Doom

The AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 combination delivers a formidable performance profile in Doom, capable of high refresh rate play at 1440p and smooth 4K experiences. The measured data reveals a system where the GPU is the primary scaling factor across resolutions, while the 16-core processor provides ample headroom to prevent bottlenecks, even at lower graphical presets.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS progression from 1080p to 4K clearly illustrates the growing burden on the graphics card. At 1080p with High settings, the combo produces an average of 212 FPS. Moving to 1440p drops that to 137 FPS, a reduction of 75 FPS, and then to 74 FPS at 4K, another 63 FPS lower. This steep decline, roughly 35% from 1080p to 1440p and another 46% from 1440p to 4K, indicates that the RTX 4080's rendering workload is the dominant constraint as pixel count rises.

The scaling pattern is consistent across all settings presets. With Low settings, the system achieves 288 FPS at 1080p, 186 FPS at 1440p, and 101 FPS at 4K. The delta between 1080p and 1440p here is 102 FPS, while the delta between 1440p and 4K is 85 FPS. This shows that even when the CPU has less work to do per frame, the GPU's fill rate and shading capacity become the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

The gap between 1080p and 1440p is larger than the gap between 1440p and 4K in absolute terms, but the percentage drop is similar. For instance, at Medium settings, the 1080p average of 251 FPS falls to 162 FPS at 1440p (a 35% reduction), then to 88 FPS at 4K (a 46% reduction). This non-linear behavior is typical of a GPU-bound scenario: as resolution increases, the GPU's pixel processing and memory bandwidth are saturated, but the CPU's frame preparation time remains largely unchanged, making the GPU the clear bottleneck.

The data suggests that this combination is exceptionally well-suited for 1440p gaming, where the average FPS remains above 112 across all presets. At 4K, the system still delivers playable frame rates, but the performance cost is significant, with the Ultra preset dipping to an average of 61 FPS. The scaling indicates that for maximum refresh rates, 1080p is the target, while 1440p offers the best balance of visual fidelity and speed. The 4K results show a system that can handle the resolution but requires a compromise on settings to maintain high frame rates.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is the engine driving these results, and its specifications explain the performance ceiling. With 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, the card provides a memory bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s, which is crucial for feeding the 9728 shading units at higher resolutions. The 4K High preset's 74 FPS average and 4K Medium's 88 FPS average indicate that the memory subsystem and raw compute power are sufficient to handle Doom's demanding texture and lighting workloads without running out of VRAM.

The GPU's clock behavior, with a base of 2205 MHz and a boost of 2505 MHz, supports its high throughput. The boost clock is critical for sustained performance; in a fast-paced FPS like Doom, the ability to maintain high clocks under load directly translates to the frame rate consistency seen in the measured data. The 4K Medium preset shows a minimum FPS of 75 and a maximum of 101, reflecting the card's ability to keep frame pacing tight even when the resolution is high.

The RTX 4080's 48.74 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is a key factor in the 1080p results. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 288 FPS, which is likely constrained by the CPU's frame generation rate rather than the GPU's ability to render. However, at 4K Ultra, the average drops to 61 FPS, showing that the GPU's compute units are fully saturated. The 112 ROPs and 304 TMUs handle the final pixel output and texture filtering, and the data suggests they are well-balanced for this game.

The GPU's position in the benchmark hierarchy, sitting at the 86th percentile of all GPUs, aligns with its performance. Its nearest rival, the RTX 4080 SUPER, has an average score only 0.1% higher, indicating that this card is at the top of its class. The measured FPS in Doom reflects this tier, as it delivers competitive frame rates that would satisfy most high-refresh-rate monitors. The card's 320 W TDP and triple-slot design are physical characteristics, but the in-game data shows no thermal throttling signs, as the frame rates scale predictably with resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, this specific pairing of the Ryzen 9 8945HX and RTX 4080 holds a rank of 910 out of 2930 combos for Doom. This places it in the top third of all systems tested, which is a strong showing given the game's age and the high-end nature of both components. The rank reflects that while this is a powerful setup, there are many other combinations with faster GPUs or newer CPUs that achieve higher frame rates.

The combo's ranking is influenced by the CPU's performance relative to its peers. The Ryzen 9 8945HX scores an average benchmark of 76212, which places it at the 95th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX (0.1% higher average score) and the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D (0.6% higher), are extremely close in synthetic tests. This suggests that the CPU is not the limiting factor in the combo's rank; instead, the RTX 4080's position, at the 86th percentile of GPUs, is the more likely determinant.

