Doom

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT combination delivers a high-refresh-rate experience in Doom, with frame rates that scale predictably across resolutions and settings. The data indicates a system capable of exceeding 300 FPS at 1080p on low settings, while remaining playable at 4K Ultra, positioning this combo in the top quarter of tested configurations.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a classic GPU-bound scaling pattern as resolution increases, though the magnitude of the drop varies significantly by preset. At 1080p Low, the system produces 314 FPS. Moving to 1440p Low drops this to 203 FPS, a reduction of 111 FPS or roughly 35%. At 4K Low, the frame rate falls to 110 FPS, representing a further 93 FPS decline from 1440p. This steep curve at lower settings indicates that the CPU and memory subsystem are capable of feeding the GPU far more frames than it can render at higher pixel counts.

The scaling becomes more moderate at higher presets, where the GPU work per frame increases. At 1080p Ultra, the average is 189 FPS. At 1440p Ultra, this drops to 122 FPS, a 67 FPS reduction. At 4K Ultra, the system still manages 66 FPS. The percentage drop from 1080p to 1440p at Ultra is approximately 35%, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is roughly 46%. This suggests that at Ultra settings, the rendering pipeline is more evenly balanced, with the GPU becoming the primary limiter as resolution climbs.

The 4K Medium measurement provides the only complete min/max data in the pack: an average of 96 FPS with a minimum of 81 and maximum of 110. The spread of 29 FPS between min and max at this setting indicates some scene complexity variance, but the minimum remains well above the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. At 1440p Medium, the average is 177 FPS with a min of 150 and max of 203, showing a similar 53 FPS range. The 1080p Medium data shows an average of 273 FPS with a min of 232 and max of 314, a spread of 82 FPS, which is proportionally larger and hints at CPU-side frame pacing variations at very high frame rates.

The data clearly shows that at 1080p, the combination is heavily CPU-limited on lower presets, as evidenced by the 314 FPS ceiling at Low. The jump from Low to Medium at 1080p costs 41 FPS, while the jump from Medium to High costs 42 FPS, and High to Ultra costs another 42 FPS. This nearly linear decrement suggests the GPU is scaling its workload evenly, but the absolute frame rates remain high enough to suggest headroom in the CPU.

FAQ

Q: What is the highest average frame rate recorded for this combo in Doom?

A: The highest measured average is 314 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: Can this system maintain 60 FPS at 4K with maximum settings?

A: Yes. At 3840x2160 with Ultra settings, the average frame rate is 66 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold.

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

A: The combination ranks 669th out of 2930 tested combos, placing it in the top 23% of all configurations.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, Low settings produce 203 FPS average, while Ultra settings produce 122 FPS, a difference of 81 FPS.

Q: Is there a frame rate measurement available for 4K Medium with min and max values?

A: Yes. At 3840x2160 Medium, the average is 96 FPS, with a minimum of 81 FPS and a maximum of 110 FPS.

Q: Does the system show more variance at lower resolutions or higher resolutions?

A: The min-max spread is larger at lower resolutions. At 1080p Medium, the spread is 82 FPS (232 to 314), while at 4K Medium, the spread is 29 FPS (81 to 110), indicating more consistent frame times at higher resolutions.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data suggests that the optimal balance of visual quality and frame rate depends heavily on the target display resolution. For 1080p displays, the High preset at 231 FPS average provides an excellent experience, offering a 42 FPS improvement over Ultra while still delivering more than double the refresh rate of standard 60Hz monitors. The Low preset at 314 FPS is only advisable for competitive play where maximum frame rate is prioritized over visual fidelity, as the jump from Low to Medium costs 41 FPS but likely provides substantially better image quality.

At 1440p, the Medium preset with an average of 177 FPS represents the sweet spot. It delivers a 28 FPS improvement over High (149 FPS) and a 55 FPS improvement over Ultra (122 FPS), while the visual difference between Medium and High is typically less pronounced than the frame rate delta. For gamers with 144Hz displays, the High preset at 149 FPS is also viable, as it stays above the refresh rate threshold in most scenes. The Ultra preset at 122 FPS remains playable but may dip below 120 FPS in intense sequences.

For 4K displays, the High preset at 81 FPS average is the recommended starting point, as it provides a comfortable margin above 60 FPS. The Medium preset at 96 FPS offers a better frame rate but at a noticeable visual quality reduction. The Ultra preset at 66 FPS is playable on VRR displays but leaves little headroom for demanding scenes. The Low preset at 110 FPS is unnecessary at this resolution, as the visual compromises outweigh the frame rate gains for most users.

The data suggests that Medium settings across all resolutions provide the most consistent frame pacing, as evidenced by the complete min/max data points. The 4K Medium measurement shows a tight 29 FPS range, while 1440p Medium shows a 53 FPS range, and 1080p Medium shows an 82 FPS range. This consistency at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU is the primary bottleneck, which typically results in more predictable performance than CPU-bound scenarios.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the system delivers its highest frame rates across all presets. The Low setting averages 314 FPS, Medium averages 273 FPS with a minimum of 232 and maximum of 314, High averages 231 FPS, and Ultra averages 189 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a total reduction of 125 FPS, representing a 40% performance penalty for maximum visual quality.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but show a more pronounced gap between presets. Low averages 203 FPS, Medium averages 177 FPS with a minimum of 150 and maximum of 203, High averages 149 FPS, and Ultra averages 122 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 81 FPS, or 40% of the Low value, which is consistent with the 1080p scaling.

