Doom

Doom’s 2016 engine is famously scalable, and the measured data for the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K paired with the AMD Radeon RX 9060 shows exactly how that scaling behaves across three resolutions. At 1080p, this combo is firmly in high-refresh territory, with the Low preset averaging 211 FPS. Stepping up to Medium drops that to 184 FPS, High to 155 FPS, and Ultra to 127 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 84 FPS, which indicates that even the most demanding preset leaves plenty of headroom for a 144Hz display. Moving to 1440p, the averages fall to 137 FPS on Low, 119 FPS on Medium, 101 FPS on High, and 82 FPS on Ultra. The drop from 1080p to 1440p at High settings is 54 FPS (155 to 101), a 35% reduction. At 4K, the picture changes dramatically. High settings produce 54 FPS, Medium 65 FPS, Low 74 FPS, and Ultra 45 FPS. The 4K High result is 101 FPS lower than the 1080p High result, showing that the GPU is now the primary constraint. The delta between 1080p and 4K at Medium settings is 119 FPS, which is a 65% performance loss. This scaling pattern—where 1440p still feels fluid but 4K drops below 60 FPS on High and Ultra—points to a system that is balanced for 1440p gaming but will require settings adjustments for 4K.

Resolution Scaling

The resolution scaling data reveals a clear hierarchy in what limits this combination. At 1920x1080, the Core Ultra 7 265K’s 20 cores and 5.50 GHz boost clock are more than enough to feed the Radeon RX 9060. The 211 FPS Low preset result suggests that the GPU is still the bottleneck even at this resolution, but the CPU is not holding it back. When you move to 2560x1440, the workload shifts. The 101 FPS High preset result at 1440p is exactly 54 FPS below the 155 FPS High result at 1080p. This 35% reduction is close to the pixel count increase (78% more pixels from 1080p to 1440p), but the fact that the drop is not proportional indicates that the GPU is becoming more stressed. At 3840x2160, the story is unambiguous. The 54 FPS High result at 4K is barely above the 45 FPS Ultra result, and the Low preset only reaches 74 FPS. The difference between 1440p High (101 FPS) and 4K High (54 FPS) is 47 FPS, a 47% reduction. This is a steep cliff. The 4K Medium result of 65 FPS with a minimum of 55 FPS shows that even mid-tier settings struggle to maintain a consistent 60 FPS. Benchmarks indicate that this combo is best suited for 1440p, where every preset except Ultra stays above 100 FPS. At 4K, only the Low preset (74 FPS) and Medium preset (65 FPS) clear 60 FPS, and even those are not comfortable margins. The 4K Ultra result of 45 FPS is 18 FPS below the 4K Medium result, which is a 28% penalty for enabling the highest quality settings. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is smooth and predictable, but the jump to 4K introduces a hard ceiling that the RX 9060’s 8 GB memory and 288.0 GB/s bandwidth cannot overcome.

