Doom

Doom, a 2016 FPS built on the id Tech 6 engine, is a demanding title that scales well with hardware. The pairing of the Intel Core i5-14400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 produces exceptional results, placing this combination in the 71st position out of 1681 tested combos. This top-tier ranking indicates that the system is capable of delivering a high-end experience, though the data reveals that the RTX 5080 is the primary driver of performance, with the i5-14400F providing ample support without becoming a significant bottleneck at most settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 71 out of 1681 tested configurations places it in the top 4.2% of all systems tested for Doom. This is a decisive indicator of excellent performance, showing that this hardware pairing is far more capable than the vast majority of configurations in the database. The benchmark results show that this combo is not just for 1080p gaming; it has the raw power to deliver a high-refresh-rate experience at 1440p and even a very smooth 4K experience. The data positions this system as a high-end solution for Doom, capable of handling the game's most demanding settings at high resolutions. The high rank is primarily a signal of the GPU's capabilities, as the CPU's performance is sufficient to keep up with the GPU's output in this title, allowing the RTX 5080 to operate near its full potential.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of how the game responds to different quality presets. For the absolute best experience that balances visual fidelity with high frame rates, the High preset is the clear recommendation at 4K resolution. At 3840x2160, the High preset delivers an average of 113 FPS, which is comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay and provides a significant improvement over the Ultra preset's 93.1 FPS. While the Ultra preset offers the highest visual quality, the performance cost is substantial, resulting in a 17.6% drop from High. For players with high-refresh-rate 1440p monitors, the High preset is also the optimal choice, achieving an average of 202.3 FPS. This provides a fantastic experience that makes full use of 144Hz or 165Hz displays. The Low and Medium presets offer higher frame rates but sacrifice visual quality, which is not necessary given the hardware's capability. The data suggests that High is the "sweet spot" for this combo, delivering a near-Ultra visual experience with a significant performance buffer.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS data across resolutions shows a predictable scaling pattern that highlights the GPU's dominance. At 1080p with High settings, the combo achieves 314.1 FPS. Moving to 1440p reduces performance to 202.3 FPS, a 35.6% decrease. At 4K, the frame rate drops further to 113 FPS, a 64% decrease from the 1080p result. This significant drop as resolution increases indicates that the system is heavily GPU-bound, especially at lower resolutions. At 1080p, the RTX 5080 is so powerful that it is likely being limited by the CPU's ability to feed it frames, but the frame rates are so high that this is not a practical concern. The scaling from 1440p to 4K is more linear, showing that the GPU is working progressively harder to render the additional pixels. The data shows that the RTX 5080 is the limiting component in this combo, as the performance difference between resolutions is far greater than what would be expected from a CPU bottleneck. The CPU's role is to ensure the GPU is fed with data, and at 4K, the GPU's rendering workload is the clear bottleneck.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The benchmark results provide a complete matrix of average FPS across four resolutions and four quality presets, with no missing data points.

At 1920x1080, the system delivers exceptionally high frame rates across all settings. The Low preset achieves an average of 390.9 FPS, which is the highest score in the entire dataset. The Medium preset is close behind at 369.4 FPS, while the High preset produces 314.1 FPS. The Ultra preset, while the most demanding, still achieves an impressive 254.7 FPS. These numbers indicate that at 1080p, the combo is almost entirely GPU-limited, and the CPU is not a bottleneck even with the highest frame rates.

At 2560x1440, the performance remains outstanding. The Low preset reaches 272.6 FPS, the Medium preset achieves 241.3 FPS, and the High preset produces 202.3 FPS. The Ultra preset drops to 162.9 FPS, which is still well above the threshold for high-refresh-rate gaming. This resolution offers the best balance of visual quality and performance, with the High preset providing a top-tier experience.

At 3840x2160, the system shows its capability as a 4K gaming machine. The Low preset averages 148.4 FPS, and the Medium preset is not far behind at 127.4 FPS. The High preset achieves a very playable 113 FPS. The Ultra preset is the only setting that dips below the 100 FPS mark, averaging 93.1 FPS. This shows that while the game is very demanding at 4K, the RTX 5080 has enough power to handle it with high visual settings.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 is the undisputed performance leader in this combo. It features a massive 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 960.0 GB/s. This high bandwidth is crucial for feeding the GPU's 10752 shading units and 112 ROPs at high resolutions. The GPU's boost clock of 2617 MHz allows it to reach a peak pixel rate of 293.1 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 879.3 GTexel/s. These specifications directly translate to the high frame rates observed in Doom. The data shows the GPU's strength, as it maintains an average of 113 FPS at 4K High settings, a demanding scenario for any card. The RTX 5080's 56.28 TFLOPS of FP32 performance ensures it can handle the complex lighting and particle effects of the game. The GPU's benchmark scores reflect its power, with a Passmark G3D score of 36565, placing it in the 89th percentile of all GPUs. The measured FPS data confirms that this hardware is not just a strong performer in synthetic benchmarks but also in real-world gaming scenarios.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14400F provides the processing foundation for this combo. With 10 cores and 16 threads, it offers the multi-threading capability necessary for modern game engines and background tasks. Its boost clock of 4.70 GHz ensures strong single-threaded performance, which is critical for game logic and physics. The data shows that this CPU is a capable partner for the RTX 5080. At 1080p, the frame rates are so high that the CPU does become a limiting factor, but this is not a deficit; it simply means the CPU is working at its maximum capacity. The CPU's performance is evidenced by its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 21914 and single-core score of 3093. It sits in the 88th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 32508, which is nearly identical to its closest rival, the Intel Core i7-12800H, which scores 32513. This indicates that the i5-14400F is a very solid mid-range processor that provides more than enough power for gaming. The data shows that while the GPU is the main driver of performance, the CPU ensures that the system does not experience any significant stuttering or frame drops due to processor limitations.

FAQ

Q: What is the best quality setting for 4K gaming with this combo?

A: The data shows that the High preset provides the best experience at 3840x2160, delivering an average of 113 FPS. While the Ultra preset is available, it reduces performance to 93.1 FPS, which is a significant drop for a marginal visual gain.

Q: Can this system handle high refresh rate gaming at 1440p?

A: Yes, the benchmark results are excellent. At 2560x1440 with the High preset, the combo achieves an average of 202.3 FPS. This is more than enough to take full advantage of 144Hz and 165Hz monitors, and even supports 240Hz displays with the Medium or Low presets.

Q: Is the CPU a bottleneck for the RTX 5080 in Doom?

A: The data indicates that the system is primarily GPU-bound. At 1080p, the frame rates are extremely high (314.1 FPS on High), suggesting the CPU is working at its limit. However, this is not a practical bottleneck, as the performance is still exceptional. At 4K, the GPU is clearly the limiting component.

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

A: The measured data shows a substantial difference. The Low preset achieves an average of 390.9 FPS, while the Ultra preset achieves 254.7 FPS. This is a 53.5% performance advantage for the Low preset, but the Ultra preset still provides a very high frame rate.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested systems for this game?

A: This combination is ranked 71st out of 1681 tested combos, placing it in the top 4.2% of all configurations. This high rank confirms that it is a premium system for playing Doom.

Q: What is the performance drop when moving from 1080p to 4K?

A: At High settings, the average frame rate drops from 314.1 FPS at 1920x1080 to 113 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 64% decrease in performance, which is expected given the significant increase in pixel count and the GPU-bound nature of the system.