Doom

# FAQ

Q: What is the overall rank of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K + AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT combination in Doom?

A: This combo ranks 1238th out of 3712 tested combinations in Doom, placing it in the upper third of all tested system configurations. The rank reflects the combined CPU-GPU performance in this specific title.

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo achieves at 1080p, and at what settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves 284 FPS average, which is the highest measured result across all resolutions and settings. The Medium preset delivers 247 FPS, High delivers 209 FPS, and Ultra delivers 171 FPS at the same resolution.

Q: How does the GPU's 16 GB VRAM factor into Doom's performance?

A: The Radeon RX 7800 XT features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus with 624.1 GB/s bandwidth. At 4K Ultra, the combo drops to 60 FPS average, suggesting the memory subsystem and GPU compute are stressed at the highest preset, though the frame rates remain playable.

Q: What is the CPU's single-threaded performance, and why might it matter for Doom?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K scores 2020 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 708 in Cinebench R15 single-core. Since Doom is a fast-paced FPS that relies heavily on frame pacing and draw calls, strong single-thread performance helps maintain high minimum FPS, particularly at lower resolutions where the GPU is not the bottleneck.

Q: How does the combo's 4K performance compare to its 1440p performance?

A: At 2560x1440 Ultra, the combo averages 110 FPS, while at 3840x2160 Ultra, it averages 60 FPS — a 45% reduction. This indicates the GPU becomes progressively more limiting as pixel count increases, a pattern consistent with the RX 7800 XT's mid-range positioning.

Q: What is the GPU's benchmark percentile, and how does it compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The RX 7800 XT sits at the 51st percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 11627. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660, scores 11680 (0.5% higher), while the AMD Radeon Pro 5500M trails by 0.9% with a score of 11528.

How This Combo Ranks

The data places the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K + AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT at rank 1238 out of 3712 tested combos in Doom. This position lands in the 66.6th percentile of tested systems, meaning roughly two-thirds of all configurations tested in this database perform worse, while one-third outperform it. The rank is a composite of CPU and GPU contributions, and the measured FPS values across resolutions confirm the GPU is the primary scaling factor.

The CPU itself ranks at the 94th percentile among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 70879. Its nearest rival, the Intel Xeon 6511P, scores 71051 (0.2% higher), while the Intel Core i7-14700KF scores 70163 (1% lower). This places the 265K in strong company for compute-heavy workloads, but Doom's engine is not particularly CPU-intensive at high resolutions — the GPU's 51st percentile ranking is more indicative of the combo's overall standing.

In practical terms, the combo's rank in Doom is driven by the RX 7800 XT's mid-pack GPU performance rather than the CPU's top-tier compute scores. The GPU's average benchmark score of 11627 is nearly identical to its nearest rival, the GeForce GTX 1660 (11680, 0.5% higher), which is a much older and less capable card in real-world gaming. This suggests the 7800 XT's synthetic benchmarks understate its gaming capabilities, or that Doom's specific rendering paths favor the card's RDNA 3.0 architecture more than raw compute scores indicate.

The rank of 1238 across 3712 combos translates to a solid mid-upper tier placement. For a 2016-era FPS like Doom, this combo provides frame rates that comfortably exceed typical 60 FPS targets at every measured resolution and preset, even at 4K Ultra where the average dips to exactly 60 FPS. The data shows that the CPU's high percentile rank (94th) does not translate to a proportionally high combo rank, confirming that the GPU is the limiting factor in this pairing for Doom.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear pattern of GPU-bound scaling as resolution increases. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 284 FPS, which drops to 184 FPS at 1440p Low (a 35% reduction) and further to 99 FPS at 4K Low (a 65% reduction from 1080p). This steep decline is characteristic of a GPU-limited scenario — the CPU has ample headroom at 1080p, but the RX 7800 XT's pixel throughput becomes the bottleneck as resolution scales.

The same pattern holds across all presets. At High settings, 1080p delivers 209 FPS, 1440p delivers 135 FPS (35% lower), and 4K delivers 73 FPS (65% lower). At Ultra, 1080p averages 171 FPS, 1440p averages 110 FPS (36% lower), and 4K averages 60 FPS (65% lower). The consistency of these percentage drops — roughly 35% from 1080p to 1440p and 65% from 1080p to 4K — indicates that the scaling is almost purely pixel-driven, with no sudden CPU-related cliff.

The Medium preset provides additional granularity with minimum FPS data. At 1080p Medium, the combo averages 247 FPS with a minimum of 210 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 160 FPS with a minimum of 136 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average is 87 FPS with a minimum of 74 FPS. The minimum-to-average ratios remain fairly consistent (85%, 85%, and 85% respectively), suggesting the frame pacing is stable across resolutions and not prone to sudden hitches.

The limiting component analysis points squarely at the GPU. The CPU's 20 cores and 20 threads with a 5.50 GHz boost clock provide more than enough compute for Doom's engine. The GPU's 3840 shading units, 240 TMUs, and 96 ROPs determine the fill rate and shader throughput that scale directly with resolution. The memory bandwidth of 624.1 GB/s on a 256-bit bus also becomes a factor at 4K, where the frame buffer demands more data per frame.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its strongest results across all presets. Low settings produce 284 FPS average, Medium produces 247 FPS (with a 210 FPS minimum), High produces 209 FPS, and Ultra produces 171 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra is 113 FPS, representing a 40% drop when moving from the least to most demanding preset. Even at Ultra, the frame rate exceeds 170 FPS, which is well beyond the refresh rate of most high-end monitors.

At 2560x1440, the results remain strong but show the GPU beginning to strain. Low settings yield 184 FPS, Medium yields 160 FPS (minimum 136 FPS), High yields 135 FPS, and Ultra yields 110 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 74 FPS, a 40% reduction from Low. The minimum FPS at Medium (136 FPS) still clears 120 FPS, making this resolution suitable for high-refresh-rate displays at most settings.

