Doom

The AMD Ryzen 9 5900X paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT delivers a robust 1080p and 1440p experience in Doom, with the data showing a clear performance ceiling shift as resolution climbs. This combination ranks 1098th out of 1681 tested combos in this specific game, placing it in the upper-middle tier of the database. The measured frames per second reveal a system that excels at high refresh rates on lower resolutions, but begins to strain under the pixel load of 4K Ultra settings. The following analysis breaks down the roles of the CPU and GPU, the measured performance across all settings, and what the scaling behavior implies about the limiting component.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this hardware in Doom?

A: The 1920x1080 High preset yields an average of 146.8 FPS, which is a strong balance of visual quality and speed. For maximum smoothness, the 1920x1080 Low preset reaches an average of 200.3 FPS, while 2560x1440 High still provides a playable 92.4 FPS average.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in general benchmarks?

A: The Ryzen 9 5900X scores 39453 on average, which is 0.2% ahead of the AMD EPYC 4245P and 0.9% ahead of the Intel Core i7-13700F. Conversely, it trails the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 8845HS by 0.7% and the Intel Core i7-13700 by 1%.

Q: How does the GPU compare to its nearest rivals in general benchmarks?

A: The Radeon RX 6650 XT has an average benchmark score of 29024, which is statistically tied with the AMD Radeon RX 6800M (0% delta). It is 0.1% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 470, but 0.5% behind the Intel Arc A370M and 0.6% behind the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GH.

Q: What is the difference in FPS between the Low and Ultra presets at 1440p?

A: The Ultra preset at 2560x1440 averages 77 FPS, while the Low preset averages 131.3 FPS. This represents a performance drop of 54.3 FPS, or roughly a 41% decrease in average frame rate when moving from the lowest to the highest visual fidelity.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU appear to be the limiting factor at 4K?

A: The data suggests the GPU is the primary bottleneck at 3840x2160. The average FPS drops to 50.2 on High and 42.2 on Ultra, which is a significant reduction from the 92.4 FPS seen at 1440p High, indicating the graphics card is struggling with the increased pixel count.

Q: What is the percentile ranking of the CPU and GPU compared to all other parts?

A: The Ryzen 9 5900X is in the 90th percentile of all CPUs, indicating it is a high-end processor. The Radeon RX 6650 XT is in the 72nd percentile of all GPUs, placing it above the median but firmly in the mid-range segment.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT is the primary driver of frame rate changes when settings are adjusted. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus provides a memory bandwidth of 280.3 GB/s, which is sufficient for the textures used in Doom at 1080p and 1440p. The GPU’s boost clock of 2635 MHz and game clock of 2410 MHz are key metrics; the data shows that this card’s raw compute power, rated at 10.79 TFLOPS FP32, is what dictates the ceiling at higher resolutions.

The measured FPS at 4K reveals the GPU’s limits. At 3840x2160, the average frame rate drops to 50.2 FPS on High and just 42.2 FPS on Ultra. This steep decline from the 1440p results highlights that the RX 6650 XT’s 64 ROPs and 2048 shading units are not enough to maintain high frame rates at the 4K pixel count. The card’s PassMark G3D score of 17166 places it in the 72nd percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rivals, such as the RX 6800M and RX 470, show that it sits in a competitive but not top-tier performance bracket. The transition from 1440p to 4K is where the GPU’s compute resources become the definitive limiting factor, as the CPU has ample headroom to feed it.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 5900X, with its 12 cores and 24 threads based on the Zen 3 architecture, provides a substantial amount of processing power that is not fully taxed by Doom. Its 64 MB of L3 cache and boost clock of 4.80 GHz ensure that the CPU is never the bottleneck at lower resolutions. This is evident in the 1080p Low preset, where the system achieves an average of 200.3 FPS, a frame rate that is far beyond what most displays can show. The processor’s Cinebench R23 multicore score of 33150 and single-core score of 4680 confirm its high multi-threaded and single-threaded capabilities.

