Doom

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 4 GB produces a playable experience in Doom, but the data reveals a system heavily constrained by its graphics card. The RTX 3050 4 GB, with its 4 GB of VRAM and 192.0 GB/s memory bandwidth, is the clear bottleneck at higher resolutions. However, the measured FPS shows that the combination can deliver smooth performance at 1080p on most presets, making it a viable option for 1080p gaming in this title.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data suggests that the optimal balance between visual quality and performance is achieved at the Medium preset for most resolutions. At 1920x1080, Medium delivers an average of 120.5 FPS, which is a significant jump from the 81.7 FPS seen at Ultra. This 47.6% improvement in frame rate comes at a modest visual cost, making Medium the recommended starting point for a high-refresh-rate experience.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset again proves to be the sweet spot, producing 74.7 FPS. This is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, while the High preset drops to 65.1 FPS, and Ultra falls to 52.9 FPS. For 4K playback, the situation changes; even the Low preset only manages 47.8 FPS, and Medium drops to 40.7 FPS. The data indicates that for 4K, the Low preset is the only viable option for a semi-playable frame rate, while Ultra at 28.7 FPS is essentially unplayable.

The Low preset at 1080p produces an average of 132.4 FPS, which is the highest measured result across all configurations. This suggests that if maximum frame rates are the priority, the Low preset is the best choice. However, given the 100 FPS result at High, the data shows that High at 1080p is also a strong recommendation for those wanting better visuals without sacrificing too much performance.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 4 GB is the primary factor limiting this system's performance in Doom. With only 4 GB of VRAM and a 128-bit memory bus, the card's 192.0 GB/s memory bandwidth is a significant constraint. The GPU has a base clock of 1545 MHz and a boost clock of 1740 MHz, with a pixel rate of 55.68 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 111.4 GTexel/s.

The data shows a clear pattern: as resolution increases, the average FPS drops dramatically. This is a classic sign of a GPU-limited scenario. At 1080p, the card can push 100+ FPS on most presets, but at 4K, it struggles to maintain even 48 FPS on Low. The 4 GB VRAM capacity is likely a major factor at 4K, as the higher resolution demands more memory for textures and frame buffers, potentially causing the card to exceed its memory limit.

The RTX 3050 4 GB has an FP32 performance of 7.127 TFLOPS, which is modest by modern standards. The card's performance percentile of 50 versus all GPUs places it squarely in the mid-range. Its TDP is 90 W, and it uses a 1x 6-pin power connector. The measured results indicate that while the card can handle 1080p and 1440p gaming well in Doom, it is not designed for 4K gaming, which is consistent with its mid-range positioning.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 4 GB combination ranks 1526 out of 1681 tested combos in Doom. This places it in the bottom 10% of all tested systems, indicating that this pairing is not well-suited for this game when compared to other hardware configurations. The low rank is largely attributable to the GPU's limitations, as the CPU is a high-end part.

The CPU's benchmark scores suggest it is a very capable processor. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 30325 and single-core score of 4281 are strong. The Ryzen 7 7700X has a benchmark percentile of 89 versus all CPUs, meaning it outperforms 89% of all processors. In contrast, the GPU's percentile of 50 versus all GPUs shows it is only average. This disparity between CPU and GPU performance explains the poor overall ranking.

The data implies that this combination is severely imbalanced for Doom. The CPU is capable of handling much higher frame rates, but the GPU is holding it back. The ranking of 1526 out of 1681 suggests that most other tested combos, even those with less powerful CPUs, likely achieve better performance because they pair them with stronger graphics cards. This combo is a textbook example of a CPU bottlenecked by a weak GPU.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the data shows a wide range of performance across presets. The Low preset achieves an average of 132.4 FPS, while Medium produces 120.5 FPS, and High drops to 100 FPS. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, yielding only 81.7 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 50.7 FPS, highlighting the significant impact of settings on performance at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates decrease across the board. Low averages 88.8 FPS, Medium drops to 74.7 FPS, and High falls to 65.1 FPS. Ultra at this resolution produces just 52.9 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target for many gamers. The performance gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 35.9 FPS, showing that the GPU is becoming more of a limiting factor.

