Doom

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700 and AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT combination delivers a high-refresh-rate experience in Doom, with the data showing strong performance across all tested resolutions. The combo ranks 1238th out of 3712 tested configurations, placing it in the upper third of all systems evaluated for this title. This ranking reflects a balanced pairing where the GPU is the primary driver of frame rates at higher resolutions, while the CPU provides ample headroom at 1080p.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s 1238th position out of 3712 tested combinations places it comfortably above the median performer. In percentile terms, this rank corresponds to roughly the 67th percentile, meaning it outperforms about two-thirds of all tested systems while trailing the top third. This is a solid result for a mid-range pairing, suggesting the system is well-suited for smooth gameplay without the extremes of top-tier hardware.

Examining the individual components, the CPU sits at the 87th percentile among all processors, while the GPU is at the 51st percentile among all graphics cards. The discrepancy between these two percentiles is telling: the Ryzen 7 7700 is a much stronger relative performer than the RX 7800 XT. This imbalance indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor in most scenarios, especially at higher resolutions where pixel throughput dominates.

The CPU’s average benchmark score of 40081 places it within 0.6% of its nearest rivals. It sits 0.1% ahead of the AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 and 0.4% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 270, while trailing the Intel Core 5 221E by 0.2% and the Intel Core i9-13905H by 0.6%. These margins are negligible in real-world gaming, confirming that the 7700’s processing power is not the bottleneck in Doom.

The GPU’s average benchmark score of 11627 shows a different story. It trails the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 by 0.5% and the AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT by 1.8%, while leading the AMD Radeon Pro 5500M by 0.9% and the NVIDIA Tesla K20c by 1.3%. These are all older or lower-tier cards, which underscores that the RX 7800 XT’s raw compute is modest relative to modern high-end options, yet it still delivers excellent frame rates in this specific title.

FAQ

Q: How does this combo perform at 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the measured average FPS is 60. This is exactly at the threshold for smooth 60 Hz gameplay, though it leaves no headroom for frame drops. The data shows a minimum FPS is not recorded for this setting, but the average suggests a playable experience for most users.

Q: What is the best resolution for high refresh rate monitors?

A: At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo achieves 209 FPS average. For 144 Hz monitors, 1440p High delivers 135 FPS average, which is sufficient. At 4K, the maximum average across any setting is 99 FPS (Low), so 4K is not ideal for 144 Hz displays.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 4K?

A: At High settings, the average FPS drops from 209 at 1080p to 135 at 1440p, then to 73 at 4K. This represents a 35% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a 65% drop from 1080p to 4K. The scaling is not linear, indicating the GPU becomes increasingly stressed at higher resolutions.

Q: Does the CPU limit performance at any resolution?

A: The data suggests the CPU is not a limiting factor in this title. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 284 FPS average, which is extremely high. The fact that FPS scales consistently with resolution changes indicates the GPU is the primary constraint, not the processor.

Q: Is the Ultra preset worth the performance cost?

A: Compared to High settings, Ultra reduces average FPS by 18% at 1080p (from 209 to 171), by 19% at 1440p (from 135 to 110), and by 18% at 4K (from 73 to 60). This consistent ~18-19% penalty may not justify the visual gains for competitive play.

Q: What are the minimum FPS values for the Medium preset?

A: The Medium preset is the only one with recorded minimum FPS values. At 1080p, the minimum is 210 FPS against a 247 average, at 1440p it is 136 against 160, and at 4K it is 74 against 87. These minimums are all well above typical 60 Hz refresh rates.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700 is an 8-core, 16-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, codenamed Raphael. It has a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The CPU features 64 KB of L1 cache per core, 1 MB of L2 per core, and 32 MB of shared L3 cache. It supports DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration with a bandwidth of 83.2 GB/s.

In Doom, a game from 2016, the CPU’s role is primarily to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic. The 8-core, 16-thread configuration is more than sufficient for this title, which was designed for the 4-core, 8-thread CPUs of its era. Benchmark results support this: the CPU scores 8479 in 3DMark max threads and 8484 in 16 threads, showing strong multi-threaded scaling. Single-thread performance is also solid, with a 3DMark single-thread score of 1049 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1930.

The CPU’s high percentile ranking (87th) relative to the GPU (51st) indicates that the processor has substantial headroom. In the measured FPS data, the 1080p Low preset achieves 284 FPS average, which is a clear sign that the CPU can handle extremely high frame rates without becoming a bottleneck. Even at 1080p Ultra, the 171 FPS average is well within the CPU’s capabilities.

The 5.30 GHz boost clock is particularly beneficial for gaming, as Doom’s engine is sensitive to single-thread performance. The 32 MB L3 cache also helps by reducing memory latency for frequently accessed game data. Combined with the 16 threads, this CPU provides a smooth experience even when background tasks compete for resources.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers exceptional performance across all settings. The Low preset averages 284 FPS, Medium averages 247 FPS with a minimum of 210 and maximum of 284, High averages 209 FPS, and Ultra averages 171 FPS. These numbers indicate that even at the highest settings, the system is well above the 144 Hz threshold, making it ideal for high refresh rate gaming.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance remains strong but shows the expected decline. Low averages 184 FPS, Medium averages 160 FPS with a minimum of 136 and maximum of 184, High averages 135 FPS, and Ultra averages 110 FPS. The Medium preset’s minimum of 136 FPS is still above 120 Hz, but the Ultra preset’s 110 FPS average falls below the 144 Hz mark, suggesting that High settings are better suited for competitive play at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the clear limiting factor. Low averages 99 FPS, Medium averages 87 FPS with a minimum of 74 and maximum of 100, High averages 73 FPS, and Ultra averages 60 FPS. The Ultra preset’s 60 FPS average is exactly at the 60 Hz refresh rate, which is playable for slower-paced content but not ideal for fast action. The Medium preset’s 87 FPS average offers a better balance for 4K gaming.

