Doom

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates across the three tested resolutions reveal a classic GPU-bound scaling curve, with the Intel Core i5-13400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 combination showing predictable degradation as pixel count rises. At 1080p High settings, the combo produces 221 FPS average, which drops to 143 FPS at 1440p High — a 35.3% reduction — and then to 78 FPS at 4K High, a further 45.5% decline from the 1440p figure. This steepening slope from 1440p to 4K is the signature of a graphics card approaching its fill-rate and bandwidth ceiling.

The Low preset tells a similar story but with higher absolute numbers: 301 FPS at 1080p, 195 FPS at 1440p, and 105 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are 35.2% and 46.2% respectively, almost identical to the High preset's scaling. This consistency across settings indicates that resolution scaling is governed by the GPU's rasterization throughput rather than by shader complexity or texture fetch patterns specific to any one preset.

Medium settings show the same proportional pattern: 262 FPS at 1080p, 170 FPS at 1440p, 92 FPS at 4K. The Ultra preset, however, reveals something interesting — it produces 181 FPS at 1080p, 117 FPS at 1440p, and 63 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 35.4%, but from 1440p to 4K it is 46.2%, suggesting that Ultra's additional effects (likely including higher-quality shadows and post-processing) place extra strain on the memory subsystem at higher resolutions.

The limiting component is clearly the GPU. The i5-13400F, with its 10 cores and 16 threads, has ample headroom — its Cinebench R23 multicore score of 22604 and single-core score of 3191 indicate strong per-thread performance that would not bottleneck even at 1080p Low where the GPU is pushing 301 FPS. If the CPU were the constraint, we would expect the 1080p-to-1440p gap to be smaller than the 1440p-to-4K gap, since higher resolutions give the CPU more time per frame. Instead, the gaps are nearly uniform across all settings, confirming the RTX 3080 is the performance limiter throughout.

Notably, the 4K Ultra result of 63 FPS average is the only measured point below 78 FPS, showing that the combo remains playable even at the most demanding configuration tested. The minimum FPS values available for Medium settings — 78 FPS at 4K, 144 FPS at 1440p, 223 FPS at 1080p — suggest frame pacing is consistent, with no catastrophic drops.

FAQ

Q: How does the RTX 3080's memory bandwidth affect 4K performance in Doom?

A: The RTX 3080 features 10 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 320-bit bus, delivering 760.3 GB/s of bandwidth. At 4K High, the combo achieves 78 FPS average, which drops to 63 FPS at 4K Ultra. The bandwidth figure is sufficient for 4K gameplay, as evidenced by the fact that even the most demanding preset stays above 60 FPS.

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

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings produce 195 FPS average while Ultra produces 117 FPS — a 66.7% performance advantage for Low. The Medium preset sits at 170 FPS, and High at 143 FPS. This spread shows that Ultra's additional graphical features cost roughly 40% of the frame rate compared to Low.

Q: Is the i5-13400F sufficient for high-refresh-rate gaming at 1080p?

A: Yes. The 10-core, 16-thread processor with a 4.60 GHz boost clock delivers a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3191 and multicore score of 22604. In Doom at 1920x1080 Low, the combo reaches 301 FPS average, and even at Ultra it maintains 181 FPS, indicating the CPU is not limiting frame rates.

Q: What frame rate can players expect at 4K with Medium settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Medium settings, the combo produces 92 FPS average, with a minimum of 78 FPS and maximum of 106 FPS. This is well above the 60 FPS threshold and provides smooth gameplay even during intense combat sequences.

Q: How does the RTX 3080's average benchmark score compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RTX 3080 has an average benchmark score of 23172 and ranks in the 68th percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA P106-100, scores 23249 (0.3% higher), while the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 16 scores 23250 (0.3% higher) and the AMD Radeon RX 6600M scores 23273 (0.4% higher). These are all within a fraction of a percent, indicating the RTX 3080 sits in a tightly contested performance tier.

Q: What is the combo's overall rank among tested configurations in Doom?

A: The i5-13400F + RTX 3080 combination ranks 1054 out of 3712 tested combos for Doom, placing it in the top 28.4% of all configurations. This rank reflects the balance between the CPU's 77th percentile standing and the GPU's 68th percentile standing among their respective component pools.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-13400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 achieves a rank of 1054 out of 3712 tested combos in Doom, placing it comfortably in the upper third of all configurations. This ranking is notable because it places the combo ahead of many pairings that feature more expensive or newer components, though the exact composition of the 3712 test pool is not specified.

