Doom

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Doom with the AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D and AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT shows a clear pattern of performance scaling as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At Ultra settings, the average frame rate drops from 202.8 FPS at 1080p to 133.3 FPS at 1440p, then further to 69.3 FPS at 4K. This represents a substantial 65.8% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K at the highest preset, indicating that the GPU becomes increasingly stressed as pixel count grows.

The scaling pattern differs across settings presets. At Low settings, the transition from 1080p to 1440p sees a drop from 310.6 FPS to 221.6 FPS, while 4K Low still maintains 119.3 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at each resolution widens considerably at higher resolutions: at 1080p the difference is 107.8 FPS (310.6 vs 202.8), but at 4K it narrows to exactly 50.0 FPS (119.3 vs 69.3). This compression of the settings gap at 4K suggests that resolution becomes the dominant factor limiting performance, regardless of how much graphical load is reduced through lower presets.

The data indicates that at 1080p, the system is likely hitting a ceiling that is not purely GPU-bound. With Low settings producing 310.6 FPS and Medium reaching 294.1 FPS, the frame rates are high enough that CPU overhead from the 8-core, 16-thread processor begins to matter. The 5700X3D's single-thread score of 804 in 3dmark and multi-thread score of 6764 in 3dmark_16_threads suggest capable processing power, but the diminishing returns between Low and Medium at 1080p (only 16.5 FPS difference) versus the larger gap at 4K (16.2 FPS between Low and Medium) hints that the GPU is the limiting component at higher resolutions.

At 4K, the frame rate curve across presets is steep: 119.3 FPS at Low, 103.1 FPS at Medium, 86.4 FPS at High, and 69.3 FPS at Ultra. Each step up in settings costs roughly 16-17 FPS, which is a consistent penalty. This linear degradation at 4K strongly suggests the RX 7900 XT, with its 20 GB of GDDR6 memory and 800.0 GB/s bandwidth, is the primary constraint. The GPU's 82nd percentile ranking among all GPUs and its average benchmark score of 38358 place it well above typical hardware, yet the demands of 4K Ultra in Doom still push it to 69.3 FPS.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D brings 8 cores and 16 threads based on the Zen 3 architecture, with a base clock of 3.00 GHz and boost clock of 4.10 GHz. Its large 96 MB shared L3 cache is a notable feature for gaming workloads, and the CPU's benchmark results show balanced performance: a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 22366 and single-core score of 3157. The processor sits at the 82nd percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 24673.

In the context of Doom's measured results, the CPU's role becomes apparent when examining the 1080p data. At 1080p Low, the system produces 310.6 FPS, which is exceptionally high. The fact that 1080p Medium (294.1 FPS) and 1080p High (248.2 FPS) are both lower than 1080p Low indicates the GPU is still doing most of the work, but the CPU's ability to feed frames at these extreme rates is noteworthy. The 5700X3D's nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-1360P, scores 24627 on average (0.2% lower), while the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X3D scores 24605 (0.3% lower). This places the 5700X3D in a tight cluster of similar-performing CPUs.

The CPU's multi-threaded capabilities are relevant even in a game like Doom, which is not traditionally considered heavily multi-threaded. The PassMark multithread score of 26318 and the 3dmark_8_threads score of 5357 show strong scaling across cores. However, the single-thread performance, as measured by the 3dmark_single_thread score of 804 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3157, is what matters most for frame pacing in an FPS. The 4.10 GHz boost clock provides sufficient single-core speed to avoid bottlenecking the RX 7900 XT at lower resolutions.

At 1440p and 4K, the CPU becomes less relevant as the GPU takes over as the primary constraint. The data shows that at 1440p Ultra, the system achieves 133.3 FPS, while at 4K Ultra it drops to 69.3 FPS. This scaling aligns with GPU-bound behavior, where the CPU's 8 cores and 16 threads have enough headroom to keep the GPU fed without becoming a limiting factor. The CPU's 105 W TDP and DDR4 dual-channel memory support with 51.2 GB/s bandwidth are adequate for this workload.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance for optimal settings at each resolution. At 1920x1080, all presets deliver playable frame rates, but the High preset at 248.2 FPS represents a sweet spot: it offers a substantial visual upgrade over Medium (294.1 FPS) while still maintaining a frame rate well above any display refresh rate likely to be paired with this hardware. Ultra at 1080p drops to 202.8 FPS, which is still excellent but comes with a noticeable performance cost relative to High.

At 2560x1440, the High preset delivers 163.2 FPS, which is ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors. Medium at 192.2 FPS is also viable, but the visual quality difference between Medium and High is often significant in a fast-paced FPS. Ultra at 1440p produces 133.3 FPS, which remains smooth for most displays and is a reasonable choice if visual fidelity is prioritized over maximum frame rate. Low at 1440p (221.6 FPS) is unnecessary given the other options.

At 3840x2160, the situation changes. Ultra drops to 69.3 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for competitive play. High at 86.4 FPS is a better balance, providing smoother motion while retaining most visual features. Medium at 103.1 FPS is the recommended choice for 4K gaming with this hardware, as it stays above the 100 FPS threshold and offers a meaningful performance buffer. Low at 119.3 FPS is the best choice for maximum smoothness, though it sacrifices visual quality.

