Doom

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265HX paired with the AMD Radeon 760M presents a striking contrast: a high-end 20-core mobile processor driving an entry-level integrated GPU. In Doom, this combination produces a predictable but severe bottleneck, with the iGPU struggling to maintain playable frame rates at higher resolutions. The data reveals a system where the CPU’s potential is almost entirely untapped, leaving the Radeon 760M as the sole arbiter of performance.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate collapse from 1080p to 4K is dramatic and tells a clear story about where the bottleneck lies. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the system achieves an average of 65 FPS. Dropping to 2560x1440 Low reduces that to 42 FPS, a 35% decrease. Pushing further to 3840x2160 Low yields just 23 FPS, a 45% drop from the 1440p figure and a 65% decline from the 1080p baseline. This steep, consistent decline with every resolution increase is a hallmark of a GPU-limited scenario.

The scaling pattern across all settings follows the same trajectory. At Medium settings, the average FPS goes from 57 at 1080p, to 37 at 1440p, to 20 at 4K. The High preset shows 48, 31, and 17 FPS respectively. This linear degradation as pixel count rises indicates that the Radeon 760M’s fill rate and shading resources are being saturated. The CPU, with its 20 cores and 5.30 GHz boost clock, is not the limiting factor; if it were, frame rates would remain relatively flat across resolutions.

The data implies that the Radeon 760M is simply overwhelmed by the pixel throughput demanded at 4K. The gap between Low and Ultra settings at each resolution is also telling. At 1080p, the difference between Low (65 FPS) and Ultra (39 FPS) is 26 FPS. At 4K, that spread narrows to just 9 FPS (23 FPS Low vs. 14 FPS Ultra). This compression of performance at higher resolutions suggests that the GPU is so constrained by pixel fill that the additional shading work from higher settings has less relative impact. The frame rate is already so low that the extra load from Ultra settings barely matters; the GPU is already saturated just trying to push the pixels.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon 760M is an integrated graphics processor based on the RDNA 3.0 architecture, featuring 512 shading units, 32 texture mapping units, and 16 raster output units. Its boost clock is listed at 2599 MHz, with a base clock of 800 MHz. The memory configuration is "System Shared," meaning it relies on the host system's DDR5 memory, with bandwidth described as "System Dependent." This dependence on shared memory is a critical factor in its performance profile.

In Doom, a fast-paced FPS, the GPU's role is paramount. The benchmark results show that even at 1080p Low, the best-case scenario, the system only manages 65 FPS. The PassMark G3D score for this GPU is 5310, placing it in the 35th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks include the AMD Radeon RX 6400 and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770M, which shows its performance tier. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 400 further underscores its limited capability for modern gaming loads.

The measured FPS data aligns with this modest synthetic showing. The GPU’s 16 ROPs are likely a significant constraint at higher resolutions, as they handle final pixel output. The texture rate of 83.17 GTexel/s and pixel rate of 41.58 GPixel/s are respectable for an iGPU but insufficient for the demands of 4K rendering in Doom. The fact that the GPU shares system memory also impacts performance, as bandwidth is not dedicated. The data suggests that for this game, the GPU is the definitive performance ceiling, regardless of the CPU's capabilities.

FAQ

Q: What is the average frame rate at 1080p with the High preset?

A: The measured average FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings is 48 FPS.

Q: How does the Ultra preset at 4K compare to the Low preset at 1080p?

A: The Ultra preset at 3840x2160 produces an average of 14 FPS, while the Low preset at 1920x1080 yields an average of 65 FPS. This represents a 51 FPS difference, highlighting the massive performance cost of both higher resolution and higher settings.

Q: Which resolution provides a frame rate closest to 60 FPS?

A: Only one measured configuration reaches or exceeds 60 FPS: 1920x1080 with the Low preset, which averages 65 FPS. The next closest is 1920x1080 Medium at 57 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or the GPU the primary bottleneck in this configuration?

A: The data strongly indicates the GPU is the bottleneck. The Intel Core Ultra 7 265HX has 20 cores and a high boost clock, and its performance percentile is 93 compared to the GPU's 35. The dramatic FPS drops with increasing resolution are characteristic of GPU limitations, not CPU ones.

Q: What are the minimum and maximum FPS recorded at 1440p Medium?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the average FPS is 37, with a minimum of 31 FPS and a maximum of 42 FPS.

Q: How does the combo's overall ranking reflect its gaming performance?

