Doom

The Intel Core i7-12700KF paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7700 delivers a remarkably robust performance profile in the 2016 release of Doom, placing the combination in the 1314th position out of 2930 tested combos. This mid-pack ranking is characterized by a significant variance in performance depending on resolution and settings, with the system proving highly capable at 1080p and 1440p, while struggling to maintain smooth framerates at 4K with maximum quality presets. The data indicates that this configuration is best suited for high-refresh-rate 1440p gaming, where it consistently exceeds the 90 FPS threshold, rather than for 4K Ultra gaming.

FAQ

*Q: What is the overall ranking of the Intel Core i7-12700KF + AMD Radeon RX 7700 combo in Doom?*

A: The combination ranks 1314th out of 2930 tested combos, placing it in the 44.8th percentile of all configurations tested for this game.

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

A: Yes, but with caveats. At 4K with High settings, the average framerate is 62 FPS, which is playable. However, moving to Ultra settings drops the average to 51 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay.

Q: What is the best resolution for a high-refresh-rate experience?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the combo achieves 136 FPS on average. With High settings, it still delivers a strong 115 FPS average, making 1440p the optimal resolution for high-refresh-rate monitors.

Q: How does the CPU's single-thread performance compare to its rivals?

A: The Intel Core i7-12700KF has an average benchmark score of 35365, which is nearly identical to its closest rivals. For instance, it is only 0.1% slower than the Intel Core i7-13700T and 0.2% faster than the Intel Core i7-12700K.

*Q: How much VRAM does the AMD Radeon RX 7700 have, and is it sufficient for Doom?*

A: The GPU is equipped with 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 624.1 GB/s of bandwidth. For a 2016 title like Doom, this is an abundant amount of memory, ensuring that VRAM capacity is not a limiting factor at any tested setting.

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

A: The difference is substantial. At 1920x1080, the average framerate on Low settings is 241 FPS, which drops to 145 FPS on Ultra settings. This represents a 96 FPS performance cost for the highest visual quality.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7700, with its 16 GB of GDDR6 memory and a 256-bit memory bus delivering 624.1 GB/s, provides a substantial foundation for Doom. The GPU's clock speeds—a base of 1900 MHz, a game clock of 2041 MHz, and a boost clock of 2459 MHz—are the primary drivers of the frame rate differences observed across the measured settings. The data shows a clear scaling pattern: as the graphical load increases, the GPU's computational capacity becomes the deciding factor.

At 1920x1080, the GPU has ample headroom. The average framerate scales from 241 FPS at Low settings to 210 FPS at Medium, 178 FPS at High, and finally 145 FPS at Ultra. This 96 FPS differential between Low and Ultra highlights the GPU's ability to handle the game's Vulkan API efficiently, but also shows the raw performance cost of the Ultra preset's effects. The GPU's 96 ROPs and 160 TMUs are clearly sufficient to prevent bottlenecks at this resolution, as even the most demanding preset remains well above the 144 Hz refresh rate target.

The situation changes at 2560x1440, where the GPU begins to work harder. The average framerate drops to 156 FPS at Low, 136 FPS at Medium, 115 FPS at High, and 94 FPS at Ultra. This progression shows a more linear scaling, indicating that the GPU is now the primary constraint. The 16 GB VRAM buffer remains a non-issue, but the compute throughput of the Navi 32 chip, rated at 25.18 TFLOPS FP32, starts to dictate the performance ceiling. The 94 FPS average at Ultra is still excellent for a high-refresh-rate 1440p panel, but it is a significant step down from the 1080p result.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's limits become apparent. The average framerate falls to 85 FPS on Low, 74 FPS on Medium, 62 FPS on High, and 51 FPS on Ultra. The 4K Ultra result is the only configuration in the entire dataset that fails to reach the 60 FPS standard. The 51 FPS average indicates that the RX 7700's raw shading power is insufficient for the most demanding settings at this resolution. The memory bandwidth of 624.1 GB/s is not the limiting factor here; rather, it is the GPU's overall processing power that prevents it from maintaining a smooth experience at 4K Ultra.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data suggests that the optimal experience for this combo depends heavily on the target resolution, but a clear pattern emerges for those seeking a balance between visual fidelity and performance. The "High" preset is the sweet spot for this configuration.

At 3840x2160, the High preset delivers an average of 62 FPS, which is right at the playability threshold for many users. While Ultra drops to 51 FPS and is not recommended for smooth gameplay, High offers a playable experience without a major visual compromise. The Medium preset provides a more comfortable cushion at 74 FPS, but High is the better choice if one wants the best visual quality that remains consistently playable.