The data shows a consistent pattern across resolutions: the gap between Low and Ultra settings widens as resolution increases. At 1080p, the difference is 113 FPS (284 vs 171), at 1440p it is 74 FPS (184 vs 110), and at 4K it is 39 FPS (99 vs 60). This indicates that the GPU’s workload scales more heavily with resolution than with settings, making the Low preset increasingly attractive at higher resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1080p to 1440p at High settings results in a 35% drop in average FPS, from 209 to 135. The transition from 1440p to 4K results in a 46% drop, from 135 to 73. These percentages reveal that the scaling is not linear; each step up in resolution imposes a larger relative penalty than the previous step.

This non-linear scaling is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario. When moving from 1080p to 1440p, the pixel count increases by 78%, but the FPS only drops by 35%. This suggests that at 1080p, the CPU may be partially limiting performance, preventing the GPU from reaching its full potential. At 1440p, the GPU becomes more fully utilized, and the FPS drop aligns more closely with the pixel count increase.

The 4K to 1440p comparison shows a 46% FPS drop for a 125% increase in pixel count. This indicates that the GPU is heavily stressed at 4K, and the memory bandwidth of 624.1 GB/s and the 16 GB VRAM are being pushed to their limits. The fact that the Low preset at 4K achieves 99 FPS, while the Ultra preset drops to 60 FPS, further confirms that the GPU is the primary constraint at this resolution.

The data suggests that the system transitions from a CPU-light, GPU-heavy workload at 1080p to an almost entirely GPU-bound workload at 4K. At 1080p, the CPU’s 5.30 GHz boost clock and 8 cores prevent any bottleneck, allowing the GPU to produce very high frame rates. At 4K, the GPU’s 60 compute units and 96 ROPs determine the frame rate, with the CPU having ample headroom.

Settings Recommendations

For 1080p gaming, the High preset at 209 FPS average provides an excellent balance between visual fidelity and performance. The Ultra preset’s 171 FPS average is still very high, but the 18% performance penalty may not be worth the marginal visual improvements. The Low preset’s 284 FPS is excessive for most displays, but it could be useful for competitive players with 240 Hz monitors.

At 1440p, the High preset’s 135 FPS average is the recommended choice for 144 Hz displays. The Medium preset’s 160 FPS average with a minimum of 136 FPS is also viable, but the visual upgrade to High is worth the 16% FPS reduction. The Ultra preset’s 110 FPS average falls below 120 Hz, making it less suitable for fast-paced gameplay.

For 4K, the Medium preset’s 87 FPS average is the best balance. The Low preset’s 99 FPS average offers higher performance but with reduced visual quality, while the High preset’s 73 FPS average is still playable but may cause noticeable frame drops in intense scenes. The Ultra preset’s 60 FPS average is only suitable for players who prioritize visuals over smoothness and have a 60 Hz display.

Across all resolutions, the Medium preset shows the most consistent minimum FPS values relative to its average. At 1080p, the minimum is 85% of the average, at 1440p it is also 85%, and at 4K it is also 85%. This consistency suggests that Medium is the most stable preset for avoiding frame hitches, making it a safe choice for variable gameplay scenarios.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with the Navi 32 chip, manufactured on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It has a base clock of 1295 MHz, a game clock of 2124 MHz, and a boost clock of 2430 MHz. The GPU features 3840 shading units, 240 texture mapping units, and 96 render output units, along with 60 ray tracing cores. It has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 624.1 GB/s.

In Doom, the GPU’s role is dominant at higher resolutions. The 16 GB VRAM is more than sufficient for this title, even at 4K with Ultra textures, as the game was released in 2016 and does not require large texture pools. The 256-bit memory bus and 624.1 GB/s bandwidth ensure that texture streaming and memory access are not bottlenecks, even at high resolutions.

The GPU’s compute performance, measured at 37.32 TFLOPS FP32, is more than adequate for Doom’s Vulkan-based engine. The 96 ROPs provide strong pixel fill rate, which is critical for 4K rendering. The boost clock of 2430 MHz ensures that the GPU can sustain high performance under load, though the 263 W TDP requires adequate cooling.

The GPU’s benchmark scores show a mixed picture. It scores 24176 in PassMark G3D, which is respectable, but its PassMark DirectX 12 score of 93 is surprisingly low. This suggests that the GPU’s performance in legacy APIs may be stronger than in modern ones, which is relevant for Doom since the game supports both Vulkan and OpenGL. The Geekbench Vulkan score of 54228 indicates strong Vulkan performance, which aligns with Doom’s engine preferences.

The GPU’s 51st percentile ranking among all graphics cards places it in the middle of the pack. However, in Doom specifically, the measured FPS data shows that it performs very well, especially at 1080p and 1440p. This discrepancy suggests that Doom is particularly well-optimized for this GPU architecture, or that the game’s requirements are modest enough that even a mid-range card can excel. The data indicates that the RX 7800 XT is a capable card for this title, with the CPU providing more than enough support to avoid any processing bottlenecks.