Doom

The AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 combination delivers a playable experience across most of Doom’s settings, but the data indicates that users will need to make deliberate trade-offs between visual fidelity and frame rate, particularly at higher resolutions. The measured results show a clear hierarchy where the Low preset is the only option that consistently secures a 60+ FPS average at 4K, while the Ultra preset struggles even at 1080p. This analysis breaks down the measured performance data to guide settings selection, GPU role, and resolution scaling.

Settings Recommendations

For users targeting a smooth 60 FPS baseline, the Low preset is the only reliable choice at 4K, delivering an average of 59 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K drops to 51 FPS, which is still playable but falls short of the 60 FPS threshold that many competitive FPS players prefer. At 1440p, the Low preset achieves 108 FPS, providing a significant margin above 60 FPS, while Medium hits 94 FPS and High reaches 80 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p produces 65 FPS, which is technically above 60 but leaves little headroom for demanding scenes.

At 1080p, the story changes substantially. The Low preset delivers an excellent 167 FPS average, while Medium reaches 146 FPS, and High comes in at 123 FPS. Even the Ultra preset at 1080p manages 101 FPS, which is a solid result. The data suggests that for the best balance of visual quality and performance, the High preset at 1080p offers a compelling experience, with 123 FPS being well above the 60 FPS target. For 1440p users, the High preset at 80 FPS is the sweet spot, as it provides a noticeable visual upgrade over Low while maintaining a comfortable frame rate.

The measured min FPS values for the Medium preset provide additional insight. At 4K, the Medium preset has a min FPS of 43 and a max of 59, which aligns closely with the Low preset’s average of 59 FPS. At 1440p, Medium shows a min of 80 and max of 108, identical to the High and Low averages respectively. At 1080p, Medium’s min of 124 and max of 168 bracket the High and Low averages. This pattern indicates that the Medium preset’s frame time variance is manageable, but the average FPS is the primary metric to watch.

Given these numbers, the recommendation is clear: at 1080p, High is the best experience per the measured rows, offering 123 FPS with presumably better visuals than Medium’s 146 FPS. At 1440p, High at 80 FPS is the best balance, while at 4K, users must accept Low at 59 FPS for a smooth experience. The Ultra preset is only viable at 1080p, where it still delivers 101 FPS, but it is not recommended for higher resolutions due to the significant FPS drop.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 is the primary driver of Doom’s performance in this combination, and its specifications explain the measured results. The GPU features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 320.0 GB/s. This bandwidth is sufficient for Doom’s textures and scene complexity, but the 8 GB capacity may become a limiting factor at 4K with higher settings, as the data shows a steep performance drop from Medium to Ultra.

The GPU’s clock speeds are modest, with a base clock of 2317 MHz and a boost clock of 2572 MHz. These clocks, combined with 2560 shading units, produce a FP32 performance of 13.17 TFLOPS. This compute throughput is what drives the rasterization performance in Doom, and the measured FPS numbers reflect a GPU that is capable at 1080p but struggles to maintain high frame rates at 4K. The pixel rate of 82.30 GPixel/s and texture rate of 205.8 GTexel/s are also relevant, as Doom’s fast-paced action relies heavily on efficient texture fetching and pixel shading.

The GPU’s 20 RT cores and 80 tensor cores are present, but Doom is not a ray-tracing-heavy title, so these features have minimal impact on the measured results. The 130 W TDP and dual-slot design suggest this is a mid-range mobile GPU, and the data confirms that it is not designed for 4K Ultra gaming. The GPU’s percentile ranking of 66 versus all GPUs places it in the upper-middle tier, and its average benchmark score of 21035 is competitive with the nearest rivals listed, such as the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT with a deltaPct of 1.6.

The fact that the GPU is paired with a high-end CPU like the Ryzen 9 8945HX, which has a 95th percentile ranking versus all CPUs, means that the CPU is unlikely to be the bottleneck in most scenarios. The GPU’s performance ceiling is what determines the FPS at each resolution and setting, and the data shows that the RTX 5050 is the limiting component as resolution increases.

How This Combo Ranks

In the benchmark database, this specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 8945HX and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 ranks 2320 out of 2930 tested combos for Doom. This places it in the bottom 21% of all combinations, which is a notable result given the individual component specifications. The CPU alone ranks in the 95th percentile versus all CPUs, while the GPU ranks in the 66th percentile versus all GPUs, indicating that the GPU is the weaker link in this pairing.

The combo rank of 2320 suggests that while the CPU is highly capable, the GPU’s performance in Doom drags the overall combination down relative to other tested systems. The nearest rivals to the GPU, such as the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL with a deltaPct of -0.6 and the NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile with a deltaPct of -1.6, have similar average benchmark scores, but their performance in Doom may vary. The data shows that the RTX 5050’s average benchmark score of 21035 is close to these rivals, yet the combo rank indicates that Doom-specific optimization or driver behavior may favor other GPUs.

