Doom

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Doom reveals a steep performance cliff as resolution increases, and the pattern strongly implicates the GPU as the limiting component. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo delivers 68.1 FPS, but moving to 2560x1440 drops that to 43.4 FPS — a 36% reduction. Pushing to 3840x2160 at High settings yields just 22.8 FPS, which is a 67% drop from the 1080p figure. This is the classic signature of a GPU-bound scenario: the frame rate scales inversely with pixel count, and the CPU's headroom cannot compensate.

The trend holds across all settings presets. At Low settings, the combo produces 91.5 FPS at 1080p, 59.9 FPS at 1440p, and 32.5 FPS at 4K. The 4K figure is barely a third of the 1080p number, confirming that pixel throughput is the dominant constraint. At Ultra settings, the situation becomes more severe: 54.5 FPS at 1080p falls to 39.1 FPS at 1440p and then collapses to 18.6 FPS at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is below the threshold for comfortable playability, and the data indicates that no amount of CPU capability can rescue this configuration at that resolution.

The scaling behavior also reveals diminishing returns when lowering settings at higher resolutions. At 1080p, dropping from Ultra to Low gains 37 FPS (54.5 to 91.5). At 1440p, the same settings change gains only 20.8 FPS (39.1 to 59.9). At 4K, the gain shrinks to 13.9 FPS (18.6 to 32.5). This compression of gains at higher resolutions is typical when the GPU's shading units, texture units, and memory bandwidth are saturated; reducing quality settings cannot overcome the raw pixel fill rate demand.

The limiting component is therefore unambiguous. The Intel Core i7-14700KF is a high-end 20-core processor with a 96th percentile ranking among all CPUs, yet the measured FPS at 4K High (22.8) is only marginally better than the 4K Ultra figure (18.6). If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect a much wider spread between settings at the same resolution. Instead, the data shows that resolution scaling dominates, and the AMD Radeon RX 570 — a 14nm Polaris part with a 74th percentile GPU ranking — is the component that dictates the performance ceiling.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i7-14700KF brings substantial processing resources to this pairing: 20 cores, 28 threads, 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 benchmarks, the CPU achieves a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44557 and a single-core score of 6290, with a Geekbench multi-core score of 19287 and a single-core score of 2972. These numbers place it in the 96th percentile of all CPUs tested, with an average benchmark score of 70104.

However, the Doom benchmark results indicate that this CPU's power is largely untapped in this specific game. The measured FPS at 1080p Low is 91.5, which is respectable, but the frame rate does not scale upward with the CPU's capabilities in a way that suggests CPU limitation. At 1080p Ultra, the FPS drops to 54.5, and at 4K Ultra it falls to 18.6. If the i7-14700KF were the constraining factor, we would expect the FPS to remain relatively flat across settings at a given resolution, because the CPU work per frame is roughly constant. Instead, the data shows FPS varying by as much as 37 FPS between Low and Ultra at 1080p, which points to GPU-side effects like shading complexity and texture memory pressure.

The CPU's nearest rivals in overall benchmark score provide context for its headroom. The Intel Core i7-14700K scores 70074 on average, a 0% delta from the 14700KF. The AMD EPYC 9115 scores 69887 (0.3% higher), while the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X scores 70420 (0.4% lower). The Intel Xeon Platinum 8270 scores 71056, which is 1.3% higher. These are all within a narrow band, confirming that the 14700KF is near the top of the CPU hierarchy. Yet in Doom, the bottleneck is clearly not the processor, as evidenced by the fact that the 4K High FPS (22.8) is nearly identical to the 4K Medium FPS (28.2) relative to the 4K Low FPS (32.5) — a narrow range that reflects GPU limits, not CPU compute.

The CPU's 125W TDP and Raptor Lake architecture are not directly measurable in the FPS data, but the benchmark results support the interpretation that the i7-14700KF has ample single-thread and multi-thread performance for this game's engine. The game's release date of May 2016 predates this CPU by several years, and the data suggests the processor is not stressed by the workload. The role of the CPU here is to provide a stable platform that does not introduce frame pacing issues, and the measured FPS values are consistent with that.

FAQ

Q: What is the best average FPS this combo achieves in Doom?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 91.5, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The next best is 82.1 at 1080p Medium, followed by 68.1 at 1080p High.

Q: Is this combo capable of 60 FPS at 1440p?

A: Only at Low settings, where the average FPS is 59.9. At Medium settings, the average drops to 50.0, and at High it falls to 43.4. At Ultra, the average is 39.1.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K?

A: Poorly across all settings. The best 4K result is 32.5 FPS at Low, followed by 28.2 at Medium, 22.8 at High, and 18.6 at Ultra. None of these reach a smooth 30 FPS threshold.

Q: What does the combo's rank of 1625 out of 1681 mean?

A: The combo ranks in the bottom 3.3% of all tested CPU-GPU combinations for Doom. This indicates that the pairing is far from optimal for this game, consistent with the GPU's relatively low percentile ranking.

Q: Does lowering settings from Ultra to Low provide a consistent FPS boost across resolutions?

A: No. At 1080p, the gain is 37.0 FPS (from 54.5 to 91.5). At 1440p, the gain is 20.8 FPS (from 39.1 to 59.9). At 4K, the gain is only 13.9 FPS (from 18.6 to 32.5). The absolute gain shrinks as resolution increases.

Q: Which component is more responsible for the low 4K performance?

