Doom

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus paired with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER delivers a distinctly GPU-bound experience in Doom, with the measured frame rates showing clear scaling patterns across resolutions and settings. The combo ranks 2497th out of 2930 tested combinations in this game, placing it in the lower third of the database. This analysis breaks down the measured performance data, component roles, and practical settings guidance based strictly on the facts available.

FAQ

Q: What is the combo's overall rank in Doom?

A: The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER ranks 2497th out of 2930 tested combos for this game, placing it in the lower portion of the database.

Q: What average FPS does the combo achieve at 1080p with Ultra settings?

A: At 1920x1080 with Ultra settings, the measured average frame rate is 89 FPS. This is the lowest average among the four settings tested at that resolution, with Low producing 148 FPS, Medium producing 129 FPS, and High producing 109 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rival in overall benchmark score?

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: What is the GPU's memory configuration?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER features 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus, providing 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth. Its memory clock is 1750 MHz, which translates to 14 Gbps effective.

Q: What is the CPU's core and thread configuration?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus has 24 cores and 24 threads, meaning it does not support simultaneous multithreading. Its base clock is 3.70 GHz with a boost clock of 5.80 GHz.

Q: Does the GPU support modern APIs relevant to Doom?

A: Yes, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The measured 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 1278, and the Geekbench Vulkan score is 57102.

How This Combo Ranks

The data places this specific CPU-GPU pairing at rank 2497 out of 2930 tested combinations for Doom, which corresponds to roughly the 15th percentile. This is a low position, but the context matters: the GTX 1660 SUPER is a mid-range GPU from an older generation, while the Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a high-end desktop processor. The ranking reflects the game's heavy reliance on GPU throughput, where the graphics card becomes the primary bottleneck in most scenarios.

The CPU itself sits in the 96th percentile among all CPUs tested, with an average benchmark score of 84003. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K at 83807 (0.2% slower), the AMD EPYC 4584PX at 83090 (1.1% slower), and the AMD EPYC 9135 at 82980 (1.2% slower). The AMD EPYC 7F72 is the only nearby competitor that scores higher, at 85072, representing a 1.3% advantage. These figures indicate that the processor is far more capable than what the GPU can utilize in Doom.

On the GPU side, the GTX 1660 SUPER has an average benchmark score of 12986 and sits in the 53rd percentile among all GPUs. Its nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile at 12940 (0.4% higher), the AMD Radeon RX 580 at 12928 (0.4% higher), and the AMD Radeon 740M at 12870 (0.9% higher). The NVIDIA Tesla M2090 scores 13075, which is 0.7% higher than the GTX 1660 SUPER. These narrow margins show that the GPU is solidly mid-pack, but its performance class is clearly insufficient to push the combo higher in Doom's rankings.

The combo's low rank is not a criticism of the CPU, which is demonstrably among the fastest available. Instead, it highlights the imbalance between the two components. In a game like Doom, which is well-optimized and can scale across many cores, the GPU's 5.027 TFLOPS of FP32 performance and 6 GB of VRAM become the limiting factors. The measured FPS data confirms this pattern, as the frame rates drop dramatically when moving from lower settings to Ultra presets, regardless of resolution.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides a clear picture of which settings offer the best balance between visual quality and playability. For a smooth experience, the combo should target at least 60 FPS on average, and ideally higher for a fast-paced FPS like Doom.

At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers the highest average FPS at 148, with Medium at 129 and High at 109. The Ultra preset drops to 89 FPS. All four settings exceed the 60 FPS threshold, so even Ultra is playable at 1080p, but the jump from High to Ultra costs 20 FPS (from 109 to 89). For competitive play, Medium at 129 FPS provides a significant headroom over the 60 FPS baseline while maintaining decent visual fidelity. For a more visually rich experience, High at 109 FPS is still well above playable levels.

At 2560x1440, the situation changes. Low produces 96 FPS, Medium 83 FPS, and High 70 FPS. The Ultra preset falls to 58 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. This means that for 1440p gaming, Ultra is not recommended for consistent smoothness. Medium at 83 FPS offers a good compromise, while High at 70 FPS is viable but closer to the edge. Low at 96 FPS gives the most headroom.

