Doom

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT combination delivers a highly playable experience in Doom across most settings, with the data showing a clear transition from a CPU-limited state at 1080p to a GPU-bound scenario at 4K. The benchmark results indicate that this pairing is exceptionally well-balanced for high-refresh-rate 1080p and 1440p gameplay, while 4K requires careful settings selection to maintain smooth performance. The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive look at how this mid-range CPU and GPU duo handles one of the most optimized first-person shooters of its generation.

Resolution Scaling

The performance trajectory from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic scaling pattern that highlights the changing bottleneck as resolution increases. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the system achieves an average of 202 FPS, which drops to 176 FPS at Medium, 148 FPS at High, and 121 FPS at Ultra. This relatively modest spread between settings at 1080p—an 81 FPS difference between Low and Ultra—suggests that the CPU is doing significant work to feed the GPU, as the frame rate remains exceptionally high even at the lowest settings.

Moving to 2560x1440, the scaling becomes more pronounced. The Low preset delivers 130 FPS average, Medium drops to 114 FPS, High achieves 96 FPS, and Ultra settles at 78 FPS. The percentage drop from 1080p to 1440p is substantial: High settings fall from 148 to 96 FPS, representing a 35% reduction, while Low settings drop from 202 to 130 FPS, a 36% decrease. This consistent scaling factor indicates that the system is beginning to shift toward GPU limitation, as the workload per pixel increases with the higher resolution.

At 3840x2160, the GPU becomes the clear limiting component. The average FPS at Low settings is 71, which drops to 62 at Medium, 52 at High, and 43 at Ultra. The scaling from 1440p to 4K shows a dramatic 45% reduction for High settings (96 to 52 FPS) and a similar 45% drop for Low settings (130 to 71 FPS). This near-linear scaling with pixel count confirms that the RX 7600 XT is the primary constraint at 4K, as doubling the pixel count roughly halves the frame rate across all settings.

The data suggests that 1080p and 1440p represent the sweet spot for this combination, where the Core Ultra 5 245's 14 cores and 5.10 GHz boost clock can keep pace with the GPU's output. The 4K results, by contrast, show a system that is firmly GPU-bound, with the CPU having ample headroom to spare. The difference between the 1080p Low (202 FPS) and 4K Low (71 FPS) results demonstrates how resolution scaling affects this pairing, with the GPU's 288.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 16 GB GDDR6 buffer becoming increasingly taxed at higher pixel densities.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT, built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with the Navi 33 chip, plays the dominant role in determining frame rates at 4K while sharing the load more evenly at lower resolutions. The GPU's boost clock of 2755 MHz and game clock of 2470 MHz provide the computational throughput needed for Doom's fast-paced rendering, supported by 2048 shading units and 64 ROPs. The 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus delivers 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which appears sufficient for the textures and geometry in this 2016 title at all tested settings.

Benchmark data places the RX 7600 XT at the 60th percentile among all GPUs, with an average 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2348. Its nearest rivals in synthetic testing include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070, which scores 17208 in PassMark G3D compared to the RX 7600 XT's 17132, a negligible 0.7% difference. This proximity in raw compute performance explains why the 4K results show reasonable playability at lower presets, as the GPU's 22.57 TFLOPS FP32 throughput can handle Doom's Vulkan and OpenGL rendering paths effectively.

The GPU's memory configuration proves particularly relevant at 4K, where the 16 GB frame buffer allows the High preset to maintain 52 FPS average without stuttering from memory capacity issues. The 128-bit bus width, while narrow by modern standards, is compensated by the high effective memory clock of 18 Gbps, yielding that 288.0 GB/s bandwidth figure. In Doom, which is not particularly bandwidth-hungry compared to newer titles, this configuration delivers consistent performance across the resolution range. The 0.3% deltaPct versus the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 in average benchmark score suggests that this GPU punches at a level comparable to older high-end parts, but its modern architecture and driver support provide better consistency in current game titles.

