Doom: The Dark Ages, 36 GPU Benchmark: What You Need for 1080p, 1440p, 4K and Path Tracing

Verdict: Doom: The Dark Ages is a GPU-heavy game with hardware ray tracing required at every specification tier. An RTX 2060 Super or Radeon RX 6600-class card is the official starting point for 1080p/60 on Low; 1440p/60 calls for roughly RTX 3080 or RX 6800-class performance; and Bethesda’s 4K/60 Ultra target begins around the RTX 4080 or RX 7900 XT class. Upscaling is important, 8GB cards are usable but constrained, and path tracing should be treated as a separate enthusiast workload rather than an extension of the original 36-GPU benchmark.

The original TechSpot test, published May 10, 2025, remains useful as a controlled launch-era comparison—but it predates the game’s built-in Benchmark Mode and June 2025 path-tracing update.

#	Preview	Product	Price
1		DOOM: The Dark Ages – PlayStation 5	$69.47	Buy on Amazon
2		DOOM: The Dark Ages – Xbox Series X	$39.99	Buy on Amazon
3		PlayStation 5 – DOOM: The Dark Ages – Standard Edition	$89.97	Buy on Amazon
4		DOOM: The Dark Ages - Premium Edition - PlayStation 5	$94.88	Buy on Amazon
5		The Art of DOOM: The Dark Ages	$45.41	Buy on Amazon

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What the 36-GPU benchmark actually measured

TechSpot tested 36 graphics cards from Nvidia, AMD and Intel at 1080p, 1440p and 4K. The results were recorded before upscaling, using native TAA, in a demanding combat sequence from Siege Part 1, Chapter 6, “Aspiring Slayer.” The test used the Ultra Nightmare and Medium presets and therefore represents a difficult gameplay scenario—not a guaranteed result for every level.

The test platform used a Ryzen 7 9800X3D, 32GB of DDR5-6000 memory, Windows 11 24H2, Nvidia driver 576.31 and AMD driver 25.5.1. TechSpot later found only an approximately 2–3% uplift at most from Nvidia driver 576.40 in its setup. See the original 36-GPU methodology and charts for the complete model-by-model results.

#1 Best Overall

DOOM: The Dark Ages – PlayStation 5

• Developed by id Software, DOOM: The Dark Ages is the prequel to the critically acclaimed DOOM (2016) and DOOM Eternal that tells the epic cinematic origin story of the DOOM Slayer’s rage.
• In this third installment of the modern DOOM series, players will step into the blood-stained boots of the DOOM Slayer, in this never-before-seen dark and sinister medieval war against Hell.
• A dark fantasy/sci-fi single-player experience that delivers the searing combat and over-the-top visuals of the incomparable DOOM franchise, powered by the latest idTech engine. With a customizable difficulty system, it’s the perfect entry point whether you’re new to the franchise or a long time fan.
• As the super weapon of gods and kings, shred enemies with devastating favorites like the Super Shotgun while also wielding a variety of new bone-chewing weapons, including the versatile Shield Saw.
• Experience the origin story of the DOOM Slayer’s rage in this epic, cinematic, and action-packed story.

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The tested lineup covered Nvidia RTX 3060 through RTX 5090, including the RTX 5060 Ti 8GB and 16GB; AMD Radeon RX 6600 through RX 9070 XT; and Intel Arc A770 and Arc B580.

Do not compare a number from this chart with another review unless the game build, driver, preset, resolution, upscaler, frame-generation state, ray-tracing mode, test scene and measurement method match. Average FPS also does not describe frame-time consistency or 1% lows.

Official performance targets

Bethesda’s specifications are the clearest starting point for deciding whether a system is compatible. “Minimum” means a stated 1080p/60 target on Low; it does not promise high image quality or perfectly stable frame times.

All tiers require hardware ray-tracing support. Bethesda also specifies a 512GB-or-larger NVMe SSD with 100GB of available space. Consult the official system requirements before upgrading.

Native-resolution performance

The launch-era results show why this is not an easy 4K game. At 1080p Ultra Nightmare with native TAA, the RTX 5090 averaged 151 FPS. At native 4K Ultra Nightmare, the RTX 5090 averaged 82 FPS, the RTX 4090 74 FPS and the RX 9070 XT 56 FPS in TechSpot’s demanding combat test.

Those figures are historical measurements, not universal guarantees for the current game. They show the general scale of the workload: even flagship hardware can approach or fall below 60 FPS at native 4K when ray-traced lighting and the highest preset are active. A 4K/60 buyer should plan around upscaling rather than assume native rendering is effortless.

Rank #2

Sale

DOOM: The Dark Ages – Xbox Series X

• Developed by id Software, DOOM: The Dark Ages is the prequel to the critically acclaimed DOOM (2016) and DOOM Eternal that tells the epic cinematic origin story of the DOOM Slayer’s rage.
• In this third installment of the modern DOOM series, players will step into the blood-stained boots of the DOOM Slayer, in this never-before-seen dark and sinister medieval war against Hell.
• A dark fantasy/sci-fi single-player experience that delivers the searing combat and over-the-top visuals of the incomparable DOOM franchise, powered by the latest idTech engine. With a customizable difficulty system, it’s the perfect entry point whether you’re new to the franchise or a long time fan.
• As the super weapon of gods and kings, shred enemies with devastating favorites like the Super Shotgun while also wielding a variety of new bone-chewing weapons, including the versatile Shield Saw.
• Experience the origin story of the DOOM Slayer’s rage in this epic, cinematic, and action-packed story.

