Doom: The Dark Ages – Benchmarking Across 36 GPUs

Doom: The Dark Ages tests 36 GPUs at different resolutions, analyzing visual fidelity and performance in modern gaming.

: Doom: The Dark Ages, developed by id Software, is scrutinized through benchmarks using the idTech8 engine, supporting dynamic lighting and ray-traced reflections. The study displays minimal performance differences across high-quality presets and reveals unexpected results where AMD's GPUs outperform Nvidia's latest GeForce series. The game's performance highlights the challenges in optimizing for 8GB GPUs, emphasizing the need for higher VRAM configurations for better graphics quality. The review also discusses potential issues with scaling and VRAM saturation that affect frame rates, suggesting improvements in GPU designs and game updates.

Doom: The Dark Ages introduces a medieval-inspired setting powered by the id Tech 8 engine, emphasizing ray tracing and high-fidelity visuals. However, performance benchmarks reveal that the game is notably demanding, especially at higher resolutions. At 1080p Ultra Nightmare settings, only GPUs like the RTX 4060 Ti, RX 6800, or RX 7700 XT achieve consistent 60 FPS without upscaling. For 1440p, a minimum of RTX 3080 or RX 7900 GRE is recommended, while at 4K, only the RTX 4090 and RTX 5090 surpass the 60 FPS threshold.

Surprisingly, Nvidia's latest 50-series GPUs offer minimal performance gains over their 40-series counterparts. The RTX 5090, for instance, is only about 3% faster than the RTX 4090 at 1080p Ultra Nightmare settings. In some cases, the RTX 5080 even underperforms compared to the RTX 4080. Conversely, AMD's RDNA 3 and RDNA 4 GPUs, such as the RX 7900 XTX and RX 9070 XT, demonstrate commendable performance, often matching or exceeding Nvidia's offerings in similar tiers.

The game supports various upscaling technologies, including NVIDIA DLSS 4, AMD FSR 3.0, and Intel XeSS. DLSS Frame Generation (FG) modes, particularly x3 and x4, can significantly boost frame rates. However, due to the game's fast-paced nature, the added latency from FG can be noticeable, potentially affecting gameplay responsiveness. It's worth noting that combining DLSS upscaling with FSR FG isn't possible, limiting options for certain GPU users.

VRAM usage is another critical factor. While 8 GB GPUs can handle the game at lower settings, they struggle at higher resolutions and settings, especially when using upscaling techniques. For instance, the 8 GB version of the RTX 5060 Ti exhibits significant performance drops at 4K, whereas the 16 GB variant maintains playable frame rates. This disparity underscores the importance of VRAM capacity in ensuring smooth gameplay.

In conclusion, Doom: The Dark Ages offers a visually rich experience but demands robust hardware to run optimally. Players aiming for high-resolution gameplay should consider GPUs with ample VRAM and leverage upscaling technologies judiciously. While AMD's recent GPUs provide competitive performance, Nvidia's latest offerings show limited improvements, suggesting that driver optimizations or future patches might be necessary to fully harness their potential.

Sources: TechSpot, DSOGaming, TechPowerUp, GameGPU

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