Doom

FAQ

Q: What is the overall performance ranking of this CPU/GPU combo in Doom?

A: This combination ranks 3652 out of 3712 tested combos in Doom, placing it in the bottom 1.6% of all tested configurations. The data indicates this is a very low-performing setup for this game, with the GPU being the dominant constraint.

Q: How does the Ryzen 9 5950X compare to its nearest rivals in average benchmark score?

A: The Ryzen 9 5950X has an average benchmark score of 51947. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX, scores 52073 (0.2% higher), while the AMD EPYC 8124P scores 52121 (0.3% higher). The Intel Core i9-13900F scores 51730 (0.4% lower), and the Intel Core i7-14700 scores 52301 (0.7% higher).

Q: How does the GTX 1050 Ti compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The GTX 1050 Ti has an average benchmark score of 4193. The AMD Radeon R5 M330 scores 4170 (0.6% lower), the NVIDIA Quadro K2100M scores 4151 (1.0% lower), and the NVIDIA Quadro K3000M scores 4241 (1.1% higher). The AMD Radeon Vega 3 scores 4268 (1.8% higher).

Q: What is the best frame rate achievable at 1080p with this setup?

A: The highest average frame rate recorded is 74 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This drops to 65 FPS at Medium, 55 FPS at High, and 45 FPS at Ultra settings. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 55 FPS and a maximum of 74 FPS.

Q: Is the GTX 1050 Ti's 4 GB VRAM a limiting factor at higher resolutions?

A: The data shows a significant performance collapse as resolution increases. At 1080p Low, the average is 74 FPS; at 1440p Low, it drops to 48 FPS; and at 4K Low, it falls to 26 FPS. This pattern indicates the GPU's memory bandwidth of 112.1 GB/s and overall compute capability are insufficient for higher resolutions, regardless of the VRAM capacity.

Q: What does the percentile ranking of the GPU indicate about its class?

A: The GTX 1050 Ti sits at the 25th percentile among all GPUs, meaning it performs better than only about a quarter of all GPUs in the database. Its average benchmark score of 4193 places it on par with entry-level mobile and older workstation parts.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X is a 16-core, 32-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture (Vermeer codename), built on TSMC's 7 nm process with 8,300 million transistors across a 2x 74 mm² die configuration. It has a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz, with a 105 W TDP. The CPU supports DDR4 memory in dual-channel configuration with a memory bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s, and it offers PCIe Gen 4 with 20 lanes from the CPU.

In Doom, this processor is dramatically overqualified for the workload. The game's measured FPS is entirely constrained by the GPU, as evidenced by the fact that even at 1080p Low settings — where CPU load is typically highest relative to GPU — the average is only 74 FPS. The CPU's benchmark scores indicate massive headroom: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 26017 and a single-core score of 1614, with a PassMark single-thread score of 3470. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 10810 and max-thread score of 11597 show that this CPU can handle far more demanding scenarios than Doom at these settings presents.

The CPU's strong single-thread performance (Geekbench single-core 2083, 3DMark single-thread 944) is relevant because Doom's engine does use multiple threads, but the GPU's limitations will mask any CPU differences. The Ryzen 9 5950X's 64 MB of L3 cache and 512 KB L2 per core provide ample data locality for game workloads, but this advantage is irrelevant when the GPU cannot deliver frames fast enough.

The data suggests that the CPU is never the bottleneck in this configuration. At 4K Ultra, where the average FPS drops to 16, the CPU is likely idle waiting for the GPU. Even at 1080p Low with 74 FPS average, the CPU's capabilities (PassMark multithread score of 45424) far exceed what the game demands. The CPU's percentile ranking at 91 among all CPUs confirms its high-end status, while the GPU's 25th percentile ranking shows the mismatch.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti is a Pascal-architecture GPU (GP107 chip) built on Samsung's 14 nm process, featuring 3,300 million transistors on a 132 mm² die. It has a base clock of 1291 MHz and a boost clock of 1392 MHz, with memory running at 1752 MHz (7 Gbps effective). The card has 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 112.1 GB/s. It contains 768 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, with peak pixel rate of 44.54 GPixel/s and texture rate of 66.82 GTexel/s. FP32 performance is 2.138 TFLOPS.

This GPU is the primary constraint in Doom. Its PassMark G3D score of 6340 and average benchmark score of 4193 place it at the 25th percentile among all GPUs. The nearest rivals — the AMD Radeon R5 M330, NVIDIA Quadro K2100M, NVIDIA Quadro K3000M, and AMD Radeon Vega 3 — all score within a 2% band, confirming this is entry-level territory.

