Doom

Doom's 2016 engine is exceptionally scalable, and the measured data for the Intel Core i5-14600KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER confirms this, delivering triple-digit frame rates at every tested resolution. The combination ranks 109th out of 1681 tested combos, placing it in the top 6.5% of all systems tested for this title, underscoring its strength as a high-refresh-rate powerhouse. The data reveals a system that is heavily GPU-limited at 4K, but transitions to a more balanced state at 1080p, where the CPU's capabilities become a significant factor in pushing frame rates to their absolute ceiling.

Resolution Scaling

The scaling from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and reveals the expected shift in bottleneck. At 1080p with High settings, the combo produces 295.4 FPS, which drops to 188.7 FPS at 1440p and further to 103.5 FPS at 4K. This represents a 36% performance reduction from 1080p to 1440p and a further 45% reduction from 1440p to 4K, showing the massive workload increase on the GPU at higher resolutions. The progression is not linear, indicating that the GPU is the primary limiting factor as pixel count rises.

The data shows that at 4K, the frame rate is almost entirely dependent on the GPU’s rendering capabilities, with the CPU having ample headroom to feed the graphics card. Conversely, the jump from 1440p to 1080p at Low settings shows a scaling of 396.5 FPS down to 255.7 FPS, a 35% drop. This suggests that while the GPU is still heavily taxed, the CPU is beginning to play a more substantial role in determining the final frame rate at these lower resolutions. The frame rate at 1080p Low, 396.5 FPS, is so high that it approaches the practical limits of the CPU's single-threaded performance, which confirms Doom's efficient multi-threading.

Settings Recommendations

For the optimal balance of visual fidelity and performance, the High preset is the clear recommendation at every resolution. At 4K, High delivers 103.5 FPS, which is a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS standard and provides a substantial 25% performance uplift over the Ultra preset's 82.6 FPS. The visual difference between High and Ultra in Doom is often subtle, making the performance gain from dropping to High a wise trade-off. At 1440p, High achieves 188.7 FPS, a score that fully utilizes high-refresh-rate monitors (up to 165Hz or 180Hz) without breaking a sweat.

The data shows that the Low preset offers diminishing returns for competitive play, as even the Ultra preset at 1080p provides 238.6 FPS, which is already beyond the refresh rate of most gaming monitors. The Medium preset is a middle ground, but the High preset’s performance at 1440p and 4K makes it the superior choice for the vast majority of users. For 1080p, the High preset's 295.4 FPS is more than sufficient, and the additional frame rate from Lower settings (346.5 FPS at Medium, 396.5 FPS at Low) offers no practical benefit on standard 144Hz or 240Hz displays.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER is the dominant component in this pairing, and its 16 GB of GDDR6X memory ensures that VRAM capacity is a non-issue for Doom at any resolution. With a memory bandwidth of 736.3 GB/s and a 256-bit bus, the card has ample throughput to handle the game's texture streaming, even at 4K Ultra settings. The GPU's boost clock of 2550 MHz and 10240 shading units are the key architectural features driving the frame rates seen in the data. The measured FPS scaling aligns with the GPU's raw compute power, as indicated by its 52.22 TFLOPS FP32 performance.

The GPU's performance percentile of 88% versus all other GPUs places it in a strong position, but the nearest rivals list shows a tight cluster. The RTX 4080 SUPER's average benchmark score is 53610, which is only 0.2% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT (53489) and 0.4% higher than the AMD Radeon Pro W6600M (53414). This suggests that while the RTX 4080 SUPER is a top-tier card, its advantage over the previous generation's flagship is marginal in synthetic tests. However, in Doom's specific engine, the measured frame rates demonstrate that the card is more than capable of delivering a premium experience.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1080p, the frame rates are exceptionally high, with the Low preset hitting 396.5 FPS and the Medium preset at 346.5 FPS. The High preset yields 295.4 FPS, while the Ultra preset drops to 238.6 FPS. These numbers show that the CPU-GPU combo is capable of pushing frame rates that are limited only by the game engine's internal physics and draw call processing. The gap between Low and Ultra is 158 FPS, highlighting the significant GPU workload increase with higher settings.

