Doom

The Intel Core i5-10400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 produces a distinctive performance profile in Doom, one where the GPU's immense power is frequently constrained by the CPU's older architecture. This combination ranks 554th out of 3,712 tested combos for this title, placing it in the top 15% of all configurations. The benchmark data reveals a system that delivers extremely high frame rates at 1080p and 1440p but shows a pronounced dependency on resolution scaling to balance the load between its components.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1080p to 4K illustrates a classic shift in bottleneck behavior. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 266 FPS, but this drops to 159 FPS at 4K Low—a reduction of 107 FPS, or approximately 40%. This significant decline indicates that at lower resolutions, the CPU is the primary limiting factor, as the GPU has ample headroom to render frames quickly but is held back by the processor's ability to feed it data.

Moving from 1440p to 4K reveals the GPU beginning to assert its influence. At High settings, the drop from 207 FPS at 1440p to 117 FPS at 4K represents a 43% performance loss. This steep curve suggests that while the RTX 5090 is exceptionally powerful, the 4K resolution demands substantial pixel throughput that begins to saturate even this flagship GPU. The data shows that the system is neither purely CPU-bound nor GPU-bound across all settings—instead, the balance shifts depending on the resolution and quality preset selected.

The scaling pattern from Medium settings provides additional insight. At 1080p Medium, the combo produces 254 FPS, which falls to 219 FPS at 1440p and 139 FPS at 4K. The incremental drops of 35 FPS and 80 FPS respectively show that the transition from 1440p to 4K imposes a heavier penalty than the step from 1080p to 1440p. This nonlinear scaling is characteristic of a system where the GPU becomes progressively more dominant as resolution increases, with the 4K workload finally leveraging the RTX 5090's full capabilities.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-10400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Comet Lake architecture, manufactured on Intel's 14 nm process. Its base clock of 2.90 GHz and boost clock of 4.30 GHz provide the computational foundation for this combo. Benchmark scores show a single-thread performance of 688 in 3DMark and 1,451 in Cinebench R23 single-core, which positions it as a capable but not exceptional performer for modern gaming workloads.

In Doom, the CPU's role is most evident at 1080p, where the frame rate ceiling appears to be around 266 FPS at Low settings. The processor's multi-threaded capabilities, reflected in a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 10,283 and a 3DMark max-threads score of 4,735, allow it to maintain high frame rates but not to push beyond this threshold. The difference between 1080p Low at 266 FPS and 4K Low at 159 FPS suggests that the CPU can sustain roughly 160-266 FPS depending on the resolution-induced GPU load.

The processor's memory bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s and dual-channel DDR4 support represent potential limitations when paired with such a high-end GPU. The 12 MB shared L3 cache is modest by modern standards, and the PCIe Gen 3 interface with 16 lanes may constrain data transfer rates compared to newer platforms. These factors contribute to the CPU becoming the bottleneck at lower resolutions, where the GPU's frame generation outpaces the CPU's ability to process game logic and issue draw calls.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is a Blackwell 2.0 architecture GPU built on TSMC's 5 nm process, featuring 21,760 shading units and 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus. Its memory bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s and boost clock of 2407 MHz provide exceptional raw throughput. The GPU's 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 1,636.8 GTexel/s texture rate make it one of the most powerful consumer graphics cards available.

In this combo, the RTX 5090's role becomes increasingly prominent as resolution and settings increase. At 4K Ultra, the combo produces 96 FPS, while at 4K Low it reaches 159 FPS—a 63 FPS spread that demonstrates the GPU's sensitivity to graphics quality settings. The GPU's 176 ROPs and 680 TMUs handle the pixel and texture workloads efficiently, but the data suggests that even this powerhouse cannot fully compensate for the CPU's limitations at lower resolutions.

The GPU's benchmark scores, including a PassMark G3D score of 39,650 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 18,355, confirm its position in the top 92nd percentile of all GPUs. However, the nearest rivals in the database—such as the Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB with a score of 79,605—show that the RTX 5090's average benchmark score of 79,842 places it in a competitive field. The GPU's 32 GB VRAM capacity is more than sufficient for Doom's requirements, ensuring that memory capacity never becomes a limiting factor in this title.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. Low settings produce 266 FPS average, Medium settings reach 254 FPS with a minimum of 216 FPS and maximum of 292 FPS, High settings achieve 239 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 222 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 44 FPS, indicating that the CPU is the primary constraint at this resolution, as even the lowest settings cannot push the frame rate significantly higher.

