Doom

FAQ

Q: Is the Intel Core i7-13700K a bottleneck for the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 in Doom?

A: Benchmark results indicate the GPU is the limiting factor. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves 90.9 FPS, but the CPU's capabilities (16 cores, 24 threads, 5.40 GHz boost) far exceed what the GTX 1650 can utilize, especially given the GPU's 4 GB VRAM and 128.1 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: What is the best settings preset for this combo at 1920x1080?

A: The data shows Medium settings provide the best balance, delivering 80.3 FPS. High settings drop to 70.1 FPS, while Ultra falls to 53.6 FPS. Low settings yield the highest frame rate at 90.9 FPS but sacrifice visual fidelity.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested combinations for Doom?

A: The combo ranks 1601 out of 1681 tested combos, placing it in the bottom 5% of configurations. This low ranking reflects the GPU's performance tier rather than the CPU, as the GTX 1650 sits at the 43rd percentile among all GPUs.

Q: Can this system handle 2560x1440 gaming?

A: Yes, but with compromises. At 2560x1440, High settings produce 46.3 FPS, Medium delivers 51.5 FPS, and Low reaches 62.1 FPS. Ultra settings drop to 38.3 FPS, which may feel less fluid for fast-paced FPS gameplay.

Q: Does the CPU's integrated graphics affect Doom performance?

A: No. The Intel Core i7-13700K includes UHD Graphics 770, but the discrete GTX 1650 handles all rendering. The CPU's 30 MB of shared L3 cache and high single-thread performance (5505 in Cinebench R23 single-core) support the GPU's frame delivery.

Q: What is the GPU's memory configuration and how does it impact Doom?

A: The GTX 1650 has 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 128-bit bus with 128.1 GB/s bandwidth. At 3840x2160 Ultra settings, the combo only reaches 16.7 FPS, indicating the VRAM capacity and bandwidth struggle with high-resolution textures.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i7-13700K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 ranks 1601 out of 1681 tested combos for Doom. This places the configuration in the bottom tier of all tested systems, with only 80 combinations performing worse. The ranking reflects the substantial performance gap between the CPU and GPU components.

The CPU itself is a top-tier processor, ranking in the 93rd percentile among all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 47282. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i7-13700KF (deltaPct -0.1), AMD EPYC 4364P (deltaPct 0.3), Intel Core i9-12900F (deltaPct 0.4), and AMD Ryzen 9 PRO 5945 (deltaPct -0.5). These deltas are minimal, showing the 13700K is within 0.5% of its closest competitors in overall CPU performance.

However, the GPU tells a different story. The GTX 1650 ranks in the 43rd percentile among all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 8713. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 A Mobile (deltaPct -0.4), AMD Radeon 550X (deltaPct -0.4), NVIDIA Quadro P2200 (deltaPct 0.5), and AMD Radeon Pro WX 5100 (deltaPct -0.5). The GPU's performance tier is fundamentally mismatched with the CPU's capabilities.

In Doom specifically, this mismatch becomes evident. The combo's rank of 1601 means that 95% of tested systems deliver higher frame rates. The data shows the GTX 1650's 4 GB VRAM and 128.1 GB/s bandwidth limit performance at higher resolutions and settings, while the i7-13700K's processing power remains largely underutilized.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 is the primary performance limiter in this combo. Its Turing architecture, built on TSMC's 12 nm process, features 896 shading units, 56 texture mapping units, and 32 ROPs. The GPU operates at a base clock of 1485 MHz with a boost clock of 1665 MHz, delivering 2.984 TFLOPS of FP32 compute performance.

Memory bandwidth is a critical constraint. The 4 GB GDDR5 memory runs at 2001 MHz (8 Gbps effective) across a 128-bit bus, yielding 128.1 GB/s. This bandwidth proves insufficient for Doom's higher resolution demands, particularly at 3840x2160 where the combo's frame rates collapse.

