Doom

Doom’s measured performance with the Intel Core i5-11400F and AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT shows a configuration that scales predictably with resolution, with the GPU becoming the primary bottleneck only at 4K. The data set, which includes 12 measured FPS rows across three resolutions and four quality presets, reveals a system that delivers high frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, while 4K Ultra dips below the 60 FPS threshold. This analysis breaks down the results by resolution, component role, and ranking against other tested combinations.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 to 3840x2160 produces a clear and consistent drop in average FPS across all settings. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 169 FPS at 1080p to 110 FPS at 1440p, a reduction of 59 FPS, and then further down to 59 FPS at 4K. This represents a 35% decline from 1080p to 1440p and a 46% decline from 1440p to 4K. The pattern is similar across other presets: Low settings drop from 230 FPS at 1080p to 149 FPS at 1440p, then to 81 FPS at 4K; Medium settings go from 200 FPS to 130 FPS to 70 FPS; Ultra goes from 138 FPS to 90 FPS to 49 FPS.

The shape of this scaling curve indicates that the system is not uniformly limited by one component. At 1080p, the high frame rates — especially the 230 FPS Low result — suggest that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU enough data to push very high output. However, as resolution increases, the pixel throughput demand grows, and the GPU’s workload becomes more dominant. The fact that 4K High manages 59 FPS while 4K Ultra falls to 49 FPS shows that the GPU is the limiting factor at this resolution, as reducing settings yields meaningful gains. Conversely, at 1080p, the gap between Low (230 FPS) and Ultra (138 FPS) indicates that the GPU still has headroom, but the CPU may be approaching its limit in terms of frame pacing, especially given the 6-core, 12-thread configuration.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT, with its 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, provides 384.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU’s base clock is 2321 MHz, with a boost clock of 2581 MHz and a game clock of 2424 MHz. These clocks are relatively high, which helps sustain performance in a fast-paced FPS like Doom. The memory operates at 2000 MHz, translating to 16 Gbps effective, which is sufficient for the textures and geometry in this title. The card’s 2560 shading units and 64 ROPs contribute to its pixel throughput, rated at 165.2 GPixel/s, while the texture rate is 413.0 GTexel/s.

In the measured results, the GPU’s role is most evident in the scaling from Medium to Ultra at each resolution. At 1080p, Medium averages 200 FPS, but Ultra drops to 138 FPS, a 31% reduction. At 1440p, the same settings transition yields a drop from 130 FPS to 90 FPS, a 31% reduction as well. At 4K, Medium averages 70 FPS while Ultra averages 49 FPS, a 30% reduction. This consistent percentage drop across resolutions indicates that the GPU’s shading and memory resources are being taxed uniformly by the increased quality settings, with Ultra requiring more compute per pixel. The 12 GB VRAM is not a limiting factor here, as even at 4K Ultra, the card maintains playable averages, though the 49 FPS result is below the 60 FPS target.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Intel Core i5-11400F and AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT ranks 1951 out of 3712 tested combos in Doom. This places it in the middle of the distribution, which is notable given that both components individually sit in the 71st and 72nd percentiles among all CPUs and GPUs, respectively. The combo rank suggests that the pairing is well-balanced for this game, but not exceptional, as many other configurations with higher-end parts achieve better frame rates. The CPU’s nearest rivals in average benchmark score include the AMD EPYC 7H12 (delta 0.3%), Intel Core i5-12450H (delta -0.4%), and AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G (delta -0.6%), which indicates the i5-11400F is competitive with a range of processors, though none of these are gaming-specific parts. The GPU’s nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile (delta 0%), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 (delta -0.5%), and NVIDIA RTX PRO 4000 Blackwell (delta 1.1%), showing the RX 6700 XT sits near the performance of these cards in synthetic benchmarks. However, the combo’s mid-pack ranking in Doom suggests that the game’s optimization and the specific balance of CPU and GPU capabilities matter more than raw component scores.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a full picture of performance across all tested configurations. At 1920x1080, the results are: Low averages 230 FPS, Medium averages 200 FPS with a minimum of 170 FPS and maximum of 230 FPS, High averages 169 FPS, and Ultra averages 138 FPS. At 2560x1440, Low averages 149 FPS, Medium averages 130 FPS with a minimum of 110 FPS and maximum of 149 FPS, High averages 110 FPS, and Ultra averages 90 FPS. At 3840x2160, Low averages 81 FPS, Medium averages 70 FPS with a minimum of 60 FPS and maximum of 81 FPS, High averages 59 FPS, and Ultra averages 49 FPS.

