Doom

The Intel Core i5-10400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti delivers an exceptionally smooth experience in Doom across all tested settings and resolutions. The data indicates this combination is heavily GPU-bound at 4K, but at 1080p and 1440p, the frame rates are so high that the CPU's single-thread performance becomes the limiting factor in the most demanding preset. This is a classic pairing where the GPU's raw horsepower is tempered by a mid-range 10th-gen processor, yet the results remain outstanding for a fast-paced FPS.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K clearly illustrates where the bottleneck shifts. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces 263.8 FPS, but at 4K Low, it falls to 128.5 FPS—a reduction of 51.3%. This scaling pattern intensifies with higher presets. Moving from 1080p Ultra (222.2 FPS) to 4K Ultra (78.8 FPS) shows a 64.5% performance loss. The RTX 4070 Ti's 12 GB of GDDR6X memory and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for 4K, but the 78.8 FPS at Ultra is the only sub-100 FPS result in the entire dataset.

The trend suggests that at 4K, the GPU is the primary constraint. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 49.7 FPS (128.5 vs. 78.8), which is substantial. However, at 1080p, the difference between Low (263.8 FPS) and Ultra (222.2 FPS) is just 41.6 FPS, a narrower margin. This compression at lower resolutions indicates the CPU is starting to cap performance. The i5-10400F, with its 6 cores and 12 threads boosting to 4.30 GHz, can push high frame rates, but it cannot fully saturate the RTX 4070 Ti's potential at 1080p Ultra.

At 1440p, the picture is more balanced. High settings deliver 174.2 FPS, and Ultra drops to 145.1 FPS. This resolution is the sweet spot where the GPU load is high enough to keep the CPU from being the sole limiting factor, yet the frame rates remain far above the 144 Hz refresh rate most gamers target. The data shows a consistent 15-20% performance penalty when stepping from High to Ultra at each resolution, suggesting that Ultra settings impose a uniform cost across all pixel counts.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU-GPU combo in Doom?*

A: The data shows 1440p High delivers 174.2 FPS, which is ideal for high-refresh monitors. At 4K Ultra, the combo still hits 78.8 FPS, but 1440p provides a better balance between visual fidelity and headroom.

Q: How much faster is Low versus Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, Low settings produce 263.8 FPS, while Ultra produces 222.2 FPS. That is an 18.7% difference, meaning Low is faster, but Ultra remains highly playable.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU at any point?

A: Yes. At 1080p Low, the frame rate of 263.8 FPS is likely limited by the i5-10400F's single-thread score of 688 in the 3dmark test. The GPU could likely render more frames, but the CPU cannot feed it fast enough.

Q: Is 4K playable with this setup?

A: Yes. Even at the most demanding preset (Ultra), the average FPS is 78.8. This is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, though it does not take full advantage of high-refresh 4K monitors.

Q: How does the combo rank compared to other tested systems?

A: This combination ranks 384th out of 1681 tested combos in Doom, placing it in the top 22.8% of all configurations. This is a strong result for a mid-range CPU paired with a high-end GPU.

Q: What is the difference between Medium and High at 2560x1440?

A: Medium yields 207 FPS, while High yields 174.2 FPS. The 32.8 FPS gap is significant, but both are far above what most 1440p monitors can display.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti is the dominant component in this pairing, and its specifications explain the high frame rates. With 7680 shading units and a boost clock of 2610 MHz, the card delivers 40.09 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. This raw compute power is what allows the combo to reach 263.8 FPS at 1080p Low. The GPU's 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus provides 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth, which is ample for Doom's textures at 4K Ultra.

The 80 ROPs and 240 TMUs are well-suited for this title's geometry and texture work. At 4K Ultra, the GPU's pixel rate of 208.8 GPixel/s and texture rate of 626.4 GTexel/s are utilized heavily, resulting in the 78.8 FPS floor. The card's performance percentile of 85 means it outperforms 85% of all GPUs in the database, confirming its high-end status.

