Doom

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9060 holds the 1686th position out of 2930 tested combinations for Doom. This places the combo in the upper-middle tier of the database, meaning it outperforms roughly 57% of all recorded system configurations while trailing the top 43%. The ranking reflects a balanced pairing rather than an extreme outlier on either end of the performance spectrum.

Benchmark results indicate this combination sits comfortably within playable territory for the vast majority of scenarios, but it is not a top-tier enthusiast setup. The CPU's percentile ranking against all processors is the 73rd, while the GPU sits at the 59th percentile against all graphics cards. This discrepancy suggests the processor has more headroom relative to its peers than the graphics card does, which becomes relevant when analyzing where bottlenecks occur in demanding scenes.

The combo's overall position is influenced by both components pulling in the same direction—neither is a weak link that drags the other down disproportionately. In the context of Doom, a game known for its scalability across hardware tiers, this pairing lands in a zone where users can expect smooth frame rates at most settings, with the GPU becoming the primary constraint at higher resolutions and quality presets.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9060 serves as the primary rendering engine for this combo, and its specifications dictate the performance ceiling in Doom's fast-paced environments. The card features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, delivering 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth. For a 2016 title like Doom, this memory configuration proves ample, as the game's texture budgets rarely stress the 8 GB capacity even at 4K resolution with higher settings.

Clock speeds play a significant role in the GPU's behavior. The base clock runs at 1700 MHz, while the game clock is rated at 2400 MHz, and the boost clock reaches 2990 MHz. The substantial gap between base and boost clocks means the card dynamically scales its frequency based on thermal headroom and workload demands. In Doom's intense firefights, the GPU can push toward its boost ceiling, which helps maintain frame rates during rapid scene transitions and particle-heavy effects.

The architecture, RDNA 4.0 on a 4 nm process, includes 1792 shading units, 112 texture mapping units, and 64 raster operation units. These resources translate to a pixel rate of 191.4 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 334.9 GTexel/s. For Doom's id Tech 6 engine, which relies heavily on efficient texture streaming and geometric complexity, these figures indicate the GPU can handle the game's demands without excessive strain. The FP32 throughput of 21.43 TFLOPS provides additional context for compute-heavy shaders, though Doom's older engine does not fully exploit modern parallel compute features.

The GPU's benchmark scores reinforce its mid-range positioning. In 3DMark Steel Nomad (DX12), it scores 3322, while PassMark G3D shows 17631 and Geekbench OpenCL records 88183. These figures align with its nearest rivals in the database: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti sits just 0.7% higher, while the AMD Radeon RX 7700 trails by 1%. The RX 9060's average benchmark score of 16014 places it in direct competition with these cards, and Doom's performance reflects this competitive standing rather than any unusual optimization or deficiency.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Doom at 4K resolution?

A: Yes, but with caveats. At 4K with High settings, the average frame rate is 54 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for fast-paced action. At 4K Ultra, the average drops to 45 FPS, making it borderline for competitive play. Medium settings at 4K yield 65 FPS average with a minimum of 55 FPS, offering a more comfortable experience.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p gaming?

A: High settings at 2560x1440 produce an average of 101 FPS, while Ultra drops to 82 FPS. For a balance between visual quality and performance, High is the recommended choice, as it maintains triple-digit frame rates while still delivering enhanced textures and lighting compared to Medium's 119 FPS average.

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

A: The Intel Core i5-12400F scores 19039 on average benchmarks, placing it at the 73rd percentile among all CPUs. Its closest competitor, the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS, scores 19047 (a 0% delta), while the Intel Core 3 201E scores 19056 (-0.1%). The i5-1335U trails at 18982 (0.3% slower), and the AMD EPYC 7773X matches at 18979 (0.3% slower).

Q: Is the GPU's 8 GB VRAM sufficient for Doom?

A: Yes. The game's release date of 2016-05-12 means its texture assets were designed for hardware of that era. The 8 GB GDDR6 memory with 288.0 GB/s bandwidth provides ample capacity and throughput for all tested settings, including 4K Ultra, without indications of VRAM-related stuttering or texture pop-in.

Q: What frame rates can I expect at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, Low settings average 211 FPS, Medium averages 184 FPS with a minimum of 156 FPS, High averages 155 FPS, and Ultra averages 127 FPS. All presets deliver well above 120 FPS, making this resolution ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors.

Q: How does the combo rank relative to all tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 1686th out of 2930 total combinations for Doom. This places it in the 57th percentile, meaning it outperforms more than half of all tested systems while remaining below the top 40% of configurations.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear hierarchy of performance across presets, and the optimal choice depends on the target resolution and refresh rate. For 1080p displays, every preset exceeds 120 FPS on average, so the recommendation is Ultra settings to maximize visual fidelity without sacrificing smoothness. The 127 FPS average at Ultra remains well above the 60 FPS threshold and even supports 120 Hz displays adequately.

At 1440p, the decision becomes more nuanced. Ultra settings produce an 82 FPS average, which is playable but leaves little headroom for demanding scenes. High settings deliver 101 FPS, offering a better balance between image quality and performance margin. The data shows High at 1440p provides a 23% improvement over Ultra in average frame rate, making it the recommended preset for this resolution.

