Doom

The Intel Core i7-12700KF paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 delivers a commanding performance profile in Doom (2016), with measured frame rates that consistently push far beyond display refresh rate capabilities. This combination ranks in the top 5.8% of all tested system configurations for this title, placing it at position 215 out of 3,712 combos. The data reveals a system where the GPU is the primary performance arbiter at higher resolutions, while the CPU’s robust multi-threading capabilities become increasingly relevant at 1080p, where frame rates exceed 400 FPS. The following analysis breaks down the measured results across resolutions, settings, and component roles.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is steep and telling. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 295 at 1920x1080 to 191 at 2560x1440, a reduction of 104 FPS, and then to 104 at 3840x2160, another 87 FPS drop. This represents a 64.7% decrease in average frame rate when moving from 1080p to 4K. The scaling pattern is consistent across all settings, with Ultra settings showing the most dramatic decline: from 241 FPS at 1080p to 156 FPS at 1440p, down to 85 FPS at 4K.

This steep drop-off strongly indicates that the GPU becomes the limiting component as resolution increases. The RTX 4080’s rendering workload scales directly with pixel count, and the data shows the expected quadratic relationship. At 1080p, the GPU is not fully saturated, allowing the CPU's 20 threads to feed frames rapidly, resulting in exceptionally high frame rates. At 4K, the GPU's fill rate and shading capacity are fully exercised, and the frame rate settles into a range (85-141 FPS depending on settings) that is more typical of a high-end GPU under heavy load. The difference between Low and Ultra settings at 4K is 56 FPS (141 vs 85), a 39.7% performance swing, which further confirms the GPU-bound nature of the workload at this resolution.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Core i7-12700KF and RTX 4080 achieves a combo rank of 215 out of 3,712 tested configurations in Doom. This places the system in the 94.2nd percentile of all combos, meaning it outperforms approximately 94% of all tested systems in this specific game. The ranking reflects the synergy between a high-core-count CPU and a top-tier GPU. While the CPU alone sits at the 85th percentile among all CPUs, and the GPU at the 86th percentile among all GPUs, their combination in this title pushes the system into a higher echelon of overall performance.

The CPU's nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks include the Intel Core i7-13700T (which scores 0.1% higher) and the Intel Core i5-13600T (which scores 0.2% lower). This indicates the 12700KF is positioned at the top of its performance class, just barely below a newer-generation 12-core part. The GPU's nearest rivals include the RTX 4080 SUPER (0.1% higher average score) and the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X (1.1% lower). The performance delta between the 4080 and its closest competitor is negligible in synthetic tests, but in Doom, the measured FPS data shows the system punching well above its weight class, likely due to the game's Vulkan API and the CPU's ability to maintain high frame pacing.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is the dominant component in this pairing for Doom, particularly at higher resolutions. Its 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus provides 716.8 GB/s of bandwidth, which is ample for this 2016 title, even at 4K with Ultra settings. The GPU's 76 ray tracing cores and 304 tensor cores are not heavily utilized by Doom's traditional rendering pipeline, but the 9,728 shading units and 112 ROPs are the workhorses here. The boost clock of 2505 MHz, combined with the 48.74 TFLOPS of FP32 compute, provides the raw throughput needed to maintain high frame rates.

The data shows the GPU's performance ceiling is approached at 4K Ultra, where the average FPS drops to 85. This is the only setting where the frame rate falls below 100 FPS. The GPU's 16 GB frame buffer is not stressed by Doom, as the game's texture sizes are modest by modern standards, but the compute load at 4K is substantial. The RTX 4080's pixel rate of 280.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 761.5 GTexel/s are the key metrics for this game's fill-rate demands. The results show that at 1080p and 1440p, the GPU is not the bottleneck, as evidenced by the large FPS gains when lowering resolution.

FAQ

*Q: What is the highest average frame rate achieved by this system in Doom?*

A: The highest average frame rate is 401 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: How does the system perform at 4K with Ultra settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the system produces an average frame rate of 85 FPS, which is the lowest measured average across all tested configurations.

