Doom

Doom, the 2016 reboot, remains a demanding benchmark even years after its release, and the combination of the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H and AMD Radeon RX 7800M proves to be a potent pairing for it. The data shows a system that delivers high refresh rate gameplay at 1080p and remains very playable at 1440p, with 4K being the only resolution where compromises are necessary. This mobile setup, with its 16-core processor and 12 GB RDNA 3 graphics card, demonstrates a clear performance hierarchy that scales predictably with resolution and settings.

Resolution Scaling

The performance drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial, with the average FPS falling by roughly 74% across the settings presets. At 1080p with Low settings, the system hits an average of 195 FPS. Moving to 1440p, that same Low preset drops to 126 FPS, and at 4K, it falls further to 68 FPS. This steep decline indicates that the AMD Radeon RX 7800M is the primary limiting factor at higher resolutions, as the pixel count outpaces the GPU's raw fill rate. The gap between 1080p and 1440p is a 69 FPS difference, while the jump from 1440p to 4K is a 58 FPS difference, showing the scaling is not linear and the GPU is being taxed more heavily as resolution increases.

The pattern holds true across all settings, but the relative performance gap changes. At the High preset, the system produces 144 FPS at 1080p, 93 FPS at 1440p, and 50 FPS at 4K. This shows a 51 FPS drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a 43 FPS drop from 1440p to 4K. The Ultra preset tells a similar story, starting at 117 FPS at 1080p, dropping to 76 FPS at 1440p, and then falling to 41 FPS at 4K. The fact that the FPS doesn't halve when pixel count does suggests the CPU is providing a solid foundation, but the GPU is clearly the bottleneck at 4K, where even the Low preset cannot maintain a 60 FPS average.

The data indicates that this system is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gameplay. At 1080p, the CPU and GPU are well-balanced, allowing for very high frame rates. At 1440p, the system still delivers a smooth experience, with the High preset averaging 93 FPS. The 4K results, while playable at Low and Medium settings, show that the GPU is being pushed to its limits. The 50 FPS average at 4K High and the 41 FPS at 4K Ultra are not ideal for competitive play but are usable for slower-paced experiences. The scaling suggests that for a locked 60 FPS at 4K, users would need to rely on the Medium preset, which hits 60 FPS on average.

FAQ

Q: Can this laptop configuration handle Doom at 4K resolution?

A: Yes, but with compromises. The data shows that at 4K, the system achieves an average of 68 FPS on Low settings and 60 FPS on Medium settings. The High preset drops to 50 FPS, and Ultra falls to 41 FPS. For a consistent 60 FPS experience, the Medium preset is the highest setting that achieves this target.

Q: What is the best resolution for high-refresh-rate monitors?

A: At 1080p, the system delivers an average of 144 FPS on High settings and 170 FPS on Medium. Even the demanding Ultra preset hits 117 FPS. This makes 1080p the ideal choice for 120Hz or 144Hz displays, as the frame rates are high enough to take full advantage of such panels.

Q: How does the CPU affect performance in Doom?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, with its 16 cores and 22 threads, appears to be more than sufficient for this game. The FPS scaling from 1080p to 1440p is significant, which indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. The CPU's high multi-core scores, such as 15028 in Cinebench R23, suggest it provides a stable platform without holding back the GPU.

Q: Which graphics settings provide the largest FPS boost?

A: The most significant jump comes from switching from High to Low. At 1080p, this change increases the average FPS from 144 to 195. At 1440p, it goes from 93 to 126 FPS, and at 4K, from 50 to 68 FPS. The difference between Low and Medium is smaller, but still noticeable, with a 25 FPS increase at 1080p and a 8 FPS increase at 4K.

Q: Is the 12 GB of VRAM on the RX 7800M sufficient for Doom?

A: The benchmark data does not show any VRAM-related performance issues, such as severe frame drops or stuttering. The GPU's 12 GB of GDDR6 memory is likely not a bottleneck at the resolutions and settings tested, as even the 4K Ultra preset, which is the most demanding, produced an average of 41 FPS without reported minimum frame rate issues.

Q: How does this system compare to other GPUs in its performance class?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7800M has an average benchmark score of 27883, which places it near the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20, which scores 27839, and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 Ti, which scores 28020. This indicates that its raw compute performance is in a similar tier to these desktop-class cards from previous generations.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7800M is the dominant component in this system's gaming performance, as evidenced by the significant FPS drops when the resolution increases. Its 12 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus provides a bandwidth of 432.0 GB/s, which is crucial for feeding the GPU's 3840 shading units at higher resolutions. The data shows that at 4K, the GPU is the clear bottleneck, as the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings is 27 FPS, indicating that the GPU's compute and memory throughput are being fully utilized.

