Doom

The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 delivers a dominant performance profile in Doom, with the data showing a combination that scales aggressively with resolution and settings. This system ranks 147th out of 2,930 tested combos, placing it in the top 5% of all configurations. The benchmark results reveal a machine built for high-refresh-rate gaming, with the RTX 5080’s raw throughput and the 9900X3D’s substantial cache working in concert to produce exceptional frame rates across the board.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a steep but predictable drop as resolution increases from 1080p to 4K, a pattern that clearly indicates the GPU becomes the bottleneck at higher pixel counts. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 306 FPS at 1920x1080 to 198 FPS at 2560x1440, a 35% reduction, and then to 107 FPS at 3840x2160, a further 46% decline. This progression suggests the RTX 5080’s 16 GB of GDDR7 memory and 960.0 GB/s bandwidth are being heavily utilized at 4K, while at 1080p the system is likely limited by CPU draw-call overhead or engine-level physics.

The scaling from Medium to Low settings at each resolution further highlights the GPU-bound nature of higher resolutions. At 3840x2160, dropping from Medium (127 FPS average) to Low (146 FPS average) yields a 15% performance gain, while at 1920x1080 the same settings change produces only a 13% improvement (363 FPS to 416 FPS). The gap between Medium and Ultra at 4K is even more pronounced, with the average dropping from 127 FPS to 88 FPS, a 31% hit. This demonstrates that the RTX 5080’s 10752 shading units and 112 ROPs are the primary drivers of frame rate at 4K, whereas at 1080p the system’s ability to push beyond 400 FPS suggests the Ryzen 9 9900X3D’s 12 cores and 24 threads are keeping pace with the GPU’s output.

Interestingly, the Low setting at 1080p reaches 416 FPS, which is remarkably close to the Medium setting’s maximum of 417 FPS. This indicates that the CPU, with its 5.50 GHz boost clock, is approaching a hard ceiling around 400-420 FPS in this title, regardless of GPU headroom. The 4K Ultra result of 88 FPS, while still playable, shows a 79% reduction from the 1080p Low figure, underscoring how resolution scaling in Doom is fundamentally tied to the GPU’s fill rate and memory subsystem.

CPU Role

The Ryzen 9 9900X3D’s architecture is central to understanding its performance in Doom, a game known for its Vulkan and OpenGL rendering paths that can leverage multiple threads. With 12 cores based on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge), the CPU offers a base clock of 4.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, which are critical for the engine’s single-threaded game logic and physics calculations. The 128 MB of L3 cache is particularly relevant for Doom, as the id Tech 6 engine frequently accesses texture and geometry data that benefits from large, fast caches.

The benchmark data for the CPU shows a strong multi-threaded profile: Cinebench R23 multicore scores 47,737, while the single-core score is 6,739. The 3DMark 16-thread test yields 12,490, and the max-threads score reaches 13,795, indicating that scaling beyond 16 threads provides diminishing returns, which aligns with Doom’s typical utilization of 8-12 threads. The PassMark multithread score of 56,154 and the physics score of 5,340 further suggest that the CPU can handle the game’s dynamic lighting and particle effects without becoming a constraint, especially at 1080p where the GPU is less stressed.

At 1080p Ultra, the system produces 250 FPS average, which is likely CPU-bound given that the same settings at 1440p yield 162 FPS (a 35% drop) and at 4K yield 88 FPS (a 65% drop). The CPU’s 89.6 GB/s memory bandwidth and dual-channel DDR5 support ensure that data feeds the cores efficiently, but the real advantage comes from the 3D V-Cache design. Compared to its nearest rivals in the CPU benchmark database, the 9900X3D’s average score of 54,762 is 0.6% lower than the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF (55,093) and 1.3% higher than the Core Ultra 5 245K (54,053). This marginal difference in synthetic tests suggests that Doom’s performance is not solely dependent on raw CPU throughput, but rather on the cache hierarchy and clock speeds that the 9900X3D provides.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 is the undisputed workhorse in this configuration, and its specifications are directly reflected in the measured FPS. The GPU’s boost clock of 2617 MHz and base clock of 2295 MHz drive 10752 shading units, which account for the massive fill rates seen at lower resolutions. The 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth, a figure that becomes crucial at 4K where texture sizes and shadow maps demand high throughput.

Examining the GPU’s synthetic benchmarks, the PassMark G3D score of 36,565 and the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 8,637 indicate strong rasterization performance, which is the primary workload in Doom (the game does not employ ray tracing). The Geekbench OpenCL score of 235,901 and Vulkan score of 255,450 are particularly relevant, as Doom’s Vulkan path can exploit the GPU’s asynchronous compute capabilities. The RTX 5080’s texture rate of 879.3 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 293.1 GPixel/s are the physical limits that dictate frame rates at high resolutions, and the data confirms this: at 4K High, the average FPS of 107 is roughly half of the 1440p High result of 198 FPS, a scaling that aligns with the pixel count increase.

