Doom

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Doom with the Intel Core i5-14600K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti reveals a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling as resolution increases. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo produces 315.6 FPS average. Stepping up to 2560x1440 Low drops that to 202 FPS, a reduction of roughly 36%. Moving further to 3840x2160 Low yields 109.7 FPS, which is another 46% decline from the 1440p figure. This steep, progressive falloff is characteristic of a system where the graphics card is the primary limiting factor at higher pixel counts.

The High settings row tells a similar story. At 1080p High, the average is 234.1 FPS. At 1440p High, it falls to 148.3 FPS, a 37% decrease. At 4K High, the average is 78.5 FPS, a 47% drop from 1440p. The consistency of these percentage declines across Low and High settings indicates that resolution scaling is almost entirely dictated by the RTX 3080 Ti's rendering throughput rather than any CPU bottleneck. The GPU's 912.4 GB/s memory bandwidth and 34.10 TFLOPS FP32 performance are the specifications doing the heavy lifting here; the frame rate halving as pixel count quadruples is exactly what a bandwidth-limited scenario looks like.

Ultra settings amplify the GPU strain further. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 186.9 FPS. At 1440p Ultra, it drops to 123 FPS. At 4K Ultra, the average is just 68.5 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 4K is 41.2 FPS, whereas at 1080p that same gap is 128.7 FPS. This compression at higher resolutions confirms that the GPU is saturated; when the render target grows, the cost of each additional visual effect becomes relatively smaller compared to the raw pixel fill cost. The data suggests that a user targeting 4K will see diminishing returns from dropping settings below Medium, as the 95 FPS Medium result at 4K is still 26.5 FPS above the Ultra figure but the Low setting only adds 14.7 FPS over Medium.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600K brings 14 cores and 20 threads, with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. In Doom, a game originally released in 2016, the CPU's role is primarily to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic updates. The benchmark results show that at 1080p Low, where GPU load is lightest, the system reaches 315.6 FPS. This is a strong indicator that the CPU can sustain very high frame rates without becoming the limiting factor. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32881 and single-core score of 4642 place this processor in the 93rd percentile among all CPUs, meaning it has ample headroom for even the most demanding frame-time scenarios.

Comparing to its nearest rivals, the i5-14600K sits within 1% of the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X (deltaPct 0.2), the Intel Core i5-14600KF (deltaPct -0.4), and the AMD EPYC 4345P (deltaPct -0.9). The Xeon Gold 5318H trails by 1%. This tight clustering means that any of these CPUs would likely produce nearly identical FPS in Doom when paired with the same GPU, provided the GPU is the bottleneck. The fact that the i5-14600K's single-thread performance (Geekbench single-core 2803, PassMark single-thread 4270) is robust supports the observation that Doom's engine, which relies heavily on a few main threads, is well served by this chip's high boost clock.

The L3 cache of 24 MB shared and 2 MB per-core L2 contribute to keeping frequently accessed game data close to the cores, reducing memory latency spikes that could cause frame hitches. However, the measured FPS data shows no anomalous dips; the minimum FPS fields are null, but the average figures are consistently high across all settings. The CPU's 125 W TDP and unlocked multiplier suggest it can sustain boost clocks under sustained gaming loads, though the benchmark data itself does not record clock behavior. What the data does show is that at no resolution or settings combination does the frame rate collapse in a way that would indicate a CPU stall — the scaling from 1080p to 4K is smooth and monotonic across all four settings presets.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo achieves in Doom?

A: The highest measured average is 315.6 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: How does the RTX 3080 Ti compare to its nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 3080 Ti has an average benchmark score of 41224, which is 0.5% below the RTX 3090 (41441), 0.9% below the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 (41610), and 1.1% below the RTX 5070 (41687).

Q: Does the CPU become a bottleneck at any resolution?

A: The data shows no evidence of a CPU bottleneck. Even at 1080p Low, where GPU load is minimal, the system achieves 315.6 FPS, and the i5-14600K's 93rd percentile ranking among all CPUs indicates sufficient headroom.

Q: What is the FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, Low averages 109.7 FPS while Ultra averages 68.5 FPS, a difference of 41.2 FPS.

Q: How does the i5-14600K compare to the Ryzen 9 5950X?

A: The i5-14600K's average benchmark score is 49166, which is 0.2% higher than the Ryzen 9 5950X's 49062 score.

Q: Is the measured data from actual hardware?

