Doom

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265HX is a 20-core, 20-thread mobile processor built on the Arrow Lake-HX architecture, with a base clock of 2.60 GHz and a boost clock of 5.30 GHz. This is a high-core-count part designed for laptops, and in Doom it provides the kind of headroom that the game’s engine rarely stresses. Doom is a 2016 title that scales primarily with GPU throughput, but the CPU still matters for frame pacing and ensuring that the graphics card is never left waiting. The 265HX’s 30 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR5 memory support (with a memory bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s) mean that the processor can feed the GPU quickly at lower resolutions, where draw-call overhead becomes more visible. In synthetic benchmarks, this CPU posts a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 40642 and a single-core score of 5737, placing it in the 93rd percentile of all CPUs tested on this database. Those numbers are strong, but for Doom’s measured results, the more relevant fact is that the CPU does not bottleneck the RTX 5060 at any settings level tested. The data shows that even at 1080p Low, where the GPU has the least work to do, the average frame rate reaches 197 FPS, which suggests the 265HX can keep up with the GPU’s output. The processor’s 20 threads, while overkill for a game like Doom, also help in scenarios where background tasks or streaming overhead might otherwise cause hitches. In short, the 265HX is a capable partner for this GPU in Doom, and its performance characteristics align with what the benchmark results show: consistent, high frame rates without CPU-induced dips.

CPU Role — cores, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265HX brings 20 physical cores and 20 threads, all running at a base clock of 2.60 GHz with a boost up to 5.30 GHz. This is a mobile HX-series part, meaning it is designed for high-performance laptops, and its 55 W TDP is the stated thermal envelope. In Doom, the game’s id Tech 6 engine is known for being well-optimized, and it does not typically require more than a few fast cores to maintain high frame rates. The 265HX’s single-core performance, as measured by a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 5737, is more than adequate for the game’s main thread. Multi-core performance, with a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 40642, is also far beyond what Doom needs, but it ensures that any auxiliary threads—such as physics, audio, or streaming—do not interfere with the main render thread. The processor’s 30 MB of L3 cache is shared across all cores, which helps with data locality in games that repeatedly access the same assets. Memory bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s, via dual-channel DDR5, is sufficient for feeding the GPU, especially at lower resolutions where the CPU is more likely to be the limiting factor. In the benchmark data for this combo, the CPU does not appear to be a bottleneck: at 1080p Low, the average FPS is 197, and at 1080p Ultra, it drops to 118, which is a GPU-driven drop rather than a CPU limitation. The 265HX’s architecture, Arrow Lake, is built on a 3 nm process from TSMC, and it includes an integrated Arc Xe-LPG Graphics 64EU, but that iGPU is not used in these discrete GPU benchmarks. Overall, the CPU role in this combo is to provide stable, high-frequency performance without holding back the RTX 5060, and the data supports that conclusion.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combo of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265HX and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 ranks 1921 out of 2930 tested combinations in Doom. That places it in the lower-middle portion of the database, which might seem surprising given the hardware’s specifications. However, this ranking is relative to all combos tested, including those with much higher-end GPUs and desktop processors. The RTX 5060 is a mobile GPU, and the 265HX is also a mobile CPU, so this combo is inherently limited compared to desktop setups with larger power budgets. The combo’s rank of 1921 out of 2930 means that roughly 65% of tested combos perform better in Doom, but that statistic includes many configurations with significantly more powerful GPUs. For a mobile pairing, the results are respectable, but they do not challenge the top tiers. The nearest CPU rivals for the 265HX, based on average benchmark scores, include the Intel Core i7-13790F (with a deltaPct of 0.1, meaning nearly identical performance), the AMD Ryzen AI 7 450G (deltaPct of -0.2, slightly better), and the AMD Ryzen AI Embedded P185 (deltaPct of 0.5, slightly worse). These deltas are all within 1%, indicating that the 265HX is in a tight performance cluster for CPU compute. For the GPU, the nearest rivals to the RTX 5060 are the AMD Radeon 860M (deltaPct of -0.3), the NVIDIA GeForce MX550 (deltaPct of -0.3), and the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary (deltaPct of -0.8), as well as the AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT (deltaPct of 1.2). The GPU’s percentile ranking is 72, meaning it outperforms 72% of all GPUs in the database, but the combo rank is lower because it is paired with a mobile CPU and measured in a specific game. In Doom, the data shows that this combo is capable of hitting high frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, but it falls short of 4K Ultra smoothness. The rank reflects that this is a mid-tier combo, not a top performer, but it is far from the bottom of the list.

