Doom

FAQ

Q: What is the average FPS at 1080p with Ultra settings for this combo?

A: The Intel Core Ultra X9 388H paired with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 delivers an average of 198 FPS at 1920x1080 on Ultra settings.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rival in overall benchmark score?

A: The Intel Core Ultra X9 388H has an average benchmark score of 44,466, which is 0.2% lower than the AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D (score 44,573) and 0.3% higher than the Intel Core i9-13950HX (score 44,342).

Q: What is the GPU's percentile ranking among all tested GPUs?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 sits in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 79,842.

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this combo?

A: The highest average FPS is 330, achieved at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: What is the combo's rank among all tested combinations in Doom?

A: This combo ranks 584th out of 2,930 tested combinations in Doom.

Q: What is the GPU's memory size and bandwidth?

A: The GPU features 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus, delivering 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 is the dominant component in this pairing, built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture with the GB202 chip fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC. The GPU contains 92,200 million transistors on a 750 mm² die, giving it a transistor density of 122.9M per mm². This sheer hardware scale translates into 21,760 shading units, 680 texture mapping units, and 176 render output units, along with 170 RT cores and 680 tensor cores.

Clock speeds are substantial: the base clock runs at 2017 MHz with a boost clock of 2407 MHz. Memory operates at 1750 MHz with 28 Gbps effective speed. The 32 GB GDDR7 frame buffer across a 512-bit bus yields 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth, which is critical for Doom's fast-paced texture streaming and high-resolution rendering. The GPU's pixel rate of 423.6 GPixel/s and texture rate of 1,636.8 GTexel/s indicate strong raw fill capabilities.

In synthetic benchmarks, the RTX 5090 scores 18,355 in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, 334,370 in Geekbench OpenCL, and 376,728 in Geekbench Vulkan. The PassMark G3D score is 39,650, with a GPU compute score of 26,756. These numbers place the GPU in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 79,842. Compared to its nearest rivals, the RTX 5090 is 0.3% ahead of the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 16 GB (score 79,605) and 0.6% ahead of the Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB (score 79,396). It trails the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64X by 1.4% (score 80,959) and leads the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT by 1.1% (score 78,940).

The GPU's FP32 compute of 104.8 TFLOPS and FP16 compute of 104.8 TFLOPS (1:1 ratio) provide ample headroom for Doom's Vulkan-based rendering. The measured FPS data shows that at 4K Ultra, the combo still manages 70 FPS average, which indicates the GPU is handling the resolution scaling well. The GPU's 575 W TDP and dual-slot design with a 1x 16-pin power connector (suggested 950 W PSU) are consistent with a high-end part, though these are not directly reflected in the game's performance metrics.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra X9 388H is a 16-core, 16-thread mobile processor from the Core Ultra Series 3, based on the Panther Lake architecture fabricated on Intel's 3 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.10 GHz and a boost clock of 5.10 GHz, with a 25 W TDP. The cache hierarchy includes 192 KB L1 per core, 3 MB L2 per core, and 18 MB of shared L3 cache. Memory support is LPDDR5X with dual-channel configuration and 153.6 GB/s bandwidth.

In CPU benchmarks, the X9 388H scores 2,955 in Cinebench R15 multi-core and 309.5 in single-core. Cinebench R20 results show 13,101 multi-core and 1,849 single-core, while R23 yields 18,911 multi-core and 2,200.5 single-core. PassMark tests show 36,811 in multi-thread, 4,280 in single-thread, 112,550 in floating-point math, and 90,882 in integer math. The CPU's percentile ranking is 88th among all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 44,466.

The nearest rivals show a tight cluster: the AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D (score 44,573) is 0.2% higher, while the Intel Core i9-13950HX (score 44,342) is 0.3% lower. The AMD Ryzen AI Max 385 (score 44,309) trails by 0.4%, and the Intel Core i5-13600 (score 44,240) is 0.5% behind. This indicates the X9 388H sits in a competitive mid-to-high range for CPU performance, though it is not a standout leader.

For Doom, the CPU's role is to feed the GPU with draw calls and game logic. The 16 cores and 16 threads (no hyperthreading) provide solid parallel throughput, and the 5.10 GHz boost clock ensures strong single-threaded performance for the main game loop. The PassMark physics score of 3,226 suggests adequate physics processing capability. At 1080p Low, the combo reaches 330 FPS average, which indicates the CPU can drive high frame rates without becoming a bottleneck at lower resolutions. However, the CPU's 88th percentile ranking versus the GPU's 92nd percentile suggests a slight imbalance, with the GPU having more relative headroom.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo ranks 584th out of 2,930 tested combinations in Doom, placing it in the top 20% of all tested systems. This rank reflects the synergistic performance of the X9 388H and RTX 5090 working together. The GPU's 92nd percentile ranking is higher than the CPU's 88th percentile, which means the GPU is the stronger component relative to its peers.

The rank of 584 out of 2,930 means roughly 2,346 other combos performed worse, while 583 performed better. This is a strong showing, but not a top-tier position. The gap between the CPU and GPU percentiles (88 vs 92) suggests that in some scenarios, the CPU may limit the system from reaching even higher ranks. However, the measured FPS data shows that even at 1080p Ultra, the combo maintains 198 FPS average, which is well above typical display refresh rates.

