Doom

# Doom Performance Analysis: Intel Core Ultra 7 265 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 delivers exceptional frame rates in Doom, with measured results showing the combo ranking 76th out of 2,930 tested configurations. This places the pairing in the top 2.6% of all combos, reflecting the strength of both components. The Ultra 7 265, with its 20 cores and 20 threads boosting to 5.30 GHz, sits at the 93rd percentile among all CPUs, while the RTX 4090's Ada Lovelace architecture and 24 GB of GDDR6X memory position it at the 88th percentile among GPUs. The data reveals a system capable of pushing even 4K Ultra well past 90 FPS, making it a formidable choice for this fast-paced FPS.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and predictable scaling pattern as resolution increases from 1080p to 4K, though the magnitude of the drop reveals important insights about system balance. At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 444 FPS average. Moving to 1440p Low drops that to 287 FPS, a reduction of 157 FPS or roughly 35%. At 4K Low, the average falls to 156 FPS, representing a further 45% decline from the 1440p figure. This steep scaling curve indicates that the RTX 4090 is becoming increasingly pixel-bound as resolution climbs, which is expected given the massive fill rate requirements at 3840x2160.

The scaling pattern holds across all settings presets, though the percentage drops vary slightly. For High settings, 1080p delivers 327 FPS, 1440p produces 211 FPS (a 35% reduction), and 4K yields 115 FPS (a 45% drop from 1440p). The Medium preset shows similar behavior: 387 FPS at 1080p, 250 FPS at 1440p, and 136 FPS at 4K. Ultra settings follow the same trajectory with 267 FPS, 173 FPS, and 94 FPS respectively.

These numbers tell a clear story about the limiting component at each resolution. At 1080p, the system is heavily CPU-bound, as evidenced by the enormous frame rates that far exceed what most displays can even show. The Ultra 7 265's strong single-core performance, reflected in its 5,960 Cinebench R23 single-core score, keeps the GPU well-fed even at 444 FPS. As resolution increases, the workload shifts to the GPU, and the RTX 4090's raw throughput becomes the constraining factor. The 4K results, while still impressive, show the GPU working much harder, with the gap between 4K Low and 4K Ultra narrowing to just 62 FPS compared to the 177 FPS gap between 1080p Low and 1080p Ultra.

The frame time data from the Medium preset confirms this analysis. At 1080p Medium, the system records a minimum of 329 FPS and a maximum of 445 FPS, a spread of 116 FPS that suggests some CPU-side variability. At 1440p Medium, the min/max range tightens to 213-288 FPS, while at 4K Medium it narrows further to 115-156 FPS. This tightening of frame time variance at higher resolutions is a classic sign of the GPU becoming the dominant bottleneck, smoothing out the CPU-induced fluctuations that appear at lower resolutions.

FAQ

Q: How does this combo perform at 4K Ultra settings in Doom?

A: The system achieves an average of 94 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings. This is well above the 60 FPS threshold typically considered necessary for smooth gameplay, and it represents 35% of the 1080p Ultra score of 267 FPS, showing the significant GPU workload increase at 4K.

Q: What is the maximum frame rate this configuration can achieve?

A: The highest measured average is 444 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The maximum single reading in the data is 445 FPS, recorded at 1080p Medium. This suggests the CPU is the primary limiter at this resolution, as the GPU has ample headroom to render far more frames.

Q: Is the RTX 4090's 24 GB VRAM sufficient for Doom at high resolutions?

A: The data shows no indication of VRAM limitations at any tested resolution. The 24 GB GDDR6X memory, paired with 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth, allows the GPU to maintain 115 FPS at 4K High and 94 FPS at 4K Ultra without any measured min FPS drops below 94 FPS in the available data.

Q: How does the Ultra 7 265 compare to its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The Ultra 7 265 posts an average benchmark score of 64,640, placing it 0.3% behind the AMD EPYC 4464P (64,823) and 0.7% ahead of the AMD EPYC 7343 (64,202). The closest competitor, the Intel Core Ultra 7 265F, is 0.3% behind at 64,438, indicating the 265 and 265F are essentially identical in performance.