The data indicates that this combo is well-matched for Doom, as the CPU's high single-thread and multi-thread scores prevent it from bottlenecking the GPU. The rank of 910 out of 2930 means that a significant number of combos achieve higher FPS, likely those with more powerful GPUs like the RTX 4090 or newer 50-series cards. However, the combination still outperforms the majority of tested systems, making it a high-tier option for this title. The fact that the CPU's nearest rivals are within 0.6% in average score reinforces that the GPU choice is what separates this combo from others in the rankings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the system is exceptionally fast. Low settings produce an average of 288 FPS, Medium 251 FPS, High 212 FPS, and Ultra 173 FPS. The Medium preset also shows a minimum of 213 FPS and a maximum of 289 FPS, indicating tight frame times. The spread from Low to Ultra is 115 FPS, showing that even at the highest settings, the system is far beyond the 144 Hz refresh rate that most monitors offer.

At 2560x1440, performance remains high but the impact of resolution is clear. Low settings average 186 FPS, Medium 162 FPS, High 137 FPS, and Ultra 112 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 138 FPS and maximum of 187 FPS show that the system can maintain high frame rates even with occasional dips. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is consistent across presets, with an average reduction of about 45%, which is expected for a GPU-bound workload.

At 3840x2160, the system starts to feel the pressure. Low settings average 101 FPS, Medium 88 FPS, High 74 FPS, and Ultra 61 FPS. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 75 FPS and a maximum of 101 FPS, which is a wider variance than at lower resolutions, suggesting that the GPU is working harder to maintain frame pacing. The Ultra preset at 61 FPS is right at the edge of what many consider smooth, but it is playable. The full breakdown shows a system that scales predictably with settings and resolution, with no unexpected anomalies in the data.

Settings Recommendations

For a 4K display, the data suggests that the Medium preset is the optimal choice. With an average of 88 FPS and a minimum of 75 FPS, it provides a smooth experience that is significantly better than the High preset's 74 FPS average and the Ultra preset's 61 FPS average. The jump from Low (101 FPS) to Medium (88 FPS) costs 13 FPS but likely offers a substantial visual improvement. The High preset's 74 FPS is playable but leaves less headroom for demanding scenes, making Medium the best balance of quality and speed at 4K.

For 1440p, the High preset is the clear winner. It delivers an average of 137 FPS, which is well above the 112 FPS of the Ultra preset and only 25 FPS less than the Medium preset's 162 FPS. The High preset ensures that the visual quality is near the maximum while maintaining frame rates that are smooth for competitive play. The Ultra preset at 112 FPS is also viable, but the marginal visual gains over High do not justify the 25 FPS loss.

At 1080p, the Ultra preset is the best choice, as the system has enough horsepower to run it at an average of 173 FPS. This is still high enough for a 144 Hz monitor and provides the best image quality. The Medium preset at 251 FPS is overkill for most displays, and the Low preset at 288 FPS is only useful for extreme competitive settings. The data shows that at 1080p, the system can afford to max out the settings without sacrificing smoothness.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX is a 16-core, 32-thread processor based on the Zen 4 architecture, running at a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. Its benchmark scores are exceptional, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 42713 and a single-core score of 6030. These numbers, combined with its 64 MB of L3 cache, suggest that the CPU can easily feed the GPU in Doom, a game that is not particularly demanding on multi-core processors but relies on strong single-thread performance.

The CPU's role in this combo is to avoid being a bottleneck. At 1080p Low settings, the system reaches 288 FPS, which is near the limit of what most CPUs can generate. The fact that the Ryzen 9 8945HX can sustain this level indicates that its single-thread performance is sufficient. The 5.40 GHz boost clock is key here, as Doom's engine benefits from high clock speeds. The Cinebench R15 single-core score of 607 and R20 single-core score of 2532 further confirm its capability.

The CPU's high multi-thread score (Cinebench R23 multi-core of 42713) is less relevant for Doom, but it ensures that any background tasks or streaming workloads do not impact frame rates. The 32 threads provide massive headroom, and the data shows that the CPU is not the limiting factor at any resolution or settings preset. Even at 4K Ultra, where the GPU is clearly the bottleneck, the CPU's performance is sufficient to maintain the 61 FPS average. The combination of high boost clocks and a robust core count makes this CPU an ideal partner for the RTX 4080, ensuring that the GPU's potential is fully realized.