Doom

# AMD Radeon RX 9070 + Intel Core i7-12700K in Doom

The Intel Core i7-12700K paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9070 produces a high-refresh-rate 1080p machine in Doom, with measured frame rates exceeding 180 FPS at every preset. The combo's 574th-place ranking out of 1,681 tested configurations places it in the upper third of all pairings, though the data reveals that the GPU becomes the primary constraint at higher resolutions. This analysis breaks down the measured performance across 12 resolution/settings combinations, explaining what each number means relative to the component's broader benchmark standings.

FAQ

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

A: The highest average frame rate recorded is 294.9 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The most demanding preset tested, Ultra at 3840x2160, still delivers a playable 64.7 FPS average.

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

A: The Core i7-12700K scores an average of 35,684 across all benchmarks, placing it at the 89th percentile of all CPUs. It sits within 0.8% of the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845, Intel Core i7-13700T, Intel Core i5-14500HX, and Intel Core i7-13800H, with deltas ranging from -0.7% to +0.8%.

Q: What is the GPU's synthetic benchmark standing?

A: The Radeon RX 9070 holds the 79th percentile among all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 34,780. Its closest rival, the NVIDIA A2, scores 34,866, just 0.2% higher, while the AMD Radeon PRO W6400 trails by 0.8%.

Q: Does the combo scale better with resolution or settings changes?

A: Resolution scaling dominates. Dropping from 4K to 1440p at High settings increases FPS by 88.6%, whereas dropping from Ultra to Low at 4K increases FPS by 58.0%. The GPU is the limiting factor at 4K, evidenced by the smaller relative gains from settings reductions.

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

A: This configuration ranks 574th out of 1,681 tested combos in Doom, placing it in the 65.9th percentile of all pairings. This rank reflects the CPU's strong multi-threaded performance with the GPU's mid-high tier standing.

Q: What memory configuration does the CPU support?

A: The Intel Core i7-12700K supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration. It has 25 MB of shared L3 cache, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 80 KB of L1 per core.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 is built on the Navi 48 chip using TSMC's 4 nm process, with 53,900 million transistors packed into a 357 mm² die. It operates with a base clock of 1330 MHz, a game clock of 2070 MHz, and a boost clock of 2520 MHz. The memory subsystem consists of 16 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 644.6 GB/s of bandwidth at 20.1 Gbps effective speed.

In Doom, the GPU's role becomes apparent when comparing frame rates across resolutions at identical settings. At 1080p High, the combo produces 216.5 FPS, but at 1440p High it drops to 139.9 FPS, a 35.4% reduction. Moving to 4K High yields just 74.2 FPS, a 65.7% drop from 1080p. These scaling patterns indicate that the RX 9070's compute resources—3,584 shading units, 224 TMUs, and 128 ROPs—are saturated as pixel count rises. The GPU's FP32 throughput of 36.13 TFLOPS and texture rate of 564.5 GTexel/s determine the ceiling at higher resolutions.

The GPU's 79th percentile standing among all GPUs suggests it is a capable but not elite performer. Its nearest rivals in synthetic tests—the NVIDIA A2 and Quadro GV100—are within 0.3% of its average score, indicating the RX 9070 sits in a tightly contested performance band. In Doom, this translates to strong 1080p performance but increasingly limited 4K headroom.

Resolution Scaling

The measured data reveals a clear pattern: frame rates decline steeply as resolution increases, with the GPU becoming the bottleneck at 4K. At Low settings, performance drops from 294.9 FPS at 1080p to 194.3 FPS at 1440p (34.1% reduction) and then to 102.2 FPS at 4K (65.3% reduction from 1080p). The scaling at Ultra settings follows a similar trajectory: 181 FPS at 1080p, 114.4 FPS at 1440p, and 64.7 FPS at 4K.

The 1080p-to-1440p transition shows the GPU still has headroom, with frame rates remaining above 114 FPS at every preset. This suggests the CPU, with its 12 cores and 20 threads boosted up to 5.00 GHz, can feed the GPU adequately at these resolutions. However, the 1440p-to-4K jump is more punishing: at High settings, FPS falls by 47.0% (139.9 to 74.2), and at Medium settings, by 47.1% (165.5 to 87.6). This steep drop indicates the RX 9070's memory bandwidth and pixel throughput become the limiting factor at 4K.

The data also shows diminishing returns from lowering settings at 4K. Going from Ultra to Low at 4K improves FPS by 58.0% (64.7 to 102.2), but the same settings change at 1080p yields only a 62.9% improvement (181 to 294.9). The gap between Ultra and Low narrows as resolution increases, confirming that GPU-bound scenarios respond less to settings changes than resolution changes.

Settings Recommendations

For 1440p and 4K displays, the High preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance. At 1440p High, the combo achieves 139.9 FPS, which is comfortably above 120 FPS for high-refresh monitors, while 4K High delivers 74.2 FPS—playable for most titles. The Ultra preset at 4K drops to 64.7 FPS, which may introduce noticeable stutter on 60 Hz displays with frame pacing issues.

At 1080p, the Medium preset at 256.2 FPS is the recommended choice for competitive play, as it provides nearly 90% of the Low preset's 294.9 FPS while likely offering better visual fidelity. The High preset at 216.5 FPS remains well above 144 Hz refresh rates, making it viable for most users. Ultra at 1080p still hits 181 FPS, so it is the best choice for those prioritizing image quality over raw frame rates.

The Low preset's 294.9 FPS at 1080p represents the absolute maximum achievable, useful for esports scenarios where every frame matters. However, the 37.7% gap between Low and Medium at 1440p (194.3 to 165.5 FPS) is modest, suggesting that Medium is a safe default for most gamers. For 4K users, the Medium preset's 87.6 FPS is the minimum recommended setting to maintain smoothness, as Low at 102.2 FPS provides only marginal additional headroom.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's 574th-place ranking out of 1,681 tested configurations places it in the 65.9th percentile of all pairings in Doom. This rank reflects a well-matched system where the CPU's 89th percentile standing compensates for the GPU's more modest 79th percentile position. The i7-12700K's strong multi-threaded performance—evidenced by scores like 29,241 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 34,404 in PassMark multithread—ensures the GPU is not starved for data, particularly at lower resolutions where the CPU's 12 cores can drive high frame rates.

The rank also indicates that while this combo is solid, many other pairings achieve better results in Doom. The CPU's nearest rivals in synthetic tests—the Ryzen 7 PRO 5845, Core i7-13700T, Core i5-14500HX, and Core i7-13800H—all score within 0.8% of the i7-12700K, suggesting that CPU swaps would not dramatically alter the combo's ranking. Similarly, the GPU's nearest rivals are within 0.8% of its average score, meaning the entire performance envelope is tightly clustered.

The measured FPS data supports this ranking: at 1080p, the combo delivers frame rates that rival dedicated esports setups, while at 4K it falls into mid-range territory. The 65.9th percentile rank is consistent with a system that excels at 1080p and 1440p but struggles to maintain high frame rates at 4K, particularly at Ultra settings. For users targeting 1440p at High or 1080p at Ultra, this combo provides an excellent experience; for 4K Ultra enthusiasts, it sits near the threshold of acceptable performance.