The GPU's clock speeds are also a factor. With a base clock of 1295 MHz, a game clock of 2145 MHz, and a boost clock of 2335 MHz, the RX 7800M has a substantial overclocking headroom built into its RDNA 3.0 architecture. This is reflected in its synthetic benchmark scores, such as a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 2994 and a Geekbench Vulkan score of 126668, which show its DirectX 12 and Vulkan capabilities. The GPU's 60 RT cores are present, but Doom does not utilize ray tracing, so the performance is purely rasterization-based.

The performance data shows a clear pattern: the GPU's fill rate is the primary constraint at higher resolutions. For example, the FPS difference between 1080p and 1440p at High settings is 51 FPS, and between 1440p and 4K is 43 FPS. This suggests that while the CPU can prepare frames faster than the GPU can render them at higher resolutions, the GPU's raw rendering power is the limiting factor. The RX 7800M's 35.87 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is a strong number, but it is not enough to maintain high frame rates at 4K with maxed-out settings. The GPU is a capable performer, sitting in the 73rd percentile of all GPUs, but it is not a top-tier 4K powerhouse.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, the High preset is the recommended starting point. At 1080p, it delivers an excellent 144 FPS average, which is ideal for fast-paced gameplay. At 1440p, the High preset still produces a smooth 93 FPS, making it the sweet spot for this resolution. The data shows that the jump from Medium to High is a 26 FPS drop at 1080p and a 17 FPS drop at 1440p, but the visual improvements are typically worth the cost in a game like Doom, which has a fast, chaotic art style.

If a player prioritizes maximum frame rates over visual detail, the Low preset is the best choice. It provides a 51 FPS boost over High at 1080p, hitting an average of 195 FPS, and a 33 FPS boost at 1440p, reaching 126 FPS. This is ideal for competitive play where response time is paramount. The Medium preset offers a middle ground, with 170 FPS at 1080p and 110 FPS at 1440p, which is still a very smooth experience.

At 4K, the Ultra preset is not recommended, as it only averages 41 FPS. The High preset is also marginal, at 50 FPS. The Medium preset, which averages 60 FPS, is the highest setting that can achieve a playable frame rate at 4K. However, for the smoothest experience at 4K, the Low preset, with its 68 FPS average, is more suitable. The optimal configuration depends on the user's monitor's refresh rate and preference for visual quality versus performance, but the data clearly shows that High at 1440p is the most balanced overall choice.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system performs exceptionally well. The Low preset yields an average of 195 FPS, while Medium is slightly lower at 170 FPS, with a minimum of 145 FPS and a maximum of 196 FPS. The High preset drops to 144 FPS, and the Ultra preset, while still fast, averages 117 FPS. All settings at 1080p are above the 100 FPS mark, making this resolution perfect for high-refresh-rate displays.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance decreases but remains strong. The Low preset averages 126 FPS, and Medium is close behind at 110 FPS, with a minimum of 94 FPS and a maximum of 127 FPS. The High preset provides a 93 FPS average, which is still very smooth. The Ultra preset is the only one that dips below the 80 FPS threshold, with a 76 FPS average. This resolution offers a great balance between visual detail and frame rate.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly under load. The Low preset averages 68 FPS, which is playable. The Medium preset averages exactly 60 FPS, with a minimum of 51 FPS and a maximum of 69 FPS, making it the border for a locked 60 FPS experience. The High preset drops to 50 FPS, and the Ultra preset is the most demanding, with an average of just 41 FPS. This data shows that 4K gaming is possible, but only with reduced settings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 155H is a powerful mobile processor that provides a solid foundation for the RX 7800M. Its 16 cores (likely a mix of performance and efficiency cores) and 22 threads ensure that the game logic and physics are handled without creating a bottleneck. The data supports this, as the FPS scales consistently with resolution, which is a hallmark of a GPU-limited scenario. The CPU's performance in synthetic benchmarks is also strong, with a Passmark multithread score of 24873 and a single-thread score of 3468, placing it in the 83rd percentile of all CPUs.

The CPU's high boost clock of 4.80 GHz and 24 MB of shared L3 cache are likely contributing factors to its ability to feed the GPU with data. The 89.6 GB/s memory bandwidth is also adequate for a dual-channel DDR5 setup. In the context of Doom, which is a well-optimized game engine, the CPU's performance is more than sufficient. The benchmark results indicate that the system is not CPU-bound, as the frame rates are primarily dictated by the GPU's performance at different resolutions.

Comparing the CPU to its nearest rivals, the Intel Core i5-14600T has an average score of 32707, which is nearly identical to the 155H's 32697, with a 0% delta. This shows that the 155H's processing power is on par with a desktop-class mid-range chip. The data shows that the CPU is not a weak link in this system. For Doom, the processor's role is to maintain a high minimum frame rate and ensure smooth frame pacing, which it appears to do effectively, as the minimum FPS values at Medium settings are only slightly lower than the averages (e.g., 145 min vs 170 avg at 1080p).