Doom

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 combination delivers a remarkably fluid experience in Doom, with the measured data showing that even the most demanding preset at 4K remains playable. The benchmark results indicate that this pairing is well-balanced for the game's engine, though the choice of settings and resolution can significantly shift the performance profile.

Settings Recommendations

For players targeting a locked 60 FPS experience at 4K, the "High" preset is the optimal choice. The measured average of 67 FPS at 3840x2160 provides sufficient headroom above the 60 FPS threshold, ensuring consistent frame pacing without the need to compromise on visual fidelity. The "Ultra" preset at this resolution drops to 54 FPS, which falls below the ideal threshold and introduces noticeable stutter on standard 60 Hz displays.

At 2560x1440, the "Ultra" preset becomes a viable option, with an average of 100 FPS. This provides a smooth experience on high refresh rate monitors, though the "High" preset at 123 FPS offers a more substantial buffer for demanding scenes. The data suggests that the jump from "High" to "Ultra" at this resolution costs roughly 19% of the frame rate, a trade-off that may not be worth the marginal visual improvements in a fast-paced FPS.

The 1080p results are where this combo truly shines. The "Ultra" preset still manages 155 FPS, but the "High" preset at 190 FPS and "Medium" at 225 FPS are better suited for 144 Hz or 240 Hz displays. The "Low" preset achieves 258 FPS, which effectively eliminates any possibility of the CPU becoming a bottleneck, though the visual downgrade is substantial. For competitive play, "Medium" at 1080p offers the best balance between responsiveness and image quality, with the 191 FPS minimum ensuring no drops below typical high-refresh-rate thresholds.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Doom at 4K with maximum settings?

A: Yes, but not at a consistently smooth frame rate. The measured "Ultra" preset at 3840x2160 produces an average of 54 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target. The "High" preset at this resolution averages 67 FPS, making it the recommended choice for 4K gameplay.

Q: What is the best preset for a 144 Hz monitor at 1440p?

A: The "High" preset at 2560x1440 delivers 123 FPS, which is sufficient for 144 Hz displays. The "Ultra" preset drops to 100 FPS, which may still be acceptable but leaves less headroom for demanding scenes. For a locked 144 FPS experience, the "Low" preset at 167 FPS is the only option that guarantees no drops.

Q: How does the CPU performance compare to its closest rivals?

A: The Ryzen 7 9700F has an average benchmark score of 69996, placing it nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX, which scores 69875 with a delta of 0.2%. It is also within 0.2% of the Intel Core i7-14700KF (70163) and 0.7% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (69515). The data shows this CPU is effectively a performance tie with its immediate competitors.

Q: Is the RTX 3070 a bottleneck at 1080p?

A: No, the benchmark results show the GPU is well-utilized even at lower resolutions. At 1920x1080 with "Low" settings, the combo achieves 258 FPS, indicating the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU adequately. The scaling from "Low" to "Ultra" at 1080p (258 FPS to 155 FPS) shows a typical GPU-bound pattern.

Q: What kind of frame rate can I expect with "Medium" settings?

A: The "Medium" preset provides a strong middle ground across all resolutions. At 1080p, it averages 225 FPS with a minimum of 191 FPS. At 1440p, it averages 145 FPS with a minimum of 124 FPS. At 4K, it averages 79 FPS with a minimum of 67 FPS. This preset offers the most consistent frame pacing relative to its average.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested systems for Doom?

A: The combination ranks 1226 out of 2930 tested combos, placing it in the upper third of all systems. This percentile position reflects a capable gaming setup, though not a top-tier one, given the GPU's 61st percentile ranking among all GPUs.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700F is an 8-core, 16-thread processor based on the Zen 5 architecture, codenamed Granite Ridge. It operates with a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, providing substantial single-thread performance that is critical for Doom's engine. The CPU's PassMark single-thread score of 4691 and multithread score of 36470 indicate strong per-core performance, which aligns well with the game's demanding physics and AI calculations.

The processor's 32 MB of shared L3 cache and 1 MB of L2 cache per core help reduce memory latency, which is beneficial for the rapid data access patterns in fast-paced FPS gameplay. The 4 nm process node from TSMC and 8,315 million transistors contribute to a 65 W TDP, allowing for efficient operation without thermal throttling. The CPU's 94th percentile ranking among all CPUs suggests it is well above average for gaming workloads.

In the context of Doom, the CPU's role becomes more apparent at lower resolutions. The scaling from 4K to 1080p shows that the frame rate increases from 67 FPS to 190 FPS at "High" settings, indicating that the GPU remains the primary limiter even at 1080p. However, the 258 FPS result at "Low" settings (1080p) demonstrates that the CPU can sustain extremely high frame rates when the GPU load is reduced, making it a suitable match for the RTX 3070.