A: Yes, the dataIsMeasured field is true, indicating these FPS figures come from direct hardware testing rather than estimation.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the full settings sweep shows the following averages: Low 315.6 FPS, Medium 275.7 FPS, High 234.1 FPS, and Ultra 186.9 FPS. The step from Low to Medium costs 39.9 FPS, Medium to High costs 41.6 FPS, and High to Ultra costs 47.2 FPS. Each settings tier adds a slightly larger performance penalty, which is typical for Doom's renderer where higher presets enable more complex shading and post-processing effects.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages are: Low 202 FPS, Medium 179.1 FPS, High 148.3 FPS, and Ultra 123 FPS. The penalties are 22.9 FPS (Low to Medium), 30.8 FPS (Medium to High), and 25.3 FPS (High to Ultra). Interestingly, the High-to-Ultra gap narrows at 1440p compared to 1080p, suggesting that at this resolution the pixel fill cost begins to dominate over the incremental shading cost.

At 3840x2160, the averages are: Low 109.7 FPS, Medium 95 FPS, High 78.5 FPS, and Ultra 68.5 FPS. The penalties are 14.7 FPS (Low to Medium), 16.5 FPS (Medium to High), and 10 FPS (High to Ultra). The shrinking absolute differences between settings at 4K reinforce that the GPU is the limiting component; when every frame requires processing over 8 million pixels, the relative cost of turning on extra effects diminishes. The 4K Ultra result of 68.5 FPS is still above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, but only barely.

The most striking takeaway from the resolution-by-resolution breakdown is the 1080p Low result of 315.6 FPS. This is 184.9 FPS higher than the 4K Low result, demonstrating the massive pixel count penalty. For users with high-refresh-rate 1080p monitors, this combo can drive well beyond 200 FPS on any preset. For 1440p users, even Ultra remains above 120 FPS. For 4K users, Medium settings (95 FPS) strike the best balance between visual fidelity and frame rate.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-14600K + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti combination ranks 427th out of 1681 tested combos for Doom. This places it in the top 25% of all configurations in the database. The rank reflects the balance between the CPU's 93rd percentile standing and the GPU's 83rd percentile standing. While neither component is at the absolute top of its class, their pairing produces frame rates that exceed what most systems can deliver.

The GPU's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks are the RTX 3090 (0.5% higher score), the Radeon Pro 5300 (0.9% higher), the RTX 5070 (1.1% higher), and the Tesla M40 (1.6% higher). None of these are dramatically faster, so the RTX 3080 Ti is competing in a tight performance band. The CPU's rivals are similarly close, with the EPYC 4345P being only 0.9% faster and the i5-14600KF being 0.4% slower. This clustering means that small variations in game-specific optimization could shift the Doom rank by a few positions, but the overall tier placement is stable.

The 427th rank out of 1681 combos indicates that a substantial number of configurations outperform this pairing, likely those with newer GPUs or higher-end CPUs. However, within the context of the 30-series generation, this combo is positioned strongly. The measured FPS data confirms that the rank is not inflated by a CPU bottleneck; the system scales consistently with resolution, which is the signature of a well-matched pairing where neither component holds the other back.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal settings preset depends entirely on the target resolution and refresh rate. For 1920x1080 displays, the data shows that even Ultra settings (186.9 FPS) exceed the refresh rate of most monitors. The recommendation is to use Ultra settings at 1080p, as the 186.9 FPS average is still far above any standard 144 Hz or 165 Hz panel's capability. There is no meaningful performance reason to drop below Ultra at this resolution.

For 2560x1440, the choice is between Ultra at 123 FPS and High at 148.3 FPS. If the monitor is 144 Hz, High settings (148.3 FPS) will allow the display to operate at its full refresh rate, while Ultra (123 FPS) would require enabling V-Sync or accepting a slightly lower frame rate. For a 165 Hz or 240 Hz 1440p panel, High settings are the better choice, as they provide the highest FPS that remains visually distinct from the Ultra preset. Medium at 179.1 FPS is only worth considering for esports-focused play where every frame matters, but the visual trade-off is substantial.

For 3840x2160, the recommendation shifts to Medium settings, which average 95 FPS. This is a 26.5 FPS improvement over Ultra (68.5 FPS) and a 14.7 FPS improvement over High (78.5 FPS). The jump from Medium to High costs 16.5 FPS, which is a significant penalty for what is typically a modest visual gain in Doom. Low settings (109.7 FPS) are only advisable if the user prioritizes frame rate above all else, but the difference between Low and Medium (14.7 FPS) is small enough that most users will prefer the visual upgrade of Medium. The 4K Ultra result of 68.5 FPS is playable but sits close to the 60 FPS minimum for comfortable gaming, leaving little headroom for demanding scenes. Overall, Medium at 4K provides the best balance of smoothness and fidelity based on the measured data.