Doom

Doom with an AMD Ryzen 7 5800X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 presents a fascinating case study in how a modern, high-refresh-rate capable system handles a classic FPS. The measured data reveals a component pairing that is heavily influenced by resolution and settings, with the GPU clearly taking the lead role in defining performance ceilings. This analysis explores the scaling patterns, the CPU’s contribution, and what the numbers suggest about optimizing the experience.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS data shows a clear and consistent drop as resolution increases, which is the classic signature of a GPU-bound workload. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves 258.4 FPS, but this falls to 168.2 FPS at 1440p and further to 90.7 FPS at 4K. This represents a substantial 65% performance drop from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, indicating that the render resolution is the primary stressor on the graphics card.

This pattern intensifies with higher quality presets. At Ultra settings, the frame rate drops from 153.3 FPS at 1080p to 98.6 FPS at 1440p, and then to 56.9 FPS at 4K. The scaling between 1080p and 1440p at Ultra is a 35.7% reduction, while the jump to 4K nearly halves the performance again. The data suggests that the RTX 3070’s 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and its 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are being taxed heavily at 4K, especially with Ultra presets that likely push texture and shader complexity.

The gap between Low and Ultra settings also widens with resolution. At 1080p, the difference between Low (258.4 FPS) and Ultra (153.3 FPS) is a 105.1 FPS gap. At 4K, this gap narrows to 33.8 FPS (90.7 vs 56.9). This convergence implies that at lower resolutions, the CPU has more headroom to feed frames, but as resolution climbs, the GPU’s rendering capabilities become the sole bottleneck, making the settings choice less impactful on absolute FPS but more critical for maintaining playable framerates.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The highest average FPS is 258.4, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

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

A: Yes, but with caveats. At 4K with High settings, it averages 66.3 FPS, which is playable. However, at 4K Ultra, the average drops to 56.9 FPS, which is still technically playable but shows the GPU is struggling.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Ryzen 7 5800X has an average benchmark score of 27606, which is 0.3% higher than the AMD Ryzen 7 5800 (27535) and 0.4% lower than the AMD Ryzen 5 8500GE (27708).

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

A: At 2560x1440, Medium settings yield 143.9 FPS, while High settings yield 124.9 FPS. This is a 19 FPS difference, favoring Medium for higher framerates.

Q: Is the GPU more powerful than its nearest rival?

A: The RTX 3070 has an average benchmark score of 28238, which is 0.9% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT (27985) and 1% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti (27956).

Q: What is the combo’s rank among all tested configurations?

A: This specific CPU and GPU combination ranks 792 out of 1681 tested combos in Doom, placing it in the upper-middle tier of all configurations.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 5800X, with its 8 cores and 16 threads based on the Zen 3 architecture, provides a robust foundation for Doom. Its high single-thread performance, evidenced by a 3dmark_single_thread score of 943 and a cinebench_r23_singlecore score of 3327, is critical for a game engine that often relies on a primary game thread. The boost clock of 4.70 GHz ensures that this thread can be pushed to its limits.

However, the benchmark results indicate that the CPU is not the primary constraint in most scenarios tested. At 1080p Low, where the GPU has the least work, the system hits 258.4 FPS. This is likely near the CPU’s maximum frame delivery capability for this game, but it is still an excellent result. The L3 cache of 32 MB helps keep frequently accessed game data close to the cores, reducing latency. The CPU’s 84th percentile ranking among all CPUs suggests it has ample headroom for most gaming workloads, and its performance in multithreaded tests like cinebench_r23_multicore (23571) ensures it won't bottleneck in less optimized scenarios.

The data implies that the CPU is a capable partner, but the FPS scaling curves are dictated by the GPU. The fact that FPS drops so predictably with resolution confirms that the CPU is feeding frames faster than the GPU can render them at higher resolutions. The CPU’s 3dmark_16_threads score of 7586 shows strong multi-threading, but Doom’s engine appears to be more sensitive to single-core speed and GPU throughput.

How This Combo Ranks

In the grand scheme of tested hardware, this pairing of the Ryzen 7 5800X and RTX 3070 secures a rank of 792 out of 1681 combos. This places it in the 47th percentile of all tested systems, meaning it outperforms more than half of the configurations tested in Doom. While not a top-tier enthusiast build, it is a very solid mid-to-high-end setup.

The rank suggests that while the RTX 3070 is a strong GPU, it is outclassed by more modern or higher-end cards in the database. Similarly, the Ryzen 7 5800X, while still very capable, is not the fastest CPU available. The combination’s strength lies in its balance. The data shows it can deliver high refresh rate experiences at 1080p and 1440p, but it falls into more standard 60 FPS territory at 4K. The 792nd rank is a reflection of the system’s limits at extreme resolutions rather than a weakness at its target resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

The ideal settings depend on the user’s display and preference for frame rate versus visual fidelity. For players with a 1080p 144Hz monitor, the High preset at 192 FPS provides a fantastic balance of smoothness and visual quality. The Ultra preset still yields 153.3 FPS, which is above the 144Hz threshold, so it is a viable choice for maximum fidelity without sacrificing refresh rate. Low settings provide no benefit at this resolution since the framerate is already so high.

At 1440p, the High preset at 124.9 FPS is the sweet spot for high-refresh displays. The Medium preset at 143.9 FPS is also excellent and could be preferred for competitive play where every frame counts. The Ultra preset at 98.6 FPS is still smooth and offers the best visuals, but the drop below 100 FPS might be noticeable to sensitive users. For 4K gaming, the High preset at 66.3 FPS is the recommended choice. It offers a significant improvement over Medium (76.9 FPS) in terms of visual quality while maintaining a stable framerate. The Ultra preset at 56.9 FPS is borderline and may not provide a consistently smooth experience on all displays.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The data provides a clear matrix of performance. At 1920x1080, the system delivers 258.4 FPS on Low, 227.4 FPS on Medium, 192 FPS on High, and 153.3 FPS on Ultra. This shows a linear degradation in performance as visual quality increases, with a total range of 105.1 FPS between the lowest and highest settings.

Moving to 2560x1440, the framerates are 168.2 FPS on Low, 143.9 FPS on Medium, 124.9 FPS on High, and 98.6 FPS on Ultra. The drop from Low to Ultra is 69.6 FPS, showing that the GPU is working harder. At 3840x2160, the results are 90.7 FPS on Low, 76.9 FPS on Medium, 66.3 FPS on High, and 56.9 FPS on Ultra. The range narrows to 33.8 FPS, confirming that the GPU is the limiting factor at this resolution, as even the lowest settings cannot overcome the pixel count demands.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 is the undisputed performance driver in this configuration. Its 5888 shading units and 184 texture mapping units are responsible for the heavy lifting in Doom’s rendering pipeline. The benchmark results show that the GPU is the bottleneck at resolutions above 1080p. The 8 GB of GDDR6 memory is adequate for 1080p and 1440p, but the 4K Ultra results suggest it may be a limiting factor, potentially causing texture thrashing or reduced LOD settings.

The GPU’s performance is strong, but the data shows it is not without rivals. It is only 0.9% faster than the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT in average benchmark scores, indicating that the performance gap between these two cards is minimal. The RTX 3070’s architecture, with its 46 RT cores and 184 tensor cores, provides features that may not be fully utilized by a game from 2016, but its raw rasterization power is what generates the high FPS numbers. The boost clock of 1725 MHz and the 20.31 TFLOPS FP32 performance are the key metrics that translate directly into the high framerates observed. The GPU’s 72nd percentile ranking versus all GPUs shows it is a solid performer, but the 4K Ultra results indicate that it is not a 4K ultra-class card for this title.