At 3840x2160, no setting achieves the 60 FPS target. Low produces 52 FPS, Medium 45 FPS, High 38 FPS, and Ultra 31 FPS. For 4K, the only option for acceptable playability is Low, which still falls short of 60 FPS. Medium and above will result in noticeable stutter and reduced responsiveness, especially in fast action sequences. Given the data, 4K is not recommended for this combo if smooth frame rates are a priority.

The best overall experience appears to be at 1080p with Medium or High settings. Medium provides 129 FPS, which is nearly double the 60 FPS baseline, while High at 109 FPS still offers substantial headroom. At 1440p, Medium at 83 FPS is the recommended choice for a balance of resolution and smoothness. Users prioritizing frame rate above all else should stick to 1080p Low at 148 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data covers three resolutions and four settings, providing a complete picture of performance scaling.

At 1920x1080, the average FPS ranges from 148 (Low) to 89 (Ultra). The Medium preset produces 129 FPS with a minimum of 110 and a maximum of 148. High delivers 109 FPS, and Ultra drops to 89 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 59 FPS, representing a 40% reduction in performance when moving to the highest settings.

At 2560x1440, the average FPS ranges from 96 (Low) to 58 (Ultra). Medium produces 83 FPS with a minimum of 71 and a maximum of 96. High delivers 70 FPS, and Ultra falls to 58 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra is 38 FPS, a 40% drop. Notably, the 1440p Low average of 96 FPS is higher than the 1080p Ultra average of 89 FPS, indicating that lowering settings has a larger impact than reducing resolution.

At 3840x2160, the average FPS ranges from 52 (Low) to 31 (Ultra). Medium produces 45 FPS with a minimum of 38 and a maximum of 52. High delivers 38 FPS, and Ultra drops to 31 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 21 FPS, a 40% reduction. None of these averages reach the 60 FPS threshold, and even the maximum FPS at Medium (52) falls short.

The data shows a consistent pattern: across all resolutions, moving from Low to Ultra reduces average FPS by approximately 40%. This suggests that the GPU's shading units, texture units, and memory bandwidth are all being taxed similarly regardless of resolution. The minimum FPS values, where available, show that the Medium preset at 1080p has a minimum of 110 FPS, at 1440p a minimum of 71 FPS, and at 4K a minimum of 38 FPS. These minimums indicate that frame pacing remains stable, with no severe dips below the average.

The progression from 1080p to 4K shows that the combo loses roughly half its frame rate at each major resolution step for the same settings. For example, at High settings, 1080p produces 109 FPS, 1440p produces 70 FPS, and 4K produces 38 FPS. This is consistent with the GPU being the limiting factor, as the pixel count quadruples from 1080p to 4K, and the frame rate scales inversely.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER is the primary determinant of performance in Doom for this combo. Its specifications include a TU116 chip built on the Turing architecture with a 12 nm process node. The GPU has 1408 shading units, 88 texture mapping units, and 48 render output units. Its base clock is 1530 MHz with a boost clock of 1785 MHz. The memory subsystem consists of 6 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, providing 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

The GPU's raw compute capability is 5.027 TFLOPS for FP32, with a pixel rate of 85.68 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 157.1 GTexel/s. These figures are modest by modern standards, and they directly explain the measured FPS numbers. In Doom, which is a fast-paced FPS with heavy texture and lighting demands, the GPU's 6 GB VRAM is sufficient for 1080p and 1440p at most settings, but the 4K Ultra preset likely exceeds what the memory and compute can handle, resulting in the 31 FPS average.

The GPU's benchmark scores give additional context. Its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 1278, and its Passmark G3D score is 12699. The Geekbench Vulkan score of 57102 shows that the GPU handles Vulkan well, which is relevant for Doom since the game supports Vulkan API. The Passmark DirectX 11 score of 104 and DirectX 12 score of 50 indicate that the GPU is better suited to older APIs, though DirectX 12 support is present.

