Doom

The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 delivers a dominant 4K experience in Doom, with the data showing that even at the highest settings, the system never dips below 94 frames per second. The primary bottleneck shifts from the GPU at lower resolutions to a more balanced workload at 4K, where the sheer pixel count begins to temper the otherwise staggering frame rates. This combination ranks in the 76th percentile of all 2,930 tested configurations for this title, confirming its position as a top-tier performer for this fast-paced shooter.

Resolution Scaling

The measured frame rates reveal a clear and predictable scaling pattern as resolution increases, with the most significant performance drop occurring between 1440p and 4K. At 1080p with High settings, the system produces an average of 327 FPS; moving to 1440p High reduces that to 211 FPS, a 35% decrease. The jump to 4K High further reduces the average to 115 FPS, representing a 45% drop from the 1440p figure and a 65% drop from 1080p. This pattern indicates that while the RTX 4090 is immensely powerful, the transition to 4K’s 8.3 million pixels presents a substantial workload that even this GPU cannot fully overcome, though the resulting 115 FPS average remains exceptionally smooth for competitive play.

Analyzing the scaling across all settings confirms that the GPU is the primary limiting factor as resolution climbs. The performance difference between 1080p and 1440p at Medium settings is 137 FPS (from 387 to 250), while the difference between 1440p and 4K at the same settings is 114 FPS (from 250 to 136). The relative consistency of these absolute drops suggests that the GPU’s compute and memory resources are being taxed in a linear fashion as pixel count increases. However, the fact that 1080p Low produces 444 FPS while 4K Low produces 156 FPS—a 65% reduction—illustrates that even at minimal graphical load, the 4K resolution requires a massive amount of pixel processing, making the GPU the definitive bottleneck at that resolution.

The data also shows that the CPU is not a limiting factor at any resolution. The 1080p Low setting, which is the most CPU-bound scenario, still yields 444 FPS, indicating the processor has ample headroom. If the CPU were a constraint, we would expect to see a plateau in frame rates at 1080p across different settings, but instead we see a steady increase from 267 FPS at Ultra to 444 FPS at Low, proving the GPU is still the primary driver of performance even at this low resolution. This suggests that the Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus provides sufficient processing power to feed the RTX 4090 without creating a bottleneck, even in a game as fast-paced as Doom.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 is the undisputed performance driver in this configuration, and its substantial memory and clock specifications are directly reflected in the measured results. The GPU features 24 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 384-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 1.01 TB/s. This vast memory pool and bandwidth are essential for handling the high-resolution textures and geometry of Doom at 4K, ensuring that the GPU never stalls waiting for data. The benchmark results show that even at 4K Ultra, the system maintains a 94 FPS average, evidence of the GPU’s ability to process the game’s demanding scenes without running out of memory or bandwidth.

The clock speeds of the RTX 4090, with a base of 2235 MHz and a boost of 2520 MHz, are relatively high for a GPU of this size, and they contribute to its raw compute power. This is further evidenced by its FP32 performance of 82.58 TFLOPS, which is the theoretical peak for single-precision floating-point operations. In Doom, a game that relies heavily on fast, parallel processing for its id Tech engine, this raw throughput translates directly into the high frame rates observed. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 9,223 and the Passmark G3D score of 38,194, while synthetic, align with the GPU’s strong real-world performance in this title.

The GPU’s percentile ranking of 88th among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 60,347, places it in the upper echelon of graphics cards. Its nearest rivals in the database, such as the Intel Arc Pro A60 with a score of 60,326, are statistically tied, but the RTX 4090’s performance in Doom is clearly superior due to its dedicated gaming optimizations and drivers. The data shows that the RTX 4090 is not just a workstation-class card; it is also a gaming powerhouse, capable of delivering over 100 FPS at 4K in this demanding title. The GPU’s end-of-life production status does not diminish its current performance, as it remains one of the most capable cards available for this game.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Doom at 4K with maximum settings?

A: Yes. The measured data shows an average of 94 FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, which is well above the 60 FPS standard for smooth gameplay and only slightly below the 115 FPS average at High settings.

Q: What is the best resolution for the highest frame rates?

A: The data indicates that 1920x1080 provides the highest frame rates, with an average of 444 FPS at Low settings and 327 FPS at High settings. This is ideal for competitive play where maximum responsiveness is critical.

Q: How does the system perform at 1440p compared to 4K?

A: At 2560x1440, the system averages 211 FPS on High settings, which is 96 FPS higher than the 115 FPS average at 4K. This makes 1440p a strong choice for high refresh-rate monitors without the full performance cost of 4K.

Q: Is there a significant difference between Medium and High settings?

A: Yes, but the scale depends on resolution. At 4K, the difference is 21 FPS (115 High vs. 136 Medium), while at 1440p it is 39 FPS (211 High vs. 250 Medium). At 1080p, the difference is 60 FPS (327 High vs. 387 Medium).

Q: Does the CPU bottleneck the GPU in this game?

A: No. At 1080p Low, the system achieves 444 FPS, which indicates the CPU has enough headroom to avoid being a limiting factor. If the CPU were a bottleneck, we would see frame rates plateau regardless of graphics settings.

Q: What is the frame time consistency like at 4K Medium?

