Doom

The Intel Core i5-10400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti delivers a remarkably consistent performance profile in Doom, with the data indicating that the graphics card is the primary constraint across most settings and resolutions. The measured frame rates reveal a clear hierarchy where the GPU’s capabilities dictate the ceiling, while the CPU provides sufficient headroom to avoid becoming a bottleneck. This analysis examines the scaling patterns, the GPU’s role, the combo’s standing among tested configurations, and the optimal settings for this specific pairing.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and directly proportional to the pixel count increase, confirming that the GTX 1080 Ti is the limiting component at higher resolutions. At High settings, the transition from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 sees a decline from 156.5 FPS to 102.9 FPS, a reduction of approximately 34%. Moving further to 3840x2160, the average FPS falls to 58.8, which represents a 62% drop from the 1080p figure. This pattern is consistent across all settings presets, indicating that the GPU’s rendering throughput, rather than any CPU limitation, governs performance as resolution increases.

At Low settings, the scaling is even more pronounced. The 1080p result of 215.2 FPS drops to 142.5 FPS at 1440p (a 34% decrease), and then to 77.5 FPS at 4K (a 64% decrease from 1080p). The near-identical percentage drops between High and Low settings suggest that the resolution scaling is purely pixel-bound, with the GPU’s fill rate and memory bandwidth being the decisive factors. The data shows no evidence of CPU-induced stalling, as the 6-core, 12-thread i5-10400F maintains frame rates that scale predictably with pixel count.

The most demanding scenario, Ultra at 4K, yields 48.6 FPS, while the lightest scenario, Low at 1080p, achieves 215.2 FPS. This four-fold difference in performance across the resolution spectrum underscores that users targeting 4K must accept significant compromises in visual quality to maintain playable frame rates. The scaling behavior is typical for a Pascal-generation GPU with 11 GB of GDDR5X memory, as the 484.4 GB/s bandwidth becomes increasingly stressed at higher resolutions.

GPU Role

The GTX 1080 Ti’s specifications play a decisive role in these results. With 11 GB of GDDR5X memory on a 352-bit bus, the card provides 484.4 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for Doom’s textures at 4K but not without performance penalties. The memory clock runs at 1376 MHz with an effective data rate of 11 Gbps, and the core operates at a base of 1481 MHz with a boost of 1582 MHz. These clocks, combined with 3584 shading units and 88 ROPs, yield a pixel rate of 139.2 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 354.4 GTexel/s.

The benchmark results show that the GPU’s compute capabilities are the primary driver of frame rates. At 1080p Low, the card achieves 215.2 FPS, which approaches the limits of the Pascal architecture’s ability to process draw calls. However, even at this low settings preset, the GPU remains the bottleneck, as the CPU’s performance headroom is not fully taxed. The FP32 throughput of 11.34 TFLOPS provides ample raw compute for Doom’s id Tech 6 engine, which is known for its efficient rendering.

The VRAM capacity is not a limiting factor in this game, as 11 GB exceeds what Doom requires even at Ultra settings. However, the memory bandwidth does influence the scaling between Medium and High presets. At 4K, the gap between Medium (69.1 FPS) and High (58.8 FPS) is 10.3 FPS, while the gap between High and Ultra (48.6 FPS) is also 10.2 FPS. This linear degradation suggests that the card’s memory subsystem and ROP throughput are progressively saturated as texture quality and shadow detail increase.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-10400F and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti combination ranks 989th out of 1681 tested combos in Doom, placing it in the 59th percentile of all configurations. This mid-pack ranking reflects the age of both components, as the GPU is from the Pascal generation and the CPU is a 10th-gen Comet Lake part. The combo’s percentileVsAllCpus for the CPU is 73, indicating that the i5-10400F outperforms 73% of all CPUs in general benchmarks, while the GPU’s percentileVsAllGpus is 61.