At 3840x2160, the system becomes more GPU-bound, and the preset impact is significant. Low averages 110 FPS, Medium averages 96 FPS with a minimum of 81 and maximum of 110, High averages 81 FPS, and Ultra averages 66 FPS. The Ultra preset at 4K produces a frame rate that is 44 FPS lower than Low, representing a 40% reduction, matching the pattern seen at lower resolutions.

The average frame rate at High settings scales from 231 FPS at 1080p to 149 FPS at 1440p to 81 FPS at 4K. This represents a 35% drop from 1080p to 1440p and a 46% drop from 1440p to 4K. The Low settings show a steeper curve: 314 FPS to 203 FPS to 110 FPS, which is a 35% drop followed by a 46% drop, identical proportions. This consistent scaling across presets indicates that the rendering workload scales linearly with pixel count, and the system does not exhibit any unexpected bottlenecks at specific resolutions.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo rank of 669 out of 2930 tested configurations places this pairing in the 77th percentile of all tested combos for Doom. This ranking reflects the overall capability of the system across all resolutions and settings, weighted toward the average frame rate performance. The rank of 669 indicates that approximately 2261 tested combos perform worse, while 668 perform better.

This ranking is notable given the component specifications. The CPU, Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus, holds a 96th percentile ranking among all CPUs in the database, with an average benchmark score of 84003. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, scores 83807, a delta of 0.2%, while the AMD EPYC 4584PX scores 83090, a 1.1% delta. The CPU's strong synthetic benchmarks suggest it is not the limiting factor in achieving a higher combo rank.

The GPU, AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT, has a more modest 55th percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 13543. Its nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon HD 7770M at 13536 (0.1% delta) and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 at 13515 (0.2% delta). This lower GPU percentile relative to the CPU percentile explains the combo's mid-tier ranking: the system is likely held back by GPU throughput in Doom's GPU-bound scenarios, particularly at higher resolutions and settings.

The gap between the CPU's 96th percentile and GPU's 55th percentile suggests an imbalance in this pairing. The CPU has significant headroom, as evidenced by the 1080p Low frame rate of 314 FPS, which approaches the limits of what the game engine can deliver. The GPU becomes the bottleneck at higher resolutions, limiting the combo's overall rank despite the CPU's strong synthetic performance.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus features 24 cores and 24 threads, with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.80 GHz. This configuration provides substantial multi-threaded capability, as reflected in its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 51731 and single-core score of 7303. The PassMark multithread score of 60860 and single-thread score of 4823 further confirm the CPU's strong performance.

In Doom, a game from 2016, the CPU's role is primarily to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic. The 1080p Low measurement of 314 FPS suggests the CPU can handle the game's single-threaded workload efficiently, as this frame rate is near the practical upper limit for the engine. The 24 cores provide ample multi-threading headroom for background tasks, but Doom's engine is not designed to utilize all 24 threads effectively.

The CPU's 36 MB of shared L3 cache and 3 MB L2 cache per core provide sufficient memory hierarchy for the game's asset streaming. The dual-channel DDR5 memory support with a bandwidth of 115.2 GB/s ensures the CPU can quickly access game data without becoming a bottleneck. The 3 nm process node from TSMC with 17,800 million transistors on a 243 mm² die indicates a power-efficient design with a 125W TDP.

The CPU's benchmark results show it outperforms its nearest rivals in synthetic tests. The Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 51731 is notably higher than the average benchmark score of 84003 would suggest, indicating strong multi-threaded performance. The single-core score of 7303 is also competitive, which is crucial for Doom's primarily single-threaded game logic. The boost clock of 5.80 GHz provides high single-thread throughput, which directly impacts the maximum frame rate achievable at lower resolutions.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT is built on the RDNA 4.0 architecture with the Navi 48 chip, manufactured on a 4 nm process with 53,900 million transistors on a 357 mm² die. The GPU features 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus, providing a bandwidth of 644.6 GB/s. The memory clock runs at 2518 MHz, effective 20.1 Gbps.

The GPU's clock speeds are substantial: base 1660 MHz, game clock 2400 MHz, and boost clock 2970 MHz. This results in a pixel rate of 380.2 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 760.3 GTexel/s, with FP32 compute of 48.66 TFLOPS. The 4096 shading units, 256 TMUs, and 128 ROPs provide the raw throughput needed for Doom's rendering workload.

In Doom, the GPU's performance is the primary factor determining frame rates at higher resolutions. The 4K Ultra measurement of 66 FPS average demonstrates that the GPU is fully utilized at this resolution and settings combination. The 16 GB VRAM is more than sufficient for Doom's texture requirements, even at 4K Ultra, as the game's release date of 2016 predates the high VRAM demands of modern titles.

The GPU's benchmark scores show a mixed picture. The 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 7260 indicates strong modern API performance, while the PassMark G3D score of 26795 and Geekbench Vulkan score of 65879 confirm its capabilities. However, the GPU's 55th percentile ranking among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 13543, places it in the mid-range of the database. The nearest rivals, including the AMD Radeon HD 7770M and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570, are significantly older architectures, suggesting this GPU's average score is dragged down by less demanding tests.

The GPU's TDP of 304 W and dual-slot cooler with 2x 8-pin power connectors indicate a power-hungry design, with a suggested PSU of 700 W. The PCIe 5.0 x16 interface ensures sufficient bandwidth for data transfer, though Doom's engine does not require the full bandwidth available. The GPU's boost clock of 2970 MHz is a key factor in achieving the high frame rates observed at 1080p, where the GPU can operate at its maximum frequency without thermal throttling.