Doom

# Doom with AMD Ryzen 7 9700X + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D delivers exceptional performance in Doom, claiming the top spot with a combo rank of 1 out of 2,930 tested combinations. This pairing leverages an 8-core, 16-thread Zen 5 processor with a 5.50 GHz boost clock alongside a 32 GB GDDR7 graphics card built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture, producing frame rates that scale impressively across resolutions and settings. The measured FPS data reveals a system that remains fluid even at 4K Ultra, while the CPU's strong single-threaded and multi-threaded benchmark scores suggest a balanced platform capable of feeding the GPU's enormous rendering throughput.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate behavior across 1080p, 1440p, and 4K resolutions tells a compelling story about where the bottleneck resides in this combination. At 1080p with Low settings, the system produces 485 FPS, which drops to 314 FPS at 1440p and further to 170 FPS at 4K. This represents a 35% reduction from 1080p to 1440p and a 46% reduction from 1440p to 4K, indicating that while the GPU is the primary scaling factor, the CPU's headroom at lower resolutions is substantial.

The High settings row shows a similar pattern: 357 FPS at 1080p, 231 FPS at 1440p, and 125 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are 35% and 46% respectively, mirroring the Low settings behavior almost exactly. This consistency suggests that the scaling penalty is resolution-driven rather than settings-driven, pointing to the GPU's pixel throughput as the limiting component at higher resolutions.

Medium settings with measured minimum and maximum FPS values provide additional insight. At 1080p Medium, the average is 422 FPS with a minimum of 359 and maximum of 486. Moving to 1440p Medium yields 273 FPS average with a range of 232 to 314, while 4K Medium produces 148 FPS average with a range of 126 to 170. The minimum-to-maximum spread narrows slightly as resolution increases, suggesting that frame time variance becomes more consistent when the GPU is more heavily loaded.

Ultra settings exhibit the steepest resolution scaling curve. From 292 FPS at 1080p to 189 FPS at 1440p and 102 FPS at 4K, the drops are 35% and 46% respectively, again following the same proportional pattern. This uniformity across all four settings presets indicates that Doom's rendering pipeline scales predictably with pixel count, and the RTX 5090 D's 1.79 TB/s memory bandwidth and 104.8 TFLOPS FP32 compute are being utilized progressively more as resolution increases.

The data implies that at 1080p, the CPU's 3.80 GHz base and 5.50 GHz boost clocks are sufficient to keep the GPU fed, as evidenced by the 485 FPS Low result. However, the fact that 4K Ultra still maintains 102 FPS shows that even at maximum settings and highest resolution, this combo never becomes CPU-bound in a problematic way. The limiting factor at 4K is clearly the GPU's rendering workload, not the processor's instruction throughput.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS achievable with this combo in Doom?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 485, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This represents the ceiling for this CPU-GPU pairing in Doom under the tested configurations.

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

A: The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D combination ranks 1st out of 2,930 tested combos, placing it at the very top of the database for this game.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, Low settings produce an average of 170 FPS while Ultra settings yield 102 FPS. This represents a 40% reduction in frame rate when moving from the lowest to the highest quality preset.

Q: Does the CPU show any signs of bottlenecking at lower resolutions?

A: The data suggests minimal CPU bottlenecking. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 485 FPS, and the similar proportional drops across all settings indicate the GPU remains the primary scaling factor even at lower resolutions.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded in the measured data?

A: The lowest minimum FPS recorded is 126, which occurs at 3840x2160 with Medium settings. This is the only resolution-settings combination with a reported minimum FPS value, and it suggests frame pacing remains stable even at 4K.

Q: How much faster is 1080p compared to 4K at Medium settings?

A: At Medium settings, 1080p produces 422 FPS average while 4K produces 148 FPS, making the 1080p result approximately 2.85 times faster than the 4K result.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X brings 8 cores and 16 threads based on the Zen 5 architecture, manufactured on a 4 nm process by TSMC. With a base clock of 3.80 GHz and boost clock of 5.50 GHz, this processor demonstrates strong single-threaded performance as evidenced by its 3DMark single-thread score of 1,280 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2,211. In a game like Doom, which relies heavily on per-core performance for game logic and draw call processing, these single-thread results are directly relevant to maintaining high frame rates.

The CPU's multi-threaded capabilities are equally robust, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 20,485 and a Geekbench multi-core score of 17,906. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 9,824 and max-thread score of 9,771 are nearly identical, indicating that the 8-core/16-thread configuration reaches diminishing returns beyond 16 threads in this workload. The L3 cache of 32 MB shared across all cores provides ample data storage for game assets, and the 89.6 GB/s memory bandwidth from dual-channel DDR5 support ensures the CPU can quickly feed data to the GPU.

The benchmark results show the 9700X performing in the 86th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 37,943. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i9-14901E, scores 37,911 (0.1% delta), while the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 scores 37,904 (0.1% delta). These extremely close margins indicate that the 9700X is competitively positioned within its performance class, though the differences are negligible in practical gaming scenarios.

In Doom specifically, the CPU's role becomes more prominent at lower resolutions where the GPU can render frames faster than the processor can issue draw calls. The 485 FPS result at 1080p Low suggests the 9700X's 5.50 GHz boost clock and efficient Zen 5 architecture are capable of sustaining very high instruction throughput. The PassMark single-thread score of 4,654 and floating-point math score of 78,999 further confirm the processor's ability to handle the mathematical computations required by game physics and AI systems.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 9700X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D achieves a rank of 1 out of 2,930 tested combos in Doom, placing it at the absolute pinnacle of the database's tested systems. This top-tier ranking is consistent with the measured FPS data, which shows no other combination in the database producing higher frame rates in this game.

