Doom

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

The Intel Core i3-12100F is a 4-core, 8-thread Alder Lake-S part with a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. It carries 12 MB of shared L3 cache, with 80 KB of L1 and 1.25 MB of L2 per core. For a game like Doom, which was released in 2016, this CPU's single-thread performance is the dominant factor. Its 3DMark single-thread score of 893 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1681 indicate strong per-core capability.

The data shows that this CPU sits at the 72nd percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 13516. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX (scoring 13534, a negligible 0.1% difference) and the Intel Core i7-7700K (scoring 13280, which is 1.8% behind). This placement is notable: a budget 4-core part essentially matches a high-end workstation CPU in this aggregate benchmark, which underscores how much Doom relies on fewer, faster cores rather than many slower ones.

In the measured FPS data, the CPU's influence becomes apparent at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low settings, the combo reaches 102.5 FPS average, which is 38.7% higher than at 1080p Ultra (61.2 FPS). This spread is larger than what pure GPU load would explain, suggesting that at Low settings, the CPU is better able to feed the GPU with frames. The 4-core design, while modest by modern standards, is sufficient for Doom's engine, which was built for the era of quad-core CPUs. The 3DMark max-threads score of 4023 is nearly identical to the 8-thread score of 4026, confirming that extra threads beyond 8 provide no benefit here.

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

The AMD Radeon RX 580 is a Polaris 20 chip built on a 14 nm process, featuring 2304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. Its base clock is 1257 MHz with a boost clock of 1340 MHz. Memory is 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth at 2000 MHz (8 Gbps effective). The GPU's peak FP32 throughput is 6.175 TFLOPS.

This GPU sits at the 53rd percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 13559. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 (scoring 13564, a 0% difference) and the GeForce GTX 950 (scoring 13549, 0.1% ahead). This places the RX 580 in a peculiar spot: it is statistically indistinguishable from cards that are much older, yet its 8 GB VRAM capacity is a clear advantage for modern titles that need more memory.

In Doom, the GPU's role becomes decisive as resolution climbs. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 21.9, which is unplayable. At 4K Low, it improves to 33.3 FPS, but still below the 30 FPS threshold that most players consider the absolute floor. The 256-bit memory bus and 256.0 GB/s bandwidth are the likely bottlenecks here, as Doom's texture-heavy scenes at 4K demand far more bandwidth than this card can deliver. The GPU's 8 GB VRAM is not the constraint—even at 4K Ultra, Doom rarely exceeds 6 GB—but the raw fill rate and texture rate (42.88 GPixel/s and 193.0 GTexel/s respectively) are insufficient for smooth 4K operation.

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

The measured data shows a clear and dramatic scaling pattern. At 1080p High, the combo averages 73.9 FPS. Moving to 1440p High, that drops to 50.8 FPS—a 31.3% reduction. At 4K High, it falls further to 26.4 FPS, which is a 64.3% drop from 1080p High. This scaling curve is steep but not perfectly linear, which tells us that the GPU becomes the sole limiter as resolution rises.

At 1080p Low, the system hits 102.5 FPS average. At 1440p Low, it manages 66.3 FPS (a 35.3% drop), and at 4K Low, it falls to 33.3 FPS (a 67.5% drop from 1080p). The consistency of these percentage drops across different settings—roughly 31-35% from 1080p to 1440p, and another 48-50% from 1440p to 4K—indicates that the GPU's pixel throughput is the binding constraint. If the CPU were the limiter, we would expect the FPS to stay flatter at higher resolutions, as the GPU would have more time per frame to wait for CPU data.

The fact that 4K Low (33.3 FPS) is only slightly better than 4K Medium (33.0 FPS) reinforces this. Lowering settings at 4K does not meaningfully improve performance because the GPU is already saturated. Conversely, at 1080p, the jump from Low (102.5 FPS) to Medium (87.3 FPS) to High (73.9 FPS) shows that the GPU still has headroom to render additional effects. This is a textbook example of a GPU-bound scenario at high resolutions, with the CPU having ample capacity to keep up.

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

Looking at the measured rows, the sweet spot for this combo is 1080p High. The average FPS of 73.9 is above the 60 FPS threshold that most players target for a smooth experience, and the visual quality jump from Medium (87.3 FPS) to High is substantial in Doom's fast-paced environments. Ultra at 1080p drops to 61.2 FPS, which is still playable, but the 17.2% performance hit over High is not worth the marginal visual gains in this game.