Q: What kind of frame rates can users expect at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the combo delivers 287 FPS on Low, 250 FPS on Medium, 211 FPS on High, and 173 FPS on Ultra settings. These figures represent a 35-34% reduction from the corresponding 1080p scores, showing consistent scaling behavior across the settings spectrum.

Q: Does the game benefit more from the CPU or GPU in this configuration?

A: The data indicates the GPU becomes the limiting factor at 4K, where the RTX 4090's fill rate and shading power determine performance. At 1080p, the Ultra 7 265's processing capability appears to be the constraint, as evidenced by the diminishing returns in frame rate when lowering settings below Medium at this resolution.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 plays the dominant role in determining Doom's performance at higher resolutions, with its specifications directly correlating to the measured results. The GPU's 16,384 shading units, 512 texture mapping units, and 176 ROPs provide the raw computational horsepower needed to maintain high frame rates in this fast-paced title. The boost clock of 2520 MHz, combined with the base clock of 2235 MHz, allows the Ada Lovelace architecture to sustain heavy workloads without throttling, as evidenced by the consistent frame rates across repeated test runs.

The memory subsystem of the RTX 4090 deserves particular attention. With 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, the card achieves 1.01 TB/s of bandwidth. For Doom, which was designed to run on systems with far less capable hardware, this memory configuration is massively overprovisioned. The 4K Ultra results of 94 FPS show that the GPU's compute capability, rather than memory bandwidth, is the limiting factor at that resolution. The memory clock of 1313 MHz (21 Gbps effective) provides ample headroom, and the 24 GB capacity ensures that texture streaming and level data never become bottlenecks.

The RTX 4090's performance profile in this game is noteworthy when compared to its nearest rivals in the benchmark database. The GPU posts an average benchmark score of 60,347, which is essentially tied with the Intel Arc Pro A60 at 60,326 (0% delta). The AMD Radeon Pro Vega 48 trails by 0.3% at 60,140, while the AMD Radeon PRO V710 is 2.9% behind at 58,657. The AMD Radeon Pro W6600M actually leads by 2.5% with 61,896, though this synthetic advantage does not translate to Doom's specific workload, where the 4090's architecture excels.

The GPU's 82.58 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 82.58 TFLOPS of FP16 (at 1:1 ratio) are directly relevant to Doom's rendering pipeline. The id Tech 6 engine uses a combination of forward rendering and compute-based post-processing, both of which benefit from the 4090's massive parallel throughput. The 128 RT cores and 512 tensor cores are less relevant for this title, as Doom does not utilize ray tracing, but they contribute to the overall die size of 609 mm² and transistor count of 76,300 million.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 combination ranks 76th out of 2,930 tested combos in Doom, placing it in the top 2.6% of all configurations. This ranking reflects the exceptional synergy between the two components, which work together to deliver frame rates that exceed the refresh rates of most gaming monitors at 1080p and 1440p, while still maintaining playable performance at 4K Ultra.

The CPU's contribution to this ranking should not be underestimated. The Ultra 7 265 sits at the 93rd percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 64,640. Its 20 cores and 20 threads, running at a base clock of 2.40 GHz and boosting to 5.30 GHz, provide the kind of single-threaded performance that Doom's engine demands. The 30 MB of shared L3 cache and 3 MB per-core L2 cache help keep frequently accessed game data close to the execution units. In synthetic tests, the CPU achieves 42,216 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 5,960 in single-core, demonstrating balanced performance that serves both gaming and productivity workloads.

The GPU's 88th percentile ranking among all GPUs (average score 60,347) is actually lower than the CPU's percentile, yet the combo still achieves a top-76 finish. This suggests that the RTX 4090's strengths are particularly well-suited to Doom's rendering requirements. The GPU's 24 GB memory and 1.01 TB/s bandwidth allow it to maintain high utilization even at 4K, where the 115 FPS High result and 94 FPS Ultra result illustrate its dominance. Compared to the combo's overall ranking, the GPU's synthetic benchmark percentile is modest, but in this specific game, the architecture's efficiency shines through.

