Doom

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and AMD Radeon RX 6600 combination delivers a highly playable experience in Doom, with the data showing a clear shift from CPU-bound performance at 1080p to GPU-bound performance at 4K. The average frame rates across all tested settings and resolutions confirm that this pairing is well-balanced for a fast-paced FPS, though the scaling pattern reveals where the bottleneck lies. The combo ranks 2255th out of 2930 tested combinations, placing it in the lower-middle tier of the database, yet the actual measured performance in this title remains smooth at most settings.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate progression from 1920x1080 to 3840x2160 shows a predictable and steep decline, indicating that the Radeon RX 6600 becomes the limiting factor as pixel count rises. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo produces 176 FPS average, which drops to 114 FPS at 1440p and then to 62 FPS at 4K. This represents a 35% reduction from 1080p to 1440p and a further 46% reduction from 1440p to 4K, demonstrating that the GPU’s rendering throughput is the primary constraint at higher resolutions.

The scaling pattern at Ultra settings is even more telling. The average frame rate falls from 106 FPS at 1080p to 68 FPS at 1440p, a 36% drop, and then to 37 FPS at 4K, another 46% decline. The consistency of these percentage drops across different quality presets suggests that resolution scaling is independent of the graphics settings applied. The RX 6600’s 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 224.0 GB/s bandwidth are sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K the 128-bit memory bus and 8 GB capacity likely contribute to the severe performance penalty.

Notably, the gap between Low and Ultra settings widens as resolution increases. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 70 FPS (176 vs 106), while at 4K the difference shrinks to 25 FPS (62 vs 37). This compression indicates that at 4K, the GPU is so heavily loaded that even reducing graphical quality cannot fully compensate for the pixel throughput demands. The data suggests that 1440p is the sweet spot for this combo, where the CPU still has enough headroom to push frame rates above 100 FPS on medium settings, while the GPU remains within its comfortable operating range.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU-GPU combo in Doom?

A: Based on the measured frame rates, 2560x1440 provides the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, with 99 FPS average on Medium settings and 84 FPS on High. At 1920x1080, the combo delivers 153 FPS on Medium and 129 FPS on High, which exceeds the refresh rate of most standard monitors. However, 4K performance drops below 60 FPS on all settings except Low, where it hits 62 FPS, making it marginal for competitive play.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to Medium in terms of frame rate cost?

A: The Ultra preset costs approximately 31% of the Medium frame rate at 1080p, dropping from 153 FPS to 106 FPS. At 1440p, the cost is similar, with Ultra at 68 FPS versus Medium at 99 FPS, a 31% reduction. At 4K, the penalty shrinks to 31% again, with Ultra at 37 FPS and Medium at 54 FPS, showing that the relative cost of Ultra remains consistent across resolutions.

Q: Is this combo capable of 60 FPS at 4K?

A: Only at the Low preset, where the average frame rate is 62 FPS. The Medium preset produces 54 FPS, High produces 45 FPS, and Ultra drops to 37 FPS. The data indicates that 4K gaming with this pair requires significant graphical compromises, and even then, the frame rate is barely above the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 compare to its nearest CPU rivals?

A: The Ultra 5 225 has an average benchmark score of 36938, which places it within 0.5% of the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F (36945), the AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D (37018), the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 450 (37093), and the Intel Core i9-12900T (37112). The delta percentages range from 0 to -0.5%, indicating that these processors perform nearly identically in synthetic benchmarks.

Q: What is the GPU’s percentile ranking among all tested graphics cards?

A: The Radeon RX 6600 sits at the 63rd percentile of all GPUs, meaning it outperforms roughly two-thirds of the database. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Quadro K6000 (19030), the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Mobile (19049), and the NVIDIA Tesla K20m (19089), all within 0.3% of its average score of 19036.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU at any resolution?

A: The data does not show a CPU bottleneck at any tested resolution. At 1080p Low, the frame rate reaches 176 FPS, which is a high enough result to suggest the GPU is still the primary limiter, given that the RX 6600’s compute capability is rated at 8.928 TFLOPS. The consistent frame rate drops across resolutions further indicate that the GPU is saturated before the CPU’s 10 cores and 10 threads become a constraint.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 plays the dominant role in determining Doom’s performance across all measured settings. The GPU’s architecture, RDNA 2.0, features 1792 shading units, 112 texture mapping units, and 64 ROPs, which collectively deliver a pixel rate of 159.4 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 279.0 GTexel/s. These specifications are directly reflected in the frame rate scaling observed: the GPU’s 8.928 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is the ceiling for how many pixels can be processed per second, and the measured results align with that theoretical limit.

The memory subsystem of the RX 6600 is a critical factor at higher resolutions. With 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, the bandwidth is 224.0 GB/s. At 1080p, this bandwidth is sufficient to feed the shader units, as evidenced by the 176 FPS average on Low settings. However, at 4K, the demand for texture data and frame buffer memory increases substantially, and the 128-bit bus becomes a limiting factor. The frame rate at 4K Ultra (37 FPS) is less than half of the 1080p Ultra result (106 FPS), which cannot be explained by pixel count alone – the memory bandwidth constraint amplifies the performance drop.