The Medium preset results include min and max FPS data, which reveal the frame time consistency. At 1080p Medium, the range from 170 to 230 FPS shows a 60 FPS spread, suggesting some variability but with a high floor. At 1440p Medium, the range tightens to 110 to 149 FPS, a 39 FPS spread, indicating better consistency relative to the average. At 4K Medium, the range is 60 to 81 FPS, a 21 FPS spread, which is the narrowest in absolute terms, though the minimum of 60 FPS is exactly at the playable threshold. These min FPS values are critical for a fast-paced game like Doom, where frame drops can affect gameplay responsiveness. The data indicates that at 4K Medium, the system can hold 60 FPS at the low end, but Ultra settings will likely produce sub-60 FPS dips, given the 49 FPS average.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on Rocket Lake architecture, fabricated on a 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. The CPU supports DDR4 memory with a dual-channel bus, offering 51.2 GB/s of bandwidth. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU scores 868 in 3DMark single-thread and 5652 in 3DMark max-threads, while Cinebench R23 results are 2024 for single-core and 14340 for multi-core. These numbers indicate solid single-thread performance, which is crucial for Doom’s engine, but the multi-thread scores suggest the 6-core configuration is adequate rather than exceptional.

In the game’s measured FPS, the CPU’s role is most apparent at 1080p Low, where the average of 230 FPS represents a ceiling that is likely CPU-bound. The fact that 1080p Ultra only drops to 138 FPS, while 1440p Ultra produces 90 FPS, shows that the CPU can maintain high frame rates when the GPU is not overwhelmed. The single-thread score of 868 in 3DMark places the i5-11400F in a competitive position, and the boost clock of 4.40 GHz helps sustain performance in scenes with heavy draw calls. However, the lack of a higher core count means that in scenarios with many simultaneous entities, the CPU may become a limitation, though the measured data does not indicate a severe bottleneck at 1440p or below.

FAQ

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

A: At 2560x1440, all settings including Ultra (90 FPS) exceed 60 FPS, while at 3840x2160, only Low (81 FPS) and Medium (70 FPS) average above 60 FPS, with High at 59 FPS and Ultra at 49 FPS.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, Ultra averages 49 FPS, which is 10 FPS lower than High’s 59 FPS, representing a 17% performance penalty for the highest quality settings.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more likely to limit performance at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the high frame rates (230 FPS on Low) suggest the CPU is approaching its limit, as the GPU has headroom, but the gap between Low and Ultra (92 FPS) indicates the GPU still has significant impact on settings-dependent performance.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The minimum FPS data is only available for Medium settings: 170 FPS at 1080p, 110 FPS at 1440p, and 60 FPS at 4K, indicating that 4K Medium is the lowest playable configuration without dropping below 60 FPS.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations in Doom?

A: The combo ranks 1951 out of 3712 tested combos, placing it in the 52nd percentile, which is slightly below the midpoint of all tested systems.

Q: Does the GPU’s 12 GB VRAM affect performance at 4K?

A: The data does not show any indication of VRAM limitation, as the card maintains playable frame rates at 4K Medium (70 FPS), suggesting that 12 GB is sufficient for this game’s requirements.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience, the data suggests that 2560x1440 with Ultra settings provides an optimal balance, as it delivers 90 FPS average, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold and offers the highest visual quality among the tested presets. If the user prefers 4K, Medium settings are the recommended choice, as they maintain a 70 FPS average with a minimum of 60 FPS, ensuring consistent frame times without dropping below playable levels. At 1080p, High settings (169 FPS) are preferable to Ultra (138 FPS) if the goal is to maximize refresh rate potential, as the difference in visual fidelity may not justify the 31 FPS loss. For competitive play, 1080p Low (230 FPS) offers the highest frame rates, but Medium (200 FPS) provides a better balance of quality and speed. The data indicates that Ultra settings at 4K should be avoided, as the 49 FPS average falls below the standard 60 FPS target, making Medium the highest playable preset at that resolution.