Doom

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT delivers a performance profile in Doom that is heavily dictated by resolution, with the GPU acting as the primary constraint at higher settings. The measured data reveals a system capable of high refresh rate gameplay at 1080p, but one that requires careful settings management to maintain smooth framerates at 4K. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS across resolutions and presets, examines the roles of the CPU and GPU, and contextualizes the combo’s standing against other tested configurations.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 produces a dramatic and consistent drop in average framerate across all settings presets, indicating that the rendering load scales strongly with pixel count. At the Low preset, the average FPS falls from 200 at 1080p to 129 at 1440p, a reduction of 71 FPS, and then further to 70 at 4K, representing a total decline of 130 FPS from the starting point. This scaling pattern is a clear indicator that the GPU’s pixel throughput becomes the limiting factor as resolution increases.

The Medium preset shows a similar trajectory: 174 FPS at 1080p drops to 113 FPS at 1440p, and then to 61 FPS at 4K. The percentage loss from 1080p to 4K is approximately 65%, which is substantial and typical for a GPU with an 8 GB memory buffer and a 128-bit memory interface. The High preset follows the same trend, with 147 FPS at 1080p declining to 95 FPS at 1440p and finally to 51 FPS at 4K. Meanwhile, the Ultra preset, which is the most demanding, starts at 120 FPS at 1080p, falls to 78 FPS at 1440p, and bottoms out at 42 FPS at 4K.

The data suggests that the RX 6650 XT is the primary bottleneck at 4K, as the framerate reduction is disproportionate to the increase in pixel count alone. For instance, moving from 1440p to 4K at High settings results in a 44 FPS drop (from 95 to 51), which is a 46% decrease, while the pixel count increases by 125%. This nonlinear scaling points to memory bandwidth and fill rate limitations of the GPU, rather than CPU constraints, especially since the Ryzen 7 9700F with its 8 cores and 16 threads is unlikely to be the limiting factor at these resolutions. The CPU’s high single-thread score of 4691 in Passmark supports this interpretation, as it provides ample headroom for the GPU to be the primary driver of performance.

Settings Recommendations

Given the measured FPS values, the optimal settings preset varies significantly by target resolution. At 1920x1080, all four presets deliver playable framerates, with the Low preset achieving a 200 FPS average and the Ultra preset still hitting 120 FPS. For competitive or high-refresh-rate displays, the Low or Medium presets are ideal, as they provide 200 FPS and 174 FPS respectively, ensuring that the framerate remains well above typical 144 Hz monitor refresh rates. The Medium preset offers a balanced experience, with a minimum FPS of 148, which still exceeds the 144 Hz threshold for most of the session.

At 2560x1440, the choices become more constrained. The Low preset yields 129 FPS, which is excellent for smooth gameplay, while the Medium preset provides 113 FPS with a minimum of 96 FPS, still suitable for most displays. The High preset at 95 FPS is acceptable for 60 Hz monitors but may feel less fluid on higher refresh rate panels. The Ultra preset, at 78 FPS, is borderline for fast-paced action, as the average framerate dips below the 80 FPS mark, which could introduce noticeable judder. For 1440p, the Medium preset appears to be the sweet spot, offering a 113 FPS average with a minimum of 96 FPS, ensuring consistent performance without sacrificing visual fidelity excessively.

At 3840x2160, the data indicates that only the Low preset, with an average of 70 FPS, provides a consistently smooth experience. The Medium preset at 61 FPS is playable but may exhibit occasional dips, as the minimum FPS is 52. The High preset at 51 FPS and the Ultra preset at 42 FPS are below the 60 FPS threshold, making them less suitable for a game like Doom, which benefits from high responsiveness. The Low preset at 4K is the only configuration that maintains an average framerate above 60 FPS, suggesting that users targeting 4K should compromise on visual quality to achieve acceptable performance.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT, based on the Navi 23 chip and RDNA 2.0 architecture, is the central component determining the framerate in this pairing. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 280.3 GB/s, which is a critical factor in the resolution scaling observed. The GPU’s boost clock of 2635 MHz and game clock of 2410 MHz are relatively high, enabling strong compute performance, as evidenced by its Passmark G3D score of 17166. However, the memory subsystem appears to be the bottleneck at higher resolutions, as the 128-bit bus width limits the data throughput needed for 4K textures and geometry.

The GPU’s FP32 compute of 10.79 TFLOPS and texture rate of 337.3 GTexel/s are adequate for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but the measured FPS at 4K suggests that these resources are insufficient to maintain high framerates with the Ultra preset. The pixel rate of 168.6 GPixel/s, while respectable, is not enough to handle the 8.3 million pixels of a 4K display without significant framerate drops. The GPU’s 32 ray accelerators and support for DirectX 12 Ultimate are relevant for modern titles, but in Doom, the traditional rasterization performance is the primary driver of the results.

The GPU’s percentile rank of 65 among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 19765, places it in the mid-range tier. Its nearest rivals, such as the NVIDIA Tesla K40m and AMD FirePro W7000, show negligible performance differences, with deltaPct values of -0.6% and -0.7% respectively. This indicates that the RX 6650 XT is a solid performer within its class, but its 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit bus are clear limitations for 4K gaming, as the data shows a sharp falloff in FPS at that resolution. The GPU’s memory clock of 2190 MHz, effective 17.5 Gbps, is a bottleneck that prevents the card from scaling efficiently to 4K, reinforcing the conclusion that it is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT ranks 1886 out of 2930 tested combos in Doom, placing it in the lower-middle tier of the database. This ranking reflects the GPU’s mid-range performance, as the CPU is a high-end part with a percentile rank of 94 among all CPUs. The combo’s position suggests that while the CPU provides ample headroom, the GPU limits the overall framerate, particularly at higher resolutions and settings.