The CPU contributes a percentile rank of 77 among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 25292. Its nearest rivals in the CPU benchmark hierarchy are the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS (25284, 0% delta), Intel Core 5 120 (25362, -0.3%), AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D (25365, -0.3%), and AMD Ryzen 7 6800H (25201, 0.4%). This tight clustering — all within 0.4% of each other — suggests that the i5-13400F's raw compute performance is well-matched to its peer group, and the 77th percentile reflects strong overall capability.

The GPU's percentile rank of 68 among all graphics cards, with an average benchmark score of 23172, places it slightly lower in relative standing. Its nearest rivals — NVIDIA P106-100 (23249, -0.3%), AMD Radeon Pro Vega 16 (23250, -0.3%), AMD Radeon RX 6600M (23273, -0.4%), and AMD Radeon R9 M290X (23276, -0.4%) — are all within 0.4% of the RTX 3080's score. This unusual proximity suggests that the average benchmark score across multiple tests (including DirectX 9, 10, 11, 12, G2D, G3D, and compute workloads) can obscure the GPU's actual gaming performance, where the RTX 3080's 29.77 TFLOPS FP32 throughput and 760.3 GB/s bandwidth are clearly differentiated.

The Doom-specific rank of 1054 out of 3712 (top 28.4%) indicates that the combo performs better in this title than its component percentiles might suggest. The game's id Tech 6 engine scales well with both CPU single-thread performance and GPU memory bandwidth, both of which are strengths for this pairing. The i5-13400F's single-core score of 3191 in Cinebench R23 and the RTX 3080's high bandwidth combine to deliver the frame rates seen in the measured data.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. Low settings produce 301 FPS average, Medium 262 FPS (minimum 223, maximum 301), High 221 FPS, and Ultra 181 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra represents a 39.9% reduction in average FPS, with each settings tier costing approximately 13-19% of the previous tier's performance.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but show a clear step down. Low yields 195 FPS average, Medium 170 FPS (minimum 144, maximum 195), High 143 FPS, and Ultra 117 FPS. The Low-to-Ultra spread is 40.0%, nearly identical to the 1080p percentage, confirming that the relative cost of Ultra settings is consistent across resolutions. The Medium minimum of 144 FPS is notable — it aligns exactly with common 144 Hz monitor refresh rates, meaning this preset is the minimum needed for a locked 144 Hz experience at 1440p.

At 3840x2160, the combo still maintains playable frame rates. Low produces 105 FPS average, Medium 92 FPS (minimum 78, maximum 106), High 78 FPS, and Ultra 63 FPS. The Low-to-Ultra reduction is 40.0% once again, showing remarkable consistency in settings scaling across all three resolutions. The Ultra preset at 4K, at 63 FPS average, is the only measured configuration that dips below the 78 FPS threshold seen elsewhere, though it remains above 60 FPS.

The measured data includes minimum and maximum values only for the Medium preset at each resolution. These show tight ranges: 223-301 FPS at 1080p, 144-195 FPS at 1440p, and 78-106 FPS at 4K. The consistency of these ranges — each spanning roughly 35% of the average — suggests stable frame pacing without major stutter events.

GPU Role

The RTX 3080's specifications directly explain its performance in Doom. The GPU is built on the Ampere architecture with a GA102 chip, manufactured on Samsung's 8 nm process with 28,300 million transistors on a 628 mm² die. Its 8704 shading units, 272 texture mapping units, and 96 ROPs provide the raw compute necessary for high-resolution rendering, while 68 ray tracing cores and 272 tensor cores handle newer rendering techniques.

The memory configuration is particularly relevant for Doom's resolution scaling. The 10 GB of GDDR6X memory operates at 19 Gbps effective on a 320-bit bus, yielding 760.3 GB/s bandwidth. This bandwidth figure is the key enabler for the 4K results — at 3840x2160, the GPU must move significantly more texture data and frame buffer content than at 1080p. The fact that 4K High achieves 78 FPS and 4K Ultra 63 FPS indicates the memory subsystem is adequate for this title's demands.

Clock speeds are modest for a high-end GPU: 1440 MHz base and 1710 MHz boost. The boost clock, combined with the 29.77 TFLOPS FP32 throughput and 465.1 GTexel/s texture rate, allows the GPU to maintain high fill rates. The pixel rate of 164.2 GPixel/s is sufficient for 4K at the measured frame rates — at 78 FPS, the GPU is processing approximately 128.8 million pixels per second, well within its rated capabilities.

