Doom

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti combination delivers a remarkably consistent experience in Doom, with the measured data showing that the system’s primary bottleneck shifts decisively based on the graphics preset selected. The benchmark results across three resolutions and four settings tiers reveal a configuration that is powerful enough to saturate high-refresh-rate displays at lower settings, yet still provides a smooth experience at the demanding 4K Ultra preset. This analysis examines the measured FPS data to determine the optimal settings, the roles of the GPU and CPU, and how this specific pairing ranks against the broader database of tested combos.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data for this combo in Doom indicates that the High preset offers the most balanced experience across all tested resolutions. At 1920x1080, the High preset achieves an average of 200 FPS, which is a 37 FPS reduction from the Low preset’s 271 FPS but a substantial 37 FPS improvement over the Ultra preset’s 163 FPS. This suggests that High captures most of the performance headroom while providing significantly better visual fidelity than Low. At 2560x1440, the High preset’s 129 FPS average remains well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, and it is only 47 FPS lower than the Low preset’s 176 FPS, showing that the visual upgrade comes at a moderate cost. At 3840x2160, the High preset’s 70 FPS average is the first tier to dip below the 100 FPS mark, but it remains perfectly playable on a standard 60 Hz display.

For users prioritizing maximum frame rates, the Low preset is the clear choice, particularly at 1080p where it delivers 271 FPS. This setting is ideal for competitive play or for users with high-refresh-rate monitors seeking to maximize responsiveness. However, the data shows diminishing returns when moving from Low to Medium at 1080p: the Medium preset’s 236 FPS is only 35 FPS lower than Low, while the jump from Medium to High costs another 36 FPS. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, and at 4K it drops to 57 FPS, which is the only measured configuration that falls below the 60 FPS threshold. At 1440p, Ultra’s 106 FPS is still respectable, but the 23 FPS gap between Ultra and High at that resolution suggests that High provides the better trade-off between visual quality and performance. The data strongly suggests that High is the recommended default, with Low reserved for maximum frame rates and Ultra only for users who prioritize visual fidelity over raw performance.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti is the dominant performance driver in this configuration, particularly as resolution increases. The GPU’s 8 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus provides 608.3 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for Doom’s textures at all tested settings. The measured FPS scaling with resolution confirms that the GPU is the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions: at 1080p High, the average is 200 FPS, but this drops to 129 FPS at 1440p and 70 FPS at 4K. This represents a 35.5% reduction from 1080p to 1440p and a further 45.7% reduction from 1440p to 4K, a pattern indicative of GPU-bound rendering. The GPU’s boost clock of 1770 MHz and its FP32 performance of 21.75 TFLOPS are the specifications most relevant to Doom’s Vulkan-based engine, which relies heavily on raw shader throughput.

The GPU’s benchmark scores reinforce its position. The RTX 3070 Ti achieves a Passmark G3D score of 23356 and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 139541, placing it in the 75th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals in the database include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Mobile (0.1% faster), the AMD Radeon RX 6800 (0.5% slower), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti (0.5% faster). This tight clustering shows that the RTX 3070 Ti is competitively positioned, and in Doom specifically, its 8 GB memory allocation is not a limiting factor at any of the tested settings. The measured data shows that even at 4K Ultra, where the average FPS drops to 57, the GPU is still able to maintain playable performance, indicating that the memory capacity is sufficient for this title. The GPU’s role is clearly defined: it is the primary performance arbiter, and its capabilities directly determine the FPS ceilings observed across all resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

In the benchmark database, this specific combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti ranks 999th out of 2930 tested combos for Doom. This places the configuration in the top 34.1% of all tested systems, which is a solid result given that the GPU is not a flagship model. The ranking reflects the overall system balance: the CPU is extremely powerful, with an average benchmark score of 54762 placing it in the 91st percentile of all CPUs, while the GPU’s 75th percentile score is comparatively lower. This imbalance suggests that the CPU is not the limiting factor in Doom, and the combo’s rank is largely determined by the GPU’s mid-to-high-end performance tier.

The combo’s rank of 999 indicates that there are 1931 other configurations that perform better in this game, likely featuring more powerful GPUs such as the RTX 3080 or higher-tier cards. However, the rank also shows that this combo outperforms the majority of systems, particularly those with lower-end GPUs paired with high-end CPUs. The data shows that the Ryzen 9 9900X3D’s nearest CPU rivals, such as the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF (0.6% slower) and the Intel Core i7-14700F (2.1% slower), would not significantly alter the combo’s rank when paired with the same GPU, as the GPU remains the bottleneck in Doom. The ranking is therefore a direct reflection of the RTX 3070 Ti’s capabilities, and the CPU’s contribution is to ensure that the GPU is fully utilized without introducing any frame pacing issues.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across four settings and three resolutions. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 271 FPS, with Medium at 236 FPS (min 201, max 272), High at 200 FPS, and Ultra at 163 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 108 FPS, showing that the settings have a significant impact on performance at this resolution. The Medium preset’s minimum of 201 FPS indicates that even the lowest frames are well above the refresh rate of most monitors, making this resolution ideal for high-refresh-rate gaming.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 176 FPS, Medium averages 153 FPS (min 130, max 176), High averages 129 FPS, and Ultra averages 106 FPS. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p shows a consistent reduction of approximately 35% across all settings, which is expected as the GPU processes more pixels. The Medium preset’s minimum of 130 FPS is still very high, and even Ultra’s 106 FPS average provides a smooth experience on 144 Hz monitors. The data shows that 1440p is the sweet spot for this combo, as it balances visual clarity with frame rates that remain above 100 FPS for all but the most demanding settings.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 95 FPS, Medium averages 83 FPS (min 70, max 95), High averages 70 FPS, and Ultra averages 57 FPS. This is the first resolution where the Low preset falls below 100 FPS, and Ultra drops below the 60 FPS threshold. The Medium preset’s minimum of 70 FPS is the lowest measured frame rate in the entire dataset, indicating that 4K is the most demanding scenario. The scaling from 1440p to 4K is more severe, with an average reduction of approximately 45%, which is characteristic of GPU-bound operation where the increased pixel count overwhelms the shader units. The data clearly shows that 4K gaming is possible with this combo, but users must be willing to accept lower settings to maintain smooth frame rates.

