Doom

The Intel Core i9-14900K paired with the Intel Arc B390 presents a highly unusual configuration for _Doom_, with the data indicating a severe bottleneck at the graphics stage. This is a system where the processor is an absolute top-tier part, while the integrated graphics solution is positioned at the very bottom of the performance stack. The benchmark results show a playable experience only at lower resolutions and settings, but the frame rates scale in a way that clearly identifies the GPU as the limiting factor in almost every scenario. For users of this specific combo, the practical takeaway is to prioritize frame rate over visual fidelity, as the cost of increasing quality settings is exceptionally high.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data clearly indicates that the Low preset is the only reliable configuration for achieving smooth, playable frame rates in _Doom_ with this hardware combination. At 1080p, the Low preset delivers an average of 107 FPS, which is the only setting in the entire dataset that approaches the range of high-refresh-rate gaming. The Medium preset at 1080p yields 93 FPS, which is still acceptable for most players, but the drop from Low to Medium is a significant 14 FPS, representing a 13% performance penalty for a modest visual upgrade. Given the limited headroom, the Low preset is the recommended starting point for any competitive or fast-paced play.

At 1440p, the situation becomes more constrained. The Low preset produces an average of 69 FPS, which is playable but not ideal for a fast-paced FPS. The Medium preset at this resolution drops to 60 FPS, which is the bare minimum for a smooth experience, but frame pacing may suffer. The High preset at 1440p yields 51 FPS, which is borderline unplayable for a game that requires quick reflexes. The Ultra preset is effectively not an option, as it drops to 41 FPS, making the action feel sluggish and unresponsive.

The data suggests that the Ultra preset should be avoided entirely. The performance cost is enormous; at 1080p, moving from High (78 FPS) to Ultra (64 FPS) results in an 18% performance loss, and from Medium (93 FPS) to Ultra (64 FPS) is a 31% reduction. At 4K, the Ultra preset becomes completely unusable, with an average of just 22 FPS. The scaling between Medium and Ultra shows that the game’s highest settings place a disproportionate load on the GPU, which this integrated solution simply cannot handle. The optimal strategy is to use the Low preset for the best balance of fluidity and responsiveness, with Medium serving as a fallback only if the user is willing to accept lower frame rates for slightly better shadows and textures.

GPU Role

The Intel Arc B390 is an integrated graphics processor (IGP) based on the Xe3-LPG architecture, and its performance class is made immediately clear by the benchmark data. It scores a 1482 in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, which places it in the 9th percentile of all GPUs. This is a staggeringly low score, and the nearest rivals in the database are the NVIDIA GeForce GT 520MX (1.3% slower) and the NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 (2.7% slower). This places the Arc B390 in the same performance tier as decade-old entry-level discrete graphics cards, making it fundamentally unsuitable for demanding modern gaming at high settings.

The GPU’s specifications reflect its integrated nature. It has a base clock of 300 MHz and a boost clock of 2500 MHz, but it shares system memory, with a memory type of "System Shared" and a bandwidth that is "System Dependent." This is a critical limitation; unlike a dedicated graphics card with its own high-speed VRAM, the Arc B390 must contend with the system’s main memory for bandwidth. The pixel rate is 60.00 GPixel/s and the texture rate is 120.0 GTexel/s, but these figures are insufficient for the demands of _Doom_ at higher resolutions and settings. The FP32 performance is 7.680 TFLOPS, which is a theoretical number that does not translate into real-world gaming capability in this title.

The data shows a clear pattern: the GPU is the bottleneck in every single measured scenario. The FPS drops are almost perfectly correlated with the increase in resolution and settings, which are both primarily GPU-bound tasks. The 18% performance drop from Low to High at 1080p (107 to 78 FPS) and the 38% drop from Low to Ultra at the same resolution (107 to 64 FPS) illustrate the GPU’s inability to handle increased shading, texture, and post-processing workloads. The fact that the memory bandwidth is "System Dependent" means that the performance could vary significantly based on the speed of the installed RAM, but even with fast memory, the core compute capabilities of this IGP are the limiting factor.

CPU Role

In stark contrast to the GPU, the Intel Core i9-14900K is a flagship desktop processor that represents the absolute pinnacle of CPU performance. It features 24 cores and 32 threads, with a base clock of 3.20 GHz and a boost clock of 6.00 GHz. It is built on the Raptor Lake architecture and has a 36 MB shared L3 cache. Its benchmark scores are equally impressive, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 39399.5 and a Geekbench single-core score of 2655. The processor sits in the 95th percentile of all CPUs, and its nearest rivals are the Intel Core i9-14900KF (-0.3%), Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus (-0.6%), and AMD EPYC 7413 (-1.2%).