The GPU's benchmark scores provide context: a Passmark G3D score of 25086 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 4407. Its OpenCL score of 152423 and Vulkan score of 33620 in Geekbench indicate strong compute and API-level performance. The RTX 3080 ranks in the 68th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 23172. Its nearest rivals in the aggregate benchmark — the P106-100, Pro Vega 16, RX 6600M, and R9 M290X — all score within 0.4%, though these comparisons mask the significant architectural differences that manifest in Doom's specific workloads.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance for optimal settings at each resolution. At 1920x1080, all settings produce frame rates above 180 FPS, making the choice purely about visual fidelity versus headroom. Ultra at 181 FPS still provides a 55% buffer above 120 Hz displays, so players with high-refresh monitors can select Ultra without concern. For those with 240 Hz displays, High at 221 FPS or Medium at 262 FPS are better choices, while Low at 301 FPS is necessary only for 300 Hz panels.

At 2560x1440, the recommendation hinges on refresh rate. Ultra at 117 FPS is suitable for 120 Hz displays, but players with 144 Hz monitors should use High at 143 FPS or Medium at 170 FPS to maintain a locked refresh. The Medium preset's minimum of 144 FPS ensures no drops below the 144 Hz threshold, making it the safest choice for competitive play. Low at 195 FPS provides maximum headroom for 165 Hz or 180 Hz displays.

At 3840x2160, the recommendation is more constrained by the available frame rates. Ultra at 63 FPS is playable but leaves only 3 FPS of headroom above 60 FPS, which could result in occasional drops below the V-sync threshold. High at 78 FPS provides a comfortable 30% buffer above 60 FPS and is the recommended preset for 4K gaming. Medium at 92 FPS is the best choice for gamers with 120 Hz displays at 4K, while Low at 105 FPS offers maximum smoothness at the cost of visual quality.

Across all resolutions, the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance headroom. Its minimum FPS values — 223 at 1080p, 144 at 1440p, and 78 at 4K — are consistently 20-30% above the average frame rate of the next-higher preset, providing insurance against demanding scenes. The High preset is a reasonable middle ground for those prioritizing image quality, but the data shows that the jump from Medium to High costs roughly 16-18% average FPS at every resolution.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-13400F provides the computational foundation for this combo, and its specifications align well with Doom's engine requirements. The processor features 10 cores (likely a combination of performance and efficiency cores, given the Raptor Lake architecture) and 16 threads, with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and boost clock of 4.60 GHz. It is built on Intel's 10 nm process with a 215 mm² die size and 20 MB of shared L3 cache.

The CPU's benchmark results indicate strong single-threaded performance, which is critical for game engines that rely on a main simulation thread. Its 3DMark single-thread score of 960 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3191 are solid figures, while the Geekbench single-core score of 1996 confirms this trend. The multi-threaded scores — 3DMark max threads at 7307, Cinebench R23 multicore at 22604, and Geekbench multicore at 11068 — show that the CPU can handle background tasks and engine threads without becoming a bottleneck.

In Doom specifically, the CPU's role is less demanding than in many other titles because the game's renderer offloads significant work to the GPU. This is evident from the frame rates at 1080p Low: 301 FPS average. At this frame rate, the CPU has approximately 3.3 milliseconds per frame to complete its work. The i5-13400F's 4.60 GHz boost clock and 10 cores provide ample processing power for this task, and the fact that frame rates scale nearly identically across resolutions suggests the CPU is never the limiting factor.

The CPU's average benchmark score of 25292 places it in the 77th percentile among all processors. Its nearest rivals — the AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS (25284), Intel Core 5 120 (25362), AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D (25365), and AMD Ryzen 7 6800H (25201) — are all within 0.4% of its score. This clustering indicates that the i5-13400F delivers performance comparable to several AMD and Intel mid-range options, but its specific combination of high single-thread speed and 16 threads makes it particularly well-suited for gaming workloads where the GPU is the primary bottleneck.

The CPU supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory on a dual-channel bus, with 16 PCIe Gen 5 lanes. This memory flexibility allows system builders to choose between older, less expensive DDR4 or newer DDR5, though the memory bandwidth figures are not specified in the data. The 65 W TDP and Intel Socket 1700 mounting make it a straightforward drop-in for most modern motherboards, and the CPU's production status is listed as Active.