The GPU's nearest rivals in benchmark score are all within 1% of its performance, showing that the GTX 1660 SUPER sits in a tightly contested performance tier. However, in Doom, the measured FPS shows that even at 1080p Ultra, the GPU cannot maintain 90 FPS, which suggests that the game's demands are particularly high on the GPU's shading and texture units. The 125 W TDP and the transistor count of 6,600 million on a 284 mm² die indicate a mid-range part that was designed for 1080p gaming at high settings, not for 4K or maximum presets.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a high-end desktop processor that vastly exceeds the requirements of Doom when paired with the GTX 1660 SUPER. It has 24 cores and 24 threads, with a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.80 GHz. The CPU is built on a 3 nm process node with 17,800 million transistors on a 243 mm² die. It supports DDR5 memory with a dual-channel configuration and provides 115.2 GB/s of memory bandwidth.

The CPU's benchmark scores are exceptional. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score is 51731, with a single-core score of 7303. The Passmark multi-thread score is 60860, and the single-thread score is 4823. In Doom, which can utilize multiple cores for physics and AI, the CPU is unlikely to be the bottleneck at any resolution. The measured FPS data supports this conclusion: the frame rates scale almost entirely with GPU settings and resolution, not with CPU load.

The CPU's nearest rivals in average benchmark score are all within 1.3% of its performance, indicating that it is at the top of the desktop CPU hierarchy. Its 96th percentile ranking among all CPUs means that it outperforms the vast majority of processors. However, in this combo, the CPU's power is largely untapped because the GPU cannot generate enough frames to stress the CPU's capabilities.

At 1080p Low, the combo produces 148 FPS, which is high but not limited by the CPU. If the CPU were the bottleneck, we would expect frame rates to plateau regardless of GPU settings, but the data shows a clear 40% drop from Low to Ultra at every resolution. This confirms that the GPU is the limiting component. The CPU's 24 cores and 5.80 GHz boost clock ensure that even the most demanding scenes in Doom are handled without frame drops attributable to processing power.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data across 1080p, 1440p, and 4K provides insight into which component limits performance. At High settings, the average FPS is 109 at 1080p, 70 at 1440p, and 38 at 4K. This represents a 36% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a 46% drop from 1440p to 4K. The total drop from 1080p to 4K is 65%.

The scaling pattern is consistent with a GPU-bound scenario. The pixel count increases by 1.78 times from 1080p to 1440p, and the frame rate drops by 1.56 times. From 1440p to 4K, the pixel count increases by 2.25 times, and the frame rate drops by 1.84 times. The frame rate drops are slightly less than the pixel count increases, which suggests that the GPU has some headroom at lower resolutions that gets consumed as pixel count rises.

At Low settings, the same pattern holds: 148 FPS at 1080p, 96 at 1440p, and 52 at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 35%, and from 1440p to 4K is 46%. The consistency across settings indicates that the GPU's compute units and memory bandwidth are the limiting factors, not the CPU or system memory.

The fact that 4K never reaches 60 FPS, even at Low settings, is telling. It suggests that the GTX 1660 SUPER's 5.027 TFLOPS and 336.0 GB/s bandwidth are insufficient for the pixel throughput required at 4K in Doom. The 6 GB VRAM may also be a constraint at 4K, as textures and frame buffers consume more memory at higher resolutions.

The resolution scaling data also indicates that the CPU is not a limiting factor. If the CPU were limiting, we would expect frame rates to cluster together at lower resolutions, with the GPU becoming the bottleneck only at higher resolutions. Instead, the frame rates scale smoothly with resolution, which is the hallmark of a GPU-bound workload. The Core Ultra 9 290K Plus has more than enough processing power to feed the GTX 1660 SUPER at any resolution, as evidenced by its 51731 Cinebench R23 multi-core score and 96th percentile ranking.

For users, this means that upgrading the GPU would yield significant frame rate improvements at all resolutions, while upgrading the CPU would have no measurable impact in Doom. The combo's rank of 2497 out of 2930 reflects this imbalance, and the data suggests that the GTX 1660 SUPER is the component to replace first if higher frame rates are desired.