Doom

The Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 combination ranks 2001 out of 3712 tested combos in Doom, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database. This position reflects a pairing where a six-core CPU from the Coffee Lake era meets a modern Ada Lovelace GPU, and the benchmark results show a system that is capable of high frame rates but is not at the top of the leaderboard. The data indicates that this combo sits slightly below the 54th percentile of all tested configurations, suggesting that while it handles the game well at most settings, there are many other pairings that deliver higher performance. The ranking is a holistic measure of the combo's ability to run Doom, and the measured FPS across resolutions and presets provides a clear picture of where its strengths and limitations lie.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 2001 out of 3712 tested combinations places it in the 46th percentile of all systems tested for Doom. This is a mid-pack result, indicating that the i5-9400 and RTX 4060 pairing offers a balanced but not exceptional experience for this title. When looking at the individual components, the CPU's percentileVsAllCpus is 47, meaning it performs better than 47% of all CPUs in the database, while the GPU's percentileVsAllGpus is 61, showing it outperforms 61% of all GPUs. The fact that the GPU ranks higher than the CPU suggests that the processor is the more limiting factor in this pairing, which is consistent with the measured frame rates at lower resolutions.

The nearest rivals for the CPU provide context for its compute capabilities. The Intel Core i7-1068NG7 has an average benchmark score of 2259, which is 0.2% higher than the i5-9400's 2254 score. Similarly, the Intel Core i3-10305 scores 2264, putting it 0.4% ahead, while the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500 scores 2246, which is 0.4% behind. These small deltas show that the i5-9400 is closely matched with its immediate competitors in synthetic benchmarks, meaning the performance differences seen in Doom are more likely due to how the game utilizes the specific architecture rather than raw compute power.

For the GPU, the nearest rivals are interesting because they are all significantly older or lower-tier parts. The AMD Radeon HD 7790 has an average score of 17666, which is 0.2% higher than the RTX 4060's 17639 score. The AMD Radeon 780M scores 17588 (0.3% lower), the AMD Radeon Pro 560 scores 17551 (0.5% lower), and the AMD Radeon Pro 460 scores 17509 (0.7% lower). The proximity of these scores is notable because it suggests that in synthetic benchmarks, the RTX 4060's raw compute is not dramatically different from these older parts, though the modern architecture brings other advantages like newer feature support that may not be fully captured in these aggregate scores.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance on which settings preset delivers the best experience for this combo. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves an average of 228 FPS, which is exceptionally high and well beyond what most displays can show. The Medium preset drops to 198 FPS, still very smooth, while High yields 167 FPS and Ultra falls to 137 FPS. Given that all presets at 1080p exceed 130 FPS, the recommendation is to use the Ultra preset if the display supports high refresh rates, as it provides the best visual quality while maintaining a frame rate that is still fluid for competitive play. The data shows that the gap between Low and Ultra is 91 FPS, which is substantial but not prohibitive.

At 2560x1440, the story changes slightly. The Low preset averages 147 FPS, Medium drops to 128 FPS, High to 108 FPS, and Ultra to 89 FPS. Here, the Medium preset at 128 FPS offers a strong balance between visual fidelity and performance, as it is still comfortably above 120 FPS for smooth gameplay. The High preset at 108 FPS is also viable, but the jump from Medium to High costs 20 FPS, which may be noticeable on high-refresh-rate monitors. For players who prioritize frame rate, Low at 147 FPS is the best option, but the Medium preset is the sweet spot for most users.

At 3840x2160, the results are more constrained. The Low preset averages 80 FPS, Medium drops to 70 FPS, High to 59 FPS, and Ultra to 48 FPS. At this resolution, the Low preset is the only one that consistently stays above 60 FPS, making it the recommended choice for 4K gaming. The Medium preset at 70 FPS is playable but may experience dips, as its min FPS is 59. The High and Ultra presets fall below 60 FPS, which can lead to less smooth gameplay. Given these numbers, the best experience at 4K is achieved with the Low preset, while 1440p users should opt for Medium, and 1080p users can comfortably use Ultra.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals important characteristics about this combo's bottleneck. At 1080p with the High preset, the average FPS is 167. Moving to 1440p High drops this to 108 FPS, a 35% reduction, and then to 4K High at 59 FPS, a further 45% reduction from 1440p. This steep decline as resolution increases indicates that the GPU is becoming the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions, as the RTX 4060's 8 GB of VRAM and 128-bit memory bus are strained by the increased pixel count.

However, the scaling is not uniform across all presets. At Low settings, the FPS goes from 228 at 1080p to 147 at 1440p (a 36% drop) and then to 80 at 4K (a 46% drop from 1440p). This pattern shows that even at the lowest settings, the GPU is still the bottleneck at 4K, as the frame rate halves from 1080p to 4K. In contrast, the CPU's role is more apparent at 1080p, where the frame rates are extremely high, suggesting that the processor is keeping up with the GPU's output but may be nearing its limits.

