Doom

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data for Doom with the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 shows a clear progression as resolution increases. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo produces 145 FPS average. Moving to 2560x1440 at the same settings drops that to 94 FPS, a reduction of 51 FPS. At 3840x2160 High, the average falls further to 51 FPS. This scaling pattern indicates that the GPU becomes the dominant limiting factor as pixel count rises, with the 4K result sitting just above playable thresholds.

The Low settings row reinforces this interpretation. At 1080p Low, the average reaches 197 FPS, while 1440p Low yields 127 FPS, and 4K Low drops to 69 FPS. The gap between 1080p and 1440p Low is 70 FPS, while the gap between 1440p and 4K Low is 58 FPS. This non-linear drop suggests that at lower resolutions the CPU has more headroom, but the RTX 5060's rendering pipeline still constrains the upper bounds.

Looking at the Medium preset, the measured minimums and maximums provide additional context. At 1080p Medium, the average is 171 FPS with a minimum of 146 FPS and maximum of 197 FPS. The 1440p Medium row shows an average of 111 FPS with a minimum of 94 FPS and maximum of 128 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average is 60 FPS with a minimum of 51 FPS and maximum of 69 FPS. The range between min and max widens slightly at higher resolutions, which points to increased frame time variance under heavier GPU load.

The Ultra preset tells a similar story. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 118 FPS. At 1440p Ultra, it drops to 77 FPS. At 4K Ultra, the average falls to 42 FPS, which dips below the 60 FPS threshold commonly associated with smooth gameplay. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p Ultra represents a 41 FPS reduction, while the drop from 1440p to 4K Ultra is 35 FPS.

What the resolution scaling data indicates is that this combination is best suited for 1080p and 1440p gaming in Doom. At 4K, even the Medium preset only manages 60 FPS average, which leaves little margin for demanding scenes. The Low preset at 4K achieves 69 FPS, but that comes with visual compromises that may not justify the resolution bump. The limiting component at 4K is clearly the GPU, given the consistent frame rate reductions across all settings tiers.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank for this pairing in Doom is 2470 out of 3712 tested combinations. This places the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 in the lower-middle portion of the database, which is notable given the hardware specifications. The rank reflects the measured performance across all tested combinations, and the data indicates that while this combo delivers playable frame rates at 1080p and 1440p, it does not stand out among the broader field.

Context for this ranking comes from the individual component benchmarks. The Intel Core Ultra 9 185H has an average benchmark score of 35670, placing it in the 85th percentile against all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 350 with an average score of 35719, representing a delta of -0.1 percent, and the Intel Core 7 250H at 35728, a delta of -0.2 percent. The AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 scores 35802, a delta of -0.4 percent, while the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X reaches 35909, a delta of -0.7 percent. These margins are tight, meaning the CPU is competitive with its immediate peers.

The GPU side shows a different picture. The RTX 5060 has an average benchmark score of 26331, placing it in the 72nd percentile against all GPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon 860M at 26401, a delta of -0.3 percent, and the NVIDIA GeForce MX550 at 26421, also a delta of -0.3 percent. The AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary scores 26553, a delta of -0.8 percent, while the AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT scores 26011, a delta of 1.2 percent. The RX 6750 XT is actually ahead of the RTX 5060 by that margin, which is relevant context for understanding where this GPU sits in the broader landscape.

The combination of a high-percentile CPU with a mid-tier GPU explains the overall combo rank. The CPU is not holding back the system in most scenarios, but the GPU's performance envelope caps the achievable frame rates. In Doom specifically, the measured results show that the combo can handle competitive frame rates at lower resolutions, but the 4K Ultra result of 42 FPS average is well below what higher-ranked combinations would achieve. The rank of 2470 out of 3712 reflects this balanced-but-not-exceptional profile.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 brings specific specifications that directly influence Doom's performance. The GPU operates with a base clock of 2280 MHz and a boost clock of 2497 MHz. Its memory configuration consists of 8 GB of GDDR7 on a 128-bit bus, delivering a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. The memory clock runs at 1750 MHz with 28 Gbps effective speed.

The 8 GB VRAM capacity is the most consequential specification for this game. Doom's texture-heavy environments and particle effects can consume significant memory, particularly at higher resolutions and settings. The measured data shows that Ultra settings at 4K produce an average of 42 FPS, which could indicate VRAM pressure or raw compute limits. The GPU has 3840 shading units, 120 texture mapping units, and 48 render output units, giving it a pixel rate of 119.9 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 299.6 GTexel/s. The FP32 performance is 19.18 TFLOPS, with FP16 matching at 19.18 TFLOPS due to a 1:1 ratio.

