Doom

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i5-12400F is a 6-core, 12-thread desktop processor built on the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.40 GHz. It carries 18 MB of shared L3 cache and supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration. The CPU's benchmark profile shows a single-thread score of 909 in 3DMark, which places it in the 73rd percentile among all CPUs tested, indicating solid per-core performance that is relevant for a game like Doom, which relies on responsive frame pacing.

In the measured FPS data, the CPU's role becomes evident when examining the scaling from Low to Ultra settings at a fixed resolution. At 1080p Low, the combo delivers 314 FPS, but at 1080p Ultra, that drops to 189 FPS — a 125 FPS gap that is almost entirely attributable to GPU workload, not CPU limitation. However, the CPU's 12 threads and 4.40 GHz boost clock ensure that frame time consistency is maintained even at high refresh rates. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 5895 and max-thread score of 5912 are nearly identical, showing that the CPU has little headroom for additional parallel workloads beyond its 12 threads, but the single-thread score of 909 is what drives the game's core logic.

The nearest rivals in the CPU benchmark database include the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS with an average score of 19047 (0% delta), the Intel Core 3 201E at 19056 (-0.1% delta), and the Intel Core i5-1335U at 18982 (0.3% delta). These comparisons show that the i5-12400F sits in a tightly contested performance band where a single percentage point separates top contenders. For Doom specifically, the CPU's 73rd percentile ranking means it outperforms roughly a quarter of all tested CPUs, but the game's engine is not heavily threaded — the 3DMark 2-thread score of 1699 versus the max-thread score of 5912 indicates that scaling beyond 4 threads yields diminishing returns, and Doom's frame rates are more sensitive to the GPU.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process from TSMC, featuring 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus with 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU's base clock is 1920 MHz with a boost clock of 2475 MHz, and memory runs at 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective). With 5888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs, the RTX 4070 delivers 29.15 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, which is substantial for a 200 W part.

In the context of Doom's measured results, the GPU's memory capacity and bandwidth are not limiting factors at any resolution tested. The 12 GB VRAM is more than sufficient for the game's textures, even at 4K Ultra, where the combo still averages 66 FPS. The RTX 4070 sits in the 81st percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 37648. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Tesla P4 at 37628 (0.1% delta), the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 at 37507 (0.4% delta), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile at 38135 (-1.3% delta). This places the RTX 4070 within 1.3% of the RTX 4080 Mobile, which is notable because the latter is a higher-tier mobile part that consumes more power.

The GPU's role is most pronounced at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the GPU is rarely the bottleneck — the CPU can feed frames fast enough that the RTX 4070's raw compute becomes the limiting factor only at Ultra settings. At 4K, however, the GPU's fill rate and shading capacity dominate the frame rate. The pixel rate of 158.4 GPixel/s and texture rate of 455.4 GTexel/s directly correlate with the observed 4K performance, where the GPU's workload scales with resolution. The 192-bit memory bus and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth are adequate for the game's streaming requirements, as evidenced by consistent frame rates across settings.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling as resolution increases. Starting at 1080p High, the combo averages 231 FPS. Moving to 1440p High drops that to 150 FPS — a 35% reduction. At 4K High, the average falls to 81 FPS, which is a 46% drop from 1440p and a 65% drop from 1080p. This steep decline indicates that the RTX 4070 is the primary limiting component at higher resolutions, while the CPU maintains sufficient headroom.

At Low settings, the scaling is even more pronounced. 1080p Low yields 314 FPS, 1440p Low drops to 203 FPS (35% reduction), and 4K Low falls to 110 FPS (46% reduction from 1440p). The consistency of these percentage drops across settings — roughly 35% from 1080p to 1440p and another 46% from 1440p to 4K — strongly suggests that the GPU's pixel throughput is the bottleneck, not the CPU or memory subsystem. If the CPU were limiting, the frame rate would plateau or show smaller drops at lower resolutions, which is not the case.

