Doom

The Intel Core i5-12400F pairs with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 to deliver exceptional frame rates in Doom, a 2016 FPS that remains highly playable on modern hardware. This combination ranks 149th out of 3712 tested combos in this game, placing it in the top 4% of all configurations. The data shows a system where the RTX 4090 dominates the performance picture, with the i5-12400F providing enough throughput to avoid becoming a bottleneck at most settings, though the gap narrows at lower resolutions where CPU demands rise.

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

The Intel Core i5-12400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process. It runs at a base clock of 2.50 GHz and boosts up to 4.40 GHz, with 18 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB of L2 cache per core. The processor supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory over a dual-channel bus, and its 65 W TDP makes it a modest power draw relative to the GPU it accompaniesheb. In synthetic benchmarks, the i5-12400F scores 12,380 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 1,680 in single-core, with a Geekbench multi-core score of 9,472 and single-core of 1,964. Its average benchmark score of 19,039 places it at the 73rd percentile among all CPUs, indicating solid mainstream performance.

In Doom, the CPU's role is secondary to the GPU, but not negligible. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 365 FPS average, which is the highest measured frame rate across all configurations. This suggests the i5-12400F can feed the RTX 4090 enough data to hit very high frame rates, though the gap between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p (365 vs 267 FPS) indicates that CPU overhead becomes more visible as the GPU load decreases. The 6-core/12-thread configuration is well-suited for Doom's engine, which was designed to scale across multiple threads, and the 4.40 GHz boost clock helps maintain responsiveness in scenes with many enemies or physics interactions.

The nearest rivals to the i5-12400F in average benchmark score include the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS (score 19,047, delta 0%), Intel Core 3 201E (score 19,056, delta -0.1%), Intel Core i5-1335U (score 18,982, delta 0.3%), and AMD EPYC 7773X (score 18,979, delta 0.3%). These deltas are all within a fraction of a percent, indicating that the i5-12400F sits in a tightly contested performance bracket. For Doom specifically, the processor's single-thread performance (1,680 in Cinebench R23 single-core) is more relevant than multi-core throughput, as the game's engine relies heavily on a few primary threads for game logic and draw call submission. The measured results show that the i5-12400F does not hold back the RTX 4090 at 1440p or 4K, where frame rates are more GPU-limited, but at 1080p the CPU begins to impose an upper ceiling on performance.

FAQ — 4-6 Q&A pairs answerable from FACT PACK data

Q: What is the highest average FPS achieved by this combo in Doom, and at which settings?

A: The highest average FPS is 365, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings. This is the fastest measured configuration across all resolution and settings combinations in the data.

Q: How does the combo's rank in Doom compare to other tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 149th out of 3,712 total tested combos, placing it in the top 4% of all systems evaluated in this game. This indicates near-flagship performance, though not the absolute top tier.

Q: Does the i5-12400F bottleneck the RTX 4090 in Doom?

A: At 4K resolution, the GPU is clearly the limiting factor, with frame rates dropping from 365 FPS (1080p Low) to 156 FPS (4K Low). At 1080p, the CPU becomes more relevant, as evidenced by the 98 FPS gap between Low (365 FPS) and Ultra (267 FPS) settings, suggesting the processor limits the GPU's ability to push beyond roughly 365 FPS.

Q: What is the average FPS at 2560x1440 with Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the combo delivers an average of 250 FPS, with a minimum of 213 FPS and a maximum of 288 FPS. This represents a balance of visual quality and high refresh rate performance.

Q: How does the RTX 4090's benchmark score compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RTX 4090 has an average benchmark score of 60,347, which is nearly identical to the Intel Arc Pro A60 (60,326, delta 0%) and the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 (60,140, delta 0.3%). It trails the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M by 2.5% (score 61,896) and leads the AMD Radeon PRO V710 by 2.9% (score 58,657).

Q: What is the lowest average FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The lowest average FPS is 94, achieved at 3840x2160 resolution with Ultra settings. This is the most demanding configuration tested, combining the highest resolution with maximum quality presets.

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. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo averages 365 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops this to 287 FPS, a reduction of 78 FPS or roughly 21%. At 4K Low, the average falls further to 156 FPS, which is 57% lower than the 1080p result. This scaling behavior is typical of a system where the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, as the RTX 4090's rendering workload increases with pixel count while the CPU's load remains relatively constant.

For Medium settings, the pattern is similar but with slightly smaller absolute deltas: 348 FPS at 1080p, 250 FPS at 1440p, and 136 FPS at 4K. The 4K to 1080p ratio here is 0.39, meaning 4K delivers about 39% of the 1080p frame rate. High settings show 327 FPS at 1080p, 211 FPS at 1440p, and 115 FPS at 4K, with the 4K figure representing 35% of the 1080p value. Ultra settings produce the largest relative drop: 267 FPS at 1080p, 173 FPS at 1440p, and 94 FPS at 4K, where 4K is just 35% of 1080p performance.

The fact that the FPS drop from 1080p to 1440p is proportionally smaller than from 1440p to 4K (for all settings) indicates that the RTX 4090 has ample headroom at lower resolutions. At 1080p, the CPU begins to limit performance, as evidenced by the relatively small gap between Low (365 FPS) and Medium (348 FPS) settings — only 17 FPS — compared to the 58 FPS gap between High (327 FPS) and Ultra (267 FPS). This suggests that at 1080p, the i5-12400F's single-thread performance (1,680 in Cinebench R23) is the ceiling, and increasing GPU load via higher settings has diminishing returns until the GPU becomes the bottleneck at 1440p and beyond.

