Doom

# Doom: Intel Core i5-9400 + Intel Arc B390

The Intel Core i5-9400 and Intel Arc B390 combination delivers playable performance at 1080p and 1440p in Doom, but struggles at 4K. The combo ranks 2580th out of 2930 tested configurations, placing it in the lower tier of systems. The data shows a CPU that lands near the 47th percentile of all processors, paired with a GPU that sits at just the 9th percentile, creating a significant bottleneck at higher resolutions.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a 6-core, 6-thread processor based on the Coffee Lake architecture, built on Intel's 14 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz, with a 65 W TDP. The processor carries 9 MB of shared L3 cache, alongside 64 KB of L1 and 256 KB of L2 cache per core. Memory support is limited to DDR4 in dual-channel configuration, providing 42.7 GB/s of memory bandwidth.

In synthetic benchmarks, this CPU scores 6629 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 935 in single-core. Its Geekbench results show 5141 multi-core and 1389 single-core. The average benchmark score sits at 2254, which places the i5-9400 in the 47th percentile of all CPUs. Compared to its nearest rivals, the i5-9400 trails the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 by just 0.2% and the Intel Core i3-10305 by 0.4%, while edging out the Intel Core i7-10710U by 0.3% and the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 by 0.4%. These are extremely tight margins, indicating that the i5-9400 performs essentially on par with a cluster of mid-range processors from the same era.

For Doom, the CPU's six physical cores without hyper-threading are sufficient to feed the GPU at lower resolutions. The game's 2016 engine is well-optimized for multi-core processors, and the 4.10 GHz boost clock helps maintain consistent frame pacing. At 1080p with Low settings, the average FPS reaches 107, suggesting the CPU can handle the game's simulation and draw-call overhead without becoming the primary limiter. However, the lack of additional threads means there is no headroom for background tasks or heavily modded scenarios. The data indicates that the CPU is not the main constraint in this pairing, as frame rates scale predictably with resolution changes, pointing to the GPU as the limiting factor.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics solution based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, built on Intel's 3 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2500 MHz. The GPU features 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 raster output units, along with 12 ray tracing cores. Its compute capabilities include 7.680 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 15.36 TFLOPS of FP16 performance. The memory configuration relies entirely on system shared memory, with bus width and bandwidth marked as system dependent.

In the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, the Arc B390 scores 1482, placing it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. This is a remarkably low position, and the nearest rivals confirm the GPU's standing: the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX scores 1463 (1.3% behind), the GeForce 800M scores 1460 (1.5% behind), the GeForce GT 625 OEM scores 1446 (2.5% behind), and the GeForce GT 710 scores 1443 (2.7% behind). The Arc B390 outperforms all of these, but they are all entry-level or legacy parts, indicating that this integrated GPU is nowhere near discrete graphics card territory.

The GPU's impact in Doom is immediately visible in the frame rate data. At 1080p with Low settings, the system averages 107 FPS, which drops to 78 FPS at High settings and 64 FPS at Ultra. At 1440p, the Low preset yields 69 FPS, falling to 51 FPS at High. The 4K results are particularly telling: even at Low settings, the average FPS is just 37, and Ultra drops to 22 FPS. The shared memory architecture means the GPU competes with the CPU for memory bandwidth, which becomes increasingly problematic at higher resolutions where the GPU requires more data. The 2500 MHz boost clock helps mitigate some of these issues, but the underlying hardware limitations are clear. The GPU is the dominant bottleneck in this system, especially once resolution increases beyond 1080p.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates reveal a steep performance drop as resolution scales from 1080p to 4K. At High settings, the average FPS goes from 78 at 1080p to 51 at 1440p, then falls to 28 at 4K. This represents a 35% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and a 64% reduction from 1080p to 4K. The Low preset shows a similar pattern: 107 FPS at 1080p, 69 FPS at 1440p, and 37 FPS at 4K, with drops of 36% and 65% respectively.

The Medium preset provides the only complete min/max data in the measurements. At 1080p, the average is 93 FPS with a minimum of 79 and maximum of 107. At 1440p, the average drops to 60 FPS with a minimum of 51 and maximum of 69. At 4K, the average falls to 33 FPS with a minimum of 28 and maximum of 37. The consistency of these ranges suggests stable frame pacing, but the absolute values indicate the system is overwhelmed at 4K.

