Doom

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X and AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT pairing in Doom demonstrates a classic mid-range configuration that scales predictably across resolutions and settings. The measured data shows this combo ranking 948th out of 1,681 tested combinations, placing it in the 56th percentile of all systems evaluated in this title. This mid-pack positioning suggests the pair delivers competent, if not spectacular, performance in the 2016 FPS title, with the GPU typically emerging as the primary constraint as resolution climbs.

FAQ

Q: What is the best measured average frame rate for this combo in Doom?

A: The highest recorded average FPS is 228.8, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This drops to 139.0 at the same resolution with Ultra settings, indicating a substantial performance range depending on visual fidelity.

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

A: The combination ranks 948th out of 1,681 tested combos, placing it in the middle of the field. This position reflects a balanced pairing where neither component dominates the other in a way that would push the system into the upper echelons of the rankings.

Q: What resolution provides the most balanced experience?

A: At 2560x1440 with High settings, the combo delivers 108.7 average FPS. This represents a strong balance between visual quality and performance, sitting comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold while offering a significant upgrade in detail over 1080p.

Q: Is the GPU or CPU more likely to limit performance in this game?

A: The data suggests the GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions. The frame rate drops by 45% from 1080p to 4K at High settings, while the CPU's 8-core, 16-thread configuration appears more than adequate for this title's demands.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the average FPS ranges from 149.4 at Low to 92.7 at Ultra. This 38% reduction in frame rate from the lowest to highest settings demonstrates the significant impact of visual enhancements on this hardware.

Q: Does the combo maintain playable frame rates at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, the average FPS ranges from 50.4 at Ultra to 81.1 at Low. While Ultra dips below the 60 FPS threshold, Medium and High settings both remain above it, offering viable 4K options.

How This Combo Ranks

The 948th position out of 1,681 combos places this pairing slightly above the median of all tested systems in Doom. This rank reflects a configuration that is neither exceptional nor underwhelming—it sits in the middle of the distribution, consistent with the GPU's 77th percentile ranking among all GPUs and the CPU's 89th percentile among all processors. The gap between these percentile positions hints that the GPU, not the CPU, is the more significant determinant of this combo's overall standing.

Examining the GPU's nearest rivals provides context for its performance tier. The RX 6700 XT sits within 1.3% of the NVIDIA RTX A5000 and within 1% of the AMD Radeon HD 7950 and RX 480 in average benchmark scores. This clustering suggests that in Doom, the GPU's performance is comparable to a broad range of mid-to-high-end cards from different generations. The CPU's nearest rivals, including the Intel Core i5-14500HX and Intel Core Ultra 9 185H, show deltas of less than 1%, confirming that the Ryzen 7 9700X's processing power is firmly in the upper tier without being class-leading.

The measured FPS data tells a more nuanced story than the aggregate rank. While the combo sits in the 56th percentile overall, its performance at 1080p reaches 228.8 FPS at Low settings, which would likely place it higher in rankings focused solely on lower resolutions. Conversely, the 4K Ultra result of 50.4 FPS pulls the system down, reflecting the GPU's 12 GB memory capacity being tested by higher resolution textures and effects.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT is the workhorse of this pairing, and its specifications explain the performance patterns observed. The GPU's 12 GB of GDDR6 memory across a 192-bit bus delivers 384.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which proves sufficient for Doom's demands but shows strain at the highest settings. The 7 nm Navi 22 chip operates with a base clock of 2321 MHz and a boost clock of 2581 MHz, with a game clock of 2424 MHz representing typical sustained performance under load.

The 2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 64 ROPs provide the raw compute capacity, translating to 13.21 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. The GPU's 40 ray accelerators are present but largely irrelevant for this 2016 title, which does not employ ray-traced effects. The 4K results reveal the GPU's limitations: at 3840x2160, the average FPS drops from 81.1 at Low to 50.4 at Ultra, a 38% reduction. This pattern indicates that the GPU's memory bandwidth and compute resources become increasingly taxed as resolution and settings increase.

