Doom

The Intel Core i7-14700KF paired with the Intel Arc B390 is a study in contrast: a high-end 20-core processor driving an entry-level integrated graphics solution. In Doom, this combination yields playable but constrained performance, with the CPU's substantial headroom left largely untapped. The benchmark data shows a system where the GPU is the definitive bottleneck across all tested resolutions, though the CPU's strength ensures consistent frame pacing without processor-induced stutters.

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

The Intel Core i7-14700KF is a Raptor Lake Refresh part built on Intel's 10 nm process, featuring 20 cores and 28 threads. Its base clock of 3.40 GHz can boost up to 5.60 GHz, and it carries a 125 W TDP. The cache hierarchy includes 80 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 33 MB of shared L3 cache. In synthetic benchmarks, this CPU scores 44,167 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 6,235 in single-core, with a Geekbench multi-core score of 21,462 and single-core of 2,578. It sits at the 94th percentile among all CPUs, indicating top-tier processing capability.

For Doom, a 2016 title built on id Tech 6, the CPU's role is to feed the renderer with draw calls and game logic updates. The i7-14700KF's 28 threads are far more than Doom's engine can utilize, but the high single-core boost of 5.60 GHz ensures that the game's primary thread has ample performance. The benchmark results confirm this: frame rates scale almost linearly with resolution, which is a classic sign of a GPU-bound scenario. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect to see similar FPS numbers across 1080p, 1440p, and 4K, with the processor capping performance. Instead, the data shows a clear drop in average FPS as resolution increases, meaning the CPU is delivering frames faster than the GPU can render them.

The processor's nearest rivals in overall benchmark score include the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F (0.2% delta) and the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HX (0.4% delta), both scoring slightly lower, while the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K scores 1% higher. This tight grouping places the i7-14700KF in the upper echelon of desktop processors, but such CPU-bound distinctions are irrelevant in this specific game/config pairing, where the GPU's modest capabilities dominate the performance profile.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combined rank of this CPU and GPU pairing in Doom is 2,580 out of 2,930 tested combinations. This places the system in the 12th percentile of all tested combos, meaning roughly 88% of other CPU/GPU pairings deliver higher average frame rates in this game. The ranking reflects the GPU's limitations rather than the CPU's capabilities; the i7-14700KF alone ranks in the top 6% of all CPUs. The substantial disparity between the CPU percentile (94th) and the combo rank (12th percentile) underscores how the Arc B390's integrated nature holds back the overall result.

When examining the GPU's own standing, the Intel Arc B390 sits at the 9th percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 1,482 in 3DMark Steel Nomad. Its nearest rivals in that benchmark are the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1.3% higher score), NVIDIA GeForce 800M (1.5% higher), NVIDIA GeForce GT 625 OEM (2.5% higher), and NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 (2.7% higher). These are all entry-level or legacy discrete GPUs from over a decade ago, which contextualizes the B390's performance tier. In Doom, the combo rank of 2,580 suggests that while the game is old enough to run on weak hardware, this particular integrated solution still struggles to deliver a smooth experience at higher settings.

The data indicates that the combo's low rank is entirely attributable to the GPU. A different, more capable GPU paired with the same i7-14700KF would likely rank far higher, as the CPU provides no significant bottleneck in this title. The 20-core processor is essentially coasting, with utilization likely low, while the GPU works at its maximum capacity to produce the measured frame rates.

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

The measured FPS data across resolutions reveals a textbook GPU-bound scaling pattern. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 107 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops that to 69 FPS, a 35.5% reduction, and at 4K Low it falls to 37 FPS, a further 46.4% reduction from 1440p. This non-linear scaling is characteristic of a GPU that is overwhelmed by pixel count, with the fill rate and memory bandwidth becoming the primary constraints.

The High settings preset shows a similar trend: 78 FPS at 1080p, 51 FPS at 1440p (a 34.6% drop), and 28 FPS at 4K (a 45.1% drop from 1440p). The consistent percentage drops across settings presets—roughly 35% from 1080p to 1440p and 45% from 1440p to 4K—indicate that the GPU's computational throughput scales predictably with the number of pixels. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the FPS would remain relatively flat across resolutions, as the processor's frame generation rate would be the ceiling. The data shows no such ceiling, confirming the Arc B390 is the sole performance limiter.

The delta between Low and High settings at each resolution further illustrates GPU dependence. At 1080p, Low yields 107 FPS while High yields 78 FPS, a 27% performance cost for higher visual fidelity. At 1440p, the gap narrows slightly to 26% (69 vs 51 FPS), and at 4K it is 24% (37 vs 28 FPS). This shrinking percentage gap at higher resolutions is typical, as the GPU spends a larger proportion of its time on pixel shading operations that are less affected by settings changes, while the fixed overhead of draw calls becomes relatively smaller. The data strongly suggests that the i7-14700KF's 20 cores and high boost clocks have no influence on the frame rate in this configuration; the Arc B390's 1,536 shading units and 24 ROPs are the determining factor.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

The measured FPS data provides a complete picture of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the combo delivers 107 FPS on Low, 93 FPS on Medium, 78 FPS on High, and 64 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 79 FPS and a maximum of 107 FPS, indicating a 28 FPS variance. This variance suggests that during intense combat scenes with multiple enemies and particle effects, the frame rate dips noticeably, though it remains above 60 FPS for the most part.