Resolution Scaling

The resolution scaling analysis reveals that the RTX 3070 Ti is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. Moving from 1080p High (200 FPS) to 1440p High (129 FPS) results in a 35.5% performance drop, which is consistent with the increase in pixel count from 2.07 million to 3.69 million (a 78% increase). The FPS drop is less than the pixel increase, indicating some efficiency in rendering, but the trend is clear. From 1440p High (129 FPS) to 4K High (70 FPS), the pixel count increases by 125% (from 3.69 million to 8.29 million), yet the FPS drops by only 45.7%. This suggests that at 4K, the GPU is reaching its memory bandwidth limit, as the 608.3 GB/s bandwidth is being saturated by the massive pixel throughput.

The data shows that the CPU is not a limiting factor at any resolution. The Ryzen 9 9900X3D’s 12 cores and 24 threads, with a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, are more than sufficient to feed the GPU. This is evidenced by the fact that performance scales almost linearly with resolution, which is a classic sign of GPU-bound rendering. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see diminishing FPS drops as resolution increases, but the data shows the opposite: the FPS drops are proportionally larger at higher resolutions, confirming that the GPU is the limiting component. The 128 MB of L3 cache on the CPU also helps ensure that frame data is delivered without stutter, but the resolution scaling proves that the GPU’s 21.75 TFLOPS of FP32 performance is the single most important factor in determining Doom’s frame rates.

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset for this combo at 1440p?

A: The High preset is recommended at 1440p, delivering an average of 129 FPS. This is 23 FPS higher than Ultra (106 FPS) while providing similar visual quality, and it is 47 FPS lower than Low (176 FPS), which is a worthwhile trade-off for the visual improvements.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Doom?

A: Yes, but with limitations. At 4K High, the average FPS is 70, which is smooth. At 4K Ultra, the average drops to 57 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. Users seeking 4K gameplay should use the High preset or lower.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Ryzen 9 9900X3D has an average benchmark score of 54762, which is 0.6% lower than the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF, 1.3% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K, and 2.1% higher than the Intel Core i7-14700F. This places it in the 91st percentile of all CPUs.

Q: How does the GPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RTX 3070 Ti has an average benchmark score of 29945, which is 0.1% lower than the RTX 5070 Mobile, 0.5% higher than the RX 6800, and 0.5% higher than the RTX 2080 Ti. This places it in the 75th percentile of all GPUs.

Q: What is the lowest FPS recorded in the dataset?

A: The lowest minimum FPS is 70, recorded at 3840x2160 with the Medium preset. This is the only measured configuration where the minimum FPS drops below 100, indicating that 4K is the most demanding scenario for this combo.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in Doom?

A: The GPU is the limiting factor. The resolution scaling shows that FPS drops significantly as resolution increases (from 200 FPS at 1080p High to 70 FPS at 4K High), which is characteristic of GPU-bound rendering. The CPU’s 12 cores and high boost clock are sufficient to keep the GPU fully utilized.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D plays a supportive but critical role in this configuration. With 12 cores and 24 threads based on the Zen 5 architecture, the CPU provides ample processing power to ensure that the GPU is never starved of data. The base clock of 4.40 GHz and boost clock of 5.50 GHz are high enough to handle any game logic or physics calculations that Doom requires, and the 128 MB of L3 cache is particularly beneficial for maintaining high frame rates in complex scenes. The CPU’s benchmark results are impressive: a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 47737 and a Geekbench single-core score of 3041 place it in the 91st percentile of all CPUs, indicating that it is one of the fastest processors available.

In Doom specifically, the CPU’s role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and geometry data. The measured FPS scaling shows that even at 1080p Low, where the GPU is producing 271 FPS, the CPU is able to keep up without becoming a bottleneck. This is confirmed by the fact that the FPS drops consistently as resolution increases, which would not occur if the CPU were limiting performance. The CPU’s nearest rivals, including the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF (0.6% slower) and the Intel Core i7-14700F (2.1% slower), would likely produce similar results in Doom when paired with the same GPU, as the game is not particularly CPU-intensive. However, the 9900X3D’s high single-thread performance (Passmark single-thread score of 4646) ensures that any frame pacing issues are eliminated, allowing the GPU to operate at its full potential. The data suggests that the CPU is overqualified for this game, but its presence guarantees that the RTX 3070 Ti is the only factor limiting performance, making the combo’s rank of 999 purely a reflection of GPU capabilities.