The GPU’s memory configuration also plays a role in the Medium settings results, where the minimum FPS at 4K is 108 and at 1440p is 199. These minimums suggest that the 16 GB VRAM is sufficient to avoid stuttering, but the performance gap between Low and Medium settings (146 FPS vs 127 FPS at 4K) indicates that the GPU’s shading units are the limiting factor rather than memory capacity. The RTX 5080’s nearest rivals in the GPU benchmark database show it is 0.6% ahead of the AMD Radeon 8060S (55,757 vs 56,083) and 2.3% ahead of the Radeon Pro W5700X, but 2.2% behind the Radeon RX 9070 GRE. In Doom specifically, the RTX 5080’s architecture appears well-optimized, as the 1080p Low result of 416 FPS reflects its ability to feed frames faster than most displays can refresh.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of 2,930 tested combinations, this pairing of the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 achieves a rank of 147. This places it in the 95th percentile of all configurations, indicating that it outperforms the vast majority of systems tested for Doom. The combination’s strength lies in the balance between the CPU’s 128 MB L3 cache and the GPU’s 960.0 GB/s bandwidth, which together minimize bottlenecks at all settings.

The rank is particularly impressive given that the CPU’s average benchmark score (54,762) is only 0.6% lower than its closest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF, while the GPU’s average score (56,083) is 2.2% lower than the Radeon RX 9070 GRE. This suggests that the combo’s high rank is not due to either component being the absolute fastest in its class, but rather their synergistic efficiency in Doom’s engine. The CPU’s 91st percentile ranking versus all CPUs and the GPU’s 87th percentile ranking versus all GPUs combine to produce a system that is greater than the sum of its parts, likely due to the 3D V-Cache’s impact on draw calls and the GPU’s high pixel fill rate.

When compared to other high-end combos, this system’s 1080p Medium average of 363 FPS and 4K Ultra average of 88 FPS show that it can handle both competitive esports settings and cinematic single-player modes. The rank of 147 out of 2,930 means there are only 146 configurations that produce higher frame rates in Doom, which typically involve even more powerful GPUs like the RTX 5090 or overclocked variants of the 5080.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers exceptional performance across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 416 FPS, while Medium reduces that to 363 FPS with a minimum of 308 FPS and a maximum of 417 FPS. High settings yield 306 FPS, and Ultra drops to 250 FPS. These numbers indicate that at 1080p, the system is primarily GPU-limited at Ultra, but the 416 FPS Low result suggests the CPU is near its maximum frame output, likely constrained by the game’s single-threaded physics loop.

Moving to 2560x1440, the results show a clear step down. Low settings average 269 FPS, Medium averages 235 FPS (with a minimum of 199 FPS and maximum of 270 FPS), High averages 198 FPS, and Ultra averages 162 FPS. The 1440p Medium minimum of 199 FPS is notably high, indicating that the RTX 5080’s memory bandwidth prevents frame drops even during intense combat sequences. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1440p is a 40% reduction, which is less severe than the 50% reduction seen at 1080p, highlighting the GPU’s increasing role at higher resolutions.

At 3840x2160, the system still delivers playable frame rates. Low settings average 146 FPS, Medium averages 127 FPS (with a minimum of 108 FPS and maximum of 146 FPS), High averages 107 FPS, and Ultra averages 88 FPS. The 4K Medium minimum of 108 FPS is particularly noteworthy, as it means the system rarely drops below 60 FPS even in demanding scenes. The 4K Ultra result of 88 FPS is the only setting where the system falls below the 100 FPS threshold, but it remains smooth for a single-player title. Overall, the data shows a consistent pattern: the RTX 5080’s 16 GB VRAM and 960 GB/s bandwidth ensure that even at 4K, the system maintains high minimum frame rates, while the CPU’s 12 cores handle the game’s AI and scripting without stutter.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with High settings?

A: The system achieves an average of 306 FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings, indicating that the RTX 5080 has significant headroom at this resolution.

Q: How does the CPU’s cache size affect performance in this game?

A: The Ryzen 9 9900X3D features 128 MB of L3 cache, which aids in storing frequently accessed texture and geometry data. This is reflected in the 1080p Low result of 416 FPS, where the CPU is likely the limiting factor rather than the GPU.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded at 4K Medium settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Medium settings, the minimum FPS is 108, with an average of 127 FPS and a maximum of 146 FPS. This shows that the 16 GB GDDR7 memory prevents severe frame drops.

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

A: The combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 ranks 147th out of 2,930 total combos tested for Doom, placing it in the top 5% of all systems.

Q: Is the GPU or CPU more important for 4K performance?

A: The data shows that at 4K, the GPU is the dominant factor. For example, at 4K High, the average FPS is 107, which is roughly half of the 1440p High result of 198 FPS, aligning with the pixel count increase and indicating GPU-bound scaling.

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

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings produce an average of 269 FPS, while Ultra produces 162 FPS. This represents a 40% reduction in performance, showing the rendering cost of Ultra-quality effects.