Doom

# Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data for Doom with the Intel Core i7-12700K and AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT reveals a clear pattern of resolution-dependent performance scaling. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo delivers 314 FPS average, which drops to 203 FPS at 2560x1440 and further to 110 FPS at 3840x2160. That represents a 65% reduction in frame rate from 1080p to 4K at Low settings — a substantial hit that suggests the GPU is becoming the primary bottleneck as pixel count increases.

Looking at High settings, the scaling is similar but the absolute numbers are lower: 231 FPS at 1080p, 149 FPS at 1440p, and 81 FPS at 4K. The percentage drops are steep — 35% going from 1080p to 1440p, and another 46% going from 1440p to 4K. This pattern is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions, where the Radeon RX 9070 XT's rendering throughput dictates performance rather than the CPU.

The gap between Low and Ultra settings widens as resolution increases. At 1080p, the spread between Low (314 FPS) and Ultra (189 FPS) is 125 FPS. At 4K, the spread shrinks to 44 FPS (110 FPS Low vs 66 FPS Ultra). This narrowing delta at 4K indicates that the GPU is saturated even at Low settings, leaving less headroom for settings to matter. The data implies that at 4K, the Radeon RX 9070 XT is the limiting factor across all quality presets, whereas at 1080p, the CPU still has enough headroom to push higher frame rates when the GPU has less work per frame.

Interestingly, the Medium preset at each resolution shows remarkably consistent min-max ranges relative to the adjacent presets. At 4K Medium, the average is 96 FPS with min/max of 81/110 — the min matches the High preset average exactly, and the max matches the Low preset average exactly. This suggests that the Medium preset is effectively a midpoint in GPU workload, with frame time variance that spans the full range of the other presets.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo achieves in Doom?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 314 at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The next highest is 273 FPS at 1080p Medium, followed by 231 FPS at 1080p High.

Q: Does the combo maintain playable frame rates at 4K with Ultra settings?

A: Yes, but barely above the 60 FPS threshold. The measured average at 3840x2160 Ultra is 66 FPS. However, at 4K High the average rises to 81 FPS, and at 4K Medium it reaches 96 FPS.

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

A: The Intel Core i7-12700K has an average benchmark score of 35287, which is nearly identical to its closest rival, the Intel Core i5-13600T at 35305 (a delta of -0.1%). It sits 0.2% behind the Intel Core i7-12700KF and 0.3% behind the Intel Core i7-13700T.

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking among all tested GPUs?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT ranks in the 55th percentile of all GPUs based on its average benchmark score of 13543. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon HD 7770M, scores 13536 — a delta of just 0.1%.

Q: How many total combos does this system rank against in Doom?

A: The combo ranks 895th out of 3712 tested combos in Doom, placing it in the top 24% of all tested configurations.

Q: What is the FPS difference between 1080p and 4K at Medium settings?

A: At Medium settings, the average FPS drops from 273 at 1080p to 177 at 1440p and then to 96 at 4K. The total reduction from 1080p to 4K is 177 FPS, representing a 65% decrease.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT brings substantial hardware resources to Doom. Its 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus delivers 644.6 GB/s of bandwidth — more than sufficient for a 2016 title that predates the GPU's release by nearly a decade. The memory clock runs at 2518 MHz (20.1 Gbps effective), and the GPU's boost clock reaches 2970 MHz, with a game clock of 2400 MHz and a base clock of 1660 MHz.

The GPU's compute capabilities are considerable: 4096 shading units, 256 TMUs, and 128 ROPs. These translate to a pixel rate of 380.2 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 760.3 GTexel/s. The FP32 throughput is 48.66 TFLOPS, with FP16 matching at 48.66 TFLOPS (1:1). The 64 ray-tracing cores and support for DirectX 12 Ultimate, Vulkan 1.4, and OpenGL 4.6 mean the GPU is fully capable of handling Doom's Vulkan renderer, though the game's original release predates these APIs' modern iterations.

