Doom

The Intel Core i7-12700KF paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT delivers exceptional performance in Doom, with benchmark results showing this combination capable of handling even the most demanding settings at high resolutions. The data reveals a system that excels at 1080p and 1440p gaming, while maintaining very playable frame rates at 4K. This analysis breaks down the measured performance across different settings and resolutions, examines the role of each component, and contextualizes the results within the broader database of tested hardware combinations.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data for this combo in Doom clearly indicates that the Ultra preset is the most demanding option, while the Low preset offers the highest performance ceiling. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset delivers an average of 189 FPS, which is still exceptionally smooth for competitive play. However, the High preset at 1080p achieves 231 FPS, representing a 42 FPS improvement over Ultra. The Medium preset sits between these, offering 273 FPS, while Low reaches 314 FPS.

For players prioritizing the highest refresh rates at 1080p, the Low preset provides the maximum headroom, but the High preset is the recommended balance for most users. The gap between High and Low is 83 FPS, which is significant, yet High still delivers over 230 FPS, making it ideal for 144Hz and even 240Hz displays. At 2560x1440, the High preset maintains an impressive 149 FPS average, which is well above the 144Hz threshold. The Medium preset at 1440p yields 177 FPS, while Low reaches 203 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p drops to 122 FPS, which is still playable but may not satisfy those with 144Hz monitors seeking a locked frame rate.

At 3840x2160, the High preset produces an average of 81 FPS, which is suitable for 60Hz displays but falls short of higher refresh rate targets. The Medium preset at 4K achieves 96 FPS, a 15 FPS improvement over High, while Low reaches 110 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K drops to 66 FPS, which is the only measured scenario below the 70 FPS mark. Considering the data, the High preset at 1440p appears to be the optimal experience, delivering 149 FPS, which balances visual quality and performance. For 4K users, the Medium preset at 96 FPS offers the best compromise, as it maintains a smooth experience without the significant performance hit of Ultra.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this combo in Doom?

A: The highest average FPS recorded is 314 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with the Low settings preset.

Q: How does the Ultra preset at 4K compare to the Low preset at 4K?

A: The Ultra preset at 3840x2160 delivers an average of 66 FPS, while the Low preset at the same resolution achieves 110 FPS. This represents a 44 FPS difference, indicating that the Ultra preset places a substantial additional load on the system.

Q: Is the RX 9070 XT's performance consistent with its benchmark scores?

A: The GPU's percentile ranking is 55, and its average benchmark score is 13543. In Doom, the measured FPS results are strong, suggesting the game is well-optimized for this architecture, as the in-game performance exceeds what the raw synthetic benchmarks might imply.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested systems in Doom?

A: This specific combination of the Intel Core i7-12700KF and AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT ranks 895 out of 3712 tested combos in the database for Doom.

Q: Does the CPU pose a bottleneck at lower resolutions?

A: At 1080p, the FPS ranges from 189 on Ultra to 314 on Low. The substantial difference between settings suggests that while the GPU is highly capable, the CPU is keeping pace effectively, as the frame rates scale consistently with graphical load.

Q: What kind of performance can be expected at 1440p with High settings?

A: The measured data shows an average of 149 FPS at 2560x1440 with High settings. This is a very strong result, indicating smooth gameplay for most high-refresh-rate monitors.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear pattern of performance scaling as resolution increases from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160. At the High settings preset, the average FPS drops from 231 at 1080p to 149 at 1440p, and then further to 81 at 4K. This represents a 35% decrease from 1080p to 1440p, and a 46% decrease from 1440p to 4K. The scaling between resolutions indicates that the rendering load is increasing significantly, which points to the GPU becoming the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions.

Looking at the Low settings preset, the FPS drops from 314 at 1080p to 203 at 1440p, and then to 110 at 4K. The percentage decrease from 1080p to 1440p is 35%, which is similar to the High preset. However, the drop from 1440p to 4K is 46%, which is also consistent. This consistent scaling across different settings suggests that the resolution increase is having a proportional impact on performance, regardless of the graphical fidelity.

The data implies that at 1080p, the system has significant headroom, with the CPU and GPU working in tandem to produce very high frame rates. As the resolution increases, the GPU's workload grows, and the frame rate becomes more dependent on the GPU's capabilities. The RX 9070 XT, with its 16 GB of memory and 256-bit bus, is well-equipped for 4K, but the measured results show that even this powerful GPU cannot maintain the same frame rates as at lower resolutions. The scaling pattern suggests that for players targeting 4K, the system is approaching the limits of what the GPU can deliver in this title, while at 1080p and 1440p, the system is far from being constrained.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the benchmark results show a wide range of performance depending on the settings preset. The Low preset delivers the highest average FPS at 314, with the Medium preset following at 273 FPS. The High preset achieves 231 FPS, while the Ultra preset drops to 189 FPS. The Medium preset has recorded min and max FPS values of 232 and 314, respectively, indicating some variance but generally stable performance.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates decrease across all presets. The Low preset leads with 203 FPS, followed by the Medium preset at 177 FPS. The High preset produces 149 FPS, and the Ultra preset falls to 122 FPS. The Medium preset at this resolution shows a minimum of 150 FPS and a maximum of 203 FPS, suggesting that even at 1440p, the system maintains a high level of consistency.

