Doom

The Intel Core i7-14700F paired with the Intel Arc B390 produces a combination that ranks near the bottom of the database for Doom, sitting at rank 2580 out of 2930 tested combos. This places the pairing in the 12th percentile of all configurations tested for this title, indicating that while the system is functional, it delivers frame rates that are largely below the thresholds preferred for competitive or high-refresh gameplay. The data shows a system that is heavily constrained by its graphics component, as the CPU’s strong synthetic benchmarks are unable to overcome the GPU’s limited rendering throughput in this fast-paced FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s position at 2580 out of 2930 tested configurations places it in the bottom 12% of all systems benchmarked with Doom. This rank is primarily driven by the GPU’s performance profile, which sits at the 9th percentile among all tested graphics cards. The Intel Arc B390’s average benchmark score of 1482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad places it in direct competition with legacy entry-level discrete GPUs; the nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (score 1463, 1.3% slower), the GeForce 800M (score 1460, 1.5% slower), the GT 625 OEM (score 1446, 2.5% slower), and the GT 710 (score 1443, 2.7% slower). This clustering suggests the Arc B390’s raw rendering power is comparable to decade-old budget parts, which explains the low overall ranking.

In contrast, the Intel Core i7-14700F is a high-performing CPU, with an average benchmark score of 53620 and a percentile rank of 91 among all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Xeon 6505P (53701, 0.2% faster), the Xeon Phi 7290 (53469, 0.3% slower), the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X (53288, 0.6% slower), and the AMD EPYC 7313P (53206, 0.8% slower). This indicates the processor is not the bottleneck; rather, the combination’s low rank is a direct consequence of the GPU’s inability to keep up with the CPU’s output. The data suggests that in Doom, the Arc B390 is the limiting factor, as its 3DMark score is closer to integrated graphics from a decade ago than to any modern discrete solution.

Settings Recommendations

Given the measured FPS data, the optimal experience for this combo depends heavily on the user’s priority between visual fidelity and smoothness. At 1080p, the Low preset yields an average of 107 FPS, which is the only setting in the entire dataset that approaches high-refresh territory. The Medium preset at 1080p drops to 93 FPS, still playable, while High produces 78 FPS and Ultra falls to 64 FPS. For competitive play where frame rate is paramount, the Low preset at 1080p is the only viable option, as it is the sole configuration that exceeds 100 FPS.

At 1440p, the Low preset provides 69 FPS, which is acceptable for casual play, while Medium drops to 60 FPS. High at 1440p yields 51 FPS, and Ultra falls to 41 FPS, making the latter two less desirable for a game that benefits from fast response times. At 4K, all settings fail to reach 40 FPS, with Low at 37 FPS being the best result, followed by Medium at 33 FPS, High at 28 FPS, and Ultra at 22 FPS. The data indicates that for a balanced experience, the Medium preset at 1080p (93 FPS) offers the best compromise between visual quality and performance, as it maintains a frame rate above 90 while providing better graphical detail than Low. However, for users who prioritize competitive advantage, the Low preset at 1080p is the only configuration that delivers the high frame rates typical of esports settings.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is severe across all settings, revealing a GPU that is overwhelmed by higher pixel counts. At Low settings, the average FPS falls from 107 at 1080p to 69 at 1440p (a 35.5% reduction) and then to 37 at 4K (a 65.4% reduction from 1080p). At Medium settings, the drop is from 93 at 1080p to 60 at 1440p (35.5% reduction) and then to 33 at 4K (64.5% reduction). High settings show a similar pattern: 78 at 1080p, 51 at 1440p (34.6% reduction), and 28 at 4K (64.1% reduction). Ultra settings drop from 64 at 1080p to 41 at 1440p (35.9% reduction) and then to 22 at 4K (65.6% reduction).

