Best CPU for RTX 4080 in 2024 – our top picks

We’re bringing you our top picks for the best CPU for RTX 4080 and our offerings range from Intel to AMD with leading and more wallet-friendly alternatives. While you need a high-end processor to keep up with what the Ada flagship is able to do, you don’t necessarily need the latest bleeding edge offering from Team Blue or Team Red, we get into our choices below.

Most of what you’ll read here will also apply if you’re considering investing in the upcoming RTX 4080 Super which is due to hit the shelves on January 31, 2024. For a more in-depth guide, we recommend checking out the best CPU for RTX 4080 Super which includes top-end chipsets to cater to that GPU’s faster bandwidth and prevent against any potential bottlenecking. Let’s get into it.

There’s no shortage of options to choose from and with the release of the Ryzen 7 7800X3D, your decision just got tougher.

Then you’ve got to consider whether the 4080 demands a new PSU, which might, in turn, require a new case to house it. The 4080 is also one of the best GPUs for raytracing, making it incredibly powerful, this means you might as well upgrade to a new processor like the Ryzen 9 7900 or Ryzen 9 7900x to ensure you can unlock its full potential.

The RTX 4080 has seen a juicy price drop, in part thanks to 2022’s release of the RTX 7900 XT and XTX and the incoming Super variant. This makes the powerful GPU an even more tempting offer, especially to those of us on a strict budget. To help you out we’ve also included the best budget friendly CPUs on this list. We’re also pitting the RTX 4080 vs RTX 4080 Super to help you decide whether an upgrade is on the cards this year, too.

Best Intel CPU for RTX 4080 – Intel Core i9-13900K

Intel Core i9-13900KS 

Architecture

Raptor Lake

Core count

P-cores 8 / E-cores 16

Thread count

32

Boost speed

P-cores 6 GHz / E-cores 4.3 GHz

Cache

36MB

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Pros

• Incredibly fast
• Large cache

Cons

• Expensive

Released in 2022, the Intel i9-13900K has seen a great response upon its release. The specs speak for themselves, boasting a boost speed of 5.8Ghz, which is 600Mhz faster than the 12900K.

The 13900K is the most powerful CPU in the Intel 13th Gen range, and the only processor near its standard is the Ryzen 9 7950X.

This Raptor Lake CPU supports the latest connectivity standards including PCIe 5.0 and DDR5. We’re pleased to see Intel has preserved support for DDR4 unlike Ryzen’s 7800X3D which inconveniently only supports DDR5.

If you do go for it and are worried about overheating your system you can check out our article on the best cooler for the i9-13900K.

Best Ryzen CPU for RTX 4080 – Ryzen 9 7950X

Ryzen 9 7950X

Cores

16

Threads

24

Base speed

4.5GHz

Boost speed

5.7GHz

Cache

65MB

TDP

170W

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Pros

• Huge cache
• Good boost speed

Cons

• Large TDP

Released at the tail end of September, the Ryzen 9 7950X is one of the best CPUs on the market at the moment, alongside a respectable price.

The 7950X is one of the best Ryzen CPUs to pair with your RTX 4080, and offers an insanely high level of gaming performance. This is in part due to its Zen 4 architecture that improves the CPU’s energy efficiency which is much appreciated considering the increase in TDP for both CPUs.

It boasts a core count of 16, combined with a boost clock of 5.7GHz, making it an excellent choice for content creators and gamers alike.

Overall, the Ryzen 9 7950X is a sound choice for your 4080, though will need the best cooler if you’re going to keep your gaming system safe. Alternatively, you may want to check out the best RTX 4080 gaming PCs to see what CPUs and CPU coolers have been paired with the graphics card.

Best budget Ryzen CPU for 4080 – AMD Ryzen 7 5700X

AMD Ryzen 7 5700X

Cores

8

Threads

16

Base Clock

3.4GHz

Boost Clock

4.6GHz

Cache

32MB

TDP

65W

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Pros

• Reasonably priced
• Large cache

Cons

• Low core count

The AMD Ryzen 7 5700X is a great CPU with internals powerful enough to sit beside the RTX 4080 with pride.

If you’re looking to pair a budget CPU with your new high-performance GPU, this is certainly a strong contender for you to consider.

With a boost speed of 4.6GHz and a shockingly low TDP of 65W, this chip will lower the overall power consumption of your rig drastically – which is needed next to the power hungry RTX 40-series GPU.

The AM4+ motherboard you’ll put the RTX 4080 in is the only limiting factor, as the PCIe 3.0 lanes will bottleneck the memory bandwidth on the card.

Best budget Intel CPU for 4080 – Intel Core i5-12600K

Intel Core i5-12600K

Cores

10

Threads

16

Base Clock

3.7GHz

Boost Clock

4.9GHz

Cache

20MB

TDP

125W

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Pros

• Reasonably priced
• High boost speed

Cons

• High TDP

The Intel 12th Gen CPUs work well alongside the RTX 4080 GPUs due to the 600-series motherboards having full PCIe 5.0 support. This means that you won’t be hampered by any memory bandwidth issues that the Ryzen CPUs might contend with.

The 12600K is a great CPU with 3.7Ghz minimum clock speed, and up to 4.8Ghz of max boost speed.

Alongside that, it also supports the latest DDR5 type of memory, so if you’re looking to upgrade that too – you’ll be enjoying the fastest gaming performance.

The 12600K is enjoying a great mid-range price and even lends itself to the budget side of CPU performance.

If you’ve spent a little too much on the RTX 4080, you can always stabilise your spending by being thrifty with the i5-12600K.

Best CPU for RTX 4080 FAQs

We understand you might have a few questions surrounding which CPU is best to pair with the Nvidia RTX 4080 graphics card, so we’ve done our best to answer your questions below.

Do I need a new CPU for RTX 4080?

If you’re on an older CPU, you’re likely due an upgrade due to the 4080s reliance on PCIe 5.0. Only the latest Ryzen 7000 series and Intel 12th / 13th Gen CPUs support this. However, a 4080 still functions on older motherboards, though you won’t be maximising data transfer speed.

Does a CPU affect a GPUs performance?

A CPU directly affects a GPUs performance as the processor is going to be telling the GPU what to render. You’ll want a CPU that can communicate with the GPU fast enough whilst also maintaining a decent frame rate.

Will a better CPU increase FPS?

The short answer is yes. However, the amount it will increase depends on how the other components, such as your GPU, are currently operating. If the GPU is only running at half capacity, upgrading your CPU will make a bigger difference.

Do Ryzen CPUs have integrated graphics?

Most AMD Ryzen CPUs do not have integrated graphics, which means that they do not have dedicated graphics built into the CPU itself. Instead, these CPUs rely on a separate graphics card or GPU to handle the graphical processing tasks that are needed for gaming and other demanding applications. The Ryzen CPUs with integrated graphics are called Ryzen APUs.