Doom

The Intel Core i3-12100F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9070 presents a fascinating study in bottleneck dynamics within Doom (2016). The data reveals a combination where the GPU’s raw power is frequently constrained by a quad-core processor, yet the engine’s optimization allows for exceptional frame rates across the board. This analysis dissects the measured performance, exploring how resolution scaling, CPU architecture, and GPU capabilities interact to produce the final results.

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

The measured FPS data shows a clear and predictable decline as resolution increases, but the magnitude of that decline tells a compelling story about system balance. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves 294.4 FPS. Stepping up to 2560x1440 Low reduces this to 192.5 FPS, a drop of approximately 34.6%. Moving further to 3840x2160 Low yields 106.8 FPS, another 44.5% reduction from the 1440p figure. This scaling pattern is remarkably consistent, suggesting that at Low settings, the GPU is the primary driver of performance even at 1080p.

However, the situation changes dramatically when examining the Ultra preset. At 1080p Ultra, the system produces 181 FPS. At 1440p Ultra, that falls to 112.6 FPS (a 37.8% drop), and at 4K Ultra, it plummets to 63.8 FPS (a 43.3% drop from 1440p). The fact that 1080p Ultra (181 FPS) is lower than 1440p Low (192.5 FPS) reveals a critical insight: the CPU begins to limit performance when the graphical load increases, as the processor must handle more draw calls and physics calculations associated with higher settings. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 113.4 FPS, while at 4K it narrows to just 43 FPS, indicating that at 4K, the GPU is almost entirely the limiting factor, while at 1080p, both components share the burden.

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

The Intel Core i3-12100F is a 4-core, 8-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz. Its benchmark scores show a strong single-thread performance (3dmark_single_thread score of 893, Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1681) but relatively modest multi-threaded results (Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 11912). This profile is typical for a quad-core part, and Doom’s id Tech 6 engine is known to scale well with multiple threads, but the data suggests the CPU becomes a bottleneck at high frame rates.

The evidence lies in the 1080p results. At Low settings, the system reaches 294.4 FPS, but at Ultra, it falls to 181 FPS. This 38.5% reduction cannot be attributed solely to GPU load, as the RX 9070 is more than capable of handling 1080p Ultra. The CPU’s 4 cores, while efficient, are likely maxed out when managing the game’s simulation and draw calls at such high frame rates. The processor’s percentileVsAllCpus of 72 indicates it outperforms most CPUs, but its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-7700K (1.8% higher avgScore), which also struggles with modern titles at extreme FPS. The data implies that for Doom, the i3-12100F provides sufficient throughput for 60-100 FPS gameplay, but pushing beyond 200 FPS requires more cores.

FAQ — 4-6 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data

Q: What is the highest average FPS achieved by this CPU-GPU combination in the measured data?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 294.4 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: How does the RX 9070’s performance compare to its closest rival in average benchmark score?

A: The RX 9070 has an average benchmark score of 34780, which is 0.2% lower than the NVIDIA A2’s score of 34866, making them statistically equivalent in synthetic tests.

Q: At which resolution does the CPU appear to be the primary limiting factor?

A: At 1920x1080, the CPU limits performance, as evidenced by the large gap between Low (294.4 FPS) and Ultra (181 FPS) settings, which cannot be explained by GPU load alone.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between 4K Ultra and 4K Low?

A: At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset averages 63.8 FPS, while Low averages 106.8 FPS, a difference of 43 FPS.

Q: Does the i3-12100F’s multi-threaded performance suggest it can handle modern gaming loads?

A: The CPU’s Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 11912 and 3dmark_max_threads score of 4023 indicate moderate multi-threading capability, but its 4-core design limits performance in heavily threaded scenarios, as seen in the 1080p Ultra results.

Q: How does the combo’s rank in Doom compare to other tested configurations?

A: The combination ranks 557th out of 1681 tested combos, placing it in the top 33.1% of all configurations tested for this game.

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

The dataset provides 12 unique measurement points, covering four resolutions and three settings levels (plus Ultra). At 1920x1080, the average FPS ranges from 294.4 (Low) to 181 (Ultra), with Medium at 255.8 and High at 217.7. The spread of 113.4 FPS between Low and Ultra at this resolution is the largest of any resolution, reinforcing the CPU bottleneck theory.