For 4K, the trade-offs intensify. Ultra averages 45 FPS, which dips below the 60 FPS target and may cause noticeable judder in fast movement. High settings raise the average to 54 FPS, still short of 60 but more consistent. Medium settings achieve 65 FPS with a minimum of 55 FPS, providing the most playable experience at 4K. Given that Doom is a fast-paced FPS where frame consistency matters, Medium at 4K is the recommended preset, as it maintains an average above 60 FPS while keeping the minimum above 50 FPS.

Low settings are not recommended for any resolution above 1080p, as the visual degradation is significant and the frame rate gains—74 FPS at 4K and 137 FPS at 1440p—do not justify the loss of graphical detail. At 1080p, Low's 211 FPS average may appeal to competitive players with 240 Hz monitors, but for most users, the higher presets offer a better experience.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo demonstrates its strongest performance. Low settings yield an average of 211 FPS, representing the absolute ceiling for this hardware. Medium settings produce 184 FPS on average, with a recorded minimum of 156 FPS and maximum of 212 FPS, showing tight frame pacing. High settings deliver 155 FPS, while Ultra drops to 127 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra spans 84 FPS, indicating the GPU has substantial overhead at this resolution even with maximum quality settings.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance scales predictably. Low settings average 137 FPS, while Medium achieves 119 FPS with a minimum of 101 FPS and maximum of 137 FPS. High settings produce 101 FPS, and Ultra settles at 82 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 55 FPS, reflecting increased GPU load at the higher pixel count. Notably, the Medium preset at 1440p shows a minimum of 101 FPS, which exactly matches the High preset's average—an interesting data point suggesting the settings scaling is relatively linear at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the limiting factor. Low settings average 74 FPS, which is the only preset to exceed 60 FPS at this resolution. Medium settings achieve 65 FPS with a minimum of 55 FPS and maximum of 74 FPS. High settings drop to 54 FPS, and Ultra falls to 45 FPS. The 29 FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is smaller than at lower resolutions, indicating diminishing returns from settings adjustments as the GPU approaches its limits.

Across all resolutions, the Medium preset consistently shows min/max values, suggesting the benchmarking methodology captures more variance at this setting. The minimum FPS values at Medium—156 at 1080p, 101 at 1440p, and 55 at 4K—provide useful guidance for users prioritizing frame consistency over raw averages.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12400F provides the computational foundation for this combo. With 6 cores and 12 threads, it leverages Alder Lake architecture on a 10 nm process. The base clock of 2.50 GHz boosts to 4.40 GHz, and the 18 MB shared L3 cache supports efficient data access for game logic and physics calculations.

Benchmark results show the CPU's capabilities across various workloads. In Cinebench R23, it scores 12380 in multicore and 1680 in single-core tests. Geekbench results show 9472 multicore and 1964 single-core scores. The PassMark multithread score of 19433 and single-thread score of 3481 further characterize its performance. These figures place the CPU at the 73rd percentile among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 19039.

In Doom, the CPU's role is secondary to the GPU but not insignificant. The game's engine handles AI, physics, and game state updates on the processor, and the i5-12400F's 12 threads provide ample parallelism for these tasks. The single-thread performance, evidenced by the 3DMark single-thread score of 909 and Cinebench R20 single-core score of 985, ensures that the game's primary simulation thread runs efficiently. The boost clock of 4.40 GHz helps maintain high IPC during bursty workloads typical of FPS gameplay.

The CPU's nearest rivals highlight its competitive position. The AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS matches its average score at 19047, while the Intel Core 3 201E scores 19056, trailing by just 0.1%. The i5-1335U and AMD EPYC 7773X both score slightly lower at 18982 and 18979 respectively, each 0.3% behind. This tight clustering indicates the i5-12400F delivers performance consistent with its market segment, and in Doom's context, it does not bottleneck the GPU at any tested resolution or setting combination.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS progression from 1080p to 4K reveals the bottleneck structure of this combo. At 1080p High, the average is 155 FPS. Moving to 1440p High, it drops to 101 FPS—a 35% reduction. At 4K High, the average falls to 54 FPS, representing another 47% drop from 1440p. This scaling pattern indicates the GPU is the limiting component, as the CPU has sufficient headroom to feed frames at all resolutions.

The Low settings scaling tells a similar story. At 1080p, Low averages 211 FPS. At 1440p, it drops to 137 FPS (35% reduction), and at 4K, it reaches 74 FPS (46% reduction from 1440p). The consistent percentage drops across settings suggest the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth are the primary constraints as pixel count increases.

Comparing the scaling across presets reveals subtle differences. At Ultra settings, the 1080p to 1440p drop is from 127 FPS to 82 FPS (35% reduction), and 1440p to 4K drops from 82 FPS to 45 FPS (45% reduction). The slightly smaller percentage drop at Ultra settings (45% vs 47% at High) suggests that at higher quality presets, additional GPU work partially masks the pure resolution scaling effect.

The data indicates that at 1080p, the combo operates in a GPU-bound regime where the RX 9060 is fully utilized, but the CPU still maintains high frame rates. At 4K, the GPU is clearly the limiting factor, with average frame rates dropping below 60 FPS at High and Ultra presets. The CPU's 73rd percentile ranking among all processors, combined with its 6-core/12-thread configuration, ensures it does not become a bottleneck even at 1080p Low where frame rates exceed 200 FPS. This resolution scaling analysis confirms that users targeting 4K should stick to Medium settings or lower, while 1440p offers the best balance of visual quality and performance for this hardware pairing.