At 4K, the RTX 4090 is clearly the limiting component. The drop from 1080p to 4K at Low settings is 209 FPS, representing a 57% reduction, which aligns with the expected scaling of a GPU-bound workload. The Ultra preset at 4K yields 94 FPS, which is still playable but shows that even the most powerful consumer GPU cannot maintain triple-digit frame rates at maximum settings in this resolution. The data confirms that for this combo, resolution scaling is governed by the GPU, with the CPU providing sufficient throughput at 1440p and above.

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

Among the four measured settings presets, Medium offers the most balanced experience across all resolutions. At 1080p, Medium delivers 348 FPS average with a minimum of 296 FPS and maximum of 401 FPS. This is only 17 FPS lower than Low (365 FPS) but provides substantially better visual quality, as the preset name implies. The minimum frame rate of 296 FPS ensures that even the most demanding scenes remain far above typical high-refresh-rate monitor capabilities. At 1440p, Medium yields 250 FPS average (min 213, max 288), which is more than sufficient for 240 Hz displays and maintains smoothness in fast-paced combat. At 4K, Medium averages 136 FPS with a minimum of 115 FPS, keeping the experience above the 100 FPS threshold for most players.

High settings sacrifice some performance for improved visuals. At 1080p, High averages 327 FPS, which is 21 FPS lower than Medium but still excellent. At 1440p, High drops to 211 FPS, a 39 FPS reduction from Medium, which may be noticeable on 240 Hz monitors. At 4K, High averages 115 FPS, which is 21 FPS below Medium's 136 FPS — a meaningful difference for those targeting 120 Hz displays. Ultra settings are the most demanding, yielding 267 FPS at 1080p, 173 FPS at 1440p, and 94 FPS at 4K. The 4K result of 94 FPS falls below 100 FPS, which some players may find less smooth, and the 1080p figure of 267 FPS is significantly lower than Medium's 348 FPS.

Low settings do not offer a compelling value proposition given the hardware. While Low achieves the highest frame rates (365 FPS at 1080p, 287 FPS at 1440p, 156 FPS at 4K), the visual degradation is substantial for a marginal FPS gain over Medium — only 17 FPS at 1080p and 37 FPS at 1440p. For a game like Doom, where fast motion and dark environments benefit from higher quality textures and lighting, Medium provides the best trade-off between frame rate and image quality. The recommendation is to use Medium for 1080p and 1440p, where frame rates exceed 250 FPS, and to consider High at 4K if visual fidelity is prioritized, though Medium's 136 FPS at 4K is also a strong choice.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combo of Intel Core i5-12400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 ranks 149th out of 3,712 tested combinations in Doom. This places it in the top 4.0% of all configurations evaluated, indicating that this pairing delivers near-elite performance in this specific title. The rank reflects the aggregate of all measured FPS data across resolutions and settings, weighted toward the combination's overall capability rather than any single configuration.

The RTX 4090's percentile rank of 88 among all GPUs indicates it is a top-tier graphics card, and its average benchmark score of 60,347 is far higher than the nearest rivals listed (Intel Arc Pro A60 at 60,326, AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 at 60,140, AMD Radeon Pro W6600M at 61,896, AMD Radeon PRO V710 at 58,657). However, the combo's 149th rank suggests that some configurations outperform it, likely those pairing the RTX 4090 with higher-end CPUs that can sustain higher frame rates at 1080p. The i5-12400F's 73rd percentile among all CPUs places it in the mid-to-upper mainstream tier, but its 6-core/12-thread design and 4.40 GHz boost clock are not the absolute fastest available.

The delta between the i5-12400F and its closest rivals is minimal — within 0.3% of the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS, Intel Core 3 201E, Intel Core i5-1335U, and AMD EPYC 7773X. This suggests that swapping to a marginally faster CPU would not significantly alter the combo's rank in Doom, as the game is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions. The primary factor separating this combo from the top 148 is likely CPU single-thread performance at 1080p, where the i5-12400F's score of 1,680 in Cinebench R23 single-core may lag behind processors with higher boost clocks or newer architectures. Overall, the 149th rank out of 3,712 is a strong showing, confirming that this pairing is well-matched for Doom's engine.

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

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 365 FPS, which is the maximum measured value for any configuration. Medium settings average 348 FPS, with a minimum of 296 FPS and a maximum of 401 FPS, showing a tight range that indicates consistent performance. High settings average 327 FPS, while Ultra settings drop to 267 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra at 1080p is 98 FPS, demonstrating the impact of quality presets on the GPU's workload, though even the lowest Ultra result remains far above typical display refresh rates.

At 2560x1440, frame rates remain high but show a more pronounced scaling with settings. Low averages 287 FPS, which is 78 FPS lower than the 1080p result, reflecting the increased pixel count. Medium averages 250 FPS, with a minimum of 213 FPS and maximum of 288 FPS, keeping the experience smooth for 240 Hz monitors. High averages 211 FPS, while Ultra averages 173 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 114 FPS, larger than at 1080p, indicating that the GPU is becoming more of a limiting factor as resolution increases. The minimum of 213 FPS at Medium ensures that frame drops are rare and minor.

At 3840x2160, the RTX 4090 is clearly the bottleneck, as frame rates drop significantly. Low averages 156 FPS, which is still high but represents a 57% reduction from the 1080p Low result. Medium averages 136 FPS, with a minimum of 115 FPS and maximum of 156 FPS, providing a playable experience on high-refresh-rate 4K displays. High averages 115 FPS, while Ultra averages 94 FPS, the lowest measured value. The spread from Low to Ultra at 4K is 62 FPS, narrower than at lower resolutions, confirming that the GPU's raw throughput limits the impact of settings changes. The minimum of 115 FPS at Medium means that even the most demanding scenes stay above 100 FPS, making Medium the recommended preset for 4K play.