The consistency of these percentage drops, roughly 35% from 1080p to 1440p and another 45% from 1440p to 4K, indicates that the GPU’s fill rate is the primary constraint. The ARC B390’s pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s and texture rate of 120.0 GTexel/s are modest figures, and the data shows that doubling the resolution from 1080p to 4K more than halves the frame rate at every setting. This behavior is characteristic of a GPU that is bandwidth and pixel-bound, rather than a CPU-bound scenario. The CPU’s high multi-threaded performance (Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 35122) suggests it is not the limiting factor at any resolution; the consistent scaling pattern across all settings points directly to the GPU as the bottleneck.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the lowest resolution tested, the combo delivers its best results. The Low preset averages 107 FPS, with Medium at 93 FPS (minimum 79, maximum 107), High at 78 FPS, and Ultra at 64 FPS. This is the only resolution where any setting exceeds 100 FPS, and the spread from Low to Ultra is 43 FPS, indicating that the GPU is still the limiting factor even at this resolution, but the CPU is able to feed it enough data to maintain playable rates.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance drops significantly. Low averages 69 FPS, Medium 60 FPS (minimum 51, maximum 69), High 51 FPS, and Ultra 41 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 28 FPS, showing that the GPU’s rendering capacity is being taxed more heavily. At 3840x2160, the results are marginal. Low averages 37 FPS, Medium 33 FPS (minimum 28, maximum 37), High 28 FPS, and Ultra 22 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra is just 15 FPS, and even the best setting (Low) is below the 40 FPS threshold generally considered minimally playable for a shooter. The data shows a clear pattern: the Arc B390 is only capable of providing a smooth experience at 1080p with lower settings, and any attempt to increase resolution or quality results in sub-30 FPS territory at 4K.

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset for this combo at 1080p?

A: The Low preset at 1080p delivers the highest average FPS at 107, while Medium provides 93 FPS. For the best visual quality while maintaining a playable frame rate, Medium at 1080p is the recommended choice.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Doom?

A: No. At 3840x2160, the highest average FPS is 37 (Low preset), with Ultra dropping to 22 FPS. All 4K results are below 40 FPS, making the experience suboptimal.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B390 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B390 has a 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1482. It is 1.3% faster than the GeForce GT 520MX, 1.5% faster than the GeForce 800M, 2.5% faster than the GT 625 OEM, and 2.7% faster than the GT 710.

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

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 69 FPS, while Ultra averages 41 FPS. This represents a 28 FPS difference, or a 40.6% reduction in performance when moving from Low to Ultra.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this configuration?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. The CPU scores in the 91st percentile among all processors, while the GPU is in the 9th percentile. The consistent FPS drops across resolutions point to the GPU’s rendering limits.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for the Medium preset?

A: At 1080p Medium, the minimum FPS is 79. At 1440p Medium, the minimum is 51. At 4K Medium, the minimum is 28.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700F is a 20-core, 28-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.10 GHz and a boost clock of 5.40 GHz. Its synthetic benchmark scores are strong: Cinebench R23 multi-core reaches 35122, single-core 4958, and Geekbench multi-core 19620 with single-core 2429. PassMark multi-thread scoring hits 41317, with integer math at 155808 and floating-point math at 107005. These figures place the CPU in the 91st percentile of all processors, with an average benchmark score of 53620.

In Doom, however, these CPU capabilities are largely underutilized. The game’s engine, while responsive to fast processors, does not demand the 20-core parallelism that this CPU offers. The measured FPS data shows that the system is not CPU-bound; at 1080p Low, the combo achieves 107 FPS, but this is limited by the GPU. The CPU’s L3 cache of 33 MB and dual-channel memory support (DDR4/DDR5) are more than sufficient for the game’s data throughput. The processor’s high single-thread performance (Cinebench R15 single-core 499, R20 single-core 2082) is adequate for the game’s main thread, but the GPU’s 3DMark score of 1482 is the constraining factor. The CPU’s role here is to feed the GPU efficiently, and its performance indicates it is doing so without bottlenecking, as evidenced by the consistent FPS scaling patterns.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics solution based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, built on a 3 nm process. It has 1536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 ROPs, with 12 ray tracing cores. Its clocks are a base of 300 MHz and a boost of 2500 MHz, with memory being system shared and bandwidth listed as system dependent. The GPU’s theoretical peak is 7.680 TFLOPS for FP32 and 15.36 TFLOPS for FP16, with a pixel rate of 60.00 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 120.0 GTexel/s.

These specifications translate to a 3DMark Steel Nomad score of 1482, which is the only GPU benchmark available. This score places the Arc B390 at the 9th percentile of all GPUs, with its nearest rivals being the GT 520MX and GT 710. In Doom, the GPU’s limitations are evident across all resolutions. At 1080p, it manages to exceed 100 FPS only on Low settings, but drops to 64 FPS on Ultra. The scaling from 1080p to 4K shows a consistent ~65% reduction in frame rate, which aligns with a GPU that is fill-rate limited rather than compute-bound. The system shared memory architecture means bandwidth is dependent on the system’s RAM, which further constrains performance at higher resolutions. The GPU’s 80 W TDP and IGP form factor indicate it is designed for power efficiency rather than high-end gaming, and the measured data confirms that it is the primary bottleneck in this combo for Doom.