Doom

The Intel Core Ultra X9 388H paired with the AMD Radeon 890M is a mobile-first combination that delivers a surprisingly playable experience in the 2016 classic Doom, though only at specific settings and resolutions. The data shows a system that is clearly constrained by its integrated graphics, but the CPU’s strength ensures that the frame rate scales predictably with visual fidelity. This analysis breaks down the measured performance, contextualizes the hardware’s role, and interprets what the numbers mean for a player looking to optimize their experience.

FAQ

Q: What is the best resolution and settings combination for a smooth experience?

A: The data shows that at 1920x1080 with Low settings, the combo achieves an average of 95 FPS, which is the highest measured frame rate. For a balance of quality and performance, 1920x1080 at High settings yields 70 FPS, while Medium at the same resolution offers 82 FPS.

*Q: How does the combo rank against other tested systems in Doom?*

A: This specific combination of CPU and GPU ranks 2758 out of 2930 tested combos in the game. This places it in the lower percentile of tested systems, indicating that while it can run the game, most other combinations deliver higher performance.

Q: Is the AMD Radeon 890M a strong performer in this game?

A: The Radeon 890M's average benchmark score is 9210, placing it in the 45th percentile of all GPUs. In the context of Doom, it delivers playable frame rates at 1080p, but the data suggests it is the primary limiting factor, as performance drops significantly at higher resolutions.

*Q: Does the CPU's performance have a significant impact on the FPS in Doom?*

A: The Intel Core Ultra X9 388H is a high-end mobile processor with an average benchmark score of 44466, placing it in the 88th percentile of all CPUs. Given the FPS scaling from 1080p to 4K, the data implies that the CPU provides ample headroom, and the GPU becomes the bottleneck as resolution increases.

*Q: Can the combo handle 1440p gaming in Doom?*

A: Yes, at 2560x1440 with Low settings, the combo averages 61 FPS. However, at High settings, the average drops to 45 FPS, and at Ultra, it falls to 37 FPS. This indicates that 1440p is viable only with lower graphical presets for a consistently smooth experience.

Q: What are the key architectural specs of the GPU and CPU?

A: The AMD Radeon 890M uses the RDNA 3.5 architecture on a 4 nm process, with a boost clock of 2900 MHz and 1024 shading units. The Intel Core Ultra X9 388H is a 16-core, 16-thread processor based on the Panther Lake architecture, with a boost clock of 5.10 GHz and 18 MB of shared L3 cache.

How This Combo Ranks

The measured performance of the Intel Core Ultra X9 388H and AMD Radeon 890M combination in Doom results in a rank of 2758 out of 2930 tested combos. This percentile placement is decidedly in the lower quartile, which is a direct reflection of the GPU's capabilities. The CPU, by contrast, is a top-tier mobile part, ranking in the 88th percentile against all CPUs with an average benchmark score of 44466. This massive disparity between the two components is the defining characteristic of this pairing. The rank suggests that while the CPU is capable of feeding frames to the GPU, the GPU itself is not able to push high frame rates in Doom at higher resolutions. The data shows that this combo is not designed for high-refresh-rate or high-resolution gaming in this title, but rather for a stable, playable experience at 1080p with adjusted settings.

To understand the CPU's standing, its nearest rivals in the benchmark database include the AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D, which is only 0.2% slower, the Intel Core i9-13950HX, which is 0.3% faster, and the AMD Ryzen AI Max 385, which is 0.4% faster. These negligible deltas indicate that the Core Ultra X9 388H is performance-competitive with some of the best desktop and mobile processors, solidifying its role as a non-bottlenecking component in this system. On the GPU side, the Radeon 890M's nearest rivals are the AMD Radeon Vega 8 (0.1% faster), the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 (0.7% faster), and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 465 (0.9% faster). These comparisons highlight that the 890M's performance is on par with older discrete desktop graphics cards, which gives context to its Doom performance expectations.

GPU Role

The AMD Radeon 890M is an integrated graphics processor based on the RDNA 3.5 architecture, manufactured on a 4 nm process. It features 1024 shading units, 64 TMUs, and 32 ROPs, with a base clock of 400 MHz and a boost clock of 2900 MHz. The memory configuration is entirely system-dependent, meaning it shares the main system memory (LPDDR5X in this case) and has no dedicated VRAM. This is a critical factor for Doom, as the game's texture and geometry data must share bandwidth with the CPU. The data shows that the GPU's compute capabilities are modest, with a FP32 performance of 5.939 TFLOPS and a pixel rate of 92.80 GPixel/s.

In the context of the measured FPS, the GPU's role is the primary bottleneck. At 1920x1080 with Low settings, the GPU manages to produce an average of 95 FPS. However, the frame rate drops precipitously as resolution increases, with the 2560x1440 Low setting producing 61 FPS, and 3840x2160 Low producing only 33 FPS. This scaling pattern is a clear indicator that the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth are being saturated. The GPU's passmark G3D score is 8076, which places it in the 45th percentile of all GPUs, and its 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 590. These figures suggest that while the GPU is not a powerhouse, it is capable of handling older, well-optimized titles like Doom at lower resolutions. The boost clock of 2900 MHz is relatively high for an iGPU, helping to mitigate some of the performance limitations, but it cannot overcome the fundamental constraint of shared system memory.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal experience for this combination is found at 1920x1080 resolution. At this resolution, the Low preset delivers an average of 95 FPS, which is the smoothest experience recorded. For a better visual quality without a massive performance hit, the Medium preset at 1080p provides an average of 82 FPS, with a minimum of 70 FPS, ensuring a stable frame rate. The High preset at 1080p is also a viable option, yielding an average of 70 FPS, which is still within the bounds of smooth gameplay for a fast-paced FPS. The Ultra preset at 1080p, while visually demanding, still produces an average of 57 FPS, which is playable but may not be ideal for competitive play.

