Doom

The Intel Core i5-13400F and Intel Arc B570 combination delivers a highly playable experience in Doom, with benchmark results showing a clear scaling pattern from 1080p to 4K. The data indicates a system that is firmly GPU-limited at higher resolutions, while the CPU provides ample headroom for the game's engine. This analysis breaks down the measured performance across all settings and resolutions, interpreting what the numbers mean for the overall gaming experience.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-13400F is built on the Raptor Lake architecture and features 10 cores with 16 threads, a configuration that provides substantial parallel processing capability. Its base clock of 2.50 GHz can boost up to 4.60 GHz, and the processor includes 20 MB of shared L3 cache, which is critical for gaming workloads that depend on rapid data access. The CPU's benchmark scores reflect a strong mid-range performer, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 22604 and a single-core score of 3191. In PassMark testing, the multithread score reaches 25032, while the single-thread score is 3634.

For Doom, a game originally released in 2016, the CPU demands are relatively modest compared to modern titles. The 13400F's performance profile is more than sufficient to keep up with the game's logic and physics calculations. The data shows that the processor ranks in the 77th percentile of all CPUs, placing it ahead of a majority of tested hardware. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS with an average score of 25284 (a 0% delta), the Intel Core 5 120 with a score of 25362 (a -0.3% delta), and the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D with a score of 25365 (also a -0.3% delta). These scores are nearly identical, indicating that the 13400F is well within the expected performance envelope for its class.

The 10-core, 16-thread layout is particularly relevant for Doom's engine, which can utilize multiple threads for rendering tasks, audio processing, and game logic. The 3DMark results show a scaling pattern from 1880 in the 2-thread test to 7314 in the 16-thread test, demonstrating that the processor effectively leverages additional cores. The max-thread score of 7307 is nearly identical to the 16-thread score, suggesting that the processor reaches its performance ceiling with all cores engaged. In the context of the measured FPS data, the CPU is not the limiting factor. At 1080p with Low settings, the system achieves 164 FPS, and the fact that this number does not increase dramatically when resolution drops suggests the game is already hitting an engine or GPU-related limit rather than a CPU bottleneck. The processor's robust single-thread performance, evidenced by its Geekbench single-core score of 1996, ensures that the game's main thread is well-served.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B570 is based on the Xe2-HPG architecture and utilizes the BMG-G21 chip, manufactured on a 5 nm process by TSMC. It features 2304 shading units, 144 texture mapping units, and 80 raster output units. The GPU operates at a consistent 2500 MHz for both base and boost clocks, with memory running at 2375 MHz (19 Gbps effective). The card has 10 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 160-bit bus, providing 380.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its compute capabilities include 11.52 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 23.04 TFLOPS of FP16 performance.

The GPU's PassMark G3D score is 14195, placing it in the 65th percentile of all GPUs. Its average benchmark score of 20556 is closely matched by its nearest rivals: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile at 20534 (a 0.1% delta), the Intel Arc A750 at 20582 (a -0.1% delta), and the AMD Radeon R9 M390X at 20662 (a -0.5% delta). The close margins between these scores indicate that the B570 delivers performance on par with these established cards.

In Doom, the GPU's role is dominant, as evidenced by the FPS scaling across resolutions. At 1080p High settings, the system achieves 121 FPS, but this drops to 78 FPS at 1440p and 42 FPS at 4K. This significant reduction with each resolution increase is a classic sign of GPU-bound performance. The 10 GB VRAM allocation is ample for Doom, which was released in 2016 and does not require the large memory pools of modern titles. The memory bandwidth of 380.0 GB/s is sufficient to feed the GPU's processing units without causing a bottleneck. The GPU's DirectX 12 Ultimate support ensures compatibility with Doom's rendering paths. The measured FPS numbers show that the GPU scales predictably, with the 4K Ultra setting producing 35 FPS, which is a demanding scenario for this card. The GPU's pixel rate of 200.0 GPixel/s and texture rate of 360.0 GTexel/s provide the raw throughput needed for Doom's fast-paced environments, though at 4K Ultra, the workload exceeds what the card can comfortably handle for smooth gameplay.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance on which settings preset offers the best experience for this combination. At 1080p, all settings presets produce playable frame rates, with Low achieving 164 FPS, Medium at 143 FPS, High at 121 FPS, and Ultra at 99 FPS. The difference between High and Ultra is 22 FPS, which represents a noticeable visual improvement for a moderate performance cost. For the smoothest experience at 1080p, the High preset at 121 FPS provides an excellent balance, as it is well above the standard 60 FPS threshold and retains most visual fidelity. The Ultra preset at 99 FPS is also viable for those prioritizing visuals, as it remains above 90 FPS.

