Doom

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9070 delivers a highly capable Doom experience, with the data showing a clear dominance of GPU scaling across all tested resolutions. The combination ranks in the 71st percentile of all tested combos, indicating strong performance, though the frame rate curves reveal that the graphics card is the primary bottleneck at higher settings. This analysis breaks down the measured performance, component roles, and comparative standing using only the provided benchmark data.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a predictable and significant drop as resolution increases from 1080p to 4K, but the rate of decline strongly indicates the GPU is the limiting component. At High settings, the average frame rate falls from 218 FPS at 1920x1080 to 141 FPS at 2560x1440, a 35% reduction, and then to 76 FPS at 3840x2160, a further 46% drop from 1440p. This steep, non-linear decline is the classic signature of a GPU-bound scenario, where the rendering workload scales with pixel count.

The pattern is even more pronounced at Ultra settings. The average FPS at 1080p is 178, which drops to 115 at 1440p and then plummets to 62 at 4K. The 4K Ultra result is less than half of the 1080p result, confirming that the RX 9070's computational limits are being hit hard as resolution increases. In contrast, the CPU, with its high single-thread performance, does not show signs of bottlenecking at lower resolutions; the 1080p results are high enough to suggest headroom remains.

The frame rate deltas between settings at each resolution also point to GPU dependency. At 4K, the spread from Low (104 FPS) to Ultra (62 FPS) is 42 FPS, a 40% performance penalty for maxing out settings. At 1080p, the same spread is from 296 FPS (Low) to 178 FPS (Ultra), a 118 FPS gap. While the absolute drop is larger at 1080p, the percentage drop is smaller, indicating that at lower resolutions, the CPU can feed the GPU more consistently, but the GPU's fill rate and shading power still govern the final output. The data suggests that for players targeting 4K, lowering settings from Ultra to High yields a 23% average FPS increase (62 to 76), while going to Medium provides a 45% increase (62 to 90).

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 is a 10-core, 10-thread processor with a base clock of 3.30 GHz and a boost clock of 4.90 GHz. In Doom, a game that benefits from high frequency, the boost clock is a critical asset. The benchmark results show strong single-thread capability, evidenced by a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 3655, which is crucial for maintaining high frame rates in a fast-paced FPS where draw calls and game logic are often single-thread dependent.

The CPU's architecture, Arrow Lake, built on a 3 nm process by TSMC, provides the foundation for this efficiency. With 20 MB of shared L3 cache and a dual-channel DDR5 memory bus delivering 102.4 GB/s of bandwidth, the processor can quickly serve data to the GPU. The PassMark single-thread score of 4412 places it in the 85th percentile of all CPUs, indicating it is well above average for handling the per-frame simulation work that Doom requires.

However, the data shows that the CPU is not the primary constraint in this pairing. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 296 FPS, which is a very high ceiling. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect to see frame rates plateau across different resolutions at similar levels. Instead, the FPS drops significantly with each resolution increase, proving the GPU is the limiting factor. The CPU's role is to ensure that even at 1080p, the GPU is fed with enough data to reach these high numbers, and its performance relative to rivals, such as the AMD Ryzen 5 5600F with a deltaPct of 0, confirms it is a contemporary, capable gaming processor.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9070, based on the RDNA 4.0 architecture and the Navi 48 chip, is the dominant force in this combo's gaming performance. Its 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides a substantial 644.6 GB/s of bandwidth, which is ample for the high-resolution textures and effects in Doom. The GPU's boost clock of 2520 MHz and game clock of 2070 MHz, combined with its 3584 shading units, drive the rendering pipeline.

The benchmark data clearly shows that the GPU's workload scales with resolution and settings. The PassMark G3D score of 25381 places it in the 69th percentile of all GPUs, but the more telling numbers are the measured FPS figures. At 4K Ultra, the combo averages 62 FPS, which is just above the threshold for smooth play but indicates the GPU is working near its maximum capacity. The FP32 compute power of 36.13 TFLOPS is being fully utilized at this setting.

