Doom

The Intel Core i5-9400 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti delivers a compelling 1080p experience in Doom, but the data reveals a system whose performance curve is heavily dictated by resolution and graphics presets. At 1080p, the combination achieves frame rates well above typical display refresh rates, yet scaling to 4K exposes the limits of the GPU and the game's demanding ultra settings. The measured results show a clear tiered structure, where the gap between Low and Ultra presets grows consistently with pixel count, indicating a shift in bottleneck from CPU-bound at lower resolutions to GPU-bound at higher ones.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a pronounced drop as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 200 FPS at 1080p to 129 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 70 FPS at 4K. This represents a 35.5% reduction from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 45.7% reduction from 1440p to 4K. The scaling is not linear; the jump to 4K imposes a disproportionately heavy load, suggesting that the RTX 3070 Ti's 8 GB of GDDR6X memory and 256-bit bus are being saturated by the increased pixel throughput.

Looking at the Low preset, the pattern is similar but with higher absolute numbers: 254 FPS at 1080p, 176 FPS at 1440p, and 95 FPS at 4K. The percentage drop from 1080p to 1440p is 30.7%, and from 1440p to 4K is 46.0%. Interestingly, the relative penalty for moving to 4K is nearly identical across settings (around 46-48%), which indicates that the resolution scaling is primarily a function of GPU fillrate and memory bandwidth rather than CPU limitation. The RTX 3070 Ti's pixel rate of 169.9 GPixel/s and texture rate of 339.8 GTexel/s are being stretched thin at 4K, especially when compared to the 57 FPS average at Ultra 4K, which falls below the 60 FPS threshold many consider playable.

The data implies that at 1080p, the CPU is the limiting factor. The i5-9400, with its 6 cores and 6 threads running at base 2.90 GHz and boost 4.10 GHz, appears to cap performance around 200-254 FPS depending on settings. At 1440p, the balance shifts, but the GPU still has headroom, as evidenced by the 129 FPS High and 106 FPS Ultra results. At 4K, the GPU is clearly the dominant constraint, with the Ultra preset dropping to 57 FPS, a full 18.5% below the High preset's 70 FPS. This suggests that for 4K gaming, users should consider lower presets to maintain fluidity, as the gap between Medium (83 FPS) and High (70 FPS) is significant.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a 6-core, 6-thread processor based on the Coffee Lake architecture, manufactured on a 14 nm process. Its benchmark scores place it in the 47th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 2254. Compared to its nearest rivals, the i5-9400 is nearly identical in performance: it sits 0.2% behind the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 (score 2259), 0.3% ahead of the Intel Core i7-10710U (score 2248), and 0.4% ahead of the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 (score 2246). This places the CPU in a mid-range tier, adequate for high-refresh gaming but not a top-tier performer.

In Doom, the CPU's role is most evident at 1080p. The difference between Low (254 FPS) and High (200 FPS) at 1080p is 21.3%, which is a larger gap than at 1440p (176 vs 129 FPS, a 26.7% difference) or 4K (95 vs 70 FPS, a 26.3% difference). This suggests that at lower resolutions, the game's CPU-side logic and draw call processing become more prominent, and the i5-9400's 6 threads (without Hyper-Threading) may be a limiting factor. The boost clock of 4.10 GHz helps in single-threaded scenarios, but the lack of additional threads could cause frame pacing issues in chaotic scenes, though the measured average FPS remains high.

The i5-9400's L3 cache is 9 MB shared, and it supports dual-channel DDR4 memory with a bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s. This memory bandwidth is modest by modern standards, but it does not appear to bottleneck the GPU at 1080p or 1440p, as the frame rates are still high. However, at 4K, the CPU's role diminishes, and the data shows that the GPU is the primary bottleneck. The benchmark results indicate that this CPU can push over 250 FPS in Doom at 1080p Low, which confirms its per-core performance, but it is not a CPU that will excel in heavily threaded workloads, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 6629 versus a single-core score of 935.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows provide clear guidance for optimizing the experience. At 1080p, all settings are playable, but the Ultra preset (163 FPS) is 18.5% slower than High (200 FPS) and 35.8% slower than Low (254 FPS). Given that the drop from High to Ultra yields diminishing visual returns in many games, the High preset at 1080p appears to be the sweet spot, offering a 23.5% improvement over Ultra while still maintaining a very high frame rate. The Medium preset (236 FPS) is also viable, sitting only 6.0% behind Low, but High provides a better balance of visual quality and performance for a 200 FPS target.

