Doom

# Doom: Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 — Benchmark Analysis

This combination of Intel's 24-core Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 4070 delivers a thoroughly playable Doom experience across every resolution and settings tier measured, with the data showing a system that transitions from CPU-bound at 1080p to increasingly GPU-bound as resolution climbs, all while maintaining frame rates well above the 60 FPS threshold even at 4K Ultra.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data reveals a clear and predictable scaling pattern across the three resolutions tested. At 1080p with Low settings, the combination produces an average of 314 FPS, which represents the absolute ceiling of what this pairing can achieve in Doom. Moving to 1440p Low drops that figure to 203 FPS — a reduction of roughly 35% — while 4K Low settles at 110 FPS, another 46% lower. This steep decline as resolution increases points squarely at the GPU becoming the limiting factor; the RTX 4070's rendering workload grows substantially with each pixel count increase, while the CPU has ample headroom at these lower settings.

The scaling story becomes more nuanced when examining higher settings presets. At Ultra settings, the frame rate progression from 1080p (189 FPS) to 1440p (122 FPS) represents a 35% drop, and then to 4K (66 FPS) another 46% decline — nearly identical percentages to the Low preset scaling. This consistency suggests that Doom's rendering pipeline scales linearly with pixel count regardless of quality level, and that the RTX 4070's 12 GB of GDDR6X memory is not being saturated at any tested configuration, as frame rates would otherwise collapse disproportionately at 4K.

The Medium preset results provide the most complete picture, as these are the only rows with min and max FPS values recorded. At 1080p Medium, the average is 273 FPS with a minimum of 232 and maximum of 314. At 1440p Medium, the average drops to 177 FPS, with min/max of 150 and 204 respectively. The 4K Medium row shows 96 FPS average, with min 81 and max 110. The spread between min and max FPS widens from 82 frames at 1080p to 54 frames at 1440p, then narrows to 29 frames at 4K — an indication that frame time variance compresses as the GPU becomes the dominant bottleneck, whereas at lower resolutions the CPU's frame delivery can produce larger swings.

The High preset numbers sit predictably between Medium and Ultra: 231 FPS at 1080p, 150 at 1440p, and 81 at 4K. This places High roughly 15-18% below Medium at each resolution, while Ultra sits another 15-20% below High. The data suggests that Doom's quality settings impose relatively uniform costs across the resolution spectrum, making the scaling behavior highly predictable for users planning their target resolution and quality combination.

GPU Role

The RTX 4070's specifications directly inform the measured results. With a base clock of 1920 MHz and a boost clock of 2475 MHz, the Ada Lovelace architecture GPU (AD104 chip on TSMC's 5 nm process) delivers 29.15 TFLOPS of FP32 compute. The 12 GB of GDDR6X memory operates across a 192-bit bus, yielding 504.2 GB/s of bandwidth — a figure that proves sufficient for Doom's texture and geometry demands even at 4K, as evidenced by the playable 66 FPS average at Ultra settings.

The GPU's 64 ROPs and 184 texture mapping units handle Doom's rasterization workload efficiently. The pixel rate of 158.4 GPixel/s and texture rate of 455.4 GTexel/s provide the raw throughput needed to sustain the observed frame rates. At 4K resolution, the GPU must process approximately 8.3 million pixels per frame; at 66 FPS average under Ultra settings, that translates to roughly 548 million pixels per second — well within the RTX 4070's pixel throughput capacity.

The VRAM capacity of 12 GB deserves particular attention in the context of Doom's results. The measured frame rates do not show any anomalous drops at 4K Ultra that would indicate memory capacity or bandwidth throttling. The 504.2 GB/s bandwidth is sufficient for the game's streaming requirements, and the absence of min FPS data for the Ultra preset at 4K (only average is provided) means we cannot assess frame pacing from the measured rows, but the average of 66 FPS suggests no catastrophic memory-related stalling.

The GPU's 46 ray tracing cores and 184 tensor cores are present in the silicon but Doom (2016) does not leverage ray tracing, so these units remain idle during this benchmark. The RTX 4070's DirectX 12 Ultimate support and Vulkan 1.4 API compatibility are relevant, as Doom's Vulkan renderer can take advantage of the architecture's asynchronous compute capabilities. The 21 Gbps effective memory clock on the GDDR6X modules provides the bandwidth headroom that keeps 4K performance from collapsing below playable levels.

Settings Recommendations

The measured data provides clear guidance on optimal settings configurations. At 1080p, every preset delivers well over 100 FPS, with even the demanding Ultra preset averaging 189 FPS. The Low preset's 314 FPS average exceeds the refresh rate of virtually all mainstream monitors, making it pointless for most users. The Medium preset at 273 FPS with a 232 FPS minimum represents the best balance for high-refresh-rate displays, as the 41 FPS gap between average and minimum still maintains smooth gameplay.

For 1440p users, the High preset at 150 FPS average is the standout recommendation. It delivers a 23% improvement over Ultra's 122 FPS while remaining visually close in quality. The Medium preset at 177 FPS is the choice for 165 Hz or 180 Hz monitors, though the 150 FPS minimum could occasionally dip below a 165 Hz display's refresh cap. Ultra at 122 FPS remains entirely playable and is the option for those prioritizing image quality over frame rate headroom.