At 1440p and 4K, the CPU’s role becomes secondary. The data shows the FPS scaling is directly tied to the GPU’s workload. For example, at 2560x1440, the FPS ranges from 77 (Ultra) to 131.3 (Low), which is a 54.3 FPS spread. This spread is caused by the GPU’s rendering load, not CPU limitations. The CPU’s 90th percentile ranking versus all CPUs, and its 3dmark max threads score of 10075, indicate that it can handle the game’s physics and draw calls with ease. The data implies that for this game, the Ryzen 9 5900X is a future-proofing measure, ensuring that the GPU is the sole determinant of performance variability.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across three resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the system is exceptionally fast, with the Low preset averaging 200.3 FPS, Medium at 176.5 FPS, High at 146.8 FPS, and Ultra at 117.7 FPS. This shows a consistent scaling where each step up in quality costs roughly 20-30 FPS, and even the most demanding preset remains highly playable on high-refresh-rate monitors.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages are 131.3 FPS (Low), 112.1 FPS (Medium), 92.4 FPS (High), and 77 FPS (Ultra). The relative performance gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 54.3 FPS, compared to the 82.6 FPS gap at 1080p. This indicates the GPU is starting to become more of a factor, but the system still delivers smooth gameplay across all settings. At 3840x2160, the performance drops significantly: Low averages 71.8 FPS, Medium 60.8 FPS, High 50.2 FPS, and Ultra 42.2 FPS. The 4K Ultra preset is the only combination that dips below the 60 FPS threshold, making it less ideal for a consistent competitive experience, but still playable for a slower-paced campaign.

How This Combo Ranks

The combined rank of this CPU and GPU pair in Doom is 1098 out of 1681 tested combinations. This places it in the 65th percentile of all systems tested for this game, which is a solid mid-to-upper tier result. The ranking reflects that while the GPU is not a top-tier part (72nd percentile), the CPU’s high percentile (90th) helps push the system above the median. Compared to the GPU’s nearest rivals, the RX 6650 XT is essentially tied with the RX 6800M in general benchmarks, but the overall combo rank is heavily influenced by the CPU.

The rank suggests that the system is well-balanced for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but it is not optimized for 4K. The data implies that if the goal is to play at 4K Ultra, this combo is far from the top, but for 1080p competitive play, it would rank much higher than 1098. The gap between the combo’s rank and the GPU’s percentile indicates that the CPU is pulling more than its weight, preventing the system from falling further down the list.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the best experience for a balance of visual fidelity and frame rate is the High preset at 2560x1440, which averages 92.4 FPS. This provides a clear image with a frame rate well above the 60 FPS standard. For players with a 144Hz monitor at 1080p, the High preset at 146.8 FPS is the optimal choice, offering a significant visual upgrade over Low while still exceeding the refresh rate. The Ultra preset is not recommended for 4K, as the 42.2 FPS average is below the smoothness threshold for a fast-paced FPS.

At 1920x1080, the data supports using the High preset over Medium, as the 29.7 FPS drop from High to Ultra is not worth the marginal visual gain. The Low preset at 1080p (200.3 FPS) is only useful for esports-style play where maximum frame rate is prioritized over any graphical detail. For 4K, the Low preset (71.8 FPS) is the only viable option for a smooth experience, as the High and Ultra presets fail to maintain a consistent 60 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K (60.8 FPS) is borderline, but the frame rate is likely to dip in intense combat scenes.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is stark and reveals the bottleneck. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 146.8 at 1080p to 92.4 at 1440p, a 37% reduction, and then to 50.2 at 4K, a further 46% reduction from 1440p. This pattern is consistent across all presets, but the relative drop is larger at the highest settings. For example, on Ultra, the drop from 1080p to 4K is from 117.7 FPS to 42.2 FPS, a 64% decrease.

This scaling behavior strongly indicates that the GPU is the limiting component at 4K. The CPU’s performance is largely resolution-independent, and its high single-thread score (4680 in Cinebench R23) ensures it can keep up with the game’s logic at any resolution. The GPU, however, must render exponentially more pixels at 4K, and its 280.3 GB/s memory bandwidth is insufficient to maintain high frame rates at that resolution. The data suggests that for a 4K gaming experience, a more powerful GPU would be required, while the Ryzen 9 5900X would have no trouble supporting it. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is more moderate, showing that the GPU is still capable at that mid-range resolution, making it the sweet spot for this combination.