Doom

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT delivers a compelling performance profile in Doom, with benchmark results showing a clear scaling pattern across resolutions. The data indicates a system that is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions, while the CPU's capabilities become more apparent at 1080p. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS data, contextualizes the combo's standing among 2,930 tested configurations, and examines the specific roles of the GPU and CPU in shaping these results.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a predictable yet pronounced drop in performance as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 231 FPS at 1080p to 149 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 81 FPS at 4K. This represents a 35% reduction when moving from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 46% reduction when stepping up to 4K. The scaling pattern is consistent across all settings presets, indicating that the rendering load increases proportionally with pixel count.

The scaling behavior suggests that at 1080p, the system is not fully utilizing the GPU's potential. The jump from 1080p to 1440p at Low settings shows a decrease from 314 FPS to 203 FPS, which is a 35% drop. However, the transition from 1440p to 4K at the same settings results in a 46% reduction, from 203 FPS to 110 FPS. This steeper decline at the highest resolution indicates that the RX 9070 XT's rendering capabilities are the primary limiting factor at 4K, whereas at 1080p, other components may be constraining the frame rate.

The gap between Low and Ultra settings at each resolution further illustrates the GPU's workload. At 1080p, the difference between Low (314 FPS) and Ultra (189 FPS) is 125 FPS, showing a 40% performance penalty for maximum visual fidelity. At 4K, this gap narrows to 44 FPS (110 vs. 66), representing a 40% reduction as well. This consistent percentage drop indicates that the GPU is handling the additional shading and texture work efficiently across all resolutions, though the absolute frame rates at 4K Ultra remain the lowest in the dataset.

The data suggests that for gamers targeting high refresh rates, 1080p and 1440p offer the most headroom. At 1440p High, the average of 149 FPS is sufficient for most high-refresh displays, while 4K High at 81 FPS is playable but less optimal for competitive play. The scaling pattern confirms that the RX 9070 XT is the bottleneck at 4K, as the frame rate differences between settings become more pronounced relative to the resolution increase.

How This Combo Ranks

Among the 2,930 tested CPU-GPU combinations in Doom, this pairing of the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D and AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT holds the 669th position. This places the combo in the top 23% of all configurations tested, indicating a strong overall performance level. The ranking reflects the combined capabilities of both components, with the high-end CPU and upper-midrange GPU working together to deliver competitive frame rates.

The combo's rank is particularly notable given the GPU's individual benchmark standing. The RX 9070 XT sits at the 55th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 13,543. Its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks include the AMD Radeon HD 7770M (avg score 13,536, delta 0.1%), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 (avg score 13,515, delta 0.2%), and the NVIDIA P106-090 (avg score 13,470, delta 0.5%). These rivals are all older or lower-tier cards, yet the RX 9070 XT's performance in Doom clearly exceeds what these synthetic scores might suggest, thanks to the CPU's support.

The CPU, on the other hand, ranks at the 91st percentile among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 54,762. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF (avg score 55,093, delta -0.6%), the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K (avg score 54,053, delta 1.3%), and the Intel Xeon 6505P (avg score 53,701, delta 2%). This high CPU standing helps boost the combo's in-game rank, particularly at lower resolutions where CPU performance has a greater impact on frame rates.

The combination of a top-decile CPU and a mid-pack GPU results in a combo that performs better than its individual component percentiles might suggest in isolation. The 669th rank out of 2,930 demonstrates that the pairing is well-balanced for Doom, with the CPU providing sufficient headroom to feed the GPU at lower resolutions while the GPU remains the limiting factor at 4K.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT is built on the RDNA 4.0 architecture using TSMC's 4 nm process, featuring 53,900 million transistors on a 357 mm² die. The GPU operates with a base clock of 1660 MHz, a game clock of 2400 MHz, and a boost clock of 2970 MHz. This clock configuration allows for substantial performance scaling, as evidenced by the measured FPS across different settings.

The GPU is equipped with 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 644.6 GB/s. This memory configuration is well-suited for Doom's texture-heavy environments, ensuring that the GPU has sufficient bandwidth to avoid bottlenecks at higher resolutions. The memory clock runs at 2518 MHz, effectively 20.1 Gbps, which contributes to the overall memory throughput.

The RX 9070 XT features 4,096 shading units, 256 texture mapping units, and 128 render output units. These specifications translate to a pixel rate of 380.2 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 760.3 GTexel/s. The GPU's FP32 performance is rated at 48.66 TFLOPS, with FP16 performance matching at 48.66 TFLOPS (1:1). This computational power is reflected in the measured frame rates, particularly at lower resolutions where the GPU is not fully saturated.

The GPU's 64 ray tracing cores support hardware-accelerated ray tracing, though Doom's benchmark results focus on traditional rasterization. The 128 ROPs ensure efficient pixel throughput, which is evident in the 4K results where the GPU maintains average frame rates above 66 FPS even at Ultra settings. The GPU's DirectX 12 Ultimate support (12_2) ensures compatibility with modern rendering techniques, while Vulkan 1.4 support is particularly relevant for Doom, which uses the Vulkan API.

