Doom

The Intel Core i7-13700K paired with the Intel Arc B580 delivers a highly playable Doom experience across most settings, but the data reveals a clear performance ceiling dictated by the graphics card. At 1080p, the combination produces excellent frame rates that exceed 180 FPS on Low settings, yet the scaling pattern indicates that the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck as resolution and graphical fidelity increase. The benchmark results position this combo at rank 2786 out of 3712 tested configurations in this game, a mid-tier placement that reflects the Arc B580's 68th percentile standing among all GPUs, while the processor's 89th percentile ranking ensures it is rarely the limiting factor. The measured frame rates show a consistent and predictable drop from 1080p to 4K, with the magnitude of that drop varying significantly depending on the preset selected.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K in Doom demonstrates a classic GPU-bound scenario, particularly at higher quality presets. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 137 FPS at 1920x1080 to 88 FPS at 2560x1440, a reduction of 49 FPS, and then further down to 48 FPS at 3840x2160, representing a 65% decrease from the 1080p baseline. This steep decline indicates that the Arc B580's rendering throughput, not the CPU's processing power, is the decisive factor when pixel count increases. The same pattern emerges at Ultra settings, where the average drops from 112 FPS at 1080p to 72 FPS at 1440p and finally to 39 FPS at 4K, showing that the most demanding preset amplifies the GPU's limitations.

At lower quality settings, the scaling behavior changes subtly but remains GPU-dominated. With Low settings, the average frame rate goes from 186 FPS at 1080p to 120 FPS at 1440p and 65 FPS at 4K. The 4K result at Low settings (65 FPS) is notably higher than the 4K result at High settings (48 FPS), which confirms that reducing the graphical workload directly translates into higher frame rates, a signature of a GPU-limited system. However, the fact that 1080p Low produces 186 FPS while 1440p Low produces 120 FPS suggests that even at minimal settings, the resolution increase still overwhelms the GPU's fill rate capabilities. The data shows no evidence of CPU limitation at any resolution, as the i7-13700K's substantial multi-threaded performance, evidenced by a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 30745, far exceeds what Doom requires.

The Medium preset offers the most informative look at scaling because it includes min and max FPS data. At 1080p Medium, the average is 162 FPS with a range from 137 to 186 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 105 FPS with a range from 89 to 120 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average falls to 57 FPS with a range from 48 to 65 FPS. The min-to-max spread remains proportional across resolutions, indicating that the GPU's frame pacing is consistent and that the bottleneck does not introduce stuttering or erratic behavior. This consistency reinforces the conclusion that the Arc B580 is the sole limiting component, as a CPU bottleneck would typically manifest as more severe frame time spikes at lower resolutions.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B580's specifications directly explain its performance profile in Doom. The GPU features 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, delivering 456.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which proves sufficient for this game even at 4K Ultra settings. The memory clock runs at 2375 MHz with 19 Gbps effective speed, and the core operates at a fixed 2670 MHz for both base and boost clocks. The GPU's 2560 shading units, 160 texture mapping units, and 80 render output units provide the raw compute power, translating to 13.67 TFLOPS of FP32 performance. These specifications place the Arc B580 in the 68th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 23021, putting it in close competition with cards like the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080, which scores 22895 (0.6% difference), and the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP, which scores 23061 (-0.2% difference).

The measured FPS data in Doom aligns with these synthetic benchmarks. At 4K Ultra, the card produces an average of 39 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold commonly considered smooth gameplay. This result is consistent with a GPU that sits near the RTX 2080 in performance, as that class of hardware struggles with modern titles at maximum settings in 4K. However, the Arc B580 shows strength at more reasonable settings: 4K High yields 48 FPS, and 4K Medium yields 57 FPS, both playable if not perfectly smooth. The 4K Low result of 65 FPS demonstrates that the GPU has sufficient headroom to reach playable frame rates when the graphical load is reduced.

