Doom

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti combination delivers a compelling 1080p and 1440p experience in Doom, though 4K Ultra pushes the GPU to its limit. The benchmark data reveals a system where the graphics card is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, while the 12-core processor provides ample headroom for high frame rates.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and predictable scaling pattern as resolution increases. At 1080p with High settings, the combination produces 173.4 FPS, which drops to 111 FPS at 1440p—a 36% reduction—and further to 59.3 FPS at 4K, representing a 66% drop from the 1080p figure. This scaling curve is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario; the RTX 3060 Ti is the limiting component, as the Ryzen 9 9900X’s single-thread performance, evidenced by its 3dmark_single_thread score of 1286, is more than sufficient to feed the GPU at lower resolutions.

The gap between Low and Ultra settings widens dramatically at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the difference between Low (235 FPS) and Ultra (141.2 FPS) is 93.8 FPS, a 40% performance hit. At 1440p, the spread is 63.2 FPS (153.8 vs 90.6), and at 4K, it narrows to 33.7 FPS (83 vs 49.3). This narrowing delta at 4K indicates that the GPU is saturated regardless of settings; the pixel throughput demand becomes the dominant constraint, and reducing graphical fidelity yields diminishing returns. Conversely, at 1080p, the CPU has enough headroom that settings-based GPU load changes have a proportionally larger impact on frame rate.

Benchmark results indicate that the transition from 1440p to 4K is the steepest performance cliff. The High preset drops from 111 FPS at 1440p to 59.3 FPS at 4K, a 46.6% reduction. This suggests that for a smooth 60 FPS experience at 4K, users must accept Medium settings (73.8 FPS) or lower, as Ultra at 4K falls to 49.3 FPS. The data clearly shows that this combination is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where it can maintain frame rates well above 90 FPS even at the highest preset.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows indicate that the High preset offers the most balanced experience across all resolutions. At 1080p, High delivers 173.4 FPS, which is 32.6 FPS lower than Medium (207.5 FPS) but 32.2 FPS higher than Ultra (141.2 FPS). The performance headroom at 1080p means High provides a smooth, high-refresh-rate experience without the visual degradation of Low settings.

For 1440p, High at 111 FPS is the optimal choice for users with 120Hz displays, as it stays above the 100 FPS threshold while Medium (134.8 FPS) and Low (153.8 FPS) offer diminishing visual returns for modest gains. Ultra at 1440p drops to 90.6 FPS, which is still playable but represents a 18.4% reduction from High, making High the sweet spot for visual fidelity versus frame rate.

At 4K, the situation changes. High produces 59.3 FPS, which is borderline for 60Hz displays. Medium at 73.8 FPS provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS, while Low at 83 FPS offers the best performance but sacrifices visual quality significantly. Ultra at 49.3 FPS is below the 60 FPS target and should be avoided for competitive play. The data suggests that for 4K, Medium is the recommended preset, as it balances the need for playable frame rates with acceptable visual fidelity. For 1080p and 1440p, High is the clear recommendation, offering a substantial quality improvement over Medium with only a moderate FPS penalty.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti is the performance limiter in this configuration, particularly at higher resolutions. The GPU’s 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is adequate for Doom’s textures at 1080p and 1440p but becomes a constraint at 4K Ultra, where the frame rate drops to 49.3 FPS. The GPU’s boost clock of 1665 MHz and 4864 shading units deliver a theoretical FP32 throughput of 16.20 TFLOPS, which aligns with the observed performance scaling.

The GPU’s 80 ROPs and 152 TMUs are well-utilized in Doom’s fast-paced rendering. At 1080p Low, the GPU achieves 235 FPS, indicating that the pixel fill rate and texture throughput are sufficient for lower resolutions. However, the 4K Ultra result of 49.3 FPS shows that the GPU’s memory bandwidth and compute resources are overwhelmed when pixel count quadruples. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is not exceeded at these settings, but the bandwidth limitation becomes apparent in the 4K scaling.

The RTX 3060 Ti’s position in the GPU hierarchy, with a percentileVsAllGpus of 69 and an avgBenchmarkScore of 25120, is consistent with its performance in Doom. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6700M, scores 25180 (deltaPct -0.2), indicating near-identical raw compute capabilities. The GPU’s 14 Gbps effective memory speed is a key factor in its 1080p performance, where it can sustain high frame rates without memory bandwidth bottlenecks. In Doom, the GPU’s role is dominant; the CPU’s 89.6 GB/s memory bandwidth and 64 MB L3 cache are not limiting factors, as evidenced by the CPU’s high 3dmark_max_threads score of 13929.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combination delivers exceptional performance across all settings. Low produces 235 FPS, Medium 207.5 FPS, High 173.4 FPS, and Ultra 141.2 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra represents a 40% performance reduction, but even the lowest result exceeds 140 FPS, making this resolution ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors. The gap between Medium and High is 34.1 FPS, while the gap between High and Ultra is 32.2 FPS, showing consistent incremental costs for each quality tier.

At 2560x1440, the performance remains strong. Low achieves 153.8 FPS, Medium 134.8 FPS, High 111 FPS, and Ultra 90.6 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is significant: Low falls by 34.5%, High by 36%, and Ultra by 35.8%. This uniform reduction confirms that the GPU is the bottleneck, as the CPU’s performance headroom at 1080p is consumed by the increased pixel workload. Ultra at 90.6 FPS remains playable, but High at 111 FPS provides a better balance for 1440p gaming.

At 3840x2160, the GPU’s limitations become evident. Low produces 83 FPS, Medium 73.8 FPS, High 59.3 FPS, and Ultra 49.3 FPS. The 1440p to 4K transition is severe: Low drops by 46%, High by 46.6%, and Ultra by 45.6%. High at 59.3 FPS is just below the 60 FPS target, while Ultra at 49.3 FPS shows a 16.9% reduction from High. The data reveals that at 4K, only Low and Medium maintain frame rates above 60 FPS, and even Low’s 83 FPS represents a substantial visual compromise. This resolution should be reserved for less demanding settings or users who prioritize fidelity over frame rate.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti combination ranks 891 out of 1681 tested combos in Doom, placing it in the 53rd percentile of all configurations. This mid-pack ranking reflects the GPU’s mid-range positioning; the CPU is a high-end part (percentileVsAllCpus of 94), but the RTX 3060 Ti’s 69th percentile GPU ranking drags the overall combo down. The rank suggests that while this combination is capable, there are many configurations with more powerful GPUs that achieve higher frame rates in Doom.

The CPU’s nearest rivals provide context for its contribution. The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D scores 54681 (deltaPct -0.4), virtually identical to the 9900X’s 54450 avgBenchmarkScore. The Intel Core i7-14700F scores 54097 (deltaPct 0.7), showing the 9900X has a slight edge. These small deltas indicate that CPU choice has minimal impact on Doom’s performance, as the game is GPU-bound. The GPU’s nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6700M, scores 25180 (deltaPct -0.2), confirming that the RTX 3060 Ti is a mid-range performer.

The combo’s rank of 891 out of 1681 means it outperforms approximately 47% of tested configurations. This is consistent with a pairing where a high-end CPU is matched with a mid-range GPU. In Doom, the bottleneck is clearly the GPU, as evidenced by the 4K performance degradation. Users seeking higher rankings would need a more powerful GPU, as the 9900X has ample headroom for future GPU upgrades. The data shows that this combination is well-suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where it delivers frame rates that exceed the requirements of most displays, but it falls short at 4K Ultra, where the GPU’s 8 GB memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth become limiting factors.