Doom

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates for Doom with the Intel Core i5-14600KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 4 GB reveal a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling as resolution increases. At 1920x1080 with Ultra settings, the combo produces 78.8 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 Ultra drops that to 53 FPS, a 32.7% reduction. At 3840x2160 Ultra, the average falls further to 29.4 FPS, which is 62.7% below the 1080p result. This steep decline indicates that the RTX 3050 4 GB becomes the limiting component as pixel count rises, with the CPU having ample headroom to feed the GPU at lower resolutions.

The scaling pattern across settings tells a similar story. At 1080p, the gap between Low and Ultra is 56.7 FPS (135.5 vs 78.8). At 1440p, that same settings spread narrows to 36 FPS (89 vs 53). By 4K, the spread compresses further to just 15.4 FPS (44.8 vs 29.4). This compression is a classic sign of GPU saturation — when the renderer is already overwhelmed at 4K, reducing graphical options has diminishing returns because the bottleneck shifts from shading work to raw pixel throughput and memory bandwidth.

The RTX 3050 4 GB's 128-bit memory bus and 192.0 GB/s bandwidth are likely contributors to this behavior. At 4K, the 4 GB VRAM capacity also becomes a concern, as texture data exceeds what the frame buffer can comfortably hold. The data shows that the most playable 4K result is Low settings at 44.8 FPS, which still falls short of the 60 FPS threshold. The card's 90 W TDP and 7.127 TFLOPS FP32 throughput are simply not sufficient for 4K Ultra in this title, which demands more than the 29.4 FPS the combo delivers at that configuration.

FAQ

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

A: The highest measured average FPS is 135.5, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The next-best result is 115.4 FPS at 1080p Medium, followed by 101.3 FPS at 1080p High.

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

A: At 3840x2160, the best result is 44.8 FPS on Low settings. Medium produces 39.7 FPS, High drops to 32.7 FPS, and Ultra is 29.4 FPS. None of these reach 60 FPS, so 4K is best reserved for slower-paced play or when using lower settings.

Q: How does the GPU perform relative to other graphics cards?

A: The RTX 3050 4 GB sits at the 50th percentile across all GPUs in the benchmark database. Its average benchmark score is 0, meaning it has no recorded synthetic benchmarks in the data, but its percentile placement indicates it is a mid-range performer.

Q: What is the CPU's ranking compared to other processors?

A: The Intel Core i5-14600KF ranks in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs. Its average benchmark score is 49367, placing it 0.4% ahead of the Intel Core i5-14600K, 0.6% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X, and 1.4% ahead of the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H. It trails the AMD EPYC 4345P by 0.5%.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU in Doom?

A: No. The scaling data shows the GPU is the limiting factor at all resolutions above 1080p. At 1080p Low, the CPU's 14 cores and 20 threads can push 135.5 FPS, but the GPU's 2048 shading units and 4 GB memory cap performance at higher resolutions.

Q: What settings provide the smoothest experience at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings deliver 89 FPS, Medium delivers 74 FPS, and High delivers 65.4 FPS. Ultra drops to 53 FPS. For a balance of visual quality and smoothness, Medium or High are the most viable options.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600KF is a 14-core, 20-thread processor based on Raptor Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz, with 24 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB of L2 cache per core. These specifications position it as a high-end desktop part, and its benchmark results confirm that capability. In Cinebench R23, it scores 32889 in multicore and 4643 in single-core. Geekbench results show 15636 multicore and 2778 single-core scores.

In Doom, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic. The measured FPS data indicates the processor is never the bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 135.5 FPS, which is likely near the engine's frame rate ceiling for this configuration. The CPU's 93rd percentile ranking among all processors means it outperforms the vast majority of installed hardware, and its nearest rivals — the i5-14600K (0.4% behind), Ryzen 9 5950X (0.6% behind), and Xeon Gold 5318H (1.4% behind) — are all comparable or slightly slower in aggregate benchmarks.

