Doom

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i7-12700KF paired with the AMD Radeon RX 570 lands at rank 1595 out of 1681 tested combos in Doom. That places this pairing in the bottom 5% of all configurations tested for this game. The data is measured, not estimated, so these results reflect actual hardware behavior under Doom's workload.

This ranking makes sense given the stark imbalance between the two components. The CPU is a high-end desktop processor that sits at the 89th percentile among all CPUs, while the GPU rests at the 74th percentile among all GPUs. In Doom, the RX 570 becomes the limiting factor almost immediately, dragging the overall combo ranking far below what the processor alone would suggest. The i7-12700KF's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks include the Intel Core i5-14400 with a 0.1% delta, the Intel Core i7-13800H at -0.2%, the Intel Core i9-12900HX at 0.2%, and the Intel Core i5-13600T at 0.3% — all of which would likely perform similarly in this pairing since the GPU bottlenecks first.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 570 brings 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, with memory running at 1750 MHz (7 Gbps effective) and bandwidth of 224.0 GB/s. Its base clock is 1168 MHz with a boost of 1244 MHz. The GPU uses the Polaris 20 chip on GCN 4.0 architecture, built on a 14 nm process with 5,700 million transistors on a 232 mm² die. It offers 2048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs, delivering 5.095 TFLOPS of FP32 compute and a pixel rate of 39.81 GPixel/s.

In Doom, these specifications translate to playable but not impressive frame rates. At 1080p with High settings, the average FPS is 68.2. Crank it to Ultra and that drops to 54.9. The 4 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for Doom at these settings, but the GPU's raw compute limits its ability to push higher frame rates. The RX 570's nearest rivals in average benchmark score include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 at a 0.2% delta, the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT at 0.2%, the NVIDIA Tesla M60 at 0.6%, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Mobile at 0.8%. These proximity scores indicate the RX 570 sits in a competitive performance band, though Doom's specific engine demands favor newer architectures.

The GPU's 150 W TDP and 1x 6-pin power connector make it easy to install, but the performance ceiling is clear. With a suggested PSU of 450 W, this card targets mainstream systems, not high-refresh setups. Doom's fast-paced action benefits from high frame rates, and the RX 570's 5.095 TFLOPS of compute simply cannot deliver the headroom that more modern cards provide.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K reveals a GPU-bound scenario at every resolution tested. At 1080p High, the combo averages 68.2 FPS. Moving to 1440p High, that falls to 46.8 FPS — a drop of 21.4 FPS, or roughly 31%. At 4K High, the average collapses to 22.6 FPS, which is 45.6 FPS below the 1080p result. This steep decline across resolutions is the classic signature of a GPU-limited system.

Look at the Low settings to confirm. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 94 FPS. At 1440p Low, it drops to 58 FPS. At 4K Low, it falls to 33.3 FPS. Even at the lowest graphical preset, the RX 570 cannot maintain playable frame rates at 4K. The CPU's headroom is never the constraint here — the i7-12700KF has 12 cores and 20 threads with a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, more than enough for Doom's engine.

The scaling pattern also shows diminishing returns from lowering settings at higher resolutions. At 1080p, dropping from Ultra to Low gains 39.1 FPS (from 54.9 to 94). At 4K, the same settings change gains only 13 FPS (from 20.3 to 33.3). This indicates that at 4K, the GPU's pixel throughput becomes the hard limit, while at 1080p, there is enough compute headroom for settings to matter more.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Doom at 1080p on High settings?

A: Yes, the measured average FPS is 68.2 at 1080p High, which is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. Ultra settings drop to 54.9 FPS, still playable but with noticeable dips during intense scenes.

Q: Is 4K gaming viable with the RX 570?

A: No. At 4K Ultra, the average FPS is 20.3, and even at 4K Low, it only reaches 33.3 FPS. These are below acceptable playability standards for a fast-paced FPS like Doom.

Q: How does the GPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RX 570's average benchmark score is 30158. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060, scores 30109, a 0.2% delta. The AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT scores 30097, also a 0.2% delta. These differences are negligible in real-world gaming.

Q: What resolution and settings give the best experience?

A: The sweet spot is 1080p with Medium settings, yielding 83.8 FPS. This balances visual quality with frame rate headroom. High settings at 1080p are also viable at 68.2 FPS, but Medium provides more margin for demanding scenes.

Q: Is the CPU holding back the GPU?

A: No. The i7-12700KF is far more capable than the RX 570. The CPU's percentile rank is 89, while the GPU sits at 74. The FPS scaling across resolutions confirms the GPU is the bottleneck in every scenario tested.

Q: How does this combo rank overall?

A: It ranks 1595 out of 1681 tested combos, placing it in the bottom 5%. This low rank stems entirely from the GPU's limitations in Doom, not the CPU.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its best results. Low settings average 94 FPS, Medium averages 83.8 FPS, High averages 68.2 FPS, and Ultra averages 54.9 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 39.1 FPS, showing that settings have a significant impact at this resolution.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance drops noticeably. Low averages 58 FPS, Medium 50.8 FPS, High 46.8 FPS, and Ultra 36.8 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra here is 21.2 FPS, roughly half the gap seen at 1080p. This narrowing suggests the GPU is starting to hit its throughput ceiling.

At 3840x2160, the numbers become marginal. Low averages 33.3 FPS, Medium 29.5 FPS, High 22.6 FPS, and Ultra 20.3 FPS. The Low-to-Ultra gap shrinks to 13 FPS. Even the best-case scenario at 4K — Low settings — fails to reach 60 FPS by a wide margin. The RX 570's 4 GB VRAM and 224.0 GB/s bandwidth are simply insufficient for 4K rendering in Doom.

For reference, the GPU's pixel rate is 39.81 GPixel/s and texture rate is 159.2 GTexel/s. At 4K, the fill rate requirements exceed what this card can deliver, explaining the sub-30 FPS results across all settings. The 32 ROPs on the RX 570 become a limiting factor at higher resolutions.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700KF is a 12-core, 20-thread processor based on Alder Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process. It runs at a base clock of 3.60 GHz and boosts to 5.00 GHz. The CPU supports DDR4 and DDR5 memory in dual-channel configuration, and its 25 MB of shared L3 cache provides ample capacity for gaming workloads. With a launch MSRP of $384, it was positioned as a high-performance desktop part.

In Doom, the CPU's role is secondary to the GPU. The game's engine is well-optimized for multi-threading, and the i7-12700KF's 20 threads handle the workload effortlessly. Synthetic benchmarks show the CPU scoring 28979 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 4091 in single-core, placing it at the 89th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i5-14400, scores 35336 in average benchmark, a 0.1% delta — essentially identical performance.

The CPU's passmark multi-thread score is 34092, with single-thread at 3984. Doom's frame pacing benefits from strong single-core performance, which the i7-12700KF provides in abundance. However, the data shows that no CPU improvement would help this combo in Doom — the GPU is the constraint at every resolution and settings level. The 125 W TDP and Intel Socket 1700 compatibility make it a straightforward upgrade path, but in this pairing, the CPU is waiting on the GPU at all times.