Doom

This combo, pairing the six-core Intel Core i5-9400 with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 4 GB, lands at rank 1505 out of 1681 tested combinations in Doom. That places it in the lower 11% of all tested systems, a position driven primarily by the graphics card's 4 GB VRAM ceiling and the aging CPU's moderate single-thread performance. The data shows a system that is playable at 1080p but struggles to maintain smooth frame rates as resolution climbs, with the GPU consistently acting as the primary bottleneck.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 1505 out of 1681 tested combinations places it firmly in the lower quartile of the database for this title. Benchmark results indicate the Intel Core i5-9400 is a mid-pack processor, sitting at the 50th percentile against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 2305. Its nearest rivals show how tightly clustered this performance tier is: the Intel Core i3-10305 scores 2300 (a mere 0.2% delta), the Intel Core i3-1125G4 scores 2299 (0.2% delta), and the Intel Xeon E-2134 scores 2295 (0.4% delta). The only rival that beats it is the Intel Core i7-8809G at 2319, a 0.6% advantage.

This CPU performance, while unremarkable, is not the limiting factor in Doom. The RTX 3050 4 GB sits at the 50th percentile against all GPUs, but its 4 GB VRAM capacity is a significant constraint in a game that rewards higher texture settings. The measured FPS data shows the system achieves 136.5 FPS at 1080p Low, which is excellent, but this drops to 82.5 FPS at 1080p Ultra. The gap between Low and Ultra at each resolution reveals a GPU that is working hard, yet the CPU still has headroom. The combination's low rank is less about either component being exceptionally weak and more about the pairing of a modest GPU with a CPU that cannot fully compensate at higher settings.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 4 GB is built on the Ampere architecture with a GA107 chip, fabricated on Samsung's 8 nm process. It packs 2048 shading units, 64 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, with 16 RT cores and 64 tensor cores. The GPU runs at a base clock of 1545 MHz and boosts to 1740 MHz, with memory clocked at 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective). The 4 GB of GDDR6 memory sits on a 128-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 192.0 GB/s. This bandwidth is adequate for the GPU's compute capabilities — 7.127 TFLOPS FP32 and a texture rate of 111.4 GTexel/s — but the VRAM capacity is the critical weakness.

In Doom, the VRAM limitation becomes apparent when moving from Medium to Ultra settings. At 1080p, the jump from Medium (119.8 FPS) to Ultra (82.5 FPS) costs 37.3 FPS, a drop of 31%. At 1440p, the same settings transition sees FPS fall from 75.6 to 52.2, a 31% reduction. At 4K, Medium yields 42.9 FPS while Ultra drops to 29.1 FPS, a 32% decline. This consistent ~31% penalty suggests the GPU is not just compute-bound but is also hitting memory capacity limits at Ultra, forcing the card to swap textures and stalling the pipeline. The pixel rate of 55.68 GPixel/s is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K the fill rate demands exceed what the 4 GB frame buffer can efficiently manage.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and predictable degradation as resolution increases, but the pattern reveals the GPU as the dominant limiting factor. At 1080p High, the combo delivers 102.7 FPS, which drops to 66.1 FPS at 1440p High (a 36% reduction) and then to 36.5 FPS at 4K High (a 45% reduction from 1440p). This scaling is typical of a GPU-bound scenario where the CPU has sufficient headroom to feed the graphics card.

The Low settings tell a similar story but with higher absolute numbers. At 1080p Low, the system hits 136.5 FPS, which falls to 87 FPS at 1440p Low (36% drop) and 45.9 FPS at 4K Low (47% drop). The consistency of the percentage drops across settings suggests that resolution scaling is the primary variable, not the quality preset. However, the absolute FPS numbers at 4K are telling: even at Low settings, the system only manages 45.9 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. At 4K Ultra, the system falls to 29.1 FPS, which is borderline unplayable for a fast-paced FPS.

The data indicates that 1080p is the sweet spot for this combo, with all settings except Ultra delivering over 100 FPS. At 1440p, Medium settings (75.6 FPS) and High (66.1 FPS) are playable, but Ultra (52.2 FPS) drops below the ideal threshold. At 4K, even Low settings (45.9 FPS) fail to maintain smooth frame rates, confirming that the RTX 3050 4 GB is not suited for 4K gaming in this title.

FAQ

Q: Is this combo capable of running Doom at 1080p with high settings?

A: Yes. The measured data shows 102.7 FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. Even Ultra settings deliver 82.5 FPS at this resolution.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core i5-9400 has an average benchmark score of 2305, putting it 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core i3-10305 (2300) and the Intel Core i3-1125G4 (2299), 0.4% ahead of the Intel Xeon E-2134 (2295), and 0.6% behind the Intel Core i7-8809G (2319). These are all within a 0.6% performance band.

Q: What happens when resolution increases from 1080p to 1440p?

A: At High settings, FPS drops from 102.7 at 1080p to 66.1 at 1440p, a 36% reduction. At Low settings, it falls from 136.5 to 87, also a 36% drop. This consistent scaling indicates the GPU is the limiting factor.

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

A: The data shows it cannot maintain smooth frame rates. At 4K Low, the system produces 45.9 FPS; at 4K Medium, 42.9 FPS; at 4K High, 36.5 FPS; and at 4K Ultra, only 29.1 FPS. None of these meet the 60 FPS standard for competitive play.

Q: Why does Ultra settings cause such a large FPS drop?

A: The 4 GB VRAM capacity is the likely culprit. Moving from Medium to Ultra at 1080p drops FPS from 119.8 to 82.5 (a 31% loss), and this pattern repeats at 1440p (75.6 to 52.2) and 4K (42.9 to 29.1). The consistent ~31% penalty suggests memory capacity limits beyond compute constraints.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p?

A: Medium settings at 75.6 FPS is the highest quality preset that maintains playable frame rates. High settings at 66.1 FPS is also acceptable, but Ultra at 52.2 FPS drops below the 60 FPS comfort zone.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides a complete picture of this combo's performance across three resolutions and four quality presets.

At 1920x1080, the system is fully playable at all settings. Low settings produce 136.5 FPS, Medium yields 119.8 FPS, High delivers 102.7 FPS, and Ultra drops to 82.5 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 54 FPS, showing a 40% performance penalty for maximum quality. Even at Ultra, the frame rate is smooth, making 1080p the most viable resolution for this combo.

At 2560x1440, performance becomes more constrained. Low settings deliver 87 FPS, which is still smooth. Medium yields 75.6 FPS, which remains playable. High drops to 66.1 FPS, which is acceptable but approaching the edge of comfort. Ultra falls to 52.2 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold and will feel less responsive in fast-paced Doom combat. The scaling from Low to Ultra shows a 34.8 FPS drop, or a 40% reduction.

At 3840x2160, the combo struggles across all settings. Low produces 45.9 FPS, Medium yields 42.9 FPS, High delivers 36.5 FPS, and Ultra drops to 29.1 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is only 16.8 FPS, far less than at lower resolutions, indicating that the GPU is hitting a hard performance ceiling. Even at the lowest quality preset, the frame rate is below 60 FPS, rendering 4K impractical for this title with this hardware.

The data across all resolutions shows a consistent pattern: the RTX 3050 4 GB is the bottleneck. The CPU's performance headroom is evident in the smooth scaling from Low to Medium at 1080p (136.5 to 119.8 FPS), but the GPU's 4 GB VRAM and compute limits become increasingly apparent at higher resolutions and quality settings. For optimal gameplay, users should target 1080p with Medium to High settings, or 1440p with Medium settings, to maintain frame rates above 75 FPS.