The GPU's DirectX 12 Ultimate support (12_2) and Vulkan 1.4 API compatibility are relevant to Doom, which utilizes modern rendering paths. The PassMark DirectX 12 score of 76 and DirectX 11 score of 128 provide context for the card's API-specific performance, though these raw scores do not directly translate to in-game FPS. The GPU's 20 ray tracing cores and 80 ROPs contribute to its fill rate of 213.6 GPixel/s, which is a key specification for resolution scaling. The pixel rate explains why 4K performance drops so precipitously compared to 1440p—the card can output 213.6 billion pixels per second, but 4K requires over 8 million pixels per frame, and at High settings with complex shaders, the effective fill rate becomes the bottleneck.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-13700K provides overwhelming computational headroom for Doom, ensuring the GPU remains the bottleneck in all scenarios. This processor features 16 cores and 24 threads, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz, built on Intel's 10 nm Raptor Lake architecture. The CPU's cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 30 MB of shared L3 cache, which provides ample fast memory for game logic and physics calculations. The processor supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory in dual-channel configuration, and its PCIe Gen 5 interface with 20 lanes ensures no bandwidth limitations when communicating with the GPU.

Synthetic benchmarks confirm the CPU's exceptional performance, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 30745 and a single-core score of 2116. The Geekbench results show 19429 multi-core and 2529 single-core scores, while 3DMark tests demonstrate strong scaling from 2262 in the 2-thread test to 12412 in the max-thread test. The CPU's percentile ranking of 89th among all processors places it just behind the AMD Ryzen 9 5900, which scores 46971 (-0.2% delta), and the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 375, which scores 47022 (-0.3% delta). The i7-13700K's average benchmark score of 46881 puts it statistically tied with these rivals, showing that it offers competitive performance in this class.

In Doom specifically, the CPU's role is minimal because the game's engine is well-optimized for multi-threaded processing. The 24 threads available from the i7-13700K far exceed what Doom can utilize, and the high single-thread performance (PassMark single-thread score of 4333) ensures that even the primary game thread runs without delay. The measured FPS data shows no signs of CPU limitation: at 1080p Low, the system reaches 186 FPS, which is a frame rate that would expose CPU bottlenecks in less capable processors. The fact that the frame rate scales consistently with resolution and settings changes, rather than plateauing, is definitive evidence that the CPU is not constraining performance. The processor's 125 W TDP and unlocked multiplier indicate it can sustain high clocks under load, and the 3DMark 16-thread score of 10717 confirms substantial parallel processing capability.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete FPS dataset for this combination covers three resolutions and four quality presets. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 186 FPS, Medium delivers 162 FPS with a range from 137 to 186 FPS, High delivers 137 FPS, and Ultra delivers 112 FPS. The 1080p results show that even at Ultra settings, the system maintains an average above 110 FPS, which is excellent for competitive play. The step from Low to Medium costs 24 FPS, from Medium to High costs 25 FPS, and from High to Ultra costs 25 FPS, showing a remarkably linear relationship between preset and performance at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 120 FPS, Medium averages 105 FPS with a range from 89 to 120 FPS, High averages 88 FPS, and Ultra averages 72 FPS. The 1440p results demonstrate that the system remains highly playable across all presets, with even Ultra staying above 70 FPS. The cost of each preset step at 1440p is 15 FPS from Low to Medium, 17 FPS from Medium to High, and 16 FPS from High to Ultra, showing a consistent penalty of approximately 15-17 FPS per quality level. This consistency suggests that each preset tier adds a similar amount of graphical work for the GPU.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 65 FPS, Medium averages 57 FPS with a range from 48 to 65 FPS, High averages 48 FPS, and Ultra averages 39 FPS. The 4K results present a different pattern: the cost from Low to Medium is 8 FPS, from Medium to High is 9 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 9 FPS. While the absolute penalties are smaller at 4K, the percentage impact is larger because the base frame rates are lower. The 4K Ultra result of 39 FPS is below the playable threshold for most users, while 4K Low at 65 FPS is acceptable. The Medium preset at 4K, averaging 57 FPS, represents the best balance of quality and performance at this resolution. The min and max FPS values for Medium presets show consistency, with the 4K Medium range of 48 to 65 FPS matching the average FPS of High and Low presets respectively, indicating smooth frame delivery without significant spikes.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Doom at 4K with playable frame rates?

