Doom

The Intel Core Ultra 5 125H paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 delivers a wide spread of performance in Doom, scaling from a highly playable 59 FPS at 4K High to a blistering 227 FPS at 1080p Low. The data shows a clear pattern: this combination is consistently GPU-bound at higher resolutions, while the CPU begins to show its influence only at the lower end of the resolution spectrum. The measured results provide a clear picture of how this mobile-class processor and desktop-class graphics card interact with id Software’s 2016 shooter.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression across resolutions reveals a classic rendering bottleneck shift. At 3840x2160 with High settings, the combo produces 59 FPS. Dropping to 2560x1440 at the same High preset yields 108 FPS, a substantial 83% increase in frame rate. Moving further down to 1920x1080 High produces 167 FPS, another 55% jump from the 1440p figure. This steep, consistent climb indicates that the GPU is the primary limiting component at every step from 4K down to 1080p; the RTX 4070 is working progressively less hard as pixel count decreases, allowing the frame rate to rise nearly linearly.

The scaling behavior becomes more nuanced when examining the Low settings preset. At 4K Low, the combo hits 80 FPS. At 1440p Low, it reaches 147 FPS, an 84% improvement. However, at 1080p Low, the frame rate climbs to 227 FPS, which is only a 54% increase over the 1440p result. This compression of gains at 1080p Low suggests that the system is starting to encounter a secondary bottleneck, likely the CPU or memory subsystem, as the GPU’s workload becomes light enough for other components to matter. The delta between the 1440p-to-1080p scaling at High settings (55% gain) versus Low settings (54% gain) is narrow, but the absolute frame rates—167 FPS versus 227 FPS—show that the GPU still has headroom at 1080p High, while at Low it is approaching the ceiling of what this platform can sustain.

Examining the Medium preset provides a middle reference point. At 4K Medium, the average FPS is 69, with a minimum of 59 and a maximum of 80. At 1440p Medium, the average rises to 128 FPS, with a minimum of 109 and a maximum of 148. At 1080p Medium, the average climbs to 198 FPS, with a minimum of 168 and a maximum of 228. The minimum-to-maximum spread at each resolution is roughly 20 FPS, indicating consistent frame pacing without severe hitches. The fact that the 1080p Medium maximum of 228 FPS nearly matches the 1080p Low average of 227 FPS suggests that the engine is hitting a hard performance ceiling around that frame rate for this hardware combination, regardless of how light the settings become.

The Ultra preset shows the most demanding scenario. At 4K Ultra, the average drops to 48 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay. At 1440p Ultra, the average is 89 FPS, comfortably playable. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 137 FPS. The jump from 4K Ultra to 1440p Ultra is 85%, while the jump from 1440p Ultra to 1080p Ultra is only 54%. This mirrors the pattern seen in other presets, reinforcing that the GPU’s dominance is most pronounced at 4K, while at 1080p the system’s other components start to constrain the output.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 is built on the Ada Lovelace architecture with a 5 nm process and features 5888 shading units, 184 texture mapping units, and 64 raster output pipelines. Its boost clock is listed at 2475 MHz, with a base clock of 1920 MHz. The card carries 12 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 504.2 GB/s of memory bandwidth. In Doom, these specifications translate into the frame rates observed above. The GPU’s 29.15 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power is clearly sufficient to drive high frame rates at 1440p and 1080p, but the 4K Ultra result of 48 FPS indicates that even this hardware is challenged by the game’s maximum settings at 4K.

The memory configuration plays a subtle but important role. With 12 GB of VRAM, the RTX 4070 does not appear to be capacity-limited in Doom, as even the 4K Ultra preset does not show a catastrophic frame rate collapse that would indicate memory swapping. The 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth is ample for the game’s texture streaming needs, as evidenced by the consistent minimum frame rates in the Medium preset across all resolutions. For instance, at 4K Medium, the minimum FPS is 59, which is identical to the average FPS at 4K High, suggesting that the GPU’s memory subsystem can handle the data throughput without stuttering.