The GPU's memory bandwidth of 112.1 GB/s is a critical limitation. Doom at 4K requires substantial texture bandwidth, and the data shows the GPU struggling: 4K High averages 19 FPS, 4K Medium 23 FPS, and 4K Low 26 FPS. The 128-bit memory bus is simply too narrow for high-resolution rendering. The 4 GB VRAM capacity is adequate for the game's textures at these settings, but the bandwidth and compute throughput are insufficient.

The GPU's DirectX 12 score of 26 and Vulkan score of 10001 in Geekbench show that while it supports modern APIs (DirectX 12_1, Vulkan 1.4), its raw execution resources are limited. The 2.138 TFLOPS FP32 throughput is roughly a tenth of what modern mid-range GPUs offer, and this is reflected in the measured FPS. The GPU's 75 W TDP and lack of power connectors indicate it draws power solely from the PCIe slot, further confirming its entry-level positioning.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the GTX 1050 Ti delivers playable frame rates only at lower settings. The Low preset averages 74 FPS, which is smooth for a fast-paced FPS. Medium drops to 65 FPS average with a range of 55 to 74 FPS. High averages 55 FPS, and Ultra falls to 45 FPS. These numbers show a clear linear scaling with settings, losing roughly 10 FPS per preset step.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance degrades significantly. Low settings average 48 FPS, Medium averages 42 FPS (range 36 to 48), High averages 35 FPS, and Ultra averages 29 FPS. None of these are ideal for Doom's fast action, but Low and Medium are marginally playable.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is overwhelmed. Low settings average only 26 FPS, Medium averages 23 FPS (range 19 to 26), High averages 19 FPS, and Ultra averages 16 FPS. These frame rates are all below playable thresholds for an FPS game, confirming that 4K is not viable with this GPU.

The pattern across all resolutions is consistent: each settings tier costs roughly 8-10 FPS at 1080p, 6-7 FPS at 1440p, and 3-4 FPS at 4K. This diminishing impact at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU's compute and memory bandwidth are saturated regardless of the quality settings, because the resolution itself is the dominant load factor.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 1440p to 4K reveals the GPU-bound nature of this configuration. At Low settings, 1080p averages 74 FPS, 1440p averages 48 FPS, and 4K averages 26 FPS. This represents a 35% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 65% drop from 1080p to 4K. At Medium settings, the progression is 65 FPS → 42 FPS → 23 FPS, which is a 35% drop to 1440p and a 65% drop to 4K. High settings show 55 FPS → 35 FPS → 19 FPS, with drops of 36% and 65% respectively. Ultra settings go from 45 FPS → 29 FPS → 16 FPS, drops of 36% and 64%.

The consistent ~65% reduction from 1080p to 4K across all settings is a classic sign of a GPU that is completely fill-rate or bandwidth-limited. The pixel count quadruples from 1080p to 4K, and the GTX 1050 Ti's 44.54 GPixel/s pixel rate cannot keep up. The fact that the percentage drop is nearly identical across all quality presets indicates that resolution, not settings, is the dominant factor in performance.

The relatively small difference between Low and Ultra at 4K (26 FPS vs. 16 FPS) compared to 1080p (74 FPS vs. 45 FPS) shows that at 4K, the GPU is so constrained that even reducing quality settings cannot compensate for the resolution burden. This is characteristic of a memory-bandwidth bottleneck, where the 112.1 GB/s bandwidth is insufficient for 4K texture and framebuffer operations regardless of the shading load.

Settings Recommendations

For 1920x1080, the Low preset at 74 FPS average provides the smoothest experience and is recommended for competitive play. The Medium preset at 65 FPS is a reasonable compromise, offering better visual quality while still maintaining a frame rate above typical 60 FPS thresholds. High at 55 FPS is playable but not ideal for fast-paced combat, and Ultra at 45 FPS should be avoided due to increased input latency and motion blur from lower frame rates.

At 2560x1440, Low settings at 48 FPS is the only preset that approaches playability, though it may still feel slightly sluggish. Medium at 42 FPS is borderline, and High at 35 FPS or Ultra at 29 FPS are not recommended for Doom's frenetic gameplay. If 1440p is required, players should accept Low settings and potentially a lower internal resolution.

At 3840x2160, none of the presets deliver playable frame rates. Even Low at 26 FPS is below the minimum threshold for an FPS. The data shows this GPU cannot handle 4K in Doom under any settings. Users with 4K displays should either run the game at a lower resolution or upgrade the GPU.

The best overall experience per the measured data is 1080p with Medium settings, balancing the 65 FPS average with improved visual quality over Low. The Medium preset's observed range of 55 to 74 FPS shows consistency, while High's 55 FPS average is too close to the lower bound for comfort in a game that rewards high frame rates. Given the GPU's 25th percentile ranking and the CPU's 91st percentile, this setup is fundamentally mismatched for Doom beyond 1080p Medium, and the data suggests that any attempt to increase resolution or quality will result in a suboptimal experience.