Doom

The Intel Core i5-14400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT delivers a smooth experience in Doom, but the data reveals a clear performance hierarchy that shifts depending on where you point the resolution slider. From the measured rows, this combo transitions from a high-refresh-rate monster at 1080p to a more demanding, playable-but-not-maxed 4K setup. The scaling between settings and resolutions tells a straightforward story about which component is doing the heavy lifting.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is steep, but the curve is informative. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 150.2 FPS at 1920x1080 to 98 FPS at 2560x1440, and then down to 54 FPS at 3840x2160. That is a 64% reduction from 1080p to 4K, which indicates the GPU is becoming the primary constraint as pixel count rises. The gap between 1440p and 4K (98 to 54) is wider than the gap between 1080p and 1440p (150.2 to 98), suggesting diminishing returns on resolution scaling as the Radeon card approaches its limits.

Looking at Low settings, the pattern repeats but at higher absolute numbers: 197.4 FPS at 1080p, 130 FPS at 1440p, and 71.1 FPS at 4K. The 4K result at Low settings is still above the 60 FPS threshold, which shows the engine can be forgiving if you drop quality. At Medium, the 4K average is 61.2 FPS—a hair above playable—while 1080p hits 171.9 FPS. Ultra is the outlier: 117.6 FPS at 1080p, 75.8 FPS at 1440p, and only 43 FPS at 4K, where the experience becomes choppy.

The data indicates that at 1080p, the CPU has headroom to spare, as even Ultra settings produce 117.6 FPS. At 4K, the GPU is clearly the bottleneck, because dropping from Ultra to Low only recovers 28.1 FPS (43 to 71.1), whereas at 1080p the same settings swing yields 79.8 FPS (117.6 to 197.4). This suggests that the RX 7600 XT’s compute resources are saturated at higher resolutions, while the i5-14400F has enough throughput to feed frames at lower pixel counts.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with a Navi 33 chip, featuring 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus. Memory bandwidth sits at 288.0 GB/s, which is a notable asset for a game like Doom that relies on streaming textures. The base clock is 1980 MHz with a boost up to 2755 MHz, and a game clock of 2470 MHz—these are the figures that drive the measured results. The card has 2048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, which explains its ability to push 197.4 FPS at 1080p Low.

The 16 GB VRAM is not the limiting factor in these tests; the issue is raw throughput. At 4K Ultra, the card averages 43 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target, and the data shows the card’s percentile rank is 63 among all GPUs. Compared to its nearest rivals, the RX 7600 XT sits close to the AMD Radeon RX 7600 with a deltaPct of -0.6, meaning it is essentially matched by its non-XT sibling. It also trails the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile by 1.9%, but that is a mobile part, so the desktop card’s 190 W TDP and dual-slot cooler are more relevant in a desktop context.

The GPU’s FP32 performance is 22.57 TFLOPS, and its pixel rate is 176.3 GPixel/s. These numbers explain why 1440p High hits 98 FPS—the card has enough fill rate and shading power for that resolution but falls short at 4K where the pixel count doubles. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2348 is a synthetic indicator, but the measured Doom results are more telling: the card is a solid 1440p performer and a marginal 4K option, only crossing 60 FPS at 4K when settings are dropped to Low or Medium.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F is a 10-core, 16-thread processor with a base clock of 2.50 GHz and a boost clock of 4.70 GHz. It uses the Raptor Lake architecture on a 10 nm process, with 20 MB of shared L3 cache. The multi-core benchmark scores are strong—Cinebench R23 multi-core hits 21914, and Geekbench multi-core is 11209—but these do not directly translate to Doom performance because the game is not heavily threaded at these frame rates. The single-core scores are more relevant: Cinebench R23 single-core is 3093, and Passmark single-thread is 3723, which is where the CPU’s ability to feed the GPU matters.

