Doom

The benchmark data for Doom with the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile presents a compelling case study in high-end mobile gaming performance. This combination places the system in the 788th position out of 3712 tested combos, indicating a top-tier result that sits comfortably above the vast majority of configurations. The measured frames per second (FPS) across resolutions and settings reveal a system with substantial headroom, though the data also hints at where its limits begin to appear. This analysis breaks down the measured results to understand how the CPU and GPU each contribute to the experience.

Resolution Scaling

The most immediate observation from the data is how average FPS scales as resolution increases. At 1920x1080 with High settings, the combo delivers 243 FPS. Moving to 2560x1440 drops that to 157 FPS, a reduction of 86 FPS. At 3840x2160, the average falls further to 85 FPS. This pattern—a significant drop at each step—is classic behavior for a system where the GPU becomes increasingly burdened by the pixel count.

The scaling is not linear, which is informative. The jump from 1080p to 1440p represents a 35.4% decrease in frame rate, while the jump from 1440p to 4K represents a 45.9% decrease. The larger relative drop at the higher resolution step suggests that the render target is growing faster than the GPU's ability to fill pixels, a sign that the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile is the primary performance driver in this scenario. At 1080p, the frame rates are exceptionally high, reaching 330 FPS on Low settings, which often indicates that the CPU or game engine's frame generation logic is becoming a more significant factor.

The data implies that at 1080p, the system is likely not GPU-bound in the traditional sense. The 243 FPS at High settings and 330 FPS at Low settings show a massive spread, indicating that the GPU has ample capacity to render the scene quickly, and the bottleneck shifts to other components like the CPU or memory subsystem. However, as resolution climbs to 4K, the GPU's workload intensifies, and the frame rate becomes a more direct reflection of its raw rendering power. The 85 FPS at 4K High is a strong result, but it is a far cry from the 243 FPS seen at 1080p, underscoring how resolution scaling directly exposes the GPU's limits.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile is a powerful mobile GPU with 24 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a substantial 896.0 GB/s of bandwidth. This memory configuration is a key asset for Doom, a game that can be demanding on memory bandwidth at higher resolutions. The data suggests that this bandwidth is sufficient to feed the GPU's 10496 shading units without causing a severe memory-related bottleneck, as frame rates remain high even at 4K.

The GPU's clock speeds are listed with a base of 990 MHz and a boost of 1515 MHz. These are the operating frequencies that generate the measured performance. The 31.80 TFLOPS of FP32 compute power is a theoretical maximum, but the measured FPS numbers show how that theoretical power translates into real-world performance. For instance, the 70 FPS at 4K Ultra settings is a demanding scenario, and the fact that it stays above 60 FPS indicates the GPU is handling heavy graphical loads effectively.

Looking at the GPU's benchmark scores, it achieves a Passmark G3D score of 30034 and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 5871. These scores place it in the 84th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rivals in average benchmark score include the AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT (0.5% lower score) and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti (0.8% higher score). This data positions the RTX 5090 Mobile as a high-end part, though the delta percentages to its rivals are small, suggesting that its performance is comparable to some desktop-class GPUs from the previous generation. In the context of Doom, the GPU's role is clearly to provide the raw fill rate and shading power needed to maintain high FPS at 1440p and 4K, which it does admirably.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 185H is a 16-core, 22-thread processor with a base clock of 3.90 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz. This is a high-performance mobile CPU, and its role in Doom is to ensure the game's logic and physics can keep up with the GPU's output. At 1080p, the game's high frame rates, such as 330 FPS on Low, can become CPU-bound, meaning the processor's ability to issue draw calls and update game state becomes the limiting factor.

The CPU's benchmark scores are impressive. It achieves a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 17984.5 and a single-core score of 1810.5. Its Geekbench multicore and single-core scores are 11657 and 1794, respectively. These scores place it in the 85th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Ryzen AI 7 PRO 350 (0.1% lower score) and the Intel Core 7 250H (0.2% lower score), showing it is competitive with other modern mobile processors.

In this game's measured results, the CPU's influence is most visible in the 1080p Low settings scenario, where the 330 FPS average suggests the processor is able to feed the GPU with enough data to reach that figure. The boost clock of 5.10 GHz is likely utilized here to maximize single-thread performance, which is often critical for game logic. While the GPU is the star at 4K, the CPU's robust performance ensures that it does not become a significant bottleneck at lower resolutions, allowing the system to achieve those high frame rates. The 24 MB of shared L3 cache also helps maintain data locality, reducing latency for frequently accessed game data.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a detailed look at performance across all settings at three resolutions.

