Doom

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT places at rank 1301 out of 3712 tested combos in Doom. That puts this configuration in the upper third of all tested systems, a strong result for a game that rewards both CPU throughput and GPU raw power. The ranking suggests this pairing is well-balanced for Doom's specific demands, though the data indicates the GPU is doing the heavy lifting at higher resolutions.

The CPU itself sits at the 47th percentile among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 2254 across its tested workloads. 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), while the Intel Core i7-10710U and AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 score 2248 and 2246 respectively (0.3% and 0.4% lower). This places the i5-9400 in a crowded mid-pack where single-digit percentage differences separate competitors.

The RX 7800 XT, meanwhile, sits at the 51st percentile among all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 11627. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 (11680, 0.5% higher), the AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT (11842, 1.8% higher), the AMD Radeon Pro 5500M (11528, 0.9% lower), and the NVIDIA Tesla K20c (11479, 1.3% lower). Despite the modern RDNA 3 architecture, the benchmark averages place it in a similar performance tier to older mid-range cards—though Doom's measured FPS tells a much more favorable story.

The combination's rank of 1301 out of 3712 is meaningful because it shows that neither component is a glaring bottleneck in this title. The CPU's six cores and six threads are sufficient to feed the GPU at 1080p, and the GPU's capabilities scale cleanly as resolution increases.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT brings 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 624.1 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is substantial for Doom, a game that benefits from high bandwidth at 4K resolutions. The GPU's clocks are equally relevant: a base clock of 1295 MHz, a game clock of 2124 MHz, and a boost clock of 2430 MHz. The memory runs at 2438 MHz (19.5 Gbps effective).

The measured FPS data shows the GPU scaling predictably with resolution. At 1080p Ultra, the combo hits 171 FPS, while at 4K Ultra it drops to 60 FPS. This 111 FPS difference between the two extremes demonstrates that the GPU is the primary limiter at higher resolutions—the CPU has enough headroom to push frames at 1080p but the GPU's workload becomes the constraint as pixel count quadruples.

The GPU's 3840 shading units, 240 texture mapping units, and 96 render output units are all relevant to Doom's rendering pipeline. The pixel rate of 233.3 GPixel/s and texture rate of 583.2 GTexel/s indicate strong fill-rate capabilities that translate directly into the measured FPS figures. The FP32 performance of 37.32 TFLOPS is substantial, though Doom's Vulkan path tends to favor raw rasterization throughput over compute-heavy workloads.

The GPU's 60 ray tracing cores are present, but Doom from 2016 predates widespread ray tracing adoption, so these cores likely remain idle in this title. The 5 nm process node from TSMC with 28,100 million transistors on a 346 mm² die gives the RX 7800 XT excellent efficiency characteristics, which is reflected in its ability to maintain high frame rates without thermal throttling concerns.

FAQ

Q: Is the Intel Core i5-9400 sufficient for Doom at 1080p with this GPU?

A: Yes. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 254 FPS, and at 1080p Ultra it still manages 171 FPS. The CPU's six cores and six threads, running at a base clock of 2.90 GHz and boost clock of 4.10 GHz, provide enough throughput to keep the GPU fed at this resolution.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo in Doom?

A: The data shows 1440p High delivers 135 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. At 4K High, the average drops to 73 FPS, which is still playable but leaves less headroom for demanding scenes. For competitive play, 1080p Medium offers 242 FPS with a minimum of 205 FPS.

Q: How does the RX 7800 XT compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RX 7800 XT scores 11627 on average, which is 0.5% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 (11680) and 1.8% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT (11842). It outperforms the AMD Radeon Pro 5500M (11528) by 0.9% and the NVIDIA Tesla K20c (11479) by 1.3%.

Q: Does the combo maintain consistent frame times at 1440p Medium?

A: At 1440p Medium, the average FPS is 160 with a minimum of 136 and maximum of 184. This 48 FPS range between minimum and maximum indicates some scene-to-scene variance, but the minimum of 136 FPS remains well above playable thresholds.

Q: What CPU benchmark scores does the i5-9400 achieve?

A: In Cinebench R23, the i5-9400 scores 6629 multicore and 935 singlecore. In Geekbench, it scores 5141 multicore and 1389 singlecore. The average benchmark score across all tests is 2254.

Q: Is the 4K Ultra preset worth using with this hardware?

A: At 4K Ultra, the combo averages 60 FPS exactly. This is playable, but the 4K High preset (73 FPS) provides a 21.7% performance improvement with likely minimal visual difference in Doom's fast-paced action. The 4K Low preset at 99 FPS offers the smoothest 4K experience.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1080p, the combo delivers exceptionally high frame rates across all settings. Low settings produce 254 FPS average, Medium produces 242 FPS (minimum 205, maximum 278), High produces 209 FPS, and Ultra produces 171 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 83 FPS, representing a 32.7% drop from the lowest to highest preset. The Medium preset's minimum of 205 FPS ensures that even in demanding scenes, the frame rate never dips below the refresh rate of most high-end monitors.