The benchmark results from the GPU show a Passmark G3D score of 26795 and a Passmark DirectX 12 score of 78, alongside a Geekbench Vulkan score of 65879. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 7260 further characterizes the GPU's raw performance. These numbers, combined with the measured FPS data, indicate that the RX 9070 XT is not the limiting factor at 1080p — where the CPU's ability to feed frames becomes relevant — but it clearly becomes the bottleneck at 4K, where the pixel throughput demands exceed what the GPU can deliver at high frame rates.

The fact that the GPU's percentile ranking (55th) is lower than the CPU's (84th) suggests that, in this pairing, the GPU is the weaker link relative to their respective populations. This is consistent with the resolution scaling data: at 4K, the GPU's rendering limits cap performance, while at 1080p, the CPU has enough headroom to allow the GPU to run at its full potential, producing frame rates above 300 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

In Doom, this specific combination of Intel Core i7-12700K and AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT ranks 895th out of 3712 tested combos. This places it in the top 24.1% of all configurations tested in this game. The rank reflects the measured FPS data across all resolutions and settings, which shows strong performance — the combo achieves over 100 FPS at 4K Low and over 300 FPS at 1080p Low.

The ranking context is important: with 3712 total combos, a rank of 895 means there are 2817 configurations that score lower and 894 that score higher. The top 24% placement suggests this is a high-performing setup for Doom, though not at the absolute pinnacle. The CPU's 84th percentile ranking among all CPUs and the GPU's 55th percentile ranking among all GPUs help explain this — the CPU is a strong performer, but the GPU, while capable, sits closer to the median of all GPUs tested.

The data implies that this combo would be well-suited for competitive play at 1080p, where the 231 FPS at High settings exceeds typical high-refresh monitor capabilities. At 1440p, the 149 FPS at High settings still provides a smooth experience on 144Hz displays. At 4K, the 81 FPS at High settings delivers a solid but not extreme high-refresh experience.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

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. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 25 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration, and it connects via PCIe Gen 4 with 20 lanes.

Synthetic benchmarks show this CPU's strengths: a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 19784 and a single-core score of 1850.5. The Geekbench multicore score is 15790 with a single-core score of 2308. The Passmark multithread score reaches 34404, with a single-thread score of 4013. The 3DMark scores — 9979 for max threads, 9276 for 16 threads, and 1043 for single thread — demonstrate strong scaling across thread counts.

For Doom, a game from 2016 that was designed to scale across multiple cores, the i7-12700K's 20 threads provide ample processing headroom. At 1080p Low, where the GPU is less stressed, the CPU's single-thread performance (evidenced by the 1850.5 Cinebench R23 single-core score) helps sustain the 314 FPS average. The high boost clock of 5.00 GHz is particularly relevant for frame pacing in a fast-paced FPS.

The CPU's nearest rival comparisons show it is essentially tied with the Intel Core i5-13600T (delta -0.1%), Intel Core i7-12700KF (delta -0.2%), and Intel Core i7-13700T (delta -0.3%) in average benchmark score. This parity suggests that the i7-12700K is not the differentiating factor in this combo's performance — the GPU's capabilities at higher resolutions matter more.

The CPU's 84th percentile ranking among all CPUs indicates it is a strong processor, but the bottleneck analysis from the resolution scaling data suggests that in this specific game, the CPU is only the limiting factor at lower resolutions and settings. At 1080p Low, the 314 FPS average is likely near the CPU's frame-delivery ceiling, but at 4K, the GPU's rendering limits dominate.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

1920x1080:

• Low: 314 FPS average
• Medium: 273 FPS average (min 232, max 314)
• High: 231 FPS average
• Ultra: 189 FPS average

At 1080p, the progression from Low to Ultra shows a steady decline: dropping 41 FPS from Low to Medium, another 42 FPS from Medium to High, and then 42 FPS from High to Ultra. The consistent 41-42 FPS decrements suggest each settings tier adds a similar workload increment to the GPU, while the CPU maintains enough headroom to keep frame rates high.