At 1440p, the recommendation shifts. The High preset (129 FPS) is the best option for those seeking a high refresh rate experience, as it is 21.7% faster than Ultra (106 FPS) and only 14.9% slower than Medium (153 FPS). The data shows that Ultra at 1440p is still above 100 FPS, so it is not a poor choice, but High offers a more comfortable margin above 120 FPS. Low (176 FPS) is available for competitive play, but the visual compromise is significant.

At 4K, the situation is more delicate. The Ultra preset (57 FPS) is below the 60 FPS threshold, making it less desirable for smooth gameplay. The High preset (70 FPS) is the recommended choice, as it is 23.2% faster than Ultra and only 15.7% slower than Medium (83 FPS). Medium at 4K (83 FPS) is also a strong option for those with 60Hz displays, as it provides a 35.1% improvement over Ultra. Low (95 FPS) is the fastest, but the visual impact at 4K may not justify the 35.7% gain over High. For most users, High at 4K offers the best balance, with Medium as a fallback if frame rates dip below 70 FPS in intense scenes.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, this specific pairing of Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti ranks 1364 out of 3712 combos for Doom. This places it in the 63rd percentile of all tested systems, which is a solid but not outstanding position. The rank reflects the system's ability to handle the game across all resolutions, but the 4K Ultra performance (57 FPS) likely drags the ranking down, as many modern GPUs can achieve higher frame rates at that resolution.

The combo's ranking is influenced by the CPU's 47th percentile standing and the GPU's 75th percentile standing. The GPU is clearly the stronger component, but the CPU's mid-range status prevents the system from reaching the upper echelons of the ranking. The nearest GPU rival data shows that the RTX 3070 Ti is nearly identical to the RTX 5070 Mobile (0.1% ahead) and RX 6800 (0.5% behind), but those comparisons are for the GPU alone, not the system. For the system, the i5-9400's performance is comparable to the i7-1068NG7 (0.2% behind) and i3-10305 (0.4% ahead), but the lack of multi-threading (6 threads vs potential 8-12 in rivals) may be a differentiator in newer titles.

The rank of 1364 out of 3712 suggests that while the combo is capable, it is not a top-tier pairing. Users with this system will enjoy high frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K, they will need to compromise on settings to stay above 60 FPS. The data implies that the RTX 3070 Ti is underutilized by the i5-9400 at lower resolutions, but at 4K, the GPU's 8 GB VRAM and 608.3 GB/s bandwidth become the limiting factor, capping performance at 95 FPS on Low settings.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti is a high-end GPU based on the Ampere architecture, built on an 8 nm process at Samsung. It features 6144 shading units, 192 texture mapping units, and 96 ROPs, with 48 RT cores and 192 tensor cores. The GPU's base clock is 1575 MHz with a boost clock of 1770 MHz, and it has 8 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 608.3 GB/s. The GPU's FP32 performance is 21.75 TFLOPS, and it has a TDP of 290 W, requiring a 600 W power supply.

In Doom, the GPU's role is most apparent at 4K. The difference between Low (95 FPS) and Ultra (57 FPS) at 4K is a 40.0% reduction, which is the largest settings gap across all resolutions. This indicates that the GPU's memory bandwidth and pixel fillrate are the primary constraints at 4K, especially with the Ultra preset's increased texture detail and shadow complexity. The GPU's 8 GB VRAM may also be a factor, as Doom at 4K Ultra could approach or exceed this limit, causing texture swapping and performance dips.

