Doom

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i5-14600KF is a 14-core, 20-thread processor built on Intel's Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. Its 24 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel memory support for both DDR4 and DDR5 provide a robust foundation for gaming workloads. In synthetic benchmarks, this CPU scores 32,889 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 4,643 in single-core, placing it in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs tested.

The data reveals an interesting dynamic for Doom. At 1080p, the CPU's headroom becomes evident: even at Ultra settings, the combo achieves 141 FPS, while dropping to Low settings pushes the average to 232.8 FPS. This scalability suggests that the i5-14600KF is not the limiting factor at lower resolutions, as the frame rate swings dramatically with GPU load. The processor's single-core strength, reflected in its 4,643 Cinebench R23 single-core score, aligns well with Doom's engine, which historically favors strong per-thread performance.

Compared to its nearest rivals, the i5-14600KF sits remarkably close to the Intel Core i5-14600K, with a delta of just 0.4% in average benchmark scores. It also edges out the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X by 0.6% and trails the AMD EPYC 4345P by 0.5%. This tight clustering implies that, for a game like Doom, the CPU choice among these contenders would yield nearly identical results, reinforcing that the GPU carries most of the performance weight in this title.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT is built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture with a Navi 22 chip, featuring 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 384.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its boost clock reaches 2,581 MHz, while the game clock sits at 2,424 MHz. The card's 2,560 shading units and 64 ROPs provide a pixel rate of 165.2 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 413.0 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance rated at 13.21 TFLOPS.

The GPU's role becomes increasingly dominant as resolution climbs. At 4K, the frame rate falls from 82.4 FPS at Low settings to 49.8 FPS at Ultra, a drop of roughly 40% that points squarely at the graphics card's fill-rate and memory bandwidth limits. The 12 GB VRAM buffer is sufficient for Doom's textures at all settings, but the 384.0 GB/s bandwidth appears to constrain performance at 4K Ultra, where the engine demands rapid texture streaming. The GPU's 77th percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 33,721, puts it slightly behind the RX 6800 (0.7% delta) and marginally ahead of the NVIDIA RTX A5000 (1.3% delta).

At 1080p, the GPU still dictates the ceiling: Low settings yield 232.8 FPS, but Ultra drops to 141 FPS. This 65% reduction indicates that even at lower resolutions, the RX 6700 XT's compute units are the primary bottleneck, not the CPU. The card's 40 ray accelerators are present but irrelevant here, as Doom's release predates widespread RT adoption, so the rasterization pipeline dominates.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

The measured FPS rows reveal a clear hierarchy. At 1080p, Medium settings deliver 200.4 FPS, which is only 14% below the Low preset's 232.8 FPS but offers substantially better visual fidelity. High settings at 1080p produce 170.3 FPS, still well above the 144 Hz refresh rate that many gamers target. Ultra at 1080p falls to 141 FPS, which remains playable but sacrifices 29% of the Low preset's performance for marginal visual gains.

At 1440p, the picture shifts. Medium settings achieve 133 FPS, while High sits at 111.5 FPS. Both are smooth for competitive play, but the gap between Medium and High (16%) is smaller than the gap between High and Ultra (19%), suggesting diminishing returns beyond High. For 4K, the data tells a more cautionary tale: High settings produce 58.3 FPS, which is just above the 60 FPS threshold, while Ultra drops to 49.8 FPS, falling below it. The best experience at 4K, given the measured rows, is High settings — it maintains playability without the steep cost of Ultra.

The optimal preset depends on the target resolution. For 1080p and 1440p, High settings offer the best balance of visual quality and frame rate, with 170.3 and 111.5 FPS respectively. At 4K, High is the only viable preset above 60 FPS, as Medium (68.6 FPS) and Low (82.4 FPS) sacrifice too much visual fidelity for marginal gains.

FAQ

Q: Does this combo maintain 60 FPS at 4K with any settings?

A: Yes. The data shows High settings at 4K produce 58.3 FPS, which is slightly below 60, but Medium settings achieve 68.6 FPS and Low settings reach 82.4 FPS. Ultra is the only preset that falls below 50 FPS at 49.8 FPS.

Q: What is the biggest FPS jump between settings at the same resolution?

A: At 1080p, moving from Ultra (141 FPS) to Low (232.8 FPS) yields a 91.8 FPS increase, a 65% gain. The same pattern holds at 1440p, where Ultra (89.8 FPS) to Low (147.6 FPS) improves by 57.8 FPS, and at 4K, where Ultra (49.8 FPS) to Low (82.4 FPS) adds 32.6 FPS.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested combinations?