Q: Is the RTX 4080 or the Core i7-12700KF the limiting factor at 1080p?

A: At 1080p, the frame rates are extremely high (241-401 FPS depending on settings), suggesting the GPU is not fully saturated, and the CPU's 20 threads are providing sufficient frame pacing. The CPU becomes more relevant here as the frame generation rate approaches its limits.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the average FPS drops from 260 at Low settings to 156 at Ultra settings, a difference of 104 FPS or 40% lower performance at Ultra.

Q: How does this system's rank compare to all tested combos?

A: This system ranks 215th out of 3,712 total tested combos in Doom, placing it in the top 5.8% of all configurations.

Q: What is the frame rate variance at 4K Medium settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Medium settings, the average FPS is 123, with a minimum of 104 FPS and a maximum of 141 FPS, indicating a 37 FPS spread between the lowest and highest recorded frames.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution and refresh rate. At 1920x1080, the system delivers 295 FPS on High settings and 350 FPS on Medium, both of which are far beyond any current display's refresh rate. Even Ultra settings at 241 FPS are excessive for most monitors, so users should prioritize visual fidelity at this resolution. High settings strike the best balance, offering a 54 FPS improvement over Ultra while still maintaining a massive frame rate cushion.

At 2560x1440, High settings produce 191 FPS, which is sufficient for 144Hz displays, while Ultra drops to 156 FPS, still exceeding 144Hz. Medium settings at 226 FPS are ideal for high-refresh-rate panels (240Hz). For 4K, the situation changes. High settings at 104 FPS are playable on 120Hz displays, but Ultra at 85 FPS is better suited for 60Hz panels. The data suggests that for a 4K 120Hz display, High settings are the sweet spot, as they provide 104 FPS with better visual quality than Medium's 123 FPS, which may be preferable for 144Hz displays. The measured minimum FPS values at Medium settings (104 at 4K, 192 at 1440p, 297 at 1080p) show that frame pacing remains stable, avoiding stutter issues.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-12700KF plays a crucial supporting role in this system's Doom performance. With 12 cores and 20 threads based on the Alder Lake architecture, this CPU provides substantial multi-threading capabilities. Its boost clock of 5.00 GHz and 25 MB of shared L3 cache help maintain high single-thread performance, which is critical for game logic and draw call submission. The CPU's benchmark scores are strong: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 28,838 and a single-core score of 4,071, along with a Geekbench single-core score of 2,255.

At 1080p, the CPU's role becomes more pronounced. The frame rates of 401 FPS at Low settings indicate the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU at an extremely high rate. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 9,282 and max-thread score of 9,983 show solid scaling across its 20 threads. The CPU's performance is closely matched by the Intel Core i7-13700T (0.1% higher synthetic score) and the Intel Core i5-13600T (0.2% lower), but in Doom, the 12700KF's higher boost clock provides a distinct advantage in maintaining high average FPS. The CPU's 125W TDP and unlocked multiplier suggest it can sustain these performance levels, and its 85th percentile ranking among all CPUs confirms it as a top-tier part for gaming workloads.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS data for this system in Doom is as follows:

1920x1080:

• Low: 401 FPS average
• Medium: 350 FPS average (minimum 297, maximum 402)
• High: 295 FPS average
• Ultra: 241 FPS average

2560x1440:

• Low: 260 FPS average
• Medium: 226 FPS average (minimum 192, maximum 260)
• High: 191 FPS average
• Ultra: 156 FPS average

3840x2160:

• Low: 141 FPS average
• Medium: 123 FPS average (minimum 104, maximum 141)
• High: 104 FPS average
• Ultra: 85 FPS average

The data reveals a clear progression: each step from Low to Ultra settings reduces the average frame rate by roughly 14-20% at any given resolution. The minimum and maximum FPS values recorded at Medium settings show that the system maintains a consistent frame rate without significant dips. The scaling from 1080p to 4K is consistent across all settings, confirming that the GPU is the primary scaling factor. The system's overall rank of 215 out of 3,712 combos reflects its ability to deliver high frame rates across the entire resolution spectrum, making it a versatile configuration for Doom at any display resolution.