Doom

The Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7600 achieves a combo rank of 2540 out of 3712 tested combinations for Doom, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database. This ranking reflects a system that delivers playable performance at most settings, but the data reveals notable constraints at higher resolutions and quality presets, with the GPU and CPU each taking on limiting roles depending on the configuration.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 2540 out of 3712 indicates that roughly 68% of tested combinations outperform it in this game. This is a modest standing, driven primarily by the CPU’s mid-range position. The Core i5-9400 sits at the 47th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 2254. Its nearest rivals are tightly clustered: the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 scores 2259 (0.2% higher), the Intel Core i3-10305 scores 2264 (0.4% higher), the Intel Core i7-10710U scores 2248 (0.3% lower), and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 scores 2246 (0.4% lower). This shows the i5-9400 is essentially tied with its closest competitors, all within a half-percent of each other, meaning the CPU is neither a standout nor a laggard in synthetic tests.

The GPU, meanwhile, performs better relative to its peers. The Radeon RX 7600 sits at the 57th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 15171. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM at 15199 (0.2% higher), the AMD Radeon 680M at 15270 (0.7% higher), the AMD Radeon Pro 560X at 15082 (0.6% lower), and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 Ti at 15063 (0.7% lower). The GPU’s higher percentile compared to the CPU suggests that in this combo, the processor is the more likely bottleneck, especially at lower resolutions where frame rates climb toward the CPU’s limits.

The combined ranking reflects this imbalance: the GPU carries more weight in Doom’s performance, but the CPU’s mid-pack standing drags the combo down. At 1080p, the system achieves high frame rates, but at 4K Ultra, it falls below 60 FPS, indicating that neither component alone is sufficient for the most demanding settings.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for this system?

A: The data shows that 1080p High delivers 142 FPS average, which is a strong balance of visual quality and smoothness. For higher fidelity, 1080p Ultra achieves 116 FPS, still well above 60 FPS. At 1440p, High drops to 92 FPS, which remains playable, but 4K High falls to 50 FPS, below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its direct rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Core i5-9400’s average benchmark score of 2254 is virtually identical to its nearest rivals. The Intel Core i7-1068NG7 (2259) and Intel Core i3-10305 (2264) are only 0.2% and 0.4% faster respectively, while the Intel Core i7-10710U (2248) and AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 (2246) are 0.3% and 0.4% slower. These differences are negligible in real-world gaming.

Q: Is the GPU’s 8 GB VRAM sufficient for Doom at 4K?

A: The measured results indicate that 4K performance is playable at Low (68 FPS) and Medium (59 FPS), but High (50 FPS) and Ultra (41 FPS) drop below 60 FPS. The 8 GB VRAM is not explicitly the limiting factor in these numbers, but the data shows that higher settings at 4K degrade performance significantly, suggesting the GPU’s compute capability is the primary constraint.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, the average FPS drops from 193 on Low to 116 on Ultra, a 77 FPS reduction. This represents a 40% performance loss when moving from the lowest to the highest quality preset, which is a substantial cost for the visual improvements.

Q: Does the combo maintain 60 FPS at 1440p across all settings?

A: Yes, at 1440p, all four settings exceed 60 FPS: Low averages 125 FPS, Medium 109 FPS, High 92 FPS, and Ultra 75 FPS. This makes 1440p a viable resolution for this system, with even the most demanding preset staying above the 60 FPS mark.

Q: How does the GPU rank against its nearest rivals in synthetic tests?

A: The Radeon RX 7600’s average benchmark score of 15171 is closely matched by its rivals. The AMD Radeon 680M scores 15270 (0.7% higher), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM scores 15199 (0.2% higher), while the AMD Radeon Pro 560X (15082) and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 Ti (15063) are 0.6% and 0.7% lower. These are all within a single percentage point, indicating the RX 7600 is a mid-pack performer.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data suggests that 1080p High is the optimal setting for this combo, delivering 142 FPS average, which is well into high-refresh-rate territory while retaining most of the visual quality. For users prioritizing maximum smoothness, 1080p Low offers 193 FPS, but the jump from Low to High costs only 51 FPS (26% reduction) while providing a substantial visual upgrade. Medium at 1080p sits between the two at 168 FPS, making it a reasonable middle ground, though High’s 142 FPS is still comfortably above 120 FPS.

At 1440p, High is the recommended preset, yielding 92 FPS average. This is a 35% drop from 1080p High but remains smooth for most displays. Ultra at 1440p drops to 75 FPS, which is still playable but shows a 19% reduction from High; the visual difference may not justify the frame rate loss on all monitors. Medium (109 FPS) and Low (125 FPS) are options for those wanting higher refresh rates at this resolution, but High offers the best overall experience.

At 4K, the system struggles to maintain 60 FPS on higher presets. Low averages 68 FPS, which is the only 4K setting above 60 FPS. Medium averages 59 FPS, just below the threshold, while High (50 FPS) and Ultra (41 FPS) are noticeably less fluid. For 4K, Low is the only recommendation for consistent smoothness, though Medium is acceptable for users who tolerate slight dips.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1080p, the data shows a clear progression across settings. Low averages 193 FPS, Medium 168 FPS (with a range of 143 to 193 FPS), High 142 FPS, and Ultra 116 FPS. The Medium row provides the only min/max data at this resolution, showing a 50 FPS spread between minimum and average, which indicates some frame time variability. The step from Low to Medium is a 25 FPS drop, from Medium to High is 26 FPS, and from High to Ultra is also 26 FPS, showing a consistent degradation as quality increases.

