Doom

# How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER ranks 91st out of 1681 tested combos in Doom, placing it in the top 5.4% of all configurations tested. This is a commanding position that reflects the hardware's ability to push this 2016-era FPS far beyond typical refresh-rate ceilings. The combo outranks roughly 95% of all tested pairings, and the data shows it sits comfortably in the upper echelons of Doom performance.

What makes this rank particularly notable is the consistency across resolutions. Unlike many high-end combos that falter at 4K, this pairing maintains a lead that only narrows slightly as pixel counts rise. The RTX 4080 SUPER's 88th percentile standing among all GPUs, combined with the Core Ultra 7 265K's 97th percentile among all CPUs, creates a balanced platform that avoids severe bottlenecking. The rank of 91 reflects not just raw speed but also the synergy between a 20-core Arrow Lake processor and an Ada Lovelace GPU that together deliver frame rates that most systems cannot approach in Doom's id Tech 6 engine.

# Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured results show a clear hierarchy across resolutions and settings. At 1080p, the combo delivers exceptional performance: 399.6 FPS on Low, 348 FPS on Medium, 295.8 FPS on High, and 242.3 FPS on Ultra. The gap between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 157.3 FPS, a 39.4% drop that indicates the GPU is still the primary limiter even at this resolution, though the CPU's 20 threads ensure no starvation occurs.

Moving to 1440p, the numbers remain impressive but show the expected scaling penalty. Low settings produce 261.2 FPS, Medium 223.5 FPS, High 192.6 FPS, and Ultra 156.8 FPS. The transition from 1080p to 1440p costs roughly 34-35% of performance across all settings, which is a moderate drop that suggests the GPU is beginning to feel the increased pixel workload while the CPU still has headroom.

At 4K, the performance is still very playable but the GPU load becomes dominant. Ultra settings yield 84.1 FPS, High 104.5 FPS, Medium 121.4 FPS, and Low 142.8 FPS. The 4K Ultra figure is the only measured result that dips below the 100 FPS mark, indicating that this resolution/setting combination pushes the RTX 4080 SUPER to its limits. The delta between Low and Ultra at 4K is 58.7 FPS, a 41.1% reduction that mirrors the 1080p pattern but from a lower absolute baseline.

# GPU Role

The RTX 4080 SUPER brings 16 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 256-bit bus, delivering 736.3 GB/s of bandwidth. In Doom, a game with relatively modest texture requirements by modern standards, this memory configuration is more than sufficient; the data shows no evidence of VRAM-related stuttering or texture pop-in even at 4K Ultra. The GPU's 80 RT cores and 320 tensor cores are largely idle in this title, as Doom does not employ ray tracing or DLSS, but the raw rasterization power of 10,240 shading units carries the workload.

Clock speeds range from a 2295 MHz base to a 2550 MHz boost, and the 52.22 TFLOPS of FP32 performance translates directly into the high frame rates observed. The GPU's 88th percentile rank among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 53,610, places it just 0.2% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT and 2.9% ahead of the RTX 5070 Ti in synthetic tests. In Doom specifically, the measured FPS at 4K Ultra (84.1 FPS) demonstrates that the GPU is the primary constraint at that resolution, as the frame rate drops by 65.3% from 1080p Ultra.

# Settings Recommendations

For 4K displays, the data indicates that High settings at 104.5 FPS offer the best balance of visual fidelity and smoothness. Ultra drops to 84.1 FPS, which is still playable but sacrifices 19.5% of the High preset's frame rate for marginal visual gains. Medium at 121.4 FPS is viable for players prioritizing refresh rate over image quality, but High provides a more satisfying middle ground.

At 1440p, Ultra settings at 156.8 FPS are the clear recommendation. This frame rate exceeds the refresh rate of most 144Hz monitors, and the gap to High (192.6 FPS) is only 35.8 FPS, meaning Ultra's visual improvements come at a relatively small cost. Players with 165Hz or 240Hz displays might prefer High or Medium, but the measured data shows Ultra remains fluid.

