Doom

The Intel Core i5-12400 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7600 delivers a robust 1080p experience in Doom, but the data reveals a clear transition from CPU-bound to GPU-bound behavior as resolution climbs. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo produces an average of 192.7 FPS, which drops to 142.8 FPS at High and 115.4 FPS at Ultra. The scaling pattern is telling: moving from Low to Ultra at 1080p costs roughly 40% of the frame rate, a substantial hit that indicates the GPU is becoming the primary limiter even at this resolution. However, the CPU’s capability is evident in the 3DMark single-thread score of 910 and the PassMark single-thread score of 3456, which suggest the i5-12400 has ample headroom to feed the GPU without bottlenecking at these settings.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a steep, predictable decline as resolution increases, but the shape of that curve changes depending on the quality preset. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo averages 142.8 FPS; stepping up to 2560x1440 reduces that to 93.9 FPS, a 34% drop. Moving further to 3840x2160 yields just 52.9 FPS, which is 63% lower than the 1080p High result. This pattern — where each resolution step costs roughly a third to half of the remaining performance — is classic GPU-limited behavior. The RX 7600’s 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 128-bit bus width, with 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth, are being saturated as pixel count quadruples from 1080p to 4K.

Interestingly, the Low preset shows a different scaling profile. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 192.7 FPS, which drops to 123.3 FPS at 1440p (a 36% reduction) and then to 65.8 FPS at 4K (a 47% reduction from 1440p). The relative drop from 1440p to 4K is larger at Low settings than at High, suggesting that at lower quality settings, the GPU’s shading units and texture units are being pushed harder relative to memory bandwidth. At Ultra settings, the 4K result of 39.2 FPS is barely playable, while the 1080p Ultra result of 115.4 FPS is smooth. The data indicates that for this combo, 1080p is the sweet spot for high-refresh displays, while 1440p remains viable for High and Medium presets, and 4K is only feasible at Low or Medium settings.

The limiting component shifts definitively at 4K. At 1080p Low, the average FPS of 192.7 suggests the CPU is still capable of delivering frame rates well above 144 Hz, but the GPU cannot sustain that output at higher resolutions. The i5-12400’s 3DMark max-thread score of 5890 and Cinebench R23 multicore score of 15935 indicate strong multi-threaded performance, but Doom’s engine at these settings is not CPU-bound. The data shows that the RX 7600’s FP32 throughput of 21.75 TFLOPS and pixel rate of 169.9 GPixel/s are the determining factors at 1440p and above. At 4K Ultra, the 39.2 FPS result is 66% lower than the 1080p Ultra result, a massive penalty that underscores the GPU’s memory bandwidth and compute limitations at extreme resolutions.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7600’s role in this combo is defined by its memory subsystem and clock speeds. With 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit interface, the card delivers 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is modest by modern standards but adequate for Doom’s 2016 engine. The base clock of 1720 MHz and boost clock of 2655 MHz, with a game clock of 2250 MHz, provide a solid foundation for the measured results. The GPU’s 2048 shading units and 128 texture mapping units are exercised heavily at 1080p, where the card achieves 142.8 FPS at High settings. The 64 ROPs handle pixel output at a rate of 169.9 GPixel/s, which becomes a bottleneck at 4K where the pixel count stresses the render output pipeline.

The VRAM capacity is sufficient for Doom’s texture requirements, but the bus width is the limiting factor. At 4K Ultra, the 39.2 FPS result suggests the GPU is starved for bandwidth, not capacity, as the 8 GB frame buffer is likely not fully exhausted by this game’s assets. The GDDR6 memory runs at an effective 18 Gbps, and the measured scaling from 1440p High (93.9 FPS) to 4K High (52.9 FPS) shows a 44% reduction, which is consistent with a bandwidth-bound scenario. The GPU’s PassMark G3D score of 16634 places it in the 63rd percentile of all GPUs, and its average benchmark score of 20258 is closely matched by rivals like the RX 7600 XT (deltaPct 0.6) and the RX 460 (deltaPct 0.8), though the latter’s similarity is misleading given the RX 7600’s far higher clock speeds and newer architecture.

