Doom

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 is a study in contrast for Doom, a 2016 FPS that rewards fast, consistent frame delivery. The CPU is a modern 20-core Arrow Lake part with a 5.50 GHz boost clock, while the GPU is a Pascal-era card from 2016. Benchmark results show this combination lands at rank 1410 out of 1681 tested combos for this title, placing it in the lower third of the field. The data reveals a system where the graphics card is the primary constraint across most settings, particularly at higher resolutions, yet the CPU’s high single-thread performance keeps frame pacing stable at lower loads.

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

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K brings 20 cores and 20 threads, a configuration that emphasizes parallel throughput for modern workloads. Its base clock sits at 3.90 GHz, with a boost of 5.50 GHz on a 3 nm process node from TSMC. The chip includes 30 MB of shared L3 cache and supports DDR5 memory with dual-channel bandwidth of 102.4 GB/s. In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU scores 50,009 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 7,060 in single-core, with a PassMark single-thread score of 4,904. The percentile versus all CPUs is 97, indicating it outperforms the vast majority of installed processors.

For Doom, which was designed around the id Tech 6 engine, the game’s rendering thread is not heavily dependent on high core counts. The 265K’s single-core strength, reflected in its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 7,060, ensures that game logic and draw call submission do not become a bottleneck. In the measured data, the CPU’s role becomes apparent at 1080p with Low settings, where the average frame rate reaches 159.3 FPS. At this point, the GPU is still able to keep up with the CPU’s output, but the ceiling is set by the graphics card, not the processor. The CPU’s 20 cores provide headroom for background tasks, yet Doom’s engine does not leverage more than a few threads effectively, so the extra cores remain mostly idle during gameplay. Compared to its nearest rivals, the 265K is effectively tied with the Intel Core Ultra 7 265KF and Core i9-14900KF, both showing a delta of -0.2% in average benchmark score, and only 0.9% behind the Core i9-14900K. This parity means that swapping to those chips would not meaningfully alter Doom’s frame rates when paired with the GTX 1070.

The GTX 1070, by contrast, is the limiting factor in most scenarios. Its 1,920 shading units and 64 ROPs are from the Pascal architecture, with a boost clock of 1683 MHz and 8 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit bus delivering 256.3 GB/s of bandwidth. In PassMark G3D, the GPU scores 13,498, placing it at the 51st percentile of all GPUs. The card’s nearest rival, the GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER, is 1.4% behind in average score, while the GTX 880M is 1.3% ahead, indicating that the 1070 sits in a crowded mid-range band. For Doom, the CPU’s role is to feed frames without stutter, which it does admirably; the bottleneck shifts entirely to the GPU at 4K, where even Low settings yield only 54.7 FPS.

Settings Recommendations — which preset gives the best experience per the measured rows

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance on which preset to use. At 1080p, the Ultra preset delivers 96.5 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth play but not exceptionally high. The High preset improves this to 113.8 FPS, while Medium reaches 138.5 FPS and Low tops out at 159.3 FPS. The jump from Ultra to High is 17.3 FPS, a 17.9% increase, while moving from High to Medium adds 24.7 FPS (21.7% more). The difference between Medium and Low is 20.8 FPS (15%). For a fast-paced FPS, the Medium preset at 138.5 FPS offers a strong balance between visual fidelity and responsiveness, as the frame rate is high enough to avoid screen tearing on most 144 Hz displays, and the visual downgrade from High is modest. Low at 159.3 FPS is only 15% faster than Medium, so the extra frames may not justify the graphical hit on a 60 Hz monitor.

At 1440p, the situation tightens. Ultra drops to 61.5 FPS, which is barely playable but with potential for dips below 60 in busy scenes. High provides 75.4 FPS, a 22.6% improvement over Ultra, and Medium reaches 91.1 FPS, which is 21% faster than High. Low at 104.6 FPS is the only preset that comfortably exceeds 100 FPS. For 1440p, the Medium preset at 91.1 FPS is recommended, as it keeps frame times consistent while maintaining better textures than Low. High at 75.4 FPS is acceptable for slower-paced sections, but Medium offers a safer margin.

At 4K, no preset achieves 60 FPS. Ultra yields 32.9 FPS, High 38.8 FPS, Medium 47.3 FPS, and Low 54.7 FPS. The Low preset is the only one near 60 FPS, but it is still 5.3 FPS short. For 4K, the data suggests that the GTX 1070 is insufficient for smooth gameplay, and users should consider lowering resolution or upgrading the GPU. Among the measured rows, the best experience per preset is achieved at 1080p Medium, which combines a high frame rate with reasonable visual quality without the diminishing returns seen at Low.

