Doom

The Intel Core Ultra 7 155H paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 delivers a highly playable experience in Doom (2016), with the data showing a clear trend: this combo is capable of high refresh rates at 1080p and 1440p, but begins to strain at 4K. The measured results indicate that the GPU becomes the dominant limiting factor as resolution increases, while the CPU’s strong multi-threaded performance ensures that frame rates remain fluid even when the graphics card is under heavy load.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate data across the three tested resolutions reveals a predictable but steep drop-off as pixel count increases. At 1080p with High settings, the combo averages 145 FPS. Moving to 1440p drops that to 94 FPS, a reduction of 51 FPS (35%). At 4K, the average falls to 51 FPS, which is another 43 FPS (46%) below the 1440p result. This pattern is consistent across all settings presets, indicating that the RTX 5060’s memory bandwidth and compute throughput are the primary bottlenecks at higher resolutions.

The scaling from 1080p to 4K is particularly telling. At Low settings, the combo achieves 197 FPS at 1080p, 127 FPS at 1440p, and 69 FPS at 4K. The gap between 1080p and 4K here is 128 FPS, which is a 65% reduction. This steep decline suggests that the GPU is being saturated by the pixel fill rate and memory demands of 4K, even at low graphical fidelity. The RTX 5060’s 128-bit memory bus and 8 GB of GDDR7 memory are sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, but the 4K results show the limits of this configuration.

Interestingly, the difference between Low and High settings at 1080p is only 52 FPS (197 vs 145), while at 4K the same settings gap is nearly identical in percentage terms (69 vs 51 FPS, a 26% drop). This indicates that the CPU is not a limiting factor at any resolution, as the frame rate scales almost entirely with the GPU workload. The Core Ultra 7 155H’s 16 cores and 22 threads, with a boost clock of 4.80 GHz, provide ample headroom for Doom’s engine, which is known for being well-optimized on multi-core processors.

For gamers targeting 4K, the data suggests that this combo will require compromises. The 51 FPS average at High settings is borderline for smooth gameplay, and the 42 FPS at Ultra is below the 60 FPS threshold most players prefer. At 1440p, the results are much more favorable, with High settings delivering 94 FPS and Medium hitting 111 FPS, both well within the range for high-refresh monitors. The 1080p results are excellent across the board, with even Ultra settings averaging 118 FPS.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured rows, the optimal balance of visual quality and performance is found at Medium settings for 4K, High settings for 1440p, and Ultra settings for 1080p. At 4K, the Medium preset averages 60 FPS with a minimum of 51 FPS, which is the only 4K configuration that consistently stays near the 60 FPS target. The Low preset at 4K offers 69 FPS, but the visual degradation is likely not worth the 9 FPS gain over Medium.

At 1440p, High settings provide 94 FPS, which is a solid sweet spot. The Medium preset at 111 FPS is also viable for competitive play, but High offers a significant visual upgrade for only a 17 FPS penalty. The Ultra preset at 77 FPS is playable but does not provide the headroom needed for demanding scenes with heavy particle effects, which Doom is known for.

For 1080p, the Ultra preset at 118 FPS is the clear recommendation. This configuration delivers the full graphical experience while maintaining a frame rate that exceeds the refresh rate of most standard 60 Hz monitors and approaches the threshold for 144 Hz displays. The High preset at 145 FPS is also excellent for high-refresh gaming, but the visual difference between High and Ultra in Doom is noticeable in texture detail and shadow quality, making Ultra the better choice for single-player immersion.

The Low presets are only recommended for 4K gaming, where the 69 FPS average is the only way to achieve near-60 FPS performance. At 1080p and 1440p, the Low presets (197 and 127 FPS respectively) are unnecessary unless the user is chasing maximum frame rates for esports-style play, which is not the primary use case for a single-player FPS like Doom.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo of the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 ranks 2470 out of 3712 tested combinations in Doom. This places it in the 33rd percentile of all combos, meaning roughly two-thirds of tested systems perform better. This ranking is somewhat surprising given the individual component benchmarks, but it reflects the fact that Doom is a highly scalable title that rewards both strong CPU single-thread performance and high GPU bandwidth.

The CPU’s performance percentile against all processors is 83, indicating that the Core Ultra 7 155H is a strong performer in general compute tasks. Its average benchmark score of 32697 is nearly identical to the Intel Core i5-14600T (32707, 0% delta) and slightly ahead of the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 360 (32662, 0.1% delta). This suggests the CPU is not holding the combo back.

