Doom

The Intel Core i5-11400F paired with the Intel Arc B390 presents a curious case in the Doom benchmark database. The processor is a solid mid-range contender from the Rocket Lake generation, while the graphics solution is an integrated part of the Panther Lake platform. The performance data reveals a system heavily constrained by its GPU, yet it still delivers a playable experience at lower resolutions. This analysis examines the measured frames per second across settings and resolutions to understand the balance of this combo.

Settings Recommendations

For the most balanced experience, the Medium preset offers the best combination of visual fidelity and frame rate. At 1080p, the Medium preset delivers an average of 93 FPS, which is only 14 frames less than the Low preset's 107 FPS but 29 frames more than the Ultra preset's 64 FPS. The scaling from Low to Medium shows a modest 14 FPS drop, while moving from Medium to Ultra incurs a much steeper 29 FPS penalty. This suggests that the Medium preset hits a sweet spot where the game's visual upgrades are not yet demanding enough to cripple the system.

At 1440p, the Medium preset again proves to be the optimal choice, yielding an average of 60 FPS. This is exactly on the threshold for smooth gameplay, and it represents a 9 FPS improvement over the High preset's 51 FPS. The Low preset reaches 69 FPS, but the graphical sacrifices are likely noticeable. The 1440p Medium data shows a minimum of 51 FPS and a maximum of 69 FPS, indicating some variance, but the average holds steady at the 60 FPS target.

The 4K resolution is not viable for this combo. Even the Low preset only manages 37 FPS, which is below the playable threshold. The Medium preset at 4K drops to 33 FPS with a minimum of 28 FPS, making it a poor experience. The data clearly indicates that users should avoid 4K with this hardware. For those prioritizing frame rate over visuals, the Low preset at 1080p is the only option that consistently breaks the 100 FPS barrier, achieving 107 FPS. However, the 93 FPS of the Medium preset at 1080p is more than sufficient for most players and offers a superior visual experience for a relatively small performance cost.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is the primary bottleneck in this configuration. Its benchmark score in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 is a mere 1482, which places it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. This is an integrated graphics solution, as indicated by its "IGP" slot width and bus interface, and it uses "System Shared" memory, meaning its performance is heavily dependent on the system's RAM bandwidth and capacity. The GPU's base clock is 300 MHz, which boosts up to 2500 MHz, but its architecture, Xe3-LPG on a 3 nm process, is clearly not designed for high-end gaming.

The nearest rivals to the Arc B390 in the benchmark database are all low-end NVIDIA GPUs. It performs 1.3% better than the GeForce GT 520MX and 1.5% better than the GeForce 800M. It also edges out the GT 625 OEM by 2.5% and the GT 710 by 2.7%. These are all very old, entry-level parts, which highlights the Arc B390's position at the bottom of the performance spectrum. This explains why the system struggles to maintain high frame rates in Doom, a game that, while well-optimized, still requires a certain level of graphical horsepower.

The GPU's specifications include 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 raster output pipelines. It has 12 ray tracing cores, but its FP32 performance is only 7.680 TFLOPS. In the context of Doom, the data shows that the GPU is the limiting factor. When the resolution is increased from 1080p to 1440p, the frame rates drop significantly, even at the same settings. This is a classic sign of a GPU-bound scenario, where the processor has more headroom but the graphics unit cannot keep up with the increased pixel count.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drops from 1080p to 4K are steep and consistent, confirming the GPU as the limiting component. At the Medium preset, the average FPS drops from 93 at 1080p to 60 at 1440p, a 35% reduction. Moving from 1440p to 4K at Medium yields a further drop from 60 to 33 FPS, a 45% reduction. The cumulative drop from 1080p to 4K at Medium is 64%, going from 93 FPS to 33 FPS. This severe scaling is characteristic of a system where the GPU is overwhelmed by the increasing resolution.

The Low preset shows a similar, though slightly less drastic, pattern. It starts at 107 FPS at 1080p, drops to 69 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 37 FPS at 4K. This is a 65% total reduction from 1080p to 4K. The High preset follows the trend, going from 78 FPS at 1080p to 51 FPS at 1440p and 28 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset is the most demanding, with frame rates of 64, 41, and 22 FPS across the three resolutions. The data suggests that the scaling is not linear; the performance penalty for each step up in resolution becomes more pronounced as the resolution increases.

This non-linear drop indicates that the system is running out of memory bandwidth or raw compute power as the pixel count grows. The Arc B390's memory bandwidth is listed as "System Dependent," which means it shares the system's DDR4 memory bus. As the resolution increases, the demand for memory bandwidth grows, and the shared system memory becomes a significant bottleneck. The processor, an Intel Core i5-11400F, has a memory bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s, which is moderate for a desktop platform, but the integrated GPU's demands on this shared resource likely cause the severe performance degradation at higher resolutions.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of the combo's capabilities. At 1920x1080, the system is most comfortable. The Low setting achieves an average of 107 FPS. The Medium setting averages 93 FPS, with a minimum of 79 and a maximum of 107. The High setting averages 78 FPS, and the Ultra setting averages 64 FPS. This shows a clear hierarchy where the settings scale predictably, with a 43 FPS difference between the lowest and highest presets.

