Question Does CPU matter for 4K gaming?

[ShuraKat]

Hi, guys! As the title says, my question is very simple, but somehow i am having a hard time to find an ultimate answer for it. Is it okay to pair an I3 12100F or a i5 12400F with a RTX 3080 if i play at 4K, for example? Since we are at a ultra high resolution, the game becomes GPU bound, correct? But, some people say although we are playing in 4K, it is still not good to use a low/mid range CPU. What they don't say is why. Why is it not good? What are the implications of using a low/mid range CPU in this scenario?

 

[Koekieezz]

Hi, guys! As the title says, my question is very simple, but somehow i am having a hard time to find an ultimate answer for it. Is it okay to pair an I3 12100F or a i5 12400F with a RTX 3080 if i play at 4K, for example? Since we are at a ultra high resolution, the game becomes GPU bound, correct? But, some people say although we are playing in 4K, it is still not good to use a low/mid range CPU. What they don't say is why. Why is it not good? What are the implications of using a low/mid range CPU in this scenario?

It does matter ofc, better cpu with good arch could utilize 4K gaming better so that your gpu wont be bottlenecked because of slow cpu. its kinda the same using good cpu on competitive games, cause the cpu could calculate faster you got more fps vs slower cpu with similiar specs, even at the lowest settings.

 

[hotaru.hino]

The CPU is still in charge of processing all of the game stuff and sending commands to the GPU. While 4K gaming is still heavy hitting for the GPU, if you don't have a powerful enough CPU, you can still run into performance issues before the GPU has a chance to sweat.

Remember: the CPU determines the maximum frame rate. The GPU determines how far you can get there.