Doom

The Intel Core i5-11400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 combination ranks 1374th out of 1681 tested combos in Doom, placing it in the lower-middle tier of the database. This rank reflects a pairing that is entirely playable at mainstream resolutions but not competitive at the extreme high end, with the GPU emerging as the primary constraint in the most demanding scenarios. The data shows a system that delivers smooth performance at 1080p across all settings, remains strong at 1440p, but falls below the 60 FPS threshold at 4K on higher presets.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s position at 1374 out of 1681 tested combinations indicates that while this is a functional pairing for Doom, a significant portion of the database outperforms it. The rank is heavily influenced by the RTX 2060’s standing in the GPU hierarchy; the card sits at the 58th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 16074. Its nearest rivals in the database include the AMD Radeon RX 7600S, which scores 15996 with a delta of 0.5%, and the AMD Radeon Pro 5700, scoring 16351 with a delta of -1.7%. This places the RTX 2060 in a tight cluster, meaning the combo’s ranking is more a function of the GPU’s mid-range status than any systemic bottleneck with the CPU.

In practical terms for Doom, this rank translates to a setup that can handle the game’s fast-paced action without major compromises at 1080p, but which will require users to drop settings at higher resolutions. The CPU, the Intel Core i5-11400F, performs far better in relative terms, sitting at the 75th percentile among all CPUs. This disparity between the CPU’s stronger percentile and the GPU’s weaker one is a recurring theme in the measured data, particularly at 4K where the GPU’s limits become apparent.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is built on the Turing architecture with a TU106 chip fabricated on a 12 nm process. It features 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s. The GPU’s clocks are set at a base of 1365 MHz and a boost of 1680 MHz, with memory running at 1750 MHz or 14 Gbps effective. For Doom, a game that scales well with raw throughput, these specifications translate into strong 1080p performance but expose the card’s limitations at 4K.

The GPU’s 1920 shading units and 120 texture mapping units deliver a texture rate of 201.6 GTexel/s, while the 48 ROPs provide a pixel rate of 80.64 GPixel/s. The card’s FP32 performance is rated at 6.451 TFLOPS. In Doom’s measured results, the GPU’s role is clearly dominant: at 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra settings is 68.3 FPS (from 173.3 to 105), showing the GPU handles the full range of settings with ease. However, at 4K, the card struggles to maintain playable framerates on higher presets, with Ultra dipping to 37.7 FPS. This indicates the 6 GB VRAM and the overall compute power are sufficient for lower resolutions but become the limiting factor when pixel count quadruples.

Settings Recommendations

Benchmark results indicate the best experience is achieved at 1080p with Medium settings, delivering an average of 153.7 FPS. This preset offers a strong balance, as it is only 19.6 FPS below the Low setting’s 173.3 FPS but provides significantly better visual fidelity. At 1440p, the High preset is the recommended choice, producing 84.9 FPS, which is comfortably above the 60 FPS playability threshold while still looking sharp. The data shows that Ultra settings at 1440p drop to 69.2 FPS, which is still playable but offers diminishing returns for the performance cost.

For 4K gaming, the data suggests that only the Low preset, at 62.5 FPS, provides a consistently smooth experience. The Medium preset at 55.5 FPS is borderline, while High and Ultra fall below 45 FPS, making them less suitable for fast-paced gameplay. The measured rows show a clear pattern: users should prioritize resolution over extreme settings, as the GPU’s performance drops off sharply beyond 1440p. The most efficient path is to run 1440p High, which leverages the CPU’s headroom while keeping the GPU within its comfort zone.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Doom at 4K?

A: Yes, but only at Low settings, which produce an average of 62.5 FPS. Medium settings drop to 55.5 FPS, while High and Ultra fall to 43.3 and 37.7 FPS respectively, making them less viable for smooth gameplay.

Q: What is the maximum framerate achieved in the measured data?

A: The highest average FPS is 173.3, recorded at 1920x1080 with Low settings. This indicates the combo has significant headroom at the lowest resolution and preset.

Q: How does the CPU’s performance compare to its rivals?

A: The Intel Core i5-11400F has an average benchmark score of 17181, placing it at the 75th percentile. Its nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U, scores 17189 with a delta of 0%, showing nearly identical performance.

Q: Is the RTX 2060 a bottleneck in this combo?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the FPS drops to 37.7, while the CPU’s strong 75th percentile ranking suggests it has more headroom than the GPU.

Q: What is the difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings produce 111.5 FPS while Ultra produces 69.2 FPS, a difference of 42.3 FPS. This shows a significant performance cost for the highest visual quality.

Q: Does the combo support modern graphics APIs?

A: The RTX 2060 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, which are fully compatible with Doom’s requirements.

Resolution Scaling

The measured data shows a steep performance drop as resolution increases, confirming that the RTX 2060 is the primary limiting component. At 1080p High, the combo produces 127.9 FPS. Moving to 1440p High reduces this to 84.9 FPS, a drop of 43 FPS or roughly 33.6%. At 4K High, the framerate falls to 43.3 FPS, a further decline of 41.6 FPS from 1440p. This pattern is consistent across all settings, with the scaling becoming more severe at higher presets.

For example, at Ultra settings, the progression from 1080p (105 FPS) to 1440p (69.2 FPS) to 4K (37.7 FPS) shows a halving of performance at each step up in resolution. This steep curve indicates that the GPU’s memory bandwidth of 336.0 GB/s and its 6 GB VRAM capacity are insufficient to maintain performance when pixel count quadruples. The CPU’s role in this scaling is minimal; its 6 cores and 12 threads with a boost clock of 4.40 GHz provide ample processing power, but the GPU cannot keep pace with the increasing workload. The data suggests that for this combo, 1440p is the practical ceiling for high-quality Doom gameplay.

CPU Role

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 has a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, with a TDP of 65 W. The CPU features a 12 MB shared L3 cache and supports DDR4 memory with a dual-channel bus providing 51.2 GB/s of bandwidth. In benchmark tests, the CPU achieves a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 14372 and a single-core score of 2029, with a Geekbench multicore score of 7579.

In Doom, the CPU’s performance is more than adequate for the GPU at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 173.3 FPS, which is likely near the CPU’s practical limit for frame generation, but the CPU still has headroom at higher settings where the GPU becomes the bottleneck. The CPU’s 75th percentile ranking versus all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17181, shows it is a solid mid-range performer. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-1260P, scores 17212 with a delta of -0.2%, indicating the i5-11400F is competitive with newer mobile parts. The data shows the CPU is not the limiting factor in this combo; rather, it provides a stable foundation that allows the GPU’s performance to be fully expressed.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers excellent performance across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 173.3 FPS, Medium 153.7 FPS, High 127.9 FPS, and Ultra 105 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 68.3 FPS, showing the GPU has enough power to handle the full range of presets comfortably.

At 2560x1440, performance remains strong but shows more variation. Low settings yield 111.5 FPS, Medium 98.1 FPS, High 84.9 FPS, and Ultra 69.2 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is significant, with the Ultra preset losing 35.8 FPS, indicating the GPU is starting to feel the pressure of higher pixel counts.

At 3840x2160, the GPU’s limits become clear. Low settings produce 62.5 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS target. Medium drops to 55.5 FPS, High to 43.3 FPS, and Ultra to 37.7 FPS. The scaling from 1440p to 4K is severe, with the High preset losing 41.6 FPS and the Ultra preset losing 31.5 FPS. This breakdown confirms that the RTX 2060 is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming in Doom, with 4K only viable at the lowest settings.