At 2560x1440, the averages are 69 FPS on Low, 60 FPS on Medium, 51 FPS on High, and 41 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset's minimum is 51 FPS with a maximum of 69 FPS, showing that the experience is playable but with occasional dips below the 60 FPS threshold. The Low preset at 1440p is the only setting that maintains an average above 60 FPS, while High and Ultra fall below that mark, indicating a compromise between visual quality and smoothness.

At 3840x2160, the performance drops significantly: 37 FPS on Low, 33 FPS on Medium, 28 FPS on High, and 22 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset shows a minimum of 28 FPS and a maximum of 37 FPS, meaning the frame rate never reaches 40 FPS even at the peak. This makes 4K gaming impractical for anything other than slow-paced exploration, as the low frame rates would likely induce motion sickness in a fast-paced FPS like Doom. The 22 FPS average on Ultra at 4K is barely interactive, and the 28 FPS on High is still well below the 30 FPS threshold often considered the minimum for a playable console-like experience.

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

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated GPU based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, manufactured on a 3 nm process. It operates with a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2500 MHz. The GPU has 1,536 shading units, 48 texture mapping units, and 24 ROPs, with 12 ray tracing cores. Its theoretical pixel rate is 60.00 GPixel/s, texture rate is 120.0 GTexel/s, and FP32 throughput is 7.680 TFLOPS. The TDP is 80 W, and it uses system-shared memory, meaning there is no dedicated VRAM; the memory type, bus width, and bandwidth are all "System Shared" or "System Dependent."

This system-shared memory architecture is a critical factor in Doom's performance. Unlike a discrete GPU with dedicated GDDR6 or GDDR6X memory, the B390 must share the system's DDR4 or DDR5 memory bandwidth with the CPU. In Doom, which can use over 4 GB of VRAM at 1080p High settings, the shared memory approach can lead to bandwidth contention and higher latency. The benchmark results reflect this: the 4K performance is particularly poor, likely because the GPU must access large textures stored in system memory, and the available bandwidth becomes a severe bottleneck.

The B390's 24 ROPs are a modest number, and the 60.00 GPixel/s pixel rate means it can theoretically fill 60 million pixels per second. At 4K (3840x2160), there are roughly 8.3 million pixels per frame, so the theoretical fill rate allows for only about 7 frames per second at full pixel throughput. The measured 22-37 FPS at 4K is actually higher than this theoretical calculation, suggesting that Doom's renderer is not fill-rate limited in the traditional sense, but rather limited by shader throughput and memory bandwidth. The 120.0 GTexel/s texture rate is also modest, and at High settings with high-resolution textures, the 48 TMUs may be saturated, contributing to the low frame rates.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings preset depends on the target resolution and the user's preference for smoothness versus visual fidelity. At 1080p, the Medium preset offers the best balance: 93 FPS average with a minimum of 79 FPS. This ensures the frame rate stays well above the 60 FPS threshold, providing a smooth experience in Doom's fast-paced combat. The High preset at 1080p delivers 78 FPS, which is still playable, but the 15 FPS drop from Medium to High is a significant sacrifice for incremental visual improvements. The Ultra preset at 64 FPS is borderline, as dips below 60 FPS can be noticeable in a game that rewards twitch reflexes.

At 1440p, the Low preset is the only option that maintains an average above 60 FPS (69 FPS), making it the recommended choice for competitive play. The Medium preset at 60 FPS is acceptable for casual play, but the minimum of 51 FPS means there will be visible stutters during intense action sequences. The High preset at 51 FPS and Ultra at 41 FPS are not recommended, as the frame rates are too inconsistent for a smooth experience. The data suggests that 1440p is the practical maximum resolution for this combo, provided the user is willing to drop to Low or Medium settings.

At 4K, none of the settings presets provide a playable experience. The Low preset at 37 FPS is technically above the 30 FPS threshold, but in a fast-paced FPS, this will feel sluggish and unresponsive. The Medium preset at 33 FPS with a minimum of 28 FPS is even worse, and High at 28 FPS and Ultra at 22 FPS are effectively unplayable. For 4K gaming with this combo, the only viable approach would be to drastically reduce the internal rendering resolution or use a lower resolution with upscaling, though such options are not reflected in the measured data. The benchmark results clearly indicate that this system is best suited for 1080p gaming, with Medium settings providing the best combination of visual quality and performance, or 1440p with Low settings for a smoother experience.