Doom

This analysis examines the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti pairing in Doom, based strictly on measured data. The combination delivers excellent frame rates across all tested settings and resolutions, with the data indicating a system well-suited for high-refresh-rate gaming. The Ryzen 9 9900X3D’s 12-core, 24-thread configuration and the RTX 4070 Ti’s 12 GB of GDDR6X memory create a balanced platform, though the specific bottlenecks shift predictably as resolution and graphical load change. The following sections break down the optimal settings, component roles, and performance scaling to guide configuration choices.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data for Doom shows a clear hierarchy across the four tested presets, with the High preset offering the most compelling balance of visual fidelity and performance. At 3840x2160, the High preset produces an average of 95 FPS, which is a significant improvement over the Ultra preset’s 78 FPS average. The jump from Medium to High at this resolution is only a 17 FPS difference (112 to 95), while the jump from High to Ultra costs a more substantial 17 FPS (95 to 78). This suggests that the Ultra preset imposes a heavy additional load that yields diminishing returns, making High the sensible choice for a smooth 4K experience.

At 2560x1440, the High preset delivers an average of 175 FPS, which is more than sufficient for high-refresh-rate monitors. The Medium preset reaches 208 FPS, and Low pushes to 238 FPS, but the visual compromise of dropping from High to Medium or Low is unlikely to be worth the extra frame rate at this resolution. The Ultra preset at 1440p drops to 143 FPS average, which is still playable but introduces a noticeable step down from High. For 1920x1080, the High preset’s 271 FPS average is exceptional, and while Low (368 FPS) and Medium (321 FPS) offer higher numbers, the High preset provides a better visual experience without sacrificing the fluidity that competitive players demand.

The data indicates that the Ultra preset consistently shows the largest performance penalty across all resolutions, with average FPS dropping by roughly 18% to 22% compared to High. For example, at 1080p, Ultra averages 221 FPS versus High’s 271 FPS. This pattern suggests that Ultra settings enable effects that disproportionately tax the GPU without a proportional visual benefit in this title. Therefore, the recommended preset is High for all resolutions, as it maintains the highest average FPS while still leveraging the hardware’s capabilities. The Medium preset, which includes measured minimum and maximum FPS values (e.g., 273 to 369 at 1080p, 176 to 239 at 1440p, and 96 to 129 at 4K), shows a stable frame time range, but High’s superior image quality makes it the better default choice.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti is the primary driver of frame rate in Doom, particularly as resolution increases. The GPU’s 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus provides 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth, which is ample for this game’s texture and geometry data at the tested settings. The data shows that the GPU’s workload scales heavily with both resolution and preset. At 1080p Low, the average FPS of 368 indicates that the GPU is not the limiting factor, as the CPU can feed frames quickly. However, at 4K Ultra, the average drops to 78 FPS, demonstrating that the GPU’s compute and memory resources are being saturated.

The RTX 4070 Ti’s clock speeds are 2310 MHz base and 2610 MHz boost, and the measured results suggest that these frequencies are sufficient to maintain high throughput across the board. The GPU’s 7680 shading units and 80 ROPs contribute to its pixel and texture processing rates of 208.8 GPixel/s and 626.4 GTexel/s, respectively. These specs align with the observed behavior: at 4K High, the GPU still manages 95 FPS, which is a strong result for a demanding resolution. The jump from High to Ultra at 4K (95 to 78 FPS) is a 22% reduction, indicating that the Ultra preset adds effects like higher shadow quality or ambient occlusion that directly tax the GPU’s shading units.

In comparison to its nearest rivals, the RTX 4070 Ti’s average benchmark score of 44795 places it 0.8% behind the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile and 1.3% behind the AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT, while being 1.6% ahead of the NVIDIA RTX A6000. These deltaPct values are small, meaning the GPU is competitively positioned. However, in Doom specifically, the GPU’s performance is more relevant than its synthetic average. The measured FPS at 1440p High (175) and 1080p High (271) show that the RTX 4070 Ti has headroom for high refresh rates, but at 4K Ultra (78 FPS), the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck, as the CPU’s 12 cores are likely not fully utilized. The VRAM capacity of 12 GB is adequate, as no test indicates memory-related stuttering or frame drops beyond what the preset scaling would predict.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a predictable scaling pattern from 1080p to 4K, with the GPU becoming increasingly dominant as the limiting factor. At the High preset, the average FPS drops from 271 at 1080p, to 175 at 1440p, and finally to 95 at 4K. This represents a 35% reduction from 1080p to 1440p and a further 46% reduction from 1440p to 4K. The total drop from 1080p to 4K is 65% (271 to 95 FPS). This steep decline is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario, where the number of pixels rendered quadruples from 1080p to 4K, overwhelming the RTX 4070 Ti’s fill rate.

At the Low preset, the scaling is slightly less severe: 368 FPS at 1080p, 238 FPS at 1440p, and 129 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are 35% (1080p to 1440p) and 46% (1440p to 4K), mirroring the High preset’s pattern. This consistency suggests that even at Low settings, the GPU’s pixel throughput is the primary constraint at higher resolutions, though the absolute FPS values are high enough to remain fluid. At the Medium preset, which has measured minimum and maximum values, the average drops from 321 FPS at 1080p (min 273, max 369), to 208 FPS at 1440p (min 176, max 239), and then to 112 FPS at 4K (min 96, max 129). The min/max ranges show that frame times are relatively stable, with the spread widening slightly at lower resolutions due to CPU involvement.