The scaling pattern points clearly to the GPU as the limiting component. If the CPU were the bottleneck, frame rates would remain relatively flat across resolutions, as the processor's workload does not change significantly with resolution. Instead, the data shows a near-linear relationship between pixel count and frame rate, which is the hallmark of a GPU-bound scenario. The Arc B390's shared memory architecture and limited compute resources simply cannot keep pace with the demands of 4K rendering in Doom. The 1440p results are more acceptable, but still show a substantial drop from 1080p, reinforcing that this GPU is best suited for 1080p gaming.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows show a clear hierarchy of performance across presets. At 1080p, the Low preset delivers 107 FPS, Medium delivers 93 FPS, High delivers 78 FPS, and Ultra delivers 64 FPS. All of these are playable, but the differences between them are significant. The Medium preset offers the best balance, providing 93 FPS average with a minimum of 79 FPS, which keeps the experience smooth even during intense combat sequences.

At 1440p, the Low preset produces 69 FPS, Medium produces 60 FPS, High produces 51 FPS, and Ultra produces 41 FPS. The Medium preset remains the most sensible choice here, as it maintains a 60 FPS average with a minimum of 51 FPS. The High and Ultra presets dip below the 60 FPS threshold, which can introduce noticeable stutter in a fast-paced FPS like Doom. The Low preset is viable but sacrifices visual quality unnecessarily when Medium provides a better experience.

At 4K, no preset achieves a consistently playable frame rate. The Low preset averages 37 FPS, Medium averages 33 FPS, High averages 28 FPS, and Ultra averages 22 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 28 FPS and maximum of 37 FPS indicate that even the lowest preset cannot maintain smooth gameplay at this resolution. For 4K gaming, the data suggests reducing the resolution to 1440p or accepting a compromised experience.

The best overall experience per the measured rows is the Medium preset at 1080p. This configuration delivers a 93 FPS average with a 79 FPS minimum, providing a comfortable margin above the 60 FPS threshold while retaining a reasonable level of visual fidelity. The High preset at 1080p is also viable at 78 FPS, but the 15 FPS penalty over Medium is not justified by the modest visual improvements. The Ultra preset at 1080p is playable at 64 FPS, but the minimum frame rate is not recorded, and the data suggests it would approach the 60 FPS boundary too closely for comfort.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-9400 + Intel Arc B390 combination ranks 2580th out of 2930 tested combos in Doom. This places it in the bottom 12% of all configurations, which aligns with the individual component percentiles. The CPU's 47th percentile ranking is respectable, but the GPU's 9th percentile ranking drags the overall system performance down significantly.

The ranking reflects the GPU's limitations more than the CPU's capabilities. The i5-9400's nearest rivals — the Intel Core i7-1068NG7, Intel Core i7-10710U, AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500, and Intel Core i3-10305 — all perform within 0.4% of each other in synthetic benchmarks, showing that the CPU is competitive within its class. However, the GPU's nearest rivals are all legacy NVIDIA parts from a much older generation, and the Arc B390 only beats them by margins of 1.3% to 2.7%. This indicates that the GPU is competing with hardware that is a decade or more old.

In practical terms, the combo rank of 2580 means that the vast majority of tested systems deliver better frame rates in Doom. The 2930 total combos represent a wide range of hardware, and this pairing falls into the lower quartile. The 1080p results are acceptable for casual play, but the system cannot handle higher resolutions or higher quality settings without significant compromises. The data shows a system that is fundamentally unbalanced, with a mid-range CPU paired with an entry-level integrated GPU. Users seeking better performance would need to consider a discrete GPU, as the CPU has ample headroom to support a more capable graphics solution.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows 1080p as the only resolution where all presets maintain playable frame rates. At 1080p, even the Ultra preset averages 64 FPS, while 1440p drops to 41 FPS on Ultra and 4K falls to 22 FPS.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B390 scores 1482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, which is 1.3% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX, 1.5% higher than the GeForce 800M, 2.5% higher than the GeForce GT 625 OEM, and 2.7% higher than the GeForce GT 710.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the main bottleneck in this system?

A: The GPU is the primary bottleneck. Frame rates drop by approximately 64% from 1080p to 4K at High settings, which is characteristic of a GPU-bound system. The CPU's 47th percentile ranking is far higher than the GPU's 9th percentile.

Q: What average FPS does the Medium preset deliver at 1440p?

A: The Medium preset at 1440p delivers an average of 60 FPS, with a minimum of 51 FPS and a maximum of 69 FPS. This is the only 1440p preset that maintains a 60 FPS average.

Q: How does the i5-9400 compare to the Intel Core i7-1068NG7?

A: The i5-9400 has an average benchmark score of 2254, while the i7-1068NG7 scores 2259. This puts the i5-9400 0.2% behind the i7-1068NG7, which is a negligible difference.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming in Doom?

A: No. The highest average FPS at 4K is 37 on the Low preset, and the Medium preset drops to 33 FPS with a minimum of 28 FPS. None of the 4K presets achieve a consistent 60 FPS, making 4K gaming impractical with this hardware.