Doom

The Intel Core i5-13400F paired with the Intel Arc B390 produces a combination that is firmly entry-level in Doom, with measured frame rates that range from playable at 1080p on lower settings to marginal at 4K. The data shows a clear pattern: this combo ranks 2580 out of 2930 tested combinations, placing it in the lower percentile of all systems tested for this game. The Arc B390, which sits at the 9th percentile among all GPUs, is the dominant constraint in this pairing, as demonstrated by the steep frame rate drop when moving from 1080p to 1440p and further to 4K. The CPU, a 10-core, 16-thread Raptor Lake part with a boost clock of 4.60 GHz, provides enough headroom that it does not appear to be the primary limitation in most tested scenarios, but the GPU’s modest performance ceiling caps the experience.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Doom reveals a pronounced sensitivity to resolution, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound workload. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo achieves an average of 78 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 at the same High preset drops the average to 51 FPS, a reduction of roughly 35%. At 3840x2160, the average falls further to 28 FPS, which is a 64% drop from the 1080p result. This scaling behavior indicates that the Intel Arc B390’s rendering throughput is the limiting factor; as pixel count rises, the GPU’s fill rate and shading capabilities are overwhelmed.

The pattern repeats across all settings. For Medium settings, the frame rates are 93 FPS at 1080p, 60 FPS at 1440p, and 33 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 35%, and from 1440p to 4K is another 45%. Low settings show a similar trend: 107 FPS at 1080p, 69 FPS at 1440p, and 37 FPS at 4K. Even at the lowest preset, 4K resolution yields an average below 40 FPS, which is below the threshold for smooth gameplay in a fast-paced FPS. The fact that lowering settings from Ultra to Low at 4K only improves performance from 22 FPS to 37 FPS—a gain of 15 FPS—further confirms that resolution, not graphical complexity, is the primary bottleneck.

At 1080p, the scaling from Low to Ultra is more manageable: 107 FPS to 64 FPS, a 40% reduction. This suggests that at lower resolutions, the GPU still has enough headroom to handle increased visual fidelity, but the absolute frame rates remain modest. The data points to a system that is suited for 1080p gaming, acceptable at 1440p with settings compromises, and largely unsuitable for 4K in Doom, where even the lowest settings cannot reach 40 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s position in the overall ranking for Doom is 2580 out of 2930 tested combinations, placing it in the bottom 12% of all systems. This percentile reflects the Arc B390’s low standing among GPUs—it is at the 9th percentile of all GPUs tested—rather than any deficiency in the CPU. The i5-13400F, by contrast, sits at the 77th percentile among all CPUs, indicating that the processor is a relatively strong component in this pairing. The combination of a high-percentile CPU with a low-percentile GPU results in a system that is heavily imbalanced toward CPU capability, which the benchmark results confirm.

The combo rank of 2580 out of 2930 is consistent with the measured FPS data. At 1080p High, the average of 78 FPS is playable, but many other combos in the database would achieve significantly higher scores. The rank also suggests that the Arc B390’s performance is comparable to some of the oldest discrete GPUs. Its nearest rivals in the GPU benchmark database include the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, which scores 1463 (a delta of 1.3% lower), the NVIDIA GeForce 800M at 1460 (1.5% lower), the NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM at 1446 (2.5% lower), and the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 at 1443 (2.7% lower). These are all legacy or entry-level parts, and the Arc B390’s 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1482 places it just above them, but the margins are thin—within 3%. This explains why the combo ranks so low: the GPU is performing at a level that was considered low-end over a decade ago.

The CPU’s nearest rivals further illustrate the imbalance. The i5-13400F has an average benchmark score of 25292, which is nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS at 25284 (0% delta), the Intel Core 5 120 at 25362 (-0.3%), the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D at 25365 (-0.3%), and the AMD Ryzen 7 6800H at 25201 (0.4%). These rivals are all capable processors, and the i5-13400F holds its own among them. Yet in Doom, the GPU’s 3DMark score of 1482 is less than 6% of the CPU’s average benchmark score, highlighting the stark performance gap between the two components. The data indicates that the GPU is the sole reason for the combo’s low ranking.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics solution based on the Xe3-LPG architecture and the Panther Lake chip, fabricated on a 3 nm process. It features 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 raster output units, along with 12 ray tracing cores. Its base clock is 300 MHz, with a boost clock of 2500 MHz. These specifications are modest by modern discrete GPU standards, and the benchmark results reflect that. The GPU’s pixel rate is 60.00 GPixel/s and its texture rate is 120.0 GTexel/s, which are low figures that directly impact fill-rate-heavy scenes, such as those in Doom’s fast-paced environments.

