Doom

The Intel Core i5-10400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER delivers a robust Doom experience that is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions, with the benchmark data showing a clear progression from 4K Ultra at 45 FPS to 1080p Low at 212 FPS. This combo ranks in the 58th percentile of all tested configurations for this game, placing it comfortably in the upper-mid tier. The measured results indicate that for most users, the High preset at 1440p offers the best balance, while 1080p High and Medium presets are ideal for high refresh rate monitors. The data also reveals a significant resolution scaling effect, with FPS dropping by roughly 39% from 1080p to 4K at the High preset, pointing to the GPU as the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark results provide a clear hierarchy of performance across four presets and three resolutions. For a 1080p monitor, the Medium preset delivers an average of 184 FPS, which is the most sensible choice for competitive play as it sits well above the 144 Hz refresh rate threshold, while the High preset at 156 FPS is also viable for those who want slightly better visuals without sacrificing much performance. The Low preset at 212 FPS offers marginal gains for the most demanding users, but the visual downgrade is unlikely to justify the extra 28 FPS over Medium. At 1440p, the High preset at 101 FPS is the sweet spot as it provides a substantial visual upgrade over Medium (119 FPS) while still maintaining a fluid experience on 60–100 Hz displays. The Ultra preset at 82 FPS is playable and offers the best image quality for this resolution, but the 19% drop from High makes it a less attractive option for users who prioritize frame rate stability. For 4K, the data shows that only the Low preset (74 FPS) and Medium (65 FPS) are viable for smooth gameplay; the High preset drops to 55 FPS, and Ultra falls below 50 FPS at 45 FPS, which is generally too low for a fast-paced shooter. In summary, the best preset per resolution is Medium at 1080p, High at 1440p, and Medium at 4K, with High and Ultra reserved for users who can tolerate lower frame rates in exchange for better visuals.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS achievable with this combo?

The highest average FPS is 212, which occurs at 1080p with the Low preset. This is the only setting that exceeds 200 FPS, with Medium at 184 FPS being the next closest.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K across different settings?

At 4K, the average FPS ranges from 45 FPS on Ultra to 74 FPS on Low. The High preset delivers 55 FPS, and Medium delivers 65 FPS, meaning only Medium and Low are consistently above 60 FPS.

Q: Is the combo more CPU or GPU bound in Doom?

The data indicates a GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions, as the average FPS drops significantly from 1080p to 4K. For example, at High settings, the average FPS falls from 156 FPS at 1080p to 101 FPS at 1440p and 55 FPS at 4K, showing that the GPU is the primary constraint.

Q: What is the benefit of the Medium preset over High at 1080p?

The Medium preset at 1080p provides 184 FPS, which is 28 FPS higher than High at 156 FPS. This difference is beneficial for users with 144 Hz or higher refresh rate monitors, as it ensures the frame rate stays above the refresh rate more consistently.

Q: How does the combo rank in Doom compared to all tested configurations?

This combo ranks 2153 out of 3712 configurations tested for the game, placing it in the 58th percentile. The nearest rival CPU and GPU combinations have benchmark scores within 1.5% of this combo, indicating tight competition in the mid-range tier.

Q: What is the impact of the Ultra preset on performance compared to Medium?

At 4K, the Ultra preset reduces the average FPS from 65 FPS on Medium to 45 FPS, a 31% drop. At 1440p, it drops from 119 FPS to 82 FPS, a 31% decrease, and at 1080p, it falls from 184 FPS to 127 FPS, a 31% reduction.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-10400F and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER ranks 2153rd out of 3712 tested combos in Doom, placing it in the 58th percentile. This is a mid-tier position, which is supported by the individual benchmark scores of the components. The CPU has an average benchmark score of 14185, which is 0.5% above the AMD EPYC 7552 and 0.2% above the Intel Xeon 6756E, while being 0.3% below the Intel Core 7 160UL and 0.6% below the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C. The GPU, with an average score of 20282, is 1% below the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M and 1.3% below the Intel Arc B570, but 1.2% higher than the RTX 3070 Mobile and 1.5% higher than the Intel Arc A750. This places the combo in a competitive range, with the GPU being the stronger component relative to its rivals, as it has a 65th percentile rank among all GPUs, while the CPU has a 68th percentile rank. The measured FPS data shows that the combo is well-suited to 1080p and 1440p gaming, but struggles at 4K Ultra, which is consistent with the mid-range positioning of the overall combo.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive look at performance across three resolutions and four settings. At 1080p, the Low preset delivers an average of 212 FPS, Medium 184 FPS, High 156 FPS, and Ultra 127 FPS. This is the only resolution where all presets exceed 120 FPS, with even the Ultra preset maintaining a solid 127 FPS. At 1440p, the Low preset averages 137 FPS, Medium 119 FPS, High 101 FPS, and Ultra 82 FPS. This means that the Ultra preset drops below 100 FPS, which may be noticeable on high-refresh displays. At 4K, the Low preset averages 74 FPS, Medium 65 FPS, High 55 FPS, and Ultra 45 FPS. Only the Low and Medium presets reach 60 FPS or above, making them the only viable options for smooth 4K gameplay. The data also includes min and max FPS ranges for the Medium preset at each resolution: 157–212 at 1080p, 101–137 at 1440p, and 55–74 at 4K. This shows that the Medium preset at 1080p is highly consistent, with the minimum frame rate still above 120 FPS.

Resolution Scaling

The resolution scaling from 1080p to 4K is steep, indicating that the GPU is the primary limiting factor. At the High preset, the average FPS drops from 156 FPS at 1080p to 101 FPS at 1440p, a 35% reduction, and then from 101 FPS to 55 FPS at 4K, a 45% reduction. The total drop from 1080p to 4K is 65%, which falls from 156 FPS to 55 FPS. This pattern is consistent across all settings, with the Low preset dropping from 212 FPS to 74 FPS, a 65% reduction, and Medium from 184 FPS to 65 FPS, a 65% reduction. The Ultra preset, however, shows a slightly lower percentage drop, falling from 127 FPS to 45 FPS, a 65% reduction. This uniformity in scaling suggests that the combination is well-balanced, with the GPU limiting performance at all resolutions, as the CPU would be expected to show a smaller relative drop if it were the primary constraint. The data clearly shows that the GPU is the limiting factor, as the CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads are sufficient for Doom's requirements.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-10400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz, based on the Comet Lake architecture. It has a 12 MB shared L3 cache and a 65W TDP, which is a moderate power draw for its performance class. In the benchmark data, the CPU's multi-threaded performance is solid, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 10283 and a single-core score of 1451. For Doom, which is a game that does not scale perfectly with many cores, the 6-core configuration is more than sufficient, as the game's engine is well-optimized for lower core counts. The CPU's single-thread performance, as measured by Geekbench at 1420, is adequate for the game, and the 4.30 GHz boost clock ensures that the CPU can maintain high frame rates in CPU-bound scenarios. However, the resolution scaling data clearly shows that the GPU is the primary bottleneck in this combo, as the FPS drops significantly from 1080p to 4K, indicating that the CPU is capable of keeping up with the GPU's workload at all resolutions. The CPU's 12 threads and 12 MB of L3 cache are more than enough for Doom, which is a title that typically uses fewer than 6 cores in practice. Overall, the CPU does not appear to be a limiting factor in this combo, as the bottleneck is the GPU, which is expected given the RTX 2070 SUPER's performance relative to the CPU.