Doom

The Intel Core i5-14600KF and AMD Radeon RX 7600 combination delivers a playable experience in Doom, but the performance curve is steeply dependent on resolution. At 1920x1080, the system is firmly in high-refresh territory, with the Low preset hitting an average of 193 FPS and even the demanding Ultra preset maintaining a solid 116 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain robust; the Low preset achieves 125 FPS, while Ultra drops to 75 FPS, still comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The situation changes dramatically at 3840x2160, where the GPU begins to struggle. Here, the Ultra preset averages just 41 FPS, and High only reaches 50 FPS. Even the Low preset, which is typically the least demanding, yields an average of 68 FPS, indicating that the Radeon RX 7600 is the primary limiting factor at this resolution.

This scaling behavior—where performance degrades by roughly 35% from 1080p to 1440p and then another 45% from 1440p to 4K—points directly to the graphics card as the bottleneck. The CPU, with its high core count and boost clocks, has ample headroom at lower resolutions, but the GPU’s 8 GB of VRAM and 128-bit memory bus become strained as pixel count increases. The data suggests that for 4K gaming, users will need to stick to the Low or Medium presets to maintain acceptable frame rates, while 1080p and 1440p users can enjoy higher graphical fidelity without sacrificing performance.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear and predictable pattern: performance scales inversely with resolution. At 1920x1080, the average frame rates across all settings are high, ranging from 116 FPS on Ultra to 193 FPS on Low. This indicates that the combination of the i5-14600KF and RX 7600 is well-suited for competitive or high-refresh-rate gaming at this resolution, where the GPU has enough bandwidth and processing power to keep up with the CPU’s output. The jump to 2560x1440 introduces a noticeable but manageable hit; the average FPS drops by approximately 35% across the board, with Ultra settling at 75 FPS and Low at 125 FPS. This resolution represents a sweet spot for the combo, offering a significant visual upgrade over 1080p while still maintaining frame rates that exceed the refresh rate of most standard monitors.

The transition to 3840x2160 is where the system’s limitations become stark. The average FPS plummets, with the Ultra preset falling to 41 FPS—a 65% reduction from its 1080p counterpart. High settings fare only slightly better at 50 FPS, and even Low settings dip to 68 FPS. This steep drop-off indicates that the Radeon RX 7600’s 8 GB VRAM and 288.0 GB/s memory bandwidth are insufficient to handle the pixel throughput required at 4K. The data suggests that the GPU is the sole limiting component at this resolution, as the CPU’s performance is likely not a factor given the massive slowdown. For users targeting 4K, the only viable path is to run the game at Low or Medium settings, which deliver 68 and 59 FPS respectively, but this sacrifices the visual fidelity that makes 4K worthwhile.

How This Combo Ranks

In the grand scheme of tested hardware combinations for Doom, this pairing sits at rank 2540 out of 3712 combos, placing it in the lower third of all systems evaluated. This ranking reflects the GPU’s mid-range positioning rather than the CPU’s capabilities. The i5-14600KF is a high-performance processor, ranking in the 90th percentile against all CPUs and averaging a benchmark score of 49394. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 7900, which scores 49228 (a 0.3% difference), and the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 388, which scores 49796 (a -0.8% difference). This places the CPU in elite company, demonstrating that it is not the bottleneck in this system.

Conversely, the Radeon RX 7600 ranks in the 57th percentile against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 15171. Its closest competitors are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM (scoring 15199, a -0.2% difference) and the AMD Radeon 680M (scoring 15270, a -0.7% difference). This places the GPU squarely in the mid-range tier, and it is this component that drags the combo’s overall rank down. The data indicates that while the CPU could support a much more powerful GPU, the RX 7600’s performance ceiling limits the system’s overall standing. In practical terms, this combo is positioned to deliver solid 1080p and 1440p performance, but it will not compete with high-end systems in demanding titles.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7600 is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture and utilizes the Navi 33 chip, fabricated on a 6 nm process by TSMC. It features 2048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 64 raster operation units, along with 32 ray tracing cores. The GPU’s clock speeds are set with a base of 1720 MHz, a game clock of 2250 MHz, and a boost clock of 2655 MHz. These clocks allow for a peak FP32 performance of 21.75 TFLOPS, which is respectable for its class. However, the memory subsystem is where the card shows its mid-range nature: it has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 288.0 GB/s.