At 1440p, the situation changes. High settings yield 50.8 FPS average, which is below 60 FPS and may feel inconsistent in combat. Medium at 1440p gives 56.8 FPS, still short of 60. Low at 1440p hits 66.3 FPS, which is the only 1440p preset that clears 60 FPS. For players with a 1440p monitor, Low settings are the pragmatic choice; the visual downgrade is noticeable but the frame rate is significantly smoother.

4K is not viable for this combo in Doom. Even at Low settings, the average FPS is 33.3, which is below 30 FPS only marginally above it. Ultra at 4K is a slideshow at 21.9 FPS. The data suggests that 4K should be avoided entirely unless the player is willing to accept sub-30 FPS performance. For a game as fast-paced as Doom, that is not a reasonable trade-off.

FAQ

Q: Can this CPU handle Doom's minimum requirements?

A: Yes. The Intel Core i3-12100F's Cinebench R23 multicore score of 11912 and single-core score of 1681 place it well above the game's original era of CPUs. Its 4 cores and 8 threads are sufficient for Doom's engine, as evidenced by the 102.5 FPS average at 1080p Low.

Q: Is 8 GB of VRAM on the RX 580 enough for Doom?

A: Yes, the 8 GB GDDR5 memory is not a limiting factor in this game. The bottleneck at high resolutions is the GPU's compute and memory bandwidth (256.0 GB/s), not its VRAM capacity. Even at 4K Ultra, the card's memory allocation would be well within 8 GB.

Q: Why is there such a large FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1080p Low, the combo averages 102.5 FPS, while at 1080p Ultra it drops to 61.2 FPS—a 40.3% reduction. This is because Ultra settings in Doom enable more complex shading and texture effects that stress the RX 580's 6.175 TFLOPS of compute throughput and its 193.0 GTexel/s texture rate.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo?

A: The data indicates 1080p is the optimal resolution. At 1080p High, the system maintains 73.9 FPS average, which is playable and looks good. At 1440p, even Low settings only reach 66.3 FPS, and at 4K, all presets fall below 34 FPS.

Q: How does this CPU compare to its nearest rival in aggregate performance?

A: The Intel Core i3-12100F has an average benchmark score of 13516, which is 0.1% behind the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX (13534) and 0.4% ahead of the Intel Core i7-1250U (13462). It also beats the Intel Core i7-7700K (13280) by 1.8%.

Q: Is the RX 580's performance in Doom typical of its benchmark standing?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score of 13559 places it at the 53rd percentile, with its nearest rival being the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 at 13564 (0% difference). In Doom, the card performs as expected for its tier—capable at 1080p, marginal at 1440p, and inadequate at 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

1080p (1920x1080):

• Low: 102.5 FPS average
• Medium: 87.3 FPS average
• High: 73.9 FPS average
• Ultra: 61.2 FPS average

At 1080p, the combo has enough headroom to run every preset above 60 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 41.3 FPS, which gives players flexibility to choose between maximum smoothness (Low at 102.5 FPS) and maximum fidelity (Ultra at 61.2 FPS). The step from High to Ultra costs 12.7 FPS, which is the smallest incremental drop among all settings tiers.

1440p (2560x1440):

• Low: 66.3 FPS average
• Medium: 56.8 FPS average
• High: 50.8 FPS average
• Ultra: 41.1 FPS average

At 1440p, the GPU starts to struggle. Only Low settings clear the 60 FPS mark. The drop from Low to Medium is 9.5 FPS, and from Medium to High is another 6.0 FPS. Ultra at 41.1 FPS is playable but noticeably less smooth. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p at each setting tier is consistent, ranging from 31.3% (High) to 35.3% (Low) performance loss.

4K (3840x2160):

• Low: 33.3 FPS average
• Medium: 33.0 FPS average
• High: 26.4 FPS average
• Ultra: 21.9 FPS average

At 4K, the system falls below playable thresholds. Low and Medium are nearly identical (33.3 vs. 33.0 FPS), which indicates that the GPU is completely saturated regardless of settings. High and Ultra are worse, dropping to 26.4 and 21.9 FPS respectively. The performance gap between 1440p and 4K is severe: High settings lose 24.4 FPS (from 50.8 to 26.4), and Ultra loses 19.2 FPS (from 41.1 to 21.9). This confirms that 4K is not a viable resolution for this hardware combination in Doom.