Doom

The Intel Core i5-14600KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER delivers a remarkably consistent experience in Doom, one that is clearly defined by the GPU's capabilities rather than the CPU's headroom. The measured data reveals a system that can easily dominate at 1080p, remain highly playable at 1440p, and still hold its own at 4K, making it a versatile combination for this fast-paced title.

Settings Recommendations

For this specific hardware pairing, the data suggests that the High preset offers the best balance of visual fidelity and performance across all tested resolutions. At 1080p, the High preset achieves an average of 156 FPS, which is well above the threshold for smooth gameplay on high-refresh-rate monitors. Moving to 1440p, the High preset still maintains a solid 101 FPS average, ensuring the experience remains fluid without requiring a significant drop in visual quality.

While the Ultra preset is technically playable, the performance cost is substantial. At 1080p, Ultra delivers 127 FPS, which is a 29 FPS drop from High. This gap widens at 1440p, where Ultra falls to 82 FPS, and becomes more pronounced at 4K, where it drops to 45 FPS. The jump from High to Ultra does not yield a proportional visual benefit in this game's engine, making it a less efficient choice for this GPU.

The Medium preset serves as a strong middle ground, offering 184 FPS at 1080p and 119 FPS at 1440p. However, the difference between Medium and High is relatively small, and the higher preset provides better image quality for a modest performance cost. The Low preset, while delivering the highest frame rates (212 FPS at 1080p), sacrifices too much visual detail to be recommended when the hardware can comfortably handle higher settings. The optimal experience is therefore the High preset, which provides a significant visual upgrade over Medium with only a minor performance penalty, while remaining well within the playable range at all resolutions.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is the primary driver of performance in this configuration. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory, paired with a 256-bit memory bus and 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, is well-suited for a game of Doom's era. The data shows that the GPU is the limiting factor, particularly at higher resolutions. The transition from 1080p High to 4K High results in a dramatic frame rate drop from 156 FPS to 55 FPS, which is a clear indicator of the GPU hitting its limits as pixel count increases.

The GPU's clock speeds, with a base of 1605 MHz and a boost of 1770 MHz, are typical for this generation. The performance scaling across settings suggests that the GPU's compute resources are the bottleneck, rather than its memory subsystem. For instance, at 1440p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 55 FPS (137 vs 82), which is a substantial range that highlights how sensitive the RTX 2070 SUPER is to shader complexity and fill rate demands. The card's FP32 performance of 9.062 TFLOPS is adequate for this title, but the data implies that it is the primary constraint on achieving higher frame rates at 4K, where even the Low preset only manages 74 FPS.

Interestingly, the GPU's benchmark scores place it in the 65th percentile of all GPUs, and its nearest rivals include the Intel Arc A750 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile. These comparisons suggest that the RTX 2070 SUPER is a mid-to-high-tier card, and its performance in Doom aligns with this positioning—capable but not exceptional at the highest resolutions. The 8 GB VRAM appears sufficient, as there are no anomalies in the data that would suggest memory capacity is causing stutters or frame drops.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600KF is a formidable processor that is not the bottleneck in this configuration. With 14 cores and 20 threads, a base clock of 3.50 GHz, and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz, it provides ample computational power for Doom's engine. The CPU's benchmark results are impressive, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32544 and a single-core score of 4594, placing it in the 90th percentile of all CPUs.

In this game, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and physics calculations, and the data suggests it does so without breaking a sweat. The fact that frame rates scale almost entirely with resolution and graphical settings, rather than showing CPU-induced plateaus, confirms that the i5-14600KF is not holding the system back. For example, at 1080p Low, the system achieves 212 FPS, but this is likely limited by the GPU's rasterization speed, not the CPU's ability to issue commands.

The CPU's 24 MB of shared L3 cache and high boost clock are particularly beneficial for gaming, as they reduce latency and improve single-threaded performance, which is crucial for maintaining high frame rates in FPS titles. The nearest rivals to this CPU, such as the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 and the Intel Core Ultra 5 245, have similar average benchmark scores, with deltas of less than 1%. This indicates that the i5-14600KF is a top-tier gaming CPU, and its performance in Doom is unlikely to be a limiting factor in any scenario, even at 1080p with low settings where the CPU is most likely to be stressed.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-14600KF and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER ranks 2153 out of 3712 tested combos in Doom. This places it in the 42nd percentile of all tested combinations, which is a somewhat surprising result given the individual strengths of the components. The ranking suggests that while the CPU is powerful, the GPU's mid-range performance drags the overall combo down when compared to systems with higher-end graphics cards.