The Ultra preset exhibits the largest absolute drop, from 221 FPS at 1080p to 143 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 78 FPS at 4K. This 65% total reduction from 1080p to 4K aligns with the High preset’s scaling, reinforcing that the GPU’s compute units are the limiting factor. The data indicates that at 1080p, the CPU (Ryzen 9 9900X3D) has more influence on the top-end FPS, as the GPU is not fully taxed. For instance, the difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 147 FPS (368 to 221), while at 4K, the same comparison yields only a 51 FPS difference (129 to 78). This suggests that at lower resolutions, the CPU can drive higher frame rates, but the GPU’s capabilities cap the maximum output at higher resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti combination ranks 333rd out of 2930 tested combos in Doom, placing it in the top 11.4% of all configurations. This percentile ranking indicates that the pairing is well above average for this game, which is expected given the high-end nature of both components. The combo’s rank is influenced by the CPU’s strong multi-core performance and the GPU’s solid 4K capabilities, though it is not in the top tier due to the RTX 4070 Ti’s mid-range positioning relative to flagship GPUs.

The CPU’s average benchmark score of 54762 places it 0.6% behind the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF and 1.3% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 5 245K, showing that the Ryzen 9 9900X3D is competitively matched with Intel’s mid-range offerings in synthetic tests. However, in Doom, the CPU’s 12 cores and 24 threads are more than sufficient, as the game is not heavily multi-threaded. The GPU’s average score of 44795, which ranks 84th percentile among all GPUs, is the more significant factor in the combo’s 333rd ranking. The measured FPS data shows that the combo excels at 1080p and 1440p, where it achieves high refresh rates, but the 4K Ultra result of 78 FPS pulls the overall experience down relative to combos with more powerful GPUs.

Compared to other combos in the database, this pairing’s 333rd rank suggests that there are 332 configurations that deliver higher average FPS in Doom at the tested settings. This is likely due to GPUs with higher absolute performance, such as those with more VRAM or faster memory bandwidth. The RTX 4070 Ti’s 504.2 GB/s bandwidth is adequate but not exceptional, and at 4K Ultra, the GPU’s 40.09 TFLOPS FP32 compute is the limiting factor. The combo’s rank is solid for a mid-to-high-end build, but users seeking top-tier 4K performance would need a more powerful GPU.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D’s role in Doom is to provide enough single-thread and multi-thread performance to avoid bottlenecking the GPU at lower resolutions. The CPU’s 12 cores and 24 threads, based on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge), run at a base clock of 4.40 GHz and boost up to 5.50 GHz. Its 128 MB of L3 cache is substantial, which helps in games that benefit from large caches, though Doom’s engine is not particularly cache-sensitive. The CPU’s benchmark scores, such as a single-thread score of 1269 in 3DMark and 4646 in PassMark, indicate strong per-core performance.

In the measured FPS data, the CPU’s influence is most apparent at 1080p, where the average FPS exceeds 300 on Low settings. At 1080p Low, the GPU is not the bottleneck, so the CPU’s ability to issue draw calls and process game logic becomes critical. The Ryzen 9 9900X3D’s high boost clock of 5.50 GHz ensures that single-threaded tasks are handled swiftly. The CPU’s multi-threaded performance, evidenced by a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 47737, is more than adequate for Doom, which is unlikely to utilize all 24 threads. The data supports this: at 4K, the FPS is consistently lower across all presets, indicating that the GPU is the limiting factor, not the CPU.

The CPU’s nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF (deltaPct -0.6%) and Intel Core i7-14700F (deltaPct 2.1%), show that the Ryzen 9 9900X3D is slightly ahead or behind in synthetic averages, but these differences are minimal in gaming. In Doom, the CPU’s 91st percentile ranking among all CPUs means it outperforms most processors, but the game’s frame rates are ultimately capped by the GPU at higher resolutions. The CPU’s 89.6 GB/s memory bandwidth and dual-channel DDR5 support ensure that memory is not a bottleneck, as the game’s data can be fed to the GPU efficiently.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best settings preset for this combo in Doom?*

A: The High preset is recommended. It delivers an average of 271 FPS at 1080p, 175 FPS at 1440p, and 95 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset only offers marginal visual improvements but reduces average FPS by 18-22% across all resolutions, making High the optimal balance.

Q: How much FPS does the combo lose when moving from 1080p to 4K?

A: At the High preset, the average FPS drops from 271 at 1080p to 95 at 4K, a 65% reduction. At the Low preset, the drop is from 368 to 129 FPS (65%), and at Ultra, it’s from 221 to 78 FPS (65%). This consistent scaling indicates the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions.

Q: Is the Ryzen 9 9900X3D or the RTX 4070 Ti the limiting factor in this game?

A: At 1080p, the CPU is more influential, with Low settings reaching 368 FPS, suggesting the GPU has headroom. At 4K, the GPU becomes the clear limiter, as the average FPS drops to 78-129 FPS depending on the preset, while the CPU’s 12-core configuration is not fully utilized.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 333rd out of 2930 tested combos in Doom, placing it in the top 11.4% of all configurations. This is a strong result, driven by the CPU’s high single-thread performance and the GPU’s solid 4K capabilities.

Q: What are the GPU’s memory specifications and how do they affect performance?

A: The RTX 4070 Ti has 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. This is sufficient for Doom at all tested settings, as no data indicates memory-related performance drops beyond what the preset scaling would predict.

*Q: Does the CPU’s 128 MB of L3 cache provide a benefit in Doom?*

A: The Ryzen 9 9900X3D’s 128 MB L3 cache is a notable feature, but Doom’s engine is not heavily cache-dependent. The measured FPS data shows that the CPU’s high boost clock of 5.50 GHz and strong single-thread performance are more relevant, as the game’s frame rates at 1080p are high but not exceptional compared to the GPU’s scaling.