Settings Recommendations

For this specific combination, the measured rows provide a clear picture of which presets deliver the best experience. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset at 127 FPS is the obvious choice for owners of high-refresh 1080p monitors. The gap between High (155 FPS) and Ultra (127 FPS) is 28 FPS, but the visual fidelity gain from Ultra is substantial in Doom’s particle-heavy combat. If you prioritize maximum frame rates, the Low preset at 211 FPS is available, but the Medium preset at 184 FPS offers a better balance of visual quality and speed. At 2560x1440, the High preset at 101 FPS is the sweet spot. It sits comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold, and the 19 FPS difference between High (101 FPS) and Medium (119 FPS) is notable, but High’s improved lighting and shadows are worth the cost. The Ultra preset at 1440p drops to 82 FPS, which is still playable but leaves less headroom for dips during intense scenes. The Medium preset at 1440p, with its 101 FPS minimum, is the safest choice for competitive play. At 3840x2160, the recommendations become more conservative. The Medium preset at 65 FPS with a 55 FPS minimum is the highest preset that maintains a playable frame rate. The High preset at 54 FPS is borderline, and the Ultra preset at 45 FPS is not recommended for smooth gameplay. The Low preset at 74 FPS is the only 4K option that provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS, but it sacrifices significant visual quality. Based on the data, 1440p High is the best overall experience for this combo, offering 101 FPS average with no minimum reported. For 4K users, Medium is the pragmatic limit, as the 65 FPS average and 55 FPS minimum are the only 4K results that stay above the 60 FPS line consistently.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9060 is the decisive component in this pairing, and its specifications explain the observed frame rates. The GPU features a base clock of 1700 MHz, a game clock of 2400 MHz, and a boost clock of 2990 MHz. The boost clock is particularly relevant for Doom, which responds well to higher clocks. The 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus provides 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This bandwidth figure is modest by modern standards, and the 4K results reflect that limitation. The GPU’s 1792 shading units and 64 ROPs are responsible for the pixel throughput, and the 191.4 GPixel/s pixel rate is a theoretical maximum that the 4K results cannot sustain. In the measured data, the RX 9060 achieves its best relative performance at 1080p, where the Low preset at 211 FPS is close to the 2400 MHz game clock’s potential. The 4K High result of 54 FPS is 67% lower than the 1080p High result of 155 FPS, which aligns with the GPU’s memory bandwidth constraints. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 3322 and the Passmark G3D score of 17631 place this GPU in the 59th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti with an average score of 16129 (0.7% higher) and the AMD Radeon RX 7700 with an average score of 15852 (1% lower). These rivals are comparable in raw compute, but Doom’s specific engine behavior favors the RX 9060’s RDNA 4.0 architecture. The GPU’s 21.43 TFLOPS FP32 performance is high, but the 8 GB memory capacity becomes a bottleneck at 4K, where texture-heavy scenes exceed the available VRAM. The 4K Medium result of 65 FPS versus the 4K Low result of 74 FPS shows only a 9 FPS difference, indicating that the GPU is not scaling well with settings at this resolution. The 4K Ultra result of 45 FPS is 20 FPS below the 4K Medium result, suggesting that Ultra settings push the GPU past its limits. The RX 9060’s role is clear: it delivers excellent 1080p and good 1440p performance, but 4K gaming requires reduced settings to stay playable.

