Doom

# Doom — AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D + AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT delivers a compelling 1080p experience in Doom, but the data reveals a clear shift in bottleneck behavior as resolution climbs. At 1920x1080, the combo averages 198.8 FPS on Low settings, yet this drops to 53.5 FPS at 3840x2160 on High — a 73% reduction that points squarely at the GPU as the limiting factor at higher resolutions. The measured FPS rows show a consistent pattern where the CPU's 8-core, 16-thread configuration with a 5.20 GHz boost clock is more than sufficient to feed the GPU at lower resolutions, while the RX 6650 XT's 8 GB GDDR6 memory and 128-bit bus become increasingly strained as pixel count grows. This analysis explores how the resolution scaling, CPU characteristics, and GPU capabilities interact specifically within Doom's engine, using only the measured data provided.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and consistent across all settings presets. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 198.8 at 1920x1080 to 71 at 3840x2160 — a 64.3% decrease. The High preset shows a similar trajectory: 144.8 FPS at 1080p drops to 53.5 FPS at 4K, a 63.1% reduction. Medium settings go from 171.7 FPS down to 62.7 FPS (63.5% lower), while Ultra falls from 120.6 FPS to 42.6 FPS (64.7% lower). The uniformity of these percentages across all four presets is telling: the scaling penalty is nearly identical regardless of quality level, which suggests the resolution increase itself — not the specific settings — is the dominant factor.

This pattern indicates a GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions. If the CPU were the limiting factor, the FPS drop from 1080p to 1440p would be less pronounced, as the CPU's workload doesn't scale with resolution. Instead, the data shows 2560x1440 results that sit almost exactly halfway between 1080p and 4K: High at 92.7 FPS, Low at 131.9 FPS, Medium at 112 FPS, and Ultra at 80.3 FPS. The linear progression from 120.6 FPS (1080p Ultra) to 80.3 FPS (1440p Ultra) to 42.6 FPS (4K Ultra) strongly implies that pixel throughput is the primary constraint. At 1080p, the RX 6650 XT's 10.79 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 168.6 GPixel/s pixel rate can keep up with the Ryzen 7 9800X3D's processing speed, but at 4K the GPU's 280.3 GB/s memory bandwidth becomes a bottleneck.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 7 9800X3D brings substantial processing power to this pairing, with 8 cores and 16 threads running at a base clock of 4.70 GHz and boosting to 5.20 GHz. The processor's benchmark scores reinforce its capability: Cinebench R23 multi-core hits 34004, single-core reaches 4800, and Geekbench multi-core scores 18413 with a single-core score of 3341. In the context of Doom, a game originally released in 2016, these numbers are far beyond what the engine typically requires. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 10081 and the max-thread score of 10067 indicate that even under heavy multi-threaded loads, the CPU has ample headroom.

The data suggests the CPU is not the limiting component in this combo, particularly at higher resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 198.8 FPS, which approaches the practical limit for many displays. The fact that increasing resolution from 1080p to 1440p only reduces FPS by about 33% (from 120.6 to 80.3 on Ultra) while doubling the pixel count indicates the CPU can still feed the GPU adequately at 1440p. However, at 4K, the GPU's limitations become fully exposed, and the CPU's 96 MB shared L3 cache and 89.6 GB/s memory bandwidth are irrelevant to the frame rate. The processor's 90th percentile ranking among all CPUs (with an average benchmark score of 37780) versus the GPU's 72nd percentile (average score 29024) further confirms this hierarchy — the GPU is the weaker link.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data reveals that the Medium preset offers the most balanced experience across all resolutions. At 1920x1080, Medium delivers 171.7 FPS, which is only 13.6% lower than Low's 198.8 FPS but significantly higher than High's 144.8 FPS and Ultra's 120.6 FPS. At 2560x1440, Medium produces 112 FPS, comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold and only 15.2% below Low's 131.9 FPS. Even at 3840x2160, Medium maintains 62.7 FPS, which is playable, whereas High drops to 53.5 FPS and Ultra falls to 42.6 FPS.

For users targeting 1080p, Ultra at 120.6 FPS is viable if visual fidelity is the priority, as it remains above 120 FPS. At 1440p, High at 92.7 FPS is the better choice over Ultra's 80.3 FPS, as the visual difference between High and Ultra is typically less impactful than the 15.4% frame rate gain. At 4K, only Low (71 FPS) and Medium (62.7 FPS) provide playable frame rates; High and Ultra should be avoided. The data indicates that Medium is the "sweet spot" preset for this combo, delivering over 60 FPS at every resolution tested while maintaining reasonable visual quality.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Ryzen 7 9800X3D and RX 6650 XT ranks 1083 out of 1681 tested combos in Doom, placing it in the 64.4th percentile of all pairings. This ranking reflects the GPU's mid-range positioning; the RX 6650 XT's average benchmark score of 29024 places it at the 72nd percentile among all GPUs, but its nearest rivals — the AMD Radeon RX 6800M (29011, 0% delta), AMD Radeon RX 470 (28996, +0.1%), Intel Arc A370M (29175, -0.5%), and AMD Radeon RX Vega M GH (29197, -0.6%) — all have very similar scores. The GPU's performance is tightly clustered with these competitors, suggesting that the 1083rd rank is more a function of the GPU's class than the CPU's capability.