This rank is more indicative of the GPU's limitations than the CPU's capabilities. Many of the 3712 combos likely feature more powerful GPUs paired with similar or weaker CPUs, which would result in higher frame rates in a GPU-intensive game like Doom. The data shows that the combo is still highly playable, but the 2153rd rank reflects that it is not competitive with top-tier gaming rigs in this specific title. The gap between this combo and higher-ranked ones is likely due to the RTX 2070 SUPER's inability to maintain high frame rates at 4K, where it drops to 45 FPS on Ultra, whereas a more powerful GPU would excel.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play this game with this hardware?

A: The data shows that 1440p is the sweet spot. At High settings, the combo achieves 101 FPS, which is smooth and visually detailed. While 1080p offers higher frame rates (156 FPS on High), 1440p provides a significant visual upgrade without sacrificing playability.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Doom?

A: Yes, but with compromises. The average frame rates at 4K range from 45 FPS on Ultra to 74 FPS on Low. The High preset at 55 FPS is playable, but it is not ideal for competitive play. For a better 4K experience, lowering settings to Medium (65 FPS) or Low is recommended.

Q: How does the RTX 2070 SUPER compare to its closest rivals in terms of benchmark scores?

A: The RTX 2070 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 20282. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M, scores 20480, which is 1% higher. The Intel Arc A750 scores 20582, which is 1.5% higher. This indicates the GPU is slightly below these competitors in raw compute performance.

Q: Is the CPU holding back the GPU in this configuration?

A: No. The benchmark data indicates the i5-14600KF is a top-tier CPU in the 90th percentile. The frame rate scaling across resolutions is consistent with a GPU bottleneck, meaning the CPU has sufficient headroom to feed the GPU without limiting performance.

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

A: At 1080p, the Low preset achieves an average of 212 FPS, while the Ultra preset achieves 127 FPS. This is a difference of 85 FPS, or a 40% reduction in frame rate when switching from Low to Ultra.

Q: Does the combo's rank in the database reflect its true gaming ability?

A: The rank of 2153 out of 3712 combos is a measure of its overall performance relative to all tested systems. While it is not in the top tier, the measured FPS data shows it is more than capable of delivering a smooth experience at 1080p and 1440p, making the rank somewhat misleading for its practical gaming value.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the system's capabilities across all settings and resolutions. At 1080p, the system excels, delivering an average of 212 FPS on Low, 184 FPS on Medium, 156 FPS on High, and 127 FPS on Ultra. The Medium and High presets both exhibit a minimum FPS of 157 and 212 respectively, indicating consistent frame pacing.

Moving to 1440p, the performance scales down as expected. The Low preset achieves 137 FPS, Medium delivers 119 FPS, High provides 101 FPS, and Ultra drops to 82 FPS. The Medium preset at this resolution shows a min FPS of 101 and a max of 137, demonstrating a stable range that is well within playable territory.

At 4K, the system begins to show its limits. The Low preset is the most playable option, with an average of 74 FPS. Medium follows at 65 FPS, with a min of 55 and max of 74. High drops to 55 FPS, and Ultra is the least viable at 45 FPS. The data shows a clear pattern: the higher the resolution and settings, the more the frame rate suffers, confirming the GPU as the primary bottleneck.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the limiting component in this system. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 156 at 1080p to 101 at 1440p, a 35% reduction, and then to 55 at 4K, a further 46% reduction. This steep decline is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario, where the increased pixel count directly impacts the GPU's fill rate and shading workload.

The data implies that the RTX 2070 SUPER is the primary constraint. The CPU's performance is unlikely to change with resolution, as its workload remains relatively constant regardless of pixel count. The fact that the frame rate drops so dramatically as resolution increases is a clear sign that the GPU is struggling to keep up with the demand. At 1080p, the system has plenty of headroom, as evidenced by the high frame rates, but this headroom is quickly consumed as resolution scales.

This scaling behavior also suggests that the game's engine is well-optimized, as the frame rate drops are consistent and predictable. The 4K results, while playable on lower settings, show that this hardware combo is not designed for high-fidelity 4K gaming in Doom. The sweet spot is clearly 1440p, where the system can maintain high frame rates with a significant visual improvement over 1080p. For users with 4K displays, the Low preset at 74 FPS is the most viable option, but the experience is best suited to 1080p or 1440p monitors.