The Ultra settings tell a similar story. 1080p Ultra averages 189 FPS, 1440p Ultra drops to 122 FPS (35% reduction), and 4K Ultra falls to 66 FPS (46% reduction from 1440p). The consistent proportional drops across all settings — Low, Medium, High, and Ultra — confirm that the limiting component is the GPU. The CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads are sufficient to keep up with the game's demands even at 314 FPS, where frame times are under 3.2 ms. This is a classic GPU-bound scenario where resolution scaling directly impacts the RTX 4070's fill rate limits.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The Intel Core i5-12400F paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 ranks 860th out of 3712 tested combos in Doom, placing it in the top 23% of all configurations. This ranking reflects the balance between the CPU's 73rd percentile performance and the GPU's 81st percentile performance, with the combo's overall position being slightly lower than either component's individual percentile due to the game's specific engine characteristics.

In the context of the full combo database, the 860th rank out of 3712 means that 860 combos outperform this pairing, while 2852 combos perform worse. This places the i5-12400F + RTX 4070 in a solid mid-to-upper tier position, but not at the very top. The ranking suggests that while the RTX 4070 is a high-performing GPU, the i5-12400F's 6-core/12-thread configuration holds the combo back slightly in a game that can benefit from higher single-thread performance at lower resolutions.

However, the measured FPS data shows that this combo is more than capable of delivering playable frame rates at all settings and resolutions tested. The worst case is 4K Ultra at 66 FPS, which is still above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The best case is 1080p Low at 314 FPS, which exceeds the refresh rate of most high-end monitors. The combo's rank of 860 reflects its position among all tested pairings, but the actual gameplay experience is excellent, particularly at 1440p where the combo delivers between 122 FPS (Ultra) and 203 FPS (Low).

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Based on the measured FPS data, the Medium preset at 1440p offers the best balance between visual quality and performance. At 1440p Medium, the combo averages 177 FPS with a minimum of 150 FPS and a maximum of 204 FPS. This provides a smooth, high-refresh-rate experience that is well above the 60 FPS threshold, while still maintaining a reasonable level of visual fidelity compared to Ultra settings.

For 4K gaming, the High preset at 81 FPS is the recommended choice. It delivers a playable frame rate that is 15 FPS higher than Ultra (66 FPS) and 29 FPS lower than Medium (96 FPS), but the visual quality difference between High and Ultra is often minimal in Doom's fast-paced action. The 4K Medium preset at 96 FPS is also viable, but the jump from Medium to High at 4K costs 15 FPS, which may not be worth the visual gains for competitive players.

At 1080p, the Ultra preset at 189 FPS is the best option for users with high-refresh-rate monitors. The combo has ample headroom at this resolution, and the 125 FPS difference between Ultra (189 FPS) and Low (314 FPS) is less important than the visual quality improvement. The Medium preset at 273 FPS is also excellent, but Ultra provides the best visual experience while still maintaining frame rates above 180 FPS. For esports-focused players who prioritize maximum frame rates, the Low preset at 314 FPS is available, but the visual trade-off is significant.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. The Low preset averages 314 FPS, making it the fastest configuration measured. The Medium preset averages 273 FPS with a minimum of 232 FPS and a maximum of 314 FPS. The High preset averages 231 FPS, while the Ultra preset drops to 189 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra at 1080p is 125 FPS, which represents a 40% reduction in frame rate when moving from the least demanding to the most demanding settings.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates scale down proportionally. The Low preset averages 203 FPS, which is a 35% reduction from the 1080p Low result. The Medium preset averages 177 FPS with a minimum of 150 FPS and a maximum of 204 FPS. The High preset averages 150 FPS, while the Ultra preset delivers 122 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra at 1440p is 81 FPS, which is a 40% reduction — the same proportional drop as at 1080p, confirming that the GPU is the consistent bottleneck.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates drop further. The Low preset averages 110 FPS, the Medium preset averages 96 FPS with a minimum of 81 FPS and a maximum of 110 FPS, the High preset averages 81 FPS, and the Ultra preset delivers 66 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra at 4K is 44 FPS, representing a 40% reduction from Low to Ultra. The minimum FPS values at 4K Medium (81 FPS) and the average FPS at 4K High (81 FPS) are identical, indicating that the GPU's performance envelope is consistent across settings at this resolution.

The data shows that the combo maintains a 40% performance drop from Low to Ultra settings at every resolution, which is a strong indicator of GPU-bound behavior. The 4K Ultra result of 66 FPS is the only configuration that dips below the 70 FPS mark, while all other settings and resolutions exceed 81 FPS. The RTX 4070's 12 GB VRAM and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient to handle the game's texture streaming at all settings, as evidenced by the absence of stuttering or frame time spikes in the measured data.