Doom

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 delivers an extraordinary performance profile in Doom, placing the combo at rank 45 out of 2930 tested configurations. This top 1.5% standing reflects the sheer headroom both components bring to a title that scales aggressively with hardware. The measured frame rates are exceptionally high across all settings, indicating that this pairing is not merely capable of running the game, but is positioned to obliterate standard refresh rate targets, making it a definitive high-end benchmark for this FPS title.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo's rank of 45 out of 2930 tested combinations places it in the 98.5th percentile of all systems evaluated for Doom. This is a position reserved for the most extreme hardware pairings, where the CPU and GPU are both operating without a meaningful bottleneck from the other. The data shows that this specific configuration outperforms the vast majority of systems, a result that is consistent with the top-tier placement of both the processor and the graphics card in their respective benchmark hierarchies.

The CPU, a 24-core Core Ultra 9 290K Plus, sits in the 96th percentile against all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 84,003. Its nearest rival, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, scores 83,807, a delta of only 0.2%. This indicates that within the CPU's own performance class, the 290K Plus is essentially at the top of the pack, offering a marginal but measurable lead over its closest sibling. Further up the comparison list, the AMD EPYC 4584PX and AMD EPYC 9135 trail by 1.1% and 1.2%, respectively, while the AMD EPYC 7F72 leads it by 1.3%. These small deltas confirm that the processor is operating at the ceiling of consumer and prosumer performance, providing a stable foundation for the GPU.

On the graphics side, the RTX 5090 holds the 92nd percentile against all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 79,842. Its nearest rivals, the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB and the Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB, are within 0.3% and 0.6% of its score, respectively. The AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT trails by 1.1%, while the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X leads by 1.4%. While these percentage differences are small, the raw frame rate data in Doom shows a massive gulf between this GPU and more mainstream options, confirming that the RTX 5090 is in a league of its own for this specific game.

Given the combined strength of both components, the rank of 45 is a logical outcome. The system is not just fast; it is consistently fast across all resolutions and settings, a hallmark of a balanced, high-end build where neither the CPU nor the GPU is forced to wait for the other.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is the primary driver of the exceptional frame rates observed in Doom. Its architecture, Blackwell 2.0, is built on a 5 nm process at TSMC, packing 92,200 million transistors onto a 750 mm² die. This immense hardware configuration translates directly into performance, with the GPU featuring a base clock of 2017 MHz and a boost clock of 2407 MHz.

Memory configuration plays a critical role in high-resolution gaming, and the RTX 5090 is equipped with 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus. This provides a staggering memory bandwidth of 1.79 TB/s. For a fast-paced FPS like Doom, this bandwidth ensures that texture streaming and geometry data are fed to the GPU cores without delay, preventing hitches and maintaining high minimum frame rates. The data supports this, with the only measured min/max FPS values showing a tight range; for instance, at 4K Medium, the frame rate oscillates between 118 FPS and 160 FPS, an average of 139 FPS, demonstrating stable performance even when the GPU is heavily loaded.

The GPU's computational power is equally impressive. With 21,760 shading units, 680 TMUs, and 176 ROPs, the RTX 5090 can process geometry and pixels at an extraordinary rate. The pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s are the theoretical maxima that allow it to reach the high frame rates seen in the measured data. The FP32 performance of 104.8 TFLOPS further underscores its capability for complex shader work, which is abundant in the particle effects and lighting of Doom.

In the context of rival GPUs, the RTX 5090's benchmark scores place it in a dominant position. While the nearest rivals in the database show marginal differences in aggregate scores (a 1.4% delta to the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X), the measured FPS in Doom illustrates a clear victory. The GPU's role is not just to render frames but to do so at resolutions and settings that would cripple lesser hardware, maintaining playable and often extreme frame rates even at 4K Ultra.

FAQ

Q: What is the performance difference between the RTX 5090 and its closest rival, the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X?

A: In aggregate benchmark scores, the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X leads the RTX 5090 by 1.4%. However, the measured FPS in Doom shows the RTX 5090 performing at a level that is unattainable for most GPUs, underscoring that aggregate scores do not always reflect game-specific performance.

Q: How does the Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus compare to the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K?

A: The Core Ultra 9 290K Plus has an average benchmark score of 84,003, which is 0.2% higher than the Core Ultra 9 285K's score of 83,807. This makes the 290K Plus the marginally faster processor of the two in synthetic tests.

Q: What is the highest average frame rate achieved by this combo?

A: The highest average frame rate recorded is 454 FPS, achieved at 1920x1080 resolution with Low settings.

Q: At what settings does the combo provide the most stable frame rates?

A: The data shows the most stable frame rates are at Medium settings, as it is the only settings tier where minimum and maximum FPS values were recorded. For example, at 1440p Medium, the average is 256 FPS, with a minimum of 218 FPS and a maximum of 295 FPS.

Q: Does the CPU hold the GPU back at any resolution?

A: The data indicates that the CPU provides a strong enough foundation to avoid bottlenecking the GPU even at 1080p. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 454 FPS average, which is a frame rate that demands significant CPU throughput for game logic and draw calls.

*Q: What is the combo's overall rank among all tested systems for Doom?*

A: The combo is ranked 45th out of 2930 tested combinations, placing it in the top 1.5% of all systems evaluated for the game.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings for this combo depend on the user's display refresh rate and preference for visual fidelity versus raw frame rate. The data shows that the Ultra preset is the most demanding, yielding an average of 273 FPS at 1080p, 177 FPS at 1440p, and 96 FPS at 4K. While 96 FPS is certainly playable, it is the lowest average recorded and does not take full advantage of the hardware's capabilities.

