Doom

The Intel Core i7-12700KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti ranks 445th out of 1,681 tested combos in Doom, placing it in the top 26.5% of all configurations. This is a strong result for a 2016 title, indicating that this hardware combination is more than capable of delivering a high-refresh-rate experience. The combo’s percentile ranking reflects a system that is well-balanced for this game, with the GPU providing the primary performance ceiling at higher resolutions while the CPU ensures no bottlenecks at lower settings.

How This Combo Ranks

With a combo rank of 445 out of 1,681, this system sits comfortably in the upper quartile of all tested configurations for Doom. The ranking suggests that the RTX 3080 Ti, which scores in the 83rd percentile among all GPUs, is the dominant factor in this pairing. The i7-12700KF, holding an 89th percentile ranking among all CPUs, is clearly not the limiting component, and the combination of these two high-tier parts yields a result that is competitive with more modern setups. The data shows that this combo is positioned to handle the game’s most demanding settings at 4K, while at 1080p it is capable of frame rates that far exceed the refresh rates of most monitors. The 445th rank confirms the raw power of the GPU, as the game’s engine, released in 2016, is not heavily reliant on multi-threaded CPU performance.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data indicates that the Ultra preset at 1440p, delivering an average of 123.7 FPS, offers the best balance of visual fidelity and performance for most users. This setting provides a significant improvement over the High preset’s 147.7 FPS at 1440p, but the visual leap to Ultra is substantial, and 123.7 FPS remains well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. At 4K, the High preset is the optimal choice, with an average of 82.4 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for competitive play. The Ultra preset at 4K, with an average of 68.3 FPS, is only viable for slower-paced exploration, as the frame rate dips closer to the 60 FPS minimum. For those with 1080p monitors, the Ultra preset is the clear winner, producing 187.1 FPS, which is more than sufficient for high-refresh-rate displays. The Low preset at 1080p offers 313.7 FPS, but this is only recommended for professional esports players who prioritize frame rate over all visual quality.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Doom at 4K with the Ultra preset?

A: Yes, but with a caveat. The measured average FPS for 4K Ultra is 68.3, which is above the 60 FPS playability threshold. However, this leaves little headroom for demanding scenes, so the High preset at 82.4 FPS is a more consistent choice for 4K.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the primary bottleneck in this game?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. For example, at 1080p, dropping from Ultra to Low increases FPS from 187.1 to 313.7, a 67.8% improvement, which shows the GPU is responsible for most of the rendering load. The CPU’s high benchmark scores (e.g., 28,979 in Cinebench R23 multi-core) suggest it is not a constraint.

Q: How does the RTX 3080 Ti compare to its nearest rival, the RTX 3090?

A: The RTX 3080 Ti has an average benchmark score of 41,224, which is 0.5% lower than the RTX 3090’s 41,441. In practical terms, this means the performance difference in Doom is negligible, and the 3080 Ti is effectively on par with the 3090 for this game.

Q: What is the best settings preset for a 1440p 165Hz monitor?

A: The Ultra preset at 1440p, with an average of 123.7 FPS, is the best choice. While the High preset offers 147.7 FPS, the visual quality increase from High to Ultra is significant, and 123.7 FPS still provides a smooth experience on a 165Hz display, though it will not fully saturate the refresh rate.

Q: Does the 12GB of VRAM on the RTX 3080 Ti cause any issues in Doom?

A: No. Doom is not a VRAM-intensive title, and the 12GB of GDDR6X memory on the RTX 3080 Ti is more than sufficient for all settings at all resolutions. The memory bandwidth of 912.4 GB/s also ensures that texture streaming is not a bottleneck.

Q: How does the i7-12700KF’s single-core performance affect the game?

