Doom

The AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile pairing delivers a commanding performance in Doom, with the benchmark data showing a system that comfortably handles high refresh rates at 1080p and remains playable at 4K. The measured frame rates reveal a clear hierarchy across resolutions, with the GPU emerging as the primary scaling factor as pixel count increases, while the CPU's substantial headroom keeps even the lowest settings well above playable thresholds.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 produces a predictable and steep drop in average frame rates across all settings presets, underscoring the GPU's dominant role in this title. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 167 at 1080p to 108 at 1440p, a decrease of 59 frames, before settling at 59 at 4K. This represents a 64.7% reduction in average FPS from 1080p to 4K, a scaling pattern typical of a GPU-bound scenario where the RTX 4070 Mobile's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 128-bit bus are increasingly taxed.

The scaling from 1440p to 4K is particularly telling. At Medium settings, the average drops from 128 to 69, a 46.1% reduction, while at Low settings it falls from 147 to 80, a 45.6% reduction. These consistent percentage drops across presets suggest that the limiting factor is the GPU's raw throughput rather than any specific setting. The 4K Ultra preset, averaging 48 FPS, shows the system at its most strained, with the data indicating that this resolution/settings combination pushes the RTX 4070 Mobile to its practical limit for smooth gameplay.

Interestingly, the gap between Low and Ultra settings narrows as resolution increases. At 1080p, the spread between Low (227 FPS) and Ultra (137 FPS) is 90 frames, but at 4K that spread shrinks to 32 frames (80 vs 48). This compression indicates that at higher resolutions, the GPU's pixel throughput becomes the bottleneck, diminishing the performance impact of graphical quality adjustments. The 1080p results, by contrast, show a wider spread, suggesting that the CPU can still feed the GPU effectively at lower resolutions, but the GPU's ceiling is reached before the CPU's capabilities are exhausted.

GPU Role

The RTX 4070 Mobile's specifications directly inform its Doom performance. With a base clock of 1395 MHz and a boost clock of 1695 MHz, the AD106 chip's 4608 shading units deliver a measured FP32 throughput of 15.62 TFLOPS. The 8 GB of GDDR6 memory runs at 2000 MHz with a 16 Gbps effective rate, producing 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth across a 128-bit bus. These figures are consistent with the benchmark results, where the GPU's percentile ranking against all GPUs stands at 73, placing it in the upper quarter of tested hardware.

The memory configuration is a notable factor in the 4K results. The 8 GB capacity is sufficient for Doom's textures at all presets, but the 256.0 GB/s bandwidth is a constraint. At 3840x2160, the average FPS of 59 at High settings suggests the GPU is operating near its memory bandwidth ceiling, as the pixel fill rate required at 4K outstrips what the 128-bit bus can efficiently supply. The measured pixel rate of 81.36 GPixel/s and texture rate of 244.1 GTexel/s are the theoretical limits, but real-world performance falls short of these peaks due to memory subsystem pressure.

The GPU's nearest rivals in the benchmark database provide context. The RTX 4070 Mobile's average benchmark score of 27435 is essentially tied with the AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT, which scores 27425 (a deltaPct of 0). It trails the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090, which scores 27565, by just 0.5%, but leads the NVIDIA RTX PRO 4000 Blackwell, which scores 27135, by 1.1%. This clustering suggests that in compute terms, the mobile 4070 punches well above its power envelope, a trait that carries into Doom's frame rates, where it outperforms what its modest 115 W TDP might imply.

FAQ

*Q: Can this system maintain 60 FPS at 4K in Doom?*

A: At High settings, the average FPS is 59, just one frame short of a consistent 60 FPS target. Medium settings achieve 69 FPS on average, providing a comfortable margin above 60, while Low settings reach 80 FPS. Ultra settings fall to 48 FPS, which is not sufficient for 60 FPS gameplay.

Q: What is the best resolution for high refresh rate monitors?

A: At 1920x1080, all settings presets exceed 137 FPS, with Low reaching 227 FPS and Medium hitting 198 FPS. Even the most demanding Ultra preset averages 137 FPS, making 1080p the only resolution where this system can fully exploit a 144 Hz or higher refresh rate display.

Q: How does the CPU affect performance at lower resolutions?

A: The Ryzen 9 8945HX, with 16 cores and 32 threads, has an average benchmark score of 76212 and ranks in the 95th percentile of all CPUs. At 1080p, the wide spread between Low (227 FPS) and Ultra (137 FPS) suggests the CPU is not the limiting factor, as the GPU is still the primary constraint even at these high frame rates.

*Q: Is the 8 GB VRAM sufficient for Doom at all settings?*

A: The measured results show no signs of VRAM capacity issues, as all resolutions and settings combinations produced consistent frame times. The 8 GB capacity is adequate for Doom's requirements, though the 256.0 GB/s bandwidth is a performance limiter at 4K.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings average 147 FPS, while Ultra averages 89 FPS, a difference of 58 FPS or roughly 39%. Medium settings sit in between at 128 FPS, and High reaches 108 FPS.

