Doom

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 combination delivers a highly capable 1080p and 1440p experience in Doom, with 4K remaining playable at reduced settings. The measured data shows a clear hierarchy of performance tied directly to settings and resolution, making this a versatile pairing for a fast-paced FPS.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark results indicate that the High preset is the optimal balance of visual fidelity and performance for this system. At 1920x1080, the High preset achieves an average of 149 FPS, which is a massive 27 FPS improvement over the Ultra preset’s 122 FPS. This difference is significant because it pushes the experience well past the 144 Hz refresh rate threshold common in gaming monitors, while the visual downgrade from Ultra to High is typically marginal in a game with Doom’s art style.

Stepping down to Medium at 1080p yields 176 FPS, but the extra 27 FPS over High comes at a noticeable cost to texture and shadow quality. For players with a 240 Hz display, the Medium preset is the better choice, as it provides the headroom needed to fully utilize such a high refresh rate. The Low preset’s 202 FPS is overkill for nearly all displays and sacrifices too much visual information in a game where spotting enemies in dark environments matters.

At 2560x1440, the High preset remains the strongest recommendation. It produces an average of 96 FPS, which is perfect for a 1440p 144 Hz monitor. The Ultra preset drops to 79 FPS, which is still playable but introduces more noticeable frame pacing issues during intense combat sequences. The Medium preset at 114 FPS is viable, but High offers a better balance, as the aforementioned visual clarity benefits are more pronounced at this resolution.

For 3840x2160, the data shows that Medium is the only sensible choice for a consistent experience. The Medium preset averages 62 FPS, with a minimum of 52 and a maximum of 71. This is borderline for a smooth experience, but it is far more stable than the High preset’s 52 FPS average. The Ultra preset at 43 FPS is simply too low for a game that demands quick reactions. Players with a 4K display should also consider using a dynamic resolution scaler or lowering internal resolution, as the jump from Medium to High costs 10 FPS while the game’s fast motion masks much of the detail gain.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 7 5700X is a Zen 3 (Vermeer) architecture processor with 8 cores and 16 threads, base clock of 3.40 GHz, and boost clock of 4.60 GHz. Its benchmark scores indicate it is more than sufficient for Doom’s engine, which is known for scaling well across multiple threads. The processor’s multi-threaded performance is strong, as shown by a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 13184 and a Geekbench multi-core score of 10779.

In this pairing, the CPU is not the limiting factor at 1080p, even at the High preset where the GPU is pushed harder. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 6858 and max-thread score of 6850 are nearly identical, suggesting the processor scales efficiently with all cores utilized. This is relevant because Doom’s id Tech 6 engine can spawn numerous draw calls and physics calculations, and the 5700X’s 16 threads handle these without bottlenecking the RTX 5050.

Comparing to its nearest rivals, the Ryzen 7 5700X has an average benchmark score of 27578, which is statistically identical to the Intel Core i5-12600K (deltaPct 0), the AMD Ryzen 7 5800 (deltaPct 0.2), and the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X (deltaPct -0.2). This indicates that the CPU’s performance in synthetic tests is on par with these alternatives, and in a game like Doom where optimization is excellent, the differences would be negligible. The CPU’s 32 MB of shared L3 cache is beneficial for keeping frequently accessed game data close to the cores, reducing memory latency during fast-paced gameplay.

The single-thread performance, measured at 921 in 3DMark single-thread and 1499 in Cinebench R23 single-core, is adequate for the game’s main game logic thread. While a higher-clocked CPU might provide a slight edge in frame time consistency, the measured FPS data shows no signs of CPU-induced stuttering, as the minimum FPS at 1080p Medium is 150, which is high enough to mask any minor CPU hiccups.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 is a Blackwell 2.0 architecture GPU with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 320.0 GB/s. Its base clock is 2317 MHz with a boost clock of 2572 MHz. The GPU’s FP32 performance of 13.17 TFLOPS and texture rate of 205.8 GTexel/s are the key specs driving Doom’s performance.

The 8 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for all tested settings at 1080p and 1440p. At 4K Ultra, the game may be approaching the VRAM limit, but the data shows the average FPS drops to 43, which is more likely a raw compute limitation than a memory capacity issue, given that the High preset at 4K still achieves 52 FPS. The memory bandwidth of 320.0 GB/s is adequate for the game’s texture streaming needs, as evidenced by the smooth minimum FPS values at 1440p Medium (97 FPS) and 1080p Medium (150 FPS).

The GPU’s benchmark scores place it in the 66th percentile of all GPUs, with an average score of 21035. Its nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL (deltaPct -0.6), AMD Radeon HD 8970M (deltaPct -1), AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT (deltaPct 1.6), and NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile (deltaPct -1.6). This indicates the RTX 5050 is a mid-range performer, which aligns with its measured results in Doom. The PassMark G3D score of 17326 and DirectX 12 score of 66 show it handles modern APIs well, though the DirectX 12 score is notably lower than DirectX 11 (150), suggesting the game’s Vulkan API path is better utilized.