The data indicates this combo is well-balanced for Doom, though the CPU's relative weakness compared to the GPU might become more apparent at lower resolutions where CPU overhead matters more. At 4K Ultra, the combo's 70 FPS average shows the GPU is still the primary driver of performance, as the higher resolution shifts the bottleneck toward the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its highest frame rates. Low settings produce 330 FPS average, Medium settings yield 287 FPS (with a min of 244 and max of 331), High settings achieve 243 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 198 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 132 FPS reduction, indicating that each settings tier adds meaningful GPU workload.

At 2560x1440, the frame rates remain high but show a clear step down. Low settings achieve 214 FPS, Medium settings hit 186 FPS (min 158, max 214), High settings reach 157 FPS, and Ultra settings deliver 128 FPS. The drop from 1080p to 1440p at the same settings tier ranges from 35% (Low: 330 to 214) to 35% (Ultra: 198 to 128), showing consistent scaling.

At 3840x2160, the performance becomes more demanding. Low settings produce 116 FPS, Medium settings achieve 101 FPS (min 86, max 116), High settings deliver 85 FPS, and Ultra settings drop to 70 FPS. The 4K results show that even at Ultra, the combo maintains a playable frame rate, though the gap between Low and Ultra narrows to 46 FPS (from 116 to 70), suggesting diminishing returns at higher resolutions.

The Medium settings rows include min and max FPS values, which provide additional context. At 1080p Medium, the min of 244 FPS and max of 331 FPS show a 87 FPS range. At 1440p Medium, the range is 56 FPS (158 to 214). At 4K Medium, the range is 30 FPS (86 to 116). This tightening range at higher resolutions indicates that frame time consistency improves as the GPU becomes more saturated.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the optimal settings preset depends on the target resolution and desired frame rate headroom. At 1080p, all settings tiers deliver well above 144 Hz, with Ultra still hitting 198 FPS. For high-refresh-rate displays (240 Hz or above), Medium settings at 1080p provide 287 FPS, which is close to the 330 FPS ceiling of Low settings. Ultra at 1080p offers a 198 FPS average, which remains above 144 Hz but leaves less headroom for demanding scenes.

At 1440p, the choice becomes more nuanced. Ultra delivers 128 FPS, which is above 120 Hz but below 144 Hz. High settings at 157 FPS comfortably exceed 144 Hz, making this the recommended preset for 1440p gaming on a 144 Hz display. Medium at 186 FPS provides additional headroom for 165 Hz or 180 Hz displays, while Low at 214 FPS is suitable for 240 Hz panels.

At 4K, the priorities shift. Ultra at 70 FPS is playable but may not fully utilize high-refresh displays. High settings at 85 FPS provide a smoother experience, while Medium at 101 FPS offers a good balance between visual quality and frame rate. Low at 116 FPS is the best choice for 4K displays with a 120 Hz refresh rate, as it stays above 100 FPS consistently.

The data indicates that the Medium preset offers the best balance across all resolutions. At 1080p it provides 287 FPS with a min of 244 FPS, ensuring no drops below 240 Hz. At 1440p it delivers 186 FPS with a min of 158 FPS, staying above 144 Hz. At 4K it achieves 101 FPS with a min of 86 FPS, which is acceptable for 100 Hz displays. The Medium preset consistently shows the tightest min-max range, indicating more stable frame delivery.

For users prioritizing visual fidelity, Ultra at 1080p (198 FPS) or 1440p (128 FPS) remains viable. For competitive play, Low at 1080p (330 FPS) maximizes frame rate. The measured data supports Medium as the default recommendation for most users.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K reveals the limiting component at each resolution. At 1080p Low, the combo hits 330 FPS, which is likely CPU-limited given the GPU's capability. The RTX 5090 has a PassMark G3D score of 39,650 and a 92nd percentile ranking, suggesting it could push even higher frame rates if the CPU could keep up. The X9 388H's 88th percentile ranking and 16-thread design become the constraint at this resolution.

As resolution increases, the GPU takes over as the primary limiter. From 1080p Low to 1440p Low, FPS drops from 330 to 214, a 35% reduction. From 1440p Low to 4K Low, FPS drops from 214 to 116, a 46% reduction. This accelerating drop indicates the GPU's fill rate and memory bandwidth are increasingly taxed at higher pixel counts.

The Ultra settings show a similar pattern. 1080p Ultra at 198 FPS drops to 1440p Ultra at 128 FPS (35% reduction), then to 4K Ultra at 70 FPS (45% reduction). The consistent percentage drops across settings tiers suggest that resolution scaling is primarily GPU-bound, with the CPU providing sufficient headroom at higher resolutions.

At 4K, the GPU's 32 GB GDDR7 memory and 1.79 TB/s bandwidth become critical. The 4K Medium row shows a min FPS of 86 and max of 116, which is a 30 FPS range. This narrower range compared to 1080p Medium (87 FPS range) indicates that at 4K, the workload is more uniform, and the GPU is consistently near its limits.

The data suggests that at 1080p, the system is partially CPU-limited, as evidenced by the high frame rates approaching what the CPU can sustain. At 1440p, the balance shifts toward the GPU, and at 4K, the GPU is clearly the limiting factor. This is consistent with the component percentiles: the GPU's 92nd percentile versus the CPU's 88th percentile means the GPU has more relative performance headroom, which becomes apparent at higher resolutions where the GPU's raw compute and memory bandwidth are fully utilized.