Doom

The Intel Core i7-12700KF and AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT combination delivers a strong performance profile in Doom, with measured frame rates that scale predictably across resolutions and settings. The data shows a system capable of high-refresh-rate 1080p gaming and solid 4K playability, though the balance between CPU and GPU responsibilities shifts noticeably as resolution increases.

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

The Intel Core i7-12700KF is a 12-core, 20-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, built on Intel's 10 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, which provides substantial single-thread headroom for game logic and physics processing. The processor's L3 cache totals 25 MB shared across all cores, while each core has 80 KB of L1 and 1.25 MB of L2 cache. This cache configuration helps reduce memory latency in latency-sensitive workloads like Doom's frame rendering.

Benchmark results place this CPU in the 89th percentile among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 35355. Its closest rival, the Intel Core i5-14400, scores 35336, a delta of just 0.1% — effectively a statistical tie. The i7-12700KF is also within 0.2% of the Intel Core i7-13800H (35416) and 0.3% of the Intel Core i5-13600T (35256). This clustering indicates the i7-12700KF sits in a highly competitive performance band, where single-thread and multi-thread workloads yield nearly identical aggregate results.

In Doom, the CPU's role is most apparent at 1080p, where the measured average FPS at Low settings reaches 243.5. At this resolution and setting, the GPU is not fully saturated, and the processor's high boost clock of 5.00 GHz becomes the primary driver of frame generation. The single-thread benchmark scores support this: the 3dmark single-thread score of 1043 and Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4091 indicate strong per-core performance, which is critical for Doom's engine that relies heavily on a few main threads. The multi-thread scores — Cinebench R23 multi-core at 28979 and 3dmark max threads at 9983 — are less relevant at lower resolutions where the game's thread utilization is limited.

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

The AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT is built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture using TSMC's 7 nm process, with a die size of 335 mm² containing 17,200 million transistors. It features 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 432.0 GB/s of memory bandwidth. The GPU operates at a base clock of 2150 MHz, a game clock of 2495 MHz, and a boost clock of 2600 MHz, with memory running at 18 Gbps effective. The GPU has 2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 64 render output units, along with 40 ray tracing cores.

The GPU's benchmark standing places it in the 79th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 35327. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 5600M, scores 35264 (0.2% higher), while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Mobile scores 35435 (-0.3% lower). The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 scores 35787, which is 1.3% higher than the RX 6750 XT. These marginal deltas suggest the RX 6750 XT performs in a similar tier to these competitors, though the Passmark G3D score of 20700 and 3dmark Steel Nomad score of 2548 provide the concrete reference points for its DirectX 12 capability.

For Doom, the GPU's 12 GB VRAM is more than sufficient for the game's texture requirements, even at 4K Ultra settings where the measured average FPS is 54. The memory bandwidth of 432.0 GB/s ensures that texture streaming and geometry processing do not bottleneck at higher resolutions. The GPU's pixel rate of 166.4 GPixel/s and texture rate of 416.0 GTexel/s are directly relevant to Doom's fill-rate demands, particularly at 4K where the pixel workload increases by a factor of 4 compared to 1080p.

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

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of resolution scaling that indicates where the bottleneck lies. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 180 at 1080p to 113.2 at 1440p, then to 64 at 4K. This represents a 37.1% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a 64.4% drop from 1080p to 4K. The progression is not linear, which suggests the GPU becomes increasingly dominant as the limiting factor at higher resolutions.

At Low settings, the scaling is even more pronounced: 243.5 FPS at 1080p drops to 157.6 at 1440p (a 35.3% decrease) and 83.2 at 4K (a 65.8% decrease). The fact that Low settings still show a substantial drop at 4K indicates the GPU's raw fill rate and memory bandwidth are the primary constraints, not the CPU. The CPU is capable of maintaining high frame rates — evidenced by the 243.5 FPS at 1080p Low — but the GPU cannot keep pace as pixel count rises.

The Ultra settings tell a similar story: 147.2 FPS at 1080p, 91.4 at 1440p, and 54 at 4K. The drop from 1440p to 4K is 40.9%, while the drop from 1080p to 1440p is 37.9%. These near-consistent percentage drops across resolution steps confirm that the GPU is the limiting component throughout the resolution range, with the CPU providing sufficient headroom even at 1080p Ultra where the frame rate remains above 144 FPS.