The CPU, by contrast, sits at the 90th percentile with an average score of 37780, and its nearest rivals — Intel Xeon 6353P (37811, -0.1%), Intel Core Ultra 5 225 (37831, -0.1%), Intel Core i9-13900HK (38020, -0.6%), and Intel Core i5-13600KF (38028, -0.7%) — are all within 0.7% of its performance. This disparity between the CPU's high percentile and the GPU's mid percentile explains the combo's overall ranking: the system is held back by the GPU in most scenarios, particularly at higher resolutions. In a game like Doom where high frame rates are achievable, the CPU's strength is underutilized because the GPU cannot keep pace at 4K.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average FPS this combo achieves in Doom at 1080p?

A: On Low settings at 1920x1080, the combo reaches 198.8 FPS, which is the highest measured value across all resolutions and settings.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K on the highest preset?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS drops to 42.6, which is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the primary bottleneck at 1440p?

A: The data shows the GPU is the limiting factor, as FPS drops from 120.6 at 1080p Ultra to 80.3 at 1440p Ultra — a 33.4% decrease that correlates with the increased pixel count rather than CPU workload.

Q: What settings preset provides the most consistent frame rates across all resolutions?

A: Medium is the only preset that stays above 60 FPS at every resolution tested: 171.7 FPS at 1080p, 112 FPS at 1440p, and 62.7 FPS at 4K.

Q: How does the RX 6650 XT compare to its nearest GPU rivals in average benchmark score?

A: The RX 6650 XT scores 29024, which is essentially tied with the AMD Radeon RX 6800M (29011, 0% delta) and slightly above the AMD Radeon RX 470 (28996, +0.1%), while being slightly below the Intel Arc A370M (29175, -0.5%) and AMD Radeon RX Vega M GH (29197, -0.6%).

Q: What is the combo's overall rank among tested configurations in Doom?

A: The combo ranks 1083 out of 1681 tested combos, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the ranking distribution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its best performance across all settings. Low settings average 198.8 FPS, Medium averages 171.7 FPS, High averages 144.8 FPS, and Ultra averages 120.6 FPS. The step from Low to Medium costs 27.1 FPS (13.6%), from Medium to High costs another 26.9 FPS (15.7%), and from High to Ultra costs 24.2 FPS (16.7%). The consistent ~15% penalty per settings tier at 1080p suggests the GPU is handling the workload without hitting memory bandwidth limits.

At 2560x1440, the pattern shifts slightly. Low averages 131.9 FPS, Medium averages 112 FPS, High averages 92.7 FPS, and Ultra averages 80.3 FPS. The step from Low to Medium costs 19.9 FPS (15.1%), from Medium to High costs 19.3 FPS (17.2%), and from High to Ultra costs 12.4 FPS (13.4%). The smaller absolute drops at higher settings tiers indicate the GPU is starting to feel the pressure of the 1440p resolution, but the frame rates remain playable.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's limitations are fully exposed. Low averages 71 FPS, Medium averages 62.7 FPS, High averages 53.5 FPS, and Ultra averages 42.6 FPS. The step from Low to Medium costs 8.3 FPS (11.7%), from Medium to High costs 9.2 FPS (14.7%), and from High to Ultra costs 10.9 FPS (20.4%). The increasing penalty per tier at 4K — particularly the 20.4% drop from High to Ultra — indicates that the 8 GB VRAM and 280.3 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for the higher-quality textures and effects at this resolution.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT is the defining component in this combo's Doom performance, and its specifications explain the observed scaling behavior. With 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus providing 280.3 GB/s bandwidth, the GPU has enough memory for 1080p and 1440p but struggles at 4K. The 2048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 64 ROPs deliver a pixel rate of 168.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 337.3 GTexel/s, which are adequate for 1080p but insufficient for 4K's four-times pixel count. The boost clock of 2635 MHz and game clock of 2410 MHz provide solid compute throughput of 10.79 TFLOPS FP32, but this is spread thin at higher resolutions.

The GPU's benchmark results place it at the 72nd percentile, with a Passmark G3D score of 17166 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1859. Its nearest rivals — RX 6800M, RX 470, Arc A370M, and RX Vega M GH — all score within 0.6% of the 6650 XT, indicating that this GPU sits at a performance plateau where minor architectural differences don't translate to meaningful FPS changes. The GPU's end-of-life production status and 176 W TDP suggest it's a mid-range part from the RX 6000 series, and the data confirms this: it handles Doom well at 1080p and 1440p but cannot maintain 60 FPS at 4K on High or Ultra settings. The 32 ray accelerators and DirectX 12 Ultimate support are present but largely irrelevant for Doom's 2016 engine, which favors raw rasterization throughput over ray tracing capabilities.