Doom

The Doom benchmark data for the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 shows a combination that is clearly capable of running this classic FPS at high frame rates, but with important caveats at higher resolutions. This mobile processor and laptop GPU pairing delivers smooth gameplay at 1080p and 1440p, while 4K requires settings adjustments to stay fluid. The data indicates a strong performer for its class, though the 8 GB VRAM and mid-range GPU positioning create predictable limits at the most demanding settings.

FAQ

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

A: Based on the measured FPS, 1920x1080 is the best resolution. At High settings it averages 123 FPS, at Medium 146 FPS, and at Low 167 FPS. Even at Ultra, it maintains 101 FPS, making 1080p a fully playable experience across all settings.

Q: Can this combo handle 4K gaming in Doom?

A: Yes, but only at lower settings. At 3840x2160, the average FPS drops to 43 on High, 51 on Medium, and 59 on Low. Ultra settings at 4K produce only 35 FPS, which is below the smoothness threshold for fast-paced FPS gameplay.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 9 185H has an average benchmark score of 35670. Its closest rival, the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 350, scores 35719, which is a negligible 0.1% difference. The Intel Core 7 250H scores 35728 (0.2% higher), and the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X scores 35909 (0.7% higher). The CPU sits in the 85th percentile of all CPUs.

Q: What is the GPU's performance percentile?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 is in the 66th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 21035. Its nearest rival, the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL, scores 21153, which is 0.6% higher, while the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT scores 20713, which is 1.6% lower.

Q: Does the 8 GB VRAM limit performance in Doom?

A: The data shows that at 4K Ultra settings, the average FPS falls to 35, which suggests VRAM or memory bandwidth constraints. The GPU has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus with 320.0 GB/s bandwidth. At 1440p and below, the frame rates remain high, indicating that the VRAM is sufficient for those resolutions but that 4K Ultra pushes the limits.

Q: What is the CPU's core and thread configuration?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 9 185H has 16 cores and 22 threads, with a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz. It has a 24 MB shared L3 cache and 2 MB L2 cache per core. This is a Meteor Lake architecture chip on a 7 nm process node.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 is the primary driver of frame rates in these Doom measurements. Its base clock is 2317 MHz, boosting to 2572 MHz, with 2560 shading units and 80 TMUs. The GPU's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory runs at 2500 MHz (20 Gbps effective), providing 320.0 GB/s of bandwidth across a 128-bit bus. This memory configuration is a key factor in the observed performance scaling across resolutions.

At 1920x1080, the GPU delivers 167 FPS on Low settings, dropping to 101 FPS on Ultra. This 66 FPS spread between Low and Ultra shows that the GPU has enough headroom at this resolution to absorb the increased shading load. The RTX 5050's 13.17 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 205.8 GTexel/s texture rate are sufficient for this game at 1080p, even with maximum quality.

Moving to 2560x1440, the picture changes. Low settings produce 108 FPS, while Ultra drops to 65 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra widens to 43 FPS, indicating that the GPU's pixel fill rate (82.30 GPixel/s) and memory bandwidth are becoming more significant constraints. The 8 GB VRAM is still adequate here, as the frame rates remain playable across all settings.

At 3840x2160, the GPU's limitations become evident. Low settings yield 59 FPS, Medium 51 FPS, High 43 FPS, and Ultra just 35 FPS. The Ultra setting at 4K produces a frame rate that is 45% lower than Low at the same resolution. This suggests that the combination of 4K resolution and Ultra settings exceeds what the GPU's 8 GB VRAM and 320.0 GB/s bandwidth can sustain. The 35 FPS average at 4K Ultra is the only sub-40 FPS result in the entire dataset.

The GPU's 66th percentile ranking places it just above the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT, which scores 1.6% lower in average benchmarks. However, the RTX 5050 trails the AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL by 0.6% and the NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile by 1.6%. These benchmark comparisons suggest that the GPU is a mid-range part that competes with older and newer mid-range offerings.

