Doom

The Intel Core i5-11400F is a 6-core, 12-thread desktop processor from the Rocket Lake generation, built on Intel’s 14 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, with 12 MB of shared L3 cache. In Doom, this CPU configuration sits at the 75th percentile among all tested CPUs, indicating it holds up well against the broader field. Its nearest rivals by average benchmark score include the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U (0% delta) and the Intel Core i7-1260P (-0.2% delta), which places the i5-11400F in a tight competitive cluster. The chip’s multi-threaded capabilities are solid, as shown by a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 14372 and a Geekbench multi-core score of 7579, but its single-thread performance (Cinebench R23 single-core: 2029) is what helps maintain frame pacing in a fast shooter like Doom. With a TDP of 65 W and support for DDR4 memory, this CPU is positioned as a mainstream option, and the data suggests it does not bottleneck the GPU at lower resolutions, though at higher settings the frame rate becomes more dependent on the graphics card.

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

The i5-11400F’s 6 cores and 12 threads provide enough parallelism for Doom’s engine, which is known for scaling well with multiple threads. The boost clock of 4.40 GHz is the key figure here, as the game’s frame rate at 1080p Low settings reaches 103.5 FPS, indicating that the CPU can feed frames quickly when the GPU is not the limiting factor. The processor’s 3DMark single-thread score of 868 and Passmark single-thread score of 2981 reinforce its ability to handle the primary game thread efficiently. Compared to its nearest rivals, the i5-11400F is statistically even with the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U (delta 0%) and slightly ahead of the Intel Core i7-1260P (delta -0.2%), meaning any performance differences in Doom are more likely attributable to the GPU or memory configuration than to the CPU alone.

The L3 cache size of 12 MB shared is modest by modern standards, but it is sufficient for Doom’s level streaming and enemy AI calculations. The CPU’s percentile rank (75th) shows it outperforms roughly three-quarters of all processors in the database, which aligns with the observed frame rates: at 1080p Medium, the combo achieves 90.7 FPS, and at 1440p High it still manages 49.4 FPS. These numbers suggest the CPU is never the primary bottleneck in this pairing, as the frame rate drops follow a pattern consistent with GPU load rather than CPU thread saturation. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 5619 and max-thread score of 5652 indicate that even under heavy multi-threaded workloads, the chip does not exhibit thermal or power throttling that would drag down game performance.

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

The AMD Radeon RX 580 is a Polaris 20 chip built on GCN 4.0 architecture, with a base clock of 1257 MHz and a boost clock of 1340 MHz. It has 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth. In Doom, this GPU’s memory capacity and bandwidth are sufficient for the game’s textures, even at 4K Ultra, though the frame rate collapses to 24.7 FPS at that setting. The GPU’s percentile rank is 53rd among all GPUs, placing it just above the median, and its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 (0% delta) and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950 (0.1% delta). This places the RX 580 in a performance tier that is adequate for 1080p gaming, but it struggles at higher resolutions.

The GPU’s FP32 compute of 6.175 TFLOPS and texture rate of 193.0 GTexel/s are the raw resources that drive Doom’s rendering. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 103.5 FPS, but this drops to 73.3 FPS at High and 63.6 FPS at Ultra, showing that the GPU’s shading units (2304) and ROPs (32) become saturated as settings increase. The VRAM’s 8 GB capacity is not a limiting factor here, as even the highest settings do not exceed that allocation, but the memory bandwidth of 256.0 GB/s is a constraint at 4K, where the pixel rate of 42.88 GPixel/s is insufficient to maintain smooth frame rates. The GPU’s Passmark G3D score of 8813 and Geekbench Vulkan score of 45173 indicate that its DirectX 12 and Vulkan performance is competitive for its class, which matters for Doom’s modern API support.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

This specific pairing of the i5-11400F and RX 580 ranks 1548th out of 1681 tested combos in Doom, placing it in the bottom 8% of all configurations. This low rank is surprising given the individual components’ moderate percentiles (CPU 75th, GPU 53rd), and it suggests that the combination is not well-optimized for this particular game, or that the GPU is a significant limiting factor. The rank of 1548 out of 1681 means there are 133 combos that perform worse, but the vast majority of tested systems deliver higher frame rates. This indicates that while each part is mid-tier on its own, together they fall short of the performance level that many other pairings achieve in Doom.

