Doom

The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 delivers a highly consistent experience in Doom, with frame rates that scale predictably across resolutions and settings. The data shows a system that is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions, while the 16-core processor ensures the GPU is fed without constraint at lower settings. This analysis breaks down the measured performance, component roles, and provides actionable settings guidance based strictly on the benchmark data.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for this combo reveals a clear and linear progression of performance as resolution increases, which is the classic signature of a GPU-limited scenario. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the system achieves an average of 228 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 at the same Low preset drops the average to 147 FPS, a reduction of 81 FPS. Stepping up to 3840x2160 at Low yields 80 FPS, which is another 67 FPS decline. This consistent drop of roughly 35-45% per resolution tier indicates that the rendering pipeline is saturated by the GPU's workload rather than any CPU-side bottleneck.

The scaling pattern holds true across all settings presets. At High settings, the averages are 167 FPS at 1080p, 108 FPS at 1440p, and 59 FPS at 4K. The Medium preset shows a similar curve: 198 FPS at 1080p, 128 FPS at 1440p, and 70 FPS at 4K. Even at Ultra, where the absolute numbers are lower, the relative drop remains consistent—137 FPS at 1080p, 89 FPS at 1440p, and 48 FPS at 4K. The uniformity of these reductions strongly suggests that the limiting component is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060's rendering capacity, not the CPU or memory subsystem.

What is particularly telling is the frame time data available for the Medium preset. At 1920x1080 Medium, the minimum FPS is 168 and the maximum is 228, giving a spread of 60 FPS. At 2560x1440 Medium, the minimum is 109 and the maximum is 148, a spread of 39 FPS. At 3840x2160 Medium, the minimum is 59 and the maximum is 80, a spread of 21 FPS. This tightening of the frame time variance as resolution increases further confirms that the GPU is the primary constraint—at 4K, the GPU is so saturated that it cannot produce the large frame time swings seen at lower resolutions where it has spare capacity.

The data indicates that 1080p and 1440p are the sweet spots for this combination, with 4K being playable but requiring careful settings selection. The 4K Ultra result of 48 FPS is the only sub-60 FPS average in the entire dataset, highlighting that the RTX 4060's 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit memory bus begin to struggle at that extreme resolution with maxed-out settings.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X is a 16-core, 32-thread processor based on the Zen 3 architecture, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz. It features 64 MB of L3 cache and supports DDR4 memory in a dual-channel configuration. In the context of Doom, a game released in 2016, this processor has far more computational headroom than the title requires. The benchmark results show that the CPU's role in this pairing is to provide a stable platform that never becomes the bottleneck, allowing the GPU to operate at its full potential.

The processor's synthetic benchmark scores reinforce this interpretation. In Cinebench R23, it scores 26017 in multicore and 1614 in single-core. The 3DMark results show a scaling from 1856 in the 2-thread test to 11597 in the max-threads test. These numbers indicate a processor with immense multi-threaded capability, but for Doom's single-threaded or lightly-threaded workload, the single-core performance is what matters most. The single-thread scores—944 in 3DMark, 266.5 in Cinebench R15, and 3470 in PassMark—are all strong enough to ensure that even at 1080p with Low settings, the CPU can push frame rates past 200 FPS without becoming a limiting factor.

Comparing to its nearest rivals in the database, the Ryzen 9 5950X sits within a tight performance band. The Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX scores 52073 with a delta of -0.2%, meaning the Ryzen is essentially tied with it. The Intel Core i9-13900F scores 51730 with a delta of 0.4%, putting the Ryzen slightly ahead. The AMD EPYC 8124P is 0.3% behind, and the Intel Core i7-14700 is 0.7% ahead. These sub-1% deltas confirm that the CPU is not a differentiating factor in this system's gaming performance—any of these processors would produce nearly identical FPS in Doom. The Ryzen 9 5950X's 91st percentile ranking among all CPUs reflects its overall capability, but in this specific game, its 16 cores remain largely underutilized.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is the definitive performance driver in this configuration. Based on the Ada Lovelace architecture with the AD107 chip, it operates at a base clock of 1830 MHz and a boost clock of 2460 MHz. It has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 272.0 GB/s of bandwidth. With 3072 shading units, 96 TMUs, and 48 ROPs, the GPU's raw throughput is 15.11 TFLOPS for FP32 operations. These specifications define the performance ceiling for this combo.

