Doom

The Intel Core i7-13700K paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX ranks 240th out of 1,681 tested combos in Doom, placing it in the top 14% of all configurations for this title. This is an exceptional result for a 2016 FPS, indicating that the combo delivers near-flagship performance even by modern standards. The data shows a system that is heavily GPU-bound at higher resolutions, yet still capable of pushing frame rates far beyond what most displays can show at 1080p.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Core i7-13700K and RX 7900 XTX sits at rank 240 out of 1,681 tested combos in Doom. This places it firmly in the upper echelon of configurations, ahead of roughly 86% of all other CPU-GPU pairings tested. Given the game's age, this rank reflects not just raw hardware strength but also how well the two components scale together in a Vulkan-accelerated engine. The CPU itself holds a percentile rank of 93 among all CPUs, which means it outperforms 93% of processors on the market in general benchmarks. The GPU, meanwhile, holds a percentile rank of 85 among all GPUs.

The combo's strong position is supported by the fact that both components are near the top of their respective performance hierarchies. The CPU's average benchmark score of 47,282 is nearly identical to the Intel Core i7-13700KF (47,334, delta -0.1%), indicating that the non-K variant loses almost nothing in synthetic workloads. This near-parity means the CPU is not a bottleneck in Doom, allowing the GPU to operate at its full potential. The GPU's average score of 44,019 is 0.8% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Mobile (43,667) and 2% lower than the RTX 4070 Ti (44,900), showing that this AMD card competes directly with NVIDIA's high-end desktop offerings.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX is the dominant component in this combo for Doom. It features 24 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 384-bit bus, yielding 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This massive memory capacity and bandwidth are overkill for Doom's textures, but they ensure that even at 4K Ultra settings, the GPU never runs out of resources. The GPU's clock speeds are also relevant: a base clock of 1929 MHz, a game clock of 2365 MHz, and a boost clock of 2498 MHz. These clocks, combined with 6,144 shading units and 192 ROPs, allow the card to push a pixel rate of 479.6 GPixel/s.

In Doom specifically, the GPU's role becomes apparent when comparing settings at the same resolution. At 4K, dropping from High to Low settings increases average FPS from 95.7 to 127.8, a gain of 33.5%. This indicates that the GPU is the primary limiter at 4K, as reducing graphical load directly translates to higher frame rates. The GPU's 96 ray accelerators are not utilized in this game, as Doom predates hardware ray tracing, but the card's raw rasterization power remains the key driver of performance.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic GPU-bound pattern. At 1080p High settings, the combo achieves 265.3 FPS average. Moving to 1440p High drops this to 174.2 FPS, a reduction of 34.3%. At 4K High, the average falls to 95.7 FPS, which is a further 45.1% drop from 1440p. This steep decline indicates that the GPU is fully saturated at higher resolutions, while the CPU has ample headroom even at 1080p.

The pattern is consistent across all settings. At Low settings, the FPS drops from 364.6 at 1080p to 234.8 at 1440p (35.6% decrease) and then to 127.8 at 4K (45.6% decrease). At Ultra settings, the numbers are 222.1 at 1080p, 142.6 at 1440p, and 75.2 at 4K. The percentage drops are similar across presets, confirming that the GPU is the limiting factor at every resolution. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect the FPS gap between 1080p and 1440p to be much smaller, but the consistent 35-45% reductions point squarely at the GPU.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual quality and performance, the Medium preset at 1440p is the standout choice. At 1440p Medium, the combo delivers 206.6 FPS average, which is 18.6% higher than High settings at the same resolution (174.2 FPS) while still maintaining a smooth, high-refresh experience. The jump from Medium to High at 1440p costs 32.4 FPS, which is noticeable but acceptable for those prioritizing visuals. However, the Ultra preset at 1440p drops to 142.6 FPS, which is still excellent but represents a 31% reduction from Medium.