The memory configuration is unusual: the Arc B390 uses System Shared memory, with a bus width and type also marked as System Shared. The bandwidth is listed as System Dependent, meaning it relies on the CPU’s memory subsystem, which for the i5-13400F supports dual-channel DDR4 or DDR5. This shared memory arrangement can introduce latency and bandwidth constraints, particularly at higher resolutions where the GPU must access more data. The measured FPS at 4K (28 FPS on High) suggests that the shared memory bandwidth is insufficient for the demands of 4K rendering, as the GPU is likely competing with the CPU for memory access.

The GPU’s FP32 performance is 7.680 TFLOPS, with FP16 at 15.36 TFLOPS (2:1). These are low figures; for context, the nearest GPU rivals in the database—GT 520MX, GeForce 800M, GT 625 OEM, and GT 710—all have average scores within 3% of the Arc B390’s 1482. This places the Arc B390 in a performance tier that is only suitable for light or older games. In Doom, which was released in 2016, the GPU can manage 1080p at playable rates, but it struggles with higher resolutions. The 12 ray tracing cores are present, but Doom does not use ray tracing, so they have no bearing on these results. The GPU’s DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) support is also irrelevant for this title, which predates that API level.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of the combo’s performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the average frame rates are 107 FPS on Low, 93 FPS on Medium, 78 FPS on High, and 64 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 79 FPS and a maximum of 107 FPS, indicating some variance but generally stable performance. The Ultra preset’s 64 FPS average is still above 60 FPS, which is a common target for smooth gameplay, but the gap between Low and Ultra is 43 FPS, showing that the GPU’s limited shading units are taxed by higher-quality effects.

At 2560x1440, the averages drop to 69 FPS on Low, 60 FPS on Medium, 51 FPS on High, and 41 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset’s range is 51 to 69 FPS, with a minimum that is 9 FPS below the average, suggesting frame time spikes. The Ultra preset at 41 FPS is below the 60 FPS threshold, making it unsuitable for competitive play. The drop from 1080p to 1440p at High settings is 27 FPS (78 to 51), a 35% reduction, which is significant and again points to the GPU as the bottleneck.

At 3840x2160, the results are largely unplayable. The averages are 37 FPS on Low, 33 FPS on Medium, 28 FPS on High, and 22 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset’s minimum is 28 FPS and maximum is 37 FPS, which means even the best-case frame rate is below 40 FPS. The Ultra preset’s 22 FPS average is a slideshow by any standard. The scaling from 1440p to 4K at High settings is a 23 FPS drop (51 to 28), a 45% reduction, which is steeper than the 1080p to 1440p drop. This non-linear scaling indicates that the GPU’s memory bandwidth and fill rate are exhausted at 4K.

The data also shows that the difference between Low and Ultra settings shrinks as resolution increases. At 1080p, the gap is 43 FPS (107 to 64). At 1440p, the gap is 28 FPS (69 to 41). At 4K, the gap is 15 FPS (37 to 22). This suggests that at higher resolutions, the GPU is so constrained by pixel throughput that reducing settings has diminishing returns. The GPU’s rops (24) and pixel rate (60.00 GPixel/s) are the likely culprits, as they cap the number of pixels that can be processed per second.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the target resolution and acceptable frame rate. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset yields 64 FPS on average, which is above the 60 FPS threshold and provides the best visual quality without sacrificing smoothness. For players who prefer higher frame rates, the High preset at 78 FPS is a strong choice, offering a 22% improvement over Ultra while still maintaining good visuals. The Medium preset at 93 FPS is also viable, but the visual downgrade from High is noticeable, and the gain of 15 FPS may not justify it for most users. Low at 107 FPS is only recommended for competitive play where maximum frame rate is critical.

At 2560x1440, the Medium preset provides 60 FPS on average, which is exactly at the 60 FPS target. However, the minimum FPS of 51 suggests that there will be occasional dips below 60, which could be noticeable in intense combat scenes. The High preset at 51 FPS is below 60, so it is not ideal for smooth gameplay. For 1440p, the Low preset at 69 FPS is the only option that consistently stays above 60 FPS, but it sacrifices many visual features. Given the data, Medium is the recommended setting for 1440p if the user can tolerate minor frame dips, while Low is the safe choice for consistent performance.