A: The i7-12700KF has a 3DMark single-thread score of 1,043 and a Geekbench single-core score of 2,526, indicating strong single-thread performance. This is important for Doom’s game logic and physics, but the data shows that the game’s frame rates are far more sensitive to GPU settings, suggesting the CPU is not a limiting factor.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers exceptional performance. The Low preset achieves an average of 313.7 FPS, which is the highest measured frame rate for this configuration. The Medium preset produces 272.4 FPS, while the High preset reaches 229.8 FPS. The Ultra preset, at 187.1 FPS, is still incredibly fast and suitable for any high-refresh-rate display. These numbers show a clear scaling trend, with each step up in quality costing roughly 40-50 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the performance remains very high. The Low preset averages 204.6 FPS, which is a 34.8% drop from the 1080p Low result. The Medium preset yields 175.2 FPS, and the High preset delivers 147.7 FPS. The Ultra preset, averaging 123.7 FPS, is the first setting where the frame rate drops below the 144Hz threshold common on 1440p monitors. The drop from Low to Ultra at this resolution is 80.9 FPS, indicating that the GPU is becoming more stressed.

At 3840x2160, 4K resolution, the GPU is heavily loaded. The Low preset averages 109.8 FPS, which is the only 4K setting above the 100 FPS mark. The Medium preset drops to 95.7 FPS, and the High preset averages 82.4 FPS. The Ultra preset falls to 68.3 FPS, which is the lowest measured frame rate. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 4K is 41.5 FPS, a smaller absolute drop than at lower resolutions, but the percentage drop is similar, indicating that the GPU is the sole limiting factor.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti is the star of this configuration for Doom. With 12GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, it provides a bandwidth of 912.4 GB/s, which is more than adequate for the game’s textures. The GPU’s boost clock of 1665 MHz, combined with 10,240 shading units and 112 ROPs, allows it to crush the rendering workload. The data confirms this: the GPU’s 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 5,077 and Passmark G3D score of 26,896 place it in the 83rd percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the RTX 3090, has a score that is only 0.5% higher, meaning the 3080 Ti is essentially a peer of the flagship 3090 for this game. The GPU’s 34.10 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power is the primary reason why the 4K Ultra preset can still hit 68.3 FPS, a feat that would be impossible with a weaker graphics card.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700KF, with its 12 cores and 20 threads, is a powerful processor that does not bottleneck the RTX 3080 Ti in Doom. Its Alder Lake architecture combines performance and efficiency cores, with a boost clock of 5.00 GHz, ensuring that the game’s main thread has ample single-core speed. The CPU’s 3DMark single-thread score of 1,043 and Cinebench R20 single-core score of 1,718 are strong indicators of its capability. However, the measured FPS data shows that the CPU is not the primary driver of performance. For instance, at 1080p, the difference between the Low and Ultra presets is 126.6 FPS, a change that is entirely attributable to the GPU’s workload. The CPU’s 25 MB of shared L3 cache and 1.25 MB per-core L2 cache help with game asset loading, but the game’s engine is not heavily threaded. The CPU’s average benchmark score of 35,355 is just 0.1% higher than the Intel Core i5-14400, confirming that even a mid-range modern CPU would perform similarly in this title, given the same GPU.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K clearly demonstrates that the GPU is the limiting component. At Low settings, the average frame rate falls from 313.7 FPS at 1080p to 204.6 FPS at 1440p (a 34.8% drop) and then to 109.8 FPS at 4K (a 65.0% drop from 1080p). The scaling is consistent across all settings, with the Ultra preset dropping from 187.1 FPS at 1080p to 123.7 FPS at 1440p and finally to 68.3 FPS at 4K. This pattern indicates a pure GPU-bound scenario, as the pixel count increases by 2.25x from 1080p to 1440p and 4x from 1080p to 4K, and the frame rates drop accordingly. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the FPS would remain more constant across resolutions, especially at lower settings. The fact that the FPS scales inversely with pixel count confirms that the RTX 3080 Ti is doing the heavy lifting, and the i7-12700KF is providing a stable platform that does not introduce any frame rate limitations.