Best CPU for RTX 3080 in 2024 – Our top picks for December
Need a CPU for the RTX 3080? Look no further
Share this article...
WePC is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Prices subject to change. Learn more
Looking for the best CPU for the RTX 3080 in 2024? Then you have come to the right place. Despite being a couple of years old, the RTX 3080 is still one of the most popular cards on the market – offering tons of performance without the Nvidia Geforce RTX 4000 Series price tag. The RTX 3080 is definitely a 4K GPU but also performs brilliantly at both1440p and 1080p resolutions. That’s so long as there is a good processor to stop it from bottlenecking its power.
As with all of our buying guidess, we always keep this article updated with the latest products. This list even takes into account the14th Gen launch; you can read our Intel i9-14900K review here. If you’re short on time and want to know what the best CPU for RTX 3080 is, we recommend either the Intel Core i9-12900K or AMD Ryzen 9 7900X. For more recommendations, make sure to check out the best CPUs for gaming in 2024.
The best CPU for RTX 3080 in 2024
The good news is that if you’re looking for an RTX 3080 for your gaming PC, you won’t need the latest chipsets – especially not the 14th Gen from Intel. In fact, our selections here are actually older CPUs that offer tons of performance even today. Plus, with the new generation now out, we’re hoping to see some fantastic discounts on these SKUs in the run up to Christmas. For this Nvidia card, we wouldn’t opt for anything older than Intel 9th Gen. Having had plenty of experience pairing the card with an i9-9900K, we can safely say it works well – but other, newer CPUs offer more bang for your buck in 2024.
Best CPU for RTX 3080
Intel Core i9-12900K
Boost clock speed (single core)
5.3 GHz
Total Cores / Threads
16/24
P-cores
8
E-cores
8
Socket
LGA 1700
Overclockable
Yes
- Powerful single core performance
- Powerful multi-core performance
- Overclockable
- Expensive
The Core i9-12900K may well be the best Intel CPU for the job when it comes to the RTX 3080. As we have mentioned in before in previous articles and in our dedicated review of the i9-12900K ,the 12th generation makes use of LITTLE.big core technology to keep the CPU’s efficiency high. LITTLE.big made its debut in Alder Lake. The 12900K’s 16 Cores and 24 Threads will be able to speed through any kind of workload you can throw at it, whether that be gaming or a workstation load. This CPU is proficient in every area.
The 12900K’s core boost speed exceeds 5GHz, and rockets all the way up to 5.3GHz. This was an unfathomable speed at the time of release for an out-of-the-box CPU. And as we all know, CPU core speed directly correlates with gaming performance. The 12900K seems like it was made to support the 3080 in gaming workloads. The 12900K literally does not bottleneck the 3080 at all in 1440p, our test showed a bottleneck of 0.1%. A match made in heaven
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X
AMD Ryzen 9 7900X
Cores
12
Threads
24
Base speed
4.7GHz
Boost speed
5.6GHz
Cache
L3 64MB
Socket
AM5
- Incredible performance
- High performance pew Watt
- Interesting IHS
- Cooler than other 7000 series CPUs on average
- A little pricey
- Hard to keep cool
Slightly newer than than the 12th Gen, is this decent entry in Team Red’s 7000 series. It features an AM5 socket providing support for both DDR5 and PCIe Gen 5. Under the hood, there’s an eight-core, 16-thread powerhouse that can be boosted to 5.6 GHz. Despite the 7900X’s TDP being around 170 W at the base core speed, this rises to 230 W at the boost speed which can cause it to run hot. Make sure your CPU cooler is up to the task. We’ve selected a handful of the best coolers for the Ryzen 7900X in our dedicated guide if you’re in need of help. This CPU would also pair very well with the Nvdia RTX 3080Ti, if you’re after even more performance from your gaming rig.
Final word
For the price right now, the 12900K really is the best budget CPU for the job when it comes to the RTX 3080. Unfortunately, there isn’t really an alternate CPU that’s cheaper than the 12900K that can support the RTX 3080 well enough to warrant consideration. However, for those looking to future proof and go for newer hardware, AMD’s Ryzen 9 7900X could well be a smart move. Be sure to check out our other guides, including the best CPU for the RTX 4090 and the best CPU for the RTX 4080.