At 3840x2160, the performance drops are more pronounced. The Low preset averages 110 FPS, which is still playable. The Medium preset achieves 96 FPS, with a recorded minimum of 81 FPS and a maximum of 110 FPS. The High preset delivers 81 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 66 FPS. The data shows that at 4K, the gap between Low and Ultra is 44 FPS, which is the largest relative difference across all resolutions, highlighting the increased strain of higher settings on the GPU.

The overall trend across all resolutions is that the Low preset offers the best performance, while the Ultra preset is the most demanding. The Medium preset provides a balanced experience, often delivering frame rates that are close to the High preset but with a noticeable improvement over Ultra. The measured data indicates that this system is capable of running Doom at very high frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, while remaining competent at 4K for most settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i7-12700KF and AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT ranks 895 out of 3712 tested combinations in the database for Doom. This places the combo in the top 25% of all tested systems, indicating that it is a strong performer for this specific game. The rank of 895 suggests that while there are many systems that achieve higher frame rates, this particular pairing is well above the median.

The CPU, the Intel Core i7-12700KF, has an average benchmark score of 35365 and ranks in the 85th percentile among all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-13700T, which has a score of 35403 and a delta of -0.1%, and the Intel Core i5-13600T, with a score of 35305 and a delta of 0.2%. These very small deltas indicate that the i7-12700KF is performance-wise nearly identical to these other processors in synthetic benchmarks, which means the CPU is not a differentiating factor in this combo's ranking.

The GPU, the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT, has an average benchmark score of 13543 and ranks in the 55th percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals, such as the AMD Radeon HD 7770M with a score of 13536 and a delta of 0.1%, show that the GPU's synthetic benchmark performance is similar to some much older or lower-tier cards. However, the measured FPS in Doom is very high, which suggests that the game is particularly well-optimized for this GPU architecture. The combo's rank of 895 is likely driven by the GPU's strong real-world performance in Doom, even though its synthetic benchmark scores might not reflect that. The data indicates that this combo is a solid choice for Doom, offering a high level of performance that places it in the upper quartile of all tested systems.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700KF is a 12-core, 20-thread processor based on the Alder Lake architecture. It has a base clock of 3.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.00 GHz. The CPU's cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 1.25 MB of L2 cache per core, and a shared 25 MB L3 cache. These specifications are relevant to Doom's performance, as the game can utilize multiple threads for physics, AI, and game logic.

In synthetic benchmarks, the i7-12700KF shows strong multi-threaded capabilities, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 28838 and a single-core score of 4071. The 3DMark tests also show scaling from 2065 in the 2-thread test to 9983 in the max-thread test, indicating that the processor can effectively use its available cores. In Doom, the measured FPS at 1080p with Low settings reaches 314 FPS, which is a very high frame rate that demands significant CPU work to feed the GPU. The data suggests that the CPU is capable of handling the game's demands even at these high frame rates, as the performance scales consistently with resolution changes.

The fact that the FPS drops from 314 at 1080p Low to 203 at 1440p Low, and then to 110 at 4K Low, indicates that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck at lower resolutions. If the CPU were the limiting factor, the FPS would remain relatively constant across resolutions. Instead, the proportional decrease in FPS with increasing resolution points to the GPU being the main constraint at higher resolutions. The CPU's 12 cores and 20 threads are more than sufficient for Doom, which is a well-optimized title. The processor's high boost clock of 5.00 GHz also ensures strong single-thread performance, which is beneficial for games that rely on a single main thread. Overall, the data shows that the i7-12700KF provides ample headroom for this game, ensuring that the GPU can perform to its full potential.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT is built on the RDNA 4.0 architecture and features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 644.6 GB/s. The GPU has a base clock of 1660 MHz, a game clock of 2400 MHz, and a boost clock of 2970 MHz. It also includes 4096 shading units, 256 texture mapping units, and 128 render output units. These specifications are critical for Doom, which is a graphically intensive game that benefits from high fill rates and memory bandwidth.

In synthetic benchmarks, the RX 9070 XT has a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 7260 and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 65879. Its Passmark G3D score is 26795. However, the GPU's percentile ranking is only 55, and its nearest rivals include much older cards like the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570. This is an interesting contrast, as the measured FPS in Doom is exceptionally high. For instance, at 1080p High, the combo achieves 231 FPS, and at 1440p High, it achieves 149 FPS. These results suggest that Doom is highly optimized for the RDNA 4.0 architecture, allowing the GPU to perform far better in this specific game than its synthetic benchmark scores might indicate.

The GPU's 16 GB of VRAM is a significant advantage for 4K gaming, as it prevents memory-related performance drops at higher resolutions. The measured data shows that at 4K High, the combo still manages 81 FPS, which is respectable. The drop from 81 FPS at 4K High to 66 FPS at 4K Ultra indicates that the GPU is being pushed harder by the Ultra preset, likely due to more demanding shading and texture effects. The GPU's high boost clock of 2970 MHz helps maintain these frame rates, and the 644.6 GB/s of memory bandwidth ensures that the GPU is not starved for data. The data indicates that the RX 9070 XT is the dominant component in this combo for Doom, as its performance directly correlates with the FPS changes across resolutions and settings.