Doom

Doom’s id Tech engine scales exceptionally well on this hardware, but the data reveals a clear shift in bottleneck behavior as resolution increases. At 1080p, the Intel Core Ultra 5 235 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 combination produces staggering frame rates, with the Low preset hitting 401 FPS average. This indicates the CPU is the primary limiting factor at this resolution, as the GPU is capable of far higher output. Moving to 1440p, the average FPS drops by roughly 35% from the 1080p Low figure, settling at 260 FPS on Low, which still far exceeds the refresh rate of most displays. At 4K, the GPU becomes the dominant constraint, with the Low preset average falling to 141 FPS, a 65% reduction from the 1080p Low result. This pattern is classic for a high-end GPU paired with a strong mid-range CPU: the engine’s rendering load grows faster than the CPU’s draw-call overhead, so the RTX 4080’s pixel-pushing capability is increasingly taxed at higher resolutions. The data shows that the Ultra preset at 4K still produces a highly playable 85 FPS average, which suggests the GPU is well-suited for 4K gaming in this title, but the gap between Low (141 FPS) and Ultra (85 FPS) at 4K is a substantial 39.7% performance penalty for maximum visual fidelity.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a predictable and steep scaling curve, but the shape of that curve is diagnostic of where the system’s limits lie. At 1920x1080, the RTX 4080 is rarely the bottleneck; the average FPS ranges from 241 FPS on Ultra to 401 FPS on Low. This spread of 160 FPS between the lowest and highest settings at 1080p indicates that the game’s settings have a massive impact on GPU load, but even the heaviest preset leaves headroom for the CPU. Specifically, the difference between 1080p Low (401 FPS) and 1440p Low (260 FPS) is a 35.2% reduction, which aligns with the pixel count increase of 78% (from 2.07M to 3.69M pixels), though not proportionally, implying some CPU limitation remains at 1440p. The jump from 1440p Low (260 FPS) to 4K Low (141 FPS) is a 45.8% drop, which is closer to the pixel count increase from 1440p to 4K (2.25x), confirming that the GPU is now the limiting factor. For the High preset, the scaling is similarly steep: 295 FPS at 1080p, 191 FPS at 1440p, and 104 FPS at 4K. The 1080p-to-1440p reduction is 35.3%, and the 1440p-to-4K reduction is 45.5%, showing a consistent pattern where the GPU’s workload dominates at higher resolutions. The Ultra preset tells a similar story, with 241 FPS at 1080p, 156 FPS at 1440p, and 85 FPS at 4K, representing a 35.3% drop and a 45.5% drop respectively. This uniform scaling across presets strongly suggests that the CPU’s performance ceiling is reached around 250-300 FPS in this engine, and anything above that is GPU-limited. At 4K, the system is firmly GPU-bound, as evidenced by the fact that the Ultra preset (85 FPS) is only 39.7% slower than the Low preset (141 FPS), which is a smaller relative gap than at 1080p, where Ultra (241 FPS) is 39.9% slower than Low (401 FPS). The data indicates that users targeting 4K should expect the RTX 4080 to be the sole determinant of performance, while those at 1080p will see diminishing returns from GPU overclocking.

