Doom

The Intel Core i7-12700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER combination delivers a highly playable experience in Doom, with the data showing a clear trend: performance scales dramatically with resolution, but the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck at 4K. At 1080p, the combo achieves excellent frame rates across all settings, while 4K Ultra proves too demanding for a smooth experience, indicating that the RTX 2070 SUPER is the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows 2560x1440 as the sweet spot. At High settings, the combo delivers 101.8 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, while 4K High drops to 56.6 FPS, which is below that mark.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals in overall benchmark scores?

A: The i7-12700K has an average benchmark score of 35684, which places it 89th percentile among all CPUs. It is virtually tied with the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845, trailing by only 0.3%, and sits 0.6% ahead of the Intel Core i7-13700T.

Q: Is the RTX 2070 SUPER a strong performer relative to other GPUs?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score is 22206, placing it in the 65th percentile of all GPUs. This puts it in the mid-to-upper tier, with its closest rival being the NVIDIA RTX A400, which scores 0.5% higher.

Q: What is the difference in performance between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the jump from Low to Ultra costs 83.4 FPS. The combo achieves 211 FPS on Low, but this drops to 127.6 FPS on Ultra, representing a 39.5% reduction in frame rate.

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

A: Yes, but only at lower settings. At 4K Low, the combo produces 72 FPS, which is smooth. However, 4K High delivers 56.6 FPS, and 4K Ultra falls to 42.5 FPS, making those settings less ideal for competitive play.

Q: How does the i7-12700K perform in multi-threaded workloads?

A: The CPU has 12 cores and 20 threads, with a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. In Cinebench R23, it scores 29241 points in the multi-core test, showcasing strong parallel processing capability.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER is the central component determining Doom's performance at higher resolutions. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for the game's textures at 1440p but becomes strained at 4K. The GPU's boost clock of 1770 MHz and base clock of 1605 MHz are the primary drivers of its raw compute power, allowing it to reach 9.062 TFLOPS of FP32 performance.

The data reveals that the GPU's role shifts with resolution. At 1080p, the RTX 2070 SUPER is rarely the limiting factor, as evidenced by the high frame rates across all settings. However, at 4K, the GPU's workload increases significantly, and the measured FPS drops suggest that the 8 GB VRAM capacity and memory bandwidth are being taxed. The 63.2 FPS at 4K Medium versus 72 FPS at 4K Low indicates that the GPU's shading units and TMUs are heavily utilized, but the memory subsystem may be the initial bottleneck before the core clocks become the limit at Ultra settings.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K clearly illustrates where the bottleneck lies. At Low settings, the combo delivers 211 FPS at 1080p, 135.3 FPS at 1440p, and 72 FPS at 4K. This represents a 65.9% drop from 1080p to 4K, indicating that the GPU is struggling to fill the additional pixels. The scaling is not linear, with the drop from 1440p to 4K being more severe (46.8% reduction) than from 1080p to 1440p (35.9% reduction), suggesting that the GPU's memory bandwidth becomes a critical constraint at 4K.

At Ultra settings, the trend is even more pronounced. The combo achieves 127.6 FPS at 1080p, 81.4 FPS at 1440p, and only 42.5 FPS at 4K. The 66.7% drop from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings confirms that the RTX 2070 SUPER is the definitive limiting component, as the CPU's performance headroom is not being fully utilized at these higher resolutions. The data shows that the CPU can push well over 200 FPS at 1080p Low, but the GPU cannot maintain that pace as pixel count increases.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers exceptional performance across all settings. The lowest average FPS is 127.6 at Ultra, which is still well above the 120 FPS mark for high-refresh monitors. The settings scale predictably: Low produces 211 FPS, Medium yields 183.6 FPS, and High achieves 158.5 FPS. The 83.4 FPS gap between Low and Ultra shows that the GPU has ample headroom at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, performance remains strong but shows the GPU's limits. High settings deliver 101.8 FPS, which is excellent for 1440p gaming. Low and Medium settings produce 135.3 FPS and 119.2 FPS respectively, while Ultra drops to 81.4 FPS. The 53.9 FPS difference between Low and Ultra at this resolution is smaller than at 1080p, indicating that the GPU is starting to become the primary constraint.

At 3840x2160, the combo struggles to maintain high frame rates at demanding settings. Low settings deliver 72 FPS, which is playable, but Medium drops to 63.2 FPS. High settings fall to 56.6 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 42.5 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS standard for smooth gameplay. The 29.5 FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is the smallest of all resolutions, confirming that the GPU is fully saturated.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Intel Core i7-12700K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER ranks 1043 out of 1681 tested combos in Doom. This places it in the lower-middle tier of all tested systems, which is somewhat surprising given the individual component performance. The CPU is in the 89th percentile, but the GPU's 65th percentile ranking drags the overall combo down in this particular game.

The ranking suggests that while the CPU is powerful, the RTX 2070 SUPER is not sufficient to fully leverage the CPU's capabilities at higher resolutions. The data shows that the combo performs much better at 1080p, where the GPU can keep up with the CPU's output. However, at 4K, the GPU becomes the bottleneck, and the combo's ranking reflects this limitation. The 1043rd rank out of 1681 indicates that there are many other combinations that can achieve higher frame rates in Doom, likely due to more powerful GPUs.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700K is a 12-core, 20-thread processor from the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. Its 25 MB of shared L3 cache and support for DDR4 and DDR5 memory provide substantial bandwidth for game data. The CPU's benchmark scores show it is a capable processor, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 29241 and a single-core score of 4128.

In Doom, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and physics calculations. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 211 FPS, which suggests that the CPU is capable of handling the game's engine at very high frame rates. However, the CPU's performance is not the limiting factor at higher resolutions. The data shows that the FPS drops are consistent with GPU-bound scenarios, as the CPU's 3dmark_max_threads score of 9979 indicates it has plenty of headroom to process game logic even when the GPU is struggling at 4K.

The CPU's nearest rival, the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845, has an average score of 35802, which is only 0.3% higher. This indicates that the i7-12700K is competitive with other high-end CPUs, and its 20 threads provide sufficient parallelism for modern game engines. The CPU's performance is not a concern in this combo; rather, it is the GPU that holds back the system's overall potential in Doom.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience with this combo, the data suggests prioritizing 1440p with High settings. This configuration delivers 101.8 FPS, which is smooth and responsive, while still providing good visual quality. Pushing to 1440p Ultra reduces the frame rate to 81.4 FPS, which is still acceptable, but the 20 FPS loss may not justify the marginal visual improvement.

If 4K is the target resolution, the data shows that Low settings are the only viable option, delivering 72 FPS. Medium settings at 4K drop to 63.2 FPS, which is borderline, while High and Ultra fall below the 60 FPS threshold. For players who prioritize visual fidelity, 1440p High is the recommended balance, as it offers a significant improvement over 1080p while maintaining high frame rates.

At 1080p, all settings are playable, with even Ultra delivering 127.6 FPS. However, the data shows that the GPU has enough headroom to push higher resolutions, so 1080p is not the optimal use of this hardware. The best overall experience is 1440p High, which leverages the CPU's strength while keeping the GPU within its comfort zone.