Doom

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 combination delivers extreme performance in Doom, a 2016 FPS title that remains a demanding test for modern hardware. The data shows this pairing ranks in the top percentile of tested configurations, with frame rates that scale predictably across resolutions and settings. The RTX 4080's 16 GB of VRAM and high boost clocks handle the game's Vulkan-based renderer with ease, while the 12-core Ryzen 9 9900X provides ample headroom to feed the GPU at lower resolutions. The measured FPS figures reveal a system that is firmly GPU-limited at 4K but transitions to a more balanced workload at 1080p, where even the most demanding settings exceed 240 FPS.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 4K Ultra settings?

A: The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 85. This is the lowest result across all tested configurations for this combo, yet it remains comfortably above 60 FPS for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rival in multi-threaded performance?

A: The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X scores 32,172 in Cinebench R23 multi-core, which is 1.1% behind the Intel Core i9-14900's average score of 58,115 in the overall benchmark suite. The Ryzen 9 9900X has a 0.2% advantage over the AMD EPYC 7313 and is 0.1% behind the AMD EPYC 9015.

*Q: What is the GPU's memory bandwidth and how does it affect Doom?*

A: The RTX 4080 features 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 716.8 GB/s of bandwidth. This high throughput is sufficient for Doom's texture-heavy environments, even at 4K Ultra settings where the average FPS remains at 85.

Q: At which resolution does the CPU become the primary bottleneck?

A: At 1920x1080, the average FPS jumps to 401 on Low settings, indicating the CPU's 5.60 GHz boost clock and 12 cores are capable of feeding the GPU at very high rates. The scaling from 1440p to 1080p shows a 54% increase in FPS on Low settings, suggesting the CPU is the limiting factor at this resolution.

*Q: How does the combo rank among all tested systems in Doom?*

A: The combination ranks 215th out of 3,712 tested combos in this game, placing it in the top 5.8% of all configurations. This rank reflects the balanced high-end nature of the Ryzen 9 9900X and RTX 4080 pairing.

Q: What is the difference in average FPS between Medium and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Medium preset yields an average of 226 FPS, while Ultra drops to 156 FPS. This 70 FPS gap highlights the significant impact of the Ultra preset's additional graphical effects on the GPU.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is the dominant component in this pairing for Doom, particularly at higher resolutions. Its 16 GB of GDDR6X memory, paired with a 256-bit bus and 716.8 GB/s bandwidth, provides ample headroom for the game's textures and effects. The GPU's boost clock of 2505 MHz and base clock of 2205 MHz drive its 9,728 shading units, which process the game's geometry and lighting. The RTX 4080's 76 ray tracing cores and 304 tensor cores are present, though Doom (2016) does not utilize ray tracing, so these resources remain largely idle during gameplay.

The GPU's performance in this title is best illustrated by the measured FPS at 4K. At 3840x2160, the average FPS scales from 141 on Low settings down to 85 on Ultra, a 40% reduction. This scaling is expected, as the Ultra preset increases shadow quality, texture filtering, and post-processing effects, which directly load the GPU's compute units and memory subsystem. The RTX 4080's passmark G3D score of 34,457 places it in the 86th percentile of all GPUs, and its average benchmark score of 54,247 is nearly identical to the RTX 4080 SUPER's 54,209, with a delta of just 0.1%.

The GPU's memory clock of 1400 MHz (22.4 Gbps effective) contributes to its high bandwidth. In Doom, this bandwidth is crucial for streaming high-resolution textures without stutter. The data shows that at 4K Medium settings, the minimum FPS is 104, which matches the average FPS of the High preset at the same resolution. This suggests that the GPU's memory subsystem is not a bottleneck even under sustained load, as the minimum frame times remain consistent.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X serves as the foundational component for this combo, providing 12 cores and 24 threads based on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge). Its base clock of 4.40 GHz and boost clock of 5.60 GHz are critical for Doom's single-threaded game logic and draw call processing. The CPU's 64 MB of L3 cache and 1 MB L2 cache per core reduce memory latency, which is beneficial for the game's physics and AI computations. The 4 nm process node and 16,630 million transistors enable high clock speeds while maintaining a 120 W TDP.

In Doom, the CPU's role becomes more apparent at lower resolutions where the GPU is not fully saturated. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the average FPS reaches 401, which is 51% higher than the 260 FPS at 2560x1440 on the same settings. This dramatic increase indicates that the CPU is capable of driving the GPU to its limits at 1080p. The Ryzen 9 9900X's Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2,253 and multi-core score of 32,172 demonstrate its strength in both lightly-threaded and heavily-threaded workloads. Its Geekbench single-core score of 3,010 and multi-core score of 22,174 further confirm its high per-core performance.