The clock speeds of the RX 6600 are also relevant. The base clock is 1626 MHz, the game clock is 2044 MHz, and the boost clock reaches 2491 MHz. The boost behavior is consistent with the frame rate measurements, as the GPU can sustain higher clocks at lower resolutions where thermal and power limits are not as stressed. At 4K, the GPU operates at higher utilization for longer periods, which may cause clocks to settle closer to the game clock, further reducing performance relative to 1080p.

The GPU’s 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1492 and Passmark G3D score of 15096 provide context for its overall gaming capability. These synthetic benchmarks, combined with the measured Doom results, indicate that the RX 6600 is well-suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming but struggles at 4K. The GPU’s percentile ranking of 63 places it above the median, but its nearest rivals include both workstation cards and mobile parts, suggesting it occupies a mid-range position in the overall GPU landscape.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and the AMD Radeon RX 6600 ranks 2255th out of 2930 tested combos in Doom, placing it in the 23rd percentile of all combinations. This ranking is notably lower than what the individual component percentiles might suggest – the CPU sits at the 85th percentile of all processors, while the GPU sits at the 63rd percentile of all graphics cards. The discrepancy indicates that the GPU is the limiting factor for this pairing in this specific game.

The rank of 2255 implies that roughly 675 other combinations perform worse, while 2254 perform better. Given that the GPU is a mid-range part from 2021 and the CPU is a newer 2025 release, the ranking reflects the GPU’s age and capability ceiling. The CPU’s high percentile ranking (85th) does not translate into a proportionally high combo rank because Doom’s performance is overwhelmingly GPU-bound at the tested settings.

However, the measured frame rates tell a more nuanced story than the raw rank. At 1080p Medium, the combo produces 153 FPS, which is smoother than what many higher-ranked combinations might deliver if they are paired with weaker GPUs. The rank primarily serves as a comparative metric against all other CPU-GPU pairs in the database, and it shows that while this combo is not at the top, it is far from the bottom. The data indicates that for this game, the CPU provides ample headroom, and the GPU determines the overall experience.

The ranking also reflects the balance of the combo. The CPU’s Cinebench R23 multicore score of 25891 and single-core score of 3655 are strong, indicating that it can handle the game’s physics and AI calculations without bottlenecking the GPU. The Passmark multithread score of 30459 further supports this, showing that the CPU has substantial processing capability. The combo rank of 2255 is therefore a direct consequence of the GPU’s limits, not a sign of CPU inadequacy.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience with this combo in Doom, the Medium preset at 2560x1440 is the recommended choice. The measured average frame rate of 99 FPS with a minimum of 84 FPS and maximum of 114 FPS provides a smooth and responsive experience that is well above the 60 FPS threshold for most displays. The minimum frame rate of 84 FPS indicates that there are no severe drops, making this setting suitable for both single-player and multiplayer scenarios.

At 1920x1080, the Medium preset delivers 153 FPS average with a minimum of 130 FPS, which is excellent for high-refresh-rate monitors. For players with 144Hz displays, the High preset at 1080p (129 FPS average) is also viable, though the Medium preset offers a more comfortable margin above the refresh rate. The Low preset at 1080p (176 FPS) is unnecessary for most users, as the visual quality reduction is significant and the frame rate exceeds what most monitors can display.

For 4K displays, the Low preset is the only option that maintains an average frame rate above 60 FPS, at 62 FPS. However, this requires a substantial graphical compromise. The Medium preset at 4K produces 54 FPS, which is playable but may not be ideal for fast-paced action. Players with 4K monitors should consider running at 1440p with Medium settings for a better balance of quality and performance.

The Ultra preset is not recommended at any resolution. At 1080p it produces 106 FPS, which is playable but represents a 31% frame rate penalty over Medium with only marginal visual improvements in most cases. At 1440p, Ultra drops to 68 FPS, which may be acceptable for some players, but the Medium preset’s 99 FPS provides a significantly smoother experience. The data clearly shows that Medium is the sweet spot for this combo.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates across all settings. The Low preset averages 176 FPS, making it the fastest configuration tested. The Medium preset averages 153 FPS, with a minimum of 130 FPS and maximum of 176 FPS. The High preset averages 129 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 106 FPS. These results show a linear progression of frame rate costs as settings increase, with each step from Low to Ultra costing roughly 20-25 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the performance drops are consistent and significant. The Low preset averages 114 FPS, which is 62 FPS lower than the 1080p Low result. The Medium preset averages 99 FPS, with a minimum of 84 FPS and maximum of 114 FPS. The High preset averages 84 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 68 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1440p is 46 FPS, which is proportionally similar to the 70 FPS gap at 1080p.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates fall below 60 FPS for most settings. The Low preset averages 62 FPS, which is the only 4K result above the 60 FPS threshold. The Medium preset averages 54 FPS, with a minimum of 46 FPS and maximum of 62 FPS. The High preset averages 45 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 37 FPS. The minimum frame rate of 46 FPS on Medium indicates that there are noticeable dips, which could affect gameplay smoothness.

The data shows a consistent pattern across all settings: the frame rate roughly halves from 1080p to 4K, with the exact ratio depending on the preset. For Low settings, the 4K result is 35% of the 1080p result (62 vs 176 FPS). For Medium, it is 35% (54 vs 153 FPS). For High, it is 35% (45 vs 129 FPS). For Ultra, it is 35% (37 vs 106 FPS). This consistency confirms that the GPU’s pixel throughput is the single limiting factor, and the CPU’s performance does not influence the scaling behavior across resolutions.