Doom

The Intel Core i5-11400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 combination delivers a dominant 1080p experience in Doom, but the data reveals a clear transition to GPU-bound performance as resolution increases. At 1920x1080, the average frame rates range from 158.4 FPS on Ultra to 258.6 FPS on Low, indicating that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU well beyond typical high-refresh-rate targets. Moving to 2560x1440, the spread narrows, with Ultra producing 104.1 FPS and Low reaching 165.3 FPS. At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the definitive limiting factor: Ultra drops to 55.2 FPS, while Low still manages 91.3 FPS. The performance delta between Low and Ultra settings grows from 100.2 FPS at 1080p to 36.1 FPS at 4K, which shows that the CPU’s headroom is absorbed by the GPU’s workload at higher resolutions.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep but consistent with a system where the RTX 3070 is the primary bottleneck at higher pixel counts. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 189 FPS at 1920x1080 to 125 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 64 FPS, and then to 68.8 FPS at 3840x2160, another 56.2 FPS drop. This pattern indicates that the GPU’s rendering load scales almost linearly with pixel count, while the CPU’s contribution becomes less relevant. The Low preset tells a similar story: 258.6 FPS at 1080p, 165.3 FPS at 1440p, and 91.3 FPS at 4K. The 4K Low result is still above 60 FPS, which suggests the combination can handle 4K gaming, but only with reduced graphical fidelity. The data implies that at 1080p, the Core i5-11400F’s six cores and 12 threads are sufficient to keep the RTX 3070 fully utilized, but at 4K, the GPU’s raw throughput—20.31 TFLOPS FP32 and 448.0 GB/s memory bandwidth—dictates the outcome.

GPU Role

The RTX 3070’s 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is a critical factor for Doom’s texture-heavy scenes. The GPU’s boost clock of 1725 MHz and base clock of 1500 MHz support its 20.31 TFLOPS FP32 performance, and the benchmark results show that this hardware is well-matched to the game’s engine. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 55.2, which is below the 60 FPS threshold, but the GPU’s 72nd percentile ranking among all GPUs suggests it is a strong performer. Compared to its nearest rivals, the RTX 3070 scores 0.9% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT and 1% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti in aggregate benchmarks, but those differences are minor in real-world gaming. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is not a limiting factor in Doom, as the game’s requirements are modest, but the data shows that the GPU’s compute capabilities are the deciding factor between playable and unplayable frame rates at 4K. The transition from Medium (79.7 FPS) to High (68.8 FPS) at 4K represents a 10.9 FPS penalty, while moving from High to Ultra costs another 13.6 FPS, highlighting the steep cost of the highest settings.

Settings Recommendations

For a balance of visual quality and performance, the High preset at 2560x1440 is the sweet spot, delivering 125 FPS, which is well above the refresh rate of most monitors. At 1920x1080, Ultra is viable at 158.4 FPS, but the jump from High (189 FPS) to Ultra (158.4 FPS) costs 30.6 FPS for marginal visual gains. At 4K, the data suggests that Medium is the practical choice, as it produces 79.7 FPS, which is playable, while High drops to 68.8 FPS and Ultra falls below 60 FPS at 55.2 FPS. The Low preset at 4K yields 91.3 FPS, but the visual compromise is likely too severe for most users. The measured rows indicate that the performance gap between Low and Medium at 1440p is 16.9 FPS (165.3 vs 148.4), while the gap between Medium and High is 23.4 FPS (148.4 vs 125). This suggests that Medium offers the most efficient use of GPU resources for high-resolution gaming, while High is preferable at 1440p for those with high-refresh-rate displays.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Intel Core i5-11400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 ranks 764th out of 1681 tested combos in Doom, placing it in the upper-middle tier of the database. The 45.5% percentile (764/1681) indicates that while this setup is not at the top of the charts, it outperforms a majority of tested systems. The CPU’s 75th percentile ranking among all CPUs and the GPU’s 72nd percentile ranking suggest that both components are above average, but the combo’s overall rank is pulled down by the GPU’s relative weakness at 4K Ultra. The data shows that this combo is not a top-tier 4K machine, but it is a strong 1440p performer. The rank is likely influenced by the fact that many higher-ranked combos feature more powerful GPUs, while the CPU’s 6-core, 12-thread configuration is sufficient for Doom’s engine. The nearest CPU rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U (0% delta) and Intel Core i7-1260P (-0.2% delta), have similar aggregate scores, but the RTX 3070’s performance is what drives the gaming results.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-11400F features 6 cores and 12 threads, with a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. In Doom, the CPU’s role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and physics calculations, and the benchmark data shows that it does this effectively at 1080p, where frame rates exceed 250 FPS on Low. The CPU’s 12 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4 memory support (51.2 GB/s bandwidth) are adequate for the game’s demands. The 3DMark scores are telling: the single-thread score of 868 and the 16-thread score of 5619 indicate strong per-core performance, which is crucial for a game engine that relies on a few primary threads. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 14372 and single-core score of 2029 further confirm that the CPU is not a bottleneck at lower resolutions. However, at 4K, the frame rate differences between settings (e.g., 91.3 FPS on Low vs 55.2 FPS on Ultra) are purely GPU-driven, as the CPU has ample headroom. The data suggests that the i5-11400F is a capable partner for the RTX 3070, but its 65W TDP and 14nm process node mean it is not as power-efficient as newer designs, though this does not impact gaming performance.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Doom?

A: Based on the measured FPS, 2560x1440 with High settings provides 125 FPS, which is an excellent balance of visual quality and performance.

Q: Can this combo run Doom at 4K?

A: Yes, but only at lower settings. The 4K Medium preset yields 79.7 FPS, while Ultra drops to 55.2 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How much performance is lost going from 1080p to 4K?

A: At High settings, the average FPS drops from 189 at 1920x1080 to 68.8 at 3840x2160, a reduction of 120.2 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1080p?

A: The data shows that at 1080p Low, the combo reaches 258.6 FPS, indicating the CPU is capable of high frame rates, but the GPU becomes the bottleneck as settings increase.

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

A: High produces 125 FPS, while Ultra produces 104.1 FPS, a difference of 20.9 FPS.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested systems?

A: It ranks 764th out of 1681 combos in Doom, placing it in the upper-middle tier of the database.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the average FPS values are as follows: Low settings deliver 258.6 FPS, Medium delivers 226.4 FPS, High delivers 189 FPS, and Ultra delivers 158.4 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 100.2 FPS, showing significant scaling with settings. At 2560x1440, the results are: Low at 165.3 FPS, Medium at 148.4 FPS, High at 125 FPS, and Ultra at 104.1 FPS. The spread narrows to 61.2 FPS, indicating that the GPU is starting to feel the load. At 3840x2160, the values are: Low at 91.3 FPS, Medium at 79.7 FPS, High at 68.8 FPS, and Ultra at 55.2 FPS. The spread is now only 36.1 FPS, confirming that the GPU is the dominant constraint. The data shows a consistent pattern: at each resolution, the difference between Low and Medium is smaller than the difference between High and Ultra, suggesting that the Ultra preset is disproportionately demanding for the RTX 3070. The 4K Ultra result of 55.2 FPS is the only measured configuration that falls below 60 FPS, making it the only setting where the combo struggles to maintain smooth gameplay. The 1440p High result of 125 FPS and the 1080p High result of 189 FPS are the standout figures, demonstrating that this combo excels at mainstream resolutions with high detail.