum of 142 FPS and maximum of 192 FPS.

Q: Is the GPU or CPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary limiter. The CPU ranks in the 84th percentile while the GPU ranks in the 69th percentile. Additionally, frame rates scale significantly with resolution and settings, which is characteristic of GPU-bound scenarios. The combo rank of 1154 out of 3712 reflects this GPU-limited positioning.

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

A: This pairing ranks 1154th out of 3712 total combos tested, placing it in the top 31% of all combinations. This is a solid ranking, though not exceptional, considering the game's age and optimization across a wide range of hardware.

Q: What are the minimum frame rates at Medium settings across resolutions?

A: At 1080p Medium, the minimum is 219 FPS with a 258 FPS average. At 1440p Medium, the minimum is 142 FPS with a 167 FPS average. At 4K Medium, the minimum is 77 FPS with a 90 FPS average. These minimums stay within 8-15% of the averages, indicating consistent performance.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance for optimal settings at each resolution. At 1080p, all presets deliver frame rates well above 144 Hz, with even Ultra averaging 178 FPS. Players with 144 Hz monitors can safely enable Ultra settings for the best visual quality without sacrificing smoothness. Those with 240 Hz displays may prefer High settings at 218 FPS or Medium at 258 FPS, though the difference between Medium and High is more pronounced than between High and Ultra.

At 1440p, the recommendation shifts toward High settings. The High preset averages 141 FPS, which is sufficient for most high-refresh-rate monitors. Ultra drops to 115 FPS, which is still smooth but leaves less headroom. Medium at 167 FPS offers a good middle ground for those prioritizing frame rate over visual fidelity. The Low preset's 192 FPS is excessive for most displays and sacrifices too much visual quality for marginal gains.

At 4K, the Medium preset emerges as the best balance. It averages 90 FPS with a minimum of 77 FPS, providing a comfortable margin above 60 FPS while maintaining reasonable visual quality. High settings average 76 FPS, which is also playable but approaches the 60 FPS boundary more closely. Ultra at 62 FPS is technically above 60 FPS but leaves almost no margin for demanding scenes. Low at 104 FPS is the fastest option but significantly reduces visual fidelity, making it less desirable for a game with Doom's atmospheric environments.

The overall recommendation is to prioritize Medium settings at 4K, High settings at 1440p, and Ultra settings at 1080p. This tiered approach maximizes the visual experience while maintaining frame rates that exceed typical display refresh rates at each resolution. The data shows that this combo is versatile enough to provide excellent experiences across all three resolutions, with the GPU's 16 GB of VRAM ensuring texture memory is never a limiting factor at any of the tested settings.