In Doom, these specifications translate directly to the measured frame rates. At 1080p and 1440p, the GPU’s raw compute power is sufficient to handle the game’s demands, as evidenced by the high FPS figures. The 8 GB VRAM is adequate for these resolutions, as the game’s textures and assets do not exceed this capacity. However, at 4K, the combination of higher pixel count and larger texture memory requirements pushes the GPU to its limits. The memory bandwidth of 288.0 GB/s becomes a bottleneck, as the GPU cannot fetch and process data fast enough to maintain high frame rates. The result is a significant performance drop, with the Ultra preset falling to 41 FPS. This indicates that the GPU’s memory bus width and capacity are the primary constraints at higher resolutions, rather than its compute capabilities.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For 1920x1080, the Ultra preset is the clear recommendation, as it delivers an average of 116 FPS—well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay and high enough for most high-refresh-rate monitors. The visual fidelity gains from Ultra over High are substantial, and the performance cost is relatively small (a 26 FPS drop from 142 to 116). Users with 144 Hz or higher monitors can also comfortably use the High preset, which yields 142 FPS, but Ultra offers a more complete experience without sacrificing playability.

At 2560x1440, the choice is more nuanced. The High preset delivers 92 FPS, which is excellent for most users, while the Ultra preset drops to 75 FPS—still playable but closer to the lower bound of what is considered smooth. Given that the visual difference between High and Ultra is often subtle in fast-paced FPS games, the High preset is the recommended balance of performance and quality. However, for users with G-Sync or FreeSync displays, the Ultra preset’s 75 FPS is acceptable. For 3840x2160, the recommendations are more constrained. The Low preset averages 68 FPS, which is playable, while the Medium preset averages 59 FPS, which is borderline. The High and Ultra presets, at 50 and 41 FPS respectively, are not recommended for a smooth experience. Users targeting 4K should prioritize the Low or Medium presets to maintain frame rates above 50 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the system’s performance across all settings and resolutions. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 193 FPS, with the Medium preset following at 168 FPS. The High preset averages 142 FPS, and the Ultra preset rounds out the group at 116 FPS. This shows a linear progression, with each step up in settings costing approximately 25-30 FPS. The minimum FPS for the Medium preset is recorded at 143, indicating that even in the most demanding scenes, the frame rate stays well above 100 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the pattern continues but with lower absolute numbers. The Low preset averages 125 FPS, while Medium drops to 109 FPS. High settings deliver 92 FPS, and Ultra is the lowest at 75 FPS. The minimum FPS for Medium is 92, which suggests that the system maintains a stable experience without significant drops. The transition from 1080p to 1440p represents a roughly 35% reduction in frame rates across all settings, which is consistent with the increase in pixel count. At 3840x2160, the data shows a more dramatic decline. The Low preset averages 68 FPS, Medium 59 FPS, High 50 FPS, and Ultra 41 FPS. The minimum FPS for Medium is 50, which is the only recorded minimum at this resolution. This highlights the GPU’s struggle to maintain consistent frame times under the load of 4K rendering.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600KF is a 14-core, 20-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. It features a large 24 MB shared L3 cache and supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory, paired with a 125 W TDP. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU demonstrates strong multi-threaded performance, scoring 32544 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 13668 in Cinebench R20 multi-core. Its single-thread performance is equally impressive, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4594. These results place it in the 90th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 49394, putting it within 0.8% of rivals like the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 and Intel Core Ultra 5 245.

In Doom, the CPU’s role is to feed the GPU with enough data to maintain high frame rates. The measured FPS at 1080p, particularly the 193 FPS on Low settings, indicates that the CPU has significant headroom and is not a bottleneck at this resolution. Even at 1440p, where the GPU becomes more stressed, the CPU’s high single-thread performance ensures that frame times remain consistent. However, at 4K, the CPU’s performance is largely irrelevant, as the GPU’s limitations dominate the frame rate. The data suggests that the i5-14600KF is more than capable of supporting a higher-end GPU, and in this combo, it is the RX 7600 that prevents the system from achieving higher ranks. The CPU’s 14 cores and 20 threads also provide future-proofing for more CPU-intensive games, but for Doom, its primary contribution is ensuring that the GPU operates at its full potential in lower-resolution scenarios.