Doom

The benchmark data for Doom with the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 shows a system that delivers playable frame rates across most settings, but with distinct trade-offs between visual fidelity and performance. The measured FPS rows reveal a clear hierarchy where the Ultra preset consistently produces the lowest averages, while Low settings unlock the highest headroom, particularly at lower resolutions. This analysis breaks down the optimal settings, the roles of the CPU and GPU, how this specific combination ranks, and the scaling behavior across resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a straightforward path to the best experience. At 1920x1080, the High preset delivers an average of 130.9 FPS, which is comfortably above the 105.9 FPS seen at Ultra. The jump to Medium yields 153.9 FPS, and Low reaches 177.9 FPS. For players prioritizing smoothness over maximum detail, Medium at 1080p offers a substantial 23 FPS improvement over High while still maintaining a visually richer scene than Low.

At 2560x1440, the pattern shifts. High produces 81.5 FPS, Medium 97.3 FPS, and Low 110.7 FPS. The Ultra preset drops to 69.9 FPS. Here, Medium is the sweet spot: it stays well above the 60 FPS threshold and provides a 15.8 FPS advantage over High. The data indicates that Medium at 1440p balances quality and speed effectively, avoiding the steep performance cost of Ultra while preserving more detail than Low.

At 3840x2160, the story changes dramatically. High yields only 46.1 FPS, Medium 51.6 FPS, and Ultra falls to 35.6 FPS. Low is the only preset that breaks the 60 FPS barrier, achieving 62.7 FPS. For 4K gaming, the recommendation is clear: Low settings are necessary to maintain a fluid experience. The alternative is to accept sub-60 FPS performance at Medium or High, which may be tolerable for slower-paced sections but will struggle in intense combat. Overall, the best experience per the measured rows is Medium at 1080p or 1440p, where the frame rate remains high without sacrificing too much visual quality.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is the primary driver of these results. Its 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus provides 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for Doom’s texture-heavy environments at most settings. The GPU’s base clock of 1365 MHz and boost clock of 1680 MHz, paired with 1920 shading units, produce a texture rate of 201.6 GTexel/s and a pixel rate of 80.64 GPixel/s. These specifications explain why the GPU scales well from 1080p to 1440p but begins to struggle at 4K.

The benchmark scores corroborate this. The RTX 2060’s Passmark G3D score of 14111 and its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1242 indicate a mid-range part. Its percentile ranking of 58 against all GPUs places it slightly above the median, which aligns with the observed drop in performance at higher resolutions. The GPU’s nearest rivals—the AMD Radeon RX 7600S with a deltaPct of 0.5 and the AMD Radeon Pro 5700 at -1.7—show that this card is competitive within its class, but none of these rivals would alter the fundamental conclusion: the RTX 2060 is the limiting factor at 4K.

The VRAM capacity of 6 GB is worth noting. Doom’s Ultra preset at 4K likely pressures this allocation, contributing to the 35.6 FPS average. The data does not specify VRAM usage, but the sharp decline from High (46.1 FPS) to Ultra (35.6 FPS) suggests that the extra graphical workload exceeds what the card can efficiently process at that resolution. At 1080p and 1440p, the 6 GB buffer appears adequate, as frame rates remain high across all presets.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X is a 16-core, 32-thread processor with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz. Its 64 MB of L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support provide ample bandwidth for feeding the GPU. In Doom, a game that is not heavily threaded, the CPU’s single-core performance is more relevant than its multi-core muscle. The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 5450 and the 3DMark single-thread score of 944 indicate strong per-core capability.

This CPU is unlikely to bottleneck the RTX 2060 in this title. The benchmark results support this: at 1080p Low, the system reaches 177.9 FPS, which is a high number but still below what the CPU could theoretically push. The processor’s Passmark single-thread score of 3470 and its 93rd percentile ranking among all CPUs confirm that it is a top-tier part. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-14600K, has a deltaPct of -0.2, meaning the 5950X is essentially tied in average benchmark score.

