Doom

The GeForce RTX 5090 D paired with the Intel Core i5-14600KF delivers an exceptional experience in Doom, with the data showing a combination capable of pushing massive frame rates across all tested resolutions. The benchmark results indicate a system that remains fluid even at 4K with maximum settings, though the scaling patterns reveal where the performance boundaries lie. This analysis breaks down the measured FPS data, contextualizes the combo’s standing against other tested configurations, and examines the respective roles of the GPU and CPU in producing these results.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a predictable yet steep decline as resolution increases, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario at higher pixel counts. At 1080p with High settings, the combo produces 357 FPS. Moving to 1440p High drops this to 231 FPS, a reduction of approximately 35%. The jump to 4K High yields 125 FPS, which is a further 46% decrease from the 1440p figure. This scaling pattern strongly suggests that the GPU is the primary limiting factor at 4K, while the CPU’s headroom is being increasingly taxed at lower resolutions.

Analyzing the Low preset across resolutions provides a clearer picture of the CPU’s influence. At 1080p Low, the system hits 446 FPS. At 1440p Low, it reaches 314 FPS, and at 4K Low, it drops to 170 FPS. The margin between 1080p and 1440p Low is 132 FPS, while the gap between 1440p and 4K Low is 144 FPS. The relative consistency of these absolute deltas, despite the lower rendering load, indicates that the CPU is starting to become a more significant factor at 1080p, where the GPU has less work to do per frame.

The Ultra preset data reveals the most demanding scenario. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS falls to 102, a significant drop from the 125 FPS seen at High. This 23 FPS difference between High and Ultra at 4K is smaller than the 42 FPS difference observed at 1440p (189 vs 231 FPS) and the 65 FPS difference at 1080p (292 vs 357 FPS). This trend indicates that the incremental cost of Ultra settings is relatively lower at higher resolutions, where the GPU’s raw fillrate and shading power are already saturated, making the additional settings overhead less impactful proportionally.

The data suggests that for competitive play where frame rates above 300 FPS are desirable, 1080p is the only viable option, and even then, only with Low or Medium settings. For a high-refresh-rate 1440p monitor, the High preset delivers 231 FPS, which is adequate for most fast-paced displays. At 4K, the combo remains playable, but the 125 FPS at High and 102 FPS at Ultra indicate that users prioritizing maximum visual fidelity will need to accept frame rates in the triple-digit lower range.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-14600KF and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D combination ranks 20th out of 2930 tested combos in Doom. This places the configuration in the top 0.7% of all tested systems, a signal of the high-end nature of both components. The rank reflects the aggregate performance across all settings and resolutions measured, and the data shows this is a top-tier pairing for this specific title.

Given the GPU’s position in the benchmark hierarchy, this ranking is expected. The RTX 5090 D sits in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs, and its average benchmark score of 77712 places it near the top of the stack. The CPU, while not as extreme, is also a high performer, sitting in the 90th percentile of all CPUs. The combination of two components in the 90th percentile or above naturally yields a system that dominates the lower-ranked combinations in the database.

The nearest rivals for the GPU in the overall benchmark list provide context for its raw power. The RTX 5090 D’s average score is 1.1% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT, though this is a mobile part, and 1.6% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT. These comparisons, while seemingly close in percentage terms, are based on synthetic benchmarks that may not perfectly translate to Doom’s specific engine and workload. The fact that the combo ranks so highly in-game despite these tight synthetic margins suggests that Doom’s engine is particularly well-optimized for the RTX 5090 D’s architecture.

It is also worth noting the CPU’s nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks. The Core i5-14600KF scores 0.3% higher than the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 and 0.4% higher than the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G. These very small deltas indicate that the CPU is not a differentiator in this context; any of these processors would likely yield similar results in Doom, given that the game is heavily GPU-bound at most settings.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is the dominant component in this combo for Doom, and its specifications support the observed performance. The GPU features 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s. This immense memory bandwidth is critical for high-resolution textures and explains why the card maintains strong performance at 4K, where memory bandwidth often becomes a bottleneck for lesser cards.

