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The Nvidia RTX 5070 is designed for 1440p high-performance gaming. Here are some CPUs you should buy to prevent this GPU from bottlenecking.
The Nvidia RTX 5070 is a fantastic GPU for 1440p gaming, but you will also need an equally powerful CPU. This is to prevent the RTX 5070 from bottlenecking and allow it to deliver maximum gaming performance. You can even play games smoothly with ray tracing turned on, thanks to the power of this GPU. It’s a great graphics card with 12GB of VRAM, which is enough for 1440p resolution.
In this article, we are sharing some of the best CPUs you should buy to pair with the RTX 5070. The listing provided below is ranked based on their performance in gaming. The first model delivers the highest gaming performance, and the last provides the least.
Note: Parts of this article are subjective and reflect the writer’s opinions. Also, the prices mentioned herein are subject to change.
What Are the Best CPUs for Nvidia RTX 5070?
1) AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
The AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D is one of the best CPUs for gaming, which makes it a go-to choice for pairing with the Nvidia RTX 5070. It has eight cores and a 5GHz clock speed, which is lower than that of other processors. However, this Ryzen CPU still outperforms them in almost every game, including competitive esports titles. This is due to the huge 96MB of L3 cache, which substantially boosts gaming performance.
| Specifications | Values |
|---|---|
| Architecture | Zen 4 |
| Core/Thread count | 8/16 |
| Max clock speed | 5 GHz |
| L3 cache | 96 MB |
| RAM support | DDR5-5200 |
| PCIe Gen support | Gen 5 |
| Platform Socket | AM5 |
| Thermal design power (TDP) | 120W Typical | 162W Max |
| Manufacturing nodes | 5nm, 6nm |
2) Intel Core i7 13700K
If you want to pair a high-core-count CPU at a reasonable budget, the Intel Core i7 13700K is the one to get. It features a total of 16 cores and 24 threads, capable of reaching a clock speed of up to 5.4 GHz. Therefore, it can not only deliver a fantastic gaming performance, but its multitasking performance is through the roof. This makes the Core i7 13700K an excellent choice for gamers who are also into content creation or game streaming. It’s a great fit for the Nvidia RTX 5070.
| Specifications | Values |
|---|---|
| Architecture | Raptor Lake |
| P-Core/Thread count | 8/16 |
| E-Core/Thread count | 8/8 |
| Total Core/Thread count | 16/24 |
| Max clock speed | 5.4 GHz |
| L3 cache | 30 MB |
| RAM support | DDR4-3200 DDR5-5600 |
| PCIe Gen support | Gen 5 |
| Platform Socket | LGA 1700 |
| Thermal design power (TDP) | 125W Typical | 253W Max |
| Manufacturing nodes | 10nm |
3) AMD Ryzen 7 9700X
The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X is designed on the latest Zen 5 architecture, which significantly boosted its performance in productivity applications compared to its predecessor. Therefore, the Ryzen 7 9700X can deliver great performance in productivity and games, despite only having eight cores.
This processor also supports high-speed DDR5 RAM and can reach a higher 5.5 GHz clock speed, which is why it is extremely close to the more expensive Intel Core i7 14700K in gaming performance. Therefore, you can pair it with the Nvidia RTX 5070 without any worries.
| Specifications | Values |
|---|---|
| Architecture | Zen 5 |
| Core/Thread count | 8/16 |
| Max clock speed | 5.5 GHz |
| L3 cache | 32 MB |
| RAM support | DDR5-5600 |
| PCIe Gen support | Gen 5 |
| Platform Socket | AM5 |
| Thermal design power (TDP) | 65W Typical | 88W Max 105W Typical | 142W Max (Extended) |
| Manufacturing nodes | 4nm, 6nm |
4) Intel Core i5 14600KF
Under $200, the Intel Core i5 14600KF delivers the highest gaming performance as of this writing. Intel packed this chip with 14 cores and 20 threads to deliver the ultimate performance in productivity as well. If you are into content creation, game streaming, and enterprise workloads, then this is the CPU to get. The Core i5 14600KF will allow the Nvidia RTX 5070 to spread its wings and deliver the highest possible performance.
| Specifications | Values |
|---|---|
| Architecture | Raptor Lake Refresh |
| P-Core/Thread count | 6/12 |
| E-Core/Thread count | 8/8 |
| Total Core/Thread count | 14/20 |
| Max clock speed | 5.3 GHz |
| L3 cache | 24 MB |
| RAM support | DDR4-3200 DDR5-5600 |
| PCIe Gen support | Gen 5 |
| Platform Socket | LGA 1700 |
| Thermal design power (TDP) | 125W Typical | 181W Max |
| Manufacturing nodes | 10nm |
5) AMD Ryzen 5 7600
The AMD Ryzen 5 7600 is the most affordable CPU we can recommend pairing with the Nvidia RTX 5070. It features eight cores and can reach a clock speed of 5.1GHz. The Ryzen 5 7600 performs slightly lower than the Intel Core i5 14600KF. However, it is designed for the AM5 platform, which should support the upcoming Zen 6 lineup and maybe later releases as well. This gives this processor a certain upgrade path that the Intel processor doesn’t have. The Ryzen 5 7600 is also more efficient and consumes less power.
| Specifications | Values |
|---|---|
| Architecture | Zen 4 |
| Core/Thread count | 6/12 |
| Max clock speed | 5.1 GHz |
| L3 cache | 32 MB |
| RAM support | DDR5-5200 |
| PCIe Gen support | Gen 5 |
| Platform Socket | AM5 |
| Thermal design power (TDP) | 65W Typical | 88W Max |
| Manufacturing nodes | 5nm, 6nm |
Final Thoughts
The AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D and Intel Core i7 13700K deliver some of the best performance in gaming, making them excellent choices for the Nvidia RTX 5070. However, the Ryzen 7 9700X and Intel Core i5 14600K are also similarly capable but at a lower price. Lastly, the Ryzen 5 7600 is for people on a tight budget who want to stay on the AM5 platform for future upgradability.
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