Doom

The Intel Core i5-12400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 delivers a highly capable Doom experience, ranking 2001st out of 3712 tested combos in this database. This mid-pack placement reflects a balanced pairing that hits high refresh rates at mainstream resolutions, though it requires some settings adjustment for 4K play. The data shows a system that is consistently smooth at 1080p and 1440p, with the GPU becoming the primary limiting factor only at the highest resolution. The measured frames per second reveal a clear hierarchy across presets, making it straightforward to identify the optimal configuration for different display targets.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Core i5-12400 and RTX 4060 places at position 2001 out of 3712 tested combos for Doom. This exact middle-of-the-pack ranking indicates that while the system is far from the top tier, it sits comfortably ahead of a substantial number of alternatives. The percentile data for the individual components reinforces this assessment: the CPU ranks in the 72nd percentile against all CPUs, while the GPU ranks in the 61st percentile against all GPUs. When combined, these components produce a system that is well-suited for a fast-paced FPS like Doom, where frame pacing and consistency matter more than raw extreme performance.

The CPU's average benchmark score of 18683 places it within a tight cluster of rivals. It sits just 0.1% below the AMD EPYC 7643 (18697), 0.3% below the Intel Core i7-1355U (18730), and 0.7% below the AMD Ryzen AI 5 330 (18811). Conversely, it is 0.9% above the Intel Core i3-14100F (18519). These minuscule deltas show that the i5-12400 is essentially performance-equivalent to a wide range of processors in general compute tasks, meaning its gaming performance in Doom is not held back by any CPU deficiency.

On the GPU side, the RTX 4060's average benchmark score of 17639 follows a similar pattern. It is 0.2% below the AMD Radeon HD 7790 (17666), but 0.3% above the AMD Radeon 780M (17588), 0.5% above the AMD Radeon Pro 560 (17551), and 0.7% above the AMD Radeon Pro 460 (17509). This near-tie with older and integrated graphics in synthetic benchmarks is deceptive, as the RTX 4060's modern architecture and dedicated features provide a significant advantage in actual gaming workloads like Doom, which the measured FPS data confirms.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture using a 5 nm process at TSMC, with a chip designated AD107. It contains 18,900 million transistors on a 159 mm² die. The GPU operates with a base clock of 1830 MHz and a boost clock of 2460 MHz, while the memory runs at 2125 MHz with 17 Gbps effective speed. The 8 GB of GDDR6 memory is accessed via a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 272.0 GB/s. This configuration yields a pixel rate of 118.1 GPixel/s, a texture rate of 236.2 GTexel/s, and a raw FP32 throughput of 15.11 TFLOPS.

For Doom, a game originally released in 2016, the RTX 4060's specifications are more than adequate to handle the engine's demands. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for the game's texture loads, even at 4K resolution, as evidenced by the measured performance at that resolution. The boost clock of 2460 MHz is the key driver of the high frame rates observed at lower resolutions, where the GPU is not bandwidth-limited. The 272.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth becomes more relevant as resolution increases, and the data shows that this is the point where the GPU begins to show its limits.

The GPU's benchmark scores further contextualize its role. In PassMark G3D, it scores 19545, while in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 it scores 2302. Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan scores are 95057 and 48643, respectively. These numbers, while not directly translating to game FPS, indicate a GPU that is well-balanced across different API loads. The DirectX 12 score of 76 in PassMark is notably lower than the DirectX 11 score of 175, but Doom's Vulkan implementation sidesteps any potential DirectX bottlenecks, allowing the hardware's full potential to be realized.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to achieve over 100 FPS?

A: At 2560x1440 with High settings, the combo averages 108 FPS, and with Low settings it reaches 147 FPS. At 1920x1080, all tested presets exceed 137 FPS, with Low hitting 228 FPS.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Doom?

A: Yes, at 3840x2160 with High settings, the average FPS is 59, which is playable. Medium settings yield 70 FPS, Low settings produce 80 FPS, but Ultra settings drop to 48 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The i5-12400 has an average benchmark score of 18683, which is 0.1% below the AMD EPYC 7643 (18697) and 0.9% above the Intel Core i3-14100F (18519).

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

A: The only measured minimum FPS values are for Medium settings: 59 FPS at 4K, 109 FPS at 1440p, and 168 FPS at 1080p. Other presets do not have min FPS data.

Q: Is the GPU's memory bandwidth a limiting factor in this game?

A: The 272.0 GB/s bandwidth appears sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, where FPS scales primarily with resolution. At 4K, the drop in performance suggests the bandwidth and 8 GB VRAM become more stressed.

Q: How does the GPU compare to the AMD Radeon 780M in average score?

