Doom

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D is a 12-core, 24-thread processor built on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge) using TSMC's 4 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 4.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, with a 120 W TDP. The chip features a substantial 128 MB L3 cache, which is a hallmark of the X3D series and is particularly relevant for gaming workloads that benefit from large, fast pools of data. The processor also includes 80 KB of L1 cache per core and 1 MB of L2 cache per core, and it supports DDR5 memory across a dual-channel bus with 89.6 GB/s of bandwidth.

In synthetic benchmarks, the 9900X3D demonstrates strong scaling from single-threaded to multi-threaded workloads. Its single-thread score in Cinebench R23 is 6739, while the multi-core score reaches 47737. This shows a roughly 7x improvement when moving from one core to all cores, which is typical for a 12-core part with simultaneous multithreading. The processor's 3DMark results reinforce this: it scores 1269 in single-thread, 2512 in 2-thread, 4885 in 4-thread, 9002 in 8-thread, and 13795 in max-thread tests. The scaling from 4 to 8 threads is particularly steep (roughly 84% faster), indicating that the chip can efficiently harness additional cores when the workload demands it.

For Doom, which is a 2016 title built on the id Tech 6 engine, the CPU's role is less about raw multi-core throughput and more about maintaining high frame rates without becoming a bottleneck. The game is known for being well-optimized and capable of running on modest hardware, but at high refresh rates—especially at 1080p—the CPU can still limit performance. The 9900X3D's strong single-thread performance (3041 in Geekbench single-core) and its massive L3 cache help ensure that frame pacing remains consistent even when the GPU is pushing hundreds of frames per second. In Passmark's single-thread test, the chip scores 4646, which places it in the 91st percentile of all CPUs, indicating it sits near the top of the stack for lightly-threaded tasks.

Compared to its nearest rivals in the benchmark database, the 9900X3D has an average benchmark score of 54762. This puts it slightly behind the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF (55093, a -0.6% delta) but ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K (54053, a 1.3% delta), the Intel Xeon 6505P (53701, a 2.0% delta), and the Intel Core i7-14700F (53620, a 2.1% delta). The differences are small, meaning the 9900X3D is effectively in the same performance class as these chips for general compute, but its X3D cache may provide an edge in specific gaming scenarios like Doom that are sensitive to memory latency.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture (chip AD104) using TSMC's 5 nm process, with 35,800 million transistors on a 294 mm² die. It features 5888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, and 64 raster operations units. The card includes 46 ray tracing cores and 184 tensor cores, which are essential for features like DLSS and ray-traced lighting. Its base clock is 1920 MHz, with a boost clock of 2475 MHz, and the memory runs at 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective). The GPU is equipped with 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth.

For Doom, the RTX 4070's memory configuration is more than sufficient. The game's textures and geometry are not demanding by modern standards, and 12 GB of VRAM allows for all settings to be maxed out at 4K without hitting memory limits. The card's pixel rate of 158.4 GPixel/s and texture rate of 455.4 GTexel/s are key metrics for a game like Doom that relies heavily on fast rasterization and texture sampling. The FP32 performance of 29.15 TFLOPS also indicates strong raw compute capability, which helps with the game's dynamic lighting and particle effects.

The RTX 4070's benchmark scores reflect its position in the GPU hierarchy. It achieves a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3854, a Geekbench Vulkan score of 174152, and a Passmark G3D score of 26927. Its average benchmark score is 37648, which places it in the 81st percentile of all GPUs. The nearest rivals are tightly clustered: the NVIDIA Tesla P4 (37628, a 0.1% delta), the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (37507, a 0.4% delta), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile (38135, a -1.3% delta), and the AMD Radeon PRO W6400 (37157, a 1.3% delta). This suggests that in general compute, the RTX 4070 is roughly on par with these cards, though its gaming performance may vary depending on driver optimization and architecture-specific features.

In Doom specifically, the RTX 4070 proves to be the dominant component in most scenarios. At 1080p with Medium settings, the measured average FPS is 273, with a minimum of 232 and a maximum of 314. At 4K with Medium settings, the average drops to 96 FPS, with a minimum of 81 and a maximum of 110. This indicates that the GPU is scaling as expected with resolution, and the CPU is not a limiting factor at lower resolutions where frame rates exceed 200 FPS. The card's 192-bit memory bus and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient to feed the GPU at 4K, where the measured frame rates remain playable even on Ultra settings.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of scaling across resolutions. At 1080p with High settings, the average FPS is 231. Moving to 1440p drops this to 150, and at 4K it falls to 81. This represents a 35% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 46% drop from 1440p to 4K. The same trend holds across all settings presets. For Low settings, the averages are 314 FPS at 1080p, 203 FPS at 1440p, and 110 FPS at 4K. For Medium, they are 273, 177, and 96 FPS respectively. For Ultra, they are 189, 122, and 66 FPS.