A: Yes, but only at lower presets. At 4K Low, the average FPS is 65, and at 4K Medium, it is 57 FPS. High settings yield 48 FPS, and Ultra drops to 39 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B580 compare to its nearest GPU rivals in this game?

A: The Arc B580's average benchmark score of 23021 is nearly identical to the AMD Radeon RX 580 2048SP (23061, -0.2% delta) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 (22895, 0.6% delta). In Doom, the measured FPS reflects this mid-range positioning, with 1080p High delivering 137 FPS.

Q: Is the Intel Core i7-13700K a bottleneck for the Arc B580 in Doom?

A: No. The data shows no CPU limitation at any resolution or settings. The processor's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 30745 and single-core score of 2116 far exceed what Doom requires, and frame rates scale consistently with GPU load rather than plateauing.

Q: What is the best resolution and preset combination for this hardware?

A: For 1440p gaming, the High preset at 88 FPS or even Ultra at 72 FPS provides an excellent experience. For 4K, the Medium preset at 57 FPS is the highest quality option that remains playable, while 1080p Ultra at 112 FPS is ideal for high refresh rate monitors.

Q: How much performance is lost when moving from 1080p to 1440p to 4K?

A: At High settings, the average FPS drops from 137 at 1080p to 88 at 1440p (49 FPS loss) and then to 48 at 4K (40 FPS loss from 1440p). At Low settings, the drop is from 186 to 120 to 65 FPS across the same resolutions.

Q: Does the Arc B580 have enough VRAM for Doom at maximum settings?

A: Yes. The GPU has 12 GB of GDDR6 memory with 456.0 GB/s bandwidth, which is sufficient for Doom even at 4K Ultra settings. The 39 FPS result at 4K Ultra is due to compute and fill rate limits, not memory capacity or bandwidth constraints.

Settings Recommendations

The data indicates that the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset delivers 112 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS standard and suitable for high refresh rate displays. The cost of dropping to High is 25 FPS (from 112 to 137 FPS), which may be worthwhile for users with 144Hz monitors seeking maximum frame rates. At 1080p, even the most demanding preset remains smooth, so users should prioritize visual quality unless they have a very high refresh rate display. The Medium preset at 1080p, producing 162 FPS, represents the best choice for competitive play where frame rate matters more than graphical fidelity.

At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset at 72 FPS is the recommended choice for users prioritizing visual quality, as it exceeds the 60 FPS threshold comfortably. The High preset at 88 FPS offers a more significant margin for frame rate fluctuations and is better suited for systems with variable refresh rate monitors. For users who notice the difference between High and Ultra, the 16 FPS penalty (from 88 to 72 FPS) is acceptable given the visual improvements. The Medium preset at 105 FPS is the best option for competitive players at 1440p, providing a substantial frame rate boost while maintaining acceptable visual quality.

At 3840x2160, the Medium preset at 57 FPS is the highest quality setting that remains playable, though it sits slightly below 60 FPS. The High preset at 48 FPS may be acceptable for slower-paced gameplay or users who prioritize image quality over smoothness. The Low preset at 65 FPS is the only 4K option that exceeds 60 FPS, making it the recommended choice for users who demand smooth performance above all else. The Ultra preset at 39 FPS is not recommended for general play, as the frame rate drops below the threshold where most users perceive smooth motion. The data suggests that 1440p is the sweet spot for this combination, as it offers the best balance of visual quality and performance across all presets.