Moving to 1440p, the performance remains strong but shows the expected scaling. Low settings produce 184 FPS, Medium produces 160 FPS (minimum 136, maximum 184), High produces 135 FPS, and Ultra produces 110 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p at each setting is consistent: Low drops by 70 FPS (27.6%), Medium drops by 82 FPS (33.9%), High drops by 74 FPS (35.4%), and Ultra drops by 61 FPS (35.7%). This consistency suggests the GPU is scaling linearly with pixel count.

At 4K, the performance becomes more demanding. Low settings produce 99 FPS, Medium produces 87 FPS (minimum 74, maximum 100), High produces 73 FPS, and Ultra produces 60 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 74 FPS is noteworthy—it indicates that even at 4K, the combo can maintain frame rates above 60 FPS in most scenes. The Ultra preset's flat 60 FPS average aligns with typical V-sync targets, suggesting the engine is hitting a hard cap rather than being limited by hardware.

The data reveals a clear pattern: the RX 7800 XT scales almost linearly with resolution, while the CPU's contribution becomes less significant as pixel count increases. At 1080p, the CPU's six threads are likely the limiting factor at Low settings (254 FPS), but at 4K Ultra, the GPU's rendering workload dominates.

Resolution Scaling

The transition from 1080p to 4K at each preset shows consistent scaling behavior. At Low settings, FPS drops from 254 at 1080p to 184 at 1440p (a 27.6% reduction) and then to 99 at 4K (a 46.2% reduction from 1440p). At Ultra settings, FPS drops from 171 at 1080p to 110 at 1440p (35.7% reduction) and then to 60 at 4K (45.5% reduction from 1440p).

The larger percentage drop from 1440p to 4K compared to 1080p to 1440p indicates that the GPU becomes progressively more stressed as resolution increases. At 1080p, the CPU is likely the limiting factor for Low settings, where 254 FPS approaches the practical ceiling for six-core processors in this game. At 1440p and above, the GPU's workload becomes dominant.

This scaling pattern is typical for a well-balanced system: the CPU provides enough headroom to avoid bottlenecking at lower resolutions, while the GPU's 16 GB of VRAM and 624.1 GB/s bandwidth prevent memory-related stuttering at higher resolutions. The fact that the 4K Ultra average is exactly 60 FPS suggests the engine's frame pacing is consistent, though the lack of minimum and maximum values for Ultra presets limits the analysis.

The data implies that the combination is GPU-bound at 4K but increasingly CPU-bound at 1080p Low. In competitive scenarios where maximum frame rate matters, the 1080p Low preset at 254 FPS is the best option. For visual fidelity, 1440p Ultra at 110 FPS offers a strong balance between image quality and smoothness.

Settings Recommendations

For the best measured experience, the data points to 1440p High as the optimal compromise. At 135 FPS average, this preset delivers smooth gameplay while maintaining visual quality. The 1440p Medium preset at 160 FPS (minimum 136) is arguably better for competitive play, as the minimum frame rate of 136 FPS ensures no drops below 120 FPS.

At 1080p, the Medium preset at 242 FPS (minimum 205) is the recommended choice for esports-style play. The minimum of 205 FPS guarantees that the frame rate never dips below 200 FPS, which is ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors. The Ultra preset at 171 FPS is also viable, but the 71 FPS gap between Medium and Ultra may not justify the visual gains in a fast-paced shooter.

For 4K gaming, the High preset at 73 FPS is the recommended option. The Ultra preset at exactly 60 FPS is playable, but the 21.7% performance increase from High (73 FPS) provides more headroom for demanding scenes. The Low preset at 99 FPS offers the smoothest 4K experience, though the visual downgrade may be noticeable.

The Medium preset across all resolutions shows the most complete data with minimum and maximum values. At 1080p Medium, the 205 FPS minimum and 278 FPS maximum indicate a 73 FPS range, which is the largest variance of any measured configuration. At 1440p Medium, the range narrows to 48 FPS (136 to 184), and at 4K Medium, it narrows further to 26 FPS (74 to 100). This tightening range at higher resolutions suggests that the GPU's consistent frame pacing becomes the dominant factor.

Ultimately, the measured data supports three clear recommendations: 1080p Medium for maximum frame rates, 1440p High for the best balance, and 4K High for those prioritizing resolution over frame rate. The Ultra preset at any resolution is only recommended for users who prioritize visual quality above all else, as the performance cost is significant.