Doom

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti delivers a remarkably smooth experience in Doom, with performance that scales predictably across resolutions and settings. The data indicates that this combination is heavily GPU-limited at higher resolutions, while the CPU’s strong single-threaded performance ensures high frame rates at 1080p. The benchmark results show this combo ranks in the 716th position out of 2930 tested combinations, placing it in the top quarter of all tested systems, which is a strong outcome for this pairing.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data reveals a clear hierarchy across the four available presets. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset delivers an average of 188 FPS, which is a substantial 58% increase over the High preset’s 230 FPS, but it comes at a cost of visual fidelity. The Medium preset at 272 FPS offers a 44% improvement over High, while the Low preset at 312 FPS represents the absolute ceiling of performance. However, the most compelling choice for most users is the High preset at 230 FPS, which provides a balanced experience that still exceeds the refresh rate of most high-end monitors.

At 2560x1440, the pattern shifts slightly. The High preset achieves 149 FPS, which is still well above the 144Hz refresh rate that many gamers target. The Medium preset at 176 FPS provides a 18% boost over High, while Ultra drops to 122 FPS, which is the first preset in this resolution to fall below the 144 FPS threshold. The Low preset at 202 FPS demonstrates that even at this resolution, the hardware has significant headroom. For 1440p gaming, the High preset is the recommended starting point, as it maintains a comfortable margin above 144 FPS while preserving visual quality.

At 3840x2160, the situation changes dramatically. The High preset produces 81 FPS, which is playable but falls short of high-refresh-rate targets. The Medium preset at 95 FPS is the best balance, offering a 17% improvement over High while maintaining visual quality. The Ultra preset at 66 FPS is the only preset that dips below the 60 FPS threshold, making it unsuitable for competitive play. The Low preset at 109 FPS shows that even at 4K, this combination can achieve high frame rates when visual settings are reduced. The data suggests that Medium is the optimal preset for 4K, as it provides the best balance between frame rate and image quality without sacrificing the smoothness that the hardware can deliver.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 is a 14-core, 14-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, built on a 3 nm TSMC process. Its base clock of 3.50 GHz and boost clock of 5.10 GHz are crucial for gaming performance, particularly in a game like Doom that is known for its efficient multi-threading. The processor’s single-threaded performance, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 4648, is a key factor in maintaining high frame rates at lower resolutions where the GPU is less of a bottleneck.

The processor’s multi-threaded capabilities are also relevant, though less critical for this game. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 32924 and PassMark multithread score of 38706 indicate that the CPU can handle background tasks and streaming without impacting game performance. The L3 cache of 24 MB shared across the cores helps with data locality, which is beneficial for game physics and AI calculations. The processor’s memory bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s over a dual-channel DDR5 interface ensures that the CPU can feed data to the GPU without creating a bottleneck.

In Doom specifically, the CPU’s role becomes more apparent at 1080p. The jump from 188 FPS at Ultra to 312 FPS at Low settings suggests that at lower settings, the GPU is able to render frames faster, but the CPU must keep up with game logic and draw calls. The single-threaded performance here is adequate to push frame rates well beyond 300 FPS, which reflects the processor’s efficiency. The processor’s 90th percentile ranking among all CPUs further validates its position as a strong gaming processor, though it sits close to rivals like the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G and AMD Ryzen 9 7900 in average benchmark scores.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution to play Doom with this CPU and GPU combination?

A: The data shows that 2560x1440 at High settings is the sweet spot, delivering 149 FPS average, which comfortably exceeds the 144Hz refresh rate. At 1920x1080, the High preset achieves 230 FPS, while at 3840x2160, the Medium preset at 95 FPS is the highest playable option above 60 FPS.

Q: How does the Ultra preset compare to High at each resolution?

A: At 1080p, Ultra drops frame rates from 230 FPS to 188 FPS, a 18% reduction. At 1440p, the drop is from 149 FPS to 122 FPS, a 18% reduction. At 4K, the drop is from 81 FPS to 66 FPS, a 19% reduction. The Ultra preset consistently costs roughly 18-19% of frame rate compared to High.

Q: Is this combination capable of 4K gaming?

A: Yes, but with caveats. At 4K with Medium settings, the average frame rate is 95 FPS, which is playable. The High preset at 81 FPS is also acceptable for slower-paced gameplay. However, the Ultra preset at 66 FPS approaches the minimum threshold for smooth play, and the Low preset at 109 FPS is the only way to get close to 120 FPS at this resolution.

