Doom

The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D delivers exceptional frame rates in Doom (2016), securing the top rank among 2,930 tested combinations. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS data across resolutions and settings, examining the roles of the CPU and GPU in producing these results.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of performance scaling as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At 1080p with Low settings, the combination produces 485 FPS average, which drops to 314 FPS at 1440p and further to 170 FPS at 4K. This represents a 35% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and a 46% reduction from 1440p to 4K. The scaling is consistent across all settings presets, indicating a predictable relationship between pixel count and frame rate.

The delta between Low and Ultra settings widens as resolution increases. At 1080p, the gap between Low (485 FPS) and Ultra (292 FPS) is 193 FPS. At 1440p, this gap narrows to 125 FPS (314 FPS vs 189 FPS). At 4K, the gap further compresses to 68 FPS (170 FPS vs 102 FPS). This compression suggests that at higher resolutions, the GPU becomes the limiting factor, reducing the performance headroom available for higher quality settings.

The 4K Ultra result of 102 FPS average demonstrates that even the most demanding configuration remains comfortably above 60 FPS, but the scaling pattern indicates diminishing returns at extreme resolutions. The data shows that moving from Medium to Ultra at 4K costs 46 FPS (from 148 to 102), while the same settings change at 1080p costs 130 FPS (from 422 to 292). This indicates that at 1080p, the system has abundant headroom, while at 4K, the GPU workload dominates and settings changes have a relatively smaller absolute impact on frame rate.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum average FPS recorded for this combination?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 485 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The lowest average is 102 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings.

Q: How does the 4K Ultra performance compare to 1080p Ultra?

A: The 4K Ultra average of 102 FPS represents a 65% reduction from the 1080p Ultra average of 292 FPS. Both remain playable, but the 4K result is significantly lower.

Q: What is the frame time consistency at Medium settings?

A: The data includes min and max FPS only for Medium settings. At 1080p Medium, the range is 359-486 FPS (average 422). At 1440p Medium, the range is 232-314 FPS (average 273). At 4K Medium, the range is 126-170 FPS (average 148).

Q: Does the combination maintain 60 FPS at all tested configurations?

A: Yes. The lowest recorded average is 102 FPS at 4K Ultra, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold. All other configurations produce higher averages.

Q: How does the CPU's benchmark performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Ryzen 9 9950X3D has an average benchmark score of 75,779, placing it marginally ahead of its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 9755 (75,738), by 0.1%. It also leads the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 9755X3D (75,716) by 0.1% and the Intel Core Ultra 9 285 (75,488) by 0.4%.

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking among all tested GPUs?

A: The RTX 5090 D falls in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 77,712. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT, scores 78,940, which is 1.6% higher.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is the primary driver of frame rates in this Doom configuration, particularly at higher resolutions. The GPU features 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, delivering 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. This substantial memory configuration ensures that texture data and frame buffers never become a bottleneck, even at 4K Ultra settings where the 102 FPS average indicates the GPU's compute capabilities are being fully exercised.

The GPU's clock speeds are 2017 MHz base and 2407 MHz boost, with memory running at 1750 MHz (28 Gbps effective). These clocks, combined with 21,760 shading units and 680 texture mapping units, produce a pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s. The FP32 performance of 104.8 TFLOPS provides ample compute headroom for the game's rendering workloads.

The measured FPS data shows the GPU scaling predictably with resolution. At 1080p Low, the 485 FPS average suggests the GPU is not fully saturated, as the frame rate exceeds what most displays can show. At 4K Ultra, the 102 FPS average indicates the GPU is working near its limits, with the 46 FPS drop from Medium to Ultra at 4K highlighting the cost of higher quality settings. The GPU's 92nd percentile ranking among all GPUs contextualizes its performance, though its nearest rivals in the benchmark database are notably different products (AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT and NVIDIA Tesla P100 variants).

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combination delivers outstanding performance across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 485 FPS, Medium produces 422 FPS (with a range of 359-486 FPS), High produces 357 FPS, and Ultra produces 292 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 40% reduction in average FPS, with each settings tier costing roughly 60-70 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the averages are 314 FPS (Low), 273 FPS (Medium, range 232-314), 231 FPS (High), and 189 FPS (Ultra). The percentage drop from Low to Ultra at 1440p is 40%, consistent with the 1080p scaling. The Medium range shows a 82 FPS spread between minimum and maximum, indicating some frame time variance.

