Doom

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core i7-14700K brings 20 cores and 28 threads to this Doom test system, with a base clock of 3.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.60 GHz. This is a Raptor Lake-R architecture part on the Intel Socket 1700 platform, built on Intel's 10 nm process with a 125 W TDP. The CPU has a 33 MB shared L3 cache, and its single-core performance is strong enough to keep a 2016-era id Tech engine fed with draw calls and game logic updates.

In synthetic workloads, the i7-14700K posts a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44534 and a single-core score of 6287, which places it well above the needs of most modern titles. Its Geekbench multi-core score of 18896 and single-core score of 2932 reinforce the picture: this is a CPU that will not bottleneck a mid-range GPU in a fast-paced FPS. The PassMark single-thread score of 4472 shows that even lightly-threaded game engines can extract high per-core throughput.

For Doom specifically, the data shows the CPU is rarely the limiting factor. At 1080p Low settings, the combo hits 368.2 FPS average, which is far beyond any monitor's refresh rate and indicates the CPU can push frames well past what the GPU can render at higher settings. The i7-14700K's percentile rank of 96 among all CPUs means it sits in the top 4% of processors tested on this database. Its nearest rivals include the Core i7-14700KF with an average score of 70104 (0% delta), the AMD EPYC 9115 at 69887 (0.3% higher), and the Ryzen 9 9950X at 70420 (0.5% higher), so the 14700K is essentially tied with those parts in overall CPU benchmarks.

The practical takeaway: in Doom, the i7-14700K's 20 cores are more than enough. The game's Vulkan renderer (the API support list includes Vulkan 1.4 on the GPU side) can leverage multiple threads, but the CPU's high single-thread performance matters more for maintaining high frame rates. The 5.60 GHz boost clock ensures that the engine's main thread never becomes a bottleneck, even when the GPU is pushing 200+ FPS.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti is built on the AD104 chip with Ada Lovelace architecture, using TSMC's 5 nm process. It has 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, yielding 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth. The base clock is 2310 MHz with a boost of 2610 MHz, and memory runs at 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective). With 7680 shading units, 240 TMUs, and 80 ROPs, this GPU delivers 40.09 TFLOPS of FP32 performance.

The 12 GB VRAM is not a concern for Doom, a game from 2016 with modest texture requirements. The GPU's 60 RT cores and 240 tensor cores are largely irrelevant here since Doom does not use ray tracing or DLSS. What matters is raw rasterization throughput, and the RTX 4070 Ti has plenty. Its PassMark G3D score of 31624 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 5024 place it in the 85th percentile of all GPUs.

The GPU's nearest rivals in the database include the RTX 5090 Mobile with an average score of 45152 (0.6% higher), the Intel Arc A730M at 45592 (1.5% higher), and the AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT at 45642 (1.6% higher). The RTX 4070 Ti's average benchmark score of 44900 is within a couple percent of those parts, meaning the desktop card trades blows with some mobile and workstation-class alternatives.

In Doom, the GPU's clock speed and memory bandwidth directly influence frame rates. At 4K Ultra, the combo manages 77.2 FPS, which is playable but shows the GPU straining. The 504.2 GB/s bandwidth is sufficient for the game's textures, but the 192-bit bus limits fill-rate-bound scenarios at extreme resolutions. The 2610 MHz boost clock helps keep 1080p frame rates extremely high, where the GPU is the primary driver.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data reveals a clear scaling pattern across resolutions. At 1080p High, the combo averages 272 FPS. Moving to 1440p High drops that to 176.5 FPS (a 35% reduction), and 4K High falls to 98.2 FPS (a 64% reduction from 1080p). This steep decline indicates the GPU becomes the bottleneck as pixel count increases.

At Low settings, the scaling is even more pronounced. 1080p Low hits 368.2 FPS, 1440p Low drops to 235.6 FPS, and 4K Low lands at 127 FPS. The 1080p to 4K delta at Low settings is 65.5%, nearly identical to the High settings drop. This consistency suggests the CPU is not the limiting factor even at 1080p Low — if it were, the 4K Low frame rate would be much closer to the 1080p number.