The GPU’s clock speeds are also a factor. With a base clock of 2017 MHz and a boost clock of 2407 MHz, the card is running at high frequencies. The 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power is substantial, and the 21760 shading units provide the raw throughput needed to handle Doom’s lighting and particle effects. The pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s are similarly high, ensuring that the card can fill the screen with detail without stuttering.

The specific frame rates measured in Doom reflect this hardware’s capabilities. At 4K High, the card delivers 125 FPS, which is a demanding workload. The fact that it can maintain this with headroom to spare suggests that the GPU is not completely maxed out. The 4K Ultra result of 102 FPS shows that even the most demanding settings are manageable. The GPU’s 92nd percentile ranking among all GPUs is consistent with these results, as it indicates a top-tier part that can handle modern titles at high resolutions.

The VRAM capacity of 32 GB is excessive for Doom, a game from 2016, but it future-proofs the system. The data does not indicate any VRAM-related performance drops, as the frame times are consistent within the measured ranges. The 176 ROPs are also sufficient for the fillrate demands of the game, as evidenced by the smooth scaling from Low to Ultra settings.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across three resolutions and four quality presets. The full dataset is as follows:

At 1920x1080, the Low preset yields an average of 446 FPS. The Medium preset produces 422 FPS, with a minimum of 359 FPS and a maximum of 486 FPS. High settings deliver 357 FPS, and Ultra delivers 292 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra at 1080p is 154 FPS, showing a significant performance cost for the highest quality settings.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 314 FPS. Medium settings average 273 FPS, with a minimum of 232 FPS and a maximum of 314 FPS. High settings produce 231 FPS, and Ultra produces 189 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra at 1440p is 125 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 170 FPS. Medium settings average 148 FPS, with a minimum of 126 FPS and a maximum of 170 FPS. High settings produce 125 FPS, and Ultra produces 102 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra at 4K is 68 FPS.

The data shows a clear pattern: the absolute difference between presets shrinks as resolution increases. This is because at 4K, the GPU is the primary bottleneck, and the additional work required by higher settings has a smaller relative impact on the total frame time. At 1080p, the CPU has more influence, and the settings can have a larger effect on the frame rate, as seen in the 154 FPS spread.

The Medium preset is the only one with min/max data. At 1080p, the range is 359 to 486 FPS, a variance of 127 FPS. At 1440p, the range is 232 to 314 FPS, a variance of 82 FPS. At 4K, the range is 126 to 170 FPS, a variance of 44 FPS. This narrowing variance with increasing resolution further confirms that the system becomes more stable and predictable as the GPU workload grows, reducing the impact of CPU-side frame time spikes.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to achieve over 200 FPS in Doom?

A: The data shows that 1440p with High settings yields 231 FPS, while 1080p with High settings yields 357 FPS. To maintain over 200 FPS, 1440p is the highest resolution that comfortably achieves this target, provided the settings are not set to Ultra, which drops to 189 FPS.

Q: How much of a performance hit does the Ultra preset take compared to High at 4K?

A: At 3840x2160, the High preset averages 125 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 102 FPS. This represents a 23 FPS reduction, or an 18.4% decrease in average frame rate when switching from High to Ultra.

Q: Is the RTX 5090 D a significant upgrade over its nearest rivals for this game?

A: The GPU’s nearest rival in synthetic benchmarks is the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT, which has a 1.6% higher average score. However, this is a synthetic comparison. The in-game rank of 20th out of 2930 combos suggests that the RTX 5090 D, in this specific pairing, is among the fastest configurations tested for Doom.

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

A: The data suggests some CPU influence at 1080p. The frame rate difference between 1080p Low (446 FPS) and 1440p Low (314 FPS) is 132 FPS, while the difference between 1440p Low and 4K Low (170 FPS) is 144 FPS. The smaller absolute delta at the lower resolution boundary indicates the CPU is having a more pronounced effect, preventing the GPU from scaling fully.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for the Medium preset at 1440p?

A: The measured data shows that at 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the minimum FPS is 232, with an average of 273 FPS and a maximum of 314 FPS.