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

The frame rate scaling across resolutions reveals the GPU-bound nature of this combo. At High settings, the average FPS falls from 113.8 at 1080p to 75.4 at 1440p, a drop of 38.4 FPS (33.7%), and then to 38.8 at 4K, a further reduction of 36.6 FPS (48.5%). The percentage drop from 1080p to 1440p is 33.7%, while from 1440p to 4K it is 48.5%, indicating that the pixel count increase from 2.07 million to 3.68 million (77.7% more pixels) causes a disproportionately large FPS loss. This is characteristic of a GPU that runs out of fillrate and memory bandwidth as the resolution climbs.

At Low settings, the trend is similar but with higher absolute numbers: 159.3 FPS at 1080p, 104.6 FPS at 1440p (34.3% drop), and 54.7 FPS at 4K (47.7% drop from 1440p). The consistency of these percentage drops across presets—roughly 34% from 1080p to 1440p and 48% from 1440p to 4K—confirms that the GPU is the sole limiting factor. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect the FPS to plateau or drop less steeply at lower resolutions where the CPU has more work relative to the GPU. Instead, the FPS scales almost linearly with pixel count, which is the signature of a graphics-card-limited system.

The GTX 1070’s 8 GB of GDDR5 memory and 256.3 GB/s bandwidth are adequate for 1080p and 1440p, but at 4K the memory pressure and shader load overwhelm the card. The 4K Ultra result of 32.9 FPS is particularly telling—this is only 34% of the 1080p Ultra score of 96.5 FPS, showing that the card’s compute throughput (6.463 TFLOPS FP32) is insufficient for the 8.3 million pixels. The data indicates that any attempt to play Doom at 4K with this GPU will result in a sub-60 FPS experience, and the only way to improve it would be to lower resolution or reduce settings, neither of which is captured in the measured rows for 4K beyond Low.

How This Combo Ranks — use comboRankInGame vs other tested combos

The combo ranks 1410 out of 1681 tested combinations for Doom, placing it in the 83.9th percentile of the ranking (i.e., it is worse than 83.9% of combos). This rank is driven almost entirely by the GPU’s age and performance class. The CPU, with its 97th percentile standing among all CPUs, is not the weak link; rather, it is paired with a GPU that sits at the 51st percentile. The gap between the CPU’s high percentile and the GPU’s mid-range percentile creates a mismatch that pulls the overall combo rank down.

Within the context of Doom’s system requirements, which are modest by modern standards, the GTX 1070 was a capable card at launch in 2016, but the game’s engine has not aged in a way that favors older hardware. The rank of 1410 suggests that most tested combos, which likely include newer GPUs with higher memory bandwidth and more shading units, outperform this pairing. The nearest GPU rivals, such as the GTX 1650 SUPER (1.4% behind in average score) and GTX 880M (1.3% ahead), are all in the same performance tier, meaning the 1070 is not uniquely bad but simply outdated. The CPU’s nearest rivals, the 265KF and i9-14900KF, would not change the rank because they are within 0.2% in average score, so the bottleneck remains the GPU.

For a game like Doom that rewards high frame rates, this combo’s rank reflects that it can handle 1080p well but struggles at higher resolutions. The rank of 1410 is a quantitative summary of the measured FPS data: it is not a failing combination, but it is far from optimal. Users with this combo should expect to play at 1080p or 1440p with medium-to-high settings to maintain playable frame rates, and the rank confirms that upgrading the GPU would yield a larger benefit than upgrading the CPU.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo achieves in Doom at 1080p?

A: The highest measured average FPS at 1080p is 159.3, achieved with the Low preset. The Medium preset reaches 138.5 FPS, High yields 113.8 FPS, and Ultra drops to 96.5 FPS.

Q: Can this combo run Doom at 4K with playable frame rates?

A: No. The best 4K result is 54.7 FPS on Low settings, which is still below 60 FPS. Ultra settings produce only 32.9 FPS, and High/Medium yield 38.8 and 47.3 FPS respectively.

Q: How does the GTX 1070 compare to its nearest GPU rival in benchmark scores?

A: The GTX 1070’s average benchmark score is 12,331. Its nearest rival, the GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER, has a delta of -1.4% (i.e., the 1650 SUPER is 1.4% lower), while the GTX 880M is 1.3% higher. This places the 1070 in a tight mid-range cluster.

Q: What is the CPU’s single-thread performance, and why does it matter for Doom?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K scores 7,060 in Cinebench R23 single-core and 4,904 in PassMark single-thread. Since Doom’s engine relies on a few strong threads, this high single-thread performance prevents the CPU from becoming a bottleneck at lower resolutions.

Q: Which settings preset at 1440p provides the best balance of FPS and visual quality?

A: The Medium preset at 1440p yields 91.1 FPS, which is the highest frame rate above 90 FPS. Low provides 104.6 FPS, but Medium offers better textures and effects for only a 13.5 FPS cost, making it the recommended choice.

Q: What is the combo’s rank among all tested combos for Doom?

A: The combo ranks 1410 out of 1681 tested combinations, placing it in the lower third of the field. This rank is primarily due to the GTX 1070’s mid-range performance, as the CPU ranks in the 97th percentile of all CPUs.