At 1920x1080, the GPU's performance is more reasonable. The data shows a clear scaling pattern: Low settings produce 90.9 FPS, Medium 80.3 FPS, High 70.1 FPS, and Ultra 53.6 FPS. The 37.3 FPS difference between Low and Ultra settings demonstrates how texture quality and post-processing effects strain the GPU's limited resources.

Moving to 2560x1440, the GPU's limitations become more apparent. Low settings deliver 62.1 FPS, Medium 51.5 FPS, High 46.3 FPS, and Ultra 38.3 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 23.8 FPS, suggesting the GPU is approaching its memory bandwidth ceiling.

At 3840x2160, the GPU struggles significantly. Low settings produce only 32.9 FPS, Medium 28.8 FPS, High 24.4 FPS, and Ultra 16.7 FPS. The 16.2 FPS difference between Low and Ultra shows that even the lowest settings cannot overcome the VRAM and bandwidth constraints at 4K resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of this combo's performance across three resolutions and four settings presets.

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers playable frame rates across all settings. Low settings achieve 90.9 FPS, providing a smooth experience for competitive play. Medium settings produce 80.3 FPS, maintaining excellent fluidity. High settings yield 70.1 FPS, still well above the 60 FPS threshold. Ultra settings drop to 53.6 FPS, which may cause noticeable stuttering in fast-paced action sequences.

At 2560x1440, performance degrades noticeably. Low settings reach 62.1 FPS, barely maintaining smooth gameplay. Medium settings produce 51.5 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for competitive FPS. High settings deliver 46.3 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 38.3 FPS. The 23.8 FPS spread between Low and Ultra indicates the GPU is becoming the limiting factor.

At 3840x2160, the combo's performance falls below acceptable levels for most gamers. Low settings achieve only 32.9 FPS, Medium 28.8 FPS, High 24.4 FPS, and Ultra 16.7 FPS. None of these frame rates provide a smooth gaming experience, making 4K resolution impractical for this configuration.

The scaling between resolutions shows a consistent pattern. At Low settings, frame rates drop from 90.9 FPS at 1080p to 62.1 FPS at 1440p (a 31.7% decrease) and then to 32.9 FPS at 4K (a 47.0% decrease from 1440p). This steep decline highlights the GPU's bandwidth limitations as pixel count increases.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-13700K provides far more processing power than the GTX 1650 can utilize in Doom. This 16-core, 24-thread processor from Intel's Raptor Lake architecture features a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. The CPU's 30 MB of shared L3 cache and 2 MB per core L2 cache ensure rapid data access for game logic and physics calculations.

Benchmark results confirm the CPU's high performance ceiling. In Cinebench R23, the 13700K scores 39000 in multi-core and 5505 in single-core tests. The PassMark multithread score of 45887 and single-thread score of 4333 further demonstrate its capabilities. The 3DMark 16-thread score of 10717 and max-thread score of 12412 show strong scaling across its 16 cores.

For Doom, the CPU's single-thread performance is particularly relevant. The game's engine benefits from high clock speeds and strong per-core performance. The 13700K's 5.40 GHz boost clock and 5505 single-core Cinebench R23 score provide ample headroom for the game's main thread.

However, the data shows that CPU performance does not translate into higher frame rates in this combo. At 1920x1080 Low settings, the GPU limits performance to 90.9 FPS, far below what the CPU could theoretically support. The GPU's 43rd percentile ranking among all GPUs creates a significant bottleneck.

The CPU's integrated UHD Graphics 770 is present but unused, as the discrete GTX 1650 handles all rendering duties. The CPU's support for DDR4 and DDR5 memory, along with its dual-channel memory bus, provides flexibility for system builders, though memory bandwidth is not a constraint in Doom for this configuration.

The i7-13700K's 125 W TDP and 10 nm process node (Intel's Raptor Lake-S) indicate a power-hungry but capable processor. Its 93rd percentile ranking among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 47282, places it among the top processors available. The 0.1% performance delta to the i7-13700KF and 0.3% delta to the AMD EPYC 4364P show the 13700K is competitive with its closest rivals.