The clocks are the differentiator here. The boost clock of 2655 MHz is aggressive, and the game clock of 2250 MHz indicates sustained performance under load. These clocks, combined with the 6 nm process node from TSMC, allow the GPU to maintain high utilization in Doom’s Vulkan-based renderer. However, the PCIe 4.0 x8 interface (half the typical x16 width) does not appear to be a limiting factor in these measurements, as the frame rates at 1080p are well above 60 FPS across all presets. The GPU’s TDP of 165 W and suggested 450 W PSU are reasonable for this class, but the data shows the card’s performance is more dependent on its memory bandwidth than on power delivery.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the best experience for this combo depends on the target display resolution and refresh rate. At 1920x1080, the High preset delivers 142.8 FPS, which is ideal for 144 Hz monitors, while the Medium preset at 167 FPS offers a slight improvement for 165 Hz displays. The Ultra preset at 115.4 FPS is still smooth but provides diminishing returns over High given the 19% FPS penalty. For 1440p, the High preset at 93.9 FPS is the recommended balance; the Medium preset at 109.6 FPS is also viable for 100 Hz panels, but the Ultra preset at 75.3 FPS dips below the 80 FPS threshold that many users consider the minimum for fast-paced FPS games. The Low preset at 1440p yields 123.3 FPS, but the visual quality loss is severe and unnecessary given the GPU’s capability.

At 3840x2160, the data suggests that only the Low preset (65.8 FPS) approaches playability, while Medium (58.8 FPS) and High (52.9 FPS) are borderline, and Ultra (39.2 FPS) is not recommended. For a game like Doom, which rewards high frame rates for fluidity, the 1080p High preset offers the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, with the 142.8 FPS result leaving headroom for frame time spikes. The Medium preset at 1080p (167 FPS) is the best choice for competitive play, as it maximizes the refresh rate potential of common 144 Hz panels without sacrificing too much detail. The data shows that the Ultra preset is the least efficient, providing only marginal visual gains over High while costing 19% of the frame rate at 1080p and 20% at 1440p.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows 1920x1080 as the strongest resolution, with 142.8 FPS at High settings and 192.7 FPS at Low. The 2560x1440 High result of 93.9 FPS is also viable, but 3840x2160 drops below 60 FPS for all presets except Low.

Q: How does the RX 7600 compare to its nearest rivals in this game?

A: The GPU’s average benchmark score of 20258 is within 0.6% of the RX 7600 XT and 0.8% of the RX 460, while being 1.3% behind the RTX 3070 Mobile and 1.5% behind the Intel Arc B570. These deltas are small, indicating the RX 7600 is competitively positioned.

Q: Is the i5-12400 a bottleneck for the RX 7600 in Doom?

A: The CPU’s 3DMark single-thread score of 910 and PassMark single-thread score of 3456, combined with the 1080p Low result of 192.7 FPS, suggest it is not a bottleneck at these settings. The frame rate drops are more consistent with GPU limitations.

Q: What is the FPS difference between Medium and Ultra at 1440p?

A: The Medium preset averages 109.6 FPS, while Ultra averages 75.3 FPS, a difference of 34.3 FPS or 31% fewer frames. This indicates that Ultra settings impose a significant cost at 1440p.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 1171 out of 1681 tested combinations in Doom, placing it in the lower third of the database. This rank reflects the mid-range nature of both components, with the CPU in the 77th percentile of all CPUs and the GPU in the 63rd percentile.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K at any playable setting?

A: The data shows that at 3840x2160, only the Low preset (65.8 FPS) exceeds 60 FPS. The Medium preset (58.8 FPS) and High preset (52.9 FPS) are below 60 FPS, and Ultra (39.2 FPS) is not recommended for smooth gameplay.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-12400 and AMD Radeon RX 7600 combination ranks 1171 out of 1681 tested combos in Doom, placing it in the 30th percentile of all configurations in the database. This rank is lower than the individual component percentiles might suggest, as the CPU sits in the 77th percentile of all CPUs and the GPU in the 63rd percentile of all GPUs, yet the combined system performance is dragged down by the GPU’s memory bandwidth limitations at higher resolutions. The CPU’s nearest rivals — the Intel Core i7-9700 (deltaPct 0.1), Intel Core i7-8700 (deltaPct -0.2), AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5995WX (deltaPct -0.4), and Intel Core i5-11600K (deltaPct 0.4) — all have average scores within 0.4% of the i5-12400, confirming that the processor is not the weak link in this pairing.

The GPU’s rivals show a similar pattern, with the RX 7600 XT (deltaPct 0.6) and RX 460 (deltaPct 0.8) scoring slightly higher on average, while the RTX 3070 Mobile (deltaPct -1.3) and Arc B570 (deltaPct -1.5) score slightly lower. The rank of 1171 indicates that this combo is outclassed by systems with higher-end GPUs, particularly at 4K where the RX 7600’s 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit bus become limiting. However, the data shows that the combo is well-suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with the measured FPS results at those resolutions being competitive with what one would expect from this price-to-performance tier. The 1080p High result of 142.8 FPS places this system in the upper echelon of mid-range configurations, while the 4K Ultra result of 39.2 FPS highlights the clear ceiling imposed by the GPU’s memory interface. Overall, the rank reflects a balanced mid-range system that excels at mainstream resolutions but struggles with enthusiast-level 4K demands.