At 4K, the decision becomes more consequential. The Ultra preset averages 66 FPS — technically above the 60 FPS standard but with no min FPS data to confirm frame stability. The High preset at 81 FPS provides a more comfortable margin above 60 FPS and is the recommended choice for 4K gaming on this hardware. Medium at 96 FPS is the pick for 4K users with VRR displays who want to stay well above the 60 FPS floor. The Low preset at 110 FPS demonstrates that even at 4K, this combination can push past 100 FPS when visual fidelity is sacrificed, though the visual compromise is substantial.

The Medium preset's measured min/max ranges across all three resolutions — 232-314 at 1080p, 150-204 at 1440p, and 81-110 at 4K — indicate that this settings tier provides the most consistent frame delivery relative to its average. For users uncertain about their display's refresh rate capabilities, the Medium preset offers the safest combination of high averages and stable minimums.

How This Combo Ranks

Within the benchmark database's measured combinations, this pairing of Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and RTX 4070 ranks 651st out of 2,930 tested combos in Doom. This places it in roughly the 78th percentile of all combinations, meaning approximately 22% of tested systems deliver higher frame rates in this game. Given that the RTX 4070 is an end-of-life product that was mid-range at launch and the CPU is a current-generation flagship, the ranking reflects the GPU's position as the performance limiter in this pairing.

The CPU itself performs at the 96th percentile against all processors in the database, with an average benchmark score of 84,003. Its nearest rivals in synthetic testing include the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K (0.2% higher score), AMD EPYC 4584PX (1.1% higher), and AMD EPYC 9135 (1.2% higher), while the AMD EPYC 7F72 comes in 1.3% lower. This places the 290K Plus at the very top of consumer desktop CPU performance, yet the Doom ranking at 651st of 2,930 shows that game performance is governed by the graphics card in this title.

The GPU's synthetic standing tells a different story. The RTX 4070 sits at the 81st percentile among all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 37,648. Its nearest rivals are remarkably close: the NVIDIA Tesla P4 is just 0.1% lower, the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 is 0.4% lower, and the AMD Radeon PRO W6400 is 1.3% lower, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile is 1.3% higher. This tight clustering around the RTX 4070's performance level explains why the Doom ranking is not higher — the GPU is solidly mid-pack relative to the entire GPU landscape, and the 2,930 test combinations include many with faster graphics cards that pull ahead in a GPU-bound title.

The combination's rank of 651 indicates that the CPU is not holding back the GPU meaningfully in Doom. If the processor were a bottleneck, the ranking would be substantially higher relative to the GPU's percentile. The data instead shows a balanced pairing where the RTX 4070's capabilities define the ceiling, and the 290K Plus's 5.80 GHz boost clock and 24 threads ensure frame delivery is never CPU-limited at the measured settings.

FAQ

Q: Is this combination capable of 4K gaming in Doom?

A: Yes. The measured data shows 66 FPS average at 4K Ultra, 81 FPS at 4K High, 96 FPS at 4K Medium, and 110 FPS at 4K Low. All settings tiers exceed the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: What is the best settings preset for a 144 Hz monitor at 1440p?

A: The High preset delivers 150 FPS average at 1440p, which is above 144 Hz. The Ultra preset at 122 FPS would not fully saturate a 144 Hz display, so High is the recommended choice.

Q: How does the RTX 4070 compare to its nearest GPU rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 4070's average benchmark score of 37,648 is just 0.1% above the NVIDIA Tesla P4 and 0.4% above the AMD Radeon RX Vega 56. The GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile scores 1.3% higher, while the AMD Radeon PRO W6400 is 1.3% lower.

Q: Does the CPU limit performance at any resolution?

A: The data suggests the GPU becomes the limiting factor as resolution increases. At 1080p, the 314 FPS Low preset result indicates the CPU can drive very high frame rates, but the RTX 4070's rendering capacity caps performance at higher resolutions.

Q: What is the frame rate range at 4K Medium settings?

A: The 4K Medium preset shows an average of 96 FPS with a minimum of 81 FPS and maximum of 110 FPS, providing a 29-frame spread between the lowest and highest measured values.

Q: How does this combo rank among all tested systems in Doom?

A: This combination ranks 651st out of 2,930 tested combinations, placing it in approximately the 78th percentile of all systems benchmarked in this game.

Measured FPS Breakdown

1080p (1920x1080):

• Low: 314 FPS average
• Medium: 273 FPS average, 232 FPS minimum, 314 FPS maximum
• High: 231 FPS average
• Ultra: 189 FPS average

1440p (2560x1440):

• Low: 203 FPS average
• Medium: 177 FPS average, 150 FPS minimum, 204 FPS maximum
• High: 150 FPS average
• Ultra: 122 FPS average

4K (3840x2160):

• Low: 110 FPS average
• Medium: 96 FPS average, 81 FPS minimum, 110 FPS maximum
• High: 81 FPS average
• Ultra: 66 FPS average

The complete dataset shows a system that scales predictably from 1080p to 4K, with the RTX 4070's 12 GB VRAM and 504.2 GB/s bandwidth proving adequate for Doom's requirements at all settings. The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus, with its 24 cores and 5.80 GHz boost clock, provides sufficient CPU headroom to keep the GPU fully utilized across the resolution spectrum. The combination's 651st rank out of 2,930 tested systems reflects the RTX 4070's mid-pack GPU standing rather than any CPU limitation, and the measured frame rates confirm that this pairing delivers a smooth, high-performance Doom experience at every resolution and quality tier tested.