The ranking also puts this combo ahead of the vast majority of tested systems, with only 75 configurations achieving higher frame rates in Doom. Given that the RTX 4090 is listed as end-of-life and has been succeeded by the GeForce 50 series, this ranking is likely to be challenged by newer hardware, but for the current data set, this pairing stands as a top-tier option for Doom enthusiasts.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a comprehensive picture of performance across three resolutions and four settings presets. At 1920x1080, the combo achieves 444 FPS on Low, 387 FPS on Medium, 327 FPS on High, and 267 FPS on Ultra settings. The Medium preset records a minimum of 329 FPS and a maximum of 445 FPS, showing a 116 FPS spread that indicates some frame time variability at lower resolutions where the CPU is more heavily taxed.

Moving to 2560x1440, the performance scales down proportionally. Low settings produce 287 FPS, Medium delivers 250 FPS, High achieves 211 FPS, and Ultra drops to 173 FPS. The Medium preset at this resolution shows a minimum of 213 FPS and a maximum of 288 FPS, a tighter 75 FPS spread that reflects the GPU beginning to take on more of the workload. The High settings result of 211 FPS is particularly notable, as it exceeds the 144 Hz refresh rate of many high-end gaming monitors, ensuring a fully smooth experience.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's capabilities are tested more thoroughly. Low settings yield 156 FPS, Medium produces 136 FPS (with a 115 FPS minimum and 156 FPS maximum), High achieves 115 FPS, and Ultra manages 94 FPS. The 4K Medium data shows a 41 FPS spread, the narrowest of any resolution, confirming that the GPU is now the consistent bottleneck. The Ultra preset's 94 FPS average is still above 90 FPS, meaning the system can drive 4K Ultra on high refresh rate displays without compromising visual quality.

The scaling between settings at each resolution follows a consistent pattern. At 1080p, moving from Low to Ultra reduces performance by 40% (444 to 267 FPS). At 1440p, the reduction is 40% as well (287 to 173 FPS). At 4K, the drop from Low to Ultra is 40% (156 to 94 FPS). This uniformity suggests that the settings presets scale the same rendering features regardless of resolution, and that the system's performance is primarily limited by resolution-dependent factors rather than specific settings toggles.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings preset depends on the user's display resolution and refresh rate priorities. For 1080p displays, even the Ultra preset at 267 FPS average exceeds the refresh rate of all but the most extreme gaming monitors, which typically cap at 360 Hz. The Medium preset at 387 FPS and Low at 444 FPS offer diminishing returns in smoothness beyond 360 FPS, so users with standard 144 Hz or 240 Hz displays should select Ultra for maximum visual fidelity without sacrificing frame rate.

At 1440p, the High preset at 211 FPS and Ultra at 173 FPS both provide excellent experiences. For users with 144 Hz or 165 Hz monitors, the Ultra preset delivers 173 FPS, which is above the refresh rate ceiling and allows for full visual quality. Those with 240 Hz displays might prefer High at 211 FPS, which provides a tangible smoothness advantage while still maintaining strong visual quality. The Medium preset at 250 FPS is only necessary for 240 Hz or 360 Hz displays where every frame counts, though the visual compromise may not be worth the additional 39 FPS over High.

At 4K, the choice becomes more nuanced. The Ultra preset at 94 FPS is playable and provides the best visual experience, but users with 120 Hz or higher refresh rate displays will not be able to fully utilize their monitor's capabilities. The High preset at 115 FPS is a better match for 120 Hz displays, offering 21 FPS more headroom while sacrificing some visual fidelity. The Medium preset at 136 FPS suits 144 Hz displays, though it may not provide enough headroom for demanding scenes, as the minimum FPS at this setting is 115 FPS. The Low preset at 156 FPS is the only option that comfortably exceeds 144 Hz, but the visual downgrade is substantial.

For the best balance of visual quality and performance, the High preset at 4K (115 FPS) or the Ultra preset at 1440p (173 FPS) represent the sweet spots in this data set. The RTX 4090's 24 GB of VRAM ensures that even the highest texture quality settings do not cause memory pressure, and the measured frame rates show no signs of stuttering or drops that would indicate the GPU running out of resources. Users who prioritize competitive play over visuals should consider the Low preset at 1440p (287 FPS) or even 1080p (444 FPS), where the system's latency will be minimized by the extremely high frame rates.