Doom

The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 combination delivers a highly playable Doom experience across all tested resolutions, with the RTX 5050 acting as the primary performance ceiling at 4K while the CPU ensures consistent frame delivery at higher refresh rates. The data indicates a system that is exceptionally well-balanced for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but which requires settings adjustments to maintain smooth 4K performance.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data demonstrates a clear and predictable drop in performance as resolution increases, but the pattern reveals important insights about the system's bottleneck. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves an average of 202 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low yields 131 FPS, a reduction of approximately 35%. At 4K Low, the average falls to 71 FPS, another 46% reduction from 1440p. This scaling pattern is typical for a GPU-bound scenario where the rendering load increases exponentially with pixel count.

The relationship between settings and resolution is also telling. At 1080p Ultra, the system produces 122 FPS, while 1440p Ultra drops to 79 FPS and 4K Ultra falls to 43 FPS. The percentage drop from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings is roughly 65%, which is substantial but not catastrophic. This suggests that while the RTX 5050 is the limiting factor at 4K, it still retains enough headroom to produce playable frame rates at reduced settings.

The 4K Medium row is the only one with complete FPS statistics, showing an average of 62 FPS with a minimum of 52 and a maximum of 71. This tight range of 19 FPS indicates that the frame pacing is consistent, and the system isn't experiencing severe stutters or hitches even at this demanding resolution. The fact that the minimum FPS at 4K Medium is 52, which is still above the 30 FPS threshold for basic playability, suggests the hardware combination handles memory and render workloads without critical bottlenecks.

The scaling behavior points to the GPU as the dominant limiter at higher resolutions, because the CPU's capacity to feed frames is not exhausted until frame rates reach much higher levels. At 1080p Low, the 202 FPS average indicates the CPU can push well beyond 200 FPS, so the 4K performance ceiling is directly attributable to the RTX 5050's rendering capabilities.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average FPS this system can achieve in Doom?

A: The highest recorded average is 202 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This represents the ceiling for this CPU and GPU combination in the tested scenarios.

Q: Can this system maintain 60 FPS at 4K resolution?

A: At 4K Medium settings, the system averages 62 FPS with a minimum of 52 FPS. At 4K High, the average drops to 52 FPS, so 4K Medium is the settings level required to stay above the 60 FPS average threshold.

Q: How does the system perform at 1440p with maximum settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 79. This is well above the 60 FPS marker and indicates that 1440p Ultra is a viable configuration for smooth gameplay.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the primary bottleneck at 1080p?

A: The data suggests the GPU remains the primary limiter, as the frame rate drops from 202 FPS at Low to 122 FPS at Ultra settings, a 40% reduction that tracks with increased GPU workload rather than CPU constraints.

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

A: At 1440p, Medium settings produce an average of 114 FPS, while High settings yield 96 FPS. The 18 FPS difference shows that High settings are noticeably more demanding on the GPU.

Q: How consistent is the frame rate at 4K?

A: The only complete data set for 4K is at Medium settings, showing an average of 62 FPS with a minimum of 52 FPS and a maximum of 71 FPS. The variance of 19 FPS indicates moderately consistent frame delivery.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 is clearly the driving force behind the measured performance, and its specifications align with the observed scaling. The GPU features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 320.0 GB/s of bandwidth. In Doom, which is a 2016 title, this memory configuration is more than adequate for storing textures and geometry at all tested resolutions, as evidenced by the playable frame rates at 4K Ultra.

The GPU's clock speeds are notable for their consistency. The base clock is 2317 MHz, and the boost clock is 2572 MHz, a difference of only 255 MHz. This tight boost range suggests the card can sustain high frequencies under load without significant thermal or power throttling, which contributes to the stable frame pacing observed in the benchmark data. The 130 W TDP indicates the card draws a moderate amount of power, and the 300 W suggested PSU recommendation provides sufficient headroom for the rest of the system.

The RTX 5050's benchmark scores provide context for its gaming performance. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2502 and the Passmark G3D score of 17326 place it in the 66th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals in terms of average benchmark score are the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT, which is 1.6% faster, and the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL, which is 0.6% slower. This competitive positioning explains why the RTX 5050 delivers solid but not exceptional performance in Doom.

The GPU's architectural features also play a role. With 2560 shading units and 80 TMUs, the card has sufficient compute and texture processing capabilities for the game's rendering demands. The 32 ROPs handle pixel output, and the pixel rate of 82.30 GPixel/s is adequate for 4K resolution at the observed frame rates. The RTX 5050's FP32 performance of 13.17 TFLOPS provides the raw compute power needed for the game's lighting and effects calculations.