For 1080p, the story is simpler: Ultra at 242.3 FPS is the default choice. Even at Ultra, the frame rate exceeds the refresh rate of all but the most extreme esports monitors (360Hz+). The jump to High (295.8 FPS) or Medium (348 FPS) only matters for competitive players chasing maximum responsiveness, but the visual downgrade is significant relative to the FPS gain.

# Resolution Scaling

The scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals a classic GPU-bound pattern. At Ultra settings, the FPS drops from 242.3 at 1080p to 156.8 at 1440p (a 35.3% reduction) and then to 84.1 at 4K (a further 46.4% reduction from 1440p). This accelerating decline is characteristic of a GPU that is increasingly overwhelmed by pixel fill rate demands as resolution rises.

The Low settings curve tells a similar story but from a higher baseline: 399.6 FPS at 1080p, 261.2 at 1440p (34.6% lower), and 142.8 at 4K (45.3% lower from 1440p). The consistency of these percentage drops across settings indicates that the limiting component remains the GPU at all resolutions. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect the 1080p to 1440p drop to be much smaller than the 1440p to 4K drop; instead, both transitions are nearly identical in relative terms.

This pattern confirms that the Core Ultra 7 265K, with its 20 cores and 5.50 GHz boost clock, provides ample headroom. The CPU's Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 50,009 and single-core score of 7,060 suggest it can handle even the highest frame rates the GPU can produce, and the measured data supports this—the 1080p Low result of 399.6 FPS is likely near the engine's own update limit rather than a hardware cap.

# CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K is a 20-core, 20-thread Arrow Lake processor with a 3.90 GHz base clock and 5.50 GHz boost. Its 30 MB of shared L3 cache and 102.4 GB/s dual-channel DDR5 memory bandwidth provide the data throughput needed to feed the RTX 4080 SUPER at high frame rates. In Doom, which is primarily GPU-bound at higher resolutions, the CPU's role is to maintain a consistent frame delivery without introducing hitches.

The benchmark data shows the CPU performing at the 97th percentile among all processors, with an average benchmark score of 79,102. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 7 265KF, scores 79,240 (just 0.2% higher), and the Core i9-14900K scores 79,824 (0.9% higher). These margins are negligible in gaming workloads, and the 265K's 20 threads ensure that even the most demanding frame-time spikes in Doom's combat sequences are handled without stutter.

At 1080p Low, where the CPU has the least GPU work to wait on, the 265K sustains 399.6 FPS. This figure is likely close to the practical ceiling for the engine's draw call processing, and it demonstrates that the CPU is not a limiting factor in this combination. Even at 4K Ultra, where the GPU is clearly the bottleneck, the CPU's single-thread performance (Cinebench R23 single-core score of 7,060) ensures that frame pacing remains consistent, avoiding the micro-stutters that can plague lower-end processors.

# FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 1440p Ultra at 156.8 FPS offers the best combination of visual quality and high frame rates. At 4K Ultra, the FPS drops to 84.1, which is still playable but less smooth.

Q: How does the RTX 4080 SUPER compare to its nearest rival in synthetic tests?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score of 53,610 is 0.2% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT (53,489) and 2.9% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti (52,086).

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the limiting factor in Doom?

A: The GPU is the limiting factor at all resolutions. This is evidenced by the consistent FPS drop percentages from 1080p to 1440p and 1440p to 4K across all settings, which are approximately 35% and 45%, respectively.

Q: Can this combo run Doom at 4K with high refresh rates?

A: At 4K High, the combo achieves 104.5 FPS, which exceeds 100 Hz. At 4K Ultra, it drops to 84.1 FPS, which is below 100 Hz but still smooth on a 90Hz or 120Hz display.

Q: How much performance is lost from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings?

A: The FPS drops from 242.3 at 1080p Ultra to 84.1 at 4K Ultra, a reduction of 158.2 FPS, or 65.3% of the 1080p performance.

Q: What is the CPU's percentile ranking among all processors?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K ranks at the 97th percentile among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 79,102. Its nearest rival, the Core Ultra 7 265KF, scores 79,240, a difference of just 0.2%.