Doom

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 combination ranks 1,259 out of 2,930 tested combos in Doom, placing it in the 57th percentile of all systems tested. This is a solidly mid-pack result, indicating that while this pairing delivers playable performance, it does not crack the upper echelon of configurations for this 2016 title. The ranking reflects a balance between the CPU’s strong synthetic showing and the GPU’s more modest standing; the processor sits in the 96th percentile among all CPUs, while the graphics card lands in the 72nd percentile among all GPUs. The data suggests the GPU is the primary limiter in this pairing, as the CPU has ample headroom to push higher frame rates if paired with a faster graphics solution.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s rank of 1,259 out of 2,930 tested configurations places it just above the median for Doom. This position is driven by the RTX 5060’s performance tier, which is not among the fastest cards tested for this game. The CPU, by contrast, is a top-tier part; its average benchmark score of 84,003 puts it just 0.2% ahead of the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K (83,807) and 1.1% ahead of the AMD EPYC 4584PX (83,090). It trails the AMD EPYC 7F72 (85,072) by 1.3%. This means the processor is delivering near-flagship compute performance, but the measured FPS results show that Doom is not fully utilizing that capability.

At 1080p, the combo achieves 179 FPS on High and 243 FPS on Low, which are strong numbers but not exceptional for a game as well-optimized as Doom. The 4K Ultra result of 51 FPS is the weakest point, confirming that the GPU becomes the bottleneck at higher resolutions. The rank reflects this asymmetry: the CPU is capable of far more, but the RTX 5060’s 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit memory bus limit the overall system. For context, the GPU’s nearest rival, the AMD Radeon 860M, scores 26,401 on average, just 0.3% higher than the RTX 5060’s 26,331 average. This close grouping indicates the RTX 5060 is positioned firmly in the mid-range, and the combo rank mirrors that positioning.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with a GB206 chip, fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC. It features 3,840 shading units, 120 texture mapping units, and 48 raster output units. The card’s base clock is 2,280 MHz with a boost clock of 2,497 MHz, while memory operates at 1,750 MHz (28 Gbps effective). The 8 GB of GDDR7 memory sits on a 128-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s. This memory configuration is the key constraint in Doom at higher settings, as the game’s texture-heavy environments can stress the limited VRAM capacity.

The GPU’s measured performance in Doom shows a clear scaling pattern with settings. At 1080p, the card moves from 146 FPS on Ultra to 243 FPS on Low, a 66% increase. At 1440p, the range is 95 FPS on Ultra to 157 FPS on Low. At 4K, the card drops to 51 FPS on Ultra and 85 FPS on Low. The 4K Ultra result is below the 60 FPS threshold, indicating the card’s 48 ROPS and 8 GB VRAM are insufficient for maximum settings at that resolution. The GPU’s pixel rate is 119.9 GPixel/s and texture rate is 299.6 GTexel/s, which are adequate for 1080p and 1440p but fall short for 4K Ultra in this title. The card’s FP32 throughput of 19.18 TFLOPS is modest for a 50-series part, reinforcing its mid-range status.

Settings Recommendations

The measured FPS data provides clear guidance for optimal settings. At 1080p, the High preset delivers 179 FPS, which is well above the 144 Hz refresh rate common on gaming monitors. The Medium preset offers 211 FPS, and Low reaches 243 FPS, but the jump from High to Medium is only 32 FPS while the visual quality difference is more noticeable. The Ultra preset at 1080p yields 146 FPS, still playable but with diminishing returns over High. For most users, the High preset at 1080p is the sweet spot, balancing visual fidelity with a frame rate that exceeds any standard display’s refresh rate.

At 1440p, High delivers 116 FPS, which is excellent for a 1440p monitor. Medium provides 137 FPS, and Low hits 157 FPS. The Ultra preset at 1440p drops to 95 FPS, which is still smooth but represents a 21 FPS loss over High. Given that Doom’s Ultra settings add subtle effects that are hard to notice in fast-paced gameplay, High at 1440p is recommended for the best experience. At 4K, the situation changes: High produces 63 FPS, Medium 74 FPS, and Low 85 FPS. The Ultra preset falls to 51 FPS, which is not ideal for a fast shooter. The data suggests using Medium at 4K (74 FPS) to stay above 60 FPS, or dropping to Low (85 FPS) for a more comfortable margin. High at 4K is borderline at 63 FPS, with any demanding scene potentially causing dips.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Doom at 4K Ultra settings?