A: The GPU. The RX 570 has 4 GB of GDDR5 memory, a 256-bit bus, and 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth. The FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K shows a dramatic drop that is characteristic of GPU pixel-rate limits, not CPU compute limits, given the i7-14700KF's high benchmark scores.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo of Intel Core i7-14700KF and AMD Radeon RX 570 ranks 1625 out of 1681 tested combinations for Doom. This places it in the bottom 3.3% of all combos, which is a striking result given the CPU's high standing. The i7-14700KF alone ranks in the 96th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 70104 and a Passmark multi-thread score of 52425. The RX 570, by contrast, ranks in the 74th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 30158.

The disparity between the CPU's high percentile and the combo's low game rank highlights the extent to which the GPU holds back the system. The RX 570's nearest rivals in average benchmark score are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 (30109, 0.2% higher), the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT (30097, 0.2% higher), the NVIDIA Tesla M60 (29969, 0.6% higher), and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Mobile (29928, 0.8% higher). These are all within a tight band around the RX 570's score of 30158, indicating that the GPU is performing as expected for its class. The problem is that "its class" is far below what is needed for modern gaming at high resolutions.

The combo rank of 1625 out of 1681 means that 56 other combinations perform worse in Doom. This is not a flattering position, but it is also not the absolute worst. The data suggests that the i7-14700KF is wasted in this pairing for Doom specifically; the same CPU with a more powerful GPU would likely rank much higher. The measured FPS at 1080p High (68.1) and 1440p High (43.4) are playable, but the 4K results are not, and the overall ranking reflects the GPU's inability to push high pixel counts.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear hierarchy of playability based on average FPS. For a smooth 60 FPS experience, the only option is 1080p Low, which delivers 91.5 FPS, or 1080p Medium at 82.1 FPS. At 1080p High, the average FPS is 68.1, which is still above 60 and provides a better visual quality trade-off. At 1080p Ultra, the FPS drops to 54.5, which is below the 60 FPS threshold but still playable for many users.

At 1440p, the data shows that Low settings are required to approach 60 FPS, with an average of 59.9. Medium settings yield 50.0 FPS, High yields 43.4, and Ultra yields 39.1. None of these are ideal for competitive play, but Medium is a reasonable compromise if the user accepts a lower frame rate. At 4K, no setting achieves 30 FPS, with Low at 32.5 being the only option above 30, and even that is marginal.

The best experience per the measured rows is 1080p High at 68.1 FPS. This provides a solid frame rate while maintaining the High preset's visual quality. If the user prioritizes frame rate over visuals, 1080p Medium at 82.1 FPS is the safer choice. The data does not support 4K gaming with this combo, nor does it support 1440p at High or Ultra if smoothness is the goal. The recommendation is to stick to 1080p and choose between Medium and High based on preference, as the FPS difference is only 14.0 FPS between them.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS values are as follows: Low settings produce 91.5 FPS, Medium produces 82.1 FPS, High produces 68.1 FPS, and Ultra produces 54.5 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 37.0 FPS, which indicates that settings have a significant impact at this resolution. The step from Medium to High is 14.0 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 13.6 FPS, showing a steady decline as quality increases.

At 2560x1440, the data shows: Low at 59.9 FPS, Medium at 50.0 FPS, High at 43.4 FPS, and Ultra at 39.1 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 20.8 FPS, which is narrower than at 1080p. The step from Medium to High is 6.6 FPS, and from High to Ultra is 4.3 FPS, indicating that the GPU is becoming the limiting factor and settings changes have less effect.

At 3840x2160, the measured values are: Low at 32.5 FPS, Medium at 28.2 FPS, High at 22.8 FPS, and Ultra at 18.6 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 13.9 FPS, and the step from Medium to High is 5.4 FPS while High to Ultra is 4.2 FPS. The 4K results are consistently low, with even the best setting (Low) barely exceeding 30 FPS. The data shows a clear pattern: as resolution increases, the absolute FPS values drop, and the relative impact of settings diminishes.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 570 is a 14nm Polaris 20 chip with a die size of 232 mm² and 5,700 million transistors. Its base clock is 1168 MHz with a boost clock of 1244 MHz, and it features 2048 shading units, 128 texture mapping units, and 32 render output units. The GPU has 4 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing 224.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its compute capability is rated at 5.095 TFLOPS for FP32, and it supports DirectX 12 (12_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.3.

The GPU's benchmark scores are modest: a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 880, Geekbench Metal of 44915, Geekbench OpenCL of 32084, and Geekbench Vulkan of 42752. These scores place the RX 570 in the 74th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 30158. In Doom, the GPU's role is clearly the deciding factor in performance. The measured FPS at 4K High is 22.8, which is only 6.3 FPS higher than the 4K Ultra result of 18.6, despite the significant reduction in rendering quality. This indicates that the GPU's pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth are saturated.

The RX 570's 150W TDP and dual-slot design are consistent with its mid-range positioning, but the 4 GB VRAM is a limitation for high-resolution textures. The data shows that at 4K, even Low settings only reach 32.5 FPS, and the GPU's 224.0 GB/s bandwidth is insufficient for the pixel throughput required at 3840x2160. The nearest rival GPUs in terms of average benchmark score — the RTX 5060 at 30109 and RX 7700 XT at 30097 — are within 0.2% of the RX 570's score, yet the FPS results in Doom would likely differ significantly because of architectural and memory differences. However, the measured data for this specific combo shows that the GPU is the bottleneck, and its performance characteristics are the primary reason the combo ranks 1625 out of 1681.