At 4K, the High preset is the sweet spot. It delivers 95.7 FPS average, which is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The Medium preset at 4K offers 110.7 FPS, but the visual difference between Medium and High is often more pronounced in Doom's fast-paced environments. Ultra at 4K drops to 75.2 FPS, which, while playable, leaves little headroom for demanding scenes. For competitive play at 1080p, the Low preset at 364.6 FPS provides the absolute highest frame rates, though most monitors cap at 144Hz or 240Hz, making Medium at 316.6 FPS the practical maximum for esports-level responsiveness.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo shows its full strength. Low settings produce an average of 364.6 FPS, Medium delivers 316.6 FPS, High achieves 265.3 FPS, and Ultra still manages 222.1 FPS. These numbers are so high that the CPU's single-thread performance becomes relevant — the Core i7-13700K's boost clock of 5.40 GHz and a single-thread score of 1,136 in 3DMark help maintain these frame rates.

Moving to 2560x1440, the GPU begins to show its limits. Low settings average 234.8 FPS, Medium drops to 206.6 FPS, High hits 174.2 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 142.6 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 92.2 FPS, representing a 39.3% reduction. At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly the bottleneck. Low settings average 127.8 FPS, Medium achieves 110.7 FPS, High delivers 95.7 FPS, and Ultra falls to 75.2 FPS. The step from Medium to High at 4K costs 15 FPS, while the step from High to Ultra costs 20.5 FPS, showing diminishing returns at the highest settings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-13700K features 16 cores and 24 threads, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. Its architecture is Raptor Lake on a 10 nm process, and it supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory. In Doom, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and physics calculations. The CPU's performance in multi-threaded benchmarks is strong, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 39,000 and a PassMark multithread score of 45,887. However, Doom is not heavily multi-threaded, so the CPU's single-thread performance is more critical.

The 3DMark single-thread score of 1,136 and a Cinebench R15 single-core score of 554 indicate strong per-core performance. This is sufficient to keep the GPU fed at all settings, as evidenced by the FPS scaling pattern. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 364.6 FPS, which is likely near the CPU's maximum frame output for this game. The CPU's 30 MB of shared L3 cache helps reduce memory latency, which is beneficial for the game's streaming assets. The CPU's nearest rivals show it sits between the Core i7-13700KF (delta -0.1%) and the AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 5945 (delta -0.5%), confirming it is not a weak link in this combination.

FAQ

Q: Is this combo overkill for Doom?

A: The data suggests yes, particularly at 1080p. The combo achieves 364.6 FPS at Low settings and 222.1 FPS at Ultra settings, which far exceeds the refresh rate of most monitors. At 4K Ultra, it still delivers 75.2 FPS, making it a capable 4K gaming machine.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest rival?

A: The Core i7-13700K has an average benchmark score of 47,282, which is 0.1% lower than the Core i7-13700KF (47,334) and 0.3% higher than the AMD EPYC 4364P (47,131). The difference is negligible in real-world gaming.

Q: What is the best resolution for high refresh rate gaming?

A: At 1440p Medium, the combo delivers 206.6 FPS, which is ideal for high refresh rate displays. At 1080p, the frame rates exceed 300 FPS on most settings, but the visual quality is lower.

Q: How much FPS does Ultra cost compared to High?

A: At 4K, Ultra costs 20.5 FPS compared to High (95.7 to 75.2). At 1440p, the cost is 31.6 FPS (174.2 to 142.6). At 1080p, the cost is 43.2 FPS (265.3 to 222.1).

Q: Does the GPU's 24 GB VRAM matter for Doom?

A: Doom's textures are not demanding enough to use 24 GB of VRAM. However, the memory bandwidth of 960.0 GB/s ensures that texture streaming is never a bottleneck, even at 4K Ultra settings.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more important for this game?

A: The GPU is the primary determinant of frame rates, especially at 1440p and 4K. At 1080p, the CPU becomes more relevant, but the Core i7-13700K's single-thread performance is sufficient to avoid bottlenecking the GPU.