The GPU's benchmark scores are strong, with a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3478 and a Passmark G3D score of 23356. Its percentile ranking is 75, meaning it outperforms 75% of all GPUs. Compared to its nearest rivals, the RTX 3070 Ti is 0.1% ahead of the RTX 5070 Mobile, 0.5% behind the RX 6800, and 0.5% ahead of the RTX 2080 Ti. This places it in a performance tier where it can handle 1440p gaming with ease, but 4K requires careful settings management.

The measured data shows that at 1080p, the GPU is not the bottleneck, as the CPU appears to limit frame rates to around 200-254 FPS. At 1440p, the GPU begins to assert itself, with the Ultra preset dropping to 106 FPS, which is 39.8% lower than Low (176 FPS). At 4K, the GPU is fully taxed, and the 57 FPS Ultra result shows that even this high-end GPU struggles with the most demanding settings at that resolution. The GPU's 19 Gbps effective memory clock and 608.3 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for 1440p, but 4K Ultra pushes the system to its limits.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo to achieve 144 FPS or higher?

A: At 1920x1080, all settings achieve above 144 FPS, with Low at 254 FPS, Medium at 236 FPS, High at 200 FPS, and Ultra at 163 FPS. At 2560x1440, only Low (176 FPS) exceeds 144 FPS, while Medium (153 FPS) is close, but High (129 FPS) and Ultra (106 FPS) fall short.

Q: How does the Ultra preset at 4K compare to High at 4K in terms of frame rate?

A: The Ultra preset at 3840x2160 yields an average of 57 FPS, which is 18.5% slower than the High preset's 70 FPS. This is a significant drop for potentially marginal visual improvements.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1080p?

A: The data suggests the CPU is the limiting factor at 1080p, as the frame rate gap between Low (254 FPS) and High (200 FPS) is 21.3%, which indicates that the CPU's 6-core/6-thread configuration cannot push beyond this range regardless of GPU headroom.

Q: What is the combo's performance rank relative to other tested systems?

A: The combo ranks 1364 out of 3712 tested combinations, placing it in the 63rd percentile. This indicates a solid but not top-tier performance, with the CPU's mid-range score (47th percentile) being a limiting factor.

Q: Can this system handle 4K gaming smoothly?

A: At 4K, the system only achieves above 60 FPS on Low (95 FPS) and Medium (83 FPS) presets. High (70 FPS) is playable, but Ultra (57 FPS) falls below the 60 FPS threshold, so 4K gaming requires setting compromises.

Q: How does the RTX 3070 Ti's performance compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RTX 3070 Ti has an average benchmark score of 29945, which is 0.1% ahead of the RTX 5070 Mobile (29928) and 0.5% ahead of the RTX 2080 Ti (29783), but 0.5% behind the RX 6800 (30095).

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across three resolutions and four settings.

At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers the highest average at 254 FPS. The Medium preset averages 236 FPS, with a minimum of 201 FPS and a maximum of 272 FPS. High follows at 200 FPS, while Ultra drops to 163 FPS. The variance between Low and Ultra is 35.8%, indicating that the Ultra preset's additional effects are costly at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 176 FPS. Medium averages 153 FPS, with a minimum of 130 FPS and a maximum of 176 FPS. High averages 129 FPS, and Ultra averages 106 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 39.8%, which is larger than at 1080p, showing the GPU's increasing load.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 95 FPS. Medium averages 83 FPS, with a minimum of 70 FPS and a maximum of 95 FPS. High averages 70 FPS, and Ultra averages 57 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 40.0%, the largest of all resolutions. Notably, the Medium preset's minimum FPS (70) is equal to the High preset's average, indicating that frame pacing is more consistent at Medium.

The data shows a clear progression: at 1080p, the system is CPU-bound, with frame rates clustering around 200+ FPS; at 1440p, the GPU takes over, and the settings gap widens; at 4K, the GPU is fully saturated, and the Ultra preset drops below 60 FPS. For users seeking a consistent 60 FPS experience at 4K, the Medium preset (83 FPS average) provides a comfortable margin, while High (70 FPS) is the minimum recommended for playability.