Doom

The Intel Core i5-13400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6600 delivers a robust 1080p experience in Doom, but the data reveals a clear progression of performance degradation as resolution increases. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves 177.7 FPS average. This figure drops to 154.5 FPS at Medium settings, a reduction of 23.2 FPS from the Low preset. Moving up to High settings yields 127.1 FPS, and finally, the Ultra preset brings the average down to 104 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p shows a total performance cost of 73.7 FPS, indicating that the GPU is being progressively saturated by the increasing graphical load.

Stepping up to 2560x1440, the measured averages show a significant shift. The Low preset delivers 112.9 FPS, which is a 64.8 FPS drop compared to the same settings at 1080p. Medium settings produce 102 FPS, while High settings average 83.1 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p falls to 69 FPS. The percentage drop from 1080p to 1440p is substantial across all presets, with the Ultra setting losing 35 FPS. This pattern indicates that the rendering load is scaling heavily with pixel count, and the RX 6600's capabilities are becoming the primary constraint.

At 4K (3840x2160), the performance curve steepens dramatically. The Low preset manages an average of 59.9 FPS, barely crossing the 60 FPS threshold. Medium settings drop to 53.5 FPS, and High settings fall to 43.3 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K yields a playable but demanding 39.5 FPS. The transition from 1440p to 4K represents a halving of performance for the Low preset, going from 112.9 FPS down to 59.9 FPS. This data strongly suggests that at 4K, the AMD Radeon RX 6600 is the limiting component, as the sheer pixel throughput required overwhelms the GPU's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 224.0 GB/s bandwidth.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 is built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture with a 7 nm process node. Its specifications include 1792 shading units, 112 texture mapping units, and 64 render output units. The GPU operates with a base clock of 1626 MHz and a boost clock of 2491 MHz, with a game clock rated at 2044 MHz. The memory subsystem consists of 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 224.0 GB/s. The GPU's pixel rate is 159.4 GPixel/s, and its texture rate is 279.0 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance rated at 8.928 TFLOPS.

The benchmark results for this GPU show a PassMark G3D score of 15096, placing it in the 69th percentile of all GPUs. Its average benchmark score is 25235, which puts it in close competition with its nearest rivals. The data shows a 0.0% deltaPct relative to the AMD Radeon 890M, a -0.2% deltaPct against the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP, and a 0.2% deltaPct compared to the AMD Radeon RX 6700M. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti scores 0.5% higher in this comparison. These figures indicate that the RX 6600 performs very close to its immediate peers, with no significant advantage or disadvantage in raw compute benchmarks.

The measured FPS data in Doom correlates directly with the GPU's memory bandwidth and compute capabilities. At 1080p, the GPU can feed frames quickly enough to sustain high refresh rates, with the Low preset hitting 177.7 FPS. However, the 128-bit memory bus becomes a bottleneck as resolution increases. The 4K results, where even the Low preset only achieves 59.9 FPS, illustrate that the GPU is struggling to fill the frame buffer efficiently at higher pixel counts. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is adequate for this game at these settings, but the bandwidth limitation is evident in the steep performance drops.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-13400F provides the processing backbone for this combo. This processor features 10 cores and 16 threads, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. It has a 20 MB shared L3 cache, along with 1.25 MB of L2 cache per core and 80 KB of L1 cache per core. The CPU is built on Intel's 10 nm process and supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration. Its TDP is rated at 65 W, and it uses the Intel Socket 1700.

In synthetic benchmarks, the i5-13400F demonstrates strong multi-threaded performance. Its Cinebench R23 multicore score is 21279, while the single-core score is 3004. Geekbench results show 10971 for multicore and 2301 for single-core. The 3DMark tests show scaling from 1880 for 2 threads up to 7314 for 16 threads and 7307 for max threads. The PassMark multithread score is 25032, with a single-thread score of 3634. The CPU's average benchmark score is 25236, placing it in the 82nd percentile of all CPUs.

The CPU's nearest rivals show a tight cluster of performance. The Intel Core i7-13620H scores 0.1% higher, while the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D scores 0.5% lower. The AMD EPYC 9474F and AMD Ryzen AI 5 PRO 340 both score 0.5% higher than the i5-13400F. This data indicates that the CPU is performing near the expected level for its class, with no anomalous deviations in the benchmark scores.

In Doom, the CPU's role appears secondary to the GPU based on the resolution scaling data. At 1080p Low, the 177.7 FPS result suggests the CPU can keep up with the GPU's output. The frame rates are high enough that the 10 cores and 16 threads are not creating a bottleneck. The game's engine, originally released in 2016, does not heavily tax modern multi-core processors, and the i5-13400F's boost clock of 4.60 GHz provides sufficient single-thread performance for the game's logic. The consistent frame rate drops with each resolution increase point to the GPU as the limiting factor, not the CPU.

FAQ

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

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 177.7 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: How does the RX 6600 compare to its nearest rival, the RTX 3060 Ti?

A: The benchmark data shows that the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti has a 0.5% higher average benchmark score than the AMD Radeon RX 6600.

Q: Is the i5-13400F CPU or the RX 6600 GPU the limiting factor at 4K resolution?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K, as the Low preset only achieves 59.9 FPS, while the CPU's strong multi-threaded benchmark scores suggest it is not the constraint.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 112.9 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 69 FPS, representing a 43.9 FPS difference.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested combinations in Doom?

A: The combo ranks 1359 out of 1681 tested combinations for this game.

Q: What is the GPU's memory configuration and bandwidth?

A: The GPU has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 224.0 GB/s.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-13400F and AMD Radeon RX 6600 ranks 1359 out of 1681 tested combos for Doom. This places the combo in the lower half of the tested configurations, which is consistent with the GPU's mid-range positioning. The rank of 1359 indicates that a significant number of other combos achieve higher frame rates in this game, likely those with more powerful GPUs. However, the data shows that this combo still provides a playable experience at 1080p and 1440p, with the Ultra preset at 1440p maintaining an average of 69 FPS.

The ranking context is important for understanding the combo's position. With 1681 total combos tested, a rank of 1359 means that roughly 81% of tested configurations perform better in Doom. This is a direct consequence of the RX 6600's performance class, as the CPU's 82nd percentile ranking suggests it is not the weak link. The combo's performance is more closely tied to the GPU's 69th percentile standing, which indicates that most GPUs above this level will deliver higher frame rates in this game.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For 1920x1080, all presets deliver playable frame rates, but the High preset at 127.1 FPS provides a good balance between visual quality and performance for high-refresh-rate displays. The Ultra preset at 104 FPS is also viable for 1080p gaming, offering the highest visual fidelity while still maintaining a frame rate well above 60 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the High preset at 83.1 FPS is recommended for a smooth experience, as it sits comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold. The Medium preset at 102 FPS offers a higher frame rate for competitive play, while the Ultra preset at 69 FPS is also playable but with a narrower margin. The Low preset at 112.9 FPS is suitable for those prioritizing maximum frame rate over visual quality.

For 3840x2160, the data shows that only the Low preset at 59.9 FPS approaches the 60 FPS target. The Medium preset at 53.5 FPS and High preset at 43.3 FPS are playable but will be less smooth. The Ultra preset at 39.5 FPS is the most demanding option, providing the best visuals at a significant performance cost. For 4K gaming, the Low preset is the recommended choice to maintain a near-60 FPS experience, as the frame rate drops are substantial with each increase in quality settings.