At 2560x1440, the results show a tighter band: Low produces 192.5 FPS, Medium 165.5 FPS, High 140.8 FPS, and Ultra 112.6 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra here is 79.9 FPS, a significant reduction from the 1080p spread. At 3840x2160, the performance compresses further, with Low hitting 106.8 FPS, Medium 92.7 FPS, High 77.1 FPS, and Ultra 63.8 FPS. The Low-to-Ultra difference at 4K is just 43 FPS, indicating that the GPU is now the dominant constraint, as the RX 9070’s 16 GB of GDDR6 memory and 644.6 GB/s bandwidth are taxed by the higher pixel count.

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

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 is a formidable GPU, built on the RDNA 4.0 architecture with a Navi 48 chip. It boasts 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 644.6 GB/s of bandwidth. Its boost clock of 2520 MHz and 3584 shading units provide substantial compute power, with an FP32 rating of 36.13 TFLOPS. The GPU’s benchmark scores reflect its capabilities: a 3dmark_steel_nomad_dx12 score of 6290 and a passmark_g3d score of 25381, placing it in the 79th percentile of all GPUs.

In Doom, the GPU’s role is most evident at 4K resolutions. The fact that 4K Ultra (63.8 FPS) is playable, while 4K Low (106.8 FPS) offers a comfortable margin, shows that the RX 9070 can handle the game’s demanding Vulkan renderer. The GPU’s memory capacity is not a limiting factor, as Doom’s textures are unlikely to exceed 16 GB even at Ultra settings. The data suggests the RX 9070 is underutilized at 1080p, where the CPU fails to feed it enough frames, but fully utilized at 4K, where its pixel throughput becomes the deciding factor.

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

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target display resolution. For 1920x1080 users, the Medium preset (255.8 FPS) offers a nearly 18% improvement over High (217.7 FPS) while still providing solid visual quality. The Low preset (294.4 FPS) is excessive for most displays, as 255.8 FPS already exceeds the refresh rate of all but the most extreme gaming monitors. Ultra at 1080p (181 FPS) is a viable option for those prioritizing visuals, as it remains well above the 144 Hz threshold.

At 2560x1440, the High preset (140.8 FPS) is the sweet spot, offering a balance between visual fidelity and frame rate. Medium (165.5 FPS) is also excellent, but the jump to High is marginal in FPS cost (14.9% reduction) while providing better textures and effects. Ultra at 1440p (112.6 FPS) is playable but sacrifices the high-refresh-rate experience. For 3840x2160, the Medium preset (92.7 FPS) is recommended, as it maintains a smooth frame rate while High (77.1 FPS) and Ultra (63.8 FPS) drop below the 60 FPS comfort zone for many users. Low at 4K (106.8 FPS) is an option for competitive play, but the visual downgrade is significant.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The Intel Core i3-12100F and AMD Radeon RX 9070 combination ranks 557th out of 1681 tested configurations in Doom, placing it in the upper third of all systems tested. This ranking is notable given the CPU’s modest specifications—the i3-12100F is a budget-oriented quad-core part, while the RX 9070 is a high-end GPU. The rank suggests that the GPU’s power compensates for the CPU’s limitations, but the system is not optimized for maximum performance.

The CPU’s nearest rivals in average benchmark score include the AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 3975WX (0.1% higher avgScore) and the Intel Core i7-1250U (0.4% higher), indicating that the i3-12100F performs comparably to much more expensive processors in synthetic tests. However, the GPU’s nearest rival, the NVIDIA A2, is a data center card with a 0.2% higher avgScore, which is irrelevant for gaming. The combo’s 557th rank out of 1681 (33.1st percentile) means that 1124 other configurations achieve higher average FPS in Doom. This implies that while the RX 9070 is capable of 4K Ultra on its own, pairing it with a higher-core-count CPU would likely push this system significantly higher in the rankings, particularly at 1080p where the CPU bottleneck is most pronounced.