Doom

The data for Doom with the Intel Core i9-14900K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 presents a clear picture of a system where the GPU is the primary performance gate, but the CPU provides enough headroom to keep frame pacing consistent across all tested settings. The measured frames per second (FPS) show a predictable scaling pattern that shifts from a CPU-bound scenario at 1080p to a firmly GPU-bound scenario at 4K.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 is steep and consistent across all settings, indicating that the rendering load scales directly with pixel count. At Ultra settings, the average frame rate falls from 159.1 FPS at 1080p to 98.4 FPS at 1440p, and finally to 53.3 FPS at 4K. This represents a 66.5% reduction in performance from the lowest to the highest resolution. The pattern is similar at High settings, where the average drops from 190.5 FPS at 1080p to 65.8 FPS at 4K, a 65.5% decline.

The scaling behavior reveals that the system is not entirely GPU-limited at every resolution. At 1080p, the gap between Low and Ultra settings is 99.2 FPS (from 258.3 to 159.1 FPS), which shows that the CPU and GPU are both contributing to the frame rate. However, at 4K, the gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 37.2 FPS (from 90.5 to 53.3 FPS). This compression suggests that the GPU is becoming the bottleneck at higher resolutions, as the CPU has more time to prepare frames while the GPU takes longer to render each one.

The data also shows that the 4K results are not playable for competitive gaming at Ultra, with an average of 53.3 FPS. The 1080p results, conversely, are exceptionally high, with even the Ultra preset exceeding 150 FPS. This indicates that the RTX 3070, with its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth, is well-suited to 1440p gaming, where it delivers over 98 FPS at the highest settings.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested CPU and GPU combinations for Doom, this pairing achieves a combo rank of 794 out of 1681 tested combos. This places it in the 47th percentile of all tested systems, meaning that slightly more than half of the tested combinations deliver higher average frame rates in this specific game. The rank reflects a balance between the high-end CPU and the mid-range GPU. The i9-14900K is a top-tier processor, ranking in the 97th percentile against all CPUs, but the RTX 3070 sits in the 72nd percentile against all GPUs. This mismatch means the combo’s overall standing in Doom is pulled down by the GPU’s relative position.

The rank of 794 is not necessarily a negative indicator, as the field of 1681 combos includes many systems with more powerful GPUs. The data shows that in this game, the GPU is the limiting factor at higher resolutions, so a stronger GPU would likely push this combo significantly higher in the rankings. However, the CPU’s headroom ensures that the system does not fall behind in CPU-bound scenarios. The combination of a 24-core, 32-thread processor with a 5888-shader GPU produces a balanced system that performs admirably, but it is not optimized purely for Doom’s frame rate ceiling.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 is built on the Ampere architecture and features a GA104 chip manufactured on an 8 nm process. Its base clock is 1500 MHz, with a boost clock of 1725 MHz. The memory runs at 1750 MHz, which translates to 14 Gbps effective, across a 256-bit bus. This configuration yields a memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s, which is sufficient for the 8 GB of GDDR6 memory. The GPU’s compute capabilities are rated at 20.31 TFLOPS for FP32 operations, and it includes 46 ray tracing cores and 184 tensor cores.

In Doom, the GPU’s performance is directly visible in the measured FPS. The game is not heavily dependent on ray tracing, but the raw rasterization performance of the RTX 3070 is what drives the results. The gap between the Low and Ultra presets at 4K is 37.2 FPS, which shows that the GPU’s shading units and texture mapping units are being exercised differently across settings. The Ultra preset, which likely increases texture quality and draw distances, pushes the GPU to its limits, resulting in an average of 53.3 FPS. The High preset at 4K, at 65.8 FPS, shows that a moderate reduction in settings yields a significant performance gain.