The GPU's benchmark scores place it in the 61st percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17639. Its nearest rivals in the database are the AMD Radeon HD 7790 (17666, delta -0.2%), the AMD Radeon 780M (17588, delta 0.3%), the AMD Radeon Pro 560 (17551, delta 0.5%), and the AMD Radeon Pro 460 (17509, delta 0.7%). This grouping shows that the RTX 4060's synthetic performance is closely matched by a range of older and integrated GPUs, but its real-world gaming performance in Doom is what matters here.

The GPU's role becomes evident when examining the measured FPS across resolutions. At 1920x1080 Ultra, the system produces 137 FPS average, which drops to 89 FPS at 2560x1440 Ultra and 48 FPS at 3840x2160 Ultra. This 65% reduction from 1080p to 4K is directly attributable to the GPU's rendering workload scaling with pixel count. The 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for Doom at all tested settings and resolutions, as the game's 2016 vintage does not demand large frame buffers. However, the 128-bit memory bus and 272.0 GB/s bandwidth become the limiting factors at 4K, where the texture and geometry data throughput requirements outpace the GPU's ability to feed its shaders efficiently.

The GPU's boost clock of 2460 MHz is aggressive, and the data suggests it holds this frequency well under sustained load in Doom. The pixel rate of 118.1 GPixel/s and texture rate of 236.2 GTexel/s are the key metrics for this game, which relies heavily on fill rate and texturing. The measured FPS at 1080p High (167 FPS) and 1440p High (108 FPS) demonstrate that the RTX 4060 has ample headroom for high-refresh-rate gaming at these resolutions, but the 4K results confirm that this GPU is not designed for native 4K gaming at maximum settings.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of AMD Ryzen 9 5950X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 ranks 2001 out of 3712 tested combos in Doom. This places it in the 54th percentile of all tested systems, which is a middle-of-the-pack result. The ranking reflects the balance between a high-end CPU and a mid-range GPU—the processor is capable of supporting much faster graphics cards, but the RTX 4060 limits the overall gaming performance.

The ranking is more a function of the GPU than the CPU. Since the Ryzen 9 5950X is in the 91st percentile of all CPUs, its contribution to the combo's rank is minimal—it is never the limiting factor. The RTX 4060's 61st percentile GPU ranking is a better predictor of the combo's overall standing. In a game like Doom, where frame rates are primarily determined by GPU performance, the combo rank of 2001 out of 3712 aligns closely with the GPU's relative position in the database.

This positioning suggests that users with this combo are getting performance that is typical for the GPU, with the CPU providing significant headroom for future GPU upgrades. The data shows that if the GPU were upgraded, the combo rank would improve substantially, as the CPU's capabilities are not fully utilized in Doom at any resolution or settings preset. For the current configuration, the rank indicates that there are 2000 faster combos and 1711 slower combos, placing this system in the upper half of all tested configurations but not among the elite performers.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the target resolution and refresh rate. The data shows that the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance across all resolutions, as it consistently delivers frame rates that are significantly higher than High or Ultra while maintaining a playable experience.

At 1920x1080, the Medium preset delivers 198 FPS average, which is 31 FPS higher than High (167 FPS) and 61 FPS higher than Ultra (137 FPS). The Low preset at 228 FPS is technically the fastest, but the Medium preset provides a substantial visual improvement over Low while still maintaining a high frame rate. For 1080p gaming, the Medium preset is recommended for users with 144Hz or 165Hz monitors, as it provides enough headroom to avoid screen tearing. The Ultra preset at 137 FPS is also viable for 120Hz displays, but the framerate drop may not justify the marginal visual gains over Medium.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset yields 128 FPS, which is ideal for 120Hz or 144Hz displays. The High preset at 108 FPS is still excellent for 100Hz+ monitors, while the Ultra preset at 89 FPS is playable but not optimal for high-refresh-rate displays. The Low preset at 147 FPS offers the highest frame rate but sacrifices too much visual fidelity for most users. For 1440p, the Medium preset is the clear recommendation, as it delivers a 19 FPS advantage over High while only slightly reducing visual quality.

