Doom

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 delivers a commanding performance in Doom, with measured frame rates that consistently exceed 100 FPS even at 4K Ultra settings. This combination of a 24-core/24-thread processor and a 16 GB GDDR7 graphics card demonstrates that the game, originally released in 2016, scales exceptionally well across modern hardware, though the scaling patterns reveal where each component’s influence begins and ends.

Resolution Scaling

The measured FPS data shows a clear and predictable decline as resolution increases, but the magnitude of that decline varies significantly depending on the preset. At Low settings, the average frame rate drops from 416 FPS at 1920x1080 to 269 FPS at 2560x1440, and finally to 146 FPS at 3840x2160. This represents a 65% reduction from 1080p to 4K, indicating that even at the lowest graphical fidelity, the GPU is the primary bottleneck at higher resolutions. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 147 FPS, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 123 FPS, showing a slightly steeper decline at the lower resolution step.

Moving to Medium settings, the pattern shifts. The average FPS goes from 363 at 1080p to 235 at 1440p, and then to 127 at 4K. The percentage drop from 1080p to 1440p is 35%, while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 46%. This suggests that as settings increase, the GPU load becomes more uniform across resolution steps, with the 4K step taking a slightly larger toll relative to the 1440p step. The minimum FPS at Medium settings for 4K is 108, while at 1440p it is 199, and at 1080p it is 308, indicating that the frame time variance also scales with resolution.

At High settings, the average FPS is 306 at 1080p, 198 at 1440p, and 107 at 4K. The drop from 1080p to 1440p is 108 FPS (35%), while the drop from 1440p to 4K is 91 FPS (46%). Interestingly, the 4K High result of 107 FPS is nearly identical to the 4K Medium result of 127 FPS, showing only a 20 FPS difference between these two presets at that resolution. This narrows the gap compared to lower resolutions, where the difference between Medium and High is 57 FPS at 1080p and 37 FPS at 1440p.

Ultra settings produce the lowest frame rates across all resolutions, with 250 FPS at 1080p, 162 FPS at 1440p, and 88 FPS at 4K. The scaling from 1080p to 1440p is a 35% reduction, and from 1440p to 4K a 46% reduction, matching the pattern seen in Medium and High. The 4K Ultra result of 88 FPS is the only measured configuration that dips below the 100 FPS threshold, indicating that this is the point where the GPU’s compute resources are fully saturated. The data overall suggests that the RTX 5080 is the limiting component at 4K across all presets, while at 1080p the CPU begins to exert more influence, particularly at Low settings where the 416 FPS result approaches the practical limits of the processor’s single-thread performance.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080, built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with a 5 nm process and 45,600 million transistors, provides the core rendering capability for these results. Its 16 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 256-bit bus delivers 960.0 GB/s of bandwidth, which is sufficient to feed the shading units at 4K resolutions without causing memory-related frame drops. The GPU’s base clock of 2295 MHz and boost clock of 2617 MHz, combined with 10752 shading units, 336 TMUs, and 112 ROPs, produce a pixel rate of 293.1 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 879.3 GTexel/s. These specifications align with the measured FPS data, where 4K Ultra demands the highest throughput and yields 88 FPS, while 1080p Low, which stresses the GPU far less, reaches 416 FPS.

The GPU’s percentile ranking of 87 versus all GPUs places it above the median, and its average benchmark score of 56083 puts it in a competitive position. When compared to its nearest rivals, the RTX 5080’s average score is 0.6% higher than the AMD Radeon 8060S, 0.7% higher than the AMD Radeon RX 6750 GRE 12 GB, and 2.3% higher than the AMD Radeon Pro W5700X, while being 2.2% lower than the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE. These small deltas indicate that in synthetic benchmarks, the RTX 5080 is closely matched with these alternatives, but the Doom results show that its real-world performance is more than adequate for high-refresh-rate gaming.

In terms of memory, the 16 GB capacity is not a limiting factor in Doom, as the game’s textures and geometry at 4K Ultra do not exceed this allocation. The GDDR7 type and 960.0 GB/s bandwidth ensure that the GPU never stalls waiting for data, which is evident in the relatively small gap between Medium and High settings at 4K (127 FPS vs 107 FPS). The GPU’s FP32 performance of 56.28 TFLOPS provides ample compute for the game’s lighting and particle effects, and the 84 RT cores and 336 tensor cores, while not heavily utilized in this non-ray-traced title, contribute to the overall headroom.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus, with 24 cores and 24 threads, operates at a base clock of 3.70 GHz and a boost clock of 5.80 GHz, making it one of the highest-performing desktop processors in the database. Its architecture, Arrow Lake Refresh on a 3 nm process with 17,800 million transistors, delivers substantial multi-threaded throughput, as evidenced by its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 51731 and single-core score of 7303. The processor’s 36 MB of shared L3 cache, along with 192 KB of L1 and 3 MB of L2 per core, ensures that game logic and draw call processing are handled without introducing CPU-side bottlenecks.

In Doom, the CPU’s role is most apparent at 1080p Low settings, where the average FPS of 416 suggests that the processor is approaching its limit for single-threaded game logic. The jump from 1080p Low to 1440p Low (416 to 269 FPS) is larger than the jump from 1440p Low to 4K Low (269 to 146 FPS), indicating that at lower resolutions, the CPU has a greater influence on frame rates. However, even at 1080p Ultra, the 250 FPS result shows that the CPU is not a limiting factor for typical gaming scenarios, as the GPU still has significant headroom.