A: The measured data for 3840x2160 Medium shows an average FPS of 136, with a minimum of 115 and a maximum of 156. This indicates a relatively consistent frame pacing, with a 21 FPS variance between the average and minimum.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data reveals a clear hierarchy of performance across the four available settings presets, allowing for a definitive recommendation based on the desired balance between visual fidelity and frame rate. At 4K, the Ultra preset delivers an average of 94 FPS, which is playable but represents the lowest performance tier. The High preset offers a significant improvement, with an average of 115 FPS, a 22% increase over Ultra, while the Medium preset pushes further to 136 FPS, a 45% increase over Ultra. For users with a 4K display, the High preset is the optimal choice, as it provides a substantial visual upgrade over Medium while maintaining a frame rate that exceeds most high-refresh-rate monitors’ capabilities.

At 1440p, the performance landscape is even more favorable. The Ultra preset averages 173 FPS, which is already excellent for high-refresh-rate gaming. However, the High preset at 211 FPS offers a 22% improvement, and the Medium preset at 250 FPS provides a 45% improvement over Ultra. Given that 1440p monitors with refresh rates of 240Hz or higher are common, the High preset is recommended for users seeking to maximize their display’s potential without sacrificing visual quality. The Medium preset is a viable alternative for those who prioritize frame rate above all else, but the visual difference between Medium and High is often substantial.

At 1080p, the system is so powerful that even the Ultra preset, with an average of 267 FPS, is more than sufficient for any monitor on the market. The High preset at 327 FPS and Medium at 387 FPS are both excellent choices for esports-level responsiveness. The Low preset, at 444 FPS, offers the absolute maximum frame rate but at a significant visual cost. For most users at 1080p, the High preset is the recommended setting, as it provides a perfect balance of visual quality and performance, ensuring the game looks its best while still delivering frame rates far beyond what any display can physically show. The data shows that High is the “sweet spot” across all resolutions, delivering a substantial performance boost over Ultra with minimal visual compromise.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The raw data provides a comprehensive picture of performance across all three resolutions and four settings. At 1920x1080, the system achieves its highest frame rates, with an average of 444 FPS on Low settings. The Medium preset yields an average of 387 FPS, with a minimum of 329 and a maximum of 445 FPS. High settings produce an average of 327 FPS, while the Ultra preset, the most demanding, still maintains an average of 267 FPS. This shows a clear progression, with each step up in settings costing roughly 60 FPS at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the performance remains exceptionally high. The Low preset averages 287 FPS, which is a 35% decrease from the 1080p Low result. Medium settings average 250 FPS, with a minimum of 213 and a maximum of 288 FPS. The High preset averages 211 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 173 FPS. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1440p shows a 40% performance drop, indicating that the settings have a slightly larger impact at this resolution than at 1080p, where the drop from Low to Ultra is 40% as well.

At 3840x2160, the performance is the lowest but still highly playable. The Low preset averages 156 FPS, which is a 65% decrease from the 1080p Low result, highlighting the massive pixel workload of 4K. The Medium preset averages 136 FPS, with a minimum of 115 and a maximum of 156 FPS. High settings average 115 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 94 FPS. The difference between Medium and High at 4K is 21 FPS, while the difference between High and Ultra is also 21 FPS, showing a consistent performance cost for each graphical enhancement tier. The data confirms that the system is capable of delivering a smooth experience at any setting and resolution, with 4K Ultra being the only configuration that dips below the 100 FPS mark.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus plays a supporting but crucial role in this configuration, providing the processing power necessary to keep the RTX 4090 fed with data. With 24 cores and 24 threads, this processor offers substantial multi-threaded capabilities, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 44,253 and its Passmark multithread score of 68,574. In Doom, which is primarily a GPU-bound game, these multi-core resources are not fully utilized, but they ensure that background tasks and game logic do not interfere with frame rendering. The processor’s single-thread performance, with a Cinebench R23 single-core score of 2,439 and a Passmark single-thread score of 5,068, is more relevant for gaming, as game engines often rely on a few primary threads for physics and game state updates.

The processor’s high boost clock of 5.50 GHz is a key factor in its gaming performance, as it allows for rapid execution of single-threaded tasks. This is reflected in the 1080p Low benchmark, where the system achieves 444 FPS, a figure that would be impossible if the CPU were unable to process game instructions quickly enough. The data shows that the CPU is not a bottleneck in this configuration, as frame rates scale consistently with GPU load across all resolutions and settings. If the CPU were the limiting factor, we would expect to see lower frame rates at 1080p, where the GPU is less stressed, but instead we see the highest frame rates at this resolution, indicating the CPU has ample headroom.

The processor’s 36 MB of shared L3 cache and dual-channel DDR5 memory support, with a bandwidth of 115.2 GB/s, further contribute to its ability to handle game data efficiently. While the game’s data is primarily processed on the GPU, the CPU must still manage memory calls and asset streaming. The benchmark results for the CPU place it in the 96th percentile of all processors, with an average benchmark score of 93,785, putting it in the company of server-class chips like the Intel Xeon 6520P and AMD EPYC 4564P, which show a 0% and -1.5% delta, respectively. This high level of performance ensures that the CPU will not be a limiting factor in any current or near-future game, making it a solid foundation for this high-end GPU.