Venturing into 2560x1440 resolution requires significant compromises. The data shows that only the Low preset at 1440p achieves a playable average of 61 FPS. The Medium preset drops to 53 FPS, and High to 45 FPS, which are borderline playable but may suffer from noticeable frame pacing issues. The Ultra preset at 1440p is not recommended, as it drops to 37 FPS. At 3840x2160, the experience is largely suboptimal, with all presets failing to reach 60 FPS. The best-case scenario at 4K is the Low preset with 33 FPS, which is not suitable for a responsive FPS. The recommendation is to prioritize 1080p with Medium or High settings to balance visual fidelity and performance, as this yields the most consistent and enjoyable results based on the measured data.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data provides a detailed look at the performance envelope of this combo. At 1920x1080, the performance is as follows: the Low preset averages 95 FPS, the Medium preset averages 82 FPS with a minimum of 70 and a maximum of 95, the High preset averages 70 FPS, and the Ultra preset averages 57 FPS. This demonstrates a clear and predictable scaling across settings, with a 40% difference between Low and Ultra (95 vs 57 FPS). At 2560x1440, the averages are: Low at 61 FPS, Medium at 53 FPS (with a minimum of 45 and a maximum of 61), High at 45 FPS, and Ultra at 37 FPS. This represents a significant drop from 1080p, with the High preset at 1440p (45 FPS) being 36% slower than the same preset at 1080p (70 FPS). At 3840x2160, the performance is largely unsuitable for smooth gameplay: Medium is the only preset with min/max data, averaging 29 FPS with a minimum of 25 and a maximum of 33. The Low preset averages 33 FPS, High averages 24 FPS, and Ultra averages 20 FPS.

Looking at the scaling within each resolution, the data shows that the gap between Low and Ultra narrows as resolution increases. At 1080p, the Ultra preset is 40% slower than Low (57 vs 95). At 1440p, Ultra is 39% slower than Low (37 vs 61). At 4K, Ultra is 39% slower than Low (20 vs 33). This consistency suggests that the settings are scaling the GPU workload in a linear fashion. The absolute numbers, however, tell the story of a GPU that struggles to maintain playable frame rates beyond 1080p. The minimum FPS values, where available (Medium preset), show that the frame time consistency is acceptable at 1080p (70 min) but becomes more erratic at 1440p (45 min) and 4K (25 min), indicating potential stutters in demanding scenes.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra X9 388H is a 16-core, 16-thread processor from the Panther Lake architecture, with a base clock of 2.10 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz. It features a 3 nm process node and a shared L3 cache of 18 MB. Its benchmark scores are impressive, with a Cinebench R23 multicore score of 18911 and a single-core score of 2200.5. The Passmark multithread score is 36811, and the single-thread score is 4280. These figures place the CPU in the 88th percentile of all processors, indicating it is a high-performance part capable of handling demanding workloads.

In the context of Doom, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic. The data suggests that the CPU is not a limiting factor in this pairing. The FPS scaling pattern, where performance drops significantly with resolution, is a classic indicator of a GPU bottleneck. If the CPU were the limiting factor, the FPS would remain relatively constant regardless of resolution. Here, the FPS drops from 95 at 1080p Low to 33 at 4K Low, a 65% reduction, which is almost entirely attributable to the GPU's inability to render at higher pixel counts. The CPU's high single-thread performance (2200.5 in R23) is particularly beneficial for Doom, which is known to be sensitive to single-threaded performance. The data shows that the Core Ultra X9 388H provides a solid foundation, ensuring that the GPU is the only thing holding back higher frame rates.

Resolution Scaling

The resolution scaling data reveals a clear picture of the system's bottleneck. When comparing the Low preset across resolutions, the average FPS drops from 95 at 1080p, to 61 at 1440p, and finally to 33 at 4K. This represents a 36% drop from 1080p to 1440p, and a further 46% drop from 1440p to 4K. For the High preset, the scaling is similar: 70 FPS at 1080p, 45 FPS at 1440p, and 24 FPS at 4K. This represents a 36% and 47% drop, respectively. This consistent pattern indicates that the GPU is the limiting component, as its rendering workload scales with the number of pixels, while the CPU's workload remains relatively constant.

The data implies that the Radeon 890M's memory bandwidth, being system-dependent, is a critical constraint. As resolution increases, the demand for texture and framebuffer data grows, and the shared memory bandwidth becomes a bottleneck. This is evident in the steep performance cliff between 1440p and 4K, where the pixel count quadruples from 1440p (3.7 million pixels) to 4K (8.3 million pixels), but the FPS does not scale linearly. The 4K results, with an average of 33 FPS at Low, are indicative of a system that is severely overburdened. The data shows that this combo is best suited for 1080p gaming, where the CPU's strength can be fully utilized to push the GPU to its maximum potential. At higher resolutions, the GPU's limitations become the dominant factor, and the experience degrades rapidly.