Q: How does the CPU's performance compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 5 245 has an average benchmark score of 48995, which is nearly identical to the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5755G at 49196 (0.4% higher) and the AMD Ryzen 9 7900 at 49228 (0.5% higher). It is slightly ahead of the Intel Xeon Gold 5318H by 0.6% and the Intel Core i5-14600K by 0.8%, indicating that the processor is competitively positioned within its segment.

Q: What is the frame time consistency like at Medium settings?

A: The data includes min and max FPS values for Medium settings. At 1080p, the min FPS is 231 and max is 313, which shows a tight frame time distribution. At 1440p, the min is 150 and max is 202. At 4K, the min is 81 and max is 110. These ranges indicate consistent performance without significant stuttering.

Q: How does the GPU compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 3080 Ti has an average benchmark score of 41187, which is 0.8% higher than the AMD Radeon Pro 5300 at 40870 and 2% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 at 40377. It trails the NVIDIA Tesla M40 24 GB by 1.2% and the Tesla M40 by 1.7%, though these are not gaming-focused cards.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 5 245 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti ranks 716th out of 2930 tested combos for Doom. This places the system in the 75th percentile of all tested configurations, meaning it outperforms roughly three-quarters of all systems tested. This ranking is strong given the hardware’s specifications, and it reflects the synergy between the CPU’s strong single-threaded performance and the GPU’s high compute throughput.

This ranking is particularly notable because the RTX 3080 Ti, while a high-end GPU, is not the latest generation. The GPU’s 83rd percentile ranking among all GPUs indicates that it is still a capable performer, and when paired with a CPU that ranks in the 90th percentile, the combination produces results that exceed what either component could achieve alone. The data suggests that this combo is well-balanced for Doom, with neither component acting as a significant bottleneck at most settings. The ranking also implies that there are 2214 combos that perform worse, which puts this pairing in a favorable position for anyone looking to play Doom at high frame rates without needing the latest hardware.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals important insights about which component is the limiting factor. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 230 at 1080p to 149 at 1440p, a 35% reduction, and then to 81 at 4K, a further 46% reduction from 1440p. This steep decline indicates that the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions, as the rendering workload increases dramatically with pixel count.

At Low settings, the pattern is similar but more exaggerated. The frame rate drops from 312 FPS at 1080p to 202 FPS at 1440p (35% reduction) and then to 109 FPS at 4K (46% reduction from 1440p). The fact that the percentage drops are nearly identical across settings suggests that the GPU is consistently the limiting factor, even at lower visual quality settings where the GPU has less work to do per pixel.

However, the CPU’s influence is visible at 1080p. The difference between Low (312 FPS) and Ultra (188 FPS) at 1080p is 66%, which is larger than the difference at 4K where Low (109 FPS) versus Ultra (66 FPS) is 65%. This suggests that at 1080p, the CPU is better able to feed the GPU, allowing it to reach higher frame rates, but the GPU still dominates the performance curve. The data strongly indicates that for this game, the RTX 3080 Ti is the limiting component across all resolutions, with the CPU providing ample headroom to avoid bottlenecking at any tested setting.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average frame rates are as follows: Low settings produce 312 FPS, Medium produces 272 FPS, High produces 230 FPS, and Ultra produces 188 FPS. The Medium setting shows a minimum of 231 FPS and a maximum of 313 FPS, indicating very stable frame delivery. The gap between Low and Ultra is 124 FPS, which represents a 66% difference, showing that visual quality has a significant impact on performance at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the average frame rates are: Low at 202 FPS, Medium at 176 FPS, High at 149 FPS, and Ultra at 122 FPS. The Medium setting has a minimum of 150 FPS and a maximum of 202 FPS, which again shows good consistency. The difference between Low and Ultra is 80 FPS, a 66% difference that mirrors the scaling seen at 1080p. All presets at 1440p remain above 120 FPS, which is sufficient for high-refresh-rate gaming.

At 3840x2160, the average frame rates drop significantly: Low at 109 FPS, Medium at 95 FPS, High at 81 FPS, and Ultra at 66 FPS. The Medium setting has a minimum of 81 FPS and a maximum of 110 FPS, showing that even at 4K, frame times are stable. The difference between Low and Ultra is 43 FPS, a 65% difference that is consistent with the other resolutions. Only the Low preset exceeds 100 FPS, while the Ultra preset barely stays above 60 FPS. This resolution is best suited for Medium settings, which provide a playable 95 FPS average with acceptable visual quality.