The RTX 5060 includes 30 ray tracing cores and 120 tensor cores, though Doom's release in 2016 predates widespread ray tracing adoption, so these features have limited direct impact on the measured results. The GPU's DirectX 12 Ultimate support with feature level 12_2 ensures compatibility with modern APIs, and Vulkan 1.4 support is relevant since Doom is known to run well on Vulkan. The OpenGL 4.6 support covers legacy rendering paths.

The benchmark scores for the GPU provide additional context. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, the GPU scores 3628. Geekbench OpenCL shows 112787, while Geekbench Vulkan reaches 113321. Passmark results include a G3D score of 20891 and a GPU compute score of 10899. The DirectX 11 score of 200 and DirectX 12 score of 77 in Passmark indicate that the GPU performs relatively better in older API workloads, which aligns with Doom's engine characteristics.

The GPU's 145 W TDP and dual-slot design with a single 8-pin power connector suggest it is positioned as a mainstream card. The suggested power supply is 300 W, and the bus interface is PCIe 5.0 x8. The transistor count of 21,900 million on a 181 mm² die with a 5 nm process from TSMC represents a dense design. The 72nd percentile ranking against all GPUs means it outperforms roughly two-thirds of tested cards, but the nearest rival comparisons show it is closely matched with the RX 6750 XT, which holds a 1.2 percent advantage.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The complete measured FPS table for Doom with this hardware combination covers four settings presets across three resolutions. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 197 FPS. The Medium preset at the same resolution produces 171 FPS average, with a minimum of 146 FPS and maximum of 197 FPS. High settings yield 145 FPS average, while Ultra drops to 118 FPS average. The progression from Low to Ultra at 1080p represents a 79 FPS reduction, which is a substantial cost for the visual upgrades.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset achieves 127 FPS average. Medium settings produce 111 FPS average, with a minimum of 94 FPS and maximum of 128 FPS. High settings yield 94 FPS average, and Ultra drops to 77 FPS average. The gap between Low and Ultra at this resolution is 50 FPS, which is narrower than at 1080p, suggesting diminishing returns from the settings presets as resolution increases.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset reaches 69 FPS average. Medium settings produce 60 FPS average, with a minimum of 51 FPS and maximum of 69 FPS. High settings yield 51 FPS average, and Ultra drops to 42 FPS average. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is only 27 FPS, meaning the settings presets have less impact at this resolution. The 4K Medium row shows a minimum of 51 FPS, which is the same as the 4K High average, indicating that frame pacing becomes a concern at these load levels.

Comparing settings across resolutions, the Low preset at 1080p achieves 197 FPS, which is 128 FPS higher than Low at 4K. The Medium preset at 1080p is 171 FPS versus 60 FPS at 4K, a difference of 111 FPS. High settings show 145 FPS at 1080p versus 51 FPS at 4K, a 94 FPS gap. Ultra settings demonstrate 118 FPS at 1080p versus 42 FPS at 4K, a 76 FPS difference. These figures quantify how the GPU's workload scales with pixel count, and the diminishing returns at 4K are evident.

The only rows with explicit minimum and maximum values are the Medium presets. At 1080p Medium, the range spans 146 to 197 FPS, which is 51 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the range spans 94 to 128 FPS, which is 34 FPS. At 4K Medium, the range spans 51 to 69 FPS, which is 18 FPS. The narrowing range at higher resolutions indicates that frame times become more consistent under sustained GPU load, but the lower averages mean the overall experience is less smooth.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 185H is a 16-core, 22-thread processor based on the Meteor Lake architecture, built on Intel's 7 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz. The cache hierarchy includes 112 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 24 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU supports dual-channel DDR5 memory with a bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s, and it connects via PCIe Gen 5 with 8 lanes.

In Doom, the CPU's role is less prominent than the GPU, based on the measured FPS data. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 197 FPS, which indicates the CPU can feed frames quickly at lower GPU loads. The single-core performance of this CPU is strong, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1810.5 and Geekbench single-core score of 1794. Doom's engine relies heavily on single-threaded performance for game logic and draw call submission, so these scores are relevant.