$39.99

Buy on Amazon

Practical GPU tiers

1080p/60: entry-level RT hardware

An RTX 2060 Super or RX 6600-class GPU is the official minimum. This is a compatibility target, not necessarily the most comfortable long-term choice. Use Low or a reduced texture pool, and enable a quality upscaling mode if native performance or frame-time consistency is poor.

Cards without hardware ray tracing should not be treated as viable alternatives simply because they are fast in older raster-only games. The Dark Ages requires RT hardware at the minimum tier.

1440p/60: the recommended class

Bethesda points to the RTX 3080 and RX 6800 class for 1440p/60 on High, with 10GB of VRAM and 32GB of system memory. Modern equivalents with at least 10GB—and preferably 12GB or more—offer more practical headroom. Quality upscaling may still be appropriate, particularly in demanding fights.

4K/60: high-end hardware and upscaling

The official 4K/60 Ultra target begins around an RTX 4080 or RX 7900 XT with 16GB of VRAM. Even at this level, use the game’s benchmark to check whether your preferred image-quality settings sustain 60 FPS in a heavy scene. Frame generation can improve displayed smoothness, but it does not make its underlying rendered frame rate equivalent to native 60 FPS.

High-refresh-rate play

At 1080p, a fast CPU can become more important as the GPU renders more frames. The original test’s Ryzen 7 9800X3D platform was selected to minimize CPU bottlenecks, so its GPU ordering should not be assumed to apply identically to an older six-core processor or a gaming laptop.

For 120Hz or higher targets, measure base rendered FPS, CPU and GPU frame times, frame pacing and latency. Do not rank a card producing 60 real frames plus generated frames as equivalent to one rendering 120 frames natively.

Rank #3

PlayStation 5 – DOOM: The Dark Ages – Standard Edition

• Brand Name:Xbox
• Video game region: region free
• Display Platform: PS5

$89.97

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Preset scaling is unusually weak

One of TechSpot’s most useful findings is that Ultra Nightmare, Nightmare, Ultra and High delivered nearly identical performance in its test. On an RTX 5080, moving from Ultra Nightmare to High improved performance by only about 2%; on an RX 9070 XT, the gain was about 5%.

Medium provided only a modest additional improvement. Low helped more, but TechSpot still measured only about an 18% gain for the RTX 5080 and 29% for the RX 9070 XT compared with the highest preset. Other scenes or later versions may scale differently, but the launch test suggests that changing from Ultra Nightmare to High is not a reliable fix for a weak GPU.

If performance is poor, try lowering resolution, using DLSS, FSR or XeSS, and reducing the texture-pool setting before assuming every visual preset has equal performance impact. Lowering textures addresses memory pressure; it does not increase a GPU’s shader or ray-tracing throughput.

Is 8GB of VRAM enough?

Eight gigabytes is the official minimum, and an 8GB card can be suitable for 1080p with sensible settings. It is not the same as a comfortable recommendation for 1440p, 4K or path tracing.

The texture-pool setting matters separately from the main preset. An 8GB GPU may need a reduced texture pool, a lower output resolution or more aggressive upscaling. Limited VRAM can affect texture quality, hitching, image stability or whether a setting combination is viable even when the average FPS looks acceptable.

Prefer 12GB–16GB when buying for 1440p or higher, especially if you want high texture settings or future headroom. The RTX 5060 Ti 8GB and 16GB versions are a useful example of why capacity should be considered separately from GPU model and average FPS. Do not conclude that every 8GB card fails: VRAM capacity and rendering performance are different bottlenecks.

Rank #4

Sale

DOOM: The Dark Ages - Premium Edition - PlayStation 5

• Get a head start on slaying demons with the Premium Edition, including up to 2-Days Early Access and the campaign DLC. You’ll also receive the Digital Artbook and Soundtrack, and the Divinity Skin Pack, which includes matching skins for the DOOM Slayer, dragon, and Atlan.
• Developed by id Software, DOOM: The Dark Ages is the prequel to the critically acclaimed DOOM (2016) and DOOM Eternal that tells the epic cinematic origin story of the DOOM Slayer’s rage.
• In this third installment of the modern DOOM series, players will step into the blood-stained boots of the DOOM Slayer, in this never-before-seen dark and sinister medieval war against Hell.
• A dark fantasy/sci-fi single-player experience that delivers the searing combat and over-the-top visuals of the incomparable DOOM franchise, powered by the latest idTech engine. With a customizable difficulty system, it’s the perfect entry point whether you’re new to the franchise or a long time fan.
• Experience the origin story of the DOOM Slayer’s rage in this epic, cinematic, and action-packed story. Mystery, challenges, and rewards lurk in every shadow of ruined castles, epic battlefields, dark forests, ancient hellscapes, and worlds beyond.