Interestingly, the RTX 4070 Ti's nearest rivals include the RTX 5090 Mobile (avg score 45152, delta -0.6%) and Intel Arc A730M (45592, delta -1.5%). The 4070 Ti's avg benchmark score of 44900 is within 1.6% of the AMD Radeon Pro 580 (44195, delta 1.6%). This indicates that while the card is powerful, it is not at the absolute top tier, which aligns with its 4K Ultra results hovering near 80 FPS rather than exceeding 100 FPS.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience, the data points to High settings as the optimal balance. At 1440p, High delivers 174.2 FPS, which is 29.1 FPS higher than Ultra (145.1 FPS) but only 32.8 FPS lower than Medium (207 FPS). The visual difference between High and Ultra is often minimal in fast-paced shooters, but the performance gain is clear. At 4K, High produces 94.4 FPS, which is a 19.8% improvement over Ultra's 78.8 FPS, making High the only 4K preset that comfortably exceeds 90 FPS.

Ultra settings are playable but not recommended for competitive play. The 4K Ultra result of 78.8 FPS is below the 90 FPS threshold many players prefer, and even at 1080p, Ultra's 222.2 FPS is 38.3 FPS lower than High's 240.5 FPS. Low settings are unnecessary for this hardware, as even at 4K Low, the combo produces 128.5 FPS. The only scenario where Low might be justified is if the user has a 240 Hz 1080p monitor and wants to maximize frame rates, as Low at 1080p hits 263.8 FPS.

Medium settings offer a reasonable middle ground, particularly at 4K where it produces 113.3 FPS. However, High at 4K provides 94.4 FPS, which is a better visual experience with only an 18.9 FPS penalty. For most users, High is the clear winner across all three resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Intel Core i5-10400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti ranks 384th out of 1681 tested combos in Doom. This places it in the top 22.8% of all configurations, which is a strong showing given the CPU's age. The i5-10400F has a percentile of 73 against all CPUs, meaning it outperforms 73% of processors, while the RTX 4070 Ti sits at the 85th percentile for GPUs. The gap between these percentiles suggests the CPU is the weaker link, but the overall combo still performs admirably.

The CPU's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks include the AMD EPYC 7552 (avg score 14115, delta 0.4%) and Intel Core i5-8500 (14332, delta -1.1%). These margins are tiny, indicating the i5-10400F is well-matched with other mid-range processors. The GPU's rivals include the RTX 5090 Mobile (-0.6% delta) and Arc A730M (-1.5% delta), showing the 4070 Ti is competitive with newer mobile parts.

The rank of 384 out of 1681 is notably higher than what the CPU's 73rd percentile might suggest alone. This is because Doom is a well-optimized title that scales well with GPU power, allowing the RTX 4070 Ti to shine even with a 6-core Comet Lake processor. The combo's position in the top quartile indicates that users with this setup are getting near-flagship performance in this specific game, despite the CPU being several generations old.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates. Low settings produce 263.8 FPS, Medium yields 256.1 FPS, High reaches 240.5 FPS, and Ultra drops to 222.2 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 41.6 FPS, with each preset step costing roughly 15-20 FPS. These numbers are all far above the refresh rates of standard 1080p monitors, making this resolution almost trivial for the hardware.

At 2560x1440, the results show a more pronounced scaling. Low settings hit 227.8 FPS, Medium drops to 207 FPS, High stays strong at 174.2 FPS, and Ultra falls to 145.1 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 82.7 FPS, nearly double the 1080p spread. This indicates the GPU is working harder at 1440p, but the CPU is still capable of feeding it adequately.

At 3840x2160, the performance drops significantly. Low settings produce 128.5 FPS, Medium reaches 113.3 FPS, High manages 94.4 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 78.8 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra here is 49.7 FPS. Notably, the 4K Low result is still higher than the 1080p Ultra result of many weaker GPUs, demonstrating the RTX 4070 Ti's headroom. The 4K High result of 94.4 FPS is the recommended target for 4K gaming, as it stays above 90 FPS while providing good visual quality.