At 1440p, the High preset delivers 78 FPS, which is a solid frame rate for a 1440p monitor. Medium achieves 92 FPS, while Low reaches 106 FPS. The Ultra preset drops to 64 FPS, which is still playable but approaches the edge of what some users might consider acceptable for a fast-paced FPS. The Medium preset at 92 FPS is the recommended choice for 1440p, as it offers a significant frame rate advantage over High (a 14 FPS difference) while still maintaining a higher visual quality than Low. The Ultra preset at 64 FPS is playable but may feel less responsive in intense combat sequences.

At 4K, the situation becomes more constrained. The High preset produces 42 FPS, which is below the ideal 60 FPS target but remains technically playable. The Medium preset at 50 FPS is the best option for 4K, offering the highest playable frame rate without dropping to Low settings. The Low preset at 57 FPS is the only preset that approaches 60 FPS, but it comes with a significant visual quality reduction. The Ultra preset at 35 FPS is not recommended for a smooth experience. For the best overall experience, the High preset at 1080p or the Medium preset at 1440p provides the optimal combination of visual quality and responsive gameplay, as these settings keep the frame rate well above 60 FPS while utilizing the GPU's capabilities effectively.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that the Medium preset at 2560x1440 achieves an average of 92 FPS, which is the highest frame rate among the visually enhanced presets. The High preset drops to 78 FPS, and Ultra falls to 64 FPS. Medium provides the best balance for 1440p.

Q: Can this combination run Doom at 4K with acceptable performance?

A: Yes, but with limitations. At 3840x2160, the Low preset achieves 57 FPS, Medium achieves 50 FPS, and High achieves 42 FPS. The Ultra preset only reaches 35 FPS. For a playable 4K experience, the Low or Medium presets are the only viable options.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 1440p on High settings?

A: The measured FPS at 1920x1080 High is 121 FPS, while at 2560x1440 High it is 78 FPS. This represents a reduction of 43 FPS, or approximately a 35% decrease in frame rate when the resolution increases.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The benchmark results indicate the GPU is the primary limiting factor. The FPS scales significantly with resolution changes (from 121 FPS at 1080p High to 42 FPS at 4K High), which is characteristic of GPU-bound performance. The CPU's strong benchmark scores, including a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 22604, suggest it has ample headroom.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves 164 FPS, while the Ultra preset achieves 99 FPS. This is a difference of 65 FPS, with the Low preset providing a 65% higher frame rate than Ultra.

Q: Is the 10 GB VRAM sufficient for Doom at 4K?

A: The data shows that the GPU with 10 GB of GDDR6 memory can run Doom at 3840x2160 across all settings presets. The VRAM is not a limiting factor in this game, as even the Ultra preset runs at 35 FPS, which is a performance limitation rather than a memory capacity issue.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS data reveals a clear and consistent pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases from 1080p to 4K. At High settings, the system achieves 121 FPS at 1920x1080, 78 FPS at 2560x1440, and 42 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 43 FPS drop when moving from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 36 FPS drop when moving to 4K. The percentage reduction from 1080p to 4K is approximately 65%, indicating that the GPU is heavily taxed at higher resolutions.

The Low settings preset shows a similar trend: 164 FPS at 1080p, 106 FPS at 1440p, and 57 FPS at 4K. This is a 107 FPS reduction from 1080p to 4K, representing a 65% decrease. The Medium preset follows the same pattern with 143 FPS at 1080p, 92 FPS at 1440p, and 50 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset demonstrates the steepest decline, going from 99 FPS at 1080p to 64 FPS at 1440p and finally 35 FPS at 4K.