At 1920x1080, the system is exceptionally fast. The Low preset yields an average of 330 FPS. The Medium preset averages 287 FPS, with a minimum of 244 FPS and a maximum of 331 FPS. The High preset averages 243 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 198 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra is 132 FPS, showing a significant performance cost for higher visual fidelity.

Moving to 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but drop noticeably. The Low preset averages 214 FPS. The Medium preset averages 186 FPS, with a minimum of 158 FPS and a maximum of 214 FPS. The High preset averages 157 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 128 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra here is 86 FPS, tighter than at 1080p, as the GPU becomes more consistently the bottleneck.

At 3840x2160, the system's performance is more moderate. The Low preset averages 116 FPS. The Medium preset averages 101 FPS, with a minimum of 86 FPS and a maximum of 116 FPS. The High preset averages 85 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 70 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is 46 FPS, the smallest absolute gap of the three resolutions, indicating that the GPU is fully saturated and all settings are demanding.

These numbers show a clear pattern. At 1080p, the system is capable of delivering "esports" level frame rates on any setting. At 1440p, it still provides a high-refresh-rate experience on High or lower. At 4K, it is best suited for High settings to maintain a stable 85 FPS, while Ultra dips to 70 FPS, which is still playable but not as smooth.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo of the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile ranks 788th out of 3712 tested combinations in Doom. This places it in the top 21.2% of all tested systems. This is a strong ranking, reflecting the high performance of both components. The rank is a composite measure, likely factoring in performance across various resolutions and settings.

The GPU's individual rank is 84th percentile, and the CPU's is 85th percentile. The combo's rank of 788 out of 3712 is consistent with these high individual percentiles. The data suggests that this pairing is well-balanced, with neither component significantly holding the other back. If the CPU were a bottleneck, the combo rank might be lower than the GPU's percentile would suggest. Conversely, if the GPU were weak, the high CPU scores wouldn't translate into top-tier game performance.

This ranking indicates that a user with this hardware will have a top-tier experience in Doom. The system is not the absolute fastest, as there are 787 other combos that perform better, but it is firmly in the upper echelon. The small delta percentages in the nearest rivals for both the CPU and GPU (all under 2%) suggest that the performance landscape at this level is competitive, and the combo's rank is a result of a well-matched pair of high-end components.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides a clear guide for the best settings at each resolution.

At 1920x1080, the Ultra preset is the obvious choice. With an average of 198 FPS, it provides a flawless high-refresh-rate experience. The performance headroom is so large that even the most demanding setting does not compromise smoothness. A user could easily play on Ultra to get the best visual quality without any concern for frame rate.

At 2560x1440, the High preset offers the best balance. With an average of 157 FPS, it is well above the 144 Hz threshold for many monitors and provides excellent visual quality. The Ultra preset, at 128 FPS, is also viable, but the drop of 29 FPS is noticeable. For a competitive advantage or maximum smoothness, High is the recommended setting, as it maintains a higher frame rate while still looking great.

At 3840x2160, the High preset is the recommended choice. It delivers an average of 85 FPS, which is a smooth and playable experience. The Ultra preset drops to 70 FPS, which is still playable, but the 15 FPS reduction is a tangible loss in fluidity. The Low and Medium presets are not recommended for 4K, as the visual quality degradation is significant, and the frame rate gains (to 116 and 101 FPS, respectively) do not justify the loss in image fidelity over High.

In summary, the data suggests that at lower resolutions, the system can handle the highest settings. At 4K, users should choose the High preset to optimize for a stable, high frame rate experience, as the GPU's performance is the limiting factor.

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with Ultra settings?

A: The system achieves an average of 198 FPS at 1920x1080 with the Ultra preset.

Q: Is this combo better than one with an AMD Ryzen 7 7700X?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 9 185H has an average benchmark score that is 0.7% lower than the AMD Ryzen 7 7700X, making them essentially comparable in CPU performance. The overall game performance would depend on the GPU paired with each.

Q: What is the lowest average FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The lowest average FPS is 70, which occurs at 3840x2160 resolution with the Ultra settings preset.

Q: How does the RTX 5090 Mobile compare to the RTX 4070 Ti?

A: In average benchmark scores, the RTX 5090 Mobile is 0.8% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti, indicating a very similar level of overall graphics performance.

Q: What is the maximum FPS recorded at 1440p?

A: The maximum FPS recorded at 2560x1440 is 214, which was observed with the Medium settings preset.

Q: Does the CPU or GPU limit performance at 4K?

A: The data suggests the GPU is the limiting factor at 3840x2160, as frame rates drop significantly from lower resolutions, showing the render load is the primary constraint.