The GPU’s overall performance percentile is 81, placing it above most GPUs in the benchmark database. Its average benchmark score of 37648 puts it in close competition with the NVIDIA Tesla P4 (deltaPct 0.1), AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (deltaPct 0.4), and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile (deltaPct -1.3). In Doom specifically, the measured FPS data shows that the RTX 4070 delivers playable frame rates at all settings except 4K Ultra, where it falls below 50 FPS. The card’s 64 ROPs and 184 TMUs are well-suited for the game’s rendering workload, which favors high fill rates and texture throughput.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate achievable with this CPU and GPU combo in Doom?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 227, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: Can this combo maintain 60 FPS at 4K resolution?

A: At 4K with Medium settings, the average FPS is 69, which exceeds 60. However, at 4K High, the average drops to 59 FPS, and at 4K Ultra it falls to 48 FPS, so only the Medium preset reliably clears the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How much faster is 1080p compared to 4K for this combo?

A: At High settings, 1080p produces 167 FPS versus 59 FPS at 4K, representing a 183% increase in frame rate.

Q: Is there a significant difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: Yes, at 1440p, Low settings yield 147 FPS while Ultra settings yield 89 FPS, a difference of 58 FPS or roughly 65% higher frame rate on Low.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for this combo in Doom?

A: The lowest minimum FPS recorded is 59, observed at 4K Medium settings. This is the only preset with a recorded minimum that dips below 100 FPS.

Q: Does the Ultra preset ever become unplayable at 1080p?

A: No, at 1080p Ultra, the average FPS is 137, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested processor and graphics card combinations for Doom, this pairing of Intel Core Ultra 5 125H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 ranks 1554 out of 2930 total combos. This places it in the upper half of all tested configurations, specifically in the 47th percentile of combinations. The rank reflects the overall FPS performance across all measured resolutions and settings, weighted toward the average frame rates.

Compared to the individual components’ standalone percentiles, the combo rank is notably lower. The CPU has a percentile of 79 against all CPUs, and the GPU has a percentile of 81 against all GPUs. The combo rank of 1554 out of 2930 suggests that while both components are strong individually, their combined performance in Doom does not boost them to the top tier of gaming configurations. This is likely due to the mobile nature of the CPU, which has a TDP of 28 W and is designed for power efficiency rather than sustained high-clock operation.

The nearest rival CPUs in the database include the AMD Ryzen 7 5800 (avgScore 27535, deltaPct -0.1), Intel Core i5-12600K (avgScore 27578, deltaPct -0.3), AMD Ryzen 7 5700X (avgScore 27578, deltaPct -0.3), and AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 5355G (avgScore 27382, deltaPct 0.5). These rivals all have similar average benchmark scores, within 0.5% of the Ultra 5 125H’s average of 27507. This indicates that the CPU is competitive with mid-range desktop processors from a few generations ago, despite being a mobile part.

On the GPU side, the nearest rivals are the NVIDIA Tesla P4 (avgScore 37628, deltaPct 0.1), AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 (avgScore 37507, deltaPct 0.4), NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile (avgScore 38135, deltaPct -1.3), and AMD Radeon PRO W6400 (avgScore 37157, deltaPct 1.3). The RTX 4070’s average score of 37648 is within 1.3% of these competitors, showing that it sits in a tightly contested performance band. In Doom, the combo’s rank reflects that this GPU is capable but not exceptional, as the frame rates at 4K Ultra fall short of the top-tier results.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive view of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 3840x2160, the combo produces an average of 59 FPS on High, 80 FPS on Low, 69 FPS on Medium, and 48 FPS on Ultra. The Medium preset has the only recorded minimum and maximum at 4K, with values of 59 and 80 respectively. This means that at 4K Medium, the frame rate fluctuates within a 21 FPS window, while the other presets have no recorded min/max data.

