Doom

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and AMD Radeon RX 9060 combination delivers a robust, high-refresh-rate experience in Doom, with the data showing particularly strong performance at 1080p and 1440p. The pairing ranks 1686th out of 2930 tested combos for this title, placing it in the upper-middle tier of the database. This position reflects a system that can comfortably handle the game’s demanding action sequences without compromising visual fidelity, though it does show its limits at 4K with maximum settings. The benchmark results indicate a well-balanced duo where the CPU provides ample headroom, allowing the GPU to be the primary driver of frame rates across most configurations.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 1686 out of 2930 places it in the 57th percentile of all tested pairings for Doom. This is a solid standing, indicating that the system outperforms a majority of configurations while still leaving room above for higher-end hardware. The ranking is heavily influenced by the GPU’s performance ceiling, as the CPU’s overall benchmark percentile of 90 (vs. all CPUs) is significantly higher than the GPU’s 59th percentile (vs. all GPUs). This discrepancy suggests that the RX 9060 is the limiting factor in this pairing, a conclusion reinforced by the rival comparisons.

The CPU’s nearest rivals show it is remarkably competitive in synthetic benchmarks. The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 scores a 0.4% deficit against the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G (49196 vs. 48995), a 0.5% deficit against the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 (49228 vs. 48995), and a 0.6% advantage over the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H (48698 vs. 48995). It also edges out the Intel Core i5-14600K by 0.8% (48618 vs. 48995). These minuscule deltas indicate that the CPU is not a bottleneck in this configuration, as its processing power is on par with several high-end options. The GPU, conversely, shows a 0.7% deficit against the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti (16129 vs. 16014), a 1% deficit against both the AMD Radeon R9 370X (15862) and the AMD Radeon RX 7700 (15852), and a 2.1% deficit against the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 (15679). While these gaps are small, they position the RX 9060 as a mid-range contender that will dictate the overall gaming experience.

Settings Recommendations

For the optimal balance of visual quality and frame rate, the data points to the High preset as the best default choice. At 1080p, High settings produce an average of 155 FPS, which is well above the threshold for smooth gameplay on high-refresh-rate monitors. Moving up to 1440p, High still maintains a very playable 101 FPS average, ensuring that the game remains fluid without requiring a significant drop in visual fidelity. The jump from Medium to High at 1440p costs only 18 FPS (119 to 101), making High a worthwhile trade-off for the improved graphical detail.

At 4K, the High preset becomes more demanding, yielding an average of 54 FPS. While this is still technically playable, it is close to the edge of what many consider acceptable for a fast-paced FPS. For users prioritizing frame rate over absolute visual quality at 4K, the Low preset offers a substantial boost to 74 FPS, representing a 37% improvement over High. The Ultra preset is not recommended for this resolution, as it drops to just 45 FPS, which can hinder performance in intense combat scenarios. The Medium preset at 4K (65 FPS) provides a middle ground, but the data suggests that High is the sweet spot for most users, offering a superior visual experience while remaining fluid enough for competitive play.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K clearly illustrates the GPU’s role as the primary performance limiter. At Low settings, the system produces 211 FPS at 1080p, which drops to 137 FPS at 1440p (a 35% reduction) and further to 74 FPS at 4K (a 65% reduction from 1080p). This steep decline is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario, where the rendering load increases exponentially with pixel count. The CPU’s high benchmark scores (e.g., a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32924) ensure it is not the cause of this drop, as it can easily feed frames to the GPU at lower resolutions.

