Doom

The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 combination delivers its most balanced and fluid experience at 1440p with High settings, where the 82 FPS average represents the best compromise between visual fidelity and frame pacing. While 1080p offers significantly higher frame rates, the 1440p High preset provides a substantial upgrade in image quality with a 34% reduction in average FPS compared to 1080p High, a trade-off that is well worth the increase in visual clarity. For users prioritizing maximum smoothness above all else, the 1080p Low preset at 191 FPS is the clear choice, but the data suggests that 1440p High is the sweet spot for this hardware combination.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data reveals a clear hierarchy in performance across the four available presets. At 1080p, the RTX 3070 is clearly the dominant component, with even the Ultra preset delivering a playable 98 FPS average. The gap between Low (191 FPS) and High (125 FPS) is 66 FPS, indicating that the GPU has ample headroom to handle increased graphical loads at this resolution. The Medium preset at 147 FPS offers a strong middle ground, but the jump to High only costs 22 FPS while providing notably better visuals, making High the recommended setting for those who want a balance of speed and quality.

Moving to 1440p, the performance scaling becomes more telling. The Low preset achieves 125 FPS, which drops to 96 FPS at Medium and 82 FPS at High. The Ultra preset falls to 64 FPS, a 44% reduction from High, which is a significant penalty for the marginal visual gains it provides. The data suggests that the GPU is starting to become the limiting factor at this resolution, as the frame rate drops are more pronounced between presets. The High preset at 82 FPS remains comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, making it the recommended choice for 1440p gaming.

At 4K, the RTX 3070's 8 GB frame buffer and 448.0 GB/s memory bandwidth are stretched thin. The Low preset manages 69 FPS, but High drops to 45 FPS and Ultra falls to 35 FPS. The Medium preset, with its 53 FPS average and a minimum of 45 FPS, is the only viable option for a playable experience. However, even this is below the ideal 60 FPS target. The data indicates that 4K gaming with this combo requires significant compromises, and the recommended setting is Low to maintain a reasonable frame rate, though users should be aware that the visual quality will be substantially reduced. The 1440p High preset remains the best overall experience across all resolutions and settings.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X is an 8-core, 16-thread processor based on the Zen 2 architecture, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. While its PassMark single-thread score of 2656 is respectable, its multi-threaded performance is its standout feature, with a PassMark multithread score of 22458. This positions the CPU above 84% of all processors in the database, indicating strong overall capability. In Doom, which is an older title from 2016, the CPU is unlikely to be the primary bottleneck at lower resolutions, but its performance becomes more relevant as frame rates climb.

The data supports this analysis. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 191 FPS, which is a high enough frame rate that CPU overhead could start to become a factor, but the CPU’s 8 cores and 16 threads provide ample headroom for the game's workload. The Ryzen 7 3700X outperforms its nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-13450HX, by 0.2% in average benchmark score, and is 0.5% faster than the Intel Core Ultra 7 165H. This level of performance is more than sufficient for Doom’s single-threaded and lightly-threaded tasks, and the data shows that the GPU is the limiting factor in most scenarios.

The CPU’s 32 MB of L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth are adequate for the game's data requirements. In the measured FPS data, the frame rate scaling from 1080p to 1440p and 4K shows a consistent drop that aligns with GPU-bound behavior. For instance, at High settings, the average FPS drops from 125 at 1080p to 82 at 1440p and 45 at 4K. This pattern is characteristic of a GPU bottleneck, where the CPU is capable of feeding frames faster than the GPU can render them. The CPU’s role is therefore supportive rather than limiting, and it does not appear to be the primary constraint on performance in this title.

FAQ

Q: What is the best overall setting for this CPU and GPU combo in Doom?

A: The 1440p High preset is the best overall choice, delivering an 82 FPS average. This provides a strong balance of image quality and performance, with the data showing that 1080p High achieves 125 FPS and 4K High drops to 45 FPS, making 1440p High the optimal middle ground.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Doom?

A: Yes, but with significant compromises. At 4K, the Low preset achieves 69 FPS, while Medium drops to 53 FPS with a minimum of 45 FPS. The High preset falls to 45 FPS and Ultra to 35 FPS, so only Low offers a consistently playable experience above 60 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1080p?

A: The GPU is the limiting factor. The data shows a clear frame rate drop as settings increase at 1080p, from 191 FPS at Low to 98 FPS at Ultra. The Ryzen 7 3700X, with its 8 cores and 16 threads, is more than capable of supporting these frame rates, indicating the RTX 3070 is the bottleneck.