A: This specific combination ranks 2919 out of 2930 tested combos for Doom. This places it in the bottom percentile of all tested systems, confirming its poor gaming performance for this title.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear path for optimizing playability. The only configuration that achieves a 60+ FPS average is 1920x1080 with the Low preset, hitting 65 FPS. This should be the target for anyone seeking smooth gameplay. The Medium preset at 1080p is a viable alternative, offering 57 FPS, which is close to the 60 FPS mark and likely provides a better visual experience than Low.

The High preset at 1080p drops to 48 FPS, which is playable but may not feel as fluid. The Ultra preset at 1080p falls to 39 FPS, a significant compromise. Based on the data, the best experience for a balance of frame rate and visual fidelity is 1920x1080 with Medium settings. It provides a 57 FPS average with a minimum of 48 FPS, ensuring that frame times remain relatively consistent and playable.

At 1440p, all presets fail to reach 60 FPS. The Low preset offers 42 FPS, which is playable but not ideal. The Medium preset at 31 FPS minimum and 37 average is borderline. 4K is not a viable option for this game with this hardware, as even the Low preset only averages 23 FPS. The recommendation is to prioritize resolution over settings: stick to 1080p and adjust the preset to Medium or Low to maintain a playable frame rate. The data suggests that lowering resolution provides a more substantial FPS gain than lowering settings.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265HX and AMD Radeon 760M ranks 2919 out of 2930 tested combos for Doom. This is a near-bottom ranking, placing the system in the 99.6th percentile of poor performance. This rank is a direct consequence of the integrated GPU's limitations, despite the powerful CPU.

The CPU itself is a top-tier mobile processor, with an average benchmark score of 63173, placing it in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks include the Intel Core i7-13790F (0.1% difference) and the AMD Ryzen AI 7 450G (-0.2% difference). However, this processing power is irrelevant for gaming in this configuration. The GPU, on the other hand, has an average benchmark score of 6019 and sits in the 35th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 6400 (0.3% difference) and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770M (0.3% difference).

The 2919 rank is a stark illustration of the performance disparity between the two components. The data shows that a high-performing CPU cannot compensate for a weak GPU in a graphically intensive game like Doom. The system's overall gaming capability is effectively defined by the GPU's performance tier, which is low. This ranking serves as a cautionary data point for any configuration, showing that a balanced system is more important than a single powerful component.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The following data presents the exact measured average FPS for each resolution and settings combination. For Medium settings, minimum and maximum FPS are also provided.

• 1920x1080
• Low: Average 65 FPS
• Medium: Average 57 FPS (Min: 48, Max: 66)
• High: Average 48 FPS
• Ultra: Average 39 FPS

• 2560x1440
• Low: Average 42 FPS
• Medium: Average 37 FPS (Min: 31, Max: 42)
• High: Average 31 FPS
• Ultra: Average 25 FPS

• 3840x2160
• Low: Average 23 FPS
• Medium: Average 20 FPS (Min: 17, Max: 23)
• High: Average 17 FPS
• Ultra: Average 14 FPS

The data shows a clear and consistent performance hierarchy. At each resolution, the frame rate scales down as settings increase from Low to Ultra. The delta between Low and Ultra is substantial at 1080p (26 FPS), but this difference narrows at higher resolutions. The 4K results are uniformly poor, with all settings falling below 23 FPS. This breakdown confirms that the system is only suitable for 1080p gaming, and even then, only with reduced settings.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265HX is a 20-core, 20-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake-HX architecture, built on a 3 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. The CPU also features a substantial 30 MB of shared L3 cache and supports DDR5 memory with a bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s. In synthetic benchmarks, it scores 40642 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 5737 in single-core, with a PassMark multithread score of 47985.

For Doom, a game that can be CPU-intensive in certain scenes, this processor is more than capable. Its high single-thread performance (PassMark single-thread score of 4500) ensures that game logic and physics are handled efficiently. Yet, the measured FPS data shows that this CPU power has no bearing on the final frame rate. The system's performance is consistently and overwhelmingly limited by the GPU.

The evidence is clear when comparing the CPU's performance percentile (93rd) to the GPU's (35th). The CPU is not breaking a sweat; it is waiting for the GPU to finish rendering each frame. The 20 cores and high boost clock are essentially idle in this scenario. The data suggests that in this specific configuration, the CPU's role is to support the GPU, not to drive performance. Any player using this system would see identical frame rates with a significantly weaker CPU, as long as it could feed the GPU. The bottleneck is absolute, and the CPU's capabilities are, in this context, entirely theoretical.