In synthetic benchmarks, the RX 9070 XT scores 7,260 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, 17,428 in Geekbench OpenCL, and 65,879 in Geekbench Vulkan. The Passmark G3D score of 26,795 and GPU Compute score of 15,864 indicate strong general-purpose performance. These scores, combined with the 55th percentile ranking, suggest that the GPU is a solid performer for its class, though not at the very top of the stack.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The benchmark data provides a comprehensive view of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the average frame rates range from 189 FPS at Ultra to 314 FPS at Low. The Medium preset delivers 273 FPS, while High achieves 231 FPS. The minimum FPS at Medium is 232, with a maximum of 314, indicating consistent frame delivery.

Moving to 2560x1440, the average frame rates drop to 122 FPS at Ultra, 149 FPS at High, 177 FPS at Medium, and 203 FPS at Low. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 150 FPS and a maximum of 203 FPS, representing a 53 FPS range. This suggests that at 1440p, the system maintains smooth performance even during demanding scenes, with the GPU handling the increased pixel load efficiently.

At 3840x2160, the average frame rates are 66 FPS at Ultra, 81 FPS at High, 96 FPS at Medium, and 110 FPS at Low. The Medium preset records a minimum of 81 FPS and a maximum of 110 FPS, showing a 29 FPS range. The 4K results indicate that the GPU is the primary bottleneck, as the frame rates scale directly with the rendering load imposed by each settings preset.

The data shows a clear hierarchy across all resolutions: Low > Medium > High > Ultra. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 125 FPS (314 vs. 189), representing a 40% performance penalty for maximum quality settings. At 1440p, this gap narrows to 81 FPS (203 vs. 122), a 40% reduction. At 4K, the gap is 44 FPS (110 vs. 66), also a 40% reduction. This consistent percentage difference suggests that the GPU's scaling is linear with respect to settings complexity, regardless of resolution.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1440p with High settings?

A: The average frame rate at 2560x1440 with High settings is 149 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay and suitable for high refresh rate displays.

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

A: The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D and AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT combo ranks 669th out of 2,930 tested combinations, placing it in the top 23% of all configurations.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, the average frame rate is 110 FPS at Low settings and 66 FPS at Ultra settings, representing a 44 FPS difference and a 40% performance penalty for maximum quality.

Q: Does the GPU have enough VRAM for Doom at high resolutions?

A: The GPU has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus with 644.6 GB/s bandwidth, which is sufficient for Doom's texture requirements at all tested resolutions.

Q: What is the CPU's benchmark percentile ranking?

A: The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D ranks at the 91st percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 54,762.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded at 1080p Medium settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with Medium settings, the minimum FPS is 232, while the maximum reaches 314 FPS, indicating consistent performance without significant frame drops.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings preset depends on the target resolution and refresh rate. For 1080p displays with high refresh rates (144Hz or higher), the High preset at 231 FPS offers an excellent balance between visual quality and performance. The Medium preset at 273 FPS is also viable for competitive play where frame rates are paramount, while Ultra at 189 FPS still provides a smooth experience for most users.

At 1440p, the High preset delivers 149 FPS, which is ideal for 144Hz monitors. The Medium preset at 177 FPS provides additional headroom for frame rate consistency, while Ultra at 122 FPS remains playable and is suitable for gamers prioritizing visual fidelity. The data suggests that 1440p High is the sweet spot, offering a 40% performance improvement over Ultra while maintaining high visual quality.

For 4K resolution, the High preset at 81 FPS is the recommended choice, as it delivers a smooth experience on 60Hz displays with room to spare. The Medium preset at 96 FPS is also viable for those seeking higher frame rates, though the visual differences between Medium and High are minimal. Ultra at 66 FPS is playable but may show occasional dips in demanding scenes, making it less ideal for fast-paced gameplay.

The benchmark results indicate that the Medium preset at each resolution provides the most consistent frame delivery, as evidenced by the min/max ranges recorded. At 1080p Medium, the range is 232-314 FPS; at 1440p Medium, it is 150-203 FPS; and at 4K Medium, it is 81-110 FPS. These ranges suggest that Medium settings offer the best frame time consistency, which can be more important than average FPS for smooth gameplay.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D is a 12-core, 24-thread processor built on the Zen 5 architecture with the Granite Ridge codename. It features a base clock of 4.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, with a 120W TDP. The CPU's 128 MB of L3 cache is particularly beneficial for gaming workloads, providing fast access to frequently used data.

In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU demonstrates strong multi-threaded performance with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 47,737 and a single-core score of 6,739. The Geekbench multicore score of 22,884 and single-core score of 3,041 further confirm its capability. The Passmark multithread score of 56,154 and single-thread score of 4,646 indicate balanced performance across both metrics.

The CPU's role in Doom becomes more apparent at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 314 FPS, which suggests the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with enough frames to reach this high threshold. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 12,490 and max-thread score of 13,795 indicate strong multi-threading capabilities that benefit modern game engines.

The CPU's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks include the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF (avg score 55,093, delta -0.6%), the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K (avg score 54,053, delta 1.3%), and the Intel Xeon 6505P (avg score 53,701, delta 2%). These comparisons show that the Ryzen 9 9900X3D is competitive with Intel's latest offerings, though the differences are minimal at under 2% delta.

The CPU's 91st percentile ranking among all processors indicates that it is a high-end part capable of supporting demanding gaming workloads. At 1080p, where CPU performance can become a limiting factor, the Ryzen 9 9900X3D's strong single-thread performance (Cinebench R23 single-core score of 6,739) ensures that the GPU is not starved of data, allowing the system to achieve frame rates above 300 FPS at Low settings.