Q: How does the RTX 3070 compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RTX 3070's average benchmark score of 17208 is 0.7% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT, and 1% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690. It trails the NVIDIA Tesla K40c by 1.5%, but these are all closely matched scores, showing the RTX 3070 is competitively positioned.

Q: What is the performance difference between Medium and High settings at 1440p?

A: At 1440p, the Medium preset achieves 96 FPS, while High delivers 82 FPS, a difference of 14 FPS. The data indicates that High offers a better visual experience with only a 14.6% performance penalty, making it the preferred choice for most users.

Q: Does the Ryzen 7 3700X hold back the RTX 3070 in this game?

A: No. The frame rate scaling across resolutions is consistent with a GPU bottleneck. The CPU’s passmark multithread score of 22458 and its ranking above 84% of all CPUs indicate it has sufficient headroom, and the measured FPS drops align with increased GPU load rather than CPU limitations.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 3700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 ranks 2872 out of 3712 tested combos for this game, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database. This ranking is somewhat surprising given the individual component capabilities, but it reflects the specific performance characteristics of this pairing in Doom. The RTX 3070, despite its strong 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 3162 and PassMark G3D score of 22214, is not a top-tier card by modern standards, ranking in the 61st percentile of all GPUs.

The CPU, ranking in the 84th percentile of all processors, is actually the stronger component relative to its peers. However, the combo's overall rank is dragged down by the GPU's lower relative standing. The data shows that the RTX 3070's nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT (0.7% higher score) and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 (1% higher score), which are all in a similar performance tier. This suggests that the RTX 3070 is a mid-range GPU, and when paired with a high-end CPU like the Ryzen 7 3700X, the overall system performance is constrained by the GPU.

The rank of 2872 out of 3712 means that 77% of tested combos perform better in this game. This is a significant indicator that while the system is capable, it is not optimized for maximum performance in Doom. The measured FPS data confirms this, with 4K Ultra at 35 FPS being the lowest result and 1080p Low at 191 FPS being the highest. The combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where it can deliver high frame rates, but it struggles at 4K with higher settings. The ranking reflects a system that is well-balanced for mainstream gaming but not for extreme high-resolution or high-refresh-rate scenarios.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic GPU-bound performance curve. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 125 at 1080p to 82 at 1440p, a 34% reduction, and then to 45 at 4K, a further 45% reduction. This steep decline is indicative of the RTX 3070's limitations at higher resolutions, where the pixel count and memory bandwidth demands outpace its capabilities. The 8 GB frame buffer and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for 1440p but become strained at 4K.

At Low settings, the scaling is more linear: 191 FPS at 1080p, 125 FPS at 1440p, and 69 FPS at 4K. This pattern shows that even with reduced graphical load, the GPU is still the primary constraint, as the CPU is capable of higher frame rates. The fact that the 4K Low result (69 FPS) is higher than the 4K High result (45 FPS) by 24 FPS confirms that the GPU is the limiting factor, as reducing settings directly translates to higher performance.

The data also shows that the gap between settings widens at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 93 FPS (191 vs 98), while at 4K, the difference is 34 FPS (69 vs 35). This is because at 4K, the GPU is so heavily loaded that even the lowest settings cannot fully alleviate the bottleneck. The limiting component is unequivocally the GPU, as the CPU's performance is consistent across all resolutions, and the frame rate drops align with the increased pixel rendering workload of the RTX 3070.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across all resolutions and settings. At 1080p, the Low preset delivers the highest average at 191 FPS, followed by Medium at 147 FPS, High at 125 FPS, and Ultra at 98 FPS. The Medium preset has a minimum of 125 FPS and a maximum of 169 FPS, indicating a stable frame rate range. The High and Ultra presets do not have min/max values listed, but their averages suggest a consistent experience.

At 1440p, the performance scale shifts downward. Low achieves 125 FPS, Medium drops to 96 FPS with a minimum of 82 FPS and a maximum of 110 FPS, and High falls to 82 FPS. Ultra is the lowest at 64 FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p shows a wider variance between its minimum and maximum, which could indicate occasional frame hitches, but the average remains playable.

At 4K, the results are the most constrained. Low manages 69 FPS, Medium drops to 53 FPS with a minimum of 45 FPS and a maximum of 61 FPS, High falls to 45 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 35 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K is the only one with min/max data, showing a range of 16 FPS, which suggests some variability in performance. Overall, the data shows that this combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K requiring significant settings reductions to maintain playable frame rates.