Q: How does this combo’s ranking compare to its synthetic benchmark percentiles?

A: The combo ranks 20th out of 2930 in Doom, which is in the top 0.7%. The GPU is in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs, and the CPU is in the 90th percentile of all CPUs. The in-game rank is higher than the individual component percentiles, indicating that this specific pairing is particularly well-suited for Doom’s engine.

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 provides substantial single-thread performance, which is crucial for older games like Doom that may not utilize all cores effectively. The 24 MB of shared L3 cache also helps reduce memory latency, which can be beneficial for frame pacing.

In Doom, the CPU’s role is secondary to the GPU, but it is not negligible. The data shows that at 1080p Low, the system achieves 446 FPS. This is an extremely high frame rate that requires a CPU capable of feeding the GPU with draw calls and game logic updates. The Core i5-14600KF’s high boost clock is likely the key factor here, as Doom’s engine tends to rely on a few heavily-threaded tasks.

The CPU’s synthetic benchmark scores reinforce its capability. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32544 and single-core score of 4594 are strong indicators of its ability to handle both multi-threaded and single-threaded workloads. The Geekbench single-core score of 2445 and multi-core score of 17085 also show a balanced performance profile. The PassMark single-thread score of 4273 is particularly relevant for gaming, as many game engines, including Doom’s id Tech 6, have a primary game thread that benefits from high single-core performance.

The CPU’s performance relative to its nearest rivals is close. In synthetic benchmarks, it is 0.3% faster than the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 and 0.8% faster than the Intel Core Ultra 5 245. It is 0.8% slower than the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 388. These negligible differences suggest that swapping the CPU for any of these alternatives would not produce a noticeable change in Doom’s frame rates, confirming that the GPU is the primary driver of performance in this configuration.

The data indicates that the CPU is sufficient to avoid being a significant bottleneck at 4K, where the GPU is clearly the limiting factor. However, at 1080p, the CPU’s performance ceiling begins to show, as the frame rates do not scale as aggressively with lower settings as they do at higher resolutions. This is not a weakness of the CPU, but rather a natural consequence of the GPU having less work to do, thereby exposing the CPU’s maximum frame rate generation capability.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend heavily on the user’s display refresh rate and preference for visual fidelity. The data provides clear thresholds for different frame rate targets.

For users with a 1080p display and a 360 Hz or higher refresh rate, the Low preset is the only option that pushes beyond 400 FPS, averaging 446 FPS. The Medium preset is also viable, averaging 422 FPS, and offers better visual quality with a 359 FPS minimum that still exceeds most high-refresh displays. For a standard 240 Hz 1080p panel, the High preset at 357 FPS provides a substantial headroom, while Ultra at 292 FPS is also above the threshold and offers the best image quality.

At 1440p, the High preset at 231 FPS is the sweet spot for 240 Hz displays, providing a comfortable margin above the refresh rate. The Medium preset at 273 FPS offers even more headroom and is likely the best choice for competitive play on a 240 Hz monitor, as it maximizes frame rate while maintaining decent visuals. The Ultra preset at 189 FPS is suitable for 165 Hz or 144 Hz displays, where it will deliver a smooth experience with maximum detail.

For 4K displays, the choice is more constrained. The High preset at 125 FPS is excellent for 120 Hz displays, providing a near-perfect match. The Ultra preset at 102 FPS is also playable on 120 Hz panels, though it may not be perfectly smooth in all scenes. The Medium preset at 148 FPS is the best option for 144 Hz 4K monitors, offering a good balance between frame rate and visual quality.

The data suggests that the Medium preset offers the best overall balance across all resolutions. At 1080p, it delivers 422 FPS with a minimum of 359 FPS, ensuring no drops below the refresh rate of most high-end monitors. At 1440p, it provides 273 FPS with a 232 FPS minimum, which is sufficient for 240 Hz displays. At 4K, it achieves 148 FPS with a 126 FPS minimum, making it the only preset that consistently stays above 120 FPS at 4K. This consistency, combined with the fact that Medium settings in Doom still look very good, makes it the recommended default preset for this hardware combination.