For context, the CPU’s nearest rivals include the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX with a deltaPct of 0.1 and the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D with a deltaPct of 0.6, meaning the 8945HX is essentially tied with these CPUs in overall benchmark scores. The fact that this combo still ranks poorly in Doom reinforces that the GPU is the determining factor for this game’s performance. Users considering this combo should be aware that while the CPU is future-proof, the GPU will limit Doom’s performance to the measured FPS levels.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across three resolutions and four settings. At 3840x2160, the Low preset achieves an average of 59 FPS, which is the only 4K result that approaches playable smoothness. The Medium preset drops to 51 FPS with a min of 43 and max of 59, while High falls to 43 FPS and Ultra plummets to 35 FPS. These numbers indicate that 4K gaming is only viable at Low settings, and even then, the frame rate is marginal.

At 2560x1440, the performance improves significantly. The Low preset delivers 108 FPS, Medium achieves 94 FPS with a min of 80 and max of 108, High reaches 80 FPS, and Ultra manages 65 FPS. This resolution offers a much better experience, with all presets except Ultra providing a comfortable margin above 60 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p is playable but at the edge of the smoothness threshold.

At 1920x1080, the RTX 5050 shows its strengths. The Low preset produces 167 FPS, Medium hits 146 FPS with a min of 124 and max of 168, High delivers 123 FPS, and Ultra still manages 101 FPS. These results show that 1080p is the resolution where this GPU excels, with even the most demanding preset remaining well above 100 FPS. The data suggests that 1080p High is the best overall experience, as it balances visual quality with a 123 FPS average.

The progression from Low to Ultra at each resolution follows a consistent pattern: the FPS drops by roughly 20-30% per step up in settings. At 1080p, the drop from Low to Ultra is 66 FPS, while at 1440p it is 43 FPS, and at 4K it is 24 FPS. This indicates that the GPU becomes more settings-limited at lower resolutions, where it has more headroom to render additional effects.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial and reveals the limiting component. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 167 at 1080p to 108 at 1440p to 59 at 4K. This represents a 35% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 45% drop from 1440p to 4K, or a total 65% drop from 1080p to 4K. For comparison, the Ultra preset drops from 101 at 1080p to 65 at 1440p to 35 at 4K, which is a 36% drop and 46% drop respectively, totaling 65% as well.

This consistent scaling pattern indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting factor, as the CPU’s performance remains constant across resolutions. The Ryzen 9 8945HX’s 16 cores and 32 threads, with a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, are more than sufficient to feed the GPU at all resolutions. The fact that the FPS scales almost linearly with pixel count suggests that the RTX 5050’s fill rate and memory bandwidth are the bottlenecks.

The memory bandwidth of 320.0 GB/s is a key consideration. At 4K, the GPU must move significantly more data per frame, and the 128-bit bus may struggle to keep up. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is also a factor, as 4K textures can exceed this limit at higher settings, causing the GPU to fall back on slower memory operations. The data shows that the gap between Medium and Ultra at 4K is 16 FPS, which is larger than the 14 FPS gap at 1440p, indicating that VRAM pressure may be exacerbating the Ultra preset’s poor performance at 4K.

FAQ

Q: What is the best preset for a 60 FPS experience at 1440p?

A: The High preset at 2560x1440 delivers an average of 80 FPS, which is the best visual quality that maintains a comfortable margin above 60 FPS. The Ultra preset at 65 FPS is also above 60 but leaves less headroom for scene complexity.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming?

A: Yes, but only at Low settings, where the average FPS is 59. The Medium preset at 4K drops to 51 FPS, and higher presets fall below 45 FPS, making them unsuitable for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the RTX 5050’s performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RTX 5050’s average benchmark score of 21035 is slightly below the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL (21153, deltaPct -0.6) and the AMD Radeon HD 8970M (21237, deltaPct -1). It is slightly above the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT (20713, deltaPct 1.6).

Q: Why is the combo rank so low despite the CPU being high-end?

A: The combo ranks 2320 out of 2930 in Doom because the GPU is the limiting component. The CPU ranks in the 95th percentile, but the GPU’s 66th percentile ranking means its performance in Doom determines the overall combo’s position.

Q: What is the FPS difference between 1080p and 1440p at High settings?

A: At High settings, the average FPS drops from 123 at 1920x1080 to 80 at 2560x1440, a difference of 43 FPS. This represents a 35% reduction in frame rate when moving to the higher resolution.

Q: Does the Ultra preset ever provide a playable experience?

A: Yes, at 1920x1080 the Ultra preset achieves 101 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold. At 2560x1440, it drops to 65 FPS, which is still playable but not ideal, and at 4K it falls to 35 FPS, which is not smooth.