Doom

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

The measured frame rates for this combination of Intel Core i5-11400F and AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT show a clear and expected progression as resolution increases. At 1920x1080 with Ultra settings, the system produces 119 FPS on average. Moving to 2560x1440 at the same preset drops that figure to 81.2 FPS, a reduction of roughly 32%. The climb to 3840x2160 at Ultra yields 44.7 FPS, which is a further decline of about 45% from the 1440p result. This scaling pattern is steep and consistent with a GPU-bound workload at the highest settings.

The delta between presets becomes more instructive when looking at the Low setting. At 1080p Low, the average frame rate reaches 199.3 FPS. At 1440p Low, it drops to 126.9 FPS, and at 4K Low, it settles at 70 FPS. The fact that even the lowest quality preset cannot hold above 200 FPS at 1080p suggests that the rendering engine is heavily dependent on the graphics processor's raw throughput. If the CPU were the primary limiter, we would expect the Low preset at 1080p to show a much smaller gap relative to higher presets, since lower graphical load would expose the processor's ceiling. Instead, the data shows that the GPU is the dominant constraint across the board.

Comparing the scaling from 1080p to 4K at Medium settings reinforces this interpretation. The 1080p Medium result is 175.7 FPS, while the 4K Medium result is 61.7 FPS. That is a 65% reduction, which is nearly identical in percentage terms to the drop seen at High settings (from 147.1 FPS to 52.2 FPS, a 64.5% reduction). This uniformity across presets indicates that the limiting component—the GPU—remains the bottleneck regardless of how much graphical load is applied. The CPU's role becomes more pronounced only at the very lowest resolution and preset combination, where the 199.3 FPS result still leaves headroom for the graphics card to work harder if needed.

The Ultra preset at 4K is the only configuration that dips below 45 FPS, and it also represents the largest absolute gap between consecutive resolution steps. This suggests that the combination of high pixel count and maximum visual fidelity pushes the Radeon RX 6650 XT past its comfortable operating range. For players targeting smooth 4K gameplay, the data indicates that even the Medium preset (61.7 FPS) is a more viable option than High (52.2 FPS), and Low (70 FPS) is the only 4K setting that clears the 60 FPS threshold. The scaling behavior is textbook GPU-bound: pixel count drives the frame rate down in a nearly linear fashion, with no signs of CPU stall points at any resolution.

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

The AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 280.3 GB/s. The memory operates at an effective speed of 17.5 Gbps. For a game like Doom, which is known for its fast-paced action and texture-rich environments, this memory configuration is sufficient at 1080p and 1440p, but the 4K results suggest the card is running near its limits. The benchmark scores for this GPU place it at the 72nd percentile among all graphics cards, with an average benchmark score of 29024.

The GPU's clock speeds are notable: a base clock of 2055 MHz, a game clock of 2410 MHz, and a boost clock of 2635 MHz. These are high frequencies for a RDNA 2.0 part, and they contribute to the card's ability to maintain 147.1 FPS at 1080p High and 96.4 FPS at 1440p High. The pixel rate of 168.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 337.3 GTexel/s provide the raw throughput needed for Doom's id Tech engine, which relies heavily on texture fetches and pixel shading. The FP32 performance of 10.79 TFLOPS is also relevant, as it directly affects the speed of shader calculations in this title.

The nearest rivals for this GPU, based on average benchmark scores, include the AMD Radeon RX 6800M (deltaPct 0), the AMD Radeon RX 470 (deltaPct 0.1), the Intel Arc A370M (deltaPct -0.5), and the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GH (deltaPct -0.6). These deltas are all within 1% of the RX 6650 XT's average score, meaning the card is essentially tied with these parts in synthetic benchmarks. However, in Doom specifically, the measured frame rates show that the card is capable of delivering playable performance at most settings, with the 4K Ultra preset being the only outlier at 44.7 FPS.

The 8 GB VRAM allocation is a potential concern at 4K Ultra, where high-resolution textures and effects can exceed that capacity. The fact that the Ultra preset at 4K produces the lowest frame rate (44.7 FPS) relative to the High preset (52.2 FPS) suggests that the extra memory pressure and shader complexity are taking a toll. At 1440p and below, the memory bandwidth appears adequate, as the frame rates scale smoothly with preset changes. The GPU's overall percentile ranking of 72 indicates that it sits comfortably in the mid-to-upper tier of graphics cards, and its performance in Doom aligns with that positioning.

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

The Intel Core i5-11400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Rocket Lake architecture, manufactured on Intel's 14 nm process. It operates at a base clock of 2.60 GHz and can boost up to 4.40 GHz. The CPU has 12 MB of shared L3 cache, with 512 KB of L2 cache per core and 80 KB of L1 cache per core. Its memory bandwidth is rated at 51.2 GB/s over a dual-channel DDR4 interface. The processor's average benchmark score is 17181, placing it at the 75th percentile among all CPUs.