The GPU’s pixel rate of 82.30 GPixel/s and ROP count of 32 are the limiting factors at 4K Ultra, where the fill rate demands exceed what the card can deliver. This is why the Ultra preset at 4K falls to 43 FPS, while the Medium preset at 62 FPS is achievable due to reduced overdraw and shading complexity.

FAQ

Q: What is the best setting to use for a 144 Hz 1080p monitor?

A: The High preset at 1920x1080 delivers 149 FPS, which is above the 144 Hz threshold. Medium at 176 FPS offers more headroom but sacrifices visual clarity.

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

A: Yes, but only at Medium settings, which averages 62 FPS with a minimum of 52 FPS. High settings drop to 52 FPS, and Ultra is not recommended at 43 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU compare to the Intel Core i5-12600K?

A: The Ryzen 7 5700X has an identical average benchmark score of 27578 with a deltaPct of 0, indicating performance is on par for this workload.

Q: Is the 8 GB VRAM enough for Doom?

A: The data shows no VRAM-related stuttering at any tested setting, as the minimum FPS values are consistently high. 8 GB is sufficient for the game’s requirements.

Q: What is the FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Low averages 131 FPS while Ultra averages 79 FPS, a difference of 52 FPS. High sits in the middle at 96 FPS.

Q: Which component is the bottleneck at 4K?

A: The GPU is clearly the limiting factor at 3840x2160, as the CPU’s 16 threads are not stressed by the lower frame rates, and the GPU’s pixel fill rate drops significantly from Medium to Ultra.

Resolution Scaling

The performance scaling from 1080p to 4K clearly demonstrates the GPU-bound nature of this system in Doom. At the High preset, the average FPS drops from 149 at 1920x1080 to 96 at 2560x1440, a 36% reduction, and then to 52 at 3840x2160, a further 46% reduction. This steep decline indicates that the RTX 5050’s shading and fill-rate capabilities are being saturated as pixel count increases.

The Low preset shows a similar pattern: 202 FPS at 1080p, 131 FPS at 1440p (35% drop), and 71 FPS at 4K (46% drop). The consistent percentage drops across settings suggest that the GPU’s compute units are the primary constraint, rather than memory bandwidth or CPU limitations. The 8 GB VRAM and 320.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for the data requirements, but the 13.17 TFLOPS FP32 performance cannot scale to 4K without significant frame rate penalties.

The Medium preset data provides the most insight into the limiting component. At 1080p, it achieves 176 FPS, with a minimum of 150 FPS. At 1440p, it drops to 114 FPS (35% reduction), and at 4K, it falls to 62 FPS (46% reduction). The minimum FPS values scale proportionally (150 to 97 to 52), confirming that the GPU’s throughput is the bottleneck. The CPU’s 3DMark 8-thread score of 5768 and 4-thread score of 3512 are more than enough to feed the GPU at these frame rates, as even the lowest 4K average of 43 FPS at Ultra does not strain the processor.

Interestingly, the scaling from Medium to High at each resolution is nearly uniform (27 FPS at 1080p, 18 FPS at 1440p, 10 FPS at 4K), while the jump from High to Ultra is larger (27 FPS at 1080p, 17 FPS at 1440p, 9 FPS at 4K). This suggests that the Ultra preset introduces effects that are disproportionately expensive on the GPU’s ROPs and shading units, which is a key consideration for players who want to maximize visual quality without sacrificing frame rate.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080:

The Low preset delivers the highest average FPS at 202, with the Medium preset following closely at 176 (minimum 150, maximum 203). The High preset achieves 149 FPS, while the Ultra preset drops to 122 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 80 FPS, indicating that Ultra’s additional effects (likely shadow quality and post-processing) are costly. The minimum FPS at Medium (150) is still above the refresh rate of most 1080p monitors, ensuring a smooth experience.

2560x1440:

Performance remains strong at this resolution. The Low preset averages 131 FPS, Medium averages 114 (minimum 97, maximum 131), High averages 96, and Ultra averages 79. The 52 FPS gap between Low and Ultra is significant, but even the Ultra preset’s 79 FPS is playable on a 75 Hz or 100 Hz monitor. The minimum FPS at Medium (97) shows that the system maintains good frame pacing without severe dips.

3840x2160:

This resolution pushes the RTX 5050 to its limits. The Low preset averages 71 FPS, which is the only 4K setting that comfortably exceeds 60 FPS. Medium averages 62 FPS with a minimum of 52 and maximum of 71, providing a playable but not perfectly stable experience. High drops to 52 FPS, and Ultra falls to 43 FPS, both of which are below the ideal threshold for a fast-paced FPS. The data suggests that 4K gaming requires either the Low or Medium preset, with the latter being the best compromise between visual quality and performance, accepting that frame rates will occasionally dip below 60 FPS.