Doom

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT delivers a performance profile in Doom that is heavily dictated by the graphics card, with the CPU providing ample headroom even at lower resolutions. The measured data shows a clear and consistent scaling pattern across all three tested resolutions, indicating where the bottleneck lies and what users can expect from various settings presets.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate drop from 1080p to 4K is substantial and reveals the GPU-bound nature of this combo. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 192 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops that figure to 124 FPS, a 35.4% reduction. Stepping up to 4K Low yields 67 FPS, which is another 46.0% drop from 1440p. This steep decline is a hallmark of a system where the Radeon RX 6600 XT is the limiting factor; as the pixel count increases, the GPU must work exponentially harder, while the CPU remains underutilized.

The pattern repeats across other presets. At High settings, the average FPS goes from 141 at 1080p, to 91 at 1440p, and finally to 49 at 4K. The Ultra preset shows the most dramatic scaling, starting at 115 FPS at 1080p, falling to 75 FPS at 1440p, and bottoming out at 40 FPS at 4K. The consistent delta between resolutions—roughly a 35-45% drop per step up—confirms that the graphics card's rendering throughput is the primary constraint. At 1080p, the CPU's high single-thread performance is sufficient to feed the GPU, but at 4K, the GPU simply cannot maintain the same output.

The data suggests that 1440p is the sweet spot for this pairing if aiming for high refresh rates, as even the High preset delivers 91 FPS. At 4K, the system struggles to maintain 60 FPS on any preset except Low, indicating that this resolution is only viable for users willing to compromise on visual fidelity. The scaling between Medium and High presets is also telling; at 1080p, the difference is 26 FPS (167 vs 141), while at 4K, it is only 10 FPS (59 vs 49), showing that the GPU's workload increases non-linearly with resolution, making preset choices less impactful at higher pixel counts.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, this specific pairing achieves a rank of 2080 out of 2930 combos for Doom. This places it in the 71st percentile, meaning it outperforms roughly 29% of all tested systems in this game. The rank is a composite measure that reflects the overall balance of the CPU and GPU within the context of Doom's engine, which is known to scale well with both single-threaded CPU performance and raw GPU throughput.

The ranking indicates that while this is not a top-tier combination for Doom, it is far from underpowered. The CPU itself is a strong performer, holding a percentileVsAllCpus of 93, but the GPU's percentileVsAllGpus of 70 drags the overall combo down. This is a classic case of a modern, high-core-count processor being paired with a mid-range graphics card, resulting in a system that is CPU-overkill for this particular title but still capable of solid frame rates. The combo's position in the lower third of the 2000s range suggests that many other tested pairings feature more powerful GPUs, which is the dominant factor in Doom's performance.

The data implies that users with this combo are leaving performance on the table at lower resolutions due to the GPU's limits, but the high CPU rank ensures that there is no stutter or frame-pacing issues from processor bottlenecks. The 2080th rank is a reflection of the GPU's mid-range standing rather than any CPU deficiency.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT is the defining component in this system's Doom performance. The card features 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 256.0 GB/s. The memory clock runs at 2000 MHz (16 Gbps effective), which is standard for this class. The GPU has 2048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, along with 32 ray accelerators. These specifications, paired with a boost clock of 2589 MHz and a game clock of 2359 MHz, give the card a theoretical FP32 performance of 10.60 TFLOPS.

In Doom, this hardware configuration produces the measured FPS figures. The 8 GB VRAM is sufficient for the 1080p and 1440p presets tested, but at 4K Ultra, the card's 40 FPS average suggests that memory bandwidth and fill rate are being pushed to their limits. The RDNA 2.0 architecture's pixel rate of 165.7 GPixel/s and texture rate of 331.4 GTexel/s are the key metrics that determine how well the card handles the increasing resolution. The data shows that at 4K, the card's throughput drops significantly, which is consistent with its 70th percentile ranking among all GPUs.

The GPU's nearest rivals in the benchmark database include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1630 (0.7% slower), Intel Arc A350M (0.8% faster), NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti (0.8% slower), and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER (1.1% faster). These tiny deltas around the 1% mark indicate that the RX 6600 XT sits in a very tightly competitive performance tier. However, in Doom specifically, the card's results are more dependent on its drivers and architecture optimizations than raw compute, and the measured FPS shows it handles the Vulkan API well, as evidenced by the high frame rates at 1080p.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS rows, the optimal settings preset depends heavily on the target resolution and refresh rate. For 1080p users with a 144Hz monitor, the High preset at 141 FPS is the clear recommendation, as it provides a smooth experience without the visual downgrades of Medium (167 FPS) or Low (192 FPS). The Ultra preset at 115 FPS is also viable on a 120Hz display, offering the best visual quality while still staying above the 100 FPS threshold.