The GPU, however, has a percentile of 72 against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 26331. Its nearest rival is the AMD Radeon 860M (26401, -0.3% delta), which is an integrated graphics solution, and the NVIDIA GeForce MX550 (26421, -0.3% delta), a low-end discrete GPU. This is a concerning comparison, as it suggests the RTX 5060’s synthetic benchmark scores are similar to much weaker parts, even though its real-world gaming performance is substantially better. The AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT is 1.2% slower in average score (26011), which indicates the RTX 5060 is performing as expected for its class.

The low combo rank is likely due to the fact that many tested systems include desktop CPUs and higher-tier GPUs that are simply more powerful. The data shows that this combo is a mid-range performer, capable of excellent 1080p and 1440p gameplay but not competitive with high-end desktop builds at 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: 197 FPS average
• Medium: 171 FPS average (min 146, max 197)
• High: 145 FPS average
• Ultra: 118 FPS average

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: 127 FPS average
• Medium: 111 FPS average (min 94, max 128)
• High: 94 FPS average
• Ultra: 77 FPS average

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: 69 FPS average
• Medium: 60 FPS average (min 51, max 69)
• High: 51 FPS average
• Ultra: 42 FPS average

The data reveals a consistent pattern: each settings tier reduces performance by roughly 15-20% at any given resolution. At 1080p, moving from Low to Medium costs 26 FPS, from Medium to High costs 26 FPS, and from High to Ultra costs 27 FPS. This linear scaling suggests that the game’s graphics options are well-balanced, with no single setting causing a disproportionate performance hit.

The minimum FPS values provided for Medium settings show that 1% lows are close to the average, indicating stable frame pacing. At 1080p Medium, the minimum of 146 FPS is only 25 FPS below the average of 171. At 1440p Medium, the minimum of 94 FPS is 17 FPS below the average of 111. At 4K Medium, the minimum of 51 FPS is 9 FPS below the average of 60. This tightening of the gap at higher resolutions suggests that the GPU is becoming the bottleneck, as it cannot maintain consistent frame times under heavy load.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 is the primary performance driver in this combo, and its specifications explain the observed scaling. The GPU features 8 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 448.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where the frame buffer requirements are modest, but it becomes a limiting factor at 4K where the larger render targets demand more memory throughput.

The GPU’s base clock of 2280 MHz and boost clock of 2497 MHz are relatively high, and the 3840 shading units provide 19.18 TFLOPS of FP32 compute. This is enough raw power to drive high frame rates at lower resolutions, as evidenced by the 197 FPS result at 1080p Low. However, the 48 ROPs and 120 TMUs are modest for a 4K card, which explains the significant drop in performance at 3840x2160.

The RTX 5060’s 8 GB memory capacity is another factor. At 4K with Ultra settings, the game likely approaches or exceeds this limit, causing the GPU to rely on slower memory paging. The 42 FPS result at 4K Ultra is consistent with memory bandwidth saturation, as the 448.0 GB/s bandwidth is simply not enough to feed the GPU’s compute units at that resolution.

The GPU’s benchmark scores show a 72nd percentile ranking, with a Passmark G3D score of 20891 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3628. These numbers indicate that the RTX 5060 is a capable mid-range GPU, but it is not designed for 4K gaming at high settings. The data confirms that this card is best paired with 1080p or 1440p displays, where it delivers excellent performance.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Doom at 4K 60 FPS?

A: Only at Medium settings, where the average FPS is 60 with a minimum of 51. High settings drop to 51 FPS average, and Ultra falls to 42 FPS.

Q: What is the best resolution for this combo?

A: 1440p with High settings provides 94 FPS average, which is a good balance of visual quality and performance. 1080p Ultra at 118 FPS is also excellent for high-refresh monitors.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this combo?

A: The GPU is the primary bottleneck, especially at 4K. The CPU’s 16 cores and 22 threads are sufficient to handle the game’s demands, as shown by the consistent frame rates across resolutions.

Q: How does this combo compare to similar systems?

A: It ranks 2470 out of 3712 tested combos in Doom, placing it in the 33rd percentile. The CPU is in the 83rd percentile overall, while the GPU is in the 72nd percentile.

Q: Should I use Low settings for competitive play?

A: At 1080p Low, the combo averages 197 FPS, which is ideal for high-refresh esports. However, the visual quality is significantly reduced, and the game’s single-player focus makes High or Ultra settings more appropriate.

Q: Does the RTX 5060 have enough VRAM for Doom?

A: The 8 GB of GDDR7 memory is adequate for 1080p and 1440p, but 4K Ultra settings (42 FPS) may be limited by memory capacity and bandwidth. Medium settings at 4K (60 FPS) are more realistic.