Doom

The Intel Core i5-13400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT delivers a remarkably fluid experience in Doom across all tested resolutions, with the data showing this combination easily handles the game’s demanding id Tech engine. The benchmark results indicate a clear hierarchy where the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck as resolution increases, while the CPU’s strong multi-threaded performance ensures it never holds the system back, even at 1080p where frame rates exceed 250 FPS. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS data to explain how each component contributes to the final experience, how the combo ranks against other tested systems, and what settings provide the best balance of visual fidelity and performance.

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

The Intel Core i5-13400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, running on the Intel Socket 1700 platform. Its base clock is 2.50 GHz, and it boosts up to 4.60 GHz. The processor features a 20 MB shared L3 cache and a 1.25 MB L2 cache per core, with an 80 KB L1 cache per core. This configuration provides substantial parallel processing power, which is reflected in its benchmark scores: the Cinebench R23 multi-core score is 22604, while the single-core score is 3191. The Geekbench multi-core result is 11068, and the single-core is 1996. In the 3DMark tests, the processor scores 7314 in the 16-thread test and 960 in the single-thread test, showing a strong scaling from 2 to 16 threads.

For Doom, a game known for its efficient multi-threading, the 13400F’s core and thread count is more than sufficient. The data shows that at 1920x1080 with Low settings, the average FPS reaches 264, which is a very high frame rate that places significant demand on the CPU to feed the GPU. The processor’s Passmark multithread score of 25032 and its 77th percentile ranking among all CPUs indicate it is a well-above-average performer for gaming workloads. The nearest rivals in the CPU benchmark database are the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS with an average score of 25284 (0% delta), and the Intel Core 5 120 with a score of 25362 (-0.3% delta), showing the 13400F is essentially on par with these high-end mobile and desktop options. This level of performance ensures that in Doom, the CPU is not the limiting factor; it can easily keep up with the GPU’s output, even when the frame rate is pushed to its limits at lower resolutions. The data suggests that the 13400F’s 10 cores and 16 threads provide the necessary headroom for the game’s physics and AI calculations without causing any stutter or frame pacing issues, allowing the system to maintain high average FPS numbers across all settings presets.

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

The AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT is a 12 GB GDDR6 graphics card built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with the Navi 32 chip. It operates with a base clock of 1435 MHz and a boost clock of 2544 MHz, with a game clock of 2171 MHz. The memory runs at 2250 MHz with 18 Gbps effective speed, delivering a bandwidth of 432.0 GB/s across a 192-bit bus. With 3456 shading units, 216 TMUs, and 96 ROPs, the card is capable of producing high pixel rates of 244.2 GPixel/s and texture rates of 549.5 GTexel/s, with a FP32 performance of 35.17 TFLOPS. This hardware configuration is the primary driver of the FPS results in Doom, as the game is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions.

The GPU’s Passmark G3D score is 22547, placing it in the 67th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile with a score of 22435 (0.5% delta) and the RTX 4060 Mobile at 22729 (-0.8% delta), indicating that the RX 7700 XT offers comparable raw performance to these mobile parts, but it is a desktop card with higher power limits. The 12 GB VRAM is a significant advantage for Doom at 4K, as the game’s high-resolution textures can easily consume more than 8 GB, and the data shows no signs of texture thrashing or performance drops that would indicate VRAM limitation. The card’s 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3316 and Geekbench OpenCL score of 138383 further confirm its capability for modern API workloads. In practice, the GPU is the bottleneck at 4K Ultra, where the average FPS drops to 56, but at 1080p Low, it can push up to 264 FPS, showing that the card has plenty of headroom at lower resolutions. The boost clock of 2544 MHz ensures that the card maintains high frequencies under load, which is crucial for sustaining the frame rates seen in the Medium and High presets across all resolutions.

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

The measured FPS data shows a clear pattern of performance scaling as resolution increases, which reveals the shifting bottleneck between the CPU and GPU. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the average FPS is 194. Moving to 2560x1440 High, the average drops by 35% to 126 FPS. At 3840x2160 High, the average falls to 68 FPS, which is a 65% reduction from the 1080p result. This steep decline indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions, as the number of pixels being rendered increases exponentially while the CPU workload remains relatively constant.

Looking at the Low settings preset, the scaling is even more dramatic. At 1080p Low, the system averages 264 FPS, which is a very high frame rate that often becomes CPU-bound. At 1440p Low, the average is 171 FPS, a 35% drop. At 4K Low, the average is 93 FPS, a 65% drop from 1080p. This pattern shows that even when the graphical load is light, the GPU’s rendering capabilities are still the primary constraint at 4K. The fact that the 1080p Low score of 264 FPS is so high suggests that the CPU is able to handle the game’s frame generation without issue, but the GPU cannot maintain that pace at higher resolutions.

The Medium preset tells a similar story with a twist. At 1080p Medium, the average is 230 FPS with a minimum of 196 FPS and a maximum of 265 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average is 149 FPS with a minimum of 127 and maximum of 171. At 4K Medium, the average is 81 FPS with a minimum of 69 and maximum of 93. The minimum FPS values at Medium settings are notably lower than the averages, indicating that there are occasional frame dips, likely due to complex scenes, but the overall experience remains smooth. The difference between the 1080p and 4K averages at Medium is 149 FPS, which is a 65% reduction, matching the trend seen in other presets. This consistency across presets strongly suggests that the GPU is the dominant limiter, as the performance scales almost linearly with pixel count, while the CPU’s contribution remains relatively static. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would see diminishing returns as resolution increases, but the data does not show that.

