Doom

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

The Intel Core i7-12700K is a 12-core, 20-thread Alder Lake-S processor running on Intel Socket 1700. Its base clock is 3.60 GHz with a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, and it carries a TDP of 125 W. The chip is built on Intel's 10 nm process with a 215 mm² die size. Cache configuration includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 1.25 MB of L2 per core, and 25 MB of shared L3. Memory support spans DDR4 and DDR5 over a dual-channel bus, and the CPU provides Gen 4 PCIe with 20 lanes.

The benchmark data places this CPU in the 89th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 35,684. Its nearest rivals in aggregate scoring are tightly clustered: the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 scores 35,802 (0.3% ahead), the Intel Core i5-14500HX scores 35,940 (0.7% ahead), while the Intel Core i7-13700T trails by 0.6% at 35,468 and the Intel Core i7-13800H trails by 0.8% at 35,416. Single-thread performance, as measured by 3DMark's single-thread test, comes in at 1,043; the 2-thread test doubles to 2,065, and the 4-thread test reaches 4,011. The 8-thread score jumps to 7,202, while the 16-thread score hits 9,276, and the max-thread score peaks at 9,979.

For a 2016-era FPS like Doom, the game's engine was designed around far more modest hardware. The i7-12700K's 12 cores and 20 threads are far beyond what the game's threading model can fully utilize, but the high boost clock of 5.00 GHz matters more for frame pacing. The single-core Cinebench R23 score of 4,128 and Geekbench single-core score of 2,561 indicate strong per-thread throughput, which is what an older game engine typically depends on. The data shows that at 1080p with Low settings, the CPU is still comfortably ahead of the workload: the measured average FPS of 186.7 suggests the processor is not the limiting factor at lower resolutions, since the frame rate scales cleanly with GPU load rather than hitting a CPU-imposed ceiling.

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

The Intel Arc B580 is a Battlemage-generation GPU on TSMC's 5 nm process, featuring the BMG-G21 chip with 19,600 million transistors on a 272 mm² die. It runs a base and boost clock of 2670 MHz, with memory clocked at 2375 MHz (19 Gbps effective). Memory amounts to 12 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, delivering 456.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The GPU has 2,560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 80 ROPs, with 20 ray tracing cores. Pixel rate is 213.6 GPixel/s, texture rate is 427.2 GTexel/s, and FP32 throughput is 13.67 TFLOPS. The card is dual-slot, requires a single 8-pin power connector, and has a TDP of 190 W with a suggested 450 W PSU.

The Arc B580 sits in the 66th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 23,021. Its nearest rivals are closely matched: the AMD Radeon 760M scores 22,999 (0.1% behind), the NVIDIA P106-100 scores 22,950 (0.3% behind), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 scores 23,181 (0.7% ahead), and the RTX 4060 Mobile scores 22,729 (1.3% behind). In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, the B580 posts 3,068, while Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan scores are 92,821 and 109,672 respectively. Passmark G3D gives 15,748, and GPU compute is 7,729.

For Doom, the 12 GB VRAM is more than sufficient at all tested settings, even at 4K Ultra, since the game's texture budgets are modest by modern standards. The 2670 MHz clock is notably high for a desktop GPU, and the 456.0 GB/s bandwidth provides ample headroom for the game's streaming needs. The measured FPS data shows that the GPU is the primary scaling factor: as resolution increases, frame rates drop in a pattern consistent with GPU-bound rendering. The gap between Low and Ultra settings widens at higher resolutions, confirming that the B580's fill rate and shading throughput are the decisive variables.

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

The measured FPS data reveals a clear progression as resolution scales from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 133.7 at 1080p to 87.3 at 1440p, then to 47.1 at 4K. That represents a 34.7% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 46.0% drop from 1440p to 4K. At Low settings, the figures are 186.7, 116.9, and 62.2 respectively — a 37.4% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a 46.8% drop from 1440p to 4K. Medium settings show 159.3, 106.4, and 58.2, while Ultra settings show 110.8, 71.9, and 37.3.

The pattern is consistent across all settings: the transition from 1440p to 4K costs roughly 46-48% of the frame rate, regardless of preset. This is a classic GPU-bound signature. If the CPU were the limiter, the percentage drop from 1080p to 1440p would be smaller because the GPU would still have headroom at 1080p. Instead, the data shows a near-linear scaling with pixel count — 4K has 2.25 times the pixels of 1440p, and the observed drops align with that arithmetic. The i7-12700K's 12 cores and 5.00 GHz boost clock are sufficient to feed the Arc B580 even at 1080p Low, where 186.7 FPS is achieved without any apparent CPU bottleneck. At 4K Ultra, the frame rate falls to 37.3, a 69.6% reduction from the 1080p Low figure, reinforcing that the GPU's rendering throughput is the sole constraint at higher resolutions.

FAQ

Q: How much faster is the i7-12700K than its closest rival in aggregate CPU benchmarks?

A: The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 scores 35,802, which is 0.3% higher than the i7-12700K's 35,684. The Intel Core i5-14500HX is 0.7% ahead at 35,940, while the i7-13700T and i7-13800H are 0.6% and 0.8% behind respectively.