*Q: How does this system compare to other tested combos in Doom?*

A: The combination ranks 2033 out of 3712 tested combos, placing it in the 45th percentile. This rank reflects the balance of the CPU and GPU pairing, which is strong overall but not at the top tier for this specific game.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested CPU and GPU combinations for Doom, this pairing of the AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile achieves a rank of 2033 out of 3712 combos. This places it in the upper 45% of all tested systems, a solid but not exceptional position. The ranking reflects a combination where the CPU is overqualified relative to the GPU, as the 8945HX's percentile of 95 among all CPUs far exceeds the RTX 4070 Mobile's percentile of 73 among all GPUs.

The CPU's nearest rivals underscore this imbalance. The 8945HX's average benchmark score of 76212 is nearly identical to the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX, which scores 76155 (a deltaPct of 0.1% in favor of the AMD chip). It also edges out the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D, which scores 75779 (a 0.6% delta in the 8945HX's favor), while trailing the AMD EPYC Embedded 8224P by 0.4% and the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 9945WX by 0.4%. This places the CPU in elite company, yet the Doom rank of 2033 indicates that the GPU's performance ceiling is what ultimately defines the system's standing in this title.

The combination's rank of 2033 suggests that while the frame rates are impressive, there are 2032 other combinations that produce higher average FPS in Doom. Given the GPU's position relative to rivals like the RTX 3090 (which it trails by only 0.5% in average benchmark score), the rank is a function of the mobile GPU's thermal and power constraints rather than any architectural deficiency. The 115 W TDP of the RTX 4070 Mobile is a deliberate limit, and the data shows that this system's performance is competitive with desktop parts that consume significantly more power.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates across all presets. Low settings average 227 FPS, with Medium at 198 FPS (min 168, max 228), High at 167 FPS, and Ultra at 137 FPS. The min and max values for Medium settings show a range of 60 FPS, indicating some frame time variance, but the average remains high enough for competitive play on any display.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages drop but remain robust. Low settings produce 147 FPS, Medium averages 128 FPS (min 109, max 148), High reaches 108 FPS, and Ultra falls to 89 FPS. The Medium settings range at 1440p is 39 FPS, tighter than at 1080p, suggesting that the GPU's workload is becoming more consistent as pixel count increases.

At 3840x2160, the system's limits become apparent. Low settings average 80 FPS, Medium averages 69 FPS (min 59, max 80), High drops to 59 FPS, and Ultra falls to 48 FPS. The Medium settings range at 4K is 21 FPS, the narrowest of any resolution, which indicates that the GPU is consistently saturated and frame delivery is more uniform, albeit at lower absolute rates.

The data shows a clear linear progression across resolutions. At High settings, the average FPS steps from 167 (1080p) to 108 (1440p) to 59 (4K), a halving at each successive resolution. At Low settings, the progression is 227 to 147 to 80, which is a less severe drop from 1440p to 4K (45.6% reduction) compared to the 1080p to 1440p drop (35.2% reduction). This suggests that at Low settings, the GPU's memory bandwidth is the limiting factor at 4K, while at higher settings, the shading and texture units are also saturated.

Settings Recommendations

For 1080p gameplay, the Ultra preset at 137 FPS is the clear choice for users with high refresh rate displays, as it provides the best visual quality while still exceeding 120 FPS. If a 240 Hz monitor is in use, Medium settings at 198 FPS offer a substantial frame rate boost with only a moderate reduction in graphical fidelity. Low settings at 227 FPS are available but provide diminishing returns over Medium for most users.

At 1440p, the recommendation shifts to High settings, which average 108 FPS. This provides a smooth experience on 100-120 Hz displays while maintaining strong visual quality. Medium settings at 128 FPS are preferable for 144 Hz monitors, and Ultra at 89 FPS remains playable but sacrifices the frame rate headroom needed for fast-paced action. Low at 147 FPS is optimal only for users prioritizing maximum frame rate over all visual considerations.

For 4K, the choice is more constrained. Medium settings at 69 FPS deliver the best balance, remaining above 60 FPS while offering improved visuals over Low (80 FPS) and High (59 FPS). The Ultra preset at 48 FPS is not recommended for competitive play, as the sub-60 frame rate introduces stutter and input latency. High settings at 59 FPS are marginal, and users should either accept the slight dip below 60 or drop to Medium for a more consistent experience.

The overall data indicates that Medium settings provide the most versatile experience across all resolutions, with average FPS of 198 at 1080p, 128 at 1440p, and 69 at 4K. This preset also shows the most consistent frame delivery, with narrower min-max ranges at each resolution compared to other settings. For users who prioritize frame rate stability over visual extremes, Medium is the recommended default, with High as a viable alternative at 1080p and 1440p for those with less demanding refresh rate requirements.