Doom

The Intel Core i9-14900K paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT delivers a compelling 1080p and 1440p experience in Doom, but the data reveals a clear shift in bottleneck behavior as resolution climbs. At 1080p, the system is heavily CPU-bound, with frame rates scaling dramatically with settings. At 4K, the GPU takes over as the primary limiter, and the performance drop becomes steep. The measured rows show a system that is exceptionally fast at lower resolutions but which surrenders its advantage at Ultra HD.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is the most telling metric in this dataset. At 1080p High, the combo produces 180.1 FPS. Moving to 1440p High drops that to 115.6 FPS, a 35.8% reduction. At 4K High, the average falls to 60.6 FPS, which is 66.4% lower than the 1080p result. This is a classic sign of a GPU that becomes the limiting component as pixel count rises.

The pattern holds across all settings. At Low settings, the drop from 1080p (244 FPS) to 4K (85.4 FPS) is a 65% reduction. At Ultra, the drop from 146.2 FPS to 52.7 FPS is 64%. The consistency of this scaling—roughly two-thirds performance loss from 1080p to 4K regardless of preset—indicates that the RX 6750 XT's memory bandwidth and shading throughput are the decisive factors at higher resolutions.

What is more interesting is the relationship between settings at each resolution. At 1080p, the gap between Low (244 FPS) and Ultra (146.2 FPS) is 97.8 FPS. At 1440p, that same gap narrows to 60.3 FPS (157.3 vs 97). At 4K, it shrinks further to 32.7 FPS (85.4 vs 52.7). This narrowing suggests that at 4K, the GPU is so saturated that changing settings has a diminished effect—the pixel throughput bottleneck dominates over shading complexity.

The data implies that this combo is optimized for 1080p and 1440p gaming. At 4K, the RX 6750 XT's 12 GB of GDDR6 memory and 432.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient to run the game, but the frame rates dip to console-like levels. The 4K Ultra result of 52.7 FPS is the only measured row below the 60 FPS threshold, indicating that this resolution and preset combination should be approached with caution.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i9-14900K is a 24-core, 32-thread processor with a boost clock of 6.00 GHz. Its benchmark scores are exceptional: a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 49872 and a single-core score of 7040. The PassMark single-thread score of 4697 confirms strong per-core performance. In Doom, a game from 2016, this CPU is almost certainly not the bottleneck at any resolution.

The evidence is in the FPS scaling. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 244 FPS. This is a very high frame rate, but the CPU is capable of far more—the i9-14900K's PassMark multithread score of 58674 and physics score of 3140 suggest headroom remains. The fact that at 1080p, the FPS drops from 244 to 146.2 when moving from Low to Ultra indicates the GPU is still the limiting factor even at 1080p, but the CPU's role is to keep frame delivery consistent.

The CPU's architecture, Raptor Lake, uses a hybrid design with performance and efficiency cores. While the FACT PACK does not specify the core layout, the 24-core count with 32 threads implies a mix of P-cores and E-cores. Doom is not a heavily threaded game, but the i9-14900K's high single-core performance ensures no frame pacing issues. Compared to its nearest rivals, the CPU sits at the 97th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 79824. Its closest competitor, the AMD EPYC 7413, is 0.3% slower, while the Intel Core i9-14900KF is 0.7% faster.

The data shows that the CPU is not the limiting factor. At 1440p, the drop from 157.3 FPS (Low) to 97 FPS (Ultra) is a 38% reduction, which is nearly identical to the 40% reduction seen at 1080p (244 to 146.2). If the CPU were limiting, the percentage drop would be smaller at higher resolutions because the GPU would take longer per frame. The consistent scaling across resolutions confirms the CPU is delivering frames faster than the GPU can render them, except possibly at 1080p Low where 244 FPS may be approaching the engine's or CPU's practical limit.

Settings Recommendations

The measured rows provide a clear hierarchy for settings. At 1080p, the Medium preset delivers 210.8 FPS, which is 64.7 FPS higher than High (180.1) and only 33.2 FPS lower than Low (244). This makes Medium the sweet spot for competitive play—it offers a significant frame rate advantage over High while maintaining better visual fidelity than Low.

At 1440p, the Medium preset produces 134.9 FPS, which is 19.3 FPS higher than High (115.6) and 22.4 FPS lower than Low (157.3). This is still well above the 144Hz refresh rate commonly found on 1440p monitors. For a smoother experience, High at 1440p (115.6 FPS) is still above 100 FPS and likely preferable for visual quality.

At 4K, the Medium preset yields 73.8 FPS, which is 13.2 FPS higher than High (60.6) and 21.1 FPS lower than Low (85.4). The decision here is more nuanced. High at 4K (60.6 FPS) is just above the 60 FPS threshold, while Medium (73.8 FPS) provides a comfortable margin. The data suggests that for 4K, Medium is the most balanced choice—it avoids the visual degradation of Low while ensuring frame rates stay well above 60.

The Ultra preset is the least attractive option. At 1080p, it delivers 146.2 FPS, which is 64.6 FPS lower than Medium. At 1440p, it drops to 97 FPS, and at 4K, it falls to 52.7 FPS, the only measured average below 60. The performance cost of Ultra is substantial, and the data indicates that the visual uplift may not justify the frame rate penalty, especially at higher resolutions.