Settings Recommendations

Given the measured rows, the optimal settings depend heavily on the target resolution and refresh rate. At 4K, the High preset (104 FPS) is the sweet spot for a 100Hz-class display, offering a 22.3% performance uplift over Ultra (85 FPS) while presumably retaining most visual quality. The Medium preset at 4K (123 FPS) is also viable for 120Hz displays, but the jump from Medium to High is only 18.3% faster, while the jump from High to Ultra is 18.3% slower, suggesting that High is the most balanced choice. At 1440p, the data shows that the High preset (191 FPS) is well above 144Hz refresh rates, making it the recommended choice for competitive play, while Ultra (156 FPS) still clears 144Hz, so enthusiasts can opt for maximum quality without sacrificing smoothness. For 1080p, the Low preset (401 FPS) is only relevant for esports-style play on 360Hz panels, but the Medium preset (350 FPS) and High preset (295 FPS) are more practical, with the latter still comfortably exceeding 240Hz. The Ultra preset at 1080p (241 FPS) remains above 240Hz, so it is the recommended setting for high-refresh monitors where visual fidelity is not a concern. The measured minimum FPS values, only provided for Medium settings, show a tight band: 297 FPS at 1080p, 192 FPS at 1440p, and 104 FPS at 4K, which are all within 15% of the average, indicating stable frame pacing. Benchmark results indicate that the Medium preset offers the best balance of visual quality and performance headroom across all resolutions, as it is only 12.7% slower than Low at 1080p (350 vs 401 FPS), 13.1% slower at 1440p (226 vs 260 FPS), and 12.8% slower at 4K (123 vs 141 FPS), while providing a substantial upgrade over Low in terms of rendering features.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 is a 14-core, 14-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, built on a 3 nm process by TSMC. Its base clock of 3.40 GHz and boost clock of 5.00 GHz, combined with a 24 MB shared L3 cache, position it as a strong mid-range desktop part. In Doom, which is known for its efficient Vulkan-based rendering, the CPU’s role is primarily to feed the GPU with draw calls and physics updates. The data shows that this CPU is capable of driving the RTX 4080 to over 400 FPS at 1080p Low, which reflects its single-thread performance. The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2085 and multi-core score of 14769 indicate that the CPU has strong per-core performance, which is critical for game engines that rely on a few heavily-threaded tasks. The PassMark single-thread score of 4516 and multithread score of 37816 further corroborate this, with the single-thread score placing it in the 89th percentile of all CPUs. However, the data also shows that the CPU becomes the bottleneck at 1080p, as evidenced by the fact that the FPS difference between Low (401) and Ultra (241) is 40%, which is a larger spread than at 4K, where the same comparison yields a 39.7% difference. This indicates that at 1080p, the CPU is not able to fully utilize the GPU’s potential, but at 4K, the GPU is the clear limiter. The CPU’s 14 threads (one per core) are sufficient for Doom’s multi-threaded rendering, but the lack of hyper-threading means that heavy background tasks could impact frame pacing. The benchmark scores show that the Ultra 5 235 sits between the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 (0.1% faster) and the Intel Core i9-13900HX (0.1% slower) in average benchmark score, indicating that it is a competitive performer for its class, though Doom’s specific engine may favor certain architectures.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 5 235 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 combination holds a combo rank of 215 out of 3712 tested combos in Doom, placing it in the top 5.8% of all configurations. This is a strong showing, but not the absolute top, which suggests that there are faster CPUs or GPUs that can push higher frame rates in this specific title. The data indicates that the combo is likely limited by the CPU at lower resolutions, as the RTX 4080 is a top-tier GPU (86th percentile of all GPUs), while the Ultra 5 235 is a mid-range CPU (89th percentile of all CPUs). At 1080p, the combo’s 401 FPS average on Low is exceptional, but it is plausible that a higher-end CPU like the Core i9-13900HX (which has a 0.1% higher average benchmark score) could push closer to 450 FPS, based on the CPU’s role as the limiter. Conversely, at 4K, the combo’s 104 FPS on High is competitive with other RTX 4080 systems, as the GPU’s performance is the dominant factor. The rank of 215 out of 3712 indicates that this combo is in the upper echelon, but the data suggests that pairing the RTX 4080 with a faster CPU would yield better results at 1080p, while pairing it with a slower CPU would only marginally impact 4K performance. The GPU’s nearest rivals show that the RTX 4080 SUPER is 0.1% faster in average benchmark score, which would likely translate to a few extra FPS in Doom, but the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB is 2.6% slower, indicating that the RTX 4080 is a solid choice for this game.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 is a high-end GPU based on the Ada Lovelace architecture, featuring 9728 shading units, 76 ray tracing cores, and 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus. Its boost clock of 2505 MHz and memory bandwidth of 716.8 GB/s make it a formidable performer for 4K gaming. In Doom, the GPU’s role is to handle the rendering of textures, lighting, and post-processing effects, and the data shows that it is the limiting factor at 4K. The measured FPS at 4K ranges from 141 FPS on Low to 85 FPS on Ultra, which is a 39.7% penalty for max settings. This is a smaller relative penalty than at 1080p (40% between Low and Ultra), which confirms that the GPU is more heavily utilized at higher resolutions. The GPU’s PassMark G3D score of 34457 and Geekbench Vulkan score of 263779 indicate strong raw performance, placing it in the 86th percentile of all GPUs. The RTX 4080’s predecessor, the GeForce 30 series, and successor, the GeForce 50 series, suggest that this is a mature architecture with well-optimized drivers. The GPU’s 16 GB of VRAM is ample for Doom at 4K Ultra, as the game’s textures are not particularly demanding by modern standards. The data shows that the GPU is capable of delivering 104 FPS at 4K High, which is a playable frame rate for most users, but those seeking 120+ FPS at 4K would need to lower settings to Medium (123 FPS) or Low (141 FPS). The GPU’s TDP of 320 W and triple-slot cooler indicate that it is a power-hungry part, but this is expected for a high-end card. The measured FPS at 1440p (260 FPS on Low) shows that the GPU has significant headroom for high-refresh 1440p gaming, making it an ideal choice for that resolution.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured data provides a comprehensive view of performance across three resolutions and four settings. At 1920x1080, the average FPS is 401 on Low, 350 on Medium, 295 on High, and 241 on Ultra. The Medium preset shows a minimum FPS of 297 and a maximum of 402, indicating a tight frame distribution. At 2560x1440, the averages are 260 on Low, 226 on Medium, 191 on High, and 156 on Ultra. The Medium preset at 1440p has a minimum of 192 and a maximum of 260. At 3840x2160, the averages are 141 on Low, 123 on Medium, 104 on High, and 85 on Ultra. The Medium preset at 4K has a minimum of 104 and a maximum of 141. The data reveals that the scaling between settings is consistent across resolutions: the difference between Low and Medium is approximately 12.7-13.1%, between Medium and High is 15.2-18.3%, and between High and Ultra is 18.3-22.3%. This indicates that each preset tier adds a similar relative GPU load, which is typical for a well-tuned engine. The minimum FPS values for Medium settings show that the game maintains stable frame rates, with the 4K minimum (104 FPS) matching the average FPS of the High preset at that resolution, suggesting that even the lowest frames are playable. The data also shows that the 1080p Low average of 401 FPS is the highest recorded, while the 4K Ultra average of 85 FPS is the lowest, representing a 78.8% reduction in performance from the best to worst case. This breakdown confirms that the combo is capable of delivering a wide range of experiences, from high-refresh esports at 1080p to immersive 4K gaming at console-beating frame rates. The specific numbers demonstrate that the RTX 4080 is a versatile card for Doom, and the Core Ultra 5 235 provides enough CPU headroom to avoid holding it back except at the lowest resolutions and settings.