The GPU's VRAM capacity is not a limiting factor in these tests. With 16 GB, the RX 9070 has ample memory for 4K textures, and the data does not show any abnormal frame rate drops that would suggest memory swapping. The performance difference between settings is purely a factor of the GPU's shader and ROP throughput. For instance, the pixel rate of 322.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 564.5 GTexel/s are taxed more heavily at 4K, resulting in the lower FPS. The GPU's performance relative to rivals, such as the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER with a deltaPct of -1.2, shows it is competitive with previous generation high-end cards, but the data confirms its role as the performance ceiling in this specific combination.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 5 225 and AMD Radeon RX 9070 combo ranks 840th out of 2930 tested combinations, placing it in the top 28.7% of all systems in the database for Doom. This is a strong result, indicating that this pairing is well-suited for high-refresh-rate gaming at 1440p and playable 4K performance. The rank suggests the system is significantly faster than the majority of tested setups, but there is still a large number of combos that outperform it, likely due to more powerful GPUs or CPUs.

The data shows that this combo's strength lies in its balance. The CPU's high single-thread performance ensures it does not hold back the GPU at lower resolutions, while the GPU's 16 GB VRAM and high bandwidth allow for high settings at 4K without a catastrophic performance collapse. The combo's rank is a reflection of the RX 9070's position in the GPU hierarchy. While it is not a top-tier enthusiast card, its performance is sufficient to place this combo in the upper quartile of all tested systems.

Relative to the CPU's individual performance percentile (85th) and the GPU's individual percentile (69th), the combo's rank of 840/2930 is slightly lower than the CPU's percentile but higher than the GPU's, indicating that the GPU is the limiting factor in determining the final ranking. This is consistent with the resolution scaling analysis, which showed the GPU being the primary bottleneck. For a player, this rank means the system is very capable, but it also implies that future upgrades to the GPU would yield a more significant performance boost than upgrading the CPU.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate for this combo at 2560x1440 with High settings?

A: The measured average FPS is 141 at 2560x1440 with High settings.

Q: How does the frame rate at 4K Ultra compare to 4K Low?

A: The average frame rate at 4K Ultra is 62 FPS, while at 4K Low it is 104 FPS. This represents a 42 FPS difference, meaning the Ultra setting is 40% slower than Low.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck at 1920x1080?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the bottleneck even at 1080p. While the CPU is powerful, the frame rate drops significantly when resolution increases, showing the GPU's workload is the limiting factor. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 296 FPS, but this drops to 218 FPS at High settings, demonstrating the GPU's performance scaling with graphical load.

Q: What is the combo's rank in the database for Doom?

A: The combo ranks 840th out of 2930 tested combinations, placing it in the top 28.7% of all tested systems.

Q: Does the GPU have enough VRAM for 4K gaming in Doom?

A: The GPU has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory. The measured data shows no abnormal frame rate drops at 4K, suggesting the VRAM capacity is sufficient for the game's requirements at the tested settings.

Q: What is the difference in average FPS between Medium and Ultra at 2560x1440?

A: At 2560x1440, the Medium setting averages 167 FPS, while the Ultra setting averages 115 FPS. This is a 52 FPS difference, showing a 31% performance decrease when moving from Medium to Ultra.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following table lists the exact measured average FPS for each resolution and settings combination, along with the available minimum and maximum FPS data.

| Resolution | Settings | Avg FPS | Min FPS | Max FPS |

| :--------- | :------- | :------ | :------ | :------ |

| 3840x2160 | High | 76 | N/A | N/A |

| 3840x2160 | Low | 104 | N/A | N/A |

| 3840x2160 | Medium | 90 | 77 | 104 |

| 3840x2160 | Ultra | 62 | N/A | N/A |

| 2560x1440 | High | 141 | N/A | N/A |

| 2560x1440 | Low | 192 | N/A | N/A |

| 2560x1440 | Medium | 167 | 142 | 192 |

| 2560x1440 | Ultra | 115 | N/A | N/A |

| 1920x1080 | High | 218 | N/A | N/A |

| 1920x1080 | Low | 296 | N/A | N/A |

| 1920x1080 | Medium | 258 | 219 | 296 |

| 1920x1080 | Ultra | 178 | N/A | N/A |

The data shows a consistent hierarchy across all resolutions: Low settings yield the highest frame rates, followed by Medium, High, and Ultra. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 118 FPS, highlighting the significant impact of graphical fidelity. At 4K, the same difference is 42 FPS, showing that the GPU's absolute performance limits the frame rate regardless of settings. The Medium settings provide a balanced point, with a minimum FPS that remains above 77 FPS at 4K, ensuring a stable experience.