At 3840x2160, the situation changes. The Medium preset at 70 FPS is the only option that consistently stays above 60 FPS, with a minimum of 59 FPS. The High preset at 59 FPS average is borderline, and the Ultra preset at 48 FPS is not recommended for smooth gameplay. For 4K, the Medium preset is the only viable choice for a 60Hz display, and even then, the minimum FPS of 59 suggests occasional dips below the refresh rate. Users targeting 4K should accept Medium settings as the practical maximum for this GPU, as the higher presets push the average below 60 FPS.

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1080p gaming with this combo?

A: The Medium preset at 1920x1080 delivers 198 FPS average, which is 31 FPS higher than High (167 FPS) and 61 FPS higher than Ultra (137 FPS). The Low preset at 228 FPS is faster but offers significantly reduced visual quality. Medium provides the best balance for high-refresh-rate displays.

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

A: Yes, but with limitations. At 3840x2160, the Medium preset achieves 70 FPS average with a minimum of 59 FPS, which is playable on a 60Hz monitor. The High preset drops to 59 FPS average, and Ultra falls to 48 FPS, making Medium the only comfortable choice for 4K.

Q: How does the Ryzen 9 5950X compare to its nearest CPU rivals?

A: The Ryzen 9 5950X has an average benchmark score of 51947. The Intel Core Ultra 5 235HX scores 52073 (delta -0.2%), the AMD EPYC 8124P scores 52121 (delta -0.3%), the Intel Core i9-13900F scores 51730 (delta 0.4%), and the Intel Core i7-14700 scores 52301 (delta -0.7%). All are within 0.7% of each other.

Q: What is the GPU's relative performance ranking?

A: The RTX 4060 is in the 61st percentile of all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 17639. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon HD 7790 (17666, delta -0.2%), AMD Radeon 780M (17588, delta 0.3%), AMD Radeon Pro 560 (17551, delta 0.5%), and AMD Radeon Pro 460 (17509, delta 0.7%).

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The data clearly shows the GPU is the limiting factor. FPS scales linearly with resolution changes, and frame time variance tightens as resolution increases, both classic signs of GPU saturation. The CPU's 16 cores and high single-thread performance ensure it never becomes a bottleneck.

Q: What is the combo's overall rank among all tested systems?

A: This combo ranks 2001 out of 3712 tested combos in Doom, placing it in the 54th percentile. This is consistent with the GPU's mid-range position, as the CPU's high performance does not compensate for the GPU's limitations in this game.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS dataset for this combo is as follows, organized by resolution and settings:

1920x1080:

• Low: 228 FPS average
• Medium: 198 FPS average, 168 FPS minimum, 228 FPS maximum
• High: 167 FPS average
• Ultra: 137 FPS average

2560x1440:

• Low: 147 FPS average
• Medium: 128 FPS average, 109 FPS minimum, 148 FPS maximum
• High: 108 FPS average
• Ultra: 89 FPS average

3840x2160:

• Low: 80 FPS average
• Medium: 70 FPS average, 59 FPS minimum, 80 FPS maximum
• High: 59 FPS average
• Ultra: 48 FPS average

The Medium preset is the only one with complete min/max data, providing insight into frame time stability. At 1080p, the spread between minimum and maximum is 60 FPS, indicating some variability but no stutter-inducing dips. At 1440p, the spread narrows to 39 FPS, and at 4K it narrows further to 21 FPS. This progressive tightening of frame times with resolution is consistent with the GPU becoming more saturated, which paradoxically results in more consistent frame pacing at higher resolutions, though at lower average FPS.

The Low settings preset shows the largest gains from resolution scaling, going from 228 FPS at 1080p to 80 FPS at 4K, a 65% reduction. The Ultra preset shows a similar relative reduction, from 137 FPS to 48 FPS, also a 65% drop. This uniform scaling across all presets confirms that the GPU's rendering pipeline is the sole determinant of performance, and that neither the CPU nor memory bandwidth introduces any additional bottlenecks at any settings level.