Doom

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F paired with the Intel Arc B390 presents a curious case in the Doom benchmark database. The processor is a modern 8-core, 16-thread Zen 5 part with a strong 94th percentile ranking among all CPUs, yet the graphics solution is an integrated GPU that sits at just the 9th percentile. This massive disparity in compute potential between the two components defines every measurable result in this title, and the data reveals a system that's almost entirely constrained by its graphics silicon before the CPU even begins to flex its capabilities.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a steep and telling drop as resolution climbs from 1080p to 4K. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo produces 78 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 at the same preset, the average falls to 51 FPS, a 35% reduction. At 3840x2160, the average plummets to 28 FPS, which is 64% below the 1080p High result. This scaling pattern is a textbook indicator of a graphics-bound scenario, where the integrated Intel Arc B390's fill rate and shading throughput are the limiting factors rather than the CPU's ability to feed frames.

Looking at the Low preset, the trend becomes even more pronounced. The 1080p Low average of 107 FPS drops to 69 FPS at 1440p (a 36% loss) and then to 37 FPS at 4K (a 65% loss from 1080p). The near-identical percentage losses between the High and Low presets across resolutions suggest that the GPU's raw pixel-processing capability is the bottleneck, not texture memory or shader complexity. If the CPU were the constraint, we would expect the gap between 1080p and 1440p to be much smaller at Low settings, where the GPU has less work per pixel. Instead, the consistent ~35-36% drop from 1080p to 1440p across both presets points to a component that is saturated at even the lowest fidelity setting.

The jump from 1440p to 4K tells a similar story. At Medium settings, the 1440p average of 60 FPS falls to 33 FPS at 4K, a 45% reduction. At High, the 51 FPS at 1440p becomes 28 FPS at 4K, a 45% drop as well. This consistent 45% loss when quadrupling the pixel count (from 3.7 million to 8.3 million pixels) indicates that the Arc B390's pixel throughput is the hard ceiling. The data strongly implies that even at the lowest settings, the integrated GPU is working at its maximum capacity, and any resolution increase directly translates to proportional frame loss. The CPU is effectively idle, waiting for the GPU to finish each frame.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F is a formidable processor on paper, with 8 cores and 16 threads based on the Zen 5 architecture. Its base clock of 3.80 GHz and boost clock of 5.50 GHz are high figures, and its 94th percentile ranking among all CPUs confirms it's a top-tier part. However, in this specific Doom configuration, those specifications are almost entirely irrelevant to the final frame rate. The benchmark results show that the CPU's role is reduced to a bystander, as the integrated GPU cannot generate enough frames to stress even a fraction of the processor's capacity.

The evidence for this is in the absolute FPS numbers. Even at 1080p Low, where the CPU would typically be the limiting factor with a discrete GPU, the combo only manages 107 FPS. A Ryzen 7 9700F in isolation, based on its PassMark multi-thread score of 36,470 and single-thread score of 4,691, could theoretically handle far more than 107 FPS in a 2016-era FPS title. But the Arc B390's 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1,482, which places it at the 9th percentile, caps the output. The CPU's 8 cores and 16 threads never reach their potential because the GPU delivers frames at a pace that a much weaker processor could sustain.

The data also shows no meaningful difference in FPS between presets that would indicate CPU involvement. At 1080p, the spread from Low (107 FPS) to Ultra (64 FPS) is entirely attributable to GPU workload, not CPU overhead. The L3 cache of 32 MB and 89.6 GB/s memory bandwidth are ample for Doom's engine, but they are never taxed. The conclusion from the measured rows is that the Ryzen 7 9700F is effectively a passive component in this pairing. Its high single-thread performance and 16 threads are future-proofing for different workloads, but for Doom, it contributes nothing beyond a baseline that the GPU cannot exceed.

FAQ

Q: Why does the FPS drop so much when moving from 1080p to 1440p?

A: The drop from 107 FPS to 69 FPS on Low settings represents a 36% reduction, nearly proportional to the increase in pixel count. This indicates the Intel Arc B390 is already saturated at 1080p, so any additional pixel load directly reduces frame output.

Q: Is the Ryzen 7 9700F too weak for this game?

A: No. The CPU's 8 cores and 16 threads with a 5.50 GHz boost clock place it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs. The benchmark data shows the FPS is constrained by the GPU, as even at 1080p Low, the frame rate is far below what this processor could theoretically deliver in Doom.

Q: What is the best resolution to play Doom with this combo?

A: The data shows 1080p is the only viable resolution for smooth play. At 1080p Medium, the combo averages 93 FPS, while 1440p High drops to 51 FPS and 4K High falls to 28 FPS. The 1080p preset offers the only playable frame rates above 60 FPS.

Q: How does the Arc B390 compare to its nearest rivals in the benchmark database?

A: The Arc B390's 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1,482 is only 1.3% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX's score of 1,463, and 2.7% higher than the GT 710's 1,443. These are all entry-level parts, confirming the Arc B390's limited graphics capability.

Q: Does the CPU's memory bandwidth make a difference in this game?

A: The CPU supports dual-channel DDR5 with 89.6 GB/s bandwidth, but the GPU uses "System Shared" memory with bandwidth described as "System Dependent." The benchmark results show no evidence of memory bandwidth bottlenecks, as the FPS scales consistently with resolution, which is a hallmark of GPU compute limits rather than memory subsystem limits.

Q: Can this combo handle Doom at Ultra settings at any resolution?