The GPU's DirectX 12 Ultimate support and Vulkan 1.4 API compatibility are directly relevant to Doom, which is known for its excellent Vulkan implementation. The PassMark DirectX 11 score of 167 and DirectX 12 score of 65 indicate that the card performs significantly better in older API paths, which aligns with Doom's rendering engine. The 60th percentile ranking among all GPUs places this card firmly in mid-range territory, and the 4K results reflect that positioning—playable but not high-refresh-rate material.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245, with its 14 cores and 14 threads based on the Arrow Lake architecture, demonstrates its capability to drive high frame rates in Doom without becoming a bottleneck at lower resolutions. The CPU's base clock of 3.50 GHz and boost clock of 5.10 GHz, combined with 24 MB of shared L3 cache, provide the single-thread performance that Doom's engine heavily relies upon. The Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4648 and multi-core score of 32924 place this processor in the 90th percentile among all CPUs, indicating strong overall compute capability.

The CPU's nearest rivals in average benchmark score include the AMD Ryzen 9 7900, which scores 49228 versus the Core Ultra 5 245's 48995, a mere 0.5% difference. This proximity to a higher-tier Ryzen processor in synthetic tests suggests that the Intel chip has ample headroom for gaming workloads. The PassMark single-thread score of 4394 and multi-thread score of 38706 further confirm that this CPU can handle both the lightly-threaded rendering tasks in Doom and any background processes without contention.

At 1080p, the CPU's influence is most apparent. The difference between Low (202 FPS) and Ultra (121 FPS) settings represents a 40% reduction, which is entirely attributable to the GPU's workload increasing with visual fidelity while the CPU maintains a relatively constant input rate. The fact that the system can exceed 200 FPS at 1080p Low indicates that the CPU is not limiting performance, as even the fastest GPUs would struggle to exceed that threshold if the processor were the constraint. The 5.10 GHz boost clock provides the raw frequency needed for Doom's draw call processing and physics calculations.

The CPU's memory architecture, with dual-channel DDR5 support and 102.4 GB/s memory bandwidth, ensures that data can flow to the GPU without creating a bottleneck. The 14 cores are arranged with the 3 nm process node from TSMC, featuring 17,800 million transistors on a 243 mm² die, which contributes to the processor's efficiency and thermal headroom. The 65W TDP means the CPU can sustain its boost clocks for extended gaming sessions, which is crucial for maintaining the high frame rates seen in the 1080p and 1440p results. The PassMark physics score of 2569 indicates solid physics processing capability, though Doom's engine is not particularly physics-intensive compared to other FPS titles.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance for optimizing the experience with this hardware combination. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset delivers 121 FPS average, which is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay but below the 144 Hz refresh rate that many competitive players target. The High preset at 148 FPS, however, crosses that 144 FPS threshold while offering most of the visual fidelity of Ultra. For players with 144 Hz monitors, High at 1080p represents the best balance, as the 27 FPS gain over Ultra is substantial while the visual difference between High and Ultra in Doom is often subtle.

At 2560x1440, the High preset at 96 FPS is the recommended choice for most users, as it provides smooth gameplay on standard 60 Hz and 100 Hz displays while maintaining high visual quality. The Medium preset at 114 FPS offers a better option for those with 120 Hz monitors, sacrificing some shadow and texture detail for a 19% performance increase. The Ultra preset at 78 FPS is viable for 60 Hz displays, but the jump from High to Ultra yields diminishing returns in visual quality for a 19% performance penalty. The Low preset at 130 FPS is unnecessary for this resolution, as the Medium or High settings provide a significantly better visual experience without dropping below playable frame rates.

For 3840x2160, the Medium preset at 62 FPS is the optimal choice, providing the best combination of visual fidelity and playability. The High preset at 52 FPS is borderline for smooth gameplay, as it falls below the 60 FPS threshold that most players consider minimum for comfortable play. The Low preset at 71 FPS offers a smooth experience but sacrifices too much visual quality for the resolution, making textures and shadows appear noticeably degraded. The Ultra preset at 43 FPS is not recommended, as the frame rate drops below 45 FPS, which can result in noticeable input lag and judder in fast-paced scenes. The data clearly shows that Medium at 4K is the sweet spot, with the min FPS of 52 ensuring that even demanding scenes remain above the 50 FPS threshold.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Doom at 4K with high settings?