The discrepancy between the component percentiles and the combo rank highlights how important balance is. A CPU at the 75th percentile paired with a GPU at the 53rd percentile should theoretically rank around the 64th percentile, but the actual rank is far lower. This implies that Doom’s engine is particularly sensitive to GPU throughput, and the RX 580’s age (released in 2017) means it cannot keep up with the demands of the game’s higher settings. The measured FPS data confirms this: even at 1080p High, the combo only reaches 73.3 FPS, which is below the 100+ FPS thresholds that many competitive players target. The combo’s rank suggests that a user would need to lower resolution settings to achieve playable frame rates, which is consistent with the data showing 103.5 FPS at 1080p Low.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1080p High settings?

A: The measured average FPS for this combo at 1920x1080 with High settings is 73.3 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U?

A: The Intel Core i5-11400F has an average benchmark score of 17181, while the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U scores 17189, resulting in a delta of 0% — they are effectively tied in overall performance.

Q: What is the GPU’s memory bandwidth and size?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 580 has 8 GB of GDDR5 memory with a 256-bit bus, providing 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

Q: What is the best frame rate achieved at 4K resolution with this combo?

A: The highest average FPS at 3840x2160 is 35.8 FPS, achieved with Low settings. At Ultra settings, it drops to 24.7 FPS.

Q: How does the GPU’s performance rank among all GPUs?

A: The RX 580 is at the 53rd percentile, meaning it outperforms 53% of all GPUs in the database.

Q: What is the boost clock of the CPU and how does it impact 1080p performance?

A: The CPU’s boost clock is 4.40 GHz. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 103.5 FPS, showing that the high boost clock helps maintain frame rates when the GPU is not stressed.

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

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K clearly identifies the GPU as the primary limiting component in this pairing. At 1080p Low, the combo produces 103.5 FPS, but dropping to 1440p Low reduces that to 64.4 FPS, and at 4K Low it falls further to 35.8 FPS. This is a 65% reduction from 1080p to 4K at Low settings, which is a massive drop that cannot be attributed to the CPU. The CPU’s boost clock of 4.40 GHz and its 75th percentile ranking suggest it can handle lower-resolution workloads, but as the pixel count increases, the GPU’s fill rate and memory bandwidth become the bottlenecks.

Looking at specific settings, the drop from 1080p High (73.3 FPS) to 1440p High (49.4 FPS) is a 33% reduction, and then to 4K High (27.8 FPS) is another 44% reduction. This pattern is consistent with a GPU that has a fixed pixel rate of 42.88 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 193.0 GTexel/s, which are simply overwhelmed at higher resolutions. The fact that the 4K Ultra setting yields only 24.7 FPS, while 4K Low yields 35.8 FPS, shows that the GPU’s shading units (2304) are also a constraint, as reducing the settings improves throughput but cannot overcome the resolution’s demands.

The data also indicates that the CPU is not a bottleneck at any resolution. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect to see frame rates plateau across different resolutions, but instead they scale inversely with pixel count. The 1080p Medium result of 90.7 FPS versus the 4K Medium result of 30.8 FPS is a 66% drop, which is similar to the Low setting drop. This consistency across settings suggests that the GPU’s memory bandwidth (256.0 GB/s) is the hard ceiling, as increasing resolution demands more memory throughput, and the RX 580’s bandwidth is insufficient for 4K gaming. In summary, the benchmark results show that this combo is well-suited for 1080p gaming, acceptable at 1440p with lower settings, but not viable for 4K beyond Low presets.