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

A: At 1080p High, the average FPS is 133.7. At 1440p High, it drops to 87.3, and at 4K High, it falls to 47.1. This represents a 64.8% reduction from 1080p to 4K.

Q: Does the Arc B580 outperform the RTX 4060 in average GPU benchmarks?

A: No. The RTX 4060 has an average benchmark score of 23,181, which is 0.7% higher than the Arc B580's 23,021. The B580 does outperform the RTX 4060 Mobile, which scores 22,729 (1.3% lower).

Q: Which settings preset gives the highest frame rate at 1440p?

A: Low settings at 1440p produce an average of 116.9 FPS. Medium settings yield 106.4 FPS, High produces 87.3 FPS, and Ultra drops to 71.9 FPS.

Q: Is the i7-12700K more than adequate for Doom based on the FPS data?

A: Yes. At 1080p Low, the measured average FPS reaches 186.7, which is far above any refresh rate the game would realistically target. The CPU's 12 cores and 5.00 GHz boost clock provide ample headroom, as the frame rate scaling with resolution confirms the GPU is the limiting component.

Q: How does the Arc B580's memory bandwidth compare to its pixel rate?

A: The GPU has 456.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth and a pixel rate of 213.6 GPixel/s. The bandwidth is sufficient to sustain the pixel throughput, which is why the card scales predictably with resolution rather than stalling on memory access.

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

At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers the highest average FPS at 186.7. Medium follows at 159.3, High at 133.7, and Ultra at 110.8. The spread from Low to Ultra is 75.9 FPS, or a 40.7% reduction. The differences between presets are roughly linear: dropping from Low to Medium costs 27.4 FPS, from Medium to High costs 25.6 FPS, and from High to Ultra costs 22.9 FPS.

At 2560x1440, Low produces 116.9 FPS, Medium produces 106.4 FPS, High produces 87.3 FPS, and Ultra produces 71.9 FPS. The total spread is 45.0 FPS, which is a 38.5% reduction from Low to Ultra. The step costs are 10.5 FPS from Low to Medium, 19.1 FPS from Medium to High, and 15.4 FPS from High to Ultra. Notably, the Medium-to-High transition is the largest single step at this resolution, suggesting a particular setting within that preset tier has a disproportionate impact.

At 3840x2160, Low yields 62.2 FPS, Medium yields 58.2 FPS, High yields 47.1 FPS, and Ultra yields 37.3 FPS. The spread is 24.9 FPS, a 40.0% reduction from Low to Ultra. Step costs are 4.0 FPS from Low to Medium, 11.1 FPS from Medium to High, and 9.8 FPS from High to Ultra. The Medium-to-High step remains the largest at 4K, consistent with the 1440p pattern. The percentage reduction from Low to Ultra is nearly identical across all resolutions (40.7% at 1080p, 38.5% at 1440p, 40.0% at 4K), indicating that the settings presets impose a consistent relative cost regardless of resolution.

The combination ranks 1,309 out of 1,681 total combos in the game's database, placing it in the lower-middle portion of tested configurations. The measured data is flagged as measured, not estimated, which lends confidence to the figures.

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

At 1080p, the data shows that even Ultra settings maintain a comfortable 110.8 FPS average. Since the i7-12700K and Arc B580 combination has substantial headroom at this resolution, the Ultra preset is the clear choice for players with 1080p displays. The 110.8 FPS figure exceeds the refresh rate of most standard monitors, and the visual quality benefits of Ultra outweigh the 75.9 FPS gap to Low. There is no reason to sacrifice quality at 1080p given the measured performance.

At 1440p, the decision becomes more nuanced. Ultra yields 71.9 FPS, which is playable but below the 90+ FPS that many competitive players prefer. High settings produce 87.3 FPS, which strikes a better balance — a 21.4% improvement over Ultra while retaining most visual features. Medium produces 106.4 FPS, which is a further 21.9% improvement over High. For players with 144Hz or higher refresh monitors, Medium is the recommended preset, as it clears the 100 FPS threshold while still maintaining a 15.0 FPS margin over High. For players with 60Hz displays, High is sufficient and provides better image quality than Medium.

At 4K, the data shows that only Low (62.2 FPS) and Medium (58.2 FPS) approach acceptable playability. High drops to 47.1 FPS, and Ultra falls to 37.3 FPS. For a smooth 60 FPS experience, Low is the only preset that reliably achieves it, with a 2.2 FPS margin. Medium is close at 58.2 FPS, which is within 1.8 FPS of the 60 FPS target but may dip below in demanding scenes. Given that the gap between Low and Medium at 4K is only 4.0 FPS, the Medium preset offers a modest visual improvement for a small frame rate cost. However, the data suggests that 4K Ultra is not viable for this combination, and players should either accept Medium at 4K or drop to 1440p for higher settings.

The overall recommendation across all resolutions is to prioritize Medium at 1080p and 1440p for the best balance of frame rate and visual fidelity, with Low reserved for 4K play. At 1080p, however, the Ultra preset's 110.8 FPS is still high enough that it should be the default choice for quality-oriented players.