Resolution Scaling — how FPS drops from 1080p to 4K and what it says about the limiting component

The measured FPS data for this combo shows a clear scaling pattern across resolutions. At 1080p High, the average frame rate is 145 FPS. Moving to 1440p High, it drops to 94 FPS, and at 4K High, it falls to 51 FPS. That represents a 35% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a 65% drop from 1080p to 4K. This steep decline is indicative of a GPU-bound scenario: as resolution increases, the GPU must render more pixels, and the RTX 5060’s 8 GB of GDDR7 memory and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth become the limiting factor. The CPU’s performance does not scale with resolution in the same way, so the fact that FPS drops so sharply points to the GPU being the primary constraint at higher resolutions. At Low settings, the pattern is similar: 1080p Low averages 197 FPS, 1440p Low averages 127 FPS, and 4K Low averages 69 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 4K at Low settings is 65%, which is consistent with the High settings drop. This consistency suggests that the GPU’s raw pixel throughput is the bottleneck, not memory capacity or bandwidth, since even at Low settings (which reduce shading work) the FPS still falls dramatically with resolution. At Medium settings, the data includes min and max FPS values: at 1080p Medium, the average is 171 FPS with a min of 146 and a max of 197; at 1440p Medium, the average is 111 FPS with a min of 94 and a max of 128; at 4K Medium, the average is 60 FPS with a min of 51 and a max of 69. The min and max ranges are tight, indicating stable frame pacing, and the scaling from 1080p to 4K is again around 65%. This all points to the RTX 5060 being the limiting component at 4K, while at 1080p and 1440p, the combo is more balanced, with the CPU still having enough headroom to push high frame rates. The 265HX’s role becomes less important as resolution rises, and the GPU’s 19.18 TFLOPS of FP32 compute is what determines the final output. In summary, the resolution scaling data shows a classic GPU-limited curve, with the CPU not becoming a bottleneck until frame rates exceed 197 FPS at 1080p Low, which is already a high bar.

Measured FPS Breakdown — resolution by resolution, settings by settings, exact numbers

This section provides the exact measured FPS figures for the Intel Core Ultra 7 265HX and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 combo in Doom, as recorded in the database. All values are average FPS unless otherwise noted.

1920x1080 (1080p):

• Low: 197 FPS average
• Medium: 171 FPS average, with a minimum of 146 FPS and a maximum of 197 FPS
• High: 145 FPS average
• Ultra: 118 FPS average

At 1080p, the combo is clearly GPU-bound at higher settings, but the CPU still has headroom. The gap between Low and Ultra is 79 FPS, which is a 40% reduction in performance when moving from the lowest to the highest settings. The Medium settings data shows that the frame rate is stable, with a min-to-max spread of 51 FPS, which is relatively wide but still within acceptable bounds for a fast-paced FPS.

2560x1440 (1440p):

• Low: 127 FPS average
• Medium: 111 FPS average, with a minimum of 94 FPS and a maximum of 128 FPS
• High: 94 FPS average
• Ultra: 77 FPS average

At 1440p, the FPS drops are more pronounced. From Low to Ultra, the average falls by 50 FPS, a 39% reduction. The Medium settings min of 94 FPS and max of 128 FPS show a spread of 34 FPS, which is tighter than at 1080p, indicating that the GPU is becoming more consistent as it is more heavily loaded. The 77 FPS at Ultra is still playable, but it is below the 100 FPS threshold that many players consider ideal for competitive shooters.

