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What GPU bottlenecks Ryzen 5 5600X?

Everything you need to know about avoiding Ryzen 5 5600X bottlenecks

Updated: Dec 14, 2023 10:49 am
What GPU bottlenecks Ryzen 5 5600X?

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Today we’re going to find out what GPU bottlenecks Ryzen 5 5600X. It’s hard to avoid a little bit of bottlenecking if you’re mixing and matching GPUs and CPUs every few years. Regardless, you should be minimizing a bottleneck as much as possible. First off, you should be taking into consideration what you’ll be using your new GPU for – what kind of performance are you aiming for? Screen resolution is a huge aspect too, with a big difference between 1080p and 4K.

With all that in mind, let’s talk about the Ryzen 5 5600X and possible bottlenecks you could run into.

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Ryzen 5 5600X bottleneck – what GPUs are best?

Let’s talk about some popular GPUs right now: the RTX 3070 bottlenecks Ryzen 5 5600X at 1080p, so another pairing could be the ideal combo for gaming AAA at this resolution. 1440p resolutions or perhaps 4K for older games won’t be seeing much of a bottleneck though – this is where this pair of components really shine. It’s one of the best GPUs for Ryzen 5 5600X at 1440p especially.

ASUS ROG Strix NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Gaming

ASUS ROG STRIX RTX 3070

Clock Speed

1755MHz Boost Clock (OC)

VRAM

8GB GDDR6

Thermal Design

Axial-tech Triple Fan

Power Input

2 x 8-pin

Size

318mm x 140mm x 57mm

Excellent

AMD Ryzen 5 5600X

AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 1

Speed

3.7GHz/ 4.6GHz

Core (Threads)

6/12

Socket

AM4

TDP

65W

The small VRAM on the RTX 3070 can cause issues with next-gen games with the highest graphics settings of 1440p and 4K (it already suffers some performance within Cyberpunk 2077, and in DOOM Eternal due to only having 8GB of VRAM).

However, you should be able to circumvent this issue by reducing your setting of the texture quality between ultra/max and medium/high (which typically doesn’t drastically diminish the visual quality, since the newest AAA games still employ relatively high-quality textures with moderate settings) or making use of DLSS (in games that allow it).

Many games in the next generation will be optimized to run on 8-core Zen 2 CPUs (as these are the ones used on games like the PS5 as well as XSX). The Ryzen 5 5600X will be capable of matching pretty effectively (it only has six cores but shares the same architecture, but with more IPC and more clock speeds, as well as less latency in the cache).

What GPU bottlenecks Ryzen 5 5600X?

It’s extremely situational. If you’re playing 1080p esports games at a low setting and maxing out frames, the 3070 it will be a bottleneck when compared to something similar to like the 5700X or even 5800X – but this is more to do with the configuration. If you’re playing games with high settings, or higher resolutions (we think that 1440p 144hz is the ideal setting), the RTX 3070 is the perfect match. In reality, games are not completely GPU-bottlenecked.

If you are planning to play high-refresh rates, fast-paced games on a competitive basis then the 5600x may be a “bottleneck” in comparison to the 5900x. However, if you’re hoping to take in the views and experience high-resolution and high-quality images, then 5600x will be what you require.

In reality, the 5600X is a fantastic all-rounder CPU which shouldn’t run into many bottlenecking situations. Just make sure your using a GPU which is suitable for your resolution and targets. For 4K, something like the RTX 3080 or newer RTX 4070 Ti is a solid option. If you’re just going to be playing at 1080p, you can go for a budget-friendly card for the RTX 3060 or RX 6650 XT.

Ryzen 5 5600X bottleneck FAQs

What GPU is best to avoid 5600X bottlenecks?

Although we’ve mentioned the RTX 3070 can cause bottlenecks at a 1080p resolution, it’s actually ideal for 1440p. On the other hand, if you want to stick with 1080p, we’d recommend checking out the RTX 3060/3060 Ti. Alternatively, the RX 6650 XT or 6700 XT.

Does RTX 4070 bottleneck 5600X?

For the most part, no. The RTX 4070 is a capable card at 1440p or even 4K, and you shouldn’t be seeing any significant bottlenecks in this situation. However, if you’re going to be playing at 1080p in optimized esports games, then there may be some bottlenecking as the GPU won’t be fully utilized.


As a Junior Staff Writer, Jack is involved in writing and maintaining a bunch of hardware guides & reviews. With an interest in PC gaming, he now focuses on writing about monitors, headsets, and more.

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