Doom

# Doom with Intel Core i7-12700KF + NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti

The Intel Core i7-12700KF combined with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti delivers playable performance in Doom only at 1080p with reduced settings, ranking 1657th out of 1681 tested combos for this title. The pairing is dramatically GPU-limited: the CPU sits in the 89th percentile among all processors, while the GPU languishes in the 30th percentile, and the measured frame rates confirm that the graphics card dictates the experience across every resolution and quality preset.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combo for playable frame rates in Doom with this hardware?

A: The only configuration exceeding 60 FPS is 1080p with Low settings, which averages 72.9 FPS. The 1080p Medium preset delivers 66.1 FPS, while 1080p High drops to 56.2 FPS, so Low is the only preset that comfortably clears the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does this combo rank against all other tested configurations in Doom?

A: It ranks 1657th out of 1681 tested combos, placing it in the bottom 1.5% of all configurations. This is consistent with the GPU's low benchmark percentile, though the CPU's high percentile means the bottleneck is almost entirely on the graphics side.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in this game?

A: The data strongly indicates the GPU is the limiting component. The GTX 1050 Ti sits in the 30th percentile of all GPUs, while the Core i7-12700KF sits in the 89th percentile of all CPUs. Frame rates scale heavily with resolution and settings, which is characteristic of GPU-bound performance.

Q: Can this combo handle 1440p gaming in Doom?

A: Only at Low settings, where it averages 48.4 FPS. The Medium preset at 1440p yields 43.3 FPS, High drops to 34.1 FPS, and Ultra falls to 32 FPS. None of these reach 60 FPS, making 1440p viable only for less demanding play.

Q: What about 4K performance?

A: 4K is not viable with this combination. Even at Low settings, the average frame rate is just 24.4 FPS, and Ultra drops to 19 FPS. The GTX 1050 Ti's 4 GB of GDDR5 memory with a 128-bit bus and 112.1 GB/s bandwidth is insufficient for this resolution in Doom.

Q: How does the GTX 1050 Ti compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The GTX 1050 Ti's average benchmark score is 5316, essentially tied with the GeForce 930A at 5317 (0% difference), 0.4% ahead of the GeForce 940M at 5297, and 0.7% ahead of the Radeon R7 240 at 5280. It trails the Radeon R7 M445 by 0.8% (5361).

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700KF brings substantial processing power to this pairing, with 12 cores and 20 threads based on Alder Lake architecture. The CPU's base clock of 3.60 GHz boosts to 5.00 GHz, and its benchmark results confirm strong multithreaded and single-threaded performance: Cinebench R23 scores 28979 multicore and 4091 single-core, while 3DMark max-threads reaches 9983 and single-thread hits 1043.

In Doom, however, this CPU's capabilities are largely irrelevant because the game's frame rates are constrained by the GPU. The 89th percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 35355, places it nearly identical to the Intel Core i5-14400 (35336, 0.1% ahead), the Intel Core i7-13800H (35416, 0.2% behind), and the Intel Core i9-12900HX (35289, 0.2% ahead). The CPU's 25 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR4/DDR5 memory support are ample for modern gaming, but Doom's measured frame rates never exceed 72.9 FPS, which a CPU of this caliber can easily feed.

The data suggests that even at 1080p Low settings, where the GPU is least stressed, the 72.9 FPS average is likely still below what the i7-12700KF could deliver if paired with a stronger graphics card. The CPU's PassMark multithread score of 34092 and single-thread score of 3984 indicate it is not the bottleneck in any measured scenario.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience in Doom with this hardware, the 1080p Low preset is the clear recommendation. It delivers 72.9 FPS on average, which is 6.8 FPS above the 1080p Medium result of 66.1 FPS and 16.7 FPS above the 1080p High result of 56.2 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is substantial enough (6.8 FPS) that the visual upgrade may not justify the performance cost, especially since Medium still fails to reach 60 FPS on some monitors with higher refresh rates.

If visual quality is prioritized over frame rate stability, 1080p Medium at 66.1 FPS is the only other preset that maintains a playable average above 60 FPS. The 1080p High preset at 56.2 FPS is borderline, and Ultra at 43.8 FPS is noticeably less fluid. At 1440p, Low at 48.4 FPS is the only viable option, and even that falls short of 60 FPS, so users with 1440p displays should accept lower frame rates or reduce resolution to 1080p.