In the context of the combo’s overall performance, the CPU’s average benchmark score of 69996 is significantly higher than the GPU’s average score of 19765, indicating a potential imbalance where the CPU is underutilized in this specific game. The combo rank of 1886 out of 2930 means that approximately 36% of tested combinations perform better, which is expected given the RX 6650 XT’s mid-range status. The deltaPct values for the CPU’s nearest rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (0.2%) and Intel Core i7-14700KF (-0.2%), show that the 9700F is competitive with top-tier CPUs, but this does not translate to a high combo rank due to the GPU bottleneck.

The GPU’s nearest rivals, including the NVIDIA Tesla K40m and AMD FirePro D300, have similar average scores, with deltaPct values of -0.6% and 0.7% respectively. This proximity in scores suggests that the RX 6650 XT is not an outlier in its class, but the combo rank indicates that many other GPU pairings, likely with more powerful GPUs, achieve higher framerates in Doom. The data implies that the combo is well-balanced for 1080p gaming, where the CPU can keep up with the GPU’s output, but the rank suffers at higher resolutions where the GPU’s limitations become apparent.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F, a Zen 5 architecture processor codenamed Granite Ridge, provides the computational foundation for this combo. With 8 cores and 16 threads, a base clock of 3.80 GHz, and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, the CPU offers strong multi-threaded and single-threaded performance. Its Passmark single-thread score of 4691 and multi-thread score of 36470 indicate that it is capable of handling the game’s logic and physics without becoming a bottleneck, even at high framerates.

The CPU’s 32 MB of shared L3 cache and 1 MB L2 cache per core provide low-latency access to frequently used data, which is beneficial for games like Doom that rely on quick iteration. The 4 nm process node and 65 W TDP make it an efficient part, but the performance data suggests that its capabilities are not fully utilized in this pairing. At 1080p with the Low preset, the CPU can deliver 200 FPS, which is likely near its limit for this game, but at 4K, the GPU’s limitations cap the framerate well below what the CPU could theoretically support.

The CPU’s memory bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s, supported by dual-channel DDR5, is ample for feeding the GPU with data. Its PCIe Gen 5 interface with 24 lanes ensures that data transfer between the CPU and GPU is not a bottleneck. The CPU’s nearest rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X and Intel Core i7-14700K, have average scores within 1% of the 9700F, confirming that the CPU is a top-tier performer. However, in Doom, the CPU’s role is secondary to the GPU, as the game is primarily GPU-bound at higher resolutions. The CPU’s high single-thread performance ensures that framerates are not artificially limited by CPU processing, but the measured FPS at 4K, such as 42 FPS on Ultra, is clearly a result of GPU limitations rather than CPU constraints.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the framerates are consistently high across all settings. The Low preset achieves an average of 200 FPS, with no minimum or maximum reported. The Medium preset averages 174 FPS, with a minimum of 148 FPS and a maximum of 200 FPS, indicating a stable performance envelope. The High preset drops to an average of 147 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 120 FPS. These numbers show that the system excels at 1080p, providing smooth gameplay even at the highest settings, with the Ultra preset still maintaining a framerate that exceeds the 100 FPS mark.

At 2560x1440, the performance remains strong but begins to show the GPU’s strain. The Low preset averages 129 FPS, while the Medium preset averages 113 FPS with a minimum of 96 FPS and a maximum of 129 FPS. The High preset averages 95 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 78 FPS. The minimum FPS of 96 on Medium suggests that even under load, the system stays above the 90 FPS threshold, but the Ultra preset’s 78 FPS average indicates that high settings at 1440p are pushing the GPU to its limits.

At 3840x2160, the framerates fall significantly. The Low preset averages 70 FPS, which is the only preset to break the 60 FPS barrier. The Medium preset averages 61 FPS, with a minimum of 52 FPS and a maximum of 70 FPS, showing that there are noticeable dips below the 60 FPS target. The High preset averages 51 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 42 FPS. These numbers illustrate that 4K gaming with this combo is only viable at the Low preset, where the average framerate is just above 60 FPS, but still not ideal for high-refresh-rate displays.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average framerate achievable at 1080p with this combo?

A: The highest average framerate at 1920x1080 is 200 FPS, achieved with the Low settings preset.

Q: At 4K resolution, which settings preset provides an average framerate above 60 FPS?

A: Only the Low preset at 3840x2160 achieves an average framerate above 60 FPS, with a measured average of 70 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU’s performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F has an average benchmark score of 69996, which is 0.2% higher than the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX and 0.2% lower than the Intel Core i7-14700KF, indicating near-identical performance.

Q: What is the GPU’s memory bandwidth and how does it affect 4K performance?

A: The GPU has a memory bandwidth of 280.3 GB/s, which is insufficient for 4K gaming, as evidenced by the framerate dropping to 42 FPS on the Ultra preset at 3840x2160.

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

A: The combo ranks 1886 out of 2930 tested combos, placing it in the lower-middle tier of performance.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: The minimum FPS recorded at 2560x1440 with Medium settings is 96 FPS, with an average of 113 FPS.