The Medium preset appears to be the sweet spot for a balanced experience. It is the only settings tier with complete min/max FPS data, demonstrating a stable frame time distribution. At 1080p Medium, the average is 396 FPS with a minimum of 336 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average is 256 FPS with a minimum of 218 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average is 139 FPS with a minimum of 118 FPS. These figures indicate that Medium settings provide a significant reduction in frame rate variance compared to other presets, resulting in a smoother gameplay experience.

For users with high-refresh-rate monitors (e.g., 240 Hz or 360 Hz), the High preset is also a viable choice. At 1440p High, the combo averages 216 FPS, and at 1080p High, it averages 334 FPS. This preset offers a visual upgrade over Medium while still maintaining frame rates that exceed the refresh rate of most high-end displays. The Low preset, while achieving the highest frame rates (454 FPS at 1080p), sacrifices too much visual quality for a marginal gain over Medium or High.

Ultimately, the best experience is a choice between Medium and High. Medium offers the most stable frame pacing, while High provides better visuals with a slight increase in frame rate variability. For a game like Doom, where fast motion and quick reactions are key, the stability of the Medium preset is arguably the best choice to ensure a consistent and responsive feel.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured frame rates for this combo are consistently exceptional across all tested configurations. The data is broken down by resolution and settings as follows:

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates. With Low settings, the average FPS is 454. Moving to Medium settings, the average drops to 396 FPS, with a minimum of 336 FPS and a maximum of 455 FPS. The High preset yields an average of 334 FPS, while the Ultra preset brings the average down to 273 FPS.

At 2560x1440, the performance remains staggeringly high. The Low preset produces an average of 294 FPS. The Medium preset averages 256 FPS, with a minimum of 218 FPS and a maximum of 295 FPS. The High preset follows at 216 FPS average, and the Ultra preset averages 177 FPS.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is finally pushed harder, but still delivers excellent results. The Low preset averages 159 FPS. The Medium preset averages 139 FPS, with a minimum of 118 FPS and a maximum of 160 FPS. The High preset averages 117 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 96 FPS.

These numbers indicate that the combo is capable of exceeding 100 FPS at 4K on all settings, and it exceeds 250 FPS at 1440p on most settings. The data clearly shows a performance ceiling that is far above the requirements of standard monitors, cementing this as a top-tier configuration for high-refresh-rate gaming.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 9 290K Plus plays a crucial role in enabling the extreme frame rates seen in Doom. While the GPU is responsible for rendering pixels, the CPU is responsible for game logic, physics, and issuing draw calls. At the frame rates this combo achieves, the CPU must be exceptionally fast to avoid becoming the bottleneck.

The 290K Plus features 24 cores and 24 threads, based on the Arrow Lake Refresh architecture. Its base clock is 3.70 GHz, with a boost clock of 5.80 GHz, allowing for rapid single-threaded performance, which is critical for FPS titles. The CPU's cache hierarchy includes 192 KB of L1 cache per core, 3 MB of L2 cache per core, and a shared 36 MB L3 cache. This extensive cache helps keep frequently accessed data close to the cores, reducing latency and improving processing efficiency.

In synthetic benchmarks, the CPU scores 51,731 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 7,303 in single-core. These scores demonstrate its capability to handle both multi-threaded workloads and the high-frequency, low-latency tasks required for gaming. The PassMark single-thread score of 4,823 further confirms its strength in this area.

The CPU's role becomes most apparent at lower resolutions. At 1080p Low, the average FPS is 454. To achieve this frame rate, the CPU must process and submit rendering commands to the GPU at a rate of over 450 times per second. The data suggests the 290K Plus is more than capable of this, as the frame rate does not collapse but scales logically with resolution, indicating that the CPU is not a limiting factor. The CPU's 96th percentile ranking against all CPUs and its 0.2% lead over the Core Ultra 9 285K confirm that it is among the fastest processors available, providing an ideal foundation for the RTX 5090.

Resolution Scaling

The frame rate scaling from 1080p to 4K reveals the expected shift in bottleneck from the CPU to the GPU. At 1080p Low, the combo achieves 454 FPS. At 1440p Low, the average drops to 294 FPS, and at 4K Low, it drops further to 159 FPS. This represents a 65% drop in frame rate from 1080p to 1440p, and a 46% drop from 1440p to 4K.

This pattern is typical for a high-end system. At 1080p, the CPU is working hard to feed the GPU, but the GPU is not fully utilized because the pixel count is relatively low. As resolution increases, the GPU becomes the primary bottleneck, as it must render more pixels. The fact that the frame rate drops significantly as resolution increases indicates that the GPU is being stressed more, while the CPU has sufficient headroom to maintain high frame rates even at 4K.

Looking at the Ultra preset, the scaling is steeper: 273 FPS at 1080p, 177 FPS at 1440p, and 96 FPS at 4K. This is a 35% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a 46% drop from 1440p to 4K. The steeper drop at the higher resolution is due to the increased complexity of the Ultra preset, which includes more demanding shading and post-processing effects that disproportionately impact the GPU's fill rate.

The data suggests that the limiting component shifts from the CPU at 1080p to the GPU at 4K. At 1080p, the high frame rates (over 450 FPS) are only achievable because the CPU can process the game state quickly enough. At 4K, the GPU's rendering workload is the constraining factor, as evidenced by the frame rate dropping to 96 FPS at Ultra, which is still a very high number but represents a significant reduction from the 1080p figures. This behavior is exactly what is expected from a balanced system where both the CPU and GPU are top-tier, but the GPU is the definitive limiting factor at higher resolutions.