Doom

The AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT delivers a remarkably smooth experience in Doom, with the data showing this combination ranks in the 925th spot out of 2930 tested configurations. This is a system that clearly prioritizes high refresh rate gameplay, and the measured frames per second across the board confirm that the 2016 classic runs exceptionally well on modern hardware. The analysis below breaks down exactly how this CPU and GPU pairing behaves across different resolutions and settings, providing a clear picture of what to expect from this specific build.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial and reveals a clear shift in system bottleneck. At 1080p with Low settings, the system produces an average of 284 FPS. Moving to 1440p at Low settings drops that to 184 FPS, a reduction of 100 FPS. At 4K with Low settings, the average falls to 99 FPS. This scaling pattern indicates that at lower resolutions, the CPU is likely the limiting factor, as the frame rates are extremely high and the GPU has headroom to spare. The jump from 1080p to 1440p shows a 35% performance decrease, while the jump from 1440p to 4K shows a 46% decrease, suggesting the GPU becomes progressively more involved as pixel count increases.

Looking at High settings, the same pattern holds. The system achieves 209 FPS at 1080p, 135 FPS at 1440p, and 73 FPS at 4K. The relative drops are consistent, with each resolution step costing roughly 35-46% of the previous frame rate. This linearity suggests that the game scales predictably with resolution and that neither component is hitting a hard wall at any specific point. The 4K High result of 73 FPS is still well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, indicating that this GPU can handle 4K in this title without compromises.

The most demanding configuration, 4K Ultra, yields 60 FPS on average. This is the exact minimum for a playable experience, and the data suggests that pushing to this level is the absolute limit of this combination. The difference between 4K High (73 FPS) and 4K Ultra (60 FPS) is a 13 FPS drop, which is a significant cost for the visual upgrade. At 1080p, the difference between High (209 FPS) and Ultra (171 FPS) is a 38 FPS drop, showing that the settings preset has a larger absolute impact at lower resolutions where the frame rates are already high.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data shows a clear hierarchy across presets, with the optimal choice depending heavily on your target resolution and refresh rate. For 1080p displays, the High preset at 209 FPS is the sweet spot for most users, offering a substantial visual improvement over Low (284 FPS) while still maintaining frame rates that exceed virtually any monitor's refresh rate. The Ultra preset at 171 FPS is still exceptionally smooth, and for those with 144Hz or 165Hz displays, it provides a meaningful visual boost without dropping below the refresh rate threshold.

At 1440p, the recommendation shifts slightly. High settings at 135 FPS are ideal for 144Hz monitors, providing a perfect match for the refresh rate. The Medium preset at 160 FPS offers additional headroom for those with 165Hz or 170Hz displays, while Ultra at 110 FPS is still quite playable and a good choice for those prioritizing image quality over maximum frame rates. The Low preset at 184 FPS is only recommended for competitive play where every frame matters, as the visual downgrade is significant.

For 4K gaming, the data points to High settings as the best balance. The 73 FPS average is comfortably above 60 FPS, and the visual quality is close to the best the game offers. The Ultra preset at exactly 60 FPS is playable but leaves no room for frame rate dips in intense combat scenes. The Medium preset at 87 FPS provides a safer margin, and the data shows a minimum of 74 FPS and a maximum of 100 FPS, suggesting good stability. For 4K, High is the recommended preset, with Medium as a fallback for those who prefer extra frame rate headroom.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT plays a critical role in this system's performance, particularly at higher resolutions. Its 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 624.1 GB/s of bandwidth, which is more than sufficient for Doom's texture and geometry demands at 4K. The GPU's 3840 shading units and 96 ROPs deliver the raw pixel throughput needed to maintain high frame rates, and the data shows that the card scales well with resolution.

The clock speeds are notable, with a base clock of 1295 MHz and a boost clock of 2430 MHz. The game clock of 2124 MHz represents the typical sustained frequency under gaming loads, and this is the figure that most directly correlates with the measured performance. The 37.32 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power is ample for this title, which was released in 2016 and does not feature the most demanding modern rendering techniques. The GPU's 60 ray tracing cores are present but do not appear to be heavily utilized in this game, as Doom's original release predates widespread ray tracing adoption.

The GPU's benchmark scores provide context for its overall capabilities. Its PassMark G3D score of 24176 places it in the 51st percentile of all GPUs, a modest ranking that reflects the card's position in the market. However, the nearest rivals list shows that its average benchmark score of 11627 is nearly identical to the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 at 11680, a 0.5% difference. This is surprising given the generational gap, but it highlights that the RX 7800 XT's raw compute performance in synthetic tests may not fully represent its gaming capabilities in optimized titles like Doom.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers outstanding performance across all settings. The Low preset achieves 284 FPS, Medium reaches 247 FPS, High hits 209 FPS, and Ultra still manages 171 FPS. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 210 FPS and a maximum of 284 FPS, indicating strong frame pacing. The range between the lowest and highest presets is 113 FPS, showing that settings have a significant impact even at this resolution. All presets at 1080p are well above the 144Hz threshold, meaning the system will never be the limiting factor for standard high refresh rate monitors.