$94.88

Buy on Amazon

DLSS, FSR, XeSS and frame generation

Upscaling renders internally at a lower resolution and reconstructs the output. It can make a borderline GPU practical, but it does not make a low base frame rate feel identical to genuinely high native performance.

• DLSS: the Nvidia option, with supported quality modes and, on compatible hardware, Ray Reconstruction and frame-generation features.
• FSR: the AMD upscaling path, useful on supported GPUs but still subject to the normal trade-off between image quality and rendered resolution.
• XeSS: Intel’s upscaling option where supported; results depend on GPU and game implementation.
• Frame generation: increases displayed FPS by inserting generated frames. The underlying rendered FPS and input latency remain closer to the base rate.

Compare native TAA, the chosen upscaler and quality mode, and frame generation both on and off. In a fast first-person shooter, a higher displayed number is not sufficient evidence of a better experience; base FPS, latency and frame-time behavior matter.

Nvidia says DLSS 4 Multi Frame Generation can multiply path-traced performance by an average of 6.8× on the RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 at 4K. That is an Nvidia vendor claim using its selected settings and methodology, not an independent native-rendering benchmark.

Path tracing is a separate workload

Bethesda added PC-exclusive path tracing and DLSS Ray Reconstruction in the June 18, 2025 PC update. Path tracing adds additional light bounces, more detailed indirect lighting, emissive lighting, shadows and reflections. It is substantially more demanding than the game’s already mandatory ray-traced lighting.

Enable it through Video Settings → Path Tracing → Path Tracing: On. Ray Reconstruction is selected as the denoiser in the same section. Bethesda states that the update’s path-tracing support requires Nvidia driver 576.75 or newer and is limited to a specified range of Nvidia GPUs. It warns that other models may not deliver 60 FPS, correct visuals or stable operation.

Do not mix path-traced results with the original 36-GPU chart. The launch test predates the feature, and path tracing changes the workload. For a path-tracing build, prioritize a supported GeForce RTX card, DLSS Super Resolution, DLSS Ray Reconstruction and a strong base frame rate before considering frame generation.

Best Value

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The Art of DOOM: The Dark Ages

$45.41

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Path-tracing quality improvements are scene-dependent, so its value is ultimately a visual preference as well as a performance decision.

How to benchmark your own PC

The June 2025 update added a reproducible built-in benchmark:

1. Launch the PC version.
2. Open Main Menu → Extras → Benchmark Mode.
3. Choose a benchmark level.
4. Set the intended resolution, preset, upscaler, texture pool, frame-generation state and ray-tracing/path-tracing settings.
5. Run the test after the scene has loaded fully.
6. Record average FPS, total frame time, GPU frame time and CPU frame time.

Bethesda says Benchmark Mode follows a consistent, nearly deterministic route through selected levels and reports FPS, total frame time, GPU frame time and CPU frame time. Run it at least three times and compare the median result. Also record the game version, driver version, resolution, preset, upscaler mode, frame-generation state, VRAM settings and path-tracing state. Capture 1% lows externally if possible.

If GPU frame time is higher than CPU frame time, the GPU is the primary limit. If CPU frame time is higher, a faster GPU may not improve performance much. Low GPU utilization can indicate a CPU limit, frame cap, background process or synchronization setting; it does not automatically prove poor optimization.

Launch results versus current results

The 36-GPU chart is a dated May 2025 comparison using launch-era drivers and a specific combat sequence. The current game also includes Benchmark Mode, path tracing and DLSS Ray Reconstruction. Patches, drivers, Windows updates, firmware and later content can change performance.

Use the original chart to understand relative hardware requirements, but use the built-in benchmark on your own PC for a purchase decision. Always label whether a result uses standard ray-traced lighting or path tracing, and whether FPS is native, upscaled or generated.

Buying guidance

Before buying anything, update your drivers using the Nvidia app, AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition or Intel Graphics Software, then run Benchmark Mode. If the CPU frame time is the limit, a GPU upgrade is the wrong fix.

Readers without compatible local hardware can consider GeForce NOW, which Nvidia identifies as supporting Doom: The Dark Ages through Performance or Ultimate memberships. Cloud gaming depends on bandwidth, latency, data caps, regional availability and server performance, and is not equivalent to local rendering for offline play, mod support or the lowest input latency. The game’s official publisher page is Bethesda’s Doom: The Dark Ages site; availability through PC Game Pass is separate from owning the game outright.

Quick Recap

Bestseller No. 1

DOOM: The Dark Ages – PlayStation 5

$69.47

SaleBestseller No. 2

DOOM: The Dark Ages – Xbox Series X

$39.99

Bestseller No. 3

PlayStation 5 – DOOM: The Dark Ages – Standard Edition

Brand Name:Xbox; Video game region: region free; Display Platform: PS5

$89.97

SaleBestseller No. 4

DOOM: The Dark Ages - Premium Edition - PlayStation 5

$94.88

SaleBestseller No. 5

The Art of DOOM: The Dark Ages

$45.41

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