At 1440p, performance scales predictably. Low averages 125 FPS, Medium 109 FPS (ranging from 92 to 125 FPS), High 92 FPS, and Ultra 75 FPS. The Medium range of 33 FPS is tighter than at 1080p, suggesting less variability at higher resolution. The differences between settings are: Low to Medium is 16 FPS, Medium to High is 17 FPS, and High to Ultra is 17 FPS, showing a uniform 16-17 FPS penalty per quality tier.

At 4K, the frame rates compress significantly. Low averages 68 FPS, Medium 59 FPS (ranging from 50 to 68 FPS), High 50 FPS, and Ultra 41 FPS. The Medium range of 18 FPS is the smallest across all resolutions, indicating that 4K pushes the system to its limits where frame times become more consistent but lower overall. The step from Low to Medium is 9 FPS, Medium to High is 9 FPS, and High to Ultra is 9 FPS, showing a uniform penalty per tier.

Resolution Scaling

The data reveals how frame rates scale from 1080p to 4K. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 142 at 1080p to 92 at 1440p (a 35% reduction) and then to 50 at 4K (a 46% reduction from 1440p). At Low settings, the drop is from 193 at 1080p to 125 at 1440p (35% reduction) and then to 68 at 4K (46% reduction from 1440p). This consistent 35% to 46% scaling pattern across settings suggests the GPU is the primary limiting factor, as resolution increases put more strain on the pixel throughput.

The scaling from 1440p to 4K is steeper than from 1080p to 1440p, which is expected given that 4K has 2.25 times the pixels of 1440p. The uniform percentage drops across Low, Medium, High, and Ultra indicate that the bottleneck is resolution-dependent rather than settings-dependent. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect to see larger percentage drops at lower resolutions where frame rates are higher; instead, the consistent scaling points to the GPU being the main constraint.

At 1080p, the highest frame rates (193 FPS on Low) approach the CPU’s potential limit, but the scaling suggests the GPU still has headroom. Moving to 1440p, the GPU becomes more saturated, and at 4K, it is clearly the bottleneck, with even Low settings only reaching 68 FPS. The CPU’s 6 cores and 6 threads, clocked at a base of 2.90 GHz and boost of 4.10 GHz, appear sufficient to feed the GPU at lower resolutions, but the GPU’s 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit memory bus limit 4K performance.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 provides 6 cores and 6 threads, operating at a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. This configuration is typical for a mid-range desktop processor from the Coffee Lake refresh generation. The CPU’s cache hierarchy includes 64 KB L1 per core, 256 KB L2 per core, and 9 MB shared L3, which is adequate for gaming workloads. The memory bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s over a dual-channel DDR4 interface is modest by modern standards but sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming.

In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU’s scores are consistently mid-pack: Cinebench R23 multi-core scores 6629, single-core 935; Geekbench multi-core 5141, single-core 1389. These numbers place the CPU at the 47th percentile, meaning it outperforms 47% of all CPUs. In Doom, the CPU’s role becomes apparent at lower resolutions and settings. At 1080p Low, the system hits 193 FPS, which is likely near the CPU’s ceiling for this game; the 6 threads can handle the frame generation, but pushing beyond this would require more threads or higher clocks.

At 1440p and 4K, the CPU’s load decreases relative to the GPU, as the frame rates drop and the GPU takes longer to render each frame. The data shows that the CPU does not bottleneck at higher resolutions, as the frame rate scaling is consistent with GPU limits. However, at 1080p High and Ultra, the CPU’s 6 threads may cause minor frame pacing issues, though the average FPS remains high. The CPU’s 47th percentile ranking aligns with its performance in Doom: it is a capable processor that keeps up with the GPU at most settings but holds the system back from the highest frame rates at 1080p.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7600 is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with the Navi 33 chip, fabricated on a 6 nm process at TSMC. It features 2048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 64 render output units, along with 32 ray tracing cores. The GPU’s clocks are set at a base of 1720 MHz, a game clock of 2250 MHz, and a boost clock of 2655 MHz, with memory running at 2250 MHz (18 Gbps effective). The 8 GB GDDR6 memory is paired with a 128-bit bus, resulting in a bandwidth of 288.0 GB/s.

In synthetic tests, the GPU’s scores are solid: 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 scores 2310, Passmark G3D scores 16634, and Geekbench Vulkan scores 34401. The GPU sits at the 57th percentile among all GPUs, which is higher than the CPU’s 47th percentile, confirming the GPU is the stronger component in this combo. In Doom, the GPU’s performance is the primary driver of frame rates at 1440p and 4K, where the data shows a clear resolution-dependent bottleneck.

At 4K, the GPU’s limitations are evident. Low settings average 68 FPS, but this drops to 41 FPS on Ultra, a 40% reduction. The 8 GB VRAM may be a factor at 4K Ultra, but the compute throughput is the more likely constraint, as the 128-bit memory bus limits bandwidth. At 1440p, the GPU delivers 75 FPS on Ultra, which is respectable, but the 92 FPS on High shows that the GPU has headroom for slightly lower settings. At 1080p, the GPU is not the bottleneck, as frame rates exceed 142 FPS on High, allowing the CPU to become the limiting factor. Overall, the RX 7600 performs as its 57th percentile suggests: capable at 1080p and 1440p, but struggling to maintain 60 FPS at 4K on higher presets.