The trend is consistent across all settings presets. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 155 at 1080p to 101 at 1440p (a 35% drop) and then to 54 at 4K (a 65% drop from 1080p). Similarly, at Ultra, the numbers decline from 127 to 82 and then to 45. The proportional decreases are nearly identical across presets, indicating that the scaling behavior is purely a function of resolution rather than a specific setting. This reinforces the conclusion that the RX 9060’s 8 GB VRAM and 288.0 GB/s memory bandwidth are being fully utilized as resolution increases, and the system’s performance is directly tied to the GPU’s rasterization capabilities.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system excels across all settings. The Low preset delivers an average of 211 FPS, with Medium at 184 FPS (min 156, max 212). High settings produce 155 FPS on average, while the Ultra preset still manages a very smooth 127 FPS. These figures show that the combo is more than capable of driving high-refresh-rate 1080p displays, even with maximum graphical details enabled. The minimum frame rate recorded at Medium (156 FPS) indicates that the system maintains consistent performance without significant stutters.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance remains strong but shows the expected scaling impact. Low settings average 137 FPS, Medium drops to 119 FPS (min 101, max 137), and High settles at 101 FPS. The Ultra preset produces an average of 82 FPS, which is still fluid for most players. The minimum FPS at Medium (101) aligns perfectly with the High average, suggesting that the game’s frame pacing is stable at these settings. At 3840x2160, the demands become apparent. Low settings yield 74 FPS, Medium averages 65 FPS (min 55, max 74), and High drops to 54 FPS. The Ultra preset falls to 45 FPS, which is the only configuration in the dataset that dips below the 60 FPS threshold, making it the least desirable option for this resolution.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9060, based on the RDNA 4.0 architecture, is the definitive performance driver in this pairing. Its 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus provides 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for Doom’s texture-heavy environments but becomes a constraint at 4K. The GPU’s clock speeds are notably high, with a base of 1700 MHz, a game clock of 2400 MHz, and a boost clock of 2990 MHz. This aggressive boost behavior allows the GPU to push higher frame rates when thermal and power headroom permit, as evidenced by the significant jumps between the Medium and Low presets at each resolution.

The GPU’s benchmark scores reinforce its mid-range positioning. Its PassMark G3D score of 17631 and 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3322 place it in the 59th percentile of all GPUs. The nearby rivals, such as the RTX 3060 Ti and RX 7700, show that the RX 9060 is competitive but not class-leading. The 21.43 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power and the 334.9 GTexel/s texture rate are well-suited for a game like Doom, which relies heavily on fast geometry and texture processing. However, the 64 ROPs and 1792 shading units are modest, explaining the performance drop at 4K where pixel fill rate becomes critical.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Doom at 4K with playable frame rates?

A: Yes, with some compromises. The data shows that at 4K, the Low preset averages 74 FPS and the Medium preset averages 65 FPS, both of which are playable. The High preset drops to 54 FPS, and Ultra falls to 45 FPS, which may be less ideal for fast-paced action.

Q: What is the best settings preset for a 1440p monitor?

A: The High preset is the recommended choice, delivering an average of 101 FPS. This provides a significant visual upgrade over Medium (119 FPS) while maintaining a frame rate well above 60 FPS. The Ultra preset, at 82 FPS, is also viable for those who prioritize maximum visual fidelity.

Q: How does the RX 9060 compare to its nearest rival, the RTX 3060 Ti?

A: In synthetic benchmarks, the RX 9060 scores 16014 on average, which is 0.7% lower than the RTX 3060 Ti’s 16129. This indicates they are very closely matched in raw performance, with the RX 9060 being marginally slower.

Q: Is the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 a bottleneck for the RX 9060 in Doom?

A: No. The CPU’s benchmark performance is significantly higher than the GPU’s, with a 90th percentile ranking vs. the GPU’s 59th. The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario, indicating the CPU provides ample headroom.

Q: What frame rates can be expected at 1080p with maximum settings?

A: At 1080p with the Ultra preset, the system averages 127 FPS. This is a very smooth experience that takes full advantage of high-refresh-rate monitors, ensuring fluid gameplay even in intense combat sequences.

Q: Does the GPU’s memory bandwidth limit performance?

A: The 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth and 8 GB VRAM are adequate for the game, but they do correlate with the performance drop at 4K. The significant frame rate reductions at higher resolutions suggest the GPU’s memory subsystem is a factor in the system’s scaling behavior.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245, with its 14 cores and 14 threads, provides a strong foundation for this gaming system. Its high boost clock of 5.10 GHz and base clock of 3.50 GHz, combined with a 24 MB shared L3 cache, ensure that the CPU can handle the game’s logic and physics without introducing latency. The processor’s benchmark results are impressive, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32924 and a single-core score of 4648. These figures place it in the 90th percentile of all CPUs, demonstrating that its processing power far exceeds the demands of Doom.

This surplus of CPU capability is reflected in the gaming data. The frame rate differences between resolutions follow a predictable GPU-bound pattern, meaning the CPU is not constraining performance. Even at 1080p with Low settings, where the CPU would be most likely to bottleneck a weaker processor, the system reaches 211 FPS, indicating the CPU is easily keeping up. The CPU’s nearest rivals, such as the Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G and Core i5-14600K, perform within 0.8% of it, confirming that it is a top-tier gaming processor. Its 65W TDP and efficient 3nm process node also indicate that it will maintain consistent performance without thermal throttling, ensuring stable frame rates over long gaming sessions.