For Doom specifically, the CPU’s role is to maintain a stable frame pipeline. The data shows that as resolution increases, frame rates drop in a pattern consistent with GPU limitation, not CPU limitation. At 4K Low, the 62.7 FPS average is still well above the 35.6 FPS at 4K Ultra, which would not be the case if the CPU were the bottleneck. Therefore, the 5950X provides more than enough headroom for this GPU, and the CPU’s 16 cores are largely underutilized in this game, but they do not hurt performance.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Ryzen 9 5950X and RTX 2060 ranks 1370 out of 1681 tested combos in Doom. This places it in the lower 18.5% of all configurations, which is expected given that the GPU is a mid-range part from 2019 while the CPU is a high-end part from 2020. The ranking reflects the GPU’s limitation rather than the CPU’s capability.

The combo’s position is influenced by the fact that many other tested pairings likely include more powerful GPUs. The RTX 2060’s nearest rivals—the RX 7600S, Radeon Pro 5600M, and Radeon Pro 5700—all have similar average scores, and any of these would likely produce comparable rankings. The CPU’s strong benchmark scores (e.g., Cinebench R23 multi-core of 38607) do not boost the combo’s rank because Doom is GPU-bound at most settings.

The 1370th rank out of 1681 is a useful indicator for buyers: this system will handle Doom well at lower resolutions, but it is not a top-tier performer for this game. The gap between this combo and higher-ranked ones is likely due to GPUs with more VRAM and higher memory bandwidth, which are better suited to Doom’s higher presets. Still, the rank is not a condemnation; it simply reflects the hardware’s tier.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drops from 1080p to 4K clearly illustrate the GPU’s workload. At High settings, the average FPS goes from 130.9 at 1080p, to 81.5 at 1440p, and down to 46.1 at 4K. This represents a 37.7% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 43.4% drop from 1440p to 4K. At Low settings, the progression is 177.9 to 110.7 to 62.7 FPS, showing a similar relative decline.

This scaling pattern indicates that the RTX 2060 is the limiting component. The CPU’s performance does not change with resolution, so if the CPU were the bottleneck, frame rates would remain flat across resolutions. Instead, the consistent downward trend reveals that the GPU is working harder as pixel count increases. The 192-bit memory bus and 336.0 GB/s bandwidth are likely strained at 4K, especially at Ultra where the 35.6 FPS average suggests the card is overwhelmed.

The data also shows that the gap between Low and Ultra settings widens at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the difference is 72 FPS (177.9 vs. 105.9), but at 4K, it narrows to 27.1 FPS (62.7 vs. 35.6). This narrowing suggests that at 4K, the GPU is so constrained that even lowering settings cannot fully compensate for the resolution’s demands. For the best scaling, players should stick to 1080p or 1440p, where the GPU can maintain high frame rates across all presets.

FAQ

Q: What is the best preset for 1920x1080?

A: The Medium preset provides 153.9 FPS, which is 23 FPS higher than High (130.9 FPS) and 48 FPS higher than Ultra (105.9 FPS). It offers a good balance of visual quality and performance.

Q: Can this system run Doom at 4K smoothly?

A: Only with Low settings, which achieves 62.7 FPS. Medium (51.6 FPS), High (46.1 FPS), and Ultra (35.6 FPS) all fall below 60 FPS, so they are not recommended for smooth 4K play.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this game?

A: The GPU is the bottleneck. Frame rates drop significantly from 1080p to 4K (e.g., 130.9 to 46.1 FPS at High), which is a classic sign of GPU limitation. The CPU’s strong single-core scores (Cinebench R23 single-core of 5450) indicate it has ample headroom.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested systems?

A: This combination ranks 1370 out of 1681 tested combos for Doom, placing it in the lower portion of the rankings. This is primarily due to the GPU’s mid-range class.

Q: What is the difference between High and Ultra at 1440p?

A: High delivers 81.5 FPS, while Ultra drops to 69.9 FPS. The difference of 11.6 FPS may be noticeable, but Ultra offers higher visual fidelity for those who prioritize it.

Q: Does the CPU’s 16-core count benefit Doom?

A: No. Doom is not heavily threaded, so the 16 cores are largely unused. The game relies more on single-core performance, where the 5950X excels with a 3DMark single-thread score of 944, but this does not translate into higher frame rates beyond what the GPU can deliver.