At 3840x2160, the averages drop to 170 FPS (Low), 148 FPS (Medium, range 126-170), 125 FPS (High), and 102 FPS (Ultra). The Low to Ultra reduction at 4K is 40%, maintaining the same proportional scaling as lower resolutions. The Medium range at 4K spans 44 FPS, showing tighter frame times relative to the average compared to 1440p.

The data reveals a consistent 40% performance penalty from Low to Ultra across all resolutions. This consistency suggests that the settings presets scale uniformly, with each tier (Low to Medium, Medium to High, High to Ultra) exacting a similar relative cost. The absolute FPS numbers remain high enough that even the most demanding configuration (4K Ultra at 102 FPS) exceeds typical display refresh rates.

Settings Recommendations

For 4K displays, the Ultra preset at 102 FPS average provides the highest visual quality while maintaining smooth gameplay. The High preset at 125 FPS offers a 23 FPS improvement over Ultra with a modest reduction in visual fidelity. The Medium preset at 148 FPS is the most balanced choice for 4K, providing a 46 FPS advantage over Ultra while still delivering high-quality visuals. Given that even the Low preset at 170 FPS exceeds 144Hz refresh rates, players with 144Hz 4K displays can select Medium or High without concern.

At 1440p, the Ultra preset at 189 FPS exceeds 144Hz refresh rates, making it the recommended choice for high-refresh displays. The High preset at 231 FPS suits 240Hz displays, while Medium at 273 FPS and Low at 314 FPS provide headroom for future demanding scenes. For 1080p, all settings exceed 292 FPS, meaning even the Ultra preset at 292 FPS supports 240Hz displays. The Medium preset at 422 FPS provides substantial headroom for competitive play, while Low at 485 FPS is the maximum performance configuration.

The data indicates that the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance across all resolutions, with the smallest FPS range (126-170 at 4K, 232-314 at 1440p, 359-486 at 1080p) suggesting stable frame delivery. Players prioritizing maximum visual fidelity should select Ultra, while those seeking maximum frame rates should choose Low. The High preset serves as a middle ground, offering solid performance with moderate visual enhancements.

CPU Role

The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D provides the computational foundation for this configuration, though its role in Doom is secondary to the GPU. The CPU features 16 cores and 32 threads based on the Zen 5 architecture (Granite Ridge), with base and boost clocks of 4.30 GHz and 5.70 GHz respectively. The 128 MB of L3 cache, distributed as 1 MB L2 per core and 80 KB L1 per core, ensures that game data remains readily accessible to the processing cores.

The CPU's benchmark results demonstrate its strong multi-threaded capabilities. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 42,018 and Geekbench multicore score of 26,736 indicate substantial parallel processing power. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 16,374 and max-thread score of 17,184 show scaling across the 16 cores. Single-thread performance, measured by Cinebench R23 at 2,259 and Geekbench at 3,064, is also robust.

In the context of Doom, the CPU's high single-thread performance (PassMark single-thread score of 4,737) ensures that game logic and physics calculations do not bottleneck the GPU. The 95th percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 75,779, places this processor in the top tier of available hardware. Its nearest rivals, the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 9755 and AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 9755X3D, score within 0.1% of the 9950X3D, indicating that the CPU's performance envelope is well-matched to this class of processor.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D achieves the top rank in Doom, placing first out of 2,930 tested combinations. This ranking reflects the measured FPS data, which shows no configuration in the database producing higher average frame rates across the tested resolutions and settings.

The CPU's contribution to this ranking is supported by its 95th percentile standing among all CPUs and its benchmark scores relative to rivals. The Ryzen 9 9950X3D leads its nearest rivals by narrow margins (0.1% over the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 9755 and 0.1% over the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 9755X3D), suggesting that CPU performance is not the differentiator at these frame rates.

The GPU's 92nd percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 77,712, places it in the upper echelon of graphics hardware. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT, scores 1.6% higher in aggregate benchmarks, yet the RTX 5090 D's 32 GB GDDR7 memory and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth prove decisive in Doom's rendering workloads.

The combination's rank of 1 out of 2,930 is consistent with the measured FPS data showing no configuration exceeding these results. The margin over lower-ranked combinations is not quantified in the data, but the absolute FPS figures (ranging from 102 FPS at 4K Ultra to 485 FPS at 1080p Low) establish this as a top-tier configuration for Doom. The combination's performance is characterized by high frame rates across all settings, with the GPU serving as the primary performance driver and the CPU providing sufficient headroom to avoid bottlenecks.