The GPU's percentile ranking of 92 among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 77,712, places it in the upper echelon of graphics cards. Its nearest rivals in the GPU benchmark database are the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT (76,904, 1.1% delta), AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (78,940, -1.6% delta), and NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB (79,396, -2.1% delta). These rivals are primarily mobile or compute-oriented parts, highlighting the RTX 5090 D's position as a desktop enthusiast GPU.

The CPU's rank of 86th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 37,943, is respectable but not the absolute top. However, in the context of Doom's performance, the 9700X proves more than adequate to complement the RTX 5090 D's capabilities. The 1st place combo ranking indicates that this particular pairing achieves the best measured performance among all 2,930 combinations, suggesting that the CPU-GPU balance is optimal for this game's requirements.

The fact that the combo achieves rank 1 despite the CPU not being the highest-scoring processor in the database implies that Doom's performance ceiling is more heavily influenced by GPU capabilities than raw CPU power. The RTX 5090 D's 32 GB of GDDR7 memory and 512-bit memory bus provide the bandwidth necessary to sustain high frame rates at demanding resolutions, while the 9700X's strong single-thread performance ensures that CPU-side bottlenecks are minimized.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the Medium settings preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance across all resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the system produces 422 FPS average with a minimum of 359, which is only 13% lower than the Low preset's 485 FPS but provides substantially better visual fidelity. The 4K Medium result of 148 FPS average with a minimum of 126 remains comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, making this preset viable even at the highest resolution.

The Ultra preset, while visually superior, incurs significant performance costs. At 4K Ultra, the system drops to 102 FPS average, which is 31% lower than Medium's 148 FPS. At 1080p Ultra, the 292 FPS result is 31% lower than Medium's 422 FPS, indicating that the Ultra preset's additional graphical effects such as enhanced shadows, reflections, and post-processing come at a consistent performance penalty across all resolutions.

High settings represent a middle ground, with 357 FPS at 1080p, 231 FPS at 1440p, and 125 FPS at 4K. These results are 15-18% lower than Medium settings at each resolution, making High a reasonable choice for users who want improved visuals without the full performance hit of Ultra. However, the Medium preset's minimum FPS values at 1080p (359) and 1440p (232) suggest more consistent frame pacing compared to High settings, which lack reported minimum values.

For users with high refresh rate monitors, the Low preset at 1080p (485 FPS) or 1440p (314 FPS) provides the maximum frame rates, potentially exceeding 300 Hz display capabilities. At 4K, the Medium preset's 148 FPS average is the recommended choice, as it maintains high frame rates while providing better visual quality than Low's 170 FPS at only a 13% performance cost.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system demonstrates its peak performance capabilities. Low settings produce an average of 485 FPS, followed by Medium at 422 FPS (minimum 359, maximum 486), High at 357 FPS, and Ultra at 292 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 40% reduction in frame rate, with each settings tier costing approximately 10-15% performance.

The 2560x1440 results show the same settings hierarchy with reduced absolute values. Low delivers 314 FPS, Medium 273 FPS (minimum 232, maximum 314), High 231 FPS, and Ultra 189 FPS. The percentage reduction from Low to Ultra is 40%, identical to the 1080p scaling, indicating that the settings presets have consistent relative costs regardless of resolution.

At 3840x2160, the system still maintains playable frame rates across all settings. Low produces 170 FPS, Medium 148 FPS (minimum 126, maximum 170), High 125 FPS, and Ultra 102 FPS. The 4K results represent a 65% reduction from the corresponding 1080p settings, reflecting the 4x increase in pixel count that the RTX 5090 D must render.

The Medium settings row is the only one with complete minimum and maximum FPS data. At 1080p, the range spans 359 to 486 FPS, a variance of 127 FPS. At 1440p, the range narrows to 232-314 FPS (82 FPS variance), and at 4K, it narrows further to 126-170 FPS (44 FPS variance). This decreasing variance with increasing resolution suggests that frame time consistency improves when the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck, reducing CPU-induced frame pacing fluctuations.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is the dominant component in this combo, with its 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus providing 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. This massive memory subsystem is critical for Doom's high-resolution textures and the game's tendency to consume significant VRAM at 4K resolutions. The GPU's 21,760 shading units, 680 TMUs, and 176 ROPs deliver a pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s, enabling the high frame rates observed in the measured data.

The GPU's boost clock of 2,407 MHz and base clock of 2,017 MHz are relatively modest for a flagship card, but the architectural efficiency of Blackwell 2.0 compensates through sheer scale. The FP32 compute of 104.8 TFLOPS provides ample processing power for Doom's Vulkan-based rendering engine, which can leverage the GPU's parallel processing capabilities effectively.

The RTX 5090 D's benchmark scores corroborate its gaming performance. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 14,326 indicates strong DirectX 12 performance, while the Geekbench OpenCL score of 310,674 and Vulkan score of 376,915 demonstrate excellent compute and graphics API utilization. The PassMark G3D score of 44,065 and GPU Compute score of 28,396 further validate the GPU's position in the 92nd percentile among all graphics cards.

In Doom, the GPU's role becomes increasingly dominant as resolution increases. At 1080p, the CPU can potentially limit performance, but the measured 485 FPS at Low settings suggests the RTX 5090 D is still the primary driver of frame output. At 4K, the GPU's rendering workload increases fourfold, and the 102 FPS at Ultra settings demonstrates the card's ability to handle the game's most demanding configuration. The 575 W TDP and 1x 16-pin power connector indicate this is a power-hungry component, but the performance data shows it delivers accordingly.