In Doom, the CPU's role is secondary to the GPU, but the benchmark data still provides insight into its capabilities. The nearest rivals for this CPU include the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U (deltaPct 0), the Intel Core i7-1260P (deltaPct -0.2), the Intel Core Ultra 7 164U (deltaPct -0.2), and the Intel Core i5-1240U (deltaPct 0.2). These deltas are all within 0.2% of the i5-11400F's average score, indicating that the processor is closely matched with these parts in synthetic workloads. The single-threaded performance of the i5-11400F, as measured by a 3DMark single-thread score of 868 and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2029, is sufficient for Doom's engine, which does not heavily utilize more than a few cores.

The 6-core, 12-thread configuration is more than adequate for this game. The 3DMark max-thread score of 5652 and the Cinebench R23 multicore score of 14372 show that the CPU has solid multi-threaded headroom, but the measured FPS data suggests that the GPU is the limiting factor even at 1080p Low, where the frame rate reaches 199.3 FPS. If the CPU were a bottleneck, we would expect to see the frame rate plateau at some point regardless of resolution or preset, but the consistent scaling across all resolutions indicates that the processor is keeping up with the GPU's demands.

The boost clock of 4.40 GHz is important for Doom, as the game's engine tends to favor higher single-core frequencies for game logic and physics updates. The 2029 score in Cinebench R23 single-core confirms that the i5-11400F has competitive per-core performance. The CPU's 65W TDP and the fact that it is unlocked for overclocking (multiplier unlocked: false) mean it will run at stock speeds, but those speeds are sufficient to avoid limiting the GPU in this title. The combination of 6 cores and 12 threads, along with the high boost clock, ensures that the processor does not create a performance ceiling in Doom, even at the highest frame rates measured.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to maintain 60+ FPS?

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 at Ultra settings yields 81.2 FPS, and 3840x2160 at Low settings yields 70 FPS. At 4K, the Medium preset (61.7 FPS) is the only setting above 60 FPS besides Low, while High (52.2 FPS) and Ultra (44.7 FPS) fall below that threshold.

Q: How does the RX 6650 XT compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RX 6650 XT has an average benchmark score of 29024, which is effectively tied with the AMD Radeon RX 6800M (deltaPct 0) and the AMD Radeon RX 470 (deltaPct 0.1). The Intel Arc A370M is 0.5% slower, and the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GH is 0.6% slower.

Q: Is the i5-11400F a bottleneck at 1080p?

A: No. The 1080p Low preset produces 199.3 FPS, and the scaling to 1440p and 4K shows a steady decline with resolution, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario. The CPU's single-thread score of 868 in 3DMark and 2029 in Cinebench R23 indicate it has enough headroom for this game.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between High and Ultra at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the High preset averages 96.4 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 81.2 FPS. This represents a 15.2 FPS drop, or about 15.8% lower performance, when moving from High to Ultra.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Doom?

A: Yes, but only at lower presets. The 4K Low setting achieves 70 FPS, and Medium achieves 61.7 FPS. For a smoother experience, 4K High (52.2 FPS) and Ultra (44.7 FPS) are below 60 FPS, so they may not be ideal for fast-paced gameplay.

Q: How does the CPU's multi-threaded performance compare to its rivals?

A: The i5-11400F's average benchmark score is 17181, with the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U scoring 17189 (deltaPct 0) and the Intel Core i7-1260P scoring 17212 (deltaPct -0.2). The Intel Core Ultra 7 164U is 0.2% slower, and the Intel Core i5-1240U is 0.2% faster.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear hierarchy of presets for this hardware combination. At 1920x1080, all four presets deliver frame rates well above 60 FPS, ranging from 119 FPS at Ultra to 199.3 FPS at Low. The Ultra preset at 1080p is the most demanding option that still maintains a high frame rate, and it is the recommended choice for players with 1080p displays who want maximum visual fidelity without sacrificing responsiveness. The High preset at 147.1 FPS is a reasonable alternative for those who prefer a slight performance buffer, but the gap to Ultra is only 28.1 FPS, which may not be perceptible to most players.

At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset drops to 81.2 FPS, which is still smooth for most gaming scenarios. The High preset at 96.4 FPS offers a better balance, with a 15.2 FPS advantage over Ultra while maintaining nearly identical visual quality in most scenes. The Medium preset at 115.3 FPS is the best choice for players who prioritize frame rate above all else, as it provides a significant 34.1 FPS improvement over Ultra. The Low preset at 126.9 FPS is the fastest option but comes with noticeable graphical compromises that are unlikely to be worth the extra 11.6 FPS over Medium.

For 3840x2160, the situation is more constrained. The Ultra preset at 44.7 FPS is below the 60 FPS threshold and is likely to feel sluggish in a fast-paced shooter. The High preset at 52.2 FPS is closer to playable but still falls short. The Medium preset at 61.7 FPS crosses the 60 FPS line and is the recommended setting for 4K displays, as it provides a playable experience without the visual degradation of the Low preset. The Low preset at 70 FPS is the only setting that offers a comfortable margin above 60 FPS, but it sacrifices significant visual detail. For most players, the Medium preset at 4K represents the best trade-off between image quality and performance, with the Low preset being a fallback for those who demand higher frame rates. The data overall suggests that this system is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where it can run Ultra presets with ease, while 4K requires a compromise on settings to maintain smooth gameplay.