Doom

Doom, the 2016 id Software shooter, remains a demanding benchmark even years after its release. The data for the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT combination reveals a system that is exceptionally capable, delivering high frame rates across all tested resolutions. The measured results show a clear hierarchy where performance scales predictably with resolution and settings, but the relationship between the CPU and GPU shifts as the workload changes. This analysis will break down the specific performance characteristics of this pairing, from 1080p to 4K, and contextualize its standing within the broader benchmark database.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a classic pattern of performance degradation as resolution increases, but the degree of that drop reveals important information about the system's balance. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo achieves an average of 209 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 at the same High settings, the average drops to 135 FPS, which is a 35% reduction in frame rate. This significant decline indicates that the GPU is beginning to work harder, but the CPU still has substantial headroom. When the resolution is pushed to 3840x2160 at High, the average falls to 73 FPS, a 46% reduction from the 1440p figure and a 65% reduction from 1080p. This steep curve is typical of a setup where the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions.

The scaling pattern is even more pronounced when comparing the lowest and highest settings at each resolution. At 1080p, the gap between Low (284 FPS) and Ultra (171 FPS) is 113 FPS, showing a 40% performance penalty for maxing out the visual quality. This gap narrows at 1440p, where Low yields 184 FPS and Ultra drops to 110 FPS, a difference of 74 FPS. At 4K, the difference between Low (99 FPS) and Ultra (60 FPS) is 39 FPS. The fact that the absolute gap shrinks as resolution increases strongly suggests that the CPU is the limiting factor at lower resolutions, while the GPU’s rendering load dominates at 4K. The minimum FPS data points, recorded only for Medium settings, support this. At 1080p Medium, the minimum is 210 FPS, which is still above the average of many other configurations at lower settings. At 1440p Medium, the minimum is 136 FPS, and at 4K Medium, it is 74 FPS. These minimums show that the system maintains consistent frame pacing without significant stutters, even under load.

The data indicates that this combination is well-suited for high-refresh-rate 1080p and 1440p gaming, as it can easily exceed 135 FPS at High settings in both resolutions. At 4K, the performance is still playable, with the average staying above 60 FPS at High and Ultra settings. The 4K Ultra result of exactly 60 FPS average is a critical threshold, suggesting that while the game is perfectly playable, there is no headroom for future patches or more demanding scenes. The scaling from 1080p to 4K at High settings shows a 65% performance drop, which is a significant but not unexpected cost for quadrupling the pixel count. This suggests that the GPU is the dominant factor in determining frame rate at 4K, while the CPU’s influence is more apparent at 1080p where frames are less reliant on pixel throughput.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the optimal settings for this hardware depend heavily on the target resolution and refresh rate. For 1920x1080, the data shows that even Ultra settings provide a very high average of 171 FPS, making it the best choice for users with high-refresh-rate monitors who want maximum visual fidelity without sacrificing smoothness. The High preset at 1080p offers 209 FPS, which is a 22% improvement over Ultra, but the visual difference between High and Ultra in Doom is often less noticeable than the frame rate gain. However, for competitive play, the Low preset at 284 FPS provides the absolute highest frame rate, which can reduce input latency, though it comes at the cost of visual detail. The Medium preset at 247 FPS offers a strong middle ground, providing a 45% increase over Ultra while still maintaining high visual quality.

At 2560x1440, the recommendation shifts. The High preset delivers 135 FPS, which is excellent for most high-refresh-rate 1440p monitors. Ultra drops to 110 FPS, which is still smooth but offers less headroom. The Low preset at 184 FPS is the choice for esports-style play, but the visual downgrade is more apparent at this resolution. The Medium preset at 160 FPS is arguably the sweet spot for 1440p, as it provides a 45% performance boost over Ultra while retaining most of the visual enhancements. The minimum FPS data for Medium at 1440p is 136 FPS, indicating that the frame rate will rarely drop below the refresh rate of a standard 144Hz monitor.

For 3840x2160, the options are more constrained. The High preset averages 73 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS target for smooth gameplay. The Ultra preset averages exactly 60 FPS, which is playable but leaves no room for error. The Low preset at 99 FPS provides a comfortable margin, but the visual sacrifices are significant at this resolution. The Medium preset at 87 FPS is the best recommendation for 4K, as it offers a 45% improvement over Ultra while maintaining a solid frame rate above 60 FPS. The minimum FPS for 4K Medium is 74 FPS, which ensures a generally smooth experience. Therefore, the data suggests that Medium settings at 4K provide the best balance of visual quality and performance, while High or Ultra are viable only if the user prioritizes image fidelity over a guaranteed frame rate buffer.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT is the primary driver of performance in this configuration, especially as resolution increases. The GPU features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 624.1 GB/s. This substantial memory allocation is a key factor in the 4K performance, as high-resolution textures and effects require significant video memory. The card's boost clock is listed at 2430 MHz, with a game clock of 2124 MHz, and it is built on the RDNA 3.0 architecture using a 5 nm process. These specifications translate into a raw compute capability of 37.32 TFLOPS FP32, which is more than sufficient for a game like Doom.

The benchmark data shows the GPU's strength in DirectX 12, with a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 4157. This is a modern benchmark that reflects the card's ability to handle contemporary rendering techniques. The Vulkan performance is also strong, with a Geekbench Vulkan score of 54228, which is relevant for Doom, as it is known to perform well with Vulkan API. The GPU's percentile ranking of 51 places it in the middle of all tested GPUs, but this is a broad metric that includes many lower-end cards. The nearest rival data shows it is within 1.8% of the AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT and 0.5% of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 in average benchmark score, which seems counterintuitive given the RX 7800 XT's higher tier, but this is based on the aggregate benchmark score which includes varied workloads.