At 3840x2160, the combo drops to playable but less spectacular numbers. Low settings produce 99 FPS, Medium produces 87 FPS (minimum 74 FPS), High produces 73 FPS, and Ultra produces 60 FPS. The Low-to-Ultra spread is 39 FPS, a 39% reduction. The Ultra preset sits exactly at the 60 FPS threshold, which is the minimum for smooth gameplay on standard 60 Hz displays. The Medium preset's minimum of 74 FPS provides a more comfortable margin.

The data shows a consistent relationship between settings and FPS at each resolution. At 1080p, each preset step (Low to Medium, Medium to High, High to Ultra) reduces FPS by roughly 15-20%. At 1440p, the steps are slightly smaller in absolute terms but similar in percentage. At 4K, the steps are compressed because the GPU is already near its limits, with each preset step costing about 13-14 FPS.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT is the dominant performance driver in this combo for Doom. The GPU's 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus provides 624.1 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient for Doom's textures and geometry at all tested settings. The 4K Ultra result of 60 FPS suggests the GPU is hitting its compute ceiling rather than a memory capacity limit — 16 GB is ample for a 2016 title even at 4K.

The GPU's clock behavior is notable: the base clock is 1295 MHz, the game clock is 2124 MHz, and the boost clock reaches 2430 MHz. The large gap between base and boost (1135 MHz) indicates the card aggressively boosts under load, which helps maintain frame rates in Doom's demanding scenes. The 37.32 TFLOPS of FP32 compute (and matching FP16 at 1:1 ratio) provides the raw shader throughput needed for the game's lighting and particle effects.

The GPU's benchmark scores place it at the 51st percentile, with an average score of 11627. Its nearest rival, the GeForce GTX 1660, scores 11680 (0.5% higher), while the Radeon Pro 5500M scores 11528 (0.9% lower). However, the RX 7800 XT's 16 GB VRAM and modern RDNA 3.0 architecture give it a significant real-world advantage in Doom over these older rivals, despite similar synthetic scores. The 60 RT cores and DirectX 12 Ultimate support (12_2) also future-proof the card for titles that leverage ray tracing, though Doom itself does not heavily use such features.

The GPU's pixel rate of 233.3 GPixel/s and texture rate of 583.2 GTexel/s directly influence Doom's fill-rate-dependent scenes. At 4K, the 96 ROPs must process 8.3 million pixels per frame, and the 240 TMUs handle texture fetches for the game's detailed environmental geometry. The measured FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K (roughly 65% reduction) aligns with the theoretical pixel count increase from 2.07 million to 8.29 million, confirming the GPU's fill rate is the primary constraint at higher resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

For the best balance of visual fidelity and performance, the Medium preset at 1440p emerges as the sweet spot from the measured data. At 2560x1440 Medium, the combo delivers 160 FPS average with a 136 FPS minimum, providing a smooth experience on high-refresh-rate monitors while maintaining decent visual quality. The 136 FPS minimum ensures minimal frame drops during intense combat sequences.

At 1080p, the High preset at 209 FPS is recommended for users with 144Hz+ displays, as it offers a significant visual upgrade over Medium (247 FPS) while still exceeding 200 FPS. The Ultra preset at 171 FPS is also viable for 144Hz monitors, though the visual difference between High and Ultra may not justify the 38 FPS loss.

For 4K users, the Medium preset at 87 FPS average (74 FPS minimum) is the strongest recommendation. It provides a 27 FPS improvement over Ultra (60 FPS) and a 14 FPS improvement over High (73 FPS), while the visual downgrade from Ultra to Medium is relatively subtle in a fast-paced FPS. The 74 FPS minimum keeps frame times below 13.5ms, avoiding perceptible stutter on 60 Hz displays.

The Low presets are not recommended unless the user prioritizes maximum frame rates above all else. At 1080p Low, the 284 FPS result is impressive but comes at a substantial visual cost. The data shows that Medium at any resolution delivers a better performance-per-visual-quality trade-off, with the 4K Medium result (87 FPS) being particularly compelling given the high pixel density.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K provides ample compute headroom for Doom, as evidenced by the consistent frame rates across resolutions. The CPU's 20 cores and 20 threads operate at a base clock of 3.90 GHz and boost up to 5.50 GHz, with a 125 W TDP. The 3 nm process node and Arrow Lake architecture deliver strong single-thread performance, which matters for Doom's frame pacing and draw call submission.

The CPU's cache hierarchy includes 192 KB of L1 per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and 30 MB of shared L3. This substantial cache helps keep frequently accessed game data close to the cores, reducing memory latency. The dual-channel DDR5 memory support with 102.4 GB/s bandwidth provides sufficient throughput for Doom's streaming assets, though the GPU's 624.1 GB/s bandwidth is the more critical figure for high-resolution rendering.

Benchmark results place the 265K at the 94th percentile among all CPUs, with an average score of 70879. Its nearest rival, the Intel Xeon 6511P, scores 71051 (0.2% higher), while the Intel Core i7-14700KF scores 70163 (1% lower). In Doom specifically, the CPU's single-thread performance is more relevant than its multi-thread capabilities, and the Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2020 (and R20 single-core score of 2953) indicates strong per-core throughput.

The CPU's role in this combo becomes evident when examining the FPS scaling. At 1080p Low, the 284 FPS result approaches the engine's practical frame rate ceiling, and the fact that it scales down to 99 FPS at 4K Low (a 65% reduction) confirms the CPU is not the bottleneck. The 20 threads handle the game's background tasks and physics without issue, while the 5.50 GHz boost clock ensures the main render thread has maximum single-thread performance.