Doom

# Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates for this Intel Core i5-12600KF + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D pairing in Doom reveal a steep curve as resolution climbs. At 1080p with Ultra settings, the combo delivers 292 FPS. Moving to 1440p drops that to 189 FPS, a reduction of roughly 35%. At 4K Ultra, the average falls to 102 FPS, which is about 65% below the 1080p Ultra result. This pattern indicates that the GPU is being stressed progressively harder as pixel count increases, but the absolute numbers remain extraordinarily high even at the top end.

Looking at the High preset specifically, the scaling from 1080p to 1440p is dramatic: 357 FPS down to 231 FPS, a 35% drop. The jump from 1440p to 4K High is similarly steep, falling from 231 FPS to 125 FPS, another 46% reduction. These are not linear declines — the performance penalty accelerates with each resolution tier. The data suggests that while the RTX 5090 D has immense headroom at lower resolutions, the 4K workload begins to expose the limits of even this flagship-class GPU.

Low settings tell a similar story. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 410 FPS. At 1440p Low, it drops to 314 FPS, a 23% decline. At 4K Low, the average settles at 170 FPS, which is 59% lower than the 1080p Low result. The pattern across all presets confirms that resolution scaling is consistent and predictable, but the magnitude of the drops suggests the game engine is heavily pixel-bound. At 1080p, the frame rates are so high that they approach the practical ceiling for display refresh rates, meaning the limiting factor shifts from raw GPU throughput to other bottlenecks like CPU draw-call processing or engine-level frame pacing.

The Medium preset offers the only complete min/max data in the measured results. At 1080p Medium, the average is 391 FPS with a minimum of 332 FPS and a maximum of 449 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average is 273 FPS with a minimum of 232 FPS and a maximum of 314 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average is 148 FPS with a minimum of 126 FPS and a maximum of 170 FPS. The spread between minimum and maximum grows proportionally with resolution, indicating that frame-time variance becomes more pronounced at higher pixel counts. This is typical of GPU-bound scenarios where individual frame complexity varies more at higher resolutions.

# GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is a monster of a graphics card, and the benchmark results in Doom reflect that. The GPU's 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus provides 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth, which is more than sufficient for Doom's texture-heavy environments at any resolution. The memory clock runs at 1750 MHz, which translates to 28 Gbps effective, and the GPU's base clock is 2017 MHz with a boost clock of 2407 MHz. These clock figures, combined with the 21760 shading units, 680 TMUs, and 176 ROPs, produce a pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s.

In the context of Doom's measured results, the GPU's role is clearly dominant at 4K. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS of 102 is respectable but not overwhelming for a card of this class. This suggests that even with 32 GB of VRAM and massive compute throughput, the game's rendering pipeline at Ultra settings with 4K resolution creates a workload that challenges the GPU's raw shading and rasterization capabilities. The FP32 performance of 104.8 TFLOPS is theoretically enormous, but Doom's engine appears to be limited by other factors at these extreme settings.

At 1080p, the GPU is not the bottleneck. The 410 FPS at Low settings and 357 FPS at High settings indicate that the RTX 5090 D could push even higher if the rest of the system allowed it. This is where the CPU enters the picture. The i5-12600KF's 10 cores and 16 threads, running at a base clock of 3.70 GHz and boost clock of 4.90 GHz, are capable, but the frame rates at 1080p approach the point where CPU-driven game logic and draw-call submission become the limiting factor. The data implies that at lower resolutions, the GPU is waiting on the CPU to feed it work, which is why the scaling from 1080p to 1440p is so steep — the GPU finally has enough pixel workload to stretch its legs.

The VRAM capacity of 32 GB is not a limiting factor in any of the measured scenarios. Doom, released in 2016, does not require anywhere near that amount of memory, even at 4K Ultra. The bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s is also more than sufficient. The GPU's percentile ranking of 92 versus all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 77712, places it firmly in the top tier. Its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks — the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT at 76904 (1.1% higher delta), the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT at 78940 (-1.6%), and two NVIDIA Tesla P100 variants at 79396 and 79605 (-2.1% and -2.4%) — are all within a few percentage points, but the RTX 5090 D's real-world gaming performance in Doom is what matters here.