A: It ranks 925th out of 1,681 combos, placing it in the middle of the pack. This suggests that while the hardware is capable, many other CPU-GPU pairings deliver higher average FPS in Doom.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more responsible for performance differences between resolutions?

A: The GPU is the dominant factor. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 232.8 FPS, but at 4K Low it falls to 82.4 FPS, a 65% reduction. The CPU's strong single-core scores (4,643 in Cinebench R23) cannot compensate for the GPU's bandwidth limits at higher resolutions.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between 1080p and 4K at the same settings?

A: At High settings, the drop is from 170.3 FPS at 1080p to 58.3 FPS at 4K, a 66% decrease. At Low settings, the drop is from 232.8 FPS to 82.4 FPS, a 65% decrease. This consistent scaling confirms the GPU-bound nature of the workload.

Q: Are there any settings where the combo exceeds 200 FPS?

A: Yes, at 1080p with Low settings (232.8 FPS) and Medium settings (200.4 FPS). At 1440p, no preset reaches 200 FPS, as the highest is Low at 147.6 FPS.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The resolution scaling data is remarkably consistent across all four settings presets. At High settings, the frame rate drops from 170.3 FPS at 1080p to 111.5 FPS at 1440p (a 35% reduction) and then to 58.3 FPS at 4K (a 48% reduction from 1440p). At Low settings, the progression is 232.8 → 147.6 → 82.4 FPS, with similar percentage drops of 37% and 44% respectively.

This near-uniform scaling pattern is a strong indicator of GPU-bound performance. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect the 1080p to 1440p drop to be minimal, with the bottleneck emerging only at 4K. Instead, the consistent declines across every resolution step suggest that the RX 6700 XT's memory bandwidth (384.0 GB/s) and pixel throughput (165.2 GPixel/s) are the primary constraints.

The 4K Ultra result of 49.8 FPS is particularly telling. At this resolution, the GPU is processing four times the pixels of 1080p, and the 12 GB VRAM buffer is likely saturated with texture data. The card's 64 ROPs, while adequate for 1080p and 1440p, struggle to keep up with the fill-rate demands of 4K Ultra. This analysis is corroborated by the fact that dropping from Ultra to Low at 4K only recovers 32.6 FPS (from 49.8 to 82.4), whereas at 1080p the same settings change recovers 91.8 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

At 1920x1080, the measured FPS values are: Low 232.8, Medium 200.4, High 170.3, and Ultra 141. The spread between Low and Ultra is 91.8 FPS, representing a 65% performance penalty for maximum visual quality. This resolution offers the widest range of playable options, with every preset exceeding 140 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the values are: Low 147.6, Medium 133, High 111.5, and Ultra 89.8. The spread narrows to 57.8 FPS between Low and Ultra, a 39% penalty. Here, the Ultra preset falls below 90 FPS, which may be noticeable on high-refresh-rate monitors, but Medium and High remain comfortably above 100 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the values are: Low 82.4, Medium 68.6, High 58.3, and Ultra 49.8. The spread is 32.6 FPS, a 40% penalty. This is the only resolution where Low settings fail to reach 100 FPS, and Ultra dips below 50 FPS, making it unsuitable for smooth gameplay. High settings at 58.3 FPS are borderline, while Medium at 68.6 FPS offers the best balance of fidelity and playability at this resolution.

The data reveals that the performance gap between Low and Ultra shrinks as resolution increases, from a 91.8 FPS difference at 1080p to a 32.6 FPS difference at 4K. This compression indicates that at higher resolutions, the GPU is so heavily loaded that even reducing graphics settings cannot fully compensate for the raw pixel-pushing workload.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The Intel Core i5-14600KF paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT ranks 925th out of 1,681 tested combos in Doom, placing it just past the midpoint of the database. This rank of 925 out of 1,681 means roughly 55% of tested combinations outperform it, while 45% fall behind. The data suggests that this combo is competent but not exceptional for this title, which aligns with the GPU's 77th percentile standing and the CPU's 93rd percentile standing.

The disparity between the CPU's high percentile (93rd) and the combo's mid-pack ranking (925th) is revealing. If the CPU were the primary driver of Doom's performance, this combo would rank much higher, given the i5-14600KF's strong benchmark scores. Instead, the ranking reflects the RX 6700 XT's more modest 77th percentile position, confirming that the GPU dictates the overall experience in this game.

In practical terms, this rank means that gamers with this combo will achieve solid frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, but they will not be at the top of the performance curve. The measured FPS at 4K High (58.3) is below the 60 FPS standard that many players target, and only Medium settings at 4K (68.6 FPS) provide a comfortable margin. For players seeking high-refresh-rate 4K gaming, this combo would require lowering settings to Low (82.4 FPS) or accepting a compromise at Medium.