In the context of Doom, the GPU's role is clear. At 1080p, the frame rates are so high that the GPU is not fully taxed, allowing the CPU to push frames above 200. As the resolution increases to 1440p and 4K, the GPU's pixel fill rate and memory bandwidth become the limiting factors. The 73 FPS average at 4K High demonstrates that the GPU is working hard, but the 16 GB of VRAM ensures that there are no memory-related hitches. The card's 96 ROPs and 240 TMUs are well-suited for the rasterization-heavy workload of Doom, and the high memory bandwidth prevents bottlenecks when streaming textures at 4K. The data shows that the GPU provides a strong foundation for this game, with performance that scales predictably with resolution and settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT ranks 925 out of 2930 tested combos for Doom. This places it in the 68th percentile of all tested systems, meaning it outperforms the majority of configurations in the database. This is a strong result, considering that the database includes many high-end and enthusiast-level pairings. The rank of 925 suggests that while this is not a top-tier setup for Doom, it is well above the median and provides a very good gaming experience.

The CPU's individual benchmark scores help contextualize this ranking. The Core Ultra 5 245 has an average benchmark score of 48995, which puts it in the 90th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen 9 7900, which scores 49228, and the Intel Core i5-14600K, which scores 48618. The Ultra 5 245 is within 0.5% of the Ryzen 9 7900 and 0.8% ahead of the Core i5-14600K. This indicates that the CPU is a high-performing part that is not holding the system back. The GPU, in contrast, has an average benchmark score of 11627, which is only in the 51st percentile of all GPUs. This is a lower ranking than the CPU, suggesting that the GPU is the more limiting component in this pairing.

The delta between the CPU and GPU percentile rankings is significant. The CPU is in the top 10% of all processors, while the GPU is in the middle of the pack. This imbalance explains why the combo ranks at 925 rather than higher. In a game like Doom, which can be CPU-bound at lower resolutions, the strong CPU helps achieve very high frame rates at 1080p. However, at 4K, the GPU's mid-pack standing becomes the bottleneck, preventing the combo from reaching the same high percentile as the CPU alone. The 2930 total combos in the database means that a rank of 925 is a solidly above-average result, but it also highlights that there are many faster GPU options that would push this CPU to higher frame rates and a better overall rank.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 plays a crucial role in ensuring high frame rates, particularly at lower resolutions where the CPU is more likely to be the limiting factor. This processor features 14 cores and 14 threads, with a base clock of 3.50 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz. It is built on the Arrow Lake architecture using a 3 nm process. The CPU has a 24 MB shared L3 cache and supports dual-channel DDR5 memory, which provides a memory bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s. These specifications are well-suited for a modern game like Doom, which benefits from high single-thread performance and fast memory access.

The benchmark results for the CPU show strong multi-core and single-core capabilities. In Cinebench R23, it scores 32924 in multicore and 4648 in singlecore. These scores are indicators of its ability to handle both multi-threaded game logic and physics, as well as the single-threaded rendering commands that are common in game engines. The PassMark multi-thread score of 38706 and single-thread score of 4394 further reinforce this. The CPU's 90th percentile ranking among all CPUs confirms that it is a high-end part.

In the context of Doom, the CPU's impact is most evident at 1080p. The jump from 209 FPS at High to 284 FPS at Low shows that the CPU is capable of feeding the GPU with frames well beyond what the GPU can render at lower resolutions. The fact that the frame rate at 1080p Low is 284 FPS, which is close to the maximum refresh rate of many high-end monitors, indicates that the CPU is not the primary bottleneck at this resolution. However, the scaling from 1080p to 4K shows that the CPU's influence diminishes as the GPU's load increases. The data suggests that the Ultra 5 245 provides more than enough processing power for Doom, and its high single-core boost clock of 5.10 GHz ensures that the game's main thread is never starved. The 14 cores also handle background tasks and the game's multi-threaded rendering efficiently, ensuring consistent frame pacing. This CPU is not the weak link in this system; rather, it provides a solid foundation that allows the GPU to perform to its full potential.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1440p with High settings?

A: The measured average frame rate for this combination at 2560x1440 with High settings is 135 FPS.

Q: Is the GPU or CPU the bottleneck at 4K resolution?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the limiting factor at 4K. The frame rate drops significantly from 1080p to 4K, and the GPU's mid-pack percentile ranking compared to the CPU's high ranking suggests it is the primary constraint at higher resolutions.

Q: What is the best preset for a 4K 60Hz monitor?

A: The Medium preset at 3840x2160 provides an average of 87 FPS and a minimum of 74 FPS, which is the best balance of visual quality and performance above the 60 FPS target. The Ultra preset averages exactly 60 FPS, which is playable but offers less headroom.

Q: How does this combo rank compared to other tested systems in Doom?

A: This specific combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT ranks 925 out of 2930 tested combos, placing it in the upper third of all configurations.

Q: What is the maximum average frame rate recorded for this system?

A: The highest average frame rate recorded is 284 FPS, which is achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: Does the CPU have enough cores for this game?

A: Yes, the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 has 14 cores and 14 threads, and its high single-core performance (4648 in Cinebench R23) ensures the game's main thread is well-served, making it more than sufficient for Doom.