Doom

The Intel Core i7-14700K paired with the AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT delivers an exceptional Doom experience, consistently exceeding 60 FPS at 4K Ultra and maintaining high refresh-rate performance at lower resolutions. The data indicates that this combination is heavily GPU-bound at 4K, while the CPU's strength becomes evident at 1080p, where frame rates scale dramatically.

Settings Recommendations

The benchmark data shows a clear hierarchy across the four tested presets. At 4K, Ultra settings yield an average of 60.9 FPS, which is playable but leaves little headroom for demanding scenes. High settings at 4K provide a more comfortable 73 FPS, a 19.9% improvement over Ultra, representing the optimal balance for a fluid 4K experience without sacrificing much visual fidelity. For users prioritizing maximum frame rates, Medium at 4K reaches 83.8 FPS, while Low pushes to 101 FPS.

At 1440p, the situation changes. High settings deliver 134.7 FPS, which comfortably exceeds 120 FPS for high-refresh monitors. Ultra at 1440p still achieves 107.5 FPS, making it a viable choice for 100Hz+ displays. The sweet spot for competitive play at 1440p is Low at 183.8 FPS, but the visual compromise is substantial. At 1080p, all presets are playable, with Ultra hitting 171.6 FPS and Low reaching 282 FPS. The recommended preset depends on the display: High at 1440p is the best all-around choice, while Ultra at 1080p is ideal for maximum quality with high refresh rates.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 624.1 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is ample for Doom's textures and geometry at 4K Ultra. The GPU's architecture, RDNA 3.0 on a 5 nm process from TSMC, includes 3840 shading units, 240 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. Its boost clock reaches 2430 MHz, while the game clock is rated at 2124 MHz.

The GPU's compute capabilities are notable: 37.32 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and a pixel rate of 233.3 GPixel/s. These specs translate directly into the measured frame rates. At 4K, the GPU is the primary bottleneck, as evidenced by the frame rate scaling: 4K High (73 FPS) is substantially lower than 1440p High (134.7 FPS). The GPU's 76th percentile ranking among all GPUs places it as a strong mid-to-high-end performer, though its nearest rivals in the benchmark database (AMD FirePro S9300 X2, NVIDIA P104-100) have similar average scores with deltas under 1%.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700K is a 20-core, 28-thread processor based on Raptor Lake architecture, manufactured on Intel's 10 nm process. Its base clock of 3.40 GHz boosts to 5.60 GHz, and it includes 33 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU's benchmark scores are impressive: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44534 and a single-core score of 6287. It ranks in the 96th percentile among all CPUs.

In Doom, the CPU's role becomes evident when examining resolution scaling. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 282 FPS, while at 1080p Ultra it drops to 171.6 FPS. This 110.4 FPS difference at the same resolution is primarily driven by GPU load, but the CPU must keep up with frame generation. The i7-14700K's nearest rival, the i7-14700KF, has an essentially identical average benchmark score (70104 vs 70074, a 0% delta), confirming that this CPU is not the limiting factor in most scenarios. The high single-thread performance (Geekbench single-core 2932, PassMark single-thread 4472) ensures that even at 1080p with high frame rates, the CPU does not bottleneck the GPU.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of Intel Core i7-14700K and AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT ranks 623rd out of 1681 tested combos in Doom. This places it in the top 37% of all tested configurations, which is a strong showing given the GPU's 76th percentile ranking and the CPU's 96th percentile ranking. The ranking suggests that while the CPU is top-tier, the GPU holds the combo back from higher positions.

The disparity between the CPU's percentile (96) and the GPU's percentile (76) indicates that the GPU is the weaker link. In games like Doom, which is known for its scalability, this combo performs admirably but does not reach the top tiers. The benchmark data confirms this: at 4K Ultra, the GPU delivers 60.9 FPS, which is exactly the threshold for smooth gameplay but not competitive with higher-end GPUs. The combo's rank of 623 reflects a balanced but not extreme configuration, where the CPU has headroom for future GPU upgrades.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the GPU-bound nature of this system. At 1080p High, the combo achieves 209.2 FPS. Moving to 1440p High, the frame rate drops to 134.7 FPS, a 35.6% reduction. At 4K High, the frame rate falls to 73 FPS, a 45.8% reduction from 1440p. This pattern is consistent across all settings, indicating that the GPU's fill rate and bandwidth are the primary constraints as resolution increases.

The scaling is more severe at higher settings. From 1080p Ultra (171.6 FPS) to 4K Ultra (60.9 FPS), the drop is 64.5%. For Low settings, the drop from 1080p (282 FPS) to 4K (101 FPS) is 64.2%. This consistency suggests that the GPU's memory bandwidth (624.1 GB/s) and pixel rate (233.3 GPixel/s) are fully utilized at 4K, regardless of settings. The CPU's impact is minimal at 4K, as frame rates are primarily limited by the GPU. At 1080p, the CPU's high single-core performance allows the GPU to reach its maximum potential, as shown by the 282 FPS at Low settings.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Doom at 4K Ultra?

A: Yes, but with a limited margin. The measured average FPS at 4K Ultra is 60.9 FPS, which meets the 60 FPS threshold but leaves no headroom for demanding scenes.

Q: What is the best setting for 1440p gaming?

A: High settings at 1440p deliver 134.7 FPS, which is ideal for 120Hz+ monitors. Ultra at 1440p still achieves 107.5 FPS for those prioritizing visual quality.

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

A: The Intel Core i7-14700K has an average benchmark score of 70074, which is essentially identical to the Intel Core i7-14700KF at 70104 (a 0% delta). It slightly outperforms the AMD EPYC 9115 by 0.3%.

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

A: The GPU is the bottleneck at 4K, as frame rates drop significantly from 1440p to 4K. At 1080p, the CPU's strong single-thread performance (Geekbench single-core 2932) ensures it is not the limiting factor.

Q: What FPS can I expect at 1080p with maximum settings?

A: At 1080p Ultra, the combo achieves 171.6 FPS average, which is well above the 144Hz refresh rate common on high-end monitors.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: It ranks 623rd out of 1681 tested combos in Doom, placing it in the top 37% of all configurations tested in this game.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080:

• Low: 282 FPS average
• Medium: 244.7 FPS average
• High: 209.2 FPS average
• Ultra: 171.6 FPS average

2560x1440:

• Low: 183.8 FPS average
• Medium: 159.7 FPS average
• High: 134.7 FPS average
• Ultra: 107.5 FPS average

3840x2160:

• Low: 101 FPS average
• Medium: 83.8 FPS average
• High: 73 FPS average
• Ultra: 60.9 FPS average

The data shows a consistent pattern: each resolution step down (from 4K to 1440p, and from 1440p to 1080p) yields roughly a 45-55% increase in frame rate at the same settings. The gap between Low and Ultra settings narrows as resolution increases, from a 110.4 FPS difference at 1080p to a 40.1 FPS difference at 4K, confirming the GPU's dominant role at higher resolutions.