The 125 W TDP and unlocked multiplier suggest this chip is designed for enthusiast builds where performance is prioritized. However, in Doom specifically, the CPU's headroom is irrelevant at 4K because the GPU is clearly the constraining component. The 32.7 FPS at 4K Ultra versus 78.8 FPS at 1080p Ultra shows that the GPU's performance scales with resolution, while the CPU's contribution remains constant. This is a textbook case of GPU-bound rendering where a more powerful graphics card would yield the largest frame rate improvement.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The dataset provides 12 measured configurations, spanning three resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the results are as follows: Low settings produce 135.5 FPS, Medium produces 115.4 FPS, High produces 101.3 FPS, and Ultra produces 78.8 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra costs 56.7 FPS, or 41.8% of the Low result. This means each step up in quality — Low to Medium, Medium to High, High to Ultra — costs approximately 19-22 FPS, with the largest single drop occurring between High and Ultra (22.5 FPS).

At 2560x1440, the same pattern holds but with lower absolute numbers. Low delivers 89 FPS, Medium delivers 74 FPS, High delivers 65.4 FPS, and Ultra delivers 53 FPS. The total spread is 36 FPS, which is smaller than at 1080p. The relative cost of Ultra over Low is 40.4%, nearly identical to the 1080p percentage, suggesting the engine's settings scaling is consistent across these two resolutions.

At 3840x2160, the numbers compress further. Low produces 44.8 FPS, Medium produces 39.7 FPS, High produces 32.7 FPS, and Ultra produces 29.4 FPS. The total spread is just 15.4 FPS. Notably, the gap between Medium and High (7 FPS) is larger than between Low and Medium (5.1 FPS), which is a reversal of the trend seen at lower resolutions. This suggests that the High preset enables effects that are disproportionately expensive at 4K, likely related to the GPU's limited 4 GB memory capacity.

Across all resolutions, the Ultra preset consistently delivers the lowest frame rates. The data shows that a 1080p Ultra experience (78.8 FPS) is actually smoother than a 1440p High experience (65.4 FPS), which in turn beats a 4K Low experience (44.8 FPS). This ordering indicates that resolution has a greater impact on performance than settings, which is expected for a GPU-bound scenario.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo of the Intel Core i5-14600KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 4 GB ranks 1534 out of 1681 tested combinations in Doom. This places it in the bottom 9% of all tested systems, which is a surprisingly low position given the CPU's strength. The ranking reflects the GPU's modest performance — the RTX 3050 4 GB is at the 50th percentile among all GPUs, meaning half of all graphics cards in the database are faster.

This discrepancy highlights an imbalance in the pairing. The i5-14600KF is a top-tier processor, ranking in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs, but it is paired with a mid-range GPU. In Doom, which is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions, the CPU's power cannot compensate for the GPU's limitations. The 1534th place ranking suggests that most other tested combos either use a stronger GPU with a similar CPU, or a more balanced mid-range pairing.

The nearest CPU rivals — the i5-14600K, EPYC 4345P, Ryzen 9 5950X, and Xeon Gold 5318H — all have aggregate benchmark scores within 1.4% of the i5-14600KF. This means the CPU is not the differentiating factor. Instead, the GPU's 4 GB VRAM and 192.0 GB/s bandwidth are the likely reasons this combo ranks so low. For context, the 4K Ultra result of 29.4 FPS is barely above a slideshow threshold, and even the best 4K result (44.8 FPS on Low) is below the 60 FPS target most gamers expect.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal configuration depends on the user's target resolution and frame rate preference. At 1920x1080, the High preset (101.3 FPS) offers the best balance of visual quality and performance. Ultra is playable at 78.8 FPS, but the 22.5 FPS cost over High is substantial for what is likely a marginal visual improvement in a fast-paced FPS. Medium at 115.4 FPS is also viable for users who prioritize smoothness over eye candy.

At 2560x1440, the High preset (65.4 FPS) is the recommended starting point. It provides a playable experience above 60 FPS, while Ultra (53 FPS) dips below that threshold. Medium (74 FPS) is a safer choice for maintaining a consistent frame rate during intense combat sequences, and Low (89 FPS) is available for competitive play where frame rate is paramount.

At 3840x2160, no preset reaches 60 FPS. The Low preset (44.8 FPS) is the only configuration that approaches playability, but users seeking 4K would need to accept sub-45 FPS averages. Medium (39.7 FPS) and High (32.7 FPS) are marginal, while Ultra (29.4 FPS) is not recommended for anything beyond static scenes. For a smooth experience in Doom, the data suggests that 1080p High or 1440p Medium are the sweet spots, delivering 101.3 FPS and 74 FPS respectively. The Ultra preset should be avoided at all resolutions if frame rate consistency is a priority, as it consistently costs 20-40% performance compared to High with diminishing returns.