The benchmark results show a strong correlation with gaming performance. The Geekbench OpenCL score of 90334 and Vulkan score of 89381 are nearly identical, indicating consistent compute performance across different APIs. This is relevant because Doom's Vulkan renderer can leverage this compute capability efficiently, contributing to the strong performance at lower resolutions where the GPU is not the primary constraint.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 202 FPS, Medium averages 176 FPS with a minimum of 150 and maximum of 203, High averages 149 FPS, and Ultra averages 122 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 40% reduction in performance, from 202 to 122 FPS, indicating that each settings tier adds significant GPU workload. The Medium row's minimum of 150 FPS is particularly notable, as it remains well above the 144 Hz refresh rate common on modern monitors.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance scales downward as expected. Low settings average 131 FPS, Medium averages 114 FPS with a range of 97 to 131, High averages 96 FPS, and Ultra averages 79 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings is 35%, which is reasonable given the 78% increase in pixel count. At Ultra settings, the 1440p average of 79 FPS remains comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold, making this a viable resolution for maximum visual quality.

At 3840x2160, the performance drops more significantly. Low settings average 71 FPS, Medium averages 62 FPS with a minimum of 52 and maximum of 71, High averages 52 FPS, and Ultra averages 43 FPS. The 4K Low to 4K Ultra spread is from 71 to 43 FPS, a 39% reduction. This indicates that even at 4K, the settings choices have a substantial impact on performance, and users can trade visual quality for higher frame rates within a playable range.

The data shows that the system is most comfortable at 1080p and 1440p, where even the highest settings deliver frame rates that are smooth and responsive. At 4K, the system becomes more sensitive to settings changes, and users must choose between the visual fidelity of High or Ultra settings and the smoother motion of Medium or Low settings. The complete FPS data for the Medium rows across all resolutions reveals that the minimum frame rates track closely with the averages, suggesting the system avoids severe frame drops.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings configuration depends on the target resolution and the user's preference for frame rate versus visual quality. At 1920x1080, Ultra settings are the clear recommendation, as the average of 122 FPS provides a smooth experience that exceeds the 60 FPS baseline by a wide margin. The 40% performance cost of Ultra over Low is easily absorbed at this resolution, making it the best balance of visual fidelity and performance.

For 2560x1440, Ultra settings remain a strong choice, with an average of 79 FPS. This is above the 60 FPS threshold and provides high visual quality without sacrificing responsiveness. For users with high refresh rate displays, High settings at 96 FPS or Medium settings at 114 FPS offer better frame pacing, but the Ultra setting still delivers a premium experience.

At 3840x2160, the recommendation becomes more nuanced. Medium settings provide an average of 62 FPS, which is the only configuration that stays above the 60 FPS average threshold. High settings drop to 52 FPS, and Ultra falls to 43 FPS. For users prioritizing smooth motion, Medium is the recommended setting, as its minimum FPS of 52 prevents noticeable stuttering. For users willing to accept lower frame rates for improved visual quality, High settings at 52 FPS are still playable, but Ultra at 43 FPS is borderline.

The data indicates that the "best experience" is achieved by matching the settings to the resolution's performance headroom. At 1080p and 1440p, the system has enough performance to run Ultra settings without issue, so there is no reason to compromise. At 4K, Medium settings offer the best compromise between visual quality and frame rate, as the difference between Medium and High is only 10 FPS on average, but the minimum FPS difference ensures smoother gameplay.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 3700X plays a supporting but crucial role in this system's performance. With 8 cores and 16 threads, the CPU provides ample processing power for Doom's game logic, physics, and AI calculations. The base clock of 3.60 GHz and boost clock of 4.40 GHz offer sufficient single-thread performance, which is important for games that rely heavily on a primary thread for frame rendering coordination.

The CPU's benchmark scores demonstrate its capability to keep pace with the RTX 5050. The Cinebench R15 multicore score of 2092 and single-core score of 204 indicate strong multi-threaded and competent single-threaded performance. The Geekbench multicore score of 8899 and single-core score of 1593 further corroborate this, showing that the CPU can handle the diverse workload types that a game like Doom presents.

In terms of system-level performance, the Ryzen 7 3700X sits in the 84th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 34260. Its nearest rivals in the CPU benchmark rankings provide a clear picture of its standing. The AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 is 0.1% slower, the AMD EPYC 4244P is 0.1% slower, and the Intel Core Ultra 7 165H is 0.5% slower, while the Intel Core i5-13450HX is 0.2% faster. This tight clustering indicates that the 3700X is competitively positioned within its performance class.

The CPU's memory support plays a role in feeding the GPU. The dual-channel DDR4 memory configuration provides 51.2 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for the game's data streaming requirements. The 32 MB of L3 cache helps reduce memory latency and improves performance in scenarios where the CPU needs to quickly access frequently used data, such as in complex game scenes with many entities.

The fact that the system achieves 202 FPS at 1080p Low settings indicates the CPU is not the limiting factor at lower resolutions. The frame rate at this setting is high enough that the GPU is likely the primary constraint, even at 1080p. The CPU's ability to sustain these high frame rates without bottlenecking is confirmed by the smooth frame delivery at 1440p and the consistent performance scaling across all settings levels.