The Ultra preset tells a similar story: 220.5 FPS at 1080p, 143.1 FPS at 1440p, and 77.2 FPS at 4K. The 1080p to 4K drop of 65% at Ultra confirms that resolution scaling behaves predictably. The GPU's pixel fill rate of 208.8 GPixel/s and texture rate of 626.4 GTexel/s are being saturated at higher resolutions.

What this means practically: at 1440p and below, the RTX 4070 Ti can deliver well over 140 FPS on any preset, making the i7-14700K more than adequate. At 4K, the GPU is the constraint, but 77-127 FPS depending on settings is still respectable for a demanding resolution. The CPU's 20 cores and high boost clock never appear in the data as a limiting factor.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Doom at 4K with max settings?

A: Yes, at 4K Ultra the combo averages 77.2 FPS, which is playable. Dropping to High raises that to 98.2 FPS, and Low settings hit 127 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its closest rivals in overall benchmarks?

A: The i7-14700K has an average score of 70074, essentially tied with the i7-14700KF (70104, 0% delta), slightly ahead of the AMD EPYC 9115 (69887, 0.3% higher), and marginally behind the Ryzen 9 9950X (70420, 0.5% lower).

Q: Is 12 GB of VRAM enough for Doom at 4K?

A: The data shows no VRAM-related issues. The GPU achieves 77.2 FPS at 4K Ultra with 12 GB of GDDR6X memory, which is more than the game requires.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1440p gaming?

A: Ultra preset at 1440p averages 143.1 FPS, which is smooth. If you prefer higher frame rates, High settings give 176.5 FPS and Medium hits 206.7 FPS.

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

A: It ranks 208th out of 1681 tested combos for Doom, placing it in the top 12.4% of all CPU-GPU pairings on this database.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU at 1080p?

A: No. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 368.2 FPS, and the scaling to 4K follows GPU-bound patterns. The i7-14700K is not the limiting component at any resolution tested.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i7-14700K plus NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti combination ranks 208th out of 1681 tested combos for Doom. That places it in the top 12.4% of all configurations on this benchmark database. The ranking reflects the balance between a top-tier CPU (96th percentile among all CPUs) and a strong mid-high-tier GPU (85th percentile among all GPUs).

The CPU's excellent synthetic scores — 44534 in Cinebench R23 multi-core, 6287 in single-core, and 52392 in PassMark multithread — combined with the GPU's 31624 PassMark G3D score, create a system that handles Doom's demanding Vulkan path without breaking a sweat. The rank of 208 means there are 207 combos that perform better, but those are likely pairing higher-end GPUs (like RTX 4090-class parts) with similarly strong CPUs.

What pushes this combo down the ranking is the GPU position relative to the CPU. The i7-14700K is near the top of the CPU hierarchy, but the RTX 4070 Ti sits in the 85th percentile. In a game like Doom that rewards GPU rasterization throughput, the combo's overall rank is constrained by the graphics card. Still, a top-12.4% placement is strong for a system that can hit 272 FPS at 1080p High and 98.2 FPS at 4K High.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080:

• Low: 368.2 FPS average
• Medium: 320.2 FPS average
• High: 272 FPS average
• Ultra: 220.5 FPS average

2560x1440:

• Low: 235.6 FPS average
• Medium: 206.7 FPS average
• High: 176.5 FPS average
• Ultra: 143.1 FPS average

3840x2160:

• Low: 127 FPS average
• Medium: 113.2 FPS average
• High: 98.2 FPS average
• Ultra: 77.2 FPS average

The data shows a consistent pattern: each step from Low to Ultra costs roughly 20-25% performance at any given resolution. At 1080p, the difference between Low (368.2) and Ultra (220.5) is 147.7 FPS, a 40% reduction. At 4K, the Low-to-Ultra gap is 49.8 FPS, also about a 39% reduction. This consistency indicates the GPU's scaling across settings is uniform, with no unexpected bottlenecks.

For competitive play, 1080p Low at 368.2 FPS is extreme overkill — any high-refresh monitor will be saturated. For 4K gaming, Ultra at 77.2 FPS is playable, but High at 98.2 FPS is the sweet spot for smoother motion. The medium preset at 4K (113.2 FPS) offers a good balance if you want higher frame rates without dropping to Low.