FAQ

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

A: Based on the measured data, 1440p High offers the best balance, delivering 113.2 FPS average, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold while maintaining visual fidelity. At 4K, only High settings achieve 64 FPS, making it playable but with less margin.

Q: How does the RX 6750 XT compare to the RTX 3080 in this game?

A: The RX 6750 XT has an average benchmark score of 35327, while the RTX 3080 scores 35787, a delta of -1.3%. This indicates the RTX 3080 is slightly faster overall, but the difference is small enough that in-game performance at 1080p and 1440p should be similar.

Q: Is the i7-12700KF a bottleneck at 1080p?

A: No. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 243.5 FPS, which is near the CPU's practical limit for Doom. The CPU's single-thread score of 1043 in 3dmark and 4091 in Cinebench R23 indicate it has sufficient headroom to keep up with the GPU at this resolution.

Q: What settings should be used for 4K gaming?

A: At 4K, High settings produce 64 FPS average, while Ultra drops to 54 FPS. For a smoother experience, High is recommended, as the 10 FPS difference between High and Ultra is more significant than the visual gains at 4K.

Q: How does the CPU's multi-thread performance affect Doom?

A: Doom is not heavily multi-threaded, so the CPU's 20 threads provide little benefit. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 28979 is high, but the game relies more on the 5.00 GHz boost clock for single-thread performance, which drives the 243.5 FPS result at 1080p Low.

Q: Does the GPU's 12 GB VRAM cause any issues in Doom?

A: No. Doom's maximum VRAM usage is well below 12 GB, even at 4K Ultra, so the memory capacity is not a limiting factor. The 432.0 GB/s bandwidth is the more relevant specification for high-resolution performance.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data across all three resolutions points to High settings as the optimal choice for this hardware combination. At 1080p, High delivers 180 FPS average, which is sufficient for high-refresh-rate monitors and provides a substantial visual improvement over Medium's 209.3 FPS (a 14% reduction in frame rate for better shadows, textures, and effects). At 1440p, High achieves 113.2 FPS, comfortably above the 100 FPS mark, while Ultra drops to 91.4 FPS — a 19.3% decrease that may not be visually justified. At 4K, High is the only setting that maintains an average above 60 FPS (64 FPS), making it the clear choice for 4K displays.

Ultra settings are only recommended for users who prioritize visual fidelity over frame rate and are willing to accept 54 FPS at 4K or 91.4 FPS at 1440p. Low settings offer the highest frame rates (243.5 FPS at 1080p) but sacrifice too much visual quality for most players. Medium settings provide a middle ground, with 209.3 FPS at 1080p and 133.9 FPS at 1440p, but the incremental visual improvement over High is minimal compared to the frame rate cost.

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

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS values across the four settings are as follows: Low produces 243.5 FPS, Medium produces 209.3 FPS, High produces 180 FPS, and Ultra produces 147.2 FPS. This represents a 39.5% reduction from Low to Ultra, with each step up in settings costing between 29.3 FPS (Low to Medium) and 32.8 FPS (High to Ultra). The gap between Low and Medium (34.2 FPS) is slightly larger than the gap between Medium and High (29.3 FPS), suggesting that Medium settings add significant GPU load.

At 2560x1440, the measured values are: Low at 157.6 FPS, Medium at 133.9 FPS, High at 113.2 FPS, and Ultra at 91.4 FPS. The percentage drop from Low to Ultra is 42.0%, which is slightly larger than the 39.5% drop at 1080p. This indicates that the GPU's fill rate limitations become more apparent at higher resolutions, even though the CPU is still capable of higher frame rates. The step from Medium to High costs 20.7 FPS, while the step from High to Ultra costs 21.8 FPS — a nearly uniform decline.

At 3840x2160, the measured values are: Low at 83.2 FPS, Medium at 77.2 FPS, High at 64 FPS, and Ultra at 54 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra is 35.1%, which is smaller in percentage terms than at lower resolutions, but the absolute frame rates are much lower. The most significant drop occurs between Medium and High, costing 13.2 FPS, while the drop from Low to Medium is only 6 FPS. This suggests that High settings introduce disproportionately heavier GPU workload at 4K, likely due to increased texture filtering and shadow resolution. The 4K Ultra result of 54 FPS is the only measured value below 60 FPS across all resolutions and settings, marking the boundary of this combo's capability.