Doom

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 combination presents a study in generational contrast, pairing a modern 8-core Zen 5 processor with a Pascal-era graphics card from 2016. The measured frame rates in Doom reveal a system where the GPU is the primary constraint, yet the CPU’s headroom ensures consistency across settings. This analysis walks through the data to show how resolution, component roles, and specific presets interact.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 produces a steep performance curve, indicating that the GeForce GTX 1070 is the limiting factor as pixel count rises. At the High preset, the average frame rate drops from 116 FPS at 1080p to 75 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of 41 FPS, and then further down to 41 FPS at 4K. The scaling from 1440p to 4K is particularly punishing, halving the frame rate from 75 to 41 FPS, which aligns with the 2.25x increase in pixel count that the GTX 1070 must process. This behavior is typical of a GPU-bound scenario where the rasterization workload outpaces the card’s 6.463 TFLOPS of FP32 compute.

At the Low preset, the same pattern emerges but with higher absolute numbers. The average frame rate at 1080p Low is 158 FPS, which drops to 102 FPS at 1440p and then to 55 FPS at 4K. The relative drop from 1440p to 4K is again around 46%, confirming that even with reduced shading complexity, the memory bandwidth of 256.3 GB/s and the 256-bit bus become saturated. Notably, the gap between Low and Ultra settings widens as resolution increases. At 1080p, the difference between Low (158 FPS) and Ultra (95 FPS) is 63 FPS; at 4K, that gap narrows to 22 FPS (55 vs 33 FPS). This compression suggests that at higher resolutions, the GPU’s fill-rate limits dominate, making settings tweaks less impactful than resolution changes.

The data also shows that the 1440p Medium preset, with an average of 89 FPS and a reported minimum of 75 FPS, provides a smoother experience than 4K High, which averages 41 FPS. For users targeting 60 FPS, the 1440p Ultra preset at 61 FPS is the only high-quality option above that threshold, while 4K requires dropping to Low (55 FPS) to approach playability. The overall trend is clear: the GTX 1070 is capable of 1080p high-refresh gaming, adequate for 1440p at medium-to-high settings, but marginal at 4K where only the lowest preset stays above 50 FPS.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 is the dominant bottleneck in this configuration, a conclusion drawn directly from the frame rate scaling patterns. With 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus delivering 256.3 GB/s, the card has sufficient capacity for Doom’s textures at all tested presets, but the raw throughput limits performance at higher resolutions. The boost clock of 1683 MHz, while respectable for Pascal, cannot compensate for the 1920 shading units when pushing 3840x2160. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1082 and a Passmark G3D score of 13498 place this GPU in the 47th percentile of all GPUs, indicating mid-pack performance that is showing its age.

The VRAM behavior is worth examining. At 4K Ultra, the average frame rate drops to 33 FPS, which is the lowest recorded value in the dataset. While 8 GB is nominally enough for Doom, the combination of high-resolution textures and Ultra settings likely pushes memory usage near capacity, exacerbating the bandwidth bottleneck. The measured minimum FPS for the 4K Medium preset is 41 FPS, matching the average for 4K High, which suggests that the GPU is consistently hitting its compute ceiling rather than experiencing intermittent stutters. In contrast, the 1080p Medium preset shows a minimum of 117 FPS and a maximum of 158 FPS, indicating that the card has headroom at lower pixel counts.

The GPU’s Passmark DirectX 12 score of 48 is notably lower than its DirectX 11 score of 100, but Doom’s Vulkan support, as indicated by the Geekbench Vulkan score of 22121, allows the card to perform better than its DX12 legacy would suggest. The texture rate of 202.0 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 107.7 GPixel/s are the key metrics for this game’s fast-paced rendering, and they align with the observed 1080p performance. At 1440p, the card’s ability to maintain 75 FPS on High settings shows that it still has relevance for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but the 4K results firmly place it in the "entry-level 4K" category, where only Low settings approach 60 FPS.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F provides ample computational headroom, ensuring that the GTX 1070 is never starved for draw calls or physics data. With 8 cores and 16 threads based on Zen 5 architecture, this CPU has a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, making it a high-end desktop part from the 9000 series. The Passmark single-thread score of 4691 and multithread score of 36470 place it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs, a stark contrast to the GPU’s 47th percentile. This disparity means that in Doom, a title that is not notoriously CPU-intensive, the processor is effectively idle in terms of bottlenecking.

