Doom

# Doom: Intel Core i7-12700K + AMD Radeon RX 7700 — Benchmark Analysis

The Intel Core i7-12700K paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7700 delivers a highly capable 1080p and 1440p experience in Doom, with the data showing strong frame rates across all tested settings. At 4K, the combination remains playable, though the GPU becomes the clear limiting factor as resolution scales upward. The CPU, with its 12 cores and 20 threads, provides ample headroom even at lower resolutions where frame rates exceed 240 FPS.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a predictable but pronounced scaling pattern across the three tested resolutions. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 241 FPS average, while the same settings at 1440p yield 156 FPS, and at 4K drop to 85 FPS. This represents a 35% reduction from 1080p to 1440p and a further 45% reduction from 1440p to 4K. The scaling is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions, as the RX 7700's rendering workload increases with pixel count.

Examining High settings tells a similar story: 178 FPS at 1080p, 115 FPS at 1440p, and 62 FPS at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 35%, while from 1440p to 4K it is 46%. These percentage drops are nearly identical across Low and High presets, indicating that the limiting factor shifts uniformly with resolution rather than being influenced by the specific graphics settings.

The Ultra preset shows the steepest decline: 145 FPS at 1080p, 94 FPS at 1440p, and 51 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result falls below the 60 FPS threshold, which is notable for a fast-paced FPS title. The gap between Medium and Ultra at each resolution is consistent—roughly 31% at 1080p (210 vs 145), 31% at 1440p (136 vs 94), and 31% at 4K (74 vs 51)—suggesting that Ultra adds a fixed overhead relative to Medium regardless of resolution.

The data indicates that the RX 7700's 16 GB of GDDR6 memory and 624.1 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient even at 4K, as the frame rates scale smoothly without any anomalous drops that would suggest memory capacity or bandwidth bottlenecks. The 256-bit memory bus appears well-matched to the GPU's 2560 shading units and 96 ROPs.

At 1080p, the high frame rates—241 FPS on Low and 178 FPS on High—suggest that the i7-12700K is keeping pace with the GPU's output. The CPU's 5.00 GHz boost clock and 20 threads provide enough single-thread and multi-thread performance to avoid becoming the bottleneck at these elevated frame rates. However, the fact that Low settings at 1080p (241 FPS) is only slightly higher than Medium (210 FPS) implies that the CPU may be approaching its limit in this scenario, as the GPU is less stressed at Low.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 1440p offers an excellent balance, with 115 FPS on High and 156 FPS on Low settings. This resolution maintains high frame rates while providing more visual detail than 1080p, and it avoids the sub-60 FPS results seen at 4K Ultra.

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

A: Yes, but with caveats. The measured results show 62 FPS at 4K High and 85 FPS at 4K Low, which are playable. However, 4K Ultra drops to 51 FPS, which may feel less smooth in a fast-paced FPS. Sticking to High or lowering to Medium (74 FPS) is recommended for 4K.

Q: How does the CPU compare to similar Intel processors?

A: The i7-12700K has an average benchmark score of 35287, placing it in the 84th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-13600T, scores 35305, which is only 0.1% higher. The i7-12700KF is 0.2% higher at 35365, and the i7-13700T is 0.3% higher at 35403. These differences are negligible.

Q: How does the GPU compare to other graphics cards?

A: The RX 7700's average benchmark score is 15852, placing it in the 58th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon R9 370X, scores 15862, which is 0.1% higher. The RX 9060 is 1% higher at 16014, while the Radeon Pro W5500 is 1.1% lower. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti scores 16129, which is 1.7% higher.

Q: What frame rates can I expect at 1080p with this combo?

A: The measured data shows 145 FPS on Ultra, 178 FPS on High, 210 FPS on Medium, and 241 FPS on Low at 1920x1080. Even the lowest of these figures—145 FPS on Ultra—exceeds the refresh rate of most standard monitors, making this an excellent 1080p setup.

Q: Is the i7-12700K a bottleneck at any resolution?

A: The benchmark results suggest that at 4K, the GPU is the limiting factor, as frame rates drop significantly regardless of CPU capability. At 1080p, the CPU may start to become a factor, particularly on Low settings where the GPU has less work to do, but the 241 FPS result shows it still delivers very high performance.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Doom, this pairing of Intel Core i7-12700K and AMD Radeon RX 7700 ranks 1314 out of 2930 total combos. This places it in the 55th percentile of all tested systems, meaning roughly 45% of combinations perform better and 55% perform worse in this specific game.

The rank of 1314 is notable given the hardware's specifications. The i7-12700K sits in the 84th percentile of all CPUs, while the RX 7700 sits in the 58th percentile of all GPUs. The combo's mid-pack ranking relative to other tested systems reflects that Doom's performance is heavily GPU-dependent, and the RX 7700's mid-range standing pulls the overall ranking below what the CPU alone would suggest.

It is importantly this ranking is specific to Doom, which was released on 2016-05-12. The game's engine is well-optimized and scales predictably with hardware, so combos with stronger GPUs will naturally rank higher. The 2930 tested combos include systems with both more powerful and less powerful components, and the 1314 rank indicates that this setup delivers solid, above-average performance in this title.

