Doom

The Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT delivers a solid 1080p experience in Doom, but the data reveals a pronounced dependency on resolution and settings that shifts the bottleneck between CPU and GPU. This combo ranks 2758th out of 3712 tested combinations in this game, placing it in the lower-mid tier of the database. That ranking is not a verdict on raw capability, but rather a reflection that many newer and higher-end parts eclipse this pairing, which uses a 2018 CPU and a 2019 GPU. The measured frames per second, however, show that this duo is far from obsolete, particularly at 1080p where it can push well past 100 FPS on most presets.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the database of 3712 tested CPU-GPU combinations for Doom, this pairing holds the 2758th position. That percentile placement, roughly in the bottom quarter, is influenced heavily by the age of both components. The CPU, an Intel Core i5-9400, sits at the 47th percentile among all CPUs in the database, meaning it is outclassed by more than half of all processors tested. Its average benchmark score of 2254 puts it in a tight cluster of rivals, including the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 (score 2259, delta -0.2%), Intel Core i3-10305 (score 2264, delta -0.4%), and AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 (score 2246, delta 0.4%). These deltas are all within a fraction of a percent, indicating that the i5-9400's compute performance is essentially identical to those parts, and any ranking differences are noise.

The GPU, a Radeon RX 5700 XT, is comparatively stronger, landing at the 59th percentile among all GPUs. Its average benchmark score of 16361 is nearly identical to its nearest rivals: the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M (score 16351, delta 0.1%) and the NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell (score 16408, delta -0.3%). The delta to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D V2 is only -0.9%, which is remarkable given the generational gap. However, the combo rank in Doom is not simply an average of these percentiles; it reflects the specific workload of the game. The data suggests that while the GPU is capable, the CPU's six threads can become a limiting factor at lower resolutions, preventing the combo from climbing higher in the rankings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a six-core, six-thread processor based on the Coffee Lake architecture, manufactured on a 14 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. This configuration provides a solid foundation for gaming, but its lack of hyper-threading is a notable constraint in modern titles. The CPU's L3 cache is 9 MB shared, and it supports dual-channel DDR4 memory with a bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s. In Doom, a game that can scale with multiple cores, the six physical threads are sufficient to avoid severe stuttering, but the data indicates that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck at 1080p.

Benchmark results for the i5-9400 show a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 6629 and a single-core score of 935. The Geekbench multi-core score is 5141, with a single-core score of 1389. These figures place it in a performance tier where it can handle frame rates up to a certain point. Looking at the measured FPS, at 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 188 FPS average. With High settings, that drops to 138 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 75 FPS (188 to 113), which is substantial. This scaling suggests that the GPU is doing more work as settings increase, but the CPU's six threads are still keeping up. The CPU's role becomes more apparent at 1440p, where the FPS drops across all settings, but the relative differences between settings remain similar. The 47th percentile ranking of the CPU versus the 59th percentile of the GPU suggests that the processor is the weaker link, and in CPU-bound scenarios, such as very high frame rates at low resolutions, it will cap performance. The data shows no measured FPS below 113 at 1080p, indicating that the CPU can sustain that level, but the lack of headroom beyond 188 FPS at Low settings hints that the i5-9400 is near its limit.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT is built on the RDNA 1.0 architecture with a 7 nm process from TSMC. It features 2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. The GPU has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. Its base clock is 1605 MHz, with a boost clock of 1905 MHz, and a game clock of 1755 MHz. The memory operates at 1750 MHz, or 14 Gbps effective. This hardware configuration delivers a pixel rate of 121.9 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 304.8 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance rated at 9.754 TFLOPS. The GPU's TDP is 225 W, requiring a 550 W suggested PSU.

The RX 5700 XT's role in Doom is clearly dominant in the measured results. The GPU's 59th percentile ranking and its average benchmark score of 16361 indicate it is a mid-to-upper-tier part. In the game, the resolution scaling is the primary indicator of GPU load. At 1080p, the GPU is not saturated, as evidenced by the high frame rates (188 FPS at Low). Moving to 1440p, the frame rates drop by roughly 30-40% across all settings, and at 4K, they drop further. For instance, at High settings, the FPS goes from 138 at 1080p to 89 at 1440p, and then to 48 at 4K. This steep decline is a classic sign of GPU-bound performance. The GPU's 8 GB of VRAM is sufficient for Doom at all tested resolutions, as no memory-related stutters are indicated in the data. The memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s is also ample for this game's textures. The data shows that the GPU is the limiting factor at 1440p and 4K, where the frame rates scale down consistently with resolution. The Ultra preset at 4K yields only 40 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold, underscoring that the RX 5700 XT is stretched thin at that combination.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Doom with this combo?

A: Based on the measured data, 1080p is the only resolution where all settings presets exceed 113 FPS average. At 1440p, the Ultra preset drops to 73 FPS, and at 4K, even the Low preset only achieves 66 FPS. Therefore, 1080p provides the most consistent high-refresh-rate experience.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in raw compute performance?

A: The Intel Core i5-9400 has an average benchmark score of 2254. Its closest rival, the Intel Core i7-1068NG7, scores 2259, a delta of -0.2%. The AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 scores 2246, a delta of 0.4%. These differences are negligible, meaning the i5-9400 performs on par with those chips.

Q: Is the GPU or the CPU the main bottleneck at 4K resolution?