At 3840x2160, the performance is significantly hampered. Low averages 47.8 FPS, Medium drops to 40.7 FPS, and High falls to 33.6 FPS. The Ultra preset yields a measly 28.7 FPS. The data shows that even the lowest settings at 4K cannot achieve a stable 60 FPS, confirming that this GPU is not suitable for 4K gaming in Doom. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 19.1 FPS, a smaller gap than at lower resolutions, suggesting that the GPU is hitting a hard performance ceiling.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo can achieve in Doom?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 132.4, achieved at 1920x1080 with the Low preset.

Q: Can this system run Doom at 4K smoothly?

A: The data shows that at 3840x2160, even the Low preset only averages 47.8 FPS. This is below the 60 FPS standard for smooth gameplay, indicating that 4K is not a viable option for this GPU.

Q: How does the Ultra preset at 1080p compare to the High preset?

A: At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset averages 81.7 FPS, while the High preset averages 100 FPS. This represents a 22.4% performance drop when moving from High to Ultra.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this system?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. The Ryzen 7 7700X has a high benchmark percentile (89), while the RTX 3050 4 GB is only at the 50th percentile. The FPS drops significantly with resolution, which is characteristic of a GPU bottleneck.

Q: What is the average FPS difference between 1080p and 1440p on the Medium preset?

A: At 1920x1080, Medium averages 120.5 FPS, while at 2560x1440, it averages 74.7 FPS. This is a drop of 45.8 FPS, or roughly 38%, when moving from 1080p to 1440p.

Q: What is the combo's ranking among all tested systems?

A: The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 4 GB ranks 1526 out of 1681 tested combos in Doom.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 7700X is an 8-core, 16-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture. It has a base clock of 4.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, with a TDP of 105 W. Its benchmark scores are robust, including a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 30325 and a single-core score of 4281. The CPU's performance percentile of 89 versus all CPUs indicates it is a high-end part.

In the context of Doom, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with frames. The data suggests that the Ryzen 7 7700X is more than capable of handling this task, as its performance is far above what the GPU can utilize. The measured FPS at 1080p Low (132.4 FPS) shows that the CPU can push high frame rates, but the GPU limits the final output. At 4K, the CPU's workload is even less demanding relative to the GPU, as the frame rates drop to 47.8 FPS on Low.

The CPU's nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i5-13500 and Intel Core i7-12800HX, have similar average scores (34175 and 34136, respectively), with delta percentages of 0.4% and 0.5%. This shows that the Ryzen 7 7700X is competitive with other high-end processors, but this performance advantage is wasted when paired with the RTX 3050 4 GB in Doom. The CPU is not the bottleneck; it is the GPU that prevents this combo from achieving higher frame rates.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases. At 1920x1080, the average FPS across all presets ranges from 81.7 to 132.4. Moving to 2560x1440, the range drops to 52.9 to 88.8. At 3840x2160, the range falls to 28.7 to 47.8.

This scaling behavior indicates that the system is heavily GPU-limited. The RTX 3050 4 GB's memory bandwidth of 192.0 GB/s and its 4 GB VRAM capacity are the primary constraints. At 1080p, the GPU can keep up with the CPU's frame generation, but as the resolution increases, the GPU's workload grows exponentially, causing frame rates to plummet.

The data reveals that the FPS drop from 1080p to 1440p is significant, but the drop from 1440p to 4K is even more severe. For instance, on the Low preset, the FPS goes from 132.4 at 1080p, to 88.8 at 1440p, and then to 47.8 at 4K. This represents a 33% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 46% drop from 1440p to 4K. This non-linear scaling is typical of a GPU that is running out of memory bandwidth and capacity at higher resolutions. The data strongly suggests that the RTX 3050 4 GB is simply not designed for 4K gaming, and even 1440p is a stretch for the higher presets.