The data indicates that this combo is well-balanced for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where the GPU can push high frame rates and the CPU can feed it adequately. At 4K, the GPU's limitations become clear, as the frame rates drop below 60 FPS on all presets except Low. The 59 FPS average at 4K High is particularly telling, as it is just on the edge of smoothness, and the 48 FPS at 4K Ultra is not ideal for fast-paced FPS gameplay. This suggests that for 4K, users should either lower settings or consider a more powerful GPU.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest performance. The Low preset averages 228 FPS, with no min or max data available, indicating a consistently high output. The Medium preset averages 198 FPS, with a min of 168 and a max of 228, showing some variability but still very smooth. The High preset averages 167 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 137 FPS. These numbers show that even at the most demanding settings, the combo maintains a frame rate that is well above 120 FPS, making it ideal for high-refresh-rate 1080p monitors.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains strong but shows more differentiation between presets. The Low preset averages 147 FPS, the Medium preset averages 128 FPS with a min of 109 and a max of 148, the High preset averages 108 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 89 FPS. The min FPS of 109 on Medium is notable, as it indicates that even in demanding scenes, the frame rate stays above 100 FPS, providing a smooth experience. The Ultra preset at 89 FPS is still playable, but the drop from Medium is significant.

At 3840x2160, the performance is more limited. The Low preset averages 80 FPS, the Medium preset averages 70 FPS with a min of 59 and a max of 80, the High preset averages 59 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 48 FPS. The Medium preset's min of 59 FPS is right at the edge of 60 FPS, meaning there will be occasional dips below that threshold. The High preset at 59 FPS average is borderline, and the Ultra preset at 48 FPS will feel less fluid. This data confirms that 4K is the most demanding scenario for this combo, and users should expect to compromise on settings to maintain playable frame rates.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture and features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 272.0 GB/s. The GPU has 3072 shading units, 96 TMUs, and 48 ROPs, with a base clock of 1830 MHz and a boost clock of 2460 MHz. These specifications are directly relevant to the Doom results, as the game's performance at higher resolutions is heavily dependent on memory bandwidth and fill rate. The 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for this game, as even at 4K Ultra, the memory usage does not appear to be a limiting factor based on the measured FPS.

The GPU's clock speeds are relatively high, with the boost clock of 2460 MHz being a significant factor in its performance. The pixel rate of 118.1 GPixel/s and texture rate of 236.2 GTexel/s are also important, as Doom is a fast-paced FPS that requires high fill rates to maintain smooth gameplay. The RTX 4060's FP32 performance of 15.11 TFLOPS is substantial for a card in this tier, and the benchmark results show that it is well-suited for this game at 1080p and 1440p.

The GPU's percentileVsAllGpus of 61 indicates that it performs better than 61% of all GPUs in the database, and its average benchmark score of 17639 places it in a competitive position. The nearest rival data shows that its synthetic benchmark scores are very close to older parts like the AMD Radeon HD 7790 and AMD Radeon 780M, but the modern architecture provides better efficiency and feature support. In Doom specifically, the GPU's performance is strong enough to push high frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, but it struggles to maintain 60 FPS at 4K on higher presets, which is consistent with its memory bandwidth limitations.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i5-9400 is a six-core, six-thread processor based on the Coffee Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.10 GHz. It has 9 MB of shared L3 cache and supports DDR4 memory with a bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s. The CPU's benchmark scores show it performs at the 47th percentile of all CPUs, with an average score of 2254. In Doom, the CPU's role is most evident at 1080p, where the frame rates are extremely high, suggesting that the processor can keep up with the GPU's output.

The CPU's six cores and six threads are sufficient for Doom, as the game is not heavily multithreaded. The boost clock of 4.10 GHz is a key factor in single-threaded performance, which is important for FPS games. The CPU's nearest rivals show that it is closely matched with the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 and Intel Core i3-10305, with performance differences of less than 1%. This indicates that the i5-9400 is not a bottleneck at 1080p, as its performance is comparable to other CPUs in its class.

However, at higher resolutions, the CPU's role diminishes as the GPU becomes the limiting factor. The data shows that the FPS drop from 1080p to 1440p and 4K is primarily due to the GPU's inability to maintain high frame rates at those resolutions, not the CPU. The CPU's memory bandwidth of 42.7 GB/s is adequate for this game, and the 9 MB L3 cache helps with data locality. Overall, the i5-9400 provides solid performance for Doom, but it is not the primary driver of the combo's performance at higher resolutions.

FAQ

Q: What is the combo's overall rank in Doom?

A: The Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 combo ranks 2001 out of 3712 tested combinations, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database.

Q: What settings preset is recommended for 1080p gaming?

A: At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset averages 137 FPS, which is the highest visual quality while still maintaining a high frame rate. The Low preset averages 228 FPS, but Ultra offers the best balance of visuals and performance.

Q: How does the FPS scale from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: The High preset averages 167 FPS at 1080p, 108 FPS at 1440p, and 59 FPS at 4K. This shows a significant drop as resolution increases, indicating the GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

Q: What is the GPU's memory bandwidth and how does it affect performance?

A: The RTX 4060 has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 272.0 GB/s. This is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K, the lower bandwidth contributes to the frame rate drops below 60 FPS on higher presets.

Q: What is the CPU's benchmark score and how does it compare to rivals?

A: The i5-9400 has an average benchmark score of 2254, which is 0.2% lower than the Intel Core i7-1068NG7's score of 2259 and 0.4% higher than the AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500's score of 2246.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck at 4K?

A: The data shows that at 4K, the GPU is the primary bottleneck. The FPS drops significantly from 1440p to 4K, and the CPU's performance is sufficient to feed the GPU, as evidenced by the high frame rates at 1080p.