The 2560x1440 results show a step down but remain highly playable. Low settings deliver 184 FPS, Medium achieves 160 FPS, High produces 135 FPS, and Ultra drops to 110 FPS. The Medium preset at this resolution has a minimum of 136 FPS and a maximum of 184 FPS, which is a tight range that suggests consistent performance. The spread between Low and Ultra is 74 FPS, a smaller absolute difference than at 1080p but still significant. For 144Hz monitors, the High preset at 135 FPS is just below the refresh rate ceiling, while Medium at 160 FPS provides a comfortable margin.

At 3840x2160, the system shows its limitations. Low settings manage 99 FPS, Medium achieves 87 FPS, High produces 73 FPS, and Ultra falls to 60 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K has a minimum of 74 FPS and a maximum of 100 FPS, which is a 26 FPS spread that indicates some variability in demanding scenes. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 39 FPS, the smallest absolute range across all resolutions, confirming that the GPU is becoming the primary bottleneck. Even at 4K, the system maintains playable frame rates at all settings, which is a strong result for this GPU.

FAQ

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

A: Yes, the data shows that 4K gaming is viable. The High preset achieves 73 FPS on average, and even the Ultra preset maintains exactly 60 FPS. For the best balance, the High preset is recommended, as it provides a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: What is the best settings preset for a 144Hz monitor?

A: At 1440p, the High preset at 135 FPS is close to the 144Hz target, while the Medium preset at 160 FPS exceeds it. At 1080p, all presets exceed 144Hz, with the Ultra preset at 171 FPS being the highest quality option that still meets this requirement.

Q: How does the RX 7800 XT compare to its nearest rivals in raw benchmark scores?

A: The RX 7800 XT has an average benchmark score of 11627, which is 0.5% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 at 11680. It is 0.9% higher than the AMD Radeon Pro 5500M at 11528 and 1.3% higher than the NVIDIA Tesla K20c at 11479.

Q: Is the Ryzen 7 9850X3D a bottleneck for this GPU in Doom?

A: The data suggests the CPU is not a significant bottleneck at 1080p, where frame rates reach 284 FPS. The CPU's benchmark scores are strong, with a PassMark multithread score of 41318 and a single-thread score of 4704, placing it in the 92nd percentile of all CPUs.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, the Low preset achieves 284 FPS while the Ultra preset achieves 171 FPS, a difference of 113 FPS. This is the largest absolute difference between settings across all resolutions, indicating that visual quality settings have a substantial impact on performance.

Q: Does the system maintain consistent frame rates at 1440p Medium settings?

A: Yes, the data shows a minimum of 136 FPS and a maximum of 184 FPS at 1440p Medium, with an average of 160 FPS. This 48 FPS range indicates good frame pacing, though there is some variability in more demanding scenes.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D is a Zen 5 architecture processor with 8 cores and 16 threads, built on a 4 nm process. Its base clock of 4.70 GHz and boost clock of 5.60 GHz are impressive figures that contribute to strong single-threaded performance. The 96 MB of shared L3 cache is particularly beneficial for gaming workloads, as it reduces memory latency and improves data access patterns. The CPU's PassMark single-thread score of 4704 and multithread score of 41318 place it in the 92nd percentile of all CPUs, indicating top-tier performance.

In Doom, the CPU's role is primarily to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic. The data shows that at 1080p Low settings, the system achieves 284 FPS, which is extremely high and suggests the CPU can handle even the most demanding frame rate scenarios. The CPU's 16 threads provide ample parallelism for the game's engine, and the high boost clock ensures that single-threaded game logic runs efficiently. The CPU's memory bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s via dual-channel DDR5 is more than sufficient for this title.

The CPU's benchmark scores provide context for its gaming performance. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 22807 and single-core score of 2228 are strong results. The nearest rivals list shows that the CPU's average benchmark score of 58386 is nearly identical to the Intel Xeon Platinum 8260M at 58323 (0.1% difference) and the Intel Core i9-14900 at 58115 (0.5% difference). This places the Ryzen 7 9850X3D in the upper echelon of desktop processors, and its gaming performance in Doom reflects this, with the system never dropping below 60 FPS even at 4K Ultra settings. The CPU's 8 cores and 16 threads are more than adequate for this game, and the data suggests that the GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions, which is the expected behavior for a well-balanced system.