Best CPU for RTX 4080 in 2024 – our top CPU to pair with RTX 4080
We’re going to outline some of the best CPUs to pair with your brand-new RTX 4080.
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 4080? We’ve found the best picks for you. Nvidia‘s RTX 4080 is one of the world’s most powerful graphics cards right now, the little brother of the RTX 4090, Geforce’s RTX 4080 isn’t quite as powerful, but it still packs a serious punch and is capable of stunning ray-tracing visuals and high FPS numbers. So what would be the best CPU for the RTX 4080? We don’t want you to have a CPU bottleneck.
We always keep this article updated with the latest products, and our list takes into account the Intel 14th Gen launch – which we have tested and covered extensively in our Intel i9-14900K review. But we have decided that given the current climate, it isn’t worth the upgrade unless you’re coming from a really old CPU. Even then, there’s much better value in the 13th generation.
- 01Best Intel
If you’re short on time and want to know what the best CPU for RTX 4080 is, we would choose either the i9-13900K or the AMD Ryzen 7900X. You may also want to consider looking at our best CPU for the RTX 4080 Super page if you’re thinking about buying the newer model.
What is the best CPU for RTX 4080 in 2024?
With those fundamentals out of the way, what’s the best CPU to pair with the RTX 4080? As we are aware of the fact a lot of these CPUs are pretty pricey, despite some of our choices being more than a generation old. You’re going to want a beefy CPU to be able to keep up with the demand of owning a 4080. This GPU is incredibly power-hungry so to avoid a bottleneck, we advise staying away from anything older than a 10th Gen CPU and the Intel i3 range. For those looking at the best CPU for RTX 4090, this also applies to you.
With that in mind, the latest CPUs tend to run a little on the hot side, so you might want to think about the best CPU cooler to tackle the high temperatures that these CPUs reach.
Best CPU for RTX 4080 – Intel Core i9-13900K
Intel Core i9-13900K
Cores
24
Threads
32
Base speed
P-cores 3 GHz / E-cores 2.2 GHz
Boost speed
P-cores 5.8 GHz / E-cores 4.3 GHz
Cache
36MB
TDP
125 W / 253 W boost.
- Powerful single and multi-core performance
- High boost speeds
- improved L2 cache capacity
- 32 logical processors
- pricey
- runs VERY hot
One of our favorite CPUs, and one we tested extensively as part of our Intel 13th Gen i9-13900K review. The i9-13900K is a very powerful CPU capable of destroying the competition and remains one of the best CPUs for gaming in 2024. Its 24-core and 32-threads annihilate in both single and multi-core workloads, which helps keep the 13900K stay at the top of multi-threaded performance. In fact, at the time of writing, we would recommend this CPU over the 14th Gen equivalent, as cited in our i9-14900K review.
The 13900K has a TDP of 125 W base and 253 W boost, that’s a huge leap in TDP over the previous generation’s Alder Lake CPUs. But it’s also a massive jump in performance. The 13th-generation Raptor Lake CPUs see improved single-core performance of up to 15% and multi-core performance of up to 41%. The best part is you don’t even have to upgrade your motherboard to access all of this performance, but upgrading has its benefits. The L2 CPU cache is doubled this time, giving the CPU access to larger, faster storage. This enabled the CPU to keep processing instructions quickly without developing a backlog that resulted in slowdowns. The 13900K is seriously fast, with a boot core speed of up to 5.8 GHz.
All of this performance does have a downside, however, the 13900K runs very hotly under immense stress. We don’t expect you’d ever reach the levels of usage and stress that we did in our test, but we managed to get the 13900K to throttle up to 13%. using a 360mm AIO. We recommend checking our guide to the best CPU coolers in 2024. Regardless, this CPU is a beast.
Best AMD CPU for RTX 4080 – 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
The 7900X is part of the Zen 4 architecture, and AMD has truly brought the performance to another level on the new AM5 platform. The 7000 series is brought into the present with the AM5 socket providing support for both DDR5 and PCIe Gen 5. The 8-core, 16-thread Ryzen 7900X is capable of massive multi-core performance as well as single-core performance thanks to its 5.6 GHz boost clock speed.
Cache has been doubled this time around, with 1MB per core as opposed to 512KB, this means more instruction buffering and less likely the CPU will be caught in a backlog of instructions, causing slowdowns. The 7900X’s TDP is 170 W at the base core speed and 230 W at the boost speed. This also unfortunately makes the CPU run much hotter than anyone wants, just like the 13900K. This CPU is a gaming giant, as well as packing enough cores and threads to handle the multithreaded workloads of content creation and streaming, the perfect high-end AMD CPU for the RTX 4080.