The CPU’s nearest rivals provide context for its performance tier. The AMD EPYC 7552 scores an average of 14115, which is 0.4% higher than the i5-10400F’s average of 14168, making the two essentially equivalent in synthetic benchmarks. The AMD Ryzen 3 7320C scores 14277, which is 0.8% higher than the i5-10400F, while the Intel Core i5-8500 scores 14332, 1.1% higher. The AMD Ryzen Embedded V2546 scores 14336, 1.2% higher. These small deltas suggest that the i5-10400F is competitive with a wide range of processors, but its ranking is constrained by the GPU’s age.

For the GPU, the nearest rivals show a similar clustering. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 scores 19405, which is effectively identical to the GTX 1080 Ti’s 19402 (0% delta). The AMD Radeon Pro 560X scores 19426, 0.1% higher, and the NVIDIA Tesla K40m scores 19519, 0.6% higher. The NVIDIA TITAN Xp scores 19184, which is 1.1% lower than the GTX 1080 Ti. These near-identical scores indicate that the GTX 1080 Ti sits in a crowded performance band, and its ranking in Doom is influenced by the specific game’s optimization rather than raw synthetic capability.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the GTX 1080 Ti delivers high frame rates across all presets. Low settings produce 215.2 FPS, Medium produces 187.1 FPS, High produces 156.5 FPS, and Ultra produces 128.1 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 87.1 FPS, or 40.5%, showing that even at 1080p, graphical settings have a substantial impact. The 128.1 FPS at Ultra is well above the 60 FPS threshold and provides a smooth experience on high-refresh-rate monitors.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain strong but begin to show the GPU’s limitations. Low settings yield 142.5 FPS, Medium yields 123.1 FPS, High yields 102.9 FPS, and Ultra yields 85.8 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 56.7 FPS, or 39.8%, which is proportionally similar to 1080p. All presets remain above 60 FPS, making 1440p a viable resolution for this combo, even at Ultra settings.

At 3840x2160, the performance drops significantly. Low settings produce 77.5 FPS, Medium produces 69.1 FPS, High produces 58.8 FPS, and Ultra produces 48.6 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 28.9 FPS, or 37.3%. Notably, only the Low and Medium presets exceed 60 FPS at 4K, while High and Ultra fall below this threshold. The 58.8 FPS at High is close to playable but may exhibit occasional dips, while the 48.6 FPS at Ultra is marginal for smooth gameplay.

The data shows a consistent pattern: each increase in resolution from 1080p to 1440p to 4K reduces frame rates by roughly 34-40%, regardless of settings. This uniformity confirms that the GPU is the sole bottleneck, as a CPU-limited scenario would show varying scaling across different presets.

Settings Recommendations

For users prioritizing high refresh rates at 1080p, the Ultra preset at 128.1 FPS is the optimal choice, as it delivers the best visual quality while maintaining frame rates that exceed most displays’ refresh rates. The High preset at 156.5 FPS is also excellent for competitive play, offering a 22% increase over Ultra with minimal visual degradation. The Medium preset at 187.1 FPS provides even higher headroom for 144Hz displays, but the visual trade-off is noticeable.

At 1440p, the Ultra preset at 85.8 FPS is the recommended choice for a balanced experience, as it stays above 60 FPS and provides the full visual fidelity that Doom’s engine can offer. For users with 144Hz monitors, the High preset at 102.9 FPS is preferable, as it maintains a higher frame rate while sacrificing some shadow and texture quality. The Medium preset at 123.1 FPS is suitable for esports-style play, but the visual downgrade from High is more pronounced.

For 4K, the Medium preset at 69.1 FPS is the best option, as it is the only preset that delivers both acceptable visual quality and a frame rate above 60 FPS. The Low preset at 77.5 FPS offers a 12% performance boost over Medium but with significantly reduced visual fidelity. The High preset at 58.8 FPS and Ultra at 48.6 FPS are not recommended for 4K, as they fall below the 60 FPS threshold and would result in a suboptimal experience.

The data indicates that the GTX 1080 Ti is best utilized at 1440p with High or Ultra settings, where it delivers a smooth experience without compromising visual quality. At 1080p, the card has ample headroom to run Ultra at high frame rates, while at 4K, users should stick to Medium settings to maintain playable performance. The i5-10400F does not constrain any of these configurations, as the frame rates scale purely with GPU load.