The CPU’s role in this specific pairing is to provide an unconstrained platform for the GPU to operate. However, the data shows that the CPU is never the limiting factor in _Doom_. The frame rates are consistently low across all settings, which is a classic sign of a GPU bottleneck. The CPU is capable of delivering far higher frame rates than the Arc B390 can physically render. For example, the CPU’s Passmark single-thread score of 4697 and multi-thread score of 58674 indicate it can handle the game’s physics and AI calculations with massive headroom to spare.

This creates a situation where the system is heavily imbalanced. The i9-14900K is overkill for this game, but its performance is irrelevant because the GPU cannot keep up. The bottleneck is so severe that even at 1080p Low, where the CPU would typically be doing more work to feed the GPU, the frame rate is limited by the graphics processor. The CPU’s high core count and clock speeds do not translate into higher FPS in this scenario. The data shows that the CPU is not the constraint; the GPU is, and no amount of CPU headroom can compensate for the Arc B390’s fundamental lack of rendering power.

How This Combo Ranks

The performance of this combination is reflected in its ranking within the database. The combo rank for this specific pairing of the Intel Core i9-14900K and Intel Arc B390 in _Doom_ is 2580 out of 2930 tested combos. This places it in the bottom 12% of all tested systems, which is a remarkably poor result for a system built around Intel’s top-tier consumer processor. The rank is almost entirely a consequence of the GPU’s performance, as the CPU is clearly among the best available. This highlights how a single weak component can completely dominate the overall gaming experience, regardless of the strength of the other components.

The rank of 2580 is a direct reflection of the measured FPS data. A system ranked in the bottom percentile is not going to provide a high-refresh-rate or high-fidelity gaming experience in a title like _Doom_. The data confirms this, with the best-case scenario being 107 FPS at 1080p Low. The combination is effectively a "tale of two extremes"—a top-5% CPU paired with a bottom-9% GPU. In a CPU-intensive game, this combo might rank higher, but _Doom_ is a balanced title that requires both a capable CPU and a capable GPU. Here, the GPU’s deficiency is so profound that it drags the entire system’s rank down to the bottom tier, making this combo unsuitable for the game’s intended experience.

Resolution Scaling

The resolution scaling data provides a clear picture of the GPU bottleneck. Moving from 1080p to 1440p to 4K, the frame rates drop consistently, and the percentage drops are indicative of a system that is heavily limited by the graphics processor. At the Low preset, the average FPS goes from 107 at 1080p to 69 at 1440p, a 35.5% drop. Moving from 1440p to 4K, the FPS drops from 69 to 37, a further 46.4% reduction. This is a brutal scaling curve that shows the GPU is being overwhelmed by the sheer number of pixels. A system with a more powerful GPU would see a smaller percentage drop, as the CPU would start to become the limiting factor at lower resolutions.

At the High preset, the scaling is similar but the starting point is lower. The FPS drops from 78 at 1080p to 51 at 1440p (a 34.6% drop) and then to 28 at 4K (a 45.1% drop). The fact that the percentage drops are relatively consistent across different settings suggests that the GPU is hitting its compute and memory bandwidth limits, and the added pixel count is directly translating to reduced frame rates. The 4K numbers are uniformly unplayable, with the highest average being 37 FPS on the Low preset and the lowest being 22 FPS on Ultra. This data strongly suggests that 4K is not a viable resolution for this combination, and even 1440p is a stretch. The GPU is the limiting component at all resolutions, as the CPU’s performance is constant and more than sufficient to handle the game’s logic.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data offers a granular look at the system’s capabilities. At 1920x1080, the performance ranges from an average of 107 FPS on Low to 64 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset averages 93 FPS, with a minimum of 79 FPS and a maximum of 107 FPS. The High preset averages 78 FPS. This shows that while Low is the only setting that breaks the 100 FPS barrier, Medium is still a viable option for those who prefer smoother visuals over maximum frame rates, provided they can tolerate the occasional dip below 80 FPS. The Ultra preset is not recommended, as the 64 FPS average is too low for a game that benefits from high responsiveness.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance drops significantly. The Low preset averages 69 FPS, which is still playable but not ideal. The Medium preset averages 60 FPS, with a minimum of 51 FPS and a maximum of 69 FPS. The High preset averages 51 FPS, which is on the edge of playability. The Ultra preset is effectively a no-go, with an average of just 41 FPS. The data shows that at 1440p, the user must make a choice between visual quality and frame rate, and the Low preset is the only one that provides a consistently smooth experience.

At 3840x2160, the system is severely out of its depth. The Low preset averages 37 FPS, which is not smooth enough for a fast-paced shooter. The Medium preset averages 33 FPS (min 28, max 37), and the High preset averages just 28 FPS. The Ultra preset is completely unplayable, with an average of 22 FPS. The data shows that the Arc B390 is simply not capable of handling 4K resolution in _Doom_, regardless of the settings used. The performance is uniformly below the 60 FPS target and even below the 30 FPS minimum for a playable experience in many cases. This resolution should be avoided entirely with this combination.