FAQ

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1080p gaming?

A: The Medium preset at 1920x1080 delivers 210.8 FPS, which is 30.7 FPS higher than High (180.1) and only 33.2 FPS lower than Low (244). This provides the best balance between frame rate and visual quality for competitive play.

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

A: Yes, but only at certain settings. The 4K High preset averages 60.6 FPS, while 4K Medium averages 73.8 FPS. The 4K Ultra preset drops to 52.7 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: Is the Intel Core i9-14900K a bottleneck at any resolution?

A: The data does not indicate a CPU bottleneck. The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is consistent across settings (roughly 65% reduction), which suggests the GPU is the limiting factor at all resolutions. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 49872 and single-core score of 7040 provide ample headroom.

Q: How does the RX 6750 XT compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The RX 6750 XT has an average benchmark score of 35327, sitting at the 79th percentile of all GPUs. Its closest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 5600M, is 0.2% slower, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 is 1.3% faster.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 157.3 FPS, while Ultra averages 97 FPS. This is a 60.3 FPS difference, or a 38% reduction in performance.

Q: Does the 12 GB VRAM capacity affect 4K performance?

A: The 12 GB GDDR6 memory with 432.0 GB/s bandwidth is sufficient for 4K, as the 4K High preset runs at 60.6 FPS. The data does not show VRAM capacity as a limiting factor, as the performance drop from 1440p to 4K is consistent with pixel throughput limitations.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT is built on the RDNA 2.0 architecture with a Navi 22 chip. It has 2560 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, with a boost clock of 2600 MHz. The 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus provides 432.0 GB/s of bandwidth. These specifications are directly relevant to the 4K results.

The pixel rate of 166.4 GPixel/s and texture rate of 416.0 GTexel/s explain the scaling behavior. At 4K, the GPU must process 8.3 million pixels per frame, which is 4 times the 1080p count. The measured FPS drops are consistent with a GPU that is fill-rate limited at high resolutions. The FP32 performance of 13.31 TFLOPS is adequate for Doom's rendering workload, but the shading complexity of Ultra settings pushes the GPU to its limit at 4K.

The GPU's benchmark scores are notable. The PassMark G3D score of 20700 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2548 place it in the 79th percentile. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX 5600M, is 0.2% slower in average benchmarks, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Mobile is 0.3% faster. The RTX 3080 is 1.3% faster, indicating that the RX 6750 XT is competitive with higher-tier cards from the previous generation.

The GPU's TDP of 250 W and suggested PSU of 600 W are relevant for system planning, but the measured FPS data shows that the card is well-matched to the i9-14900K. At 1080p, the GPU is the limiting factor, as evidenced by the 97.8 FPS difference between Low and Ultra. At 4K, the GPU is fully saturated, and the data shows that the 12 GB VRAM is not a constraint—the performance drop is due to compute and fill-rate limits, not memory capacity.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The full dataset provides a grid of 12 measured rows. At 1920x1080, the Low preset achieves 244 FPS, Medium hits 210.8 FPS, High reaches 180.1 FPS, and Ultra falls to 146.2 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 97.8 FPS, showing that settings have a massive impact at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the numbers are 157.3 (Low), 134.9 (Medium), 115.6 (High), and 97 (Ultra). The spread narrows to 60.3 FPS. At 3840x2160, the results are 85.4 (Low), 73.8 (Medium), 60.6 (High), and 52.7 (Ultra). The spread is 32.7 FPS.

The scaling between resolutions is consistent. For High settings, 1080p to 1440p is a 35.8% drop, and 1440p to 4K is a 47.6% drop. For Low settings, the drops are 35.5% and 45.7% respectively. This consistency suggests that the GPU's performance scales linearly with pixel count, and the CPU is not introducing any variable behavior.

The 4K Ultra result of 52.7 FPS is the only row below 60 FPS. It is 7.3 FPS lower than 4K High (60.6), showing that the Ultra preset's additional shading work has a measurable cost. The 1080p Low result of 244 FPS is the highest in the dataset, and it is 63.9 FPS higher than 1080p Medium, indicating that Low settings may disable certain effects that have a large performance impact.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i9-14900K + AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT combination ranks 803 out of 1681 tested combos in Doom. This places it in the 47.8th percentile of all combos, which is slightly below the median. This ranking is interesting because the individual components are strong—the CPU is at the 97th percentile and the GPU is at the 79th percentile.

The ranking suggests that the GPU is the limiting factor for this combo in Doom. The CPU's performance is not reflected in the ranking because the game is not CPU-bound. The RX 6750 XT's 79th percentile placement means that many other GPUs will outperform it, and since the CPU is not a bottleneck, the combo's overall rank is dragged down by the GPU.

The data shows that this combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where the FPS numbers are excellent. At 1080p High, the 180.1 FPS result would be competitive with many higher-ranked combos. At 4K, the performance is adequate but not outstanding. The rank of 803 indicates that there are 878 combos that perform better, likely those with higher-end GPUs. However, the combo's strength is its balance—the i9-14900K ensures no CPU bottleneck, and the RX 6750 XT provides solid frame rates at mainstream resolutions.