Doom

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus paired with the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT holds the 2080th position out of 2930 tested combinations for Doom. This places the combo in the 71st percentile of all tested systems, meaning it outperforms roughly seven out of every ten configurations in this game. The ranking reflects a pairing where the GPU sits in the 70th percentile among all GPUs, while the CPU is exceptionally strong at the 96th percentile among all CPUs.

The substantial gap between the CPU's percentile ranking (96) and the GPU's percentile ranking (70) indicates that the graphics card is the limiting factor in most scenarios. The CPU's average benchmark score of 84003 places it just 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K (83807), and 1.1% ahead of the AMD EPYC 4584PX (83090). Against the AMD EPYC 7F72 (85072), the Ultra 9 290K Plus trails by 1.3%. These are close margins, suggesting that the processor's raw compute headroom is not the bottleneck in this game.

For the GPU, the Radeon RX 6600 XT's average benchmark score of 24442 is 0.7% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1630 (24277) and 0.8% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti (24236). It trails the Intel Arc A350M (24647) by 0.8% and sits 1.1% ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER (24170). These rival deltas are small, reinforcing that the RX 6600 XT delivers consistent mid-range performance without dramatic swings relative to its direct competitors.

The overall rank of 2080 suggests that while this combo is not among the top tier for Doom, it still delivers playable performance across most settings, particularly at lower resolutions. The data indicates a system that can handle the game smoothly with adjustments to quality presets, but will struggle to maintain high frame rates at 4K with maximum settings.

Settings Recommendations

Examining the measured frame rates across all four quality presets at each resolution, the data provides clear guidance on the best experience. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 192 FPS, which is the highest measured value for this combo. The Medium preset follows at 167 FPS, then High at 141 FPS, and Ultra at 115 FPS. All four presets at 1080p exceed the 60 FPS threshold comfortably, so the choice depends on whether the user prioritizes maximum frame rates or visual fidelity.

At 2560x1440, the pattern shifts. Low delivers 124 FPS, Medium 108 FPS, High 91 FPS, and Ultra drops to 75 FPS. While every preset remains above 60 FPS, the Ultra setting at 75 FPS may feel less fluid on high-refresh-rate displays. The Medium preset at 108 FPS offers a strong balance between visual quality and smoothness, making it the recommended choice for 1440p gaming on this hardware.

At 3840x2160, the situation becomes more constrained. Low delivers 67 FPS, Medium 59 FPS, High 49 FPS, and Ultra drops to 40 FPS. Only the Low preset stays above the 60 FPS mark, and Medium barely misses it. For 4K, the data suggests that Low is the only preset that provides consistently smooth gameplay, while Medium may be acceptable for users tolerant of slightly lower frame rates. The Ultra preset at 40 FPS is likely too choppy for most players, and High at 49 FPS is borderline.

The best overall experience per the measured rows is the Medium preset at 1080p, which delivers 167 FPS with a minimum of 142 FPS and a maximum of 192 FPS. This combination offers high frame rates with a moderate quality uplift over Low. For users with 1440p displays, Medium at 108 FPS (minimum 92, maximum 124) represents the sweet spot. At 4K, users should accept Low at 67 FPS to maintain playability.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the GPU's dominance as the limiting factor. At Low settings, the average FPS drops from 192 at 1080p to 124 at 1440p (a 35% reduction) and then to 67 at 4K (a 65% reduction from 1080p). This steep decline with resolution scaling is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario, where the RX 6600 XT's 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 256.0 GB/s bandwidth become increasingly taxed at higher pixel counts.

At Medium settings, the scaling is similar: 167 FPS at 1080p, 108 FPS at 1440p (35% drop), and 59 FPS at 4K (65% drop). The consistent percentage reductions across settings suggest that resolution, not quality preset, is the primary driver of performance loss. This pattern indicates that the GPU's compute and memory resources are being saturated as pixel count increases, while the CPU's 24 cores and 24 threads remain largely underutilized.

The High preset shows 141 FPS at 1080p, 91 FPS at 1440p (35% drop), and 49 FPS at 4K (65% drop). The Ultra preset follows the same trajectory: 115 FPS at 1080p, 75 FPS at 1440p (35% drop), and 40 FPS at 4K (65% drop). The uniformity of these percentages — precisely 35% and 65% across all four presets — is striking. It strongly suggests that the frame rate scaling is purely resolution-driven, with no measurable CPU contribution to the bottleneck.

The data indicates that this combo is firmly GPU-limited in Doom. The CPU, with a boost clock of 5.80 GHz and a multithread score of 60860 in PassMark, has ample headroom. The GPU's FP32 throughput of 10.60 TFLOPS and pixel rate of 165.7 GPixel/s are the constraining factors. Users seeking higher frame rates at 1440p or 4K would need a more powerful graphics card, as the CPU is unlikely to become a bottleneck at any resolution tested.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured averages are as follows: Low delivers 192 FPS, Medium delivers 167 FPS with a minimum of 142 FPS and a maximum of 192 FPS, High delivers 141 FPS, and Ultra delivers 115 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra is 77 FPS, which represents a 40% performance penalty for the highest quality preset. All values at this resolution are well above the 60 FPS threshold, making 1080p a comfortable environment for this hardware.

At 2560x1440, the averages are: Low at 124 FPS, Medium at 108 FPS (minimum 92, maximum 124), High at 91 FPS, and Ultra at 75 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra is 49 FPS, a 40% penalty from the lowest to highest preset. Every preset at 1440p remains above 60 FPS, though the Ultra setting at 75 FPS leaves less headroom for demanding scenes. The Medium preset's minimum of 92 FPS ensures smooth gameplay even during intense combat sequences.