A: No. The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 with Ultra settings is 51 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay. The Medium preset at 4K achieves 74 FPS, making it the highest settings level that maintains playable performance.

Q: How does the RTX 5060 compare to its closest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The RTX 5060 has an average benchmark score of 26,331. It is 0.3% behind the AMD Radeon 860M (26,401) and 0.3% behind the NVIDIA GeForce MX550 (26,421). It is 0.8% behind the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT 50th Anniversary (26,553) and 1.2% ahead of the AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT (26,011).

Q: What is the limiting component for this combo in Doom at lower resolutions?

A: At 1080p, the CPU has significant headroom, as evidenced by its 96th percentile ranking among all CPUs. The GPU becomes the limiting factor even at 1080p, as the FPS scales with settings (146 to 243 FPS) rather than being capped by the processor. The CPU’s 24 cores and 24 threads are not fully utilized in this game.

Q: What is the highest average FPS this combo achieves in Doom, and at what settings?

A: The highest measured average FPS is 243, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings. The next highest is 211 FPS at 1080p Medium, and 179 FPS at 1080p High. These results indicate the combo can hit very high frame rates when GPU load is reduced.

Q: How does the CPU’s performance compare to the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K?

A: The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus has an average benchmark score of 84,003, which is 0.2% higher than the 285K’s 83,807. In Doom, this difference is negligible, as the game is not CPU-bound at the tested settings, so the FPS results are primarily determined by the GPU.

Q: Is the RTX 5060’s 8 GB VRAM sufficient for Doom at high resolutions?

A: The data shows that at 4K Ultra, the combo drops to 51 FPS, suggesting the 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit bus are strained. At 4K High, the FPS rises to 63, and at 4K Medium to 74 FPS. The VRAM capacity appears adequate for Medium settings at 4K, but not for Ultra.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS progression from 1080p to 4K reveals the GPU-bound nature of this combo. At High settings, the average FPS drops from 179 at 1080p to 116 at 1440p (a 35% reduction) and then to 63 at 4K (a 46% further reduction from 1440p). This steep decline indicates that the RTX 5060’s rendering throughput is the limiting factor, as the CPU’s performance would not cause such a dramatic scaling. At Low settings, the drop is from 243 at 1080p to 157 at 1440p (35% reduction) and then to 85 at 4K (46% reduction from 1440p). The consistent percentage drops across settings confirm that resolution scaling is uniform and GPU-limited.

The 4K Ultra result of 51 FPS versus the 1080p Ultra result of 146 FPS represents a 65% reduction. This is a larger drop than the 55% reduction seen from 1080p to 1440p (146 to 95 FPS), indicating that the card’s 8 GB VRAM and 48 ROPS are particularly stressed at 4K. The memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s is also a factor, as higher resolutions require more data to be fetched per frame. The data suggests that the 4K resolution is beyond the card’s comfortable operating range for this title, and users should target 1440p or 1080p for the best balance of quality and frame rate.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus is a 24-core, 24-thread processor based on the Arrow Lake Refresh architecture, built on a 3 nm process at TSMC. It has a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.80 GHz, with a TDP of 125 W. 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. Its memory support is dual-channel DDR5 with a bandwidth of 115.2 GB/s, and it connects via PCIe Gen 5 with 20 CPU lanes. These specifications place it among the most capable desktop processors available, as reflected in its 96th percentile ranking.

In Doom, the CPU’s role is secondary to the GPU. The measured FPS at 1080p Low (243) and 1080p Medium (211) are high, but they are not limited by the processor. The CPU’s single-thread performance, as measured by Cinebench R23 single-core at 7,303, is more relevant for game logic, but Doom’s engine is well-optimized and does not require extreme single-thread speed. The multi-thread score of 51,731 in Cinebench R23 indicates the CPU can handle any background tasks without impacting game performance. The PassMark multithread score of 60,860 and single-thread score of 4,823 further confirm the CPU’s strength, but the game’s FPS results are dictated by the GPU’s rendering capabilities. The CPU’s 24 threads are underutilized in this title, as most game workloads rely on far fewer threads, but the high boost clock ensures that even single-threaded game logic runs without bottlenecking the system.