The RX 6700 XT's benchmark scores, including a passmark G3D score of 19,786 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2,435, place it in the 77th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the RX 6800, scores 0.7% higher on average, while the RTX A5000 trails by 1.3%. This tight clustering suggests that in Doom, the GPU performs as expected for its tier—capable of high frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, but requiring settings compromises at 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers exceptional performance across all settings. Low settings produce 228.8 average FPS, Medium reaches 198.3, High achieves 168.5, and Ultra still manages 139.0. These numbers indicate that at 1080p, the system is likely CPU-limited at lower settings, as the GPU has ample headroom to push well beyond typical display refresh rates.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain strong but show the GPU beginning to assert its influence. Low settings yield 149.4 average FPS, Medium drops to 131.6, High comes in at 108.7, and Ultra falls to 92.7. The differential between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 56.7 FPS, which is slightly larger than the 89.8 FPS differential at 1080p, indicating the GPU is becoming more of a factor.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's limitations become apparent. Low settings produce 81.1 average FPS, Medium drops to 67.5, High manages 59.7, and Ultra falls to 50.4. The 4K results show a clear pattern: only Low and Medium settings maintain average FPS above 60, while High and Ultra dip below this commonly cited playability threshold. The progression from Low to Ultra at 4K represents a 38% performance penalty, which is steeper than the 39% penalty at 1440p and the 39% penalty at 1080p, showing a consistent scaling pattern across resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1080p to 1440p at High settings shows a drop from 168.5 to 108.7 average FPS, representing a 35.5% reduction. Moving from 1440p to 4K at the same settings yields a further drop to 59.7 FPS, a 45.1% reduction. These scaling factors provide insight into which component is limiting performance: the increasing performance penalty at higher resolutions points firmly toward the GPU.

When comparing Low settings across resolutions, the scaling is similar but slightly more pronounced. The drop from 1080p Low (228.8 FPS) to 1440p Low (149.4 FPS) is 34.7%, while the drop from 1440p Low to 4K Low (81.1 FPS) is 45.7%. The fact that the 4K penalty remains consistent around 45-46% regardless of settings suggests a hard limit imposed by the GPU's memory bandwidth and compute throughput.

The data implies that the Ryzen 7 9700X is not the bottleneck at any resolution. Even at 1080p Low, where the GPU has the least work to do, the system achieves 228.8 FPS, which is well below what the CPU's 3.80 GHz base clock and 5.50 GHz boost clock could theoretically sustain. The CPU's 89th percentile ranking among all processors further supports this interpretation, as it indicates ample headroom for this game's demands.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X brings 8 cores and 16 threads based on the Zen 5 architecture, fabricated on a 4 nm process at TSMC. With a base clock of 3.80 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, this CPU delivers substantial single-threaded performance, which is critical for Doom's game engine. The 32 MB of shared L3 cache and 1 MB L2 cache per core provide fast access to frequently used data.

The CPU's benchmark scores reinforce its high-end positioning. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 31,588 and single-core score of 4,459 place it in the 89th percentile of all CPUs. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 9,824 and 2-thread score of 2,525 show strong scaling from 2 to 16 threads, indicating that the chip maintains efficiency across varying workloads. The Geekbench multicore score of 17,002 and single-core score of 3,353 confirm this pattern.

Relative to its nearest rivals, the 9700X is essentially tied with the Intel Core i5-14500HX (0.2% higher) and AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 (0.6% higher), while slightly trailing the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H (-0.4%) and Core Ultra 5 225H (-0.8%). These sub-1% deltas suggest that no meaningful performance difference exists between these CPUs in Doom, and the game's frame rates are not CPU-limited in any measurable way.

The CPU's 65W TDP and DDR5 memory support with 89.6 GB/s bandwidth provide a solid foundation for the GPU to operate without memory bandwidth constraints. The PCIe Gen 5 interface with 24 lanes ensures the GPU has full bandwidth available, further reducing the likelihood of CPU-side bottlenecks.

Settings Recommendations

For players targeting 60 FPS as a minimum threshold, the data supports specific settings choices at each resolution. At 3840x2160, High settings produce 59.7 average FPS, which is just below the 60 FPS mark, while Medium achieves 67.5 FPS with a comfortable margin. Players prioritizing 4K should select Medium settings to ensure smooth gameplay without sacrificing too much visual quality.

At 2560x1440, all settings options provide frame rates well above 60 FPS, with Ultra delivering 92.7 average FPS. This suggests that 1440p Ultra is the sweet spot for this combo, offering the best visual experience while maintaining a substantial performance buffer. The 108.7 FPS at High settings provides even more headroom for those who prefer higher refresh rates.

For 1080p, the system is capable of exceeding 139 FPS even at Ultra settings, making this resolution ideal for high-refresh-rate displays. Players with 144Hz monitors can comfortably run High settings at 168.5 FPS, while those with 240Hz displays might need to drop to Medium (198.3 FPS) or Low (228.8 FPS) to fully utilize their monitor's capabilities.

The data suggests that the most balanced experience overall is 1440p with High settings, which delivers 108.7 average FPS. This configuration offers a significant visual upgrade over 1080p while maintaining frame rates that exceed what most displays can show. The 4K Ultra setting of 50.4 FPS represents the only configuration that falls below 60 FPS, making it unsuitable for most players despite the visual fidelity it provides.