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

Based on the measured FPS data, the Medium settings preset offers the best balance of visual fidelity and performance for this specific CPU and GPU combination, especially for high refresh rate monitors. At 1920x1080 Medium, the system achieves an average of 230 FPS with a minimum of 196 FPS, which is well above the 144 Hz refresh rate of many gaming monitors, ensuring a consistently smooth experience without any noticeable stuttering. The jump from Low to Medium at 1080p costs only 34 FPS on average (from 264 to 230), but it provides a significant improvement in visual quality that is worth the small performance trade-off. The High preset at 1080p still delivers 194 FPS, which is also excellent, but the Medium preset offers more headroom for demanding scenes, as indicated by the minimum FPS of 196 versus the High preset’s lack of a reported minimum.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset is the clear winner. It averages 149 FPS with a minimum of 127 FPS, which is perfect for 1440p 144 Hz monitors. The High preset at this resolution averages 126 FPS, which is still playable but will not fully saturate a 144 Hz display, and it may drop below 100 FPS in intense combat. The Ultra preset at 1440p averages 103 FPS, which is adequate for 60 Hz displays but leaves little headroom. For 4K gaming, the Medium preset is the only viable option for a smooth experience, as it averages 81 FPS with a minimum of 69 FPS. This is above the 60 FPS target, but it requires a G-Sync or FreeSync display to avoid tearing. The High preset at 4K averages 68 FPS, which is playable but close to the edge, and the Ultra preset at 56 FPS is not recommended for a consistent experience.

The data shows that the Ultra preset is not worth the performance cost. At 1080p Ultra, the average drops to 159 FPS, which is 71 FPS lower than Medium. At 1440p Ultra, it is 103 FPS, and at 4K Ultra, it is 56 FPS. The visual difference between Medium and Ultra in Doom is not as dramatic as in other games, and the performance hit is substantial. Therefore, the recommendation is to use the Medium preset for all resolutions, as it provides the highest minimum FPS values and a consistent frame rate that is comfortable for both competitive and single-player play. If the user prefers higher visual fidelity, the High preset is acceptable at 1080p and 1440p, but they should be prepared for lower frame rates at 4K.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combined performance of the Intel Core i5-13400F and AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT in Doom places it in a solid position relative to other tested system configurations. The combo rank in this game is 1396 out of 3712 total combos, which puts it in the top 38% of all systems tested. This ranking is a reflection of the system’s ability to maintain high frame rates across all resolutions, but it is not the top tier, as there are many more powerful combinations that achieve higher FPS numbers. The ranking is heavily influenced by the GPU’s performance, which is in the 67th percentile, and the CPU’s performance, which is in the 77th percentile. The combination of a mid-range GPU with a high-end CPU results in a system that is well-balanced, but it cannot compete with setups that feature higher-end GPUs like the RTX 4080 or RX 7900 XTX.

The data shows that this combo is particularly strong at 1080p, where the high CPU performance allows the GPU to stretch its legs and produce frame rates in excess of 250 FPS. At this resolution, the combo would likely rank higher than the overall average, as many systems with weaker CPUs would be bottlenecked. However, at 4K, the combo’s ranking is likely lower, as the GPU’s 67th percentile performance becomes the limiting factor, and systems with more powerful GPUs will pull ahead. The 1396 rank out of 3712 combos indicates that this is a very capable gaming system, but it is not at the top of the charts. It is a practical choice for a high-refresh-rate 1080p or 1440p gaming rig, providing a smooth experience without the need for the most expensive hardware on the market. The nearest GPU rivals, such as the RTX 5060 Mobile and RTX 4060 Mobile, show that the RX 7700 XT is competitive, but it is slightly behind the desktop RTX 2080, which has a higher average score.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with Medium settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with Medium settings, the system achieves an average FPS of 230, with a minimum of 196 FPS and a maximum of 265 FPS.

*Q: Is this combo good for 4K gaming in Doom?*

A: Yes, it is playable at 4K. At 3840x2160 with Medium settings, it averages 81 FPS, and with High settings, it averages 68 FPS. The Ultra preset is not recommended, as it drops to 56 FPS.

Q: How does the RX 7700 XT compare to its nearest rival, the RTX 5060 Mobile?

A: The RX 7700 XT has an average benchmark score of 22549, while the RTX 5060 Mobile has a score of 22435, putting the RX 7700 XT 0.5% ahead in performance.

Q: What is the CPU’s multi-core performance in Cinebench R23?

A: The Intel Core i5-13400F scores 22604 points in Cinebench R23 multi-core, and 3191 points in single-core.

Q: Will the CPU bottleneck the GPU at 1080p?

A: The data suggests it does not. At 1080p Low, the system reaches 264 FPS, which is a high frame rate that would expose a CPU bottleneck. The CPU’s 10 cores and 16 threads provide enough headroom to avoid limiting the GPU.

Q: What is the best settings preset for a 1440p 144Hz monitor?

A: The Medium preset is the best choice. At 2560x1440 Medium, the system averages 149 FPS with a minimum of 127 FPS, which is enough to keep a 144 Hz monitor fully utilized without dropping below its refresh rate.