# How This Combo Ranks

Among the 2930 combos tested in this game, the i5-12600KF + RTX 5090 D combination ranks 28th. This is a strong position, placing it in the top 1% of all tested configurations. The rank reflects the combination of a high-end GPU with a capable mid-range CPU. The GPU's percentile of 92 and the CPU's percentile of 79 both contribute to this result, but the GPU is clearly the primary driver of the high ranking.

The CPU's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks provide context. The Intel Core i9-10900K has an average score of 27872, which is 0.3% lower than the i5-12600KF's 27799. The AMD Ryzen 5 8500GE scores 27712, 0.3% higher than the i5-12600KF. The AMD Ryzen 7 6800U scores 27887 (-0.3%) and the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D scores 27896 (-0.3%). These deltas are negligible, meaning the i5-12600KF is competitive with these CPUs in general compute tasks. However, in gaming specifically, the 5800X3D is often favored for its 3D V-Cache, but the benchmark data here shows the i5-12600KF holds its own.

The combo rank of 28 suggests that this pairing is well-balanced for Doom. The game is not particularly CPU-intensive, so the i5-12600KF's 10 cores and 16 threads are more than adequate. The GPU does the heavy lifting, and the CPU keeps up without becoming a bottleneck at the resolutions where the GPU is fully utilized. At 1080p, the CPU may be the limiting factor, but the frame rates are so high that it hardly matters for practical gameplay.

Compared to other combos in the database, this configuration sits near the top. The fact that it ranks 28th out of 2930 means that only 27 other CPU+GPU combinations deliver higher average FPS in Doom. These would likely include pairings with even more powerful CPUs, such as the top-tier Core i9 or Ryzen 9 parts, but the difference in gaming performance is likely small given the GPU-centric nature of Doom's engine.

# FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo achieves in Doom?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 410, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS is 102, which is playable but far from the high refresh rates seen at lower resolutions.

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

A: The lowest minimum FPS in the measured data is 126, recorded at 3840x2160 with Medium settings.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, the frame rates range from 292 FPS (Ultra) to 410 FPS (Low), which suggests the CPU is likely the limiting factor since the GPU has more than enough headroom at such low pixel counts.

Q: How does this combo rank against all other tested combos in Doom?

A: The combo ranks 28th out of 2930 tested combinations, placing it in the top 1% of all configurations.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, Low settings produce 170 FPS while Ultra settings produce 102 FPS, a difference of 68 FPS or about 40% higher performance at Low settings.

# Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and refresh rate. For 4K displays, the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance. At 3840x2160 Medium, the combo delivers 148 FPS average with a minimum of 126 FPS and a maximum of 170 FPS. This is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay and even exceeds 120 FPS, making it suitable for high-refresh-rate 4K monitors. The Ultra preset at 4K drops to 102 FPS, which is still playable but leaves less headroom for demanding scenes.

For 1440p, the High preset is the recommended choice. At 2560x1440 High, the average FPS is 231, which is excellent for 144Hz or 165Hz displays. The Ultra preset at 1440p delivers 189 FPS, which is also viable, but the High preset provides a more consistent experience with less variance. The Low preset at 1440p reaches 314 FPS, but the visual quality trade-off is significant for a game like Doom where the fast-paced action benefits from higher fidelity to spot enemies and environmental details.

At 1080p, the Ultra preset is the clear winner. At 1920x1080 Ultra, the combo delivers 292 FPS average, which exceeds the refresh rate of most gaming monitors. Even the most demanding 360Hz esports displays would be satisfied by this performance. The Low preset at 1080p reaches 410 FPS, but this is unnecessary for practical purposes and sacrifices visual quality for frame rates that exceed what most displays can show. The Medium preset at 1080p offers 391 FPS, but again, the Ultra preset at 292 FPS is already well beyond the threshold where additional frames provide diminishing returns.

The Medium preset consistently provides the most complete data with min and max FPS recorded across all resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the minimum of 332 FPS ensures no noticeable stuttering. At 1440p Medium, the minimum of 232 FPS is still extremely smooth. At 4K Medium, the minimum of 126 FPS keeps the experience fluid. This makes Medium the safest choice for players who prioritize consistent frame delivery over maximum visual fidelity.

# CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-12600KF is a 10-core, 16-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture. It runs at a base clock of 3.70 GHz and boosts up to 4.90 GHz, with a 125 W TDP. The CPU has 20 MB of shared L3 cache and per-core L2 cache of 1.25 MB, along with 80 KB of L1 cache per core. In Doom, the CPU's role is primarily to feed the GPU with draw calls and handle game logic, which is not particularly demanding for a modern processor.

The CPU's benchmark scores show solid multi-threaded performance. The Cinebench R23 multicore score is 23391, and the single-core score is 3302. The Geekbench multicore score is 12137 with a single-core score of 2157. The PassMark multithread score is 27575, and the single-thread score is 3925. These numbers place the i5-12600KF at the 79th percentile versus all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 27799. Its nearest rivals are within a fraction of a percent, indicating that this CPU is well-matched to its peers in the 12th Gen Core lineup.

In the context of Doom's measured FPS, the CPU's influence is most apparent at lower resolutions. At 1080p, frame rates range from 292 FPS (Ultra) to 410 FPS (Low). These numbers are so high that the CPU's ability to process game logic and submit draw calls becomes the limiting factor. The GPU is capable of rendering far more frames per second at 1080p, but the CPU cannot feed it fast enough. This is evident in the scaling from 1080p to 1440p: the frame rates drop significantly, but the GPU is now doing more work per frame, which is why the CPU is no longer the primary bottleneck.

The CPU's boost clock of 4.90 GHz is crucial for single-threaded performance in games like Doom, which relies on a main game thread for many operations. The 3DMark single-thread score of 1016 and the Cinebench R20 single-core score of 1386 confirm that the CPU has strong single-threaded capabilities. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 7956 and max-thread score of 7952 indicate that multi-threaded performance is also robust, though Doom does not heavily utilize all 16 threads.

At 4K, the CPU's role diminishes further. The frame rates at 4K range from 102 FPS (Ultra) to 170 FPS (Low), and the GPU is clearly the bottleneck in this scenario. The CPU has more than enough headroom to keep up with the GPU's demands at 4K, which is why the performance scaling from 1440p to 4K is primarily driven by GPU capabilities rather than CPU limitations.

# Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. Low settings produce an average of 410 FPS. Medium settings yield 391 FPS average, with a minimum of 332 FPS and a maximum of 449 FPS. High settings reach 357 FPS average. Ultra settings drop to 292 FPS average. The spread from Low to Ultra at 1080p is 118 FPS, representing a 29% reduction in performance when maxing out the settings.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but show a more pronounced drop. Low settings average 314 FPS. Medium settings average 273 FPS, with a minimum of 232 FPS and a maximum of 314 FPS. High settings average 231 FPS. Ultra settings average 189 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra at 1440p is 125 FPS, representing a 40% reduction. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p at each preset is consistent: Low drops by 23%, Medium by 30%, High by 35%, and Ultra by 35%.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates are still impressive but show the GPU's limits. Low settings average 170 FPS. Medium settings average 148 FPS, with a minimum of 126 FPS and a maximum of 170 FPS. High settings average 125 FPS. Ultra settings average 102 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra at 4K is 68 FPS, representing a 40% reduction. The scaling from 1440p to 4K is steeper: Low drops by 46%, Medium by 46%, High by 46%, and Ultra by 46%. This consistency across presets indicates that the resolution scaling is the dominant factor, regardless of graphics settings.

The complete dataset shows that the combo maintains playable frame rates at all resolutions and settings. Even the most demanding configuration — 4K Ultra — delivers 102 FPS average, which is well above the 60 FPS standard. The 4K Medium preset offers the best combination of performance and visual quality, with 148 FPS average and a minimum of 126 FPS that ensures smooth gameplay. The 1440p High preset is the sweet spot for high-refresh-rate displays, offering 231 FPS average. For 1080p, the Ultra preset at 292 FPS is the recommended choice, as it provides the best visual experience without sacrificing frame rate.