Doom

# Doom Performance Analysis: AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER

The pairing of AMD's flagship 9000-series processor with NVIDIA's Turing-based RTX 2070 SUPER presents a fascinating case study in bottleneck dynamics within Doom. This 2016 FPS title, with its id Tech 6 engine, responds dramatically to both CPU and GPU capabilities, and the measured frame rates across resolutions and settings reveal a system where the GPU becomes the primary constraint as pixel count rises. The data indicates a combo that delivers exceptional 1080p performance but struggles to maintain high refresh rates at 4K, with the Ultra preset proving particularly demanding.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and consistent pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 153.9 FPS at 1080p to 99.1 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 54.1 FPS at 4K. This represents a 35.6% decline from 1080p to 1440p, followed by a further 45.4% drop when moving to 4K. The scaling pattern strongly suggests that the RTX 2070 SUPER becomes the limiting component at higher resolutions, as the pixel throughput requirements outpace the GPU's 9.062 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power.

The Low preset exhibits the most extreme scaling behavior, with frame rates falling from 210 FPS at 1080p to 136.4 FPS at 1440p, and then to 74 FPS at 4K. The 1080p to 4K delta of 136 FPS represents a 64.8% reduction, which is proportionally larger than the High preset's 64.9% reduction. This indicates that even at minimal graphical settings, the GPU's memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s and 8 GB VRAM capacity become significant factors at 4K resolution. The Ultra preset shows the steepest absolute decline, dropping from 126.3 FPS at 1080p to 45.5 FPS at 4K, a 64% reduction that pushes the experience below the 60 FPS threshold.

The data reveals that at 1080p, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D's substantial processing headroom allows the RTX 2070 SUPER to operate near its full potential, with even the Ultra preset maintaining 126.3 FPS. However, the 4K results indicate that the GPU's 256-bit memory bus and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth cannot keep pace with the engine's demands at that resolution, regardless of settings. The scaling curve suggests diminishing returns from CPU optimization at higher resolutions, as the GPU becomes the dominant constraint.

Settings Recommendations

Examining the measured rows, the Medium preset offers the most balanced experience across all resolutions. At 1080p, Medium delivers 182.4 FPS, which is 70.1% higher than Ultra's 126.3 FPS while still maintaining visual quality above the Low preset's 210 FPS. The 1440p Medium result of 119.1 FPS exceeds the 60 FPS threshold with substantial margin, making it the optimal choice for high-refresh-rate monitors at that resolution. Even at 4K, Medium's 63.5 FPS average stays above playable levels, whereas Ultra falls to 45.5 FPS.

The High preset presents a compelling alternative for users prioritizing visual fidelity. At 1440p, High achieves 99.1 FPS, which remains well above the 60 FPS mark and provides a smoother experience than the 85 FPS Ultra result. The delta between High and Ultra at each resolution is consistent: 27.6 FPS at 1080p, 14.1 FPS at 1440p, and 8.6 FPS at 4K. This narrowing gap at higher resolutions suggests that Ultra's additional graphical features become less impactful on performance as the GPU becomes more constrained.

For competitive play at 1080p, the Low preset's 210 FPS average provides the maximum frame throughput, though the Medium preset's 182.4 FPS offers a better balance for most users. The data shows that Ultra settings provide diminishing returns relative to their performance cost, particularly at 4K where the 45.5 FPS result falls below the 60 FPS target that many displays require. The measured results indicate that Medium or High settings at 1440p represent the sweet spot for this combo, delivering both smooth gameplay and reasonable visual quality.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER ranks 1047 out of 1681 tested combos in Doom, placing it in the 62.3rd percentile of all configurations. This ranking reflects the GPU's position as the limiting factor, as the RTX 2070 SUPER's average benchmark score of 22206 places it in the 65th percentile among all GPUs, while the CPU's average score of 37780 places it in the 90th percentile among all CPUs. The disparity between these percentiles explains why the combo's overall ranking is dragged down by the GPU's relative weakness.

The GPU's nearest rivals in benchmark scores include the NVIDIA RTX A400 with a score of 22307 (0.5% higher), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z at 22006 (0.9% lower), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile at 22729 (2.3% higher), and the AMD Radeon RX 5700 at 21670 (2.5% lower). These close scores suggest that the RTX 2070 SUPER sits in a competitive performance tier, but the CPU's nearest rivals tell a different story. The Ryzen 7 9800X3D's closest competitors include the Intel Xeon 6353P at 37811 (0.1% higher), Intel Core Ultra 5 225 at 37831 (0.1% higher), Intel Core i9-13900HK at 38020 (0.6% higher), and Intel Core i5-13600KF at 38028 (0.7% higher), all of which are within 1% of the AMD processor's score.

The ranking data implies that in Doom, the combo's performance ceiling is set by the GPU rather than the CPU. The 8-core, 16-thread Ryzen 7 9800X3D with its 96 MB L3 cache provides ample processing power for the game's engine, but the RTX 2070 SUPER's 8 GB GDDR6 memory and 256-bit bus width limit the overall frame output, particularly at higher resolutions.

FAQ

Q: Why does the frame rate drop so significantly from 1080p to 4K?

A: The measured data shows a 64.8% reduction in FPS at Low settings from 210 FPS at 1920x1080 to 74 FPS at 3840x2160. This substantial decline indicates that the RTX 2070 SUPER's 448.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 9.062 TFLOPS compute capability become the limiting factor at 4K, as the GPU must process four times the pixel data of 1080p.

Q: What is the best settings preset for this combo at 1440p?