The GPU’s memory capacity of 8 GB is a notable factor. At 4K with Ultra settings, the game may be approaching the memory limit, which could contribute to the lower average FPS. However, the data does not include min FPS values, so it is not possible to assess frame time consistency directly. The GPU’s 96 ROPs and 184 TMUs are likely sufficient for the game’s rendering demands at 1440p, where it delivers over 98 FPS at Ultra.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers high frame rates across all settings. The Low preset averages 258.3 FPS, Medium averages 223.4 FPS, High averages 190.5 FPS, and Ultra averages 159.1 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra is not linear, with a 16.5% drop from Low to Medium, a 14.7% drop from Medium to High, and a 16.5% drop from High to Ultra. This suggests that each setting tier adds a similar incremental load on the GPU.

At 2560x1440, the average FPS drops significantly. Low averages 166.9 FPS, Medium averages 144.6 FPS, High averages 124.4 FPS, and Ultra averages 98.4 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is roughly 35% across all settings, which is consistent with the 78% increase in pixel count. The system remains highly playable at this resolution, with even the Ultra preset exceeding 98 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the performance is more constrained. Low averages 90.5 FPS, Medium averages 80.9 FPS, High averages 65.8 FPS, and Ultra averages 53.3 FPS. The drop from 1440p to 4K is about 45% across all settings, which is less than the 125% increase in pixel count from 1440p to 4K. This indicates that the GPU is becoming more efficient at higher resolutions, likely due to reduced CPU overhead per frame. The Ultra preset at 4K is the only configuration that falls below 60 FPS, making it borderline for smooth gameplay.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i9-14900K is a 24-core, 32-thread processor based on the Raptor Lake architecture, with a base clock of 3.20 GHz and a boost clock of 6.00 GHz. It has a 36 MB shared L3 cache and 2 MB per-core L2 cache. The CPU’s benchmark scores are impressive, including a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 49872 and a single-core score of 7040. Its PassMark multi-thread score is 58674, and its single-thread score is 4697.

In Doom, the CPU’s role is most evident at 1080p, where the frame rates are high enough to potentially expose CPU bottlenecks. The 1080p Low preset averages 258.3 FPS, which is a very high frame rate that requires a capable processor to feed the GPU. The i9-14900K’s high single-thread performance, as indicated by its Geekbench single-core score of 3064, is likely what enables such high frame rates. However, the data shows that the GPU is still the limiting factor at 1080p, as the FPS scales with settings, not just with resolution.

The CPU’s 125 W TDP and support for DDR5 memory are relevant to its performance, but the data does not provide specific memory bandwidth figures. The CPU’s 97th percentile ranking against all CPUs indicates that it is among the fastest processors available, and its nearest rivals include the AMD EPYC 7413 and the Intel Core i9-14900KF. The i9-14900K has an average benchmark score of 79824, which is only 0.3% lower than the EPYC 7413 and 0.7% higher than the Core Ultra 7 265KF. This shows that the CPU is not the bottleneck in this system.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings depend on the target resolution and desired frame rate. For 4K gaming, the High preset at 65.8 FPS provides a good balance between visual quality and performance, as the Ultra preset at 53.3 FPS may not be smooth enough for fast-paced action. The Medium preset at 80.9 FPS is also a viable option for higher refresh rates, offering a 23% improvement over High.

For 1440p, the Ultra preset at 98.4 FPS is the recommended choice, as it delivers a smooth experience that exceeds 90 FPS. The High preset at 124.4 FPS is also excellent for high-refresh-rate monitors, and the Medium preset at 144.6 FPS is suitable for 144 Hz displays. The Low preset at 166.9 FPS offers minimal visual benefit in a game like Doom, which relies on fast action and atmospheric effects.

For 1080p, all settings are playable, but the Ultra preset at 159.1 FPS is the best choice for maximizing visual quality while maintaining a high frame rate. The High preset at 190.5 FPS is ideal for 144 Hz or 165 Hz monitors, and the Medium preset at 223.4 FPS is suitable for 240 Hz displays. The Low preset at 258.3 FPS is only recommended for competitive play where maximum frame rate is paramount, as the visual fidelity loss is significant. The data suggests that the system is well-balanced for 1440p Ultra, which provides the most consistent experience without sacrificing visual quality.