At 2560x1440, the performance remains strong but shows the GPU beginning to take on more responsibility. Low settings yield 230 FPS, Medium settings produce 219 FPS with a minimum of 186 FPS and maximum of 252 FPS, High settings reach 207 FPS, and Ultra settings deliver 177 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 53 FPS, suggesting a more balanced workload distribution between CPU and GPU.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the dominant factor. Low settings produce 159 FPS, Medium settings achieve 139 FPS with a minimum of 118 FPS and maximum of 160 FPS, High settings reach 117 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 96 FPS. The 63 FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is the largest across all resolutions, confirming that the GPU's rendering workload scales significantly with quality settings at this resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 554 out of 3,712 tested configurations places it in the 85th percentile of all combos tested for Doom. This ranking reflects the substantial performance capability of the RTX 5090 tempered by the i5-10400F's more modest processing power. The CPU's percentile rank of 68 against all CPUs indicates it is a mid-range processor, while the GPU's 92nd percentile rank shows it is near the top of the graphics hierarchy.

The disparity between the CPU and GPU performance tiers explains the combo's overall position. Systems with higher-end processors paired with this GPU would likely rank higher, as the CPU bottleneck at lower resolutions would be alleviated. Conversely, the combo outperforms configurations with weaker GPUs, as the RTX 5090's raw power ensures high frame rates even when the CPU struggles to keep pace. The data indicates that this pairing is most effective at 4K, where the GPU's workload balances the CPU's limitations.

FAQ

Q: What is the maximum frame rate this combo can achieve in Doom?

A: The highest recorded average FPS is 266, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

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

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the combo delivers an average of 96 FPS, which is the lowest measured performance across all tested configurations.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the primary bottleneck at 1080p?

A: The data shows the CPU is the limiting factor at 1080p, as the frame rate remains around 222-266 FPS regardless of settings, indicating the processor cannot feed the GPU fast enough.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in terms of balanced performance?

A: At 2560x1440 with High settings, the combo produces 207 FPS, which represents a strong balance between visual quality and frame rate. The 1440p Medium setting at 219 FPS offers a slightly higher frame rate with a minimum of 186 FPS.

Q: How much VRAM does the RTX 5090 have, and is it sufficient for Doom?

A: The RTX 5090 features 32 GB of GDDR7 memory, which is far more than Doom requires at any resolution or settings level tested.

Q: Does the combo's ranking indicate it is a good match for Doom?

A: With a rank of 554 out of 3,712 combos, the pairing performs in the top 15% of all tested configurations, though the CPU's limitations prevent it from achieving the highest possible rankings.

Settings Recommendations

For the best overall experience, the 2560x1440 High setting at 207 FPS provides an excellent balance of visual fidelity and performance. This configuration avoids the CPU-bound frame rates seen at 1080p while maintaining a smooth experience well above the 144 Hz refresh rate common on modern monitors. The 1440p Medium setting at 219 FPS offers a slight frame rate advantage with a guaranteed minimum of 186 FPS, making it the safer choice for competitive play where frame consistency matters.

At 4K, the High setting at 117 FPS is the recommended choice for users prioritizing resolution over maximum frame rates. The Ultra setting at 96 FPS remains playable but represents a significant 18% performance reduction compared to High for marginal visual gains. The 1080p Ultra setting at 222 FPS is the best option for users with high refresh rate displays seeking maximum smoothness, as it provides the highest frame rate among Ultra presets while remaining well above the CPU's 266 FPS ceiling observed at Low settings.

For users who prioritize frame rate above all else, the 1080p Low setting at 266 FPS represents the absolute performance ceiling of this combo, but the visual compromises are substantial. The data suggests that the 1440p Medium or High settings offer the most sensible performance-to-quality tradeoff, as they deliver frame rates in the 207-219 FPS range while leveraging the RTX 5090's capabilities more fully than 1080p configurations.