At 3840x2160, the averages are: Low at 67 FPS, Medium at 59 FPS (minimum 50, maximum 67), High at 49 FPS, and Ultra at 40 FPS. The spread between Low and Ultra is 27 FPS, again representing a 40% penalty. Only Low manages to stay above 60 FPS, and Medium at 59 FPS is marginally below. The Ultra preset at 40 FPS will likely result in noticeable stutter during fast-paced action, while High at 49 FPS is playable but not ideal.

Comparing settings across resolutions, the relative performance gaps remain consistent. The Low preset at 1080p (192 FPS) is 2.9 times faster than Ultra at 4K (40 FPS). The Medium preset at 1080p (167 FPS) is 2.8 times faster than Medium at 4K (59 FPS). These ratios confirm that resolution has a more significant impact on performance than quality settings, with the GPU being the sole limiting factor.

FAQ

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

A: The data shows that 1920x1080 delivers the highest frame rates across all settings, with Low at 192 FPS, Medium at 167 FPS, High at 141 FPS, and Ultra at 115 FPS. All presets at 1080p exceed 60 FPS, making it the most comfortable resolution for this hardware.

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

A: At 3840x2160, only the Low preset achieves an average above 60 FPS (67 FPS). Medium averages 59 FPS, High averages 49 FPS, and Ultra averages 40 FPS. Users seeking smooth 4K gameplay should stick to Low settings, while those willing to accept lower frame rates can use Medium.

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

A: The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus has an average benchmark score of 84003, which is 0.2% higher than the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K (83807) and 1.1% higher than the AMD EPYC 4584PX (83090). It trails the AMD EPYC 7F72 (85072) by 1.3%.

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

A: The AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT has an average benchmark score of 24442, which is 0.7% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1630 (24277) and 0.8% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti (24236). It is 0.8% lower than the Intel Arc A350M (24647) and 1.1% higher than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER (24170).

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this game?

A: The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K shows a consistent 35% drop at 1440p and 65% drop at 4K across all settings. This uniformity indicates the GPU is the limiting factor. The CPU's 96th percentile ranking versus the GPU's 70th percentile ranking supports this conclusion.

Q: What frame rates can be expected at 1440p with Medium settings?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the combo delivers an average of 108 FPS, with a minimum of 92 FPS and a maximum of 124 FPS. This provides smooth gameplay well above the 60 FPS threshold.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a 24-core, 24-thread processor from the Core Ultra Series 2, built on a 3 nm process by TSMC. Its base clock is 3.70 GHz, boosting up to 5.80 GHz, and it carries a 125 W TDP. The CPU's cache hierarchy includes 192 KB of L1 per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and 36 MB of shared L3 cache. Memory support is dual-channel DDR5 with a bandwidth of 115.2 GB/s.

In Doom, the CPU's performance is more than sufficient for the frame rates achieved. The Cinebench R23 multicore score of 51731 and single-core score of 7303 indicate strong processing power. PassMark multithread score of 60860 and single-thread score of 4823 further confirm this. The 96th percentile ranking among all CPUs means this processor outperforms 96% of tested CPUs in general benchmarks.

The data shows no evidence of CPU limitation in Doom. The frame rate drops from 1080p to 4K are perfectly consistent across all settings, which would not occur if the CPU were becoming a bottleneck at higher resolutions. The CPU's 24 threads provide ample parallelism for the game's engine, and the 5.80 GHz boost clock ensures strong single-thread performance for game logic.

The nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, scores nearly identically at 83807 (0.2% lower), suggesting that the 290K Plus offers no meaningful advantage in this game. The AMD EPYC 7F72 scores 85072 (1.3% higher), but these differences are negligible for gaming workloads. The CPU's role in this combo is to provide a stable, high-performance foundation that never constrains the GPU.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT is based on the Navi 23 chip with RDNA 2.0 architecture, manufactured on a 7 nm process by TSMC. It features 2048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 64 ROPs, with 32 ray-tracing cores. The GPU has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, providing 256.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Core clocks are 1968 MHz base, 2359 MHz game, and 2589 MHz boost.

The GPU's FP32 throughput of 10.60 TFLOPS and texture rate of 331.4 GTexel/s define its raw compute capability. The pixel rate of 165.7 GPixel/s is directly relevant to Doom's rendering demands. The 70th percentile ranking among all GPUs places this card in the mid-range segment, which is reflected in the measured frame rates.

In Doom, the GPU is the clear performance limiter. At 4K Ultra, the combo manages only 40 FPS, which is below the playable threshold for most users. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for this game at the tested settings, as no memory-related stutters are indicated by the data. The memory bandwidth of 256.0 GB/s is adequate for 1080p and 1440p but becomes strained at 4K.

The GPU's nearest rivals show tight clustering: the GTX 1630 is 0.7% lower, the GTX 780 Ti is 0.8% lower, the Arc A350M is 0.8% higher, and the RTX 2080 SUPER is 1.1% lower. This indicates that the RX 6600 XT performs consistently within its class, with no significant outliers. The measured FPS data confirms this mid-range positioning, as the card delivers excellent 1080p performance but struggles at 4K with high settings.

The GPU's 160 W TDP and dual-slot design make it a practical choice for most systems, though the data suggests that users targeting 4K gaming would need to significantly reduce quality settings or consider a more powerful GPU. The RX 6600 XT excels at 1080p and holds its own at 1440p, making it well-suited for mainstream gaming with this high-end CPU.