Best AM4 CPPU for RTX 4080 – Ryzen 7 5800X3D
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D
Cores
8
Threads
16
Max boost speed
4.5GHz
L3 Cache
96MB (64MB 3D V-cache)
TDP
105W
- Inexpensive
- Incredible performance
- 3D V-cache
- No cooler
- No native overclocking support
If you’re on an older AMD motherboard, then you might want to consider the Ryzen 7 5800X3D. That’s because it annihilated 12th-generation flagships in outright gaming performance. The Ryzen 7 5800X3D is still a marvel in CPU engineering, and managed to claim the top ‘best gaming CPU’ from Intel and their core i9 12900K when it launched. However, there are a few reasons why it’s not top of our list.
The 5800X3D is an excellent choice for gaming, donning eight multithreaded CPU cores and a massive 96MB of AMD 3D V-cache. The 3D cache is not stacked laterally like a normal 2D cache but vertically (thanks to 3D printing technology) – hence the term 3D cache. This drastically increases the number of chipsets you can cram into an area of any given size. The vertical stacking allows AMD to achieve the massive 96MB L3 cache with a total access speed of 2TB/s in its 5800X3D CPUs.
The 5800X3D has lower core speeds of 3.4GHz base and 4.5GHz max, these speeds are even lower than its brothers the 5800X, The reason for this is the 3D V-cache instability at higher clock speeds. This is also why overclocking is disabled on this CPU as standard. You can read the full product review on the Ryzen 7 5800X3D here.
Best last gen Intel CPU for RTX 4080 – Intel Core i9-12900K
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 12900K is the successor to the 11th gen Intel i9-11900K, utilizing the new ‘Alder Lake’ architecture as opposed to the ‘Rocket Lake’ of the older CPU. Unlike the release of Intel’s 11900K, the 12900K was a massive hit among reviewers. You can read our intel i9-12900K review right here.
The 12900K comes with a 125W TDP which is higher than the AMD 5950X, which is only 105W, meaning it does get a little hot on the CPU die. Not as hot as the 13900K is, thankfully. The 12900K is only compatible with the LGA1700 socket, meaning a complete upgrade from LGA 1200 will be necessary if you plan on purchasing this CPU. The good news is, however, that this CPU will work with both 600 and 700 series Intel motherboards.
The i9-12900k boasts a core count of 16 and 24 threads, making it a great all-rounder for both multitasking and gaming. Intel has put its efforts into architectural improvements with the new Alder Lake lineup, improving in almost every area. With all these improvements, we finally saw Intel regain the top spot as far as gaming is concerned. More impressive, however, is the fact that in workstation and multitasking scenarios. The Core i9-12900k is almost on par with the 5900X in multi-core performance. Pair that with the better single-core performance and the crazy overclocking potential that Intel holds, and you all of a sudden have one heck of a CPU for the RTX 4080.
Worried about an RTX 4080 CPU bottleneck?
A CPU bottleneck occurs when you have a CPU that cannot keep up with the demands of the rest of the system, this means the rest of the system is forced to wait for the CPU to play catch up. When this happens it causes the whole system to slow down to accommodate for the slower CPU. To avoid a bottleneck, as we highlighted earlier, do not opt for a CPU under the Core i5-12600K or a Ryzen 5 5600X from AMD.
What is the best CPU for the RTX 4080?
Despite being a generation old, we still think the i9-13900K. is the best CPU for the RTX 4080 Its high core counts paired with its 5.8GHz boost clock speed makes this the ideal candidate.
Do I need to upgrade my CPU for the RTX 4080?
We wouldn’t recommend trying to run with an RTX 4080 if you have a CPU below the i5-12600K or the Ryzen 5 5600X. If you have a CPU lower than that, then you should consider upgrading.
Other useful links
Final word
Choosing the right CPU for the 4080 can be tricky, as you want to match its power in the most cost-effective way possible. We assure you that the CPUs on this list are nothing but the best. You won’t miss a beat choosing any one of the CPUs we have on offer today. Will it be the 13900K Titan? or the 7900X from AMD? The efficiency champion. Both Intel and AMD offer up some high-performance flagships and should be seriously considered for the supporting role in your RTX 4080. You’d better make sure you have the correct prerequisite hardware, as AMD and Intel require different motherboards to utilize. Remember to check out our best CPU for RTX 4070 if you’re looking to pair the right chip with this less powerful but decent Nvidia card.