The measured FPS data shows smooth scaling from 1080p to 1440p, with roughly a 30-35% drop in average FPS when moving from 1920x1080 to 2560x1440 at the same settings. The drop from 1440p to 4K is steeper, around 45-50%, reflecting the doubling of pixel count and the strain it places on the GPU's memory subsystem.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations, this pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 ranks 2320 out of 2930 combos for Doom. This places it in the lower half of all tested configurations, which is expected given that the GPU is a mid-range mobile part and the CPU, while fast, is not the primary bottleneck for this game.

The combo rank of 2320 out of 2930 means that roughly 79% of tested combos perform better in Doom. This is not a reflection of poor absolute performance, but rather the presence of many high-end desktop and mobile configurations in the database. The CPU's 85th percentile ranking indicates it is well above average, but the GPU's 66th percentile pulls the overall combo down in the rankings.

The CPU's nearest rivals all score within 0.7% of each other in average benchmarks, so the processor is not a differentiator in this combo's ranking. The AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 350, Intel Core 7 250H, AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845, and AMD Ryzen 7 7700X all produce nearly identical CPU scores. This means that swapping the CPU for any of these rivals would not meaningfully change the Doom frame rates, as the GPU is the limiting factor.

The GPU's nearest rivals show a similar clustering. The AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL, AMD Radeon HD 8970M, AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT, and NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile all have average benchmark scores within 1.6% of the RTX 5050. This tight grouping suggests that the RTX 5050's performance is representative of this performance tier, and the combo's rank is largely determined by the GPU tier rather than the specific CPU pairing.

The measured FPS data confirms that this combo is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming in Doom. At 1080p, every setting produces average FPS above 100, which is excellent for a fast-paced FPS. At 1440p, even Ultra stays above 60 FPS, making it a viable resolution for this game. The 4K results are the weakest, with only Low settings approaching 60 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its best results. Low settings produce an average of 167 FPS, Medium 146 FPS, High 123 FPS, and Ultra 101 FPS. The Medium setting has a recorded min of 124 FPS and max of 168 FPS, showing that frame times are consistent. The spread from Low to Ultra is 66 FPS, indicating that the GPU can handle the increased workload without collapsing.

At 2560x1440, the averages are 108 FPS on Low, 94 FPS on Medium, 80 FPS on High, and 65 FPS on Ultra. The Medium setting shows a min of 80 FPS and max of 108 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 43 FPS, but all settings remain above 60 FPS, which is the threshold for smooth gameplay in most titles.

At 3840x2160, the performance drops significantly. Low settings average 59 FPS, Medium 51 FPS, High 43 FPS, and Ultra 35 FPS. The Medium setting records a min of 43 FPS and max of 59 FPS. This resolution is only playable at Low settings if you want to stay near 60 FPS. The Ultra setting at 35 FPS is below the comfort zone for a game like Doom, which benefits from high frame rates for responsive aiming.

Comparing across resolutions, the 1080p Ultra result of 101 FPS is 65 FPS higher than the 1440p Ultra result of 65 FPS. The 1440p Ultra result is 30 FPS higher than the 4K Ultra result of 35 FPS. This consistent drop of roughly 35-45% per resolution step shows that the GPU scales predictably with pixel count.

The settings scaling within each resolution is also notable. At 1080p, moving from Low to Ultra costs 66 FPS (167 to 101). At 1440p, the cost is 43 FPS (108 to 65). At 4K, the cost is 24 FPS (59 to 35). This diminishing absolute cost at higher resolutions reflects that the GPU is already near its limit at 4K, so the difference between settings becomes smaller in absolute terms.

The Medium settings at each resolution provide the most complete data, with min and max values recorded. At 1080p Medium, the range is 124-168 FPS, at 1440p Medium it is 80-108 FPS, and at 4K Medium it is 43-59 FPS. These ranges show good frame consistency, with no severe stuttering indicated by the min values.

Settings Recommendations

For the best experience, the data suggests prioritizing resolution over graphical fidelity. At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset delivers 101 FPS, which is more than sufficient for Doom's fast gameplay. This is the recommended configuration because it provides the highest visual quality while maintaining a frame rate well above the 60 FPS threshold. The High preset at 123 FPS is also excellent if you prefer extra headroom for competitive play, but Ultra is not significantly more demanding.