How This Combo Ranks

This specific combination of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K and AMD Radeon RX 9060 ranks 1686 out of 2930 tested combos for Doom. This places it in the 42nd percentile of all combinations, meaning roughly 58% of tested combos deliver higher average frame rates. The ranking is influenced by the GPU’s 59th percentile standing among all GPUs, while the CPU ranks in the 94th percentile among all CPUs. This asymmetry suggests that the GPU is the limiting factor in this pairing. The combo’s rank of 1686 is not a poor result—it indicates a solid mid-tier configuration—but it is not competitive with top-tier systems. The CPU’s nearest rivals in synthetic benchmarks include the Intel Xeon 6511P with an average score of 71051 (0.2% higher), the Intel Xeon Platinum 8270 with 71370 (0.7% higher), and the Intel Core i7-14700KF with 70163 (1% lower). These rival CPUs would not meaningfully change the Doom results because the GPU is the bottleneck. The GPU’s nearest rivals, such as the RTX 3060 Ti (0.7% higher average score) and the RX 7700 (1% lower), would likely produce similar frame rates in Doom. The combo rank of 1686 out of 2930 means that this system is positioned for 1080p and 1440p gaming, where it performs well, but it is not optimized for 4K. The 4K results drag the overall ranking down, as many combos with more powerful GPUs achieve higher 4K frame rates. For a builder targeting high-refresh 1440p, this combo’s rank is acceptable. For 4K enthusiasts, the rank is a warning that this GPU is not sufficient for demanding presets. The data indicates that pairing this CPU with a stronger GPU would push the combo rank significantly higher, as the CPU’s 94th percentile synthetic score proves it has headroom.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K is a 20-core, 20-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, built on a 3 nm process from TSMC. It has a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, with 30 MB of shared L3 cache. In Doom, the CPU’s role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and physics calculations. The measured FPS data shows that even at 1080p Low, where the CPU would be most stressed, the system achieves 211 FPS. This indicates that the 265K is not a bottleneck at any resolution or preset. The CPU’s single-thread performance is strong, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2020 and Geekbench single-core score of 2713. Doom’s engine is well-optimized for multi-threading, and the 20 cores ensure that background tasks do not interfere with gameplay. The CPU’s Passmark multithread score of 58594 and Cinebench R23 multicore score of 35850 place it in the 94th percentile of all CPUs, with nearest rivals like the Intel Xeon 6511P (0.2% higher average score) and the Intel Core i7-14700KF (1% lower). In the measured Doom results, the CPU’s influence is most visible in the 1080p Low preset, where the 211 FPS average is only 27 FPS higher than the 1080p High result of 155 FPS. This 56 FPS gap between Low and High at 1080p is primarily a GPU limitation, not a CPU one. The 4K Low result of 74 FPS versus the 4K High result of 54 FPS shows a 20 FPS difference, again pointing to the GPU. The CPU’s 125W TDP and 3 nm process node mean it runs efficiently, and its DDR5 memory support with 102.4 GB/s bandwidth is more than sufficient for Doom’s memory demands. The integrated Arc Xe-LPG Graphics 64EU is not relevant for this dedicated GPU setup, but it provides a fallback. The CPU’s 20 threads are overkill for Doom, but they ensure that the system is future-proof for more demanding titles. The benchmark data confirms that the 265K is not the limiting component in this combo; the GPU is. For users upgrading from older CPUs, the 265K’s 5.50 GHz boost clock and high single-thread performance will deliver consistent frame times, as shown by the 1080p results where the GPU is the clear bottleneck.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution for this CPU and GPU combo in Doom?

A: The measured data shows that 2560x1440 offers the best balance. At 1440p High, the combo averages 101 FPS, which is well above the 60 FPS threshold. At 1080p High, it reaches 155 FPS, but 1440p provides a more immersive experience without sacrificing playability. At 4K, only the Low preset (74 FPS) and Medium preset (65 FPS) stay above 60 FPS.

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

A: At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average FPS drops to 45. This is 20 FPS below the 4K Medium result of 65 FPS and 29 FPS below the 4K Low result of 74 FPS. The 45 FPS average is not smooth for fast-paced FPS action, so Ultra at 4K is not recommended for this configuration.

Q: Is the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K a bottleneck in Doom?

A: No. The CPU’s 20 cores and 5.50 GHz boost clock keep up with the GPU at all settings. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 211 FPS, which is a CPU-friendly scenario, and the GPU still limits the frame rate. The CPU’s 94th percentile ranking among all CPUs supports this conclusion.

Q: How much FPS do you lose from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: The 1080p High preset averages 155 FPS, while the 4K High preset averages 54 FPS. This is a 101 FPS reduction, or a 65% performance loss. The 1440p High preset at 101 FPS is the middle ground, showing a 54 FPS drop from 1080p.

Q: What is the minimum FPS on Medium settings at 1440p?

A: The measured data lists a minimum FPS of 101 and a maximum of 137 at 2560x1440 Medium settings, with an average of 119 FPS. This means the frame rate never dips below 101 FPS, making it a safe choice for competitive play.

Q: How does the Radeon RX 9060 compare to its nearest GPU rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RX 9060 has an average benchmark score of 16014, which is 0.7% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti (16129) and 1% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 7700 (15852). Its percentile rank is 59, meaning it outperforms 59% of all GPUs. In Doom, the RX 9060’s 8 GB memory capacity limits 4K performance, but its 2990 MHz boost clock helps at 1080p and 1440p.