A: The data shows Ultra settings produce an average of 64 FPS at 1080p, 41 FPS at 1440p, and 22 FPS at 4K. Only the 1080p Ultra result approaches playability, but it is notably lower than the Medium preset, suggesting the integrated GPU struggles with the added visual effects.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the resolution delivers the only consistently playable results. The Low preset achieves an average of 107 FPS with a range from 79 to 107 FPS (as seen in the Medium preset's min/max). Medium averages 93 FPS with a minimum of 79 FPS and a maximum of 107 FPS. High drops to 78 FPS, and Ultra falls to 64 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra shows a 40% performance penalty for the highest fidelity settings, from 107 to 64 FPS. This is a significant cost, and the data suggests that the visual upgrade from Medium to Ultra is not worth the 31% frame loss.

At 2560x1440, the picture degrades substantially. Low averages 69 FPS, which is barely above the 60 FPS threshold. Medium averages 60 FPS with a minimum of 51 FPS and a maximum of 69 FPS, meaning the frame rate regularly dips below 60 FPS. High averages 51 FPS, and Ultra averages 41 FPS. The drop from 1080p Low to 1440p Low is 38 FPS (107 to 69), which is a 36% reduction. This resolution is only playable on Low or Medium settings, and even then, the frame pacing will be inconsistent based on the min FPS data.

At 3840x2160, the results are largely unplayable. Low averages 37 FPS, Medium averages 33 FPS with a minimum of 28 FPS and a maximum of 37 FPS, High averages 28 FPS, and Ultra averages 22 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 15 FPS (37 to 22), which is a 41% reduction. Even the best-case scenario at 4K Low produces an average below 40 FPS, which is not suitable for a fast-paced FPS game. The data clearly shows that 4K is beyond the capability of this integrated GPU in Doom.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated GPU based on the Xe3-LPG architecture and Panther Lake chip, manufactured on a 3 nm process by Intel. Its specifications include 1,536 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 24 ROPs, with a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2,500 MHz. The peak pixel rate is 60.00 GPixel/s and the texture rate is 120.0 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance of 7.680 TFLOPS. Critically, the memory is "System Shared," meaning it relies on the CPU's DDR5 memory through the system bus, with bandwidth described as "System Dependent." This architecture explains many of the observed results.

The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 benchmark score of 1,482 places the Arc B390 at the 9th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX with a score of 1,463 (1.3% lower), the GeForce 800M at 1,460 (1.5% lower), and the GT 625 OEM at 1,446 (2.5% lower). These are all legacy entry-level parts, which provides context for the Doom results. The Arc B390 is performing in the same league as decade-old integrated solutions, which aligns with the frame rates observed.

The GPU's role in Doom is the determining factor for every measured FPS. The 24 ROPs are responsible for final pixel output, and at 4K with 8.3 million pixels, they are overwhelmed. The 60 GPixel/s pixel rate theoretically allows for 60 million pixels per second, but 4K at 60 FPS would require 498 million pixels per second, an impossible task. Even at 1080p, the 2.07 million pixels per frame at 107 FPS Low requires 221 million pixels per second, which is 3.7 times the theoretical pixel rate, indicating that the effective throughput is far lower than the spec sheet suggests due to memory sharing and other system constraints.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal settings for this combo are 1080p Medium. This preset delivers an average of 93 FPS with a minimum of 79 FPS, which maintains playable frame rates above 60 FPS at all times. The Medium preset is 15 FPS faster than High (93 vs 78 FPS) and 29 FPS faster than Ultra (93 vs 64 FPS). The jump from Low to Medium costs 14 FPS (107 to 93), but the visual improvement is typically significant in Doom's rendering pipeline. The data suggests that Medium is the sweet spot, as it avoids the 79 FPS minimum that might dip into stutter territory in intense combat scenes.

The Low preset at 1080p offers the highest average at 107 FPS, but this comes at the cost of visual fidelity. For competitive play where frame rate is paramount, Low is the choice, as it provides a 15% improvement over Medium. However, the Medium preset's minimum of 79 FPS is still well within the playable range, and the extra visual detail is likely worth the small average FPS loss. High at 78 FPS and Ultra at 64 FPS are both below the 80 FPS threshold, and Ultra's 64 FPS average leaves little headroom for demanding scenes. At 1440p, only Low (69 FPS) and Medium (60 FPS) are viable, but the Medium preset's 51 FPS minimum makes it risky. No settings at 4K are recommended for actual gameplay, as even the Low preset's 37 FPS average fails to provide a smooth experience.

How This Combo Ranks

In the benchmark database for Doom, this specific combination of AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and Intel Arc B390 ranks 2,580 out of 2,930 tested combos. This places it in the bottom 12% of all configurations tested in this game. The ranking reflects the fact that the integrated GPU severely limits what is otherwise a very capable processor. The Ryzen 7 9700F alone sits at the 94th percentile among CPUs, but the Arc B390's 9th percentile standing drags the overall combo down to near the bottom of the list.

The rank of 2,580 out of 2,930 means there are 350 tested combos that perform worse than this pairing. These would likely be systems with even older integrated graphics or severely outdated discrete GPUs. However, the vast majority of combos (2,579) outperform this setup in Doom. This is expected, given that most tested systems use a discrete graphics card, while this configuration relies on an integrated solution. The data shows that the CPU's high benchmark scores do not translate to in-game performance when paired with such a weak graphics component. The combo rank is a direct consequence of the GPU bottleneck, and it serves as a clear example of how a balanced system is more important than having a single high-performing component.