At 2560x1440, the Ultra preset produces 65 FPS, which is playable but leaves little margin for dips in demanding scenes. The High preset at 80 FPS offers a better balance, with a 15 FPS improvement over Ultra while still looking nearly as good. For most players, 1440p High is the sweet spot, as it keeps the frame rate comfortably above 60 FPS without sacrificing much visual detail.

At 3840x2160, the options are limited. Low settings yield 59 FPS, which is just below 60 FPS and may cause occasional stutters. Medium settings drop to 51 FPS, which is noticeably less smooth. High and Ultra at 43 FPS and 35 FPS respectively are not recommended for this game. If you must play at 4K, Low settings are the only viable choice, but the 59 FPS average is borderline.

The data shows that the Medium preset provides the most balanced performance across all resolutions. At 1080p, it delivers 146 FPS, which is 21 FPS higher than High and only 45 FPS lower than Low. At 1440p, it gives 94 FPS, which is 14 FPS higher than High and 14 FPS lower than Low. At 4K, it provides 51 FPS, which is 8 FPS higher than High and 8 FPS lower than Low. The Medium preset also has the most complete frame time data, showing consistent performance.

For a game like Doom, where fast movement and quick reactions matter, the recommendation is to target at least 60 FPS. This means 1080p Ultra, 1440p High, or 4K Low are the settings to choose. If you have a 144Hz or 165Hz monitor, 1080p Medium or High will push you closer to that refresh rate. The 1080p Low setting at 167 FPS is the only configuration that exceeds 144 FPS, making it the choice for high-refresh-rate competitive play.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 185H has 16 cores and 22 threads, with a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz. This is a Meteor Lake architecture chip built on a 7 nm process, with a 24 MB shared L3 cache and 2 MB L2 cache per core. The CPU's integrated graphics are Arc Xe-LPG Graphics 128EU, though the discrete RTX 5050 handles all rendering in these benchmarks.

The CPU's benchmark scores show strong multi-threaded performance. It achieves 2801.5 in Cinebench R15 multicore, 10356 in R20 multicore, and 17984.5 in R23 multicore. Single-core scores are 264.5 in R15, 1462 in R20, and 1810.5 in R23. Geekbench scores are 11657 multicore and 1794 single-core. These results place the CPU in the 85th percentile of all CPUs.

In Doom, the CPU's role is less critical than the GPU's, as the game is primarily GPU-bound at the tested settings. The measured FPS data shows consistent scaling with resolution changes, which is typical of a GPU-bound scenario. At 1080p Low, the 167 FPS result suggests that the CPU can feed the GPU fast enough to maintain high frame rates, but the CPU is not the limiting factor.

The CPU's 22 threads and high boost clock of 5.10 GHz provide ample headroom for game logic, physics, and AI in Doom. The 24 MB L3 cache helps reduce memory latency, which can be beneficial in scenes with many entities. However, the data does not show any CPU bottleneck, as the frame rates scale smoothly with resolution and settings changes.

The CPU's nearest rivals all have nearly identical average benchmark scores, within 0.7% of the Core Ultra 9 185H. This means that in Doom, any of these CPUs would produce similar results when paired with the RTX 5050. The CPU's 85th percentile ranking indicates it is a strong processor, but for this specific game, the GPU's performance tier is the determining factor for frame rates.

The CPU's memory support includes DDR5 with dual-channel configuration and 89.6 GB/s bandwidth. This is sufficient for feeding the GPU's 320.0 GB/s bandwidth, as the CPU does not need to transfer large amounts of data for this game. The PCIe Gen 5 interface with 8 lanes provides the connection to the GPU, though the RTX 5050 uses PCIe 5.0 x8, which is more than enough for the data throughput required.

The CPU's 45 W TDP and mobile form factor (Intel BGA 2049 socket) make it a laptop part, which explains its performance relative to desktop CPUs. The 7 nm process node helps with power efficiency, allowing the CPU to reach 5.10 GHz boost clocks without excessive heat. This combination of high clocks and efficient architecture ensures that the CPU does not hinder the RTX 5050's performance in Doom.