[SOLVED] CPU Bottleneck

Jimper

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Mar 9, 2020
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I'm planning on getting the RTX 3080 tomorrow if i'm lucky. I currently have a i5 9600K CPU (Stock).
Will there be a major bottleneck running games @ 1440p at High settings?
Also planning of 4K gaming just with TV as second display?.
I'm planning on upgrading my CPU & Mobo early 2021.
 
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I'm planning on getting the RTX 3080 tomorrow if i'm lucky. I currently have a i5 9600K CPU (Stock).
Will there be a major bottleneck running games @ 1440p at High settings?
Also planning of 4K gaming just with TV as second display?.
I'm planning on upgrading my CPU & Mobo early 2021.

If you are planning on upgrading next year I wouldn't worry about it. People get very worried about the idea of there being a bottleneck, however the reality is all computers have a bottleneck that limits performance, typically in a gaming machine you want that to be the graphics card (as that way you are getting the max FPS the card can produce) however the CPU being the bottleneck isn't a terrible problem, so long as its fast enough to run the...
I'm planning on getting the RTX 3080 tomorrow if i'm lucky. I currently have a i5 9600K CPU (Stock).
Will there be a major bottleneck running games @ 1440p at High settings?
Also planning of 4K gaming just with TV as second display?.
I'm planning on upgrading my CPU & Mobo early 2021.

If you are planning on upgrading next year I wouldn't worry about it. People get very worried about the idea of there being a bottleneck, however the reality is all computers have a bottleneck that limits performance, typically in a gaming machine you want that to be the graphics card (as that way you are getting the max FPS the card can produce) however the CPU being the bottleneck isn't a terrible problem, so long as its fast enough to run the games you want smoothly.

The 3080 is (reportedly, I'd like to see actual independent benchmarks) a faster card than anything currently available. A 9600K will hold a 2080TI back in some situations already at 1440p so yes- it probably will hold the 3080 back, at least some of the time. That said it will depend on the game, and given it's a 'K' series cpu you could get a nice boost from it with a bit of an overclock (assuming you have a Z series motherboard at least). Anything you can do to increase the graphics load will shift pressure off the cpu back to the gpu - so you will probably be able to crank everything to ultra no issue. Running games at 4K will also significantly increase the gpu load, in which case the 9600K will keep up better.

The point is though that setup should work fine (just make sure your power supply is up to the task). I usually 'leap frog' upgrades (get a really good GPU one year, update the CPU / Mobo the next) as it spreads the cost out. It's not like you are trying to pair a 3080 with a first gen i3, I wouldn't worry too much about it.
 
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Solution

Jimper

Reputable
Mar 9, 2020
29
5
4,535
If you are planning on upgrading next year I wouldn't worry about it. People get very worried about the idea of there being a bottleneck, however the reality is all computers have a bottleneck that limits performance, typically in a gaming machine you want that to be the graphics card (as that way you are getting the max FPS the card can produce) however the CPU being the bottleneck isn't a terrible problem, so long as its fast enough to run the games you want smoothly.

The 3080 is (reportedly, I'd like to see actual independent benchmarks) a faster card than anything currently available. A 9600K will hold a 2080TI back in some situations already at 1440p so yes- it probably will hold the 3080 back, at least some of the time. That said it will depend on the game, and given it's a 'K' series cpu you could get a nice boost from it with a bit of an overclock (assuming you have a Z series motherboard at least). Anything you can do to increase the graphics load will shift pressure off the cpu back to the gpu - so you will probably be able to crank everything to ultra no issue. Running games at 4K will also significantly increase the gpu load, in which case the 9600K will keep up better.

The point is though that setup should work fine (just make sure your power supply is up to the task). I usually 'leap frog' upgrades (get a really good GPU one year, update the CPU / Mobo the next) as it spreads the cost out. It's not like you are trying to pair a 3080 with a first gen i3, I wouldn't worry too much about it.
Thanks for that. if I can get 100fps @ 1440p until upgrading with the 9600K I'll be happy.
I've a PSU ordered too as my one is 600W
 
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Thanks for that. if I can get 100fps @ 1440p until upgrading with the 9600K I'll be happy.
I've a PSU ordered too as my one is 600W

This has just come out from Toms:
https://www.tomshardware.com/uk/features/nvidia-geforce-rtx-3080-ampere-cpu-scaling-benchmarks

Looks like your 9600K should handle a 3080 reasonably well at 1440p ultra settings... the 9600K typically performs ~ on par with the Rysen 5 3600 (maybe a little faster with a good OC) and that looks to be within 10% of a 10900K at 1440p ultra settings.
 

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