Doom

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS rows for Doom with this combination of Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and AMD Radeon RX 9060 reveal a clear hierarchy across the four available presets. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers 211 FPS average, while Medium drops to 184 FPS, High to 155 FPS, and Ultra to 127 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium is 27 FPS, while the step from High to Ultra is 28 FPS, suggesting each tier exacts a similar toll on frame rate.

At 2560x1440, the pattern shifts slightly. Low produces 137 FPS, Medium 119 FPS, High 101 FPS, and Ultra 82 FPS. The deltas here are 18, 18, and 19 FPS respectively, showing a remarkably consistent penalty per tier. This consistency implies the GPU is scaling predictably with workload increases, with no single preset causing a disproportionate collapse.

Moving to 3840x2160, the picture changes dramatically. Low yields 74 FPS, Medium 65 FPS, High 54 FPS, and Ultra 45 FPS. The step from Medium to High is 11 FPS, while Low to Medium is 9 FPS, and High to Ultra is 9 FPS. None of these 4K results reach the 100 FPS threshold, and only Low clears 70 FPS.

For the best experience per the measured rows, the data points to Medium as the sweet spot across all three resolutions. At 1080p, Medium offers 184 FPS with a recorded minimum of 156 FPS and maximum of 212 FPS, which is only 27 FPS behind Low but 57 FPS ahead of Ultra. At 1440p, Medium hits 119 FPS with min/max of 101/137 FPS, staying comfortably above 100 FPS. At 4K, Medium manages 65 FPS with min/max of 55/74 FPS, which is the only preset at that resolution with a documented minimum above 50 FPS.

Ultra, by contrast, never exceeds 127 FPS at 1080p and falls to 45 FPS at 4K. The data suggests that Ultra's visual gains come at a steep cost—a 40% reduction from Medium at 1080p (184 to 127 FPS) and a 31% reduction at 4K (65 to 45 FPS). Since the measured rows show no corresponding benefit metric, Medium appears to balance frame rate and quality most effectively for this combo.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and AMD Radeon RX 9060 holds rank 1686 out of 2930 tested combos in Doom. This places it in the 42nd percentile of all combinations, meaning roughly 58% of tested pairings achieve higher frame rates in this title. For a CPU that sits in the 96th percentile among all processors and a GPU in the 59th percentile among all graphics cards, this mid-pack ranking is notable.

The rank suggests a mismatch between component potential and game performance. The CPU's average benchmark score of 84003 places it 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K and 1.1% ahead of the AMD EPYC 4584PX, according to nearestRivals data. Yet in Doom, the combo barely cracks the top half. This implies the GPU is the limiting factor, as the RX 9060's average benchmark score of 16014 trails the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti by 0.7% and leads the AMD Radeon R9 370X by 1%.

The ranking data raises a question: is Doom's engine particularly sensitive to GPU throughput, or does this specific pairing underperform relative to its aggregate scores? The CPU's single-thread performance—736 in Cinebench R15 single-core and 4823 in Passmark single-thread—is strong, yet the combo rank indicates that Doom's frame delivery is not leveraging that headroom. With 2930 total combos, sitting at 1686 means a substantial number of weaker CPUs paired with stronger GPUs outperform this setup.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9060 brings 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, yielding 288.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its base clock is 1700 MHz, with a game clock of 2400 MHz and a boost clock of 2990 MHz. The memory runs at 2250 MHz, which translates to 18 Gbps effective. These specifications position the card in the 59th percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 16014.

In Doom, the GPU's role is evident from the measured FPS scaling. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 211 FPS, but at 1080p Ultra, it drops to 127 FPS—a 40% reduction. This sensitivity to settings points to the GPU being the primary workload carrier, as the CPU's 24 cores and 24 threads are unlikely to bottleneck at these settings. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p, as evidenced by the stable minimums at Medium settings (156 FPS at 1080p, 101 FPS at 1440p).

At 4K, the GPU's limitations become more pronounced. The highest 4K result is 74 FPS on Low, and Ultra falls to 45 FPS. The pixel rate of 191.4 GPixel/s and texture rate of 334.9 GTexel/s suggest the card can push geometry, but the 128-bit memory bus constrains bandwidth-heavy scenarios. The 288.0 GB/s bandwidth is modest for 4K workloads, which likely explains the sub-60 FPS results at High and Ultra.

The GPU's nearest rival, the RTX 3060 Ti, scores 0.7% higher on average, yet the RX 9060's Doom results are what they are. The FP32 throughput of 21.43 TFLOPS is competitive for this class, but Doom's engine appears to reward raw memory bandwidth and fill rate more than compute. The 64 ROPs and 112 TMUs are adequate for 1080p but stretched at 4K.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the data shows a full spread across all four settings. Low averages 211 FPS. Medium averages 184 FPS, with a minimum of 156 FPS and maximum of 212 FPS. High averages 155 FPS. Ultra averages 127 FPS. The difference from Low to Ultra is 84 FPS, or roughly 40%. The Medium preset's documented range of 156-212 FPS indicates that even at peak load, the combo stays well above refresh-rate thresholds for most displays.

At 2560x1440, the results scale down proportionally. Low averages 137 FPS. Medium averages 119 FPS, with a minimum of 101 FPS and maximum of 137 FPS. High averages 101 FPS. Ultra averages 82 FPS. The Low-to-Ultra spread is 55 FPS, or 40% again, mirroring the 1080p pattern. Medium's minimum of 101 FPS is exactly equal to High's average, suggesting that Medium at 1440p delivers the same worst-case as High's typical case.