A: The RTX 4060 scores 17639, which is 0.3% higher than the AMD Radeon 780M's 17588, indicating a slight performance advantage in synthetic tests.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the combo's performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the system delivers exceptional frame rates. With Low settings, the average FPS is 228, which drops to 198 at Medium, 167 at High, and 137 at Ultra. The Medium preset at 1080p has a recorded min FPS of 168 and max FPS of 228, showing a tight frame delivery window. This resolution is clearly where the combo excels, with even the most demanding Ultra preset maintaining a high average.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance remains strong but shows the expected scaling. Low settings produce an average of 147 FPS, Medium averages 128 FPS, High averages 108 FPS, and Ultra averages 89 FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p has a min FPS of 109 and max of 148, indicating that the frame rate remains consistently high even during intense scenes. The jump from High to Ultra at this resolution costs 19 FPS, which is a significant drop but still leaves the game playable.

At 3840x2160, the GPU begins to feel the strain. Low settings average 80 FPS, Medium averages 70 FPS, High averages 59 FPS, and Ultra drops to 48 FPS. The Medium preset at 4K has a min FPS of 59 and max of 80, showing that while the average is acceptable, there is noticeable variance. The progression from Low to Ultra at 4K represents a 40% reduction in average FPS, going from 80 to 48, which clearly demonstrates the GPU's limitations at this resolution with the highest settings.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is stark and informative. At High settings, performance decreases from 167 FPS at 1080p to 108 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 59 FPS at 4K. This represents a 35% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 45% reduction from 1440p to 4K. At Low settings, the drop is from 228 FPS at 1080p to 147 FPS at 1440p to 80 FPS at 4K, showing a 36% and 46% decrease respectively. The pattern is consistent across all presets, indicating that the scaling is primarily driven by resolution.

This scaling behavior reveals that the RTX 4060 is the limiting component at higher resolutions. The CPU, with its 6 cores and 12 threads boosting to 4.40 GHz, is capable of feeding the GPU at lower resolutions, as evidenced by the 228 FPS at 1080p Low. However, as resolution increases, the GPU's workload grows exponentially, and its 272.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 8 GB VRAM become the bottleneck. The fact that the FPS does not halve when going from 1080p to 4K (which would be 114 FPS at High) but instead drops to 59 FPS suggests that the game is not purely pixel-bound, but rather limited by the GPU's overall throughput.

The data points to a system where the CPU has significant headroom at 1080p, but the GPU is fully utilized. At 4K, the GPU is clearly the limiting factor, as the FPS drops are proportionally larger than the increase in pixel count would suggest if the CPU were the bottleneck. This is typical of a mid-range GPU paired with a capable modern CPU, where the balance shifts to the GPU as resolution climbs.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400 is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, manufactured on a 10 nm process at Intel. It has a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 18 MB of shared L3 cache. This configuration is well-suited for Doom, which benefits from high single-thread performance and does not heavily utilize more than a few cores.

In Doom, the CPU's role is to maintain a high frame rate by feeding the GPU with draw calls and physics calculations. The i5-12400's single-thread performance, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2257 and Geekbench single-core score of 1848, is more than sufficient for this task. The benchmark results show that the CPU does not bottleneck the GPU at 1080p, where the combo achieves 228 FPS on Low settings. Even at 1440p, the CPU maintains its end of the bargain, allowing the GPU to reach 147 FPS on Low.

The multi-threaded performance is also robust, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 15989 and a 3DMark max threads score of 5890. However, Doom is not a heavily threaded game, so these scores are less relevant than the single-thread results. The CPU's 72nd percentile ranking against all CPUs, combined with its near-parity with rivals in average score, confirms that it provides a solid foundation for gaming. The deltaPct values against rivals are all within 1%, meaning that swapping to a different CPU in this performance class would yield negligible changes in Doom's frame rates.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution. For 1920x1080, the Ultra preset is recommended, as it delivers an average of 137 FPS while providing the highest visual fidelity. The drop from High (167 FPS) to Ultra (137 FPS) is 30 FPS, but the visual improvements are substantial, and the resulting frame rate is still well above the 120 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. If a player prioritizes maximum refresh rate on a 240 Hz monitor, the High preset at 167 FPS or Low at 228 FPS would be preferable.

For 2560x1440, the High preset offers the best balance, with an average of 108 FPS. This is comfortably above 60 FPS and approaches the 120 FPS mark for high-refresh displays. The Medium preset at 128 FPS would be a better choice for competitive play, while Ultra at 89 FPS is still playable but sacrifices some smoothness for visual quality. The data shows that High at 1440p provides a significant upgrade over 1080p Ultra in visual clarity without a massive performance penalty.

At 3840x2160, the Medium preset is the recommended choice, with an average of 70 FPS and a min FPS of 59. This ensures that the game remains playable during intense action sequences. The High preset at 59 FPS is borderline, as the average is right at the 60 FPS threshold, but the lack of min FPS data makes it risky. Low at 80 FPS is a viable option for those who prioritize frame rate over visuals. The Ultra preset at 48 FPS is not recommended, as it falls below the 60 FPS threshold and would result in a less smooth experience. The data clearly indicates that Medium is the sweet spot for 4K on this combo, offering a 46% improvement over Ultra while maintaining a playable frame rate.