The CPU's benchmark data shows it is essentially tied with the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (0.2% delta), Intel Core i7-14700KF (-0.2% delta), and AMD Ryzen 9 7950X (0.7% delta). This places it in a competitive position within its performance class, with no significant advantage or disadvantage over its nearest rivals in synthetic tests.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 1226 out of 2930 tested combinations places this system in the 58th percentile of all configurations tested for Doom. This ranking reflects a balanced pairing where the RTX 3070's 61st percentile GPU ranking is slightly offset by the CPU's stronger 94th percentile position. The result is a system that performs better than the majority of tested combos, though it does not crack the top tier.

The GPU's nearest rivals provide context for its performance. The RTX 3070 has an average benchmark score of 17208, which is 0.7% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT (17083) and 1% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 (17037). It trails the NVIDIA Tesla K40c (17468) by 1.5%. These margins are small, indicating that the GPU sits in a tightly contested performance band.

The CPU's nearest rivals show a similar pattern of close scores. The Ryzen 7 9700F (69996) is within 0.2% of the Ryzen 9 7940HX (69875) and Intel Core i7-14700KF (70163), and 0.7% ahead of the Ryzen 9 7950X (69515). The combination of a top-quartile CPU with a mid-range GPU results in a system that is well-suited for Doom's engine, which is known for its scalability across hardware tiers.

The measured FPS data reinforces this ranking. At 1080p "Ultra," the combo produces 155 FPS, which is a strong result for a game released in 2016. The 4K "High" result of 67 FPS is also respectable, showing that the system can handle 4K gaming with a reasonable settings compromise. The ranking of 1226 suggests there are 1704 other combos that perform better, likely with higher-end GPUs, but the overall experience remains highly playable.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the expected GPU-bound behavior, though the magnitude of the drop varies by settings preset. At "High" settings, the average FPS drops from 190 at 1080p to 123 at 1440p (a 35% reduction), and then to 67 at 4K (a 45% reduction from 1440p). This steep decline indicates that the RTX 3070 is the limiting component, as the CPU's performance headroom is not fully exercised at higher resolutions.

The "Low" settings preset shows a similar pattern: 258 FPS at 1080p, 167 FPS at 1440p (a 35% drop), and 90 FPS at 4K (a 46% drop). The consistency of these percentages across presets confirms that the resolution scaling is primarily a GPU limitation. The "Ultra" preset follows suit with 155 FPS at 1080p, 100 FPS at 1440p (a 35% drop), and 54 FPS at 4K (a 46% drop).

The "Medium" preset provides the only complete data with minimum and maximum FPS values. At 1080p, the range is 191-258 FPS with an average of 225. At 1440p, the range narrows to 124-167 FPS with an average of 145. At 4K, the range is 67-91 FPS with an average of 79. The narrowing of the FPS range as resolution increases suggests that the GPU becomes more consistently utilized, reducing frame time variance.

This scaling pattern indicates that the Ryzen 7 9700F has sufficient headroom to avoid becoming a bottleneck even at 1080p. The fact that "Low" settings at 1080p can reach 258 FPS demonstrates that the CPU can drive frame rates well beyond what most displays can show. The GPU, however, begins to struggle at 4K, particularly with the "Ultra" preset where the average drops below 60 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS data for this combo shows a clear hierarchy across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the "Low" preset delivers the highest average at 258 FPS, followed by "Medium" at 225 FPS (minimum 191, maximum 258), "High" at 190 FPS, and "Ultra" at 155 FPS. The progression from "Low" to "Ultra" represents a 40% reduction in frame rate, which is a typical cost for maximum visual quality.

At 2560x1440, the same pattern emerges with lower absolute numbers. The "Low" preset averages 167 FPS, "Medium" averages 145 FPS (minimum 124, maximum 167), "High" averages 123 FPS, and "Ultra" averages 100 FPS. The relative performance gap between "Low" and "Ultra" is 40%, matching the 1080p scaling.

At 3840x2160, the "Low" preset averages 90 FPS, "Medium" averages 79 FPS (minimum 67, maximum 91), "High" averages 67 FPS, and "Ultra" drops to 54 FPS. The "Ultra" preset is the only configuration that falls below 60 FPS, making it unsuitable for smooth gameplay on standard displays. The "Medium" preset's minimum of 67 FPS ensures that even the most demanding scenes stay above the 60 FPS threshold.

The data shows that the "Medium" preset offers the most consistent performance across all resolutions, with the minimum FPS values staying within 15% of the average. This consistency is particularly important for a fast-paced FPS where frame time spikes can disrupt aiming and movement. The "High" preset provides a good balance for 4K gaming, while "Ultra" is best reserved for 1440p or lower where the 100 FPS average is more than adequate for high-refresh-rate displays.