At 1440p, the performance remains stellar. The Low preset achieves 255.7 FPS, Medium gets 225.4 FPS, and High produces 188.7 FPS. The Ultra preset falls to 157.2 FPS, which is still a very high frame rate for a 1440p resolution. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p at High settings (295.4 to 188.7 FPS) shows a 36% reduction, indicating that the GPU is the primary constraint, but the system still delivers a flawless high-refresh-rate experience.

At 4K, the system begins to show its limits, but the results are still impressive. The Low preset produces 137.6 FPS, Medium hits 122.9 FPS, and High manages 103.5 FPS. The Ultra preset drops to 82.6 FPS, which is the only setting that dips below the 100 FPS mark. The scaling from High to Ultra at 4K is a 20% performance hit, demonstrating that the Ultra preset's additional effects, such as higher-quality shadows and reflections, are particularly demanding on the GPU.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-14600KF and RTX 4080 SUPER combo ranks 109th out of 1681 tested combinations, placing it in the top 6.5% of all systems for Doom. This high ranking is a result of the synergistic pairing: the CPU's strong single-core performance prevents it from bottlenecking the GPU, which is the primary driver of frame rates in this game. The data indicates that this combo outperforms the vast majority of other systems, including those with higher-core-count CPUs, because Doom benefits more from raw GPU power and high IPC than from sheer core count.

This ranking is particularly notable given the CPU's benchmark profile. The i5-14600KF has an average benchmark score of 49367, which is 0.4% higher than the Intel Core i5-14600K (49166) and 0.6% higher than the AMD Ryzen 9 5950X (49062). This shows that the i5-14600KF is a top-tier gaming CPU, and its performance in Doom is further enhanced by the RTX 4080 SUPER's high-end capabilities. The combo's rank suggests that few systems can match its combination of high GPU fill rate and responsive CPU processing.

FAQ

Q: Is this combo capable of 4K 100+ FPS in Doom?

A: Yes, the data shows that the combo achieves 103.5 FPS at 4K with High settings and 122.9 FPS with Medium settings, making it fully capable of a smooth 100+ FPS experience at 4K.

Q: What is the best preset for a 144Hz monitor at 1440p?

A: The High preset is the best choice, delivering 188.7 FPS at 1440p, which comfortably exceeds the 144Hz refresh rate. The Ultra preset also achieves 157.2 FPS, which is also above 144Hz, but High provides more headroom.

Q: How much performance is lost by using Ultra settings instead of High at 1080p?

A: The data shows a reduction from 295.4 FPS on High to 238.6 FPS on Ultra, a difference of 56.8 FPS, or approximately 19% lower performance.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU at 1080p?

A: The data suggests the CPU becomes more relevant at 1080p, as the GPU is not as saturated. The 396.5 FPS at Low settings is very high, but the scaling to 4K shows the GPU is the main constraint at higher resolutions.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rival, the Core i5-14600K?

A: The i5-14600KF has an average benchmark score of 49367, which is 0.4% higher than the i5-14600K's score of 49166, indicating a negligible performance difference.

Q: What is the GPU's memory configuration?

A: The RTX 4080 SUPER has 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, with a memory bandwidth of 736.3 GB/s, providing ample capacity and speed for Doom's textures.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-14600KF, with its 14 cores (6 performance and 8 efficient) and 20 threads, plays a supporting but crucial role in this combo. Its boost clock of 5.30 GHz and a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4643 ensure that the CPU can keep up with the GPU's frame generation, preventing a CPU-bound bottleneck. The data indicates that at 4K, the CPU's role is diminished, as the GPU is the limiting factor, but at 1080p, the CPU's high single-thread performance becomes more critical to achieving frame rates near 400 FPS.

The CPU's performance in Doom is further evidenced by its Passmark single-thread score of 4273, which is in the top percentile of all CPUs (93rd). The i5-14600KF's 24 MB of shared L3 cache also helps with game data locality, reducing memory latency. While the CPU's multi-core performance (Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32889) is not directly impactful for Doom, it ensures that background tasks and streaming won't cause frame drops. The CPU's nearest rivals show it is a top contender; it is 0.4% faster than the i5-14600K and 0.6% faster than the Ryzen 9 5950X, making it an excellent choice for gaming, even if the GPU does most of the heavy lifting in this specific title.