Doom

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D and AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX pairing in Doom is a study in high-refresh-rate dominance. The data shows a system that delivers exceptional frame rates across the board, with the bottlenecks shifting predictably from the GPU at 4K to the CPU at 1080p. This analysis breaks down the measured results, focusing on what the numbers mean for gameplay and how the components interact.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and dramatic scaling curve as resolution drops. At 4K Ultra, the system averages 80 FPS. Dropping to 1440p Ultra increases that to 141.8 FPS, a substantial jump. At 1080p Ultra, the average climbs to 219.8 FPS. This pattern indicates that at higher resolutions, the GPU is the primary limiting factor, as the workload on the Radeon RX 7900 XTX increases with pixel count.

The scaling from 4K to 1440p is particularly telling. At High settings, the 4K average is 96.2 FPS, while 1440p High reaches 175.8 FPS—an 82.7% improvement. This large delta confirms that the GPU is heavily taxed at 4K. However, the scaling from 1440p to 1080p is less pronounced. At High settings, 1440p yields 175.8 FPS, while 1080p yields 265.6 FPS. The relative gain of 51% is still significant, but it suggests the CPU is beginning to take a more active role in limiting performance, as the GPU has more headroom at lower resolutions.

Looking at Low settings, the trend continues. At 4K Low, the average is 125 FPS. At 1440p Low, it jumps to 235.3 FPS, and at 1080p Low, it reaches 366.7 FPS. The 4K to 1440p gain is 88.2%, while the 1440p to 1080p gain is 55.8%. This shows that even on Low settings, the GPU still dominates the 4K bottleneck, but the CPU's role becomes more significant as resolution decreases. The frame rate at 1080p Low (366.7 FPS) is exceptionally high, indicating that the Ryzen 7 9800X3D is capable of feeding the GPU at very high rates.

The data indicates that for a 4K monitor, the system is GPU-bound across all settings. For a 1440p or 1080p display, the system becomes more balanced, with the CPU's strong single-threaded performance allowing the GPU to stretch its legs. The gap between 4K Ultra (80 FPS) and 4K Low (125 FPS) is 56.3%, which shows that settings have a major impact on 4K performance, further confirming the GPU's role as the primary constraint there.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX is the star of the show at higher resolutions. Its memory configuration includes 24 GB of GDDR6 on a 384-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 960.0 GB/s. This is a large pool of VRAM that is well-suited for the high-resolution textures and effects in Doom. The GPU's boost clock is rated at 2498 MHz, with a game clock of 2365 MHz, which are the frequencies that drive its performance in this title.

The GPU's specifications support the observed scaling. With 6144 shading units and 192 ROPs, the RX 7900 XTX has the raw compute power to handle the game's lighting and particle effects. The measured results show that at 4K Ultra, the system still averages 80 FPS, which is a solid playable frame rate. However, the fact that dropping to 4K Low raises the average to 125 FPS indicates that the GPU is working hard at the highest settings, and reducing the graphical load provides a significant boost.

The GPU's performance relative to other cards is reflected in its percentile ranking of 85 among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals in the database include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti, which has an average score that is 2% lower. This suggests that the RX 7900 XTX is a top-tier performer, and the measured FPS in Doom confirms this. At 1440p High, the system achieves 175.8 FPS, which is far beyond the 144 Hz refresh rate of most monitors, meaning the GPU is not the limiting factor at this resolution.

The data also shows that the GPU's role changes with settings. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 219.8 FPS, but at 1080p Low, it reaches 366.7 FPS. This 66.8% increase shows that the GPU is still responsive to settings changes even at lower resolutions, but the absolute frame rates are so high that the CPU's capability becomes more relevant. The GPU is end-of-life in production status, but its performance here shows it remains a formidable option for this game.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D plays a critical role in ensuring the GPU is fed with data, particularly at lower resolutions. With 8 cores and 16 threads, it has the multi-threaded capacity to handle the game's background tasks. Its base clock is 4.70 GHz, and it boosts up to 5.20 GHz, which are the frequencies that matter for single-threaded game logic. The 96 MB of shared L3 cache is a key feature, as it helps reduce memory latency and improve performance in games that are cache-sensitive.

The CPU's benchmark data is impressive. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score is 34004, and its single-core score is 4800. These are strong figures, but the most relevant metric for Doom is likely the single-thread performance, as the game's engine often relies on a few primary threads. The 3DMark single-thread score is 1212, and the PassMark single-thread score is 4430. These scores indicate that the CPU has excellent per-core performance, which is essential for achieving the high frame rates seen at 1080p.

