Doom

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates across the three tested resolutions reveal a system that is heavily GPU-bound at higher settings, yet exhibits signs of CPU limitation at the lower end. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 379.8 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops this to 287.6 FPS, a reduction of roughly 24%. The jump to 4K Low brings the average down to 155.8 FPS, which is a further 46% decrease from the 1440p figure. This scaling pattern is typical for a game like Doom, where the load shifts decisively onto the graphics card as pixel count increases.

The data suggests that at 1080p Low, the Intel Core i5-13400F is nearing its limit, as the frame rate is exceptionally high but the scaling from 1080p to 1440p is not as steep as it might be with a more powerful CPU. The GPU, an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090, has immense headroom at these lower resolutions. When the settings are raised to Ultra, the picture changes. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 267.5 FPS, which is 30% lower than the 1080p Low score. At 4K Ultra, the average plummets to 96.3 FPS, representing a 64% drop from the 1080p Ultra result. This steep decline at 4K Ultra is a clear indicator that the RTX 4090's rendering capabilities are being fully taxed by the combination of high resolution and demanding visual effects.

The most telling comparison is the difference between Low and Ultra at each resolution. At 1080p, the gap is 112.3 FPS (379.8 vs 267.5). At 1440p, the gap narrows to 114.4 FPS (287.6 vs 173.2), but the percentage difference grows. At 4K, the gap shrinks further to 59.5 FPS (155.8 vs 96.3). This compression of the performance delta at higher resolutions confirms that the GPU becomes the sole limiting factor, while the CPU's influence wanes as the workload becomes more pixel-bound.

How This Combo Ranks

In the grand scheme of tested hardware combinations for Doom, this pairing of the Intel Core i5-13400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 holds the 42nd position out of 1681 total combos. This places it firmly in the top 2.5% of all configurations evaluated, which is an exceptional result for a mid-range CPU paired with a flagship GPU. The high ranking is primarily attributable to the RTX 4090's dominance, as the CPU's role diminishes at the resolution and settings where the GPU is the bottleneck.

The combo's rank of 42 is impressive, but it is important to contextualize it. With a GPU that scores in the 91st percentile among all graphics cards, the ceiling for performance is extremely high. The i5-13400F, while a capable processor in its own right, scores in the 82nd percentile among all CPUs. The data shows that the GPU is doing the heavy lifting, and the combination's overall position reflects the RTX 4090's ability to push frame rates to exceptional levels, even when paired with a processor that is not at the very top of the performance hierarchy. The ranking suggests that in this specific title, the GPU's raw power is the primary driver of the combo's elite status.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the undisputed performance leader in this pairing. Its specifications are staggering: a 24 GB frame buffer of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s. The chip, built on a 5 nm process at TSMC, contains 76,300 million transistors. Its boost clock is rated at 2520 MHz. These figures translate directly into the high frame rates observed. The sheer memory bandwidth and massive compute resources allow the GPU to handle the demanding texture loads and effects in Doom without breaking a sweat at 1080p and 1440p.

The RTX 4090's percentile ranking of 91 among all GPUs is reflected in its benchmark scores. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 9223 and Passmark G3D score of 38194 are indicative of its top-tier status. In this game, the GPU's role is to provide the raw frame rate headroom. The data shows that at 1080p Medium, the card is still delivering 365 FPS, which is far beyond the refresh rate of almost any monitor. Even at 4K High, the 114.5 FPS average is highly playable. The GPU's generous 24 GB of VRAM is not a limiting factor at any of the tested settings, ensuring that texture streaming and geometry detail are not constrained by memory capacity. The card's end-of-life production status does not diminish its current performance, as it remains one of the most powerful consumer GPUs available.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured data, the optimal experience balances high frame rates with visual fidelity. For 4K displays, the High preset offers the best compromise. The 114.5 FPS average at 4K High is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay and is significantly higher than the 96.3 FPS achieved at Ultra. The jump from High to Ultra at this resolution costs 18.2 FPS, a 16% reduction, which may not be worth the marginal visual improvement in a fast-paced FPS. Conversely, dropping to Medium at 4K yields 135.3 FPS, but the visual downgrade from High is likely more noticeable than the performance gain.

At 1440p, the High preset is again the sweet spot. The 214.8 FPS average provides excellent fluidity on high-refresh-rate monitors. The Ultra preset, at 173.2 FPS, is still very smooth, but the 41.6 FPS difference is substantial. For competitive play, the Low preset at 287.6 FPS offers the highest possible frame rate, but the visual compromise is significant. The Medium preset at 252.6 FPS is a viable middle ground for those who want a competitive edge without sacrificing all visual quality. At 1080p, all presets deliver exceptionally high frame rates. The Medium preset at 365 FPS is a strong choice, as it provides a massive frame rate headroom while retaining more visual detail than Low. However, for players with 240Hz monitors, the Low preset at 379.8 FPS ensures the frame rate never dips below the display's refresh rate.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1080p, the performance hierarchy is clear. The Low preset delivers a measured average of 379.8 FPS. The Medium preset follows closely at 365 FPS, which is only a 3.9% reduction. The High preset drops to 327.3 FPS, a 13.8% decrease from Low. The Ultra preset yields 267.5 FPS, which is 29.6% lower than Low. This pattern shows diminishing returns for each step up in quality, but all settings at this resolution remain highly playable.

At 1440p, the same ordering is observed. Low leads with 287.6 FPS. Medium follows at 252.6 FPS, a 12.2% decrease. High is next at 214.8 FPS, which is 25.3% below Low. Ultra trails at 173.2 FPS, a 39.8% reduction from the Low preset. The relative performance gaps widen at this resolution, indicating the GPU is working harder.

At 4K, the frame rates are lower but still robust. Low produces 155.8 FPS. Medium achieves 135.3 FPS, a 13.2% drop. High reaches 114.5 FPS, which is 26.5% below Low. Ultra bottoms out at 96.3 FPS, a 38.2% decrease from Low. The absolute difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 59.5 FPS, which is smaller than the 112.3 FPS difference at 1080p, but the percentage drop is more significant. This data confirms that the RTX 4090 is the dominant factor, with the CPU providing sufficient throughput to avoid stalling the GPU at these high frame rates.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-13400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture. It has a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.60 GHz. While its role in this game is secondary to the GPU, its performance is still critical for maintaining high minimum frame rates. The CPU's benchmark scores, such as a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21279 and a single-core score of 3004, indicate strong performance that is more than sufficient for Doom's engine. The 3DMark max-threads score of 7307 shows its ability to handle multi-threaded workloads.

The data indicates that at 1080p Low, the CPU is the limiting factor, as the frame rate of 379.8 FPS is likely near the maximum the i5-13400F can push. The CPU's percentile rank of 82 places it above the majority of processors, and its nearest rivals, such as the Intel Core i7-13620H and AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D, have nearly identical average scores with deltas of 0.1% and -0.5% respectively. This suggests that the i5-13400F is well-matched for high-end gaming, providing enough processing power to feed the RTX 4090 in most scenarios. However, the 10-core configuration is not the top of the line, and the data suggests that a more powerful CPU could unlock even higher frame rates at 1080p Low, where the GPU is not the bottleneck. The CPU's 65W TDP and support for DDR4 and DDR5 memory make it a versatile and efficient choice, but its performance ceiling is clearly lower than that of the GPU it is paired with.