The CPU’s percentile ranking of 96 versus all CPUs places it in the top 4% of processors, and its average benchmark score of 84003 is nearly identical to its nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, which scores 83807 with a deltaPct of 0.2%. Other rivals include the AMD EPYC 4584PX at 83090 (1.1% lower), the AMD EPYC 9135 at 82980 (1.2% lower), and the AMD EPYC 7F72 at 85072 (1.3% higher). These comparisons show that the 290K Plus is effectively tied with the 285K in synthetic workloads, but in Doom, the 24-thread configuration ensures that even the heaviest frame-time spikes are smoothed out, as seen in the minimum FPS values at Medium settings (308 at 1080p, 199 at 1440p, 108 at 4K).

The processor’s 125 W TDP and dual-channel DDR5 memory support with 115.2 GB/s bandwidth are adequate for this game, though the memory bandwidth is not a significant factor given that Doom’s engine is optimized for lower memory throughput. The PassMark multi-thread score of 60860 and single-thread score of 4823 further confirm that the CPU has the raw compute to keep up with the RTX 5080’s output, even at high refresh rates.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 ranks 147th out of 2930 tested combos in Doom, placing it in the top 5% of all configurations. This rank reflects the balanced nature of the pairing, where neither component is severely underpowered relative to the other. The high percentile rankings of both the CPU (96th) and GPU (87th) contribute to this strong position, though the combo rank is slightly lower than either component’s individual percentile, suggesting that other pairings with more powerful GPUs or CPUs may edge out this combination in specific scenarios.

The rank of 147 out of 2930 means that 2783 other combinations perform worse, while 146 perform better. Given that the measured FPS data shows no configuration below 88 FPS, the ranking is likely driven by combos with higher-end GPUs (such as those with more shading units) or CPUs with higher boost clocks. The deltaPct between the RTX 5080 and its nearest GPU rival, the AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE, is -2.2%, meaning the RX 9070 GRE scores 2.2% higher on average. However, in Doom, the RTX 5080’s specific driver optimizations and architecture result in the measured FPS figures, which are competitive with any other GPU in this tier.

The combo’s strength lies in its consistency across resolutions. At 1080p, it delivers over 250 FPS on all presets, making it ideal for high-refresh-rate monitors. At 1440p, it maintains over 160 FPS on all presets, and at 4K, it stays above 88 FPS. This range of performance means that the combo can handle both competitive gaming (where low latency and high FPS are critical) and single-player experiences (where visual fidelity at 4K is prioritized) without requiring users to make significant sacrifices.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal preset depends on the target resolution and refresh rate. For 1080p displays, the High preset at 306 FPS offers the best balance between visual quality and frame rate, as the jump to Ultra only adds 56 FPS (from 250 to 306) while the drop to Medium costs 57 FPS (from 363 to 306). Users with 144 Hz or 240 Hz monitors will be satisfied with High, while those with 360 Hz panels may prefer Medium to reach 363 FPS.

At 1440p, the High preset at 198 FPS is the recommended choice for most users, as it provides a smooth experience on 165 Hz or 180 Hz monitors. The Ultra preset at 162 FPS is viable for 144 Hz displays, but the 36 FPS improvement from Ultra to High (162 to 198) is more noticeable than the visual difference between these presets. Medium at 235 FPS offers the best frame rate for 240 Hz monitors, though the graphical trade-offs are more apparent at this resolution.

For 4K, the High preset at 107 FPS is the sweet spot, as it delivers a smooth experience on 120 Hz displays without the performance hit of Ultra. The Medium preset at 127 FPS is better suited for 144 Hz 4K monitors, but the 20 FPS gain over High comes at the cost of reduced texture detail and shadow quality. Ultra at 88 FPS is only recommended for users with 90 Hz or lower refresh rate panels, as the 19 FPS drop from High to Ultra is substantial and the visual improvements are marginal in this fast-paced game.

The Low preset is not recommended for any resolution above 1080p, as the frame rate gains (146 FPS at 4K versus 107 FPS on High) do not justify the significant reduction in visual fidelity. At 1080p, Low at 416 FPS is only useful for extreme competitive play where maximum frame rate is the sole priority, but this comes at the expense of nearly all graphical features.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the measured average FPS values are as follows: Low delivers 416 FPS, Medium delivers 363 FPS with a minimum of 308 and maximum of 417, High delivers 306 FPS, and Ultra delivers 250 FPS. The range from Low to Ultra is 166 FPS, with each preset step costing approximately 55 FPS on average. The Medium preset’s minimum FPS of 308 indicates that frame times remain consistent even during intense combat sequences, which is crucial for maintaining a competitive edge.

At 2560x1440, the average FPS values are: Low at 269, Medium at 235 with a minimum of 199 and maximum of 270, High at 198, and Ultra at 162. The drop from Low to Ultra is 107 FPS, with the largest single-step decrease occurring between Medium and High (37 FPS). The Medium preset’s maximum of 270 FPS shows that the combo can occasionally hit frame rates comparable to 1080p Low, demonstrating the GPU’s headroom at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, the average FPS values are: Low at 146, Medium at 127 with a minimum of 108 and maximum of 146, High at 107, and Ultra at 88. The range from Low to Ultra is 58 FPS, which is the narrowest spread across all resolutions, indicating that the GPU is the dominant limiter here. The Medium preset’s minimum of 108 FPS ensures that even the most demanding scenes stay above 100 FPS, while the Ultra preset’s 88 FPS average is the only measured result below that threshold.

Across all presets and resolutions, the data shows a consistent pattern: the RTX 5080 and Core Ultra 9 290K Plus deliver playable frame rates in every configuration, with the only sub-100 FPS result occurring at 4K Ultra. The combination’s ability to scale from 416 FPS at 1080p Low to 88 FPS at 4K Ultra highlights its versatility, making it a strong choice for users who want to play Doom at any resolution without upgrading their hardware.