The CPU's percentile ranking is 90 among all CPUs, and its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i9-13900HK, which has an average score that is 0.6% lower. This places the 9800X3D at the top of the performance hierarchy. The data supports this: at 1080p Low, the system hits 366.7 FPS, which is a rate that many CPUs would struggle to maintain. This is evidence that the CPU's strong single-threaded performance and large cache are working together to avoid becoming a bottleneck.

The transition from 1440p to 1080p shows the CPU's growing influence. At High settings, the frame rate goes from 175.8 FPS to 265.6 FPS. While the GPU is still doing the heavy lifting, the CPU's ability to issue draw calls and process game logic at a faster rate is what enables this increase. The 9800X3D's boost clock of 5.20 GHz is a key factor here, as higher clocks directly translate to faster instruction processing. For a game like Doom, which is known for its fast-paced action, this CPU performance ensures the system can keep up with the most demanding scenarios.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 4K Ultra settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 80 FPS. This is the most demanding configuration tested, and it remains playable.

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

A: At High settings, the system averages 265.6 FPS at 1920x1080, compared to 96.2 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 176% increase in frame rate when moving from 4K to 1080p.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU at 1080p?

A: The data suggests that the CPU is not a hard bottleneck, as the system still achieves 366.7 FPS at 1080p Low. However, the scaling from 1440p to 1080p is less than the scaling from 4K to 1440p, which indicates the CPU is becoming more significant in the performance equation at lower resolutions.

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 366.7, which occurs at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This is an extremely high frame rate that far exceeds the refresh rate of most monitors.

Q: How does the GPU compare to a close rival like the RTX 4070 Ti?

A: The Radeon RX 7900 XTX has an average benchmark score that is 2% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti. This indicates that the RX 7900 XTX holds a slight performance edge in general benchmarks, which is reflected in its strong Doom results.

Q: Is the CPU's single-thread performance sufficient for this game?

A: Yes. The Ryzen 7 9800X3D has a 3DMark single-thread score of 1212 and a PassMark single-thread score of 4430. These high scores are consistent with the excellent frame rates observed at 1080p, where CPU performance is more critical.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combos for Doom, this pairing of the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D and AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX ranks at position 241 out of 1681 total combinations. This places it in the top 14.3% of all tested systems, which is a strong showing. The rank reflects the combined capability of both components to deliver high frame rates in this specific title.

The rank is particularly notable given that the database includes many other high-end CPUs and GPUs. The fact that this combo is in the top quartile indicates that it is a well-balanced pairing for Doom. The CPU's strong single-threaded performance complements the GPU's raw power, ensuring that neither component is severely limiting the other in most scenarios. The measured FPS data supports this, as the system is capable of exceeding 200 FPS at 1080p and 1440p with High settings.

While the rank is not the absolute top, the data shows that the gap to the top systems is likely small in real-world terms. The average frame rates at 4K are high enough for a smooth experience, and at lower resolutions, the system is more than capable of driving high-refresh-rate monitors. This rank of 241 out of 1681 reflects the hardware's capability, but it also suggests that some other combinations may have a slight edge, likely due to differences in memory or other system components. For most users, however, this combo will deliver an exceptional Doom experience.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution and refresh rate. For a 4K display, the High preset offers the best balance, with an average of 96.2 FPS. This is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay and provides a significant visual upgrade over Medium, which averages 108.4 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K drops to 80 FPS, which is still playable but may not be ideal for fast-paced action. The Low preset at 4K yields 125 FPS, but the visual quality loss is substantial.

For 1440p, the High preset is the clear recommendation. It achieves 175.8 FPS, which is well above the 144 Hz refresh rate of most gaming monitors. The Medium preset at 1440p provides 203.9 FPS, but the visual difference between High and Medium is often noticeable. The Ultra preset at 1440p still delivers 141.8 FPS, which is also excellent. Given that High offers a good mix of visual fidelity and performance, it is the sweet spot for 1440p.

At 1080p, the situation is different. The system is so powerful that even the Ultra preset averages 219.8 FPS. This is far beyond the refresh rate of most 1080p monitors, which are typically 144 Hz or 240 Hz. Therefore, players can safely use the Ultra preset without worrying about frame rate drops. The High preset at 1080p yields 265.6 FPS, and the Low preset reaches 366.7 FPS, but these higher frame rates are only beneficial for monitors with extremely high refresh rates. For the vast majority of 1080p users, the Ultra preset provides the best experience, as it maximizes visual quality while still maintaining a frame rate that is far above the display's refresh rate.