Doom

The Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER pairing delivers a robust Doom experience, with the benchmark data showing a clear shift in system bottleneck as resolution climbs. At 1920x1080, the GPU is the limiting factor, but the high frame rates indicate the six-core CPU keeps pace. Moving to 2560x1440, the workload balances, and at 3840x2160, the GPU becomes fully saturated, with frame rates dropping to levels that test the limits of smooth gameplay. The measured results place this combo at rank 1019 out of 1681 tested configurations, a mid-pack position that reflects the hardware's balanced but not top-tier performance profile.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate data reveals a predictable yet telling progression across the three resolutions. At 1920x1080, the RTX 2070 SUPER is working hard, but the i5-9400 is not holding it back. The average FPS at High settings is 154.3, which is a strong result for a 60Hz or even 144Hz display. Dropping to Low settings at this resolution yields 211.1 FPS, demonstrating that the GPU has headroom when the visual load is lightened. This suggests the CPU can feed the GPU adequately at lower settings, as the frame rate scales almost linearly with GPU workload.

At 2560x1440, the picture changes. High settings produce 103.7 FPS, a 32.8% reduction from the 1080p result. This is a significant drop, signaling that the GPU is now the primary constraint. The scaling from Low to High at this resolution is tighter: 135.1 FPS to 103.7 FPS, a 23.2% decrease. The RTX 2070 SUPER’s 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient, but the raw compute power of the TU104 chip is being taxed.

The most critical shift occurs at 3840x2160. High settings drop to 58.1 FPS, a 43.9% reduction from the 2560x1440 result. This is a massive hit, and it is clear the GPU is now the sole limiting component. The CPU’s role diminishes almost entirely; the difference between Low (75.6 FPS) and Ultra (42.5 FPS) at 4K is a 43.8% spread, driven entirely by the GPU’s ability to render the scene. The data indicates that the i5-9400 is not a bottleneck at 4K, as the frame rates are purely a function of the graphics card's pixel throughput.

FAQ

Q: How does the Intel Core i5-9400 compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The i5-9400 has an average benchmark score of 2305. It is 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core i3-10305 and 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core i3-1125G4. It is 0.4% faster than the Intel Xeon E-2134, but it trails the Intel Core i7-8809G by 0.6%.

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

A: At 1920x1080, Low settings deliver an average of 211.1 FPS, while Ultra settings produce 129.6 FPS. This represents a 81.5 FPS drop, or a 38.6% reduction, when moving from the lowest to the highest preset.

Q: Is the RTX 2070 SUPER capable of 4K gaming in Doom?

A: The data shows average frame rates of 58.1 FPS at High settings and 42.5 FPS at Ultra settings for 3840x2160 resolution. These figures are playable but not consistently smooth for high-refresh-rate displays, indicating the GPU is at its limit for this title at 4K.

Q: What is the GPU's performance percentile compared to all other graphics cards?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER sits in the 65th percentile of all GPUs. Its average benchmark score is 22206, which places it 0.5% ahead of the NVIDIA RTX A400 and 0.9% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Z.

Q: How does the CPU's multi-core performance compare to its single-core performance?

A: In Cinebench R23, the i5-9400 scores 7969 points in multi-core and 1125 points in single-core. The multi-core score is 7.1 times higher, reflecting the benefit of its 6 cores and 6 threads for threaded workloads, though Doom is not heavily multi-threaded.

Q: What is the measured FPS at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the average frame rate is 120.5 FPS. This is a strong result for a 144Hz monitor, staying above the refresh rate threshold.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is the dominant component in this pairing for Doom. Its Turing architecture, built on a 12 nm process, features 2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1605 MHz and a boost clock of 1770 MHz. These specifications translate to a pixel rate of 113.3 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 283.2 GTexel/s, which are the key metrics for a fast-paced FPS like Doom.

The 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This is sufficient for Doom at all tested resolutions, as the data does not show any anomalies that would suggest memory capacity or bandwidth constraints. The GPU's FP32 performance is 9.062 TFLOPS, and it includes 40 RT cores and 320 tensor cores, though these features are not heavily utilized in this particular title. The GPU's average benchmark score is 22206, placing it in the 65th percentile, and it is closely matched with rivals like the RTX A400 (0.5% slower) and the GTX TITAN Z (0.9% slower).

The GPU's role is clearly defined by the frame rate scaling. At 1080p, the GPU is the bottleneck, but the CPU is capable of feeding it. At 4K, the GPU is completely saturated, and the CPU's contribution is negligible. The measured data shows that the RTX 2070 SUPER's performance in Doom is strong but not exceptional, consistent with its mid-pack ranking among all GPUs.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of the system's performance across three resolutions and four settings presets.

At 1920x1080, the results are as follows:

• Low: 211.1 FPS
• Medium: 186.3 FPS
• High: 154.3 FPS
• Ultra: 129.6 FPS

The spread from Low to Ultra is 81.5 FPS, indicating that the settings have a significant impact on performance. The jump from Medium to High is 32.0 FPS, while the jump from High to Ultra is 24.7 FPS, showing diminishing returns as settings increase.

At 2560x1440, the results are:

• Low: 135.1 FPS
• Medium: 120.5 FPS
• High: 103.7 FPS
• Ultra: 81.3 FPS

The spread here is 53.8 FPS. The drop from High to Ultra is 22.4 FPS, which is a larger relative decrease than the corresponding 1080p drop, highlighting the increased GPU load at this resolution. The system remains highly playable at High settings, with frame rates well above 60 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the results are:

• Low: 75.6 FPS
• Medium: 66.4 FPS
• High: 58.1 FPS
• Ultra: 42.5 FPS

The spread is 33.1 FPS. The High setting is just below the 60 FPS threshold, while Ultra drops below 45 FPS, which is a significant compromise. The low setting is the only preset that consistently stays above 60 FPS, and even then, the margin is slim.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience, the data suggests prioritizing resolution and settings based on the display's refresh rate. At 1920x1080, the High preset offers a strong balance, delivering 154.3 FPS, which is ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors. The Ultra preset at 129.6 FPS is also viable, but the 24.7 FPS drop from High may not justify the visual gains for competitive play.

At 2560x1440, the High preset is the clear recommendation. It provides 103.7 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold and suitable for 100Hz+ displays. The Medium preset at 120.5 FPS is also excellent for maximizing smoothness, but High offers a better visual quality-to-performance ratio. Ultra at 81.3 FPS is playable but shows a noticeable drop from High.

At 3840x2160, the choice is more constrained. The Medium preset at 66.4 FPS provides a stable experience above 60 FPS, making it the best option for 4K displays. The High preset at 58.1 FPS is borderline and may be acceptable for slower-paced moments, but Medium is the safer choice for consistent frame pacing. Low at 75.6 FPS is the smoothest but sacrifices visual fidelity. Ultra at 42.5 FPS is not recommended for a game like Doom, where fluidity is critical.

The overall recommendation is to use High settings at 1080p and 1440p, and Medium settings at 4K. This configuration maximizes frame rate consistency while preserving the visual impact of the game's fast-paced environments.