The CPU's benchmark results show it ranks in the 92nd percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 57,498. Compared to its nearest rivals, the AMD EPYC 9015 scores 57,555 (0.1% higher), while the Intel Core i9-14900 scores 58,115 (1.1% higher). These small deltas indicate that the Ryzen 9 9900X is competitively positioned for gaming, though its 12-core configuration is more than sufficient for a title like Doom that typically utilizes fewer than 8 threads effectively.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Ryzen 9 9900X and RTX 4080 achieves a rank of 215 out of 3,712 tested combos in Doom, placing it in the top 5.8% of all systems. This rank reflects the high-end nature of both components, though it is not the absolute top tier — systems with newer GPUs like the RTX 4090 or faster CPUs like the Ryzen 9 9950X would likely rank higher. The data shows that this combo's performance is limited more by the GPU than the CPU, as evidenced by the significant FPS drops at 4K compared to 1080p.

The combo's rank of 215 out of 3,712 means it outperforms 94.2% of all tested configurations. This is a strong result for a system built around a last-generation GPU (the RTX 4080 is marked as end-of-life) and a current-generation CPU. The RTX 4080's percentile rank of 86th among all GPUs and the Ryzen 9 9900X's 92nd percentile among CPUs both contribute to the overall high ranking. In practical terms, this combo delivers an average FPS of 85 at 4K Ultra, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, and 241 FPS at 1080p Ultra, which is ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows clear scaling patterns across the three tested resolutions. At 1080p, the average FPS ranges from 401 on Low to 241 on Ultra, with a median of 350 on Medium. Moving to 1440p, the averages drop to 260 on Low, 226 on Medium, and 156 on Ultra. At 4K, the averages fall further to 141 on Low, 123 on Medium, and 85 on Ultra. This represents a 65% reduction in FPS from 1080p Low to 4K Low, and a 65% reduction from 1080p Ultra to 4K Ultra.

The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows a 35% decrease in FPS on Low settings (401 to 260) and a 35% decrease on Ultra settings (241 to 156). This consistent proportional drop indicates that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at these resolutions. However, from 1440p to 4K, the decrease is more pronounced: 45% on Low (260 to 141) and 45% on Ultra (156 to 85). This steeper decline at higher resolutions confirms that the RTX 4080's rasterization throughput is the limiting factor, as the CPU's performance headroom is not fully utilized at 4K.

The data suggests that at 1080p, the CPU begins to play a more significant role. The jump from 1080p Low (401 FPS) to 1080p Ultra (241 FPS) is a 40% reduction, which is similar to the 4K scaling. However, the absolute FPS values at 1080p are so high that even a weaker CPU would likely be the bottleneck. The Ryzen 9 9900X's boost clock of 5.60 GHz ensures that the GPU is not starved of data, allowing the combo to achieve near-400 FPS on Low settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates. The Low preset averages 401 FPS, Medium averages 350 FPS (with a minimum of 297 and maximum of 402), High averages 295 FPS, and Ultra averages 241 FPS. The minimum FPS of 297 on Medium indicates that even in demanding scenes, the frame rate stays above 290 FPS. The spread from 241 to 401 FPS across settings shows a 40% performance range, which is typical for a GPU-bound scenario at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the averages are 260 FPS on Low, 226 FPS on Medium (with a minimum of 192 and maximum of 260), 191 FPS on High, and 156 FPS on Ultra. The 70 FPS difference between Medium and Ultra (226 vs 156) is notable, representing a 31% drop. The minimum FPS of 192 on Medium shows that the combo maintains high frame rates even during intense action sequences. This resolution is the sweet spot for the RTX 4080, delivering over 150 FPS on even the most demanding preset.

At 3840x2160, the averages drop to 141 FPS on Low, 123 FPS on Medium (with a minimum of 104 and maximum of 141), 104 FPS on High, and 85 FPS on Ultra. The 4K results show a 41% reduction from Low to Ultra (141 to 85), which is consistent with the increased pixel count and shading load. The minimum FPS of 104 on Medium is still well above 60 FPS, ensuring smooth gameplay. The High preset's average of 104 FPS matches the Medium preset's minimum, indicating that the GPU is consistently delivering around 100 FPS at 4K with moderate settings.