At 1080p, the CPU is not the bottleneck. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 79.8 FPS, which is a GPU-driven gap, but the absolute numbers (197.4 vs 117.6) suggest the i5-14400F can keep up with the RX 7600 XT’s output. At 4K, the CPU’s role diminishes further, as the GPU is clearly saturated. The processor’s 65 W TDP and dual-channel memory support are practical, but the key takeaway is that this CPU has enough single-thread headroom to avoid limiting the GPU in this title.

The CPU’s percentile rank is 88 among all CPUs, and its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-12800H with a deltaPct of 0, meaning they tie in average benchmark score. The AMD Ryzen 7 250 is 0.2% ahead, while the Intel Core i7-13705H is 0.2% behind—these are negligible differences. For Doom, the CPU’s 4.70 GHz boost clock is what matters most, and the data shows it is sufficient for 1080p high-refresh, but it does not meaningfully affect 4K results where the GPU is the ceiling.

How This Combo Ranks

Out of 1681 tested combos, this pairing ranks 1066th in Doom. That places it in the lower third of the database, which might seem surprising given the playable frame rates. The rank reflects the average FPS across all measured settings and resolutions, and the 4K Ultra result of 43 FPS drags the overall standing down. At 1080p, the combo performs well above average, but the 4K results drop the rank.

The GPU’s nearest rival, the RX 7600, is only 0.6% ahead in synthetic benchmarks, but in this game the difference is likely small. The rank of 1066 suggests there are many faster combos, but the data also shows this pairing is viable for 1440p gaming. The CPU’s high percentile (88) does not compensate for the GPU’s mid-range percentile (63), so the combo’s rank is primarily GPU-bound. For a 1080p or 1440p target, this is a balanced setup; for 4K, it is underpowered.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows make the best choice clear. At 1920x1080, High settings deliver 150.2 FPS, which is ideal for high-refresh displays, and Ultra still hits 117.6 FPS, so there is no reason to drop below High unless you want maximum refresh. At 2560x1440, High gives 98 FPS, which is smooth for most monitors, while Medium offers 115.7 FPS if you prefer a higher frame rate over visual fidelity. Ultra at 1440p drops to 75.8 FPS, which is still playable but less consistent.

At 3840x2160, the recommendation is Medium, which yields 61.2 FPS—just above the 60 FPS threshold. Low is also an option at 71.1 FPS, but Medium provides a better visual experience with only a 10 FPS penalty. Ultra at 4K is not recommended because 43 FPS is below playable standards. The sweet spot for this combo is 1440p High, balancing visuals and performance without hitting the GPU’s ceiling.

FAQ

*Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Doom?*

A: The data shows 2560x1440 at High settings is the sweet spot, delivering 98 FPS, which is both smooth and visually detailed. At 1080p you get higher frame rates (150.2 FPS High), but 1440p offers a better balance for most monitors.

Q: Can this setup handle 4K gaming?

A: Yes, but only at lower settings. At 4K Medium, the average FPS is 61.2, and at Low it is 71.1. Ultra at 4K drops to 43 FPS, which is not smooth enough for fast-paced FPS play.

Q: How does the RX 7600 XT compare to the RX 7600?

A: The synthetic benchmark scores show the RX 7600 is 0.6% ahead of the RX 7600 XT, meaning they perform nearly identically in raw compute. In Doom, the measured results would likely be similar, so the extra VRAM is the main differentiator.

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-14400F a bottleneck?

A: No, at 1080p and 1440p the CPU is not the limiting factor, as evidenced by the high frame rates (up to 197.4 FPS at 1080p Low). At 4K, the GPU is the bottleneck, so the CPU’s performance is sufficient across all tested resolutions.

Q: What settings should I use for a 144Hz monitor?

A: At 1080p, use High or Ultra (150.2 or 117.6 FPS) to get close to 144 Hz. At 1440p, you will need to use Low (130 FPS) or Medium (115.7 FPS) to approach that refresh rate, as High only reaches 98 FPS.

Q: Why does the combo rank so low if it plays well?

A: The rank of 1066 out of 1681 is based on all measured settings and resolutions, including 4K Ultra where the card only manages 43 FPS. The 4K results pull the average down, even though 1080p and 1440p performance is strong.