At 3840x2160, no setting provides a playable experience. The Low preset averages 37 FPS, which is below 40 FPS and will feel choppy in a fast-paced FPS. The Medium preset at 33 FPS is worse, and High and Ultra are unplayable at 28 and 22 FPS respectively. The data clearly indicates that 4K is not a viable resolution for this combo in Doom. Users should avoid 4K entirely or reduce resolution to 1440p. For the best overall experience, 1080p with High or Ultra settings is the recommended path, as it balances visual fidelity with frame rates above 60 FPS.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-13400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor from the Core 13th Gen series, built on the Raptor Lake architecture with a 10 nm process. Its base clock is 2.50 GHz, with a boost clock of 4.60 GHz, and it has a 65 W TDP. The CPU’s cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 20 MB of shared L3 cache. These specifications are robust for gaming, and the CPU’s benchmark scores confirm its capability. In Cinebench R23, it scores 22604 in multicore and 3191 in single-core. In Geekbench, it scores 11068 in multicore and 1996 in single-core. Its Passmark multithread score is 25032, with a single-thread score of 3634. These numbers place the i5-13400F in the 77th percentile of all CPUs, indicating it is a strong performer.

In Doom, the CPU’s role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic. The measured FPS at 1080p Low (107 FPS) shows that the CPU can handle high frame rates, as this is the fastest scenario in the data. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect frame rates to remain similar across different resolutions, which they do not. The fact that 4K Low (37 FPS) is nearly three times slower than 1080p Low (107 FPS) proves that the GPU is the limiting component. The CPU’s high single-thread score (3191 in Cinebench R23) is particularly relevant for Doom, which is not heavily multithreaded; the game benefits from fast single-core performance, and the i5-13400F delivers that.

Comparing the CPU to its nearest rivals reinforces its strength. The i5-13400F’s average benchmark score of 25292 is within 0.4% of the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS (25284), Intel Core 5 120 (25362), AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D (25365), and AMD Ryzen 7 6800H (25201). These are all capable processors, and the i5-13400F matches or slightly exceeds them. In a game like Doom, the CPU would not be the reason for low frame rates; the GPU is. The CPU’s 10 cores and 16 threads also provide headroom for background tasks, but in this context, its primary job is to keep the GPU fed, which it does adequately.

The CPU’s memory support for DDR4 and DDR5, with a dual-channel bus, is relevant because the GPU uses System Shared memory. The CPU’s memory bandwidth is not listed in the data, but the shared memory setup means that CPU and GPU compete for the same memory resources. At 4K, this competition likely exacerbates the GPU’s bandwidth limitations, as the CPU must also access memory for game logic. The CPU’s PCIe Gen 5 support (16 lanes) is available for a discrete GPU, but the Arc B390 is an integrated part, so it uses the system memory directly. This architectural choice contributes to the GPU’s poor performance at high resolutions.

FAQ

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

A: The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings is 78 FPS.

Q: Can this combo run Doom at 4K?

A: No setting provides a playable frame rate at 3840x2160. The highest average is 37 FPS on Low, with Ultra at 22 FPS, both below 40 FPS.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B390 scores 1482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad, which is 1.3% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1463), 1.5% higher than the GeForce 800M (1460), 2.5% higher than the GT 625 OEM (1446), and 2.7% higher than the GT 710 (1443).

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p?

A: The Medium preset averages 60 FPS at 2560x1440, with a minimum of 51 FPS. Low averages 69 FPS, while High and Ultra are 51 and 41 FPS respectively. Medium offers the best balance, though Low is safer for consistent performance.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this combo?

A: The GPU is the bottleneck. The FPS drops by 64% from 1080p High (78 FPS) to 4K High (28 FPS), while the CPU’s benchmark scores are in the 77th percentile, indicating it is not the limiting factor.

Q: What is the combo’s rank among all tested systems for Doom?

A: The combo ranks 2580 out of 2930 tested combinations, placing it in the bottom 12% of all systems.

Q: What memory type does the GPU use?

A: The Intel Arc B390 uses System Shared memory, with the bus width and bandwidth also listed as System Dependent, meaning it relies on the CPU’s DDR4 or DDR5 memory.