The multi-core performance is also substantial, with Cinebench R23 multi-core scoring 17984.5 and Geekbench multi-core at 11657. Passmark multi-thread results show 29376, and the data compression score is 339489. These figures indicate that the CPU is not a bottleneck in most gaming scenarios, and the 85th percentile ranking against all CPUs confirms this. The nearest rival comparisons show the CPU is within 0.7 percent of the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X in average benchmark score, which is a strong desktop-class comparison for a mobile processor.

The CPU's 45 W TDP is noteworthy for a 16-core design, and the integrated Arc Xe-LPG Graphics 128EU provides a fallback display output, though it is not used in these discrete GPU measurements. The memory bandwidth of 89.6 GB/s is adequate for feeding the RTX 5060, and the dual-channel configuration is standard for this segment.

In Doom specifically, the CPU's performance at 1080p Low with 197 FPS average suggests it can exceed the GPU's capabilities at lower resolutions. The fact that the 1080p Ultra result is 118 FPS, which is still high, indicates the CPU maintains frame delivery even with more complex draw calls. The 4K results are clearly GPU-bound, as the CPU's frame generation capacity far exceeds what the RTX 5060 can render at that resolution. The CPU's 22 threads handle background tasks and engine threads without issue, and the 24 MB L3 cache provides ample working set for the game's data.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings preset depends on the target resolution and desired frame rate. At 1920x1080, all four presets deliver playable performance. The Low preset achieves 197 FPS, Medium reaches 171 FPS, High produces 145 FPS, and Ultra hits 118 FPS. For competitive play or high refresh rate monitors, the Low preset maximizes frame rate, but the Medium preset at 171 FPS provides a better balance of visual quality and smoothness. The Ultra preset at 118 FPS is still above 60 FPS, making it viable for players who prioritize image quality.

At 2560x1440, the recommendation shifts. The Low preset at 127 FPS is suitable for fast-paced gameplay, while Medium at 111 FPS maintains a comfortable margin above 60 FPS. High at 94 FPS is acceptable for most players, and Ultra at 77 FPS remains playable but approaches the threshold where frame drops become noticeable. The Medium preset at 1440p offers the best compromise, with 111 FPS average and a minimum of 94 FPS ensuring consistent performance.

At 3840x2160, the options are more constrained. The Low preset at 69 FPS is the only setting that stays above 60 FPS average. Medium at 60 FPS is borderline, with a minimum of 51 FPS that could result in stutter during intense scenes. High at 51 FPS and Ultra at 42 FPS do not provide smooth experiences for most players. For 4K, the Low preset is the recommended choice, with Medium as a secondary option for players who accept occasional dips below 60 FPS.

The data suggests that this combo is best used at 1080p or 1440p, where it can leverage the CPU's strength and maintain high frame rates. At 1080p, the Ultra preset is recommended for visual fidelity without sacrificing smoothness, given the 118 FPS average. At 1440p, the Medium preset at 111 FPS offers the best balance, with the High preset at 94 FPS as an alternative for players who prefer higher visual settings. At 4K, the Low preset is the only recommendation that consistently exceeds 60 FPS.

FAQ

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

A: The measured data shows 1920x1080 delivers the highest frame rates across all settings, with Low at 197 FPS and Ultra at 118 FPS. The 2560x1440 results are also strong, with Medium at 111 FPS, while 3840x2160 drops below 60 FPS on all presets except Low at 69 FPS.

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

A: At 4K, the Low preset achieves 69 FPS average, and Medium reaches 60 FPS with a minimum of 51 FPS. The High preset at 51 FPS and Ultra at 42 FPS are below the 60 FPS threshold, so 4K is only viable with reduced settings.

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

A: The Intel Core Ultra 9 185H has an average benchmark score of 35670, which is 0.1 percent below the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 350 and 0.2 percent below the Intel Core 7 250H. It trails the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5845 by 0.4 percent and the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X by 0.7 percent.

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

A: The RTX 5060 has an average benchmark score of 26331, which is 0.3 percent below the AMD Radeon 860M and 0.3 percent below the NVIDIA GeForce MX550. It trails the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary by 0.8 percent, while the AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT is 1.2 percent ahead.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the Low preset averages 197 FPS, while the Ultra preset averages 118 FPS. This represents a 79 FPS reduction for the highest visual quality settings.

Q: Is the system CPU-bound or GPU-bound in Doom?

A: The data suggests GPU-bound at higher resolutions, given the frame rate drops from 1080p to 4K. The CPU can deliver 197 FPS at 1080p Low, but the GPU limits performance to 42 FPS at 4K Ultra, indicating the RTX 5060 is the primary constraint at higher pixel counts.