A: The data strongly indicates the GPU is the bottleneck at 4K. For example, at 4K High settings, the average FPS is 48, while at 1440p High, it is 89. This halving of performance with a resolution increase points to the Radeon RX 5700 XT being unable to fill the pixel demand, rather than the CPU being unable to feed it.

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

A: The jump from Low to Ultra at 1080p results in an average FPS drop from 188 to 113, a difference of 75 FPS. This indicates that the Ultra preset places significantly more load on the GPU, but the CPU is still capable of maintaining a playable frame rate.

Q: Does the combo rank in the game reflect its actual performance?

A: The combo ranks 2758th out of 3712, which seems low given the high frame rates at 1080p. This rank is relative to all tested combos, many of which feature newer, higher-end CPUs and GPUs that achieve much higher scores in Doom. The rank is a comparative metric, not an absolute measure of playability.

Q: Which settings preset at 1440p offers the best balance?

A: At 1440p, the Medium preset delivers an average FPS of 106, with a minimum of 90 FPS. The High preset drops to 89 FPS. The Medium preset provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS, while the Ultra preset falls to 73 FPS, making Medium the safest choice for consistent performance.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and consistent trend of performance degradation as resolution increases from 1080p to 4K. At 1080p High, the average FPS is 138. Moving to 1440p High, the average drops to 89, a reduction of 49 FPS or roughly 35%. At 4K High, the average falls to 48, which is another 41 FPS drop from 1440p. This pattern repeats across all settings. For Low settings, the FPS goes from 188 at 1080p to 121 at 1440p and 66 at 4K. The Medium preset shows 164 at 1080p, 106 at 1440p, and 57 at 4K. Finally, the Ultra preset yields 113 at 1080p, 73 at 1440p, and 40 at 4K.

The scaling is not linear, but the percentage drop from 1440p to 4K is larger than from 1080p to 1440p. For instance, at High settings, the drop from 1080p to 1440p is 35%, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 46%. This steepening curve is typical of a GPU-bound scenario, where the pixel count increase at 4K (2.25 times the pixels of 1440p) overwhelms the GPU's fill rate. The fact that the CPU's role diminishes at higher resolutions is evident: the FPS gap between the Low and Ultra presets narrows as resolution increases. At 1080p, the gap is 75 FPS (188 vs 113). At 1440p, the gap is 48 FPS (121 vs 73). At 4K, the gap shrinks to 26 FPS (66 vs 40). This compression indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K, as the CPU can feed frames at a rate higher than the GPU can render them.

Settings Recommendations

Given the measured data, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution. At 1080p, the High preset offers an excellent experience with an average of 138 FPS, which is well above the 144 Hz refresh rate of many monitors. The Ultra preset drops to 113 FPS, which is still playable but sacrifices frame rate for marginal visual gains. The Medium preset at 164 FPS is the best choice for competitive play, as it maximizes frame rate while maintaining decent visuals. The Low preset at 188 FPS is the ceiling for this combo, but the visual quality loss is significant.

At 1440p, the Medium preset is the clear recommendation. It achieves an average of 106 FPS with a minimum of 90 FPS, ensuring smooth gameplay. The High preset at 89 FPS is acceptable for most players, but the minimum FPS is not reported. The Ultra preset at 73 FPS is below the 90 FPS threshold that many prefer for fast-paced shooters, so it is not recommended unless the user prioritizes visuals over smoothness. At 4K, the data shows that only the Low preset (66 FPS) and Medium preset (57 FPS) are remotely playable. The Medium preset's minimum FPS is 49, which can lead to noticeable dips. The High preset at 48 FPS and Ultra at 40 FPS are not suitable for a game like Doom, where quick reactions are essential. Therefore, for 4K, the Low preset is the only option that stays above 60 FPS on average, but even that is borderline.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table and analysis detail the exact measured average FPS for each resolution and settings preset. All values are taken directly from the FACT PACK.

1920x1080:

• Low: 188 FPS average. This is the highest frame rate achieved by this combo in any configuration, indicating a CPU-bound scenario where the GPU has ample headroom.
• Medium: 164 FPS average, with a minimum of 139 FPS and maximum of 188 FPS. The minimum is still very high, showing consistent performance.
• High: 138 FPS average. This is a solid result, offering a good balance between visual fidelity and speed.
• Ultra: 113 FPS average. This is the lowest at 1080p, but still comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold.

2560x1440:

• Low: 121 FPS average. The drop from 1080p is 67 FPS, showing the GPU starting to feel the load.
• Medium: 106 FPS average, with a minimum of 90 FPS and maximum of 122 FPS. The minimum is still playable, but the variance is noticeable.
• High: 89 FPS average. This is just below the 90 FPS mark, making it a borderline choice for high-refresh displays.
• Ultra: 73 FPS average. This is the first preset where the frame rate dips below the 75 FPS threshold, indicating a compromise.

3840x2160:

• Low: 66 FPS average. This is the only 4K preset that exceeds 60 FPS, but just barely.
• Medium: 57 FPS average, with a minimum of 49 FPS and maximum of 66 FPS. The minimum FPS is below 50, which can cause noticeable stutter in intense scenes.
• High: 48 FPS average. This is not suitable for a fast-paced FPS, as the frame rate is below the 60 FPS standard.
• Ultra: 40 FPS average. This is the worst performance in the dataset, making the game feel sluggish and unresponsive.