A: The data shows an average of 52 FPS at 3840x2160 with High settings. This is technically playable but falls below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. For a more consistent 4K experience, the Medium preset at 62 FPS average with a 52 FPS minimum is recommended.

Q: What is the best settings preset for competitive play at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the High preset delivers 148 FPS average, which exceeds the 144 Hz refresh rate common on competitive monitors. The Ultra preset at 121 FPS is also viable, but High offers a 22% performance advantage with minimal visual compromise.

Q: How does the RX 7600 XT compare to the RTX 3070 in Doom?

A: The benchmark data indicates the RX 7600 XT scores 17132 in PassMark G3D, while the RTX 3070 scores 17208, a difference of only 0.7%. This suggests near-identical performance in Doom, though individual game optimization can vary.

Q: Is the Core Ultra 5 245 powerful enough for high frame rates?

A: Yes, the CPU's 90th percentile ranking and 5.10 GHz boost clock are sufficient to drive frame rates above 200 FPS at 1080p Low settings. The 14 cores provide ample headroom for gaming, evidenced by the fact that the GPU becomes the bottleneck at 4K rather than the CPU.

Q: What frame rate can I expect at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: The measured data shows an average of 114 FPS at 2560x1440 with Medium settings, with a minimum of 97 FPS and maximum of 131 FPS. This provides smooth gameplay on 100 Hz and 120 Hz displays.

Q: Does 4K Ultra settings provide a playable experience?

A: The Ultra preset at 3840x2160 delivers only 43 FPS average, which is below the 45 FPS minimum for acceptable playability in fast-paced FPS games. This setting is not recommended; Medium at 62 FPS is the better choice for 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS dataset for the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT combination in Doom is presented below, organized by resolution and settings preset.

At 1920x1080, the Low settings produce an average of 202 FPS, with no minimum or maximum data recorded. This represents the highest performance point for this system, indicating that the CPU and GPU combination has significant headroom at this resolution. The Medium settings at 1080p yield an average of 176 FPS, with a minimum of 149 FPS and maximum of 202 FPS, showing consistent frame pacing across the benchmark run. The High settings at 1080p deliver 148 FPS average, which represents a 16% reduction from Medium, reflecting the increased GPU workload from higher-quality textures and effects. The Ultra settings at 1080p produce 121 FPS average, a further 18% reduction from High, with the gap between settings tightening as the GPU becomes more utilized.

At 2560x1440, the Low settings achieve 130 FPS average, which is a 36% reduction from the 1080p Low result. The Medium settings at 1440p deliver 114 FPS average, with a minimum of 97 FPS and maximum of 131 FPS, showing a tighter range than the 1080p Medium results. The High settings at 1440p produce 96 FPS average, a 35% reduction from the 1080p High result, maintaining the same scaling factor as Low. The Ultra settings at 1440p achieve 78 FPS average, which is a 36% reduction from the 1080p Ultra result, confirming consistent resolution scaling across all presets.

At 3840x2160, the Low settings deliver 71 FPS average, which is a 45% reduction from the 1440p Low result. The Medium settings at 4K produce 62 FPS average, with a minimum of 52 FPS and maximum of 71 FPS, showing the narrowest range of all tested configurations due to the GPU being the limiting factor. The High settings at 4K achieve 52 FPS average, a 46% reduction from the 1440p High result, matching the scaling pattern seen at lower presets. The Ultra settings at 4K produce 43 FPS average, a 45% reduction from the 1440p Ultra result, completing the consistent scaling trend across all resolutions and settings.

This dataset, comprising 12 measured configurations, demonstrates that the system's performance scales predictably with resolution and settings, providing a reliable basis for optimizing the gaming experience. The combo rank of 1827 out of 2930 total combinations places this pairing in the upper-middle range for Doom, reflecting its capability to handle the game at high settings across most resolutions.