The CPU’s nearest rivals, based on average benchmark scores, include the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (0.2% higher score) and the Intel Core i7-14700KF (0.2% lower score), indicating that the 9700F performs in the upper echelon of desktop processors. For this game, the 32 MB of shared L3 cache and 89.6 GB/s of DDR5 memory bandwidth are more than sufficient for the level streaming and entity management that Doom requires. The fact that the frame rates scale almost linearly with resolution, rather than showing CPU-related dips at lower resolutions, confirms that the processor is not a limiting factor.

At 1080p Low, the average frame rate of 158 FPS is the highest recorded, and even at this level, the CPU’s boost clock of 5.50 GHz can handle the per-frame overhead without issue. The lack of minimum FPS data for most presets, except for the Medium settings, suggests that the CPU maintains consistent frame delivery. The measured minimums for 1080p Medium (117 FPS) and 1440p Medium (75 FPS) are close to the averages, indicating no severe frame time spikes attributable to the processor. In summary, the Ryzen 7 9700F is overqualified for pairing with a GTX 1070 in Doom, and its performance headroom would allow for a much faster GPU without introducing a CPU bottleneck.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete dataset provides a clear picture of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 158 FPS, which drops to 137 FPS on Medium (with a minimum of 117 FPS and maximum of 158 FPS), 116 FPS on High, and 95 FPS on Ultra. These numbers indicate that 1080p is well within the GTX 1070’s comfort zone, with even Ultra settings remaining above 90 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 63 FPS, showing that the card has enough compute headroom for high refresh-rate monitors at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, the average frame rates are 102 FPS on Low, 89 FPS on Medium (minimum 75 FPS, maximum 102 FPS), 75 FPS on High, and 61 FPS on Ultra. The 1440p Ultra preset is the only one in the entire dataset that sits just above 60 FPS, making it a viable option for smooth gameplay on standard 60 Hz displays. The step from Medium to High costs 14 FPS, while High to Ultra costs another 14 FPS, showing a consistent penalty for each quality tier. At 4K, the averages fall to 55 FPS on Low, 48 FPS on Medium (minimum 41 FPS, maximum 55 FPS), 41 FPS on High, and 33 FPS on Ultra. These figures are all below the 60 FPS target, with only Low approaching playability.

Comparing settings across resolutions, the data shows that lowering quality has a diminishing return at 4K. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 22 FPS, whereas at 1080p it is 63 FPS. This indicates that at 4K, the GPU is so heavily pixel-bound that reducing shading work has less impact, while at 1080p, the card has enough raw throughput to benefit more from lower settings. The Medium presets provide the only min/max data points, with 1080p Medium ranging from 117 to 158 FPS, 1440p Medium from 75 to 102 FPS, and 4K Medium from 41 to 55 FPS. These ranges suggest stable performance without major frame time outliers.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain 60 FPS?

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 Ultra achieves 61 FPS average, making it the only preset above 60 FPS at that resolution. At 1080p, all settings including Ultra (95 FPS) exceed 60 FPS. At 4K, no preset reaches 60 FPS, with the highest being Low at 55 FPS.

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

A: The High preset drops from 116 FPS at 1920x1080 to 75 FPS at 2560x1440 and then to 41 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 75 FPS loss from 1080p to 4K, which is a 65% reduction in average frame rate.

Q: Does the Ryzen 7 9700F bottleneck the GTX 1070 in Doom?