The measured data shows a consistent pattern: lowering settings from Ultra to Low improves frame rates by roughly 66% at 1080p (from 43.8 to 72.9 FPS), 51% at 1440p (from 32 to 48.4 FPS), and 28% at 4K (from 19 to 24.4 FPS). The diminishing returns at higher resolutions reinforce that the GPU is the limiting factor.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 1657th out of 1681 tested configurations in Doom, placing it in the bottom 24 combos. This poor ranking is directly attributable to the GTX 1050 Ti, which holds a 30th percentile position among all GPUs and an average benchmark score of 5316. The GPU's nearest rivals include the GeForce 930A (5317, 0% difference), GeForce 940M (5297, 0.4% slower), Radeon R7 240 (5280, 0.7% slower), and Radeon R7 M445 (5361, 0.8% faster).

In contrast, the CPU's 89th percentile ranking among all processors means that swapping in a weaker GPU would produce similar results, while upgrading the GPU would yield massive improvements. The measured FPS data confirms this: even at 1080p Low, the combo only achieves 72.9 FPS, which is modest for a CPU that scores 28979 in Cinebench R23 multicore and 12171 in Cinebench R20 multicore.

Given that Doom is a 2016 title (released May 12, 2016) with relatively modest requirements, the low rank is particularly telling. The GPU's 4 GB VRAM capacity, combined with its 112.1 GB/s memory bandwidth and 2.138 TFLOPS FP32 performance, places it firmly in the entry-level category, and the benchmark results reflect that positioning.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti is the dominant component in determining Doom's performance, and its specifications explain the measured frame rates. Based on the Pascal architecture with a GP107 chip, the GPU operates at a base clock of 1291 MHz and a boost clock of 1392 MHz, with 768 shading units, 48 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. The 4 GB of GDDR5 memory runs at 1752 MHz (7 Gbps effective) across a 128-bit bus, yielding 112.1 GB/s of bandwidth.

These specifications translate to a 30th percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 5316. The GPU's pixel rate of 44.54 GPixel/s and texture rate of 66.82 GTexel/s are modest, and the 2.138 TFLOPS FP32 performance is low by modern standards. The 14 nm process node from Samsung, with 3,300 million transistors on a 132 mm² die, reflects the entry-level positioning.

In Doom, the GPU's limitations manifest clearly as resolution and settings increase. The 4K results are particularly poor: High averages 16.6 FPS, Ultra 19 FPS, Medium 22.6 FPS, and Low 24.4 FPS. These sub-25 FPS averages make 4K unplayable regardless of settings. The 1440p results improve but remain below 50 FPS even at Low, while 1080p ranges from 43.8 FPS at Ultra to 72.9 FPS at Low.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1080p, the measured average frame rates are: Low at 72.9 FPS, Medium at 66.1 FPS, High at 56.2 FPS, and Ultra at 43.8 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra represents a 29.1 FPS drop, with the largest single-step decline occurring between High and Ultra (12.4 FPS).

At 1440p, the averages are: Low at 48.4 FPS, Medium at 43.3 FPS, High at 34.1 FPS, and Ultra at 32 FPS. The total spread from Low to Ultra is 16.4 FPS, with a notably smaller gap between High and Ultra (2.1 FPS) than at 1080p.

At 4K, the averages are: Low at 24.4 FPS, Medium at 22.6 FPS, Ultra at 19 FPS, and High at 16.6 FPS. Interestingly, Ultra outperforms High at 4K (19 vs. 16.6 FPS), a reversal of the expected ordering that suggests measurement variance or specific rendering paths. The 4K results are uniformly unplayable, with even the best case (Low) falling well below 30 FPS.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 1440p to 4K reveals a heavily GPU-bound system. At Low settings, the transition from 1080p to 1440p reduces the average FPS from 72.9 to 48.4, a 33.6% decrease. Moving from 1440p to 4K at Low drops the average from 48.4 to 24.4, a further 49.6% decrease. The cumulative 1080p-to-4K reduction at Low is 66.5% (from 72.9 to 24.4 FPS).

At High settings, the scaling is similar: 1080p averages 56.2 FPS, 1440p drops to 34.1 FPS (39.3% decrease), and 4K falls to 16.6 FPS (51.3% decrease from 1440p). The 1080p-to-4K drop at High is 70.5% (from 56.2 to 16.6 FPS). These large percentage declines across resolution steps indicate that the GPU's pixel throughput and memory bandwidth are saturated, rather than any CPU limitation.

The limiting component is unambiguously the GPU. If the CPU were the bottleneck, frame rates would remain similar across resolutions, but the data shows steep, consistent declines as pixel count rises. The i7-12700KF's high benchmark scores (89th percentile) stand in stark contrast to the GPU's low scores (30th percentile), and the measured FPS scaling confirms that the GTX 1050 Ti cannot keep pace with the CPU's capabilities. Upgrading the GPU would yield disproportionately large gains in Doom, while upgrading the CPU would produce negligible improvements.