At 3840x2160, the numbers compress into a narrower band. Low averages 74 FPS. Medium averages 65 FPS, with a minimum of 55 FPS and maximum of 74 FPS. High averages 54 FPS. Ultra averages 45 FPS. The Low-to-Ultra gap is 29 FPS, or 39%, maintaining the consistent percentage drop across resolutions. Notably, Medium's maximum of 74 FPS matches Low's average, indicating that Medium at 4K can occasionally hit Low's typical performance.

The min/max data available only for Medium settings across all three resolutions provides insight into frame pacing. At 1080p, the range is 56 FPS (156 to 212). At 1440p, it is 36 FPS (101 to 137). At 4K, it narrows to 19 FPS (55 to 74). This tightening range at higher resolutions suggests the GPU becomes more consistently loaded, reducing frame time variance even as average FPS drops.

FAQ

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

A: The measured FPS shows 1920x1080 delivers the highest averages across all settings, with Low at 211 FPS and Ultra at 127 FPS. At 2560x1440, Medium still holds 119 FPS, while at 3840x2160, only Low exceeds 70 FPS. The data indicates 1080p is the smoothest experience, but 1440p Medium remains playable.

Q: How does the RX 9060 compare to its nearest GPU rival in Doom?

A: The RX 9060's average benchmark score is 16014, which is 0.7% lower than the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti's 16129. The data does not provide direct Doom comparisons for these rivals, but the GPU's 59th percentile standing suggests it is a mid-range performer in this title.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in Doom at 4K?

A: The 4K results show a pronounced drop: Low at 74 FPS and Ultra at 45 FPS. Since the CPU's 24 cores and high single-thread scores (736 in Cinebench R15 single-core) are far above typical game requirements, the data implies the GPU's 8 GB VRAM and 288.0 GB/s bandwidth are the limiting factors at this resolution.

Q: What settings should be avoided for consistent frame rates?

A: At 3840x2160, Ultra averages 45 FPS, which is below the 50 FPS threshold that Medium's minimum (55 FPS) clears. At 2560x1440, Ultra averages 82 FPS but lacks a documented minimum, making it riskier than Medium's 101 FPS floor. The data suggests avoiding Ultra at 4K and possibly at 1440p for competitive play.

Q: How does the combo rank among all tested configurations?

A: The combo ranks 1686 out of 2930 tested combinations in Doom, placing it in the 42nd percentile. This is below the CPU's 96th percentile and GPU's 59th percentile, indicating the pairing underperforms relative to its component scores.

Q: What is the frame rate range for Medium settings across resolutions?

A: At 1920x1080, Medium ranges from 156 to 212 FPS. At 2560x1440, it ranges from 101 to 137 FPS. At 3840x2160, it ranges from 55 to 74 FPS. The data shows these are the only settings with documented min/max values, providing the most complete picture of frame consistency.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a 24-core, 24-thread processor based on Arrow Lake Refresh, built on TSMC's 3 nm process. Its base clock is 3.70 GHz, boosting to 5.80 GHz, with a TDP of 125 W. The cache hierarchy includes 192 KB L1 per core, 3 MB L2 per core, and 36 MB shared L3. It supports DDR5 memory with dual-channel configuration and 115.2 GB/s bandwidth.

In Doom, the CPU's role appears secondary to the GPU, given the game's 2016 release and the CPU's high-end specifications. The single-thread performance is exceptional: 736 in Cinebench R15 single-core, 3067 in Cinebench R20 single-core, and 7303 in Cinebench R23 single-core. These scores place the CPU in the 96th percentile of all processors, yet the combo rank in Doom is only 1686 of 2930.

The data suggests Doom does not stress all 24 cores equally. The Passmark multithread score of 60860 is strong, but games from this era typically rely on fewer threads. The CPU's 5.80 GHz boost clock likely provides ample headroom for the game's engine, but the measured FPS at 4K (45-74 FPS) is far below what the CPU could theoretically support if the GPU were faster. This points to a GPU-bound scenario, where the CPU's role is to feed frames without bottlenecking, which it clearly does given the 211 FPS result at 1080p Low.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K follows a consistent pattern across settings. At Low, 1080p yields 211 FPS, 1440p yields 137 FPS, and 4K yields 74 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 74 FPS (35% reduction), and from 1440p to 4K is 63 FPS (46% reduction). At Medium, the progression is 184, 119, and 65 FPS—drops of 65 FPS (35%) and 54 FPS (45%). At High, it's 155, 101, and 54 FPS—drops of 54 FPS (35%) and 47 FPS (47%). At Ultra, it's 127, 82, and 45 FPS—drops of 45 FPS (35%) and 37 FPS (45%).

The percentage drops are remarkably uniform: approximately 35% from 1080p to 1440p, and approximately 45-47% from 1440p to 4K. This consistency indicates the scaling is driven by pixel count, not by settings-specific effects. The number of pixels at 1440p is 1.78 times that of 1080p, and 4K is 2.25 times 1440p. The FPS drops align with these ratios, suggesting the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth are the primary constraints.

The limiting component is clearly the GPU. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 211 FPS, which is near the practical ceiling for many displays. At 4K Ultra, it falls to 45 FPS, below the 60 FPS target. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect minimal FPS changes between 1080p and 4K, as the CPU workload remains constant. Instead, the steady 35-47% drops at each resolution step indicate the RX 9060's 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit memory bus are saturated at higher pixel counts. The data implies that for 4K play, users should stick to Low or Medium, while 1080p and 1440p can handle higher presets.