This consistent scaling behavior across all settings presets strongly indicates that the GPU is the limiting component. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the FPS would remain relatively constant across resolutions, as the CPU workload does not change significantly with resolution. Instead, the proportional decrease in FPS aligns with the increasing pixel count and the corresponding increase in GPU workload. The 4K resolution requires approximately four times the pixel count of 1080p, and the measured FPS drops by roughly 60-65% across all presets, which is consistent with a GPU that is saturated at the higher resolution. The 1440p resolution shows a more moderate drop, with FPS decreasing by 35-36% compared to 1080p, reflecting the 1.78x increase in pixel count. This scaling pattern confirms that users seeking higher frame rates should prioritize lower resolutions, while those who value visual fidelity can still achieve playable performance at 4K with reduced settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest performance across all settings presets. The Low preset achieves an average of 164 FPS, which is the maximum measured in this dataset. The Medium preset produces 143 FPS, with measured minimum and maximum values of 121 and 164 FPS respectively. The High preset reaches 121 FPS, while the Ultra preset achieves 99 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a steady decline, with the Ultra preset delivering 65 FPS less than Low, or roughly 40% lower performance.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates decrease notably. The Low preset reaches 106 FPS, which is 58 FPS lower than the same preset at 1080p. The Medium preset achieves 92 FPS, with minimum and maximum values of 79 and 106 FPS. The High preset produces 78 FPS, and the Ultra preset drops to 64 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 42 FPS, with the Ultra preset delivering 60% of the Low preset's frame rate.

At 3840x2160, performance is significantly constrained. The Low preset achieves 57 FPS, which is the highest frame rate at this resolution. The Medium preset reaches 50 FPS, with minimum and maximum values of 43 and 58 FPS. The High preset produces 42 FPS, and the Ultra preset falls to 35 FPS. The difference between the Low and Ultra presets at 4K is 22 FPS, with the Ultra preset delivering 61% of the Low preset's performance.

Across all resolutions, the Medium preset consistently provides a middle ground, with frame rates that are approximately 13-15% lower than the Low preset but 15-19% higher than the High preset. The measured minimum FPS values for the Medium preset at each resolution (121 FPS at 1080p, 79 FPS at 1440p, and 43 FPS at 4K) indicate that frame pacing remains stable without severe drops. The data shows a predictable and consistent scaling pattern that allows users to select their preferred settings based on their monitor's resolution and desired frame rate target.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-13400F and Intel Arc B570 ranks 2332 out of 2930 tested combinations for Doom. This places the combo in the lower-mid range of all tested systems, indicating that while it can run the game, many other combinations deliver higher performance. The rank of 2332 means that approximately 80% of the tested combos outperform this specific pairing, which is expected given the mid-range nature of both components.

The rank is influenced by both the CPU and GPU's individual performance characteristics. The CPU's percentile rank of 77 places it above most processors, but the GPU's percentile rank of 65 is lower, suggesting that the GPU is the component that holds the combo back in the overall ranking. The GPU's average benchmark score of 20556 is nearly identical to its nearest rivals, including the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile and the Intel Arc A750, indicating that the B570 is performing at its expected level. The CPU's average benchmark score of 25292 is also on par with its rivals, showing that neither component is underperforming relative to its class.

The ranking of 2332 out of 2930 does not diminish the playable experience this combo provides, as the measured FPS data demonstrates solid performance at 1080p and 1440p. However, it does indicate that for users seeking top-tier performance in Doom, there are many other combinations that will deliver higher frame rates, particularly at 4K. The combo's rank is a reflection of the GPU's mid-range positioning rather than any deficiency in the pairing. The data shows that the system is capable of running Doom at all settings presets and resolutions, with the 1080p and 1440p resolutions providing smooth gameplay for most users. The 4K experience is more limited but still playable at lower settings presets. Overall, this combo represents a balanced mid-range solution that trades absolute performance for a reasonable gaming experience across the board.