A: No, the data indicates the CPU is not a limiting factor. The frame rates scale consistently with resolution, which is a GPU-bound pattern. The CPU’s benchmark percentile (94th) far exceeds the GPU’s (47th), and the 5.50 GHz boost clock provides ample single-thread performance.

Q: Which settings preset offers the smallest performance penalty at 4K?

A: The difference between Low (55 FPS) and Medium (48 FPS) at 4K is 7 FPS, while Medium to High costs another 7 FPS, and High to Ultra costs 8 FPS. The penalties are roughly equal across tiers, with each step costing about 7-8 FPS at 4K.

Q: Is 8 GB of VRAM sufficient for Doom at 4K Ultra?

A: The data shows the 4K Ultra preset runs at 33 FPS average, but the card’s 8 GB GDDR5 memory with 256.3 GB/s bandwidth appears to be the limiting factor. The low frame rate suggests the memory subsystem is saturated, though the card does complete the preset without crashing.

Q: How does the GTX 1070’s performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The GPU’s nearest rival, the AMD FirePro W5000, has an average benchmark score 0.2% higher, while the NVIDIA Quadro M2000M is 0.5% higher, and the Tesla M10 is 0.6% lower. These deltas are negligible, placing the GTX 1070 in a tight performance cluster.

Settings Recommendations

For 1080p gaming, the High preset at 116 FPS offers an excellent balance of visual quality and speed, though users with 144 Hz monitors may prefer Medium at 137 FPS or Low at 158 FPS for maximum refresh rates. The Ultra preset at 95 FPS is still playable and provides the best image quality, but the 21 FPS drop from High suggests diminishing returns for the extra effects. At 1440p, the Medium preset at 89 FPS is the recommended starting point, as it provides a smooth experience with a minimum of 75 FPS. The High preset at 75 FPS is also viable, but the drop to 61 FPS on Ultra may cause noticeable stutters on some displays. For 4K, the Low preset at 55 FPS is the only option approaching playability, but users should accept that this combination is not ideal for 4K gaming. The Medium preset at 48 FPS is borderline, and High (41 FPS) and Ultra (33 FPS) are best avoided unless frame rate is not a priority.

The data suggests that the most efficient use of this hardware is at 1080p with High or Medium settings, where the GPU’s compute and memory resources are utilized effectively without overtaxing the system. At 1440p, Medium is the sweet spot, offering 89 FPS average with a 75 FPS minimum, which is above the 60 FPS threshold for most monitors. The 4K presets should only be considered for single-player experiences where frame rate is less critical, as none of them reach 60 FPS. The measured minimums for Medium presets across all resolutions (117 FPS at 1080p, 75 FPS at 1440p, 41 FPS at 4K) show that this card delivers consistent frame times without major dips, making Medium a reliable choice.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 combination ranks 2413 out of 2930 tested combos in Doom, placing it in the 18th percentile of all configurations. This low ranking is primarily due to the GPU’s age, as the CPU is a top-tier part that would rank much higher with a more modern graphics card. The ranking reflects that while the CPU is capable of driving high frame rates, the GTX 1070’s 47th percentile GPU performance caps the overall system at mid-range levels. In the context of the benchmark database, this combo sits below the majority of systems, but the measured data shows it still delivers playable frame rates at 1080p and 1440p.

The combo’s rank is influenced by the fact that Doom is a well-optimized title, and the GTX 1070’s Vulkan support allows it to punch above its weight class compared to less optimized games. However, the 2413th position out of 2930 indicates that most other tested combinations offer higher average frame rates, likely due to newer GPUs with better rasterization performance. The CPU’s nearest rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X with a 0.7% higher benchmark score, would likely pair with faster GPUs in other combos, pushing this configuration down the rankings. For users with this specific pairing, the data confirms that the GPU is the component to upgrade first, as the Ryzen 7 9700F has substantial headroom that is currently unused in Doom. The system’s performance is respectable for 1080p and 1440p, but the low combo rank serves as a reminder that the GTX 1070, despite its historical significance, is now a limiting factor in modern gaming workloads.