3840x2160 (4K):

• Low: 69 FPS average
• Medium: 60 FPS average, with a minimum of 51 FPS and a maximum of 69 FPS
• High: 51 FPS average
• Ultra: 42 FPS average

At 4K, the combo struggles to maintain high frame rates. The Low setting average of 69 FPS is the only one above 60, and Ultra drops to 42 FPS. The Medium settings min of 51 FPS and max of 69 FPS show a spread of 18 FPS, which is narrow and suggests that the GPU is hitting a consistent performance ceiling. The 51 FPS at High is borderline for smooth gameplay, and 42 FPS at Ultra is below the 60 FPS target that most gamers prefer. This resolution is clearly not the sweet spot for this combo.

The data across all resolutions shows a consistent pattern: the combo is capable of excellent performance at 1080p, good performance at 1440p, and only marginal performance at 4K. The 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit memory bus of the RTX 5060 are the likely reasons for the 4K limitations, as the game’s textures and effects at Ultra settings can exceed that capacity. The measured FPS values are all based on actual testing, and they provide a clear picture of what to expect from this mobile pairing.

GPU Role — VRAM, clocks, and how they relate to this game's results

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 is a Blackwell 2.0 architecture GPU built on a 5 nm process from TSMC, with a base clock of 2280 MHz and a boost clock of 2497 MHz. It has 8 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing a memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. The GPU features 3840 shading units, 120 TMUs, 48 ROPs, 30 RT cores, and 120 tensor cores, with a FP32 compute throughput of 19.18 TFLOPS. In Doom, this GPU is the dominant factor in determining frame rates, especially at higher resolutions and settings. The 8 GB VRAM is a key limitation: at 4K Ultra, the average FPS drops to 42, and at 4K High, it is 51. This suggests that the GPU is running out of memory or bandwidth when rendering the game’s high-resolution textures. The GDDR7 memory, while fast, is limited by the 128-bit bus, which is narrower than what higher-end GPUs use. The boost clock of 2497 MHz is decent for a mobile GPU, but the 145 W TDP means it cannot sustain extremely high clocks under sustained load. In the benchmark data, the RTX 5060’s average benchmark score is 26331, and it ranks in the 72nd percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals, based on average scores, include the AMD Radeon 860M (with a deltaPct of -0.3, meaning the RTX 5060 is slightly worse), the NVIDIA GeForce MX550 (deltaPct of -0.3), and the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary (deltaPct of -0.8), while the AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT is slightly better with a deltaPct of 1.2. These deltas are all within 2%, indicating that the RTX 5060 is in a tight performance cluster. In Doom, the GPU’s role is clear: it provides excellent performance at 1080p and 1440p, but the 4K results are limited by its memory configuration. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3628 and Geekbench Vulkan score of 113321 are general metrics, but in Doom specifically, the GPU’s fill rate and memory bandwidth are what matter. The 119.9 GPixel/s pixel rate and 299.6 GTexel/s texture rate are sufficient for the game’s rendering needs, but the 8 GB VRAM is the limiting factor at 4K. Overall, the RTX 5060 is a solid mid-range mobile GPU that pairs well with the 265HX for 1080p and 1440p gaming, but it is not designed for 4K Ultra in demanding titles like Doom.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p Ultra settings for this combo?

A: The average FPS at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings is 118 FPS.

Q: How does the combo perform at 4K Medium settings?

A: At 3840x2160 with Medium settings, the average FPS is 60, with a minimum of 51 FPS and a maximum of 69 FPS.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor at 1080p Low settings?

A: At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 197, which is very high. The CPU has a Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 40642 and a single-core score of 5737, and the data suggests that the GPU is still the primary limit, as the CPU has enough headroom to support even higher frame rates.

Q: What is the combo’s ranking among all tested combinations in Doom?

A: The combo ranks 1921 out of 2930 tested combinations, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database.

Q: What is the RTX 5060’s memory configuration and how does it affect 4K performance?

A: The RTX 5060 has 8 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 128-bit bus with 448.0 GB/s bandwidth. This configuration limits 4K performance, as evidenced by the 42 FPS average at 4K Ultra and 51 FPS at 4K High.

Q: How does the CPU’s single-core performance compare to its multi-core performance in synthetic tests?

A: The CPU scores 5737 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 40642 in multi-core. The single-core score is strong for a mobile part, and the multi-core score is also high, but Doom does not heavily utilize the 20 threads, so single-core performance is more relevant for the game’s main thread.