The data shows that the High preset is the most balanced option across all three resolutions, with frame rates of 248.2 FPS at 1080p, 163.2 FPS at 1440p, and 86.4 FPS at 4K. For users with high-refresh-rate displays (144Hz or higher), dropping to Medium at 4K (103.1 FPS) or sticking with High at 1440p (163.2 FPS) yields the best combination of visual quality and responsiveness.

FAQ

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 1440p with Ultra settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 2560x1440 with Ultra settings is 133.3 FPS. This is well above typical 60Hz refresh rates and suitable for most high-refresh-rate monitors.

Q: Is the RX 7900 XT sufficient for 4K gaming in Doom?

A: Yes, but with caveats. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 69.3, which is playable. Dropping to High settings at 4K yields 86.4 FPS, and Medium provides 103.1 FPS, making 4K gaming viable with settings adjustments.

Q: How does the 5700X3D compare to its closest CPU rivals?

A: The 5700X3D has an average benchmark score of 24673, placing it 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core i7-1360P (24627) and 0.3% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X3D (24605). The AMD Ryzen AI Max 385 scores 24811, which is 0.6% higher.

Q: What is the difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, Low settings produce 310.6 FPS while Ultra produces 202.8 FPS, a difference of 107.8 FPS. This is the largest absolute gap between presets across all resolutions.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU at any resolution?

A: At 1080p Low, the system reaches 310.6 FPS, which is extremely high. The CPU's single-thread score of 804 (3dmark) and boost clock of 4.10 GHz are sufficient to avoid bottlenecking, though the diminishing returns between Low and Medium at 1080p suggest some CPU overhead begins to appear at these extreme frame rates.

Q: How does the GPU's performance ranking translate to Doom?

A: The RX 7900 XT ranks at the 82nd percentile among all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 38358. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Mobile, scores 38349 (0% difference), indicating comparable overall performance, though Doom-specific results may vary.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with the Navi 31 chip, manufactured on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It features 5376 shading units, 336 TMUs, and 192 ROPs, along with 84 ray tracing cores. The GPU's clock speeds are 1387 MHz base, 2025 MHz game, and 2394 MHz boost, with memory running at 2500 MHz (20 Gbps effective). This hardware configuration produces 51.48 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and a pixel rate of 459.6 GPixel/s.

In Doom, the GPU's role is clearly defined by the resolution scaling data. At 4K Ultra, the 69.3 FPS result shows the GPU working near its limits, while the 4K Low result of 119.3 FPS demonstrates the headroom available when graphical load is reduced. The 20 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 320-bit bus with 800.0 GB/s bandwidth provides ample memory capacity for Doom's textures at any resolution, so VRAM is not a limiting factor in this game.

The GPU's benchmark scores support its strong gaming performance. The 3dmark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 5623 and Geekbench Vulkan score of 160119 indicate robust DirectX 12 and Vulkan performance, both relevant for Doom. The PassMark G3D score of 29009 and PassMark DirectX 12 score of 110 further characterize the GPU's capabilities. The RX 7900 XT sits at the 82nd percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 38358, placing it 0.3% ahead of the NVIDIA CMP 70HX (38225) and 0.6% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile (38135).

The GPU's 300 W TDP and dual-slot design with 2x 8-pin power connectors indicate a high-power component, but the measured FPS data shows the performance is commensurate with this power draw. The 84 ray tracing cores are present but Doom does not heavily utilize ray tracing, so the traditional rasterization performance measured by the 192 ROPs and 804.4 GTexel/s texture rate is more relevant to the game's results.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS data for this configuration across all resolutions and settings is as follows:

At 1920x1080, the system achieves 310.6 FPS at Low settings, 294.1 FPS at Medium, 248.2 FPS at High, and 202.8 FPS at Ultra. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a stepwise reduction: Medium is 16.5 FPS slower than Low, High is 45.9 FPS slower than Medium, and Ultra is 45.4 FPS slower than High.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates are 221.6 FPS at Low, 192.2 FPS at Medium, 163.2 FPS at High, and 133.3 FPS at Ultra. The stepwise reductions are 29.4 FPS from Low to Medium, 29.0 FPS from Medium to High, and 29.9 FPS from High to Ultra, showing a remarkably consistent penalty per settings tier.

At 3840x2160, the results are 119.3 FPS at Low, 103.1 FPS at Medium, 86.4 FPS at High, and 69.3 FPS at Ultra. The reductions are 16.2 FPS from Low to Medium, 16.7 FPS from Medium to High, and 17.1 FPS from High to Ultra, again showing consistency but with smaller absolute differences than at lower resolutions.

The resolution scaling from 1080p to 1440p to 4K at each settings preset follows a predictable pattern. At Low, the drops are 89.0 FPS from 1080p to 1440p and 102.3 FPS from 1440p to 4K. At Medium, the drops are 101.9 FPS and 89.1 FPS respectively. At High, the drops are 85.0 FPS and 76.8 FPS. At Ultra, the drops are 69.5 FPS and 64.0 FPS. This data shows that lower settings presets experience larger absolute frame rate losses when moving to higher resolutions, while Ultra settings have smaller absolute losses because the baseline frame rates are already lower.

The combination rank for this hardware in Doom is 388 out of 1681 total combinations, placing it in the top 23% of tested configurations. The data is marked as measured, confirming these are actual benchmark results rather than estimates.