A: The Medium preset at 2560x1440 delivers 119.1 FPS, which is 40.1% higher than the Ultra preset's 85 FPS while maintaining better visual quality than the Low preset's 136.4 FPS. This makes Medium the optimal choice for balancing performance and visuals at 1440p.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Doom?

A: Yes, but with limitations. At 4K, the High preset achieves 54.1 FPS and Medium achieves 63.5 FPS, both of which are playable. However, the Ultra preset drops to 45.5 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS threshold commonly preferred for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the CPU's performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Ryzen 7 9800X3D's average benchmark score of 37780 is within 0.7% of its closest competitors, including the Intel Core i5-13600KF at 38028 and the Intel Core i9-13900HK at 38020. This indicates the CPU is competitive with high-end alternatives in synthetic benchmarks.

Q: Is the GPU the bottleneck in this system?

A: The data strongly suggests yes, particularly at higher resolutions. The GPU's 65th percentile ranking versus the CPU's 90th percentile ranking, combined with the sharp FPS drops at 4K, indicates the RTX 2070 SUPER limits performance before the Ryzen 7 9800X3D reaches its processing ceiling.

Q: What is the combo's overall ranking in Doom?

A: The combo ranks 1047 out of 1681 tested configurations, placing it in the 62.3rd percentile. This ranking reflects the GPU's mid-tier position relative to other tested graphics cards in this game.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER, built on the TU104 chip with Turing architecture, serves as the primary performance limiter in this Doom configuration. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which proves adequate at 1080p but becomes strained at 4K. The GPU's base clock of 1605 MHz and boost clock of 1770 MHz, combined with its 2560 shading units, deliver 9.062 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. These specifications place the card in the 65th percentile among all GPUs based on its average benchmark score of 22206.

The measured FPS data reveals the GPU's behavior across different settings. At 1080p, the GPU can maintain high frame rates even at Ultra settings (126.3 FPS), indicating that the 8 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for the game's textures at that resolution. However, at 4K, the Ultra preset's 45.5 FPS result suggests the VRAM and bandwidth constraints become more pronounced, as higher resolution textures and effects require more memory. The GPU's 160 texture mapping units and 64 ROPs contribute to the texture and pixel throughput, but the 283.2 GTexel/s texture rate and 113.3 GPixel/s pixel rate are insufficient for 4K Ultra in this title.

The RTX 2070 SUPER's nearest rival, the NVIDIA RTX A400, scores 22307, just 0.5% higher, while the AMD Radeon RX 5700 scores 21670, 2.5% lower. These close benchmark scores suggest that the GPU's performance tier is well-established, and the Doom results reflect this positioning. The GPU's 40 RT cores and 320 tensor cores, while not directly utilized in this non-ray-traced title, contribute to the overall architectural efficiency.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D, with its 8 cores and 16 threads based on Zen 5 architecture, provides exceptional processing power that far exceeds Doom's requirements. Its base clock of 4.70 GHz and boost clock of 5.20 GHz, combined with 96 MB of shared L3 cache, deliver single-threaded performance that scores 4800 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 1212 in 3DMark single-thread tests. The CPU's 90th percentile ranking among all CPUs underscores its high-end positioning, with an average benchmark score of 37780.

In Doom, the CPU's role becomes apparent at lower resolutions where the GPU is less constrained. At 1080p, the frame rates scale from 126.3 FPS at Ultra to 210 FPS at Low, indicating that the CPU can feed the GPU with enough draw calls and game logic updates to achieve these high frame rates. The 16 threads allow for efficient multi-threading, which is beneficial for the game's engine that can utilize multiple cores for physics, AI, and rendering tasks.

The CPU's nearest rivals in benchmark scores — the Intel Xeon 6353P (37811), Intel Core Ultra 5 225 (37831), Intel Core i9-13900HK (38020), and Intel Core i5-13600KF (38028) — are all within 0.7% of the AMD processor's score. This grouping indicates that the Ryzen 7 9800X3D is firmly in the top tier of consumer processors, and its performance in Doom is unlikely to be a limiting factor in any configuration. The CPU's 120 TDP and 4 nm process node also suggest efficient power delivery, though the game's performance data does not directly measure power consumption.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its strongest performance across all settings. The Low preset achieves 210 FPS, Medium reaches 182.4 FPS, High produces 153.9 FPS, and Ultra drops to 126.3 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra represents a 39.9% reduction in frame rate, with each preset step costing between 27.6 and 29.1 FPS. These results indicate that the GPU has sufficient headroom at 1080p to handle even the most demanding settings while maintaining high refresh rates.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance decreases notably. The Low preset maintains 136.4 FPS, which is still excellent for high-refresh-rate gaming. Medium achieves 119.1 FPS, High reaches 99.1 FPS, and Ultra drops to 85 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 51.4 FPS, representing a 37.7% reduction. The gap between Medium and High (20 FPS) and High and Ultra (14.1 FPS) shows that the GPU's performance penalty for higher settings is non-linear, with diminishing returns at the Ultra tier.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's limitations become fully apparent. The Low preset achieves 74 FPS, which is playable but below the 1080p Ultra performance. Medium delivers 63.5 FPS, High reaches 54.1 FPS, and Ultra falls to 45.5 FPS. The 4K results show a 39.1% reduction from Low to Ultra, with the gap between Medium and High (9.4 FPS) and High and Ultra (8.6 FPS) narrowing as the GPU becomes more constrained. The 4K Ultra result of 45.5 FPS is the only measured configuration that falls below the 60 FPS threshold, indicating that this preset at this resolution is not recommended for smooth gameplay. Across all resolutions, the Medium preset offers the most consistent balance, with frame rates ranging from 63.5 FPS at 4K to 182.4 FPS at 1080p.