The fact that frame rates drop substantially as resolution increases indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting component at higher resolutions. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see similar frame rates regardless of resolution, because the CPU's workload is largely independent of pixel count. Instead, the data shows that the RTX 4070 is being pushed harder at 1440p and 4K, with the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth becoming the constraining factors.

However, at 1080p, the picture is more nuanced. The 9900X3D's single-thread performance is strong enough to keep up with the RTX 4070's output, but the frame rates are so high (exceeding 300 FPS on Low) that even minor CPU hiccups could become visible. The fact that the 1080p to 1440p drop (35% on High) is smaller than the 1440p to 4K drop (46% on High) suggests that the CPU is still contributing to the bottleneck at 1080p, but the GPU becomes increasingly dominant as resolution rises. The data shows that at 1440p, the system is still delivering very high frame rates (150 FPS on High), which is more than enough for competitive play, while 4K on Ultra dips to 66 FPS, which is still playable but not ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Based on the measured FPS data, the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance across all three resolutions. At 1080p, Medium delivers an average of 273 FPS, which is only 41 FPS less than Low (314 FPS) but provides significantly better visual fidelity. At 1440p, Medium averages 177 FPS, which is 26 FPS more than High (150 FPS) and 55 FPS more than Ultra (122 FPS). At 4K, Medium averages 96 FPS, which is 15 FPS more than High (81 FPS) and 30 FPS more than Ultra (66 FPS). The Medium preset also has a recorded minimum FPS of 232 at 1080p, 150 at 1440p, and 81 at 4K, ensuring that frame pacing remains smooth even in intense combat scenes.

For players with high-refresh-rate monitors (144 Hz or above), the High preset at 1440p is also a viable option, as it delivers 150 FPS average, which exceeds the refresh rate of most gaming monitors. However, the drop from Medium to High at 4K (from 96 to 81 FPS) is noticeable, and the Ultra preset at 4K (66 FPS) is only suitable for players who prioritize visual quality over smoothness. At 1080p, even the Ultra preset delivers 189 FPS, so players on 1080p displays can safely max out settings without worrying about performance. The Low preset, while providing the highest frame rates, sacrifices too much visual detail for a game that is already well-optimized, making it the least recommended option unless the player is targeting extreme refresh rates beyond 300 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

In the benchmark database, the combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 ranks 651st out of 2930 tested combos for Doom. This places it in the top 22% of all CPU-GPU pairings tested for this game. Given that the database includes a wide range of hardware from entry-level to enthusiast-class components, a rank of 651 indicates that this combo is solidly above average for Doom's performance requirements.

The rank reflects the fact that Doom is not an extremely demanding title by modern standards, and even mid-range hardware can achieve high frame rates. The 9900X3D and RTX 4070 combo is overkill for 1080p gaming, where it delivers over 200 FPS on most settings, but it still performs admirably at 4K, where it maintains playable frame rates on all presets. The combo's rank would likely be higher (i.e., a lower number) in more CPU-intensive games, but for Doom, the GPU is the primary determinant of performance, and the RTX 4070's mid-range positioning is reflected in the overall ranking.

The data shows that this combo is capable of delivering a consistent 60+ FPS experience at 4K on High settings (81 FPS), which is a strong result for a game released in 2016. The fact that it ranks in the 651st position out of 2930 combos suggests that there are many systems with more powerful GPUs (e.g., RTX 4080 or above) that can achieve higher frame rates, but for the vast majority of players, this combo is more than sufficient for a smooth and visually impressive Doom experience.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Doom at 4K with maximum settings?

A: Yes, the Ultra preset at 4K delivers an average of 66 FPS, which is playable, though the Medium preset (96 FPS) or High preset (81 FPS) provide smoother experiences.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain 144+ FPS?

A: At 1080p, the High preset (231 FPS), Medium (273 FPS), and Ultra (189 FPS) all exceed 144 FPS. At 1440p, only the Low (203 FPS) and Medium (177 FPS) presets achieve 144+ FPS averages.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this system for Doom?

A: The data suggests the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck at 1440p and 4K, as frame rates drop significantly with resolution. At 1080p, the CPU's single-thread performance is sufficient, but the extremely high frame rates indicate both components are working heavily.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 compare to its nearest rival GPUs in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 4070 has an average benchmark score of 37648, which is nearly identical to the NVIDIA Tesla P4 (37628, a 0.1% delta) and the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (37507, a 0.4% delta). It is slightly behind the RTX 4080 Mobile (38135, a -1.3% delta).

Q: What is the CPU's percentile ranking among all processors?

A: The Ryzen 9 9900X3D falls in the 91st percentile of all CPUs, indicating it performs better than 91% of processors in the benchmark database.

Q: Does the Medium preset at 1440p provide a better experience than High at 4K?

A: Based on the data, Medium at 1440p delivers 177 FPS average with a minimum of 150 FPS, while High at 4K delivers 81 FPS average. The 1440p Medium preset offers a significantly smoother experience with only a modest reduction in resolution.