2560x1440:

• Low: 203 FPS average
• Medium: 177 FPS average (min 150, max 203)
• High: 149 FPS average
• Ultra: 122 FPS average

At 1440p, the decrements between presets are slightly smaller: 26 FPS from Low to Medium, 28 FPS from Medium to High, and 27 FPS from High to Ultra. The total drop from Low to Ultra is 81 FPS, compared to 125 FPS at 1080p. This indicates the GPU is starting to become the limiting factor, as the absolute frame rate reductions shrink when the GPU has more pixels to render.

3840x2160:

• Low: 110 FPS average
• Medium: 96 FPS average (min 81, max 110)
• High: 81 FPS average
• Ultra: 66 FPS average

At 4K, the preset-to-preset differences compress further: 14 FPS from Low to Medium, 15 FPS from Medium to High, and 15 FPS from High to Ultra. The total spread is only 44 FPS, less than half the spread at 1080p. The min/max range at Medium (81-110 FPS) exactly brackets the High average (81 FPS) and Low average (110 FPS), showing that frame time variance at 4K Medium spans the full range of the adjacent presets.

The cross-resolution comparison for each preset shows consistent scaling: Low drops from 314 to 203 to 110 FPS, Medium from 273 to 177 to 96 FPS, High from 231 to 149 to 81 FPS, and Ultra from 189 to 122 to 66 FPS. The identical min/max values at Medium across resolutions (232-314 at 1080p, 150-203 at 1440p, 81-110 at 4K) show that the min always equals the next-lower resolution's high preset, and the max always equals the same resolution's low preset — a pattern that suggests consistent frame pacing behavior.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance for optimizing the Doom experience with this combo. At 1920x1080, even the Ultra preset delivers 189 FPS average — well above any high-refresh display's needs. However, the jump from High to Ultra costs 42 FPS (231 to 189), a substantial reduction for visual gains that may be marginal in a fast-paced game. The High preset at 1080p offers a balanced choice: 231 FPS with higher visual fidelity than Medium's 273 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the High preset's 149 FPS average is ideal for 144Hz displays, providing a smooth competitive experience. The Ultra preset drops to 122 FPS, which still exceeds 120Hz refresh rates but leaves less headroom for frame time spikes. The Medium preset at 177 FPS is the best option for players prioritizing frame rate over visual quality on 165Hz or 240Hz monitors.

For 3840x2160, the situation changes. The Ultra preset's 66 FPS average barely clears 60 FPS, making it playable but not ideal for action-heavy sequences. The High preset at 81 FPS offers a more comfortable margin above 60 FPS while maintaining good visual quality. The Medium preset at 96 FPS is the sweet spot for 4K gaming on displays with 90Hz or 100Hz refresh rates, providing a significant boost over High without the visual compromise of Low (110 FPS).

The data suggests that the Medium preset at 4K provides the best balance: 96 FPS average with a min of 81 FPS, ensuring that even the most demanding scenes stay well above 60 FPS. At 1440p, the High preset balances visual fidelity with the 149 FPS average that suits 144Hz displays. At 1080p, the High preset at 231 FPS is recommended for most users, as the increase to Medium (273 FPS) offers diminishing returns for competitive play, and the drop to Ultra (189 FPS) sacrifices too much performance for the visual gains.

For players with high-refresh 240Hz displays at 1080p, the Low preset's 314 FPS average ensures the display is fully utilized. The Medium preset's 273 FPS still exceeds 240Hz, making it a viable alternative with better visuals. Ultimately, the choice between presets depends on the display's refresh rate and the player's preference for visual quality versus frame rate headroom — the measured data shows this combo has enough performance to satisfy both priorities across all three resolutions.