At 2560x1440, the average FPS figures are 108 on High, 147 on Low, 128 on Medium, and 89 on Ultra. The Medium preset again provides min/max data, with 109 minimum and 148 maximum. The spread at 1440p Medium is 39 FPS, which is wider than at 4K Medium, indicating more frame time variability at the higher frame rates. The Low preset at 1440p reaches 147 FPS, which is close to the 148 FPS maximum recorded at Medium, suggesting that the system is approaching a performance ceiling.

At 1920x1080, the average FPS figures are 167 on High, 227 on Low, 198 on Medium, and 137 on Ultra. The Medium preset has min/max values of 168 and 228. The 1080p Low average of 227 FPS is nearly identical to the 1080p Medium maximum of 228 FPS, confirming that the system hits a hard limit around 227-228 FPS regardless of settings. The Ultra preset at 1080p drops to 137 FPS, which is still higher than the 4K High average of 59 FPS, showing that resolution has a greater impact on performance than settings.

Settings Recommendations

For players targeting a 60 FPS experience, the data shows that 4K Medium is the only viable 4K option, with an average of 69 FPS and a minimum of 59 FPS. At 4K High, the average drops to 59 FPS, which is on the edge of playability but risks dipping below 60 FPS during intense scenes. The 4K Ultra preset, at 48 FPS average, is not recommended for smooth gameplay.

At 1440p, all settings presets produce playable frame rates. The High preset delivers 108 FPS, which is excellent for high-refresh-rate monitors. The Ultra preset at 89 FPS is also smooth and provides the best visual quality without sacrificing playability. The Low preset at 147 FPS is overkill for most displays but useful for competitive play where maximum frame rate is prioritized. The Medium preset at 128 FPS offers a balanced experience.

At 1080p, the Ultra preset at 137 FPS is the recommended choice for visual fidelity, as it remains well above the 60 FPS threshold. The High preset at 167 FPS offers a good balance between quality and frame rate. The Medium preset at 198 FPS and Low preset at 227 FPS are suitable for players with 240 Hz displays, though the visual quality trade-offs may not be worth it for most users. Given that the 1080p Medium maximum of 228 FPS matches the 1080p Low average, there is no benefit to using Low settings at 1080p beyond a negligible 29 FPS gain over Medium.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 125H is a Meteor Lake architecture processor with 14 cores and 18 threads, using a 7 nm process from Intel. Its base clock is 3.60 GHz with a boost clock of 4.50 GHz. The CPU has a 28 W TDP, indicating it is designed for mobile platforms with limited thermal headroom. Its cache hierarchy includes 112 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 18 MB of shared L3 cache. The memory bus is dual-channel with 89.6 GB/s of bandwidth, supporting DDR5 memory.

In Doom, the CPU’s role becomes apparent at 1080p Low settings, where the average FPS of 227 appears to be a hard ceiling. The CPU’s Cinebench R23 multi-core score is 12804.5, and its single-core score is 1647.5. These scores indicate solid multi-threaded performance for a mobile chip, but the single-core performance is modest. Doom is a game that can leverage multiple cores, but its performance is heavily dependent on single-thread throughput for game logic and draw call submission.

The CPU’s average benchmark score of 27507 places it just below the AMD Ryzen 7 5800 (27535, deltaPct -0.1) and Intel Core i5-12600K (27578, deltaPct -0.3), and just above the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 5355G (27382, deltaPct 0.5). This indicates that the Ultra 5 125H holds its own against desktop CPUs from a few years ago, despite being a mobile part. In Doom, the CPU’s 18 threads allow it to handle the game’s background tasks without bottlenecking the GPU at 4K and 1440p, but at 1080p Low, the CPU’s single-thread performance becomes the limiting factor, capping frame rates around 227 FPS.

The CPU’s PassMark multi-thread score of 21100 and single-thread score of 3399 further illustrate its capabilities. The multi-thread score is competitive with desktop mid-range CPUs, while the single-thread score is lower, which explains the frame rate ceiling in light CPU loads. For this game, the CPU is sufficient for high-refresh-rate gaming at 1080p, but the GPU remains the dominant component for overall performance.