The deltaPct values for the CPU's nearest rivals show that all four are within 0.4% of each other in average benchmark score, meaning the i7-12700K's ranking is not meaningfully different from its closest competitors. The GPU's rivals show a wider spread, from 1.7% higher (RTX 3060 Ti) to 1.1% lower (Pro W5500), but all remain close to the RX 7700's score.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080 (1080p): The data shows consistently high frame rates across all four settings presets. On Low, the combo achieves 241 FPS average. Medium delivers 210 FPS with a minimum of 179 FPS and a maximum of 242 FPS. High settings produce 178 FPS average. Ultra is the most demanding preset, yielding 145 FPS average. The spread from Low to Ultra is 96 FPS, indicating that graphics settings have a significant impact on performance at this resolution.

2560x1440 (1440p): At this resolution, the frame rates remain strong but show a clear step down from 1080p. Low settings deliver 156 FPS average. Medium produces 136 FPS with a minimum of 116 FPS and a maximum of 156 FPS. High settings yield 115 FPS average. Ultra drops to 94 FPS average. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 62 FPS, a narrower spread than at 1080p due to the increased GPU load.

3840x2160 (4K): The 4K results show the GPU being pushed harder. Low settings deliver 85 FPS average. Medium produces 74 FPS with a minimum of 63 FPS and a maximum of 85 FPS. High settings yield 62 FPS average. Ultra is the only preset that falls below 60 FPS, with 51 FPS average. The spread from Low to Ultra is 34 FPS, the smallest of the three resolutions, confirming that the GPU is the dominant bottleneck at 4K.

The Medium preset is the only one with recorded minimum and maximum FPS values across all resolutions. At 1080p, the minimum of 179 FPS and maximum of 242 FPS show a 63 FPS range. At 1440p, the range narrows to 40 FPS (116 to 156), and at 4K it narrows further to 22 FPS (63 to 85). This tightening range at higher resolutions is consistent with GPU-bound behavior, where frame time variance decreases as the GPU becomes saturated.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance on which preset offers the best experience at each resolution. At 1080p, the High preset at 178 FPS is the recommended choice for most players. It delivers well above 144 Hz refresh rates while providing significantly better visual quality than Low or Medium. The Ultra preset at 145 FPS is also viable for those with 144 Hz monitors, but the 33 FPS difference between High and Ultra may not justify the visual gains for competitive play.

At 1440p, the High preset at 115 FPS is the standout option. It comfortably exceeds 100 FPS, which is smooth for most users, and the jump from Medium (136 FPS) to High (115 FPS) costs only 21 FPS while offering improved visuals. Ultra at 94 FPS still clears 90 FPS, making it a viable choice for those prioritizing image quality over maximum frame rates.

At 4K, the recommendation is more nuanced. The High preset at 62 FPS is borderline for a fast-paced FPS, while Medium at 74 FPS provides a more comfortable margin above 60 FPS. Low at 85 FPS is the safest choice for competitive play, but the visual compromise is significant. Ultra at 51 FPS is not recommended for this title, as the sub-60 FPS average may cause noticeable stutter in intense combat sequences.

The data suggests that the Medium preset offers the most consistent experience across all resolutions, with the only measured minimum and maximum values showing frame times that stay within a narrow band. At 4K Medium, the 63 FPS minimum and 85 FPS maximum indicate stable performance, while at 1080p Medium, the 179 FPS minimum still exceeds most high-refresh monitors.

For players with adaptive sync displays, the High preset at 1440p (115 FPS) or 4K (62 FPS) would be excellent choices. Those without adaptive sync should target the Medium preset at 4K (74 FPS) or High at 1080p (178 FPS) to stay within a comfortable frame rate range.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700K is a 12-core, 20-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, with 25 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration and connects via PCIe Gen 4 with 20 CPU lanes.

In Doom, the CPU's role is significant at lower resolutions where frame rates are high. The 3DMark benchmark scores provide context: 1043 in single-thread, 9276 in 16-thread, and 9979 in max-thread tests. The Cinebench R23 scores of 1850.5 single-core and 19784 multi-core indicate strong per-thread performance, which matters for a game that relies on a primary game thread.

The 1080p Low result of 241 FPS is near the practical ceiling for many display technologies, and the fact that Medium (210 FPS) is only 13% lower suggests the CPU is keeping up with the GPU's output. At 1080p Ultra, the 145 FPS result shows that even with increased GPU load, the CPU maintains sufficient headroom.

The i7-12700K's 84th percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 35287, places it well above the GPU's 58th percentile ranking. This asymmetry indicates that the CPU is not the limiting factor in this combination. The nearest rival CPUs—the i5-13600T, i7-12700KF, i7-13700T, and Core 5 213PE—all score within 0.4% of the i7-12700K, confirming that this processor's performance is representative of its class.

At 4K, the CPU's influence diminishes as the GPU becomes the bottleneck. The frame rates drop by roughly 65% from 1080p to 4K across all settings, which is a characteristic of GPU-bound scaling. The CPU's 20 threads and high boost clock ensure that even at 4K Low (85 FPS), there is no CPU-induced frame rate cap.

The processor's integrated UHD Graphics 770 is present but irrelevant for gaming with a discrete GPU. The 125 W TDP and unlocked multiplier indicate this is a performance-focused desktop part, and its 2021-11-03 release date makes it a mature platform with established driver support.