For 2560x1440, the High preset is the clear recommendation. It produces an average of 115 FPS, which is excellent for a high-refresh-rate monitor. This setting provides a significant visual upgrade over Medium (136 FPS) while still maintaining a framerate that is well above the 100 FPS mark. Choosing Ultra would drop the average to 94 FPS, which is still playable, but the 21 FPS cost may not be worth the marginal visual gains in a fast-paced FPS.

At 1920x1080, the choice is less critical because even Ultra settings yield a 145 FPS average. However, the data shows that the High preset at 178 FPS is the most balanced choice. It offers a substantial visual improvement over Medium (210 FPS) while still leaving enough headroom to fully utilize a 144 Hz monitor. The Ultra preset, while playable, is the only setting at this resolution that dips below the 150 FPS mark, suggesting that the High preset is the most efficient use of the GPU's capabilities.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i7-12700KF and the AMD Radeon RX 7700 achieves a rank of 1314 out of 2930 tested combos in Doom. This places it in the upper-middle portion of the field, indicating that it outperforms a slight majority of all tested configurations. However, the ranking is more nuanced when considering the individual component performance.

The CPU, Intel Core i7-12700KF, has an average benchmark score of 35365 and sits in the 85th percentile of all CPUs. This is a high-performing processor. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core i7-13700T, has an average score of 35403, making the 12700KF only 0.1% slower. The 12700KF is also 0.2% faster than the Intel Core i5-13600T and the Intel Core i7-12700K. This shows that the CPU is a top-tier component in this system.

In contrast, the GPU, AMD Radeon RX 7700, has an average benchmark score of 15852 and sits in the 58th percentile of all GPUs. This is a more mid-range performer. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon R9 370X, scores 15862, making the RX 7700 0.1% slower. It is also 1% slower than the AMD Radeon RX 9060 and 1.7% slower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti. This indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor in this pairing, preventing the combo from ranking higher.

The combo's 1314th place ranking is a direct result of this pairing. The CPU's strength is sufficient to avoid bottlenecking the GPU in most scenarios, but the GPU's mid-pack standing caps the system's overall performance in a graphics-intensive game like Doom. The data suggests that the system is well-balanced for 1080p and 1440p, but the GPU's performance at 4K Ultra is what holds the combo back from a higher rank.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700KF is a 12-core, 20-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. It also features 25 MB of shared L3 cache. In a game like Doom, which was released in 2016, the CPU's role is less about raw multi-core throughput and more about maintaining high single-thread performance to feed the GPU.

Benchmark results show the processor's strengths. It scores 1043 in 3dmark_single_thread and 9983 in 3dmark_max_threads. More relevant to gaming, its Cinebench R23 single-core score is 4071, while its multi-core score is 28838. These scores are more than adequate for Doom's engine, which is known to be well-optimized and not heavily dependent on high core counts.

The data in the measured FPS results confirms that the CPU is not a bottleneck in this setup. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the system achieves 241 FPS. If the CPU were a limiting factor, we would expect to see this framerate cap out regardless of resolution. However, the framerate scales down as resolution increases (241 FPS at 1080p to 85 FPS at 4K), which is a classic sign of a GPU-bound scenario. The CPU is able to feed the GPU with enough draw calls and game logic data to keep the RX 7700 fully utilized.

The CPU's high single-thread performance, evidenced by its 3984 passmark_single_thread score, ensures that it can handle the game's physics and AI calculations without introducing stutters or frame pacing issues. While the GPU is the dominant factor in the framerate differences across settings, the i7-12700KF provides the necessary foundation to ensure that the system's performance is limited only by the graphics card, not the processor.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS data for this combo across all resolutions and settings is as follows:

3840x2160 (4K)

• Low: Average 85 FPS
• Medium: Average 74 FPS, with a minimum of 63 FPS and a maximum of 85 FPS
• High: Average 62 FPS
• Ultra: Average 51 FPS

2560x1440 (1440p)

• Low: Average 156 FPS
• Medium: Average 136 FPS, with a minimum of 116 FPS and a maximum of 156 FPS
• High: Average 115 FPS
• Ultra: Average 94 FPS

1920x1080 (1080p)

• Low: Average 241 FPS
• Medium: Average 210 FPS, with a minimum of 179 FPS and a maximum of 242 FPS
• High: Average 178 FPS
• Ultra: Average 145 FPS

The only configurations with recorded minimum and maximum FPS are the Medium settings at each resolution. At 1080p Medium, the framerate fluctuates between 179 FPS and 242 FPS, indicating a 63 FPS variance. At 1440p Medium, the range is 116 FPS to 156 FPS, a 40 FPS variance. At 4K Medium, the variance is smaller, spanning from 63 FPS to 85 FPS, a 22 FPS difference. This suggests that as resolution increases, the framerate becomes more stable, likely due to the GPU becoming the consistent bottleneck. At lower resolutions, the CPU or other system components may cause more significant frame time spikes, leading to a wider variance between the minimum and maximum FPS.