Doom

The Intel Core i7-14700K is a 20-core, 28-thread desktop processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. Its cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 33 MB of shared L3. In synthetic workloads, the chip scores 44,534 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 6,287 in single-core, placing it in the 96th percentile against all CPUs. Within its nearest rival group, the i7-14700K is effectively tied with the Core i7-14700KF (0% delta), sits 0.3% ahead of the AMD EPYC 9115, trails the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X by 0.5%, and is 1.4% behind the Intel Xeon Platinum 8270.

For a game like Doom, which is a fast-paced FPS, the CPU's single-thread performance and high boost clock are the primary drivers of frame pacing. The data shows that at 1080p, where the GPU is less likely to be the absolute bottleneck, the combination achieves 189 FPS on Low settings and 116.9 FPS on Ultra. The 5.60 GHz boost clock ensures that the CPU can feed the Radeon RX 5700 XT with enough draw calls and game logic updates to maintain high frame rates. The 33 MB of shared L3 cache is also relevant, as it reduces memory latency for frequently accessed game data, which helps maintain consistent frame times in combat-heavy scenes typical of the genre. The processor's 125 W TDP and support for DDR4/DDR5 memory indicate a platform that can be paired with fast system memory, though the measured FPS data does not isolate memory speed as a variable.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT is built on the RDNA 1.0 architecture with a 7 nm process, featuring 2,560 shading units and 64 ROPs. It operates at a base clock of 1605 MHz, a game clock of 1755 MHz, and a boost clock of 1905 MHz. The GPU has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its compute capability is rated at 9.754 TFLOPS FP32, with a pixel rate of 121.9 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 304.8 GTexel/s. The card's average benchmark score of 24,731 places it in the 68th percentile of all GPUs, with its nearest rival being the NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile at a 0.1% delta, followed by the Intel Arc A350M at 0.3%, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile at 0.6%, and the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 5000 at 0.9%.

In Doom, the GPU is the dominant factor at higher resolutions and settings. The 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for the game's texture loads, even at 4K Ultra, where the measured average FPS is 41.7. The 448.0 GB/s memory bandwidth is critical for maintaining fill rates at 3840x2160. The data shows a clear scaling pattern: at 1080p, the GPU can push 189 FPS on Low, but at 4K Ultra, it drops to 41.7 FPS. This indicates that while the GPU is capable of high frame rates at lower resolutions, the pixel throughput demands of 4K Ultra overtax the RDNA 1.0 architecture. The boost clock of 1905 MHz provides the headroom needed for the card to reach 138 FPS at 1080p High, but the 9.754 TFLOPS compute limit becomes apparent when the resolution scales up.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of how settings impact performance. At 1920x1080, the difference between Low (189 FPS) and Ultra (116.9 FPS) is 72.1 FPS, which is a 38% reduction. The Medium preset at 1080p delivers 163.3 FPS, which is still far above the 60 FPS threshold and only 25.7 FPS below Low. For a competitive FPS experience, the Low preset at 1080p offers the highest frame rate, but the High preset at 138 FPS is a reasonable middle ground that likely provides better visual fidelity without sacrificing smoothness.

At 2560x1440, the scaling is similar. Low delivers 122.8 FPS, High drops to 92 FPS, and Ultra falls to 75.5 FPS. The Medium preset at 104.5 FPS is the most balanced option at this resolution, offering a frame rate that is 18.3 FPS above High and 29.3 FPS below Low. At 3840x2160, the situation changes drastically. Low delivers 67 FPS, Medium drops to 60.5 FPS, High falls to 51.5 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 41.7 FPS. For 4K, the Low preset is the only one that consistently stays above 60 FPS, while Medium is borderline at 60.5 FPS. The data suggests that for a smooth experience at 4K, the Low preset is the safest choice, while at 1440p, Medium provides the best balance of visual quality and performance.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Intel Core i7-14700K and AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT ranks 1252nd out of 1681 tested combos in Doom. This places the combo in the bottom 25% of all tested configurations, which is notable given the CPU's high percentile ranking. The ranking reflects that the GPU is the limiting factor in this pairing. The i7-14700K is a top-tier processor, but the RX 5700 XT, while competent, is not a high-end card by modern standards. The benchmark results show that the combo's performance is driven almost entirely by the GPU's capabilities, as evidenced by the steep FPS drops at higher resolutions.

Compared to other combos, this pairing is likely outclassed by systems with more powerful GPUs, even if they have weaker CPUs. The 1252nd rank indicates that there are 429 other tested combinations that perform better in Doom. The CPU's 96th percentile ranking does not translate into a high combo rank because the game is not CPU-bound at the resolutions tested. The data shows that the combo's performance is consistent with what one would expect from a mid-range GPU paired with a high-end CPU: the CPU ensures that the GPU is never starved for data, but the GPU's absolute performance ceiling determines the final FPS numbers.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the bottleneck characteristics of this combo. At 1080p High, the average FPS is 138. Moving to 1440p High, the FPS drops to 92, a 33% reduction. Moving to 4K High, the FPS falls to 51.5, a further 44% reduction from 1440p. This pattern indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting component. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the FPS would remain relatively flat across resolutions, as the CPU's workload does not change significantly with resolution. Instead, the FPS drops dramatically as the resolution increases, which is the classic signature of a GPU-bound scenario.

The scaling is more pronounced at higher settings. From 1080p Ultra (116.9 FPS) to 1440p Ultra (75.5 FPS) is a 35% drop, and from 1440p Ultra to 4K Ultra (41.7 FPS) is a 45% drop. The Low preset shows a similar trend: 189 FPS at 1080p, 122.8 FPS at 1440p (35% drop), and 67 FPS at 4K (45% drop from 1440p). The consistency of these percentage drops across settings reinforces that the GPU's pixel throughput is the bottleneck. The CPU, with its 5.60 GHz boost clock and 20 cores, has ample headroom to feed the GPU at all resolutions, but the RX 5700 XT's 9.754 TFLOPS and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth are simply not sufficient to maintain high frame rates at 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the average FPS values are as follows: Low delivers 189 FPS, Medium delivers 163.3 FPS, High delivers 138 FPS, and Ultra delivers 116.9 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra is 72.1 FPS, with each settings tier costing roughly 25-30 FPS. The Low preset is the only one that approaches the 190 FPS mark, while Ultra still exceeds 115 FPS, making all presets playable on high-refresh-rate monitors.

At 2560x1440, the average FPS values are: Low at 122.8 FPS, Medium at 104.5 FPS, High at 92 FPS, and Ultra at 75.5 FPS. The performance gap between Low and Ultra is 47.3 FPS. Medium is the only preset that stays above 100 FPS, while Ultra remains above 75 FPS, which is still smooth for most displays. The data shows that 1440p is the sweet spot for this combo, as even Ultra settings provide a frame rate above the 60 FPS threshold.

At 3840x2160, the average FPS values are: Low at 67 FPS, Medium at 60.5 FPS, High at 51.5 FPS, and Ultra at 41.7 FPS. The drop from Low to Ultra is 25.3 FPS, with each settings tier reducing performance by roughly 8-10 FPS. Only the Low preset exceeds 60 FPS, and Medium is right at the edge. High and Ultra presets fall below 60 FPS, which may result in noticeable stutter on 60 Hz displays. The 4K data confirms that this GPU is not suited for high-settings gaming at this resolution, and users should stick to Low or Medium if they prioritize frame rate over visual fidelity.