For 1440p, the High preset at 91 FPS is the best balance, as it remains above 60 FPS and offers a significant visual improvement over Medium (108 FPS) and Low (124 FPS). The Ultra preset at 75 FPS is acceptable for users with a 75Hz monitor who prioritize image quality, but the 16 FPS gap between High and Ultra may not justify the visual gains for most players.

At 4K, the options are more constrained. The Low preset at 67 FPS is the only one that consistently exceeds the 60 FPS target, making it the default choice for smooth gameplay. The Medium preset at 59 FPS is borderline, with a minimum of 50 FPS that could cause noticeable dips. The High preset at 49 FPS and Ultra at 40 FPS are not recommended for competitive play but may be acceptable for slower, story-driven segments. The data suggests that 4K users should stick to Low or Medium presets to maintain playability.

FAQ

Q: Is this combo capable of 4K gaming in Doom?

A: Yes, but only at Low settings, where it averages 67 FPS. The Medium preset drops to 59 FPS with a minimum of 50 FPS, while High and Ultra averages fall to 49 FPS and 40 FPS respectively.

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU-GPU pairing?

A: 1440p is the sweet spot. At High settings, it delivers 91 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold and provides a good balance of visual quality and performance.

Q: How does the RX 6600 XT compare to its nearest rivals in overall GPU benchmarks?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score is 24442. It is 0.7% faster than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1630, 0.8% slower than the Intel Arc A350M, 0.8% faster than the GTX 780 Ti, and 1.1% slower than the RTX 2080 SUPER.

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU at any resolution?

A: The data shows no evidence of a CPU bottleneck. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 192 FPS, and the performance drop at higher resolutions aligns with GPU limitations. The CPU's high single-thread score (5960 in Cinebench R23) ensures it can keep up with the GPU's output.

Q: What is the minimum FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The only presets with recorded minimum FPS are Medium settings. At 4K Medium, the minimum is 50 FPS; at 1440p Medium, it is 92 FPS; and at 1080p Medium, it is 142 FPS. No minimum FPS data is available for other presets.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested combinations for Doom?

A: It ranks 2080th out of 2930 tested combos, placing it in the 71st percentile. This indicates it performs better than 71% of all other CPU-GPU pairs tested in this game.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 plays a supporting role in Doom, providing more than enough processing power for the game's engine. This CPU features 20 cores and 20 threads, with a base clock of 2.40 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. It is built on a 3 nm process node by TSMC, with 17,800 million transistors on a 243 mm² die. The cache hierarchy includes 192 KB of L1 per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and 30 MB of shared L3 cache.

In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU scores 42216 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 5960 in single-core. These scores place it in the 93rd percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 64640. Its nearest rivals are the AMD EPYC 4464P (0.3% slower), Intel Core Ultra 7 265F (0.3% faster), AMD EPYC 7343 (0.7% slower), and AMD EPYC 9124 (0.7% slower). This performance level means the CPU is never the limiting factor in Doom, even at 1080p where the frame rates are highest.

The CPU's 20 threads are more than sufficient for Doom, which typically utilizes up to 8 threads. The high boost clock of 5.30 GHz ensures that the game's primary game thread runs without a hitch, delivering the consistent frame times that the measured data shows. The CPU's memory bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s over a dual-channel DDR5 interface also helps feed the GPU with draw calls and asset data, though the GPU's 256.0 GB/s bandwidth is the more critical path for frame rendering. The data confirms that the Ultra 7 265 is an excellent match for the RX 6600 XT, ensuring that no CPU-related stutter or bottleneck occurs across any resolution or settings preset.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates. The Low preset averages 192 FPS, with no minimum or maximum recorded. The Medium preset averages 167 FPS, with a minimum of 142 FPS and a maximum of 192 FPS. The High preset averages 141 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 115 FPS. These figures show a smooth progression, with a 25 FPS difference between Low and Medium, 26 FPS between Medium and High, and 26 FPS between High and Ultra.

At 2560x1440, the performance drops but remains strong. The Low preset averages 124 FPS. The Medium preset averages 108 FPS, with a minimum of 92 FPS and a maximum of 124 FPS. The High preset averages 91 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 75 FPS. The relative differences between presets at 1440p are smaller in absolute terms but similar in percentage, indicating the GPU is becoming more of a constraint.

At 3840x2160, the frame rates fall significantly. The Low preset averages 67 FPS. The Medium preset averages 59 FPS, with a minimum of 50 FPS and a maximum of 67 FPS. The High preset averages 49 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 40 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 8 FPS, between Medium and High is 10 FPS, and between High and Ultra is 9 FPS. This compressed range at 4K highlights that the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth are exhausted, making preset choices less impactful than at lower resolutions. The data overall shows a system that is well-suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming, with 4K being a stretch that requires significant settings compromises.