At 2560x1440, the performance drops noticeably. The Low setting averages 69 FPS. The Medium setting averages 60 FPS, with a minimum of 51 and a maximum of 69. The High setting averages 51 FPS, and the Ultra setting averages 41 FPS. This resolution is the borderline for playability, as the Medium preset just manages to hit 60 FPS on average. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 28 FPS, indicating that the settings have a slightly less pronounced impact at this resolution as the GPU becomes more of a constraint.

At 3840x2160, the system is clearly out of its depth. The Low setting averages 37 FPS. The Medium setting averages 33 FPS, with a minimum of 28 and a maximum of 37. The High setting averages 28 FPS, and the Ultra setting averages 22 FPS. The 4K data is uniformly poor, with no setting crossing the 40 FPS mark. This resolution is only suitable for static screenshots or very low-intensity gameplay. The minimum FPS of 28 at 4K Medium suggests that even the average frame rates are not stable, and the experience would be marred by noticeable stuttering.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database for Doom, this combination of the Intel Core i5-11400F and the Intel Arc B390 ranks 2580th out of 2930 tested combinations. This places it in the bottom 12% of all systems tested, which aligns with the GPU's low benchmark percentile. The comboRankInGame of 2580 reflects that this is a low-performing setup for this specific title. The processor, while ranking in the 71st percentile among all CPUs, is held back significantly by the integrated graphics.

The rank indicates that a vast majority of other CPU-GPU pairings tested for Doom deliver higher frame rates. This is not a surprising result given the GPU's performance class. The Arc B390's nearest rivals are all legacy parts from over a decade ago, and their inclusion in the database suggests they were tested under different conditions or are being used as reference points for the lowest tier of performance. The combo's rank serves as a warning that this hardware is not intended for modern gaming at high settings or resolutions.

The data implies that the i5-11400F is a capable processor that is being severely underutilized. In a system with a discrete GPU, this CPU would likely perform much better. However, when paired with the Arc B390, the system's overall ranking suffers. The user is essentially paying for a competent six-core processor but is limited by a graphics solution that is comparable to entry-level offerings from 2012. The rank of 2580 is a direct consequence of this imbalance, where the CPU's potential is wasted on a GPU that cannot translate its processing power into high frame rates.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Rocket Lake architecture. It has a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 14,340 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2,024 in single-core. These scores place it in the 71st percentile of all CPUs, indicating it is a solid mid-range processor. Its nearest rivals include the AMD EPYC 7H12, which it trails by only 0.3%, and the Intel Core i5-12450H, which it beats by 0.4%.

In the context of Doom, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic. The data suggests that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 107 FPS, which is a frame rate that many CPUs would struggle to maintain. The fact that the i5-11400F can reach this level, even with a weak GPU, shows that it has enough headroom. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would see similar frame rates across different resolutions at the same settings. However, the data shows a clear drop from 1080p to 1440p, confirming that the GPU is the limiting component.

The CPU's 12 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support provide adequate bandwidth for gaming. Its 20 PCIe Gen 4 lanes are more than sufficient for a single GPU. The processor's TDP of 65W is modest, and its performance in 3DMark tests, such as a single-thread score of 868 and a max-thread score of 5652, indicates it can handle the multi-threaded workloads of modern game engines. While this CPU is not the reason for the low frame rates, its pairing with an IGP means its full potential is never realized in this configuration.

FAQ

Q: Is this combo capable of running Doom at 1080p?

A: Yes, the data shows it can. At 1080p with the Low preset, the system averages 107 FPS. The Medium preset averages 93 FPS, and even the Ultra preset manages an average of 64 FPS, all of which are playable.

Q: What is the best resolution and settings for a smooth 60 FPS experience?

A: The data indicates that the 1440p Medium preset is the optimal target, achieving an average of 60 FPS with a minimum of 51 FPS. At 1080p, the High preset averages 78 FPS, providing a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its nearest rivals in the database?

A: The Arc B390 scores 1482 in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 benchmark. It outperforms the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX by 1.3%, the GeForce 800M by 1.5%, the GeForce GT 625 OEM by 2.5%, and the GeForce GT 710 by 2.7%.

Q: Why is the frame rate so low at 4K resolution?

A: The frame rate drops severely at 4K because the integrated GPU becomes the limiting factor. At 4K with the Medium preset, the average FPS is 33, which is too low for smooth gameplay. The GPU lacks the raw processing power and memory bandwidth for this resolution.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-11400F a bottleneck for this system?

A: No, the data does not suggest the CPU is a bottleneck. The processor ranks in the 71st percentile among all CPUs, and the frame rates scale with resolution and settings, which indicates the GPU is the limiting component. The CPU is capable of much higher frame rates than the GPU can deliver.

Q: What is the best setting to use for maximum frame rate?

A: For the absolute highest frame rate, the Low preset at 1080p yields an average of 107 FPS. This is the only configuration in the data that exceeds 100 FPS, making it the choice for competitive or high-refresh-rate play.