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Not sure what CPU to pair with an RTX 4070 GPU?
While Nvidia’s 4000 series of RTX graphics cards aren’t the best in terms of value, the RTX 4070 is an ideal pick if you’re concerned with 1440p or 4K gaming.
However finding the best gaming CPU to pair with the RTX 4070 requires serious thought. Fortunately, I’ve done the homework for you. With price, performance, and efficiency in mind, here are the best gaming CPUs for the RTX 4070 in my opinion and why.
Best AMD CPU to Pair with RTX 4070
Performance-wise, the Ryzen 7 7800X3D is easily the best choice to pair with an RTX 4070. In fact, it is just as good for almost any other build configuration. Not only is it the fastest gaming AMD chip out right now, it’s the fastest CPU on the market for gaming. It even beats its bigger brother, the Ryzen 9 7950X3D.
So, how does it beat a more expensive processor in gaming performance? The 7950X3D has double the cores and higher clock speeds, so it should be better. However, this Ryzen 9 CPU consists of two chipsets, one with a 3D V-cache and another without. Games might not always efficiently utilize the non-cache cores, potentially slowing things down.
On the other hand, games utilize the 7800X3D’s V-cache perfectly out of the box. This is what helps it run laps around more expensive AMD and Intel processors in terms of gaming. If you’re unfamiliar with CPUs, 3D V-cache is a technique AMD uses to stack a ton of extra cache on top of the processor.
A regular CPU cache can store frequently used data on the CPU for quicker access. Since 3D V-cache crams a ton more of that cache, games can keep more needed information close by. This reduces the need to fetch data from slower RAM, leading to smoother gameplay, especially in CPU-heavy titles. This means smoother gameplay, especially in titles that love to push the CPU hard, perfectly complementing the power of the RTX 4070.
The 7800X3D is sort of a spiritual successor to the Ryzen 7 7700X. Both CPUs have the same 8 cores and 16 threads, but the difference is in the cache. The 7700X has 32MB of L3 cache, while the 7800X3D triples that with 96MB. Both are strong, but the 7800X3D is laser-focused on delivering the smoothest possible frame rates for your RTX 4070.
As such, the 7800X3D is perfectly optimized for high-end cards like the 4070. If higher frames are all you’re concerned with, this is the CPU to buy.
However, it is worth noting that for productivity, it struggles to keep pace with CPUs in the same price segment. While it’s still decent for rendering, streaming, and 3D modeling work, there are better options if that matters to you more than gaming.
Overall, the 7800X3D is still the best CPU to pair with the RTX 4070. It leaves some productivity performance on the table but gives you best-in-class efficiency and gaming performance in return. As a high-end CPU, it does not disappoint.
To sum up, what I like is…
Excellent efficiency
Best-in-class gaming performance
Overclocking support
Easy to cool
On the downside…
DDR4 memory support
Performance in productivity apps could be better
Ratings:
Value For Money: 9/10
Gaming performance: 9.5/10
Productivity Performance: 8/10
Efficiency: 8.5/10
Overclocking: 8/10
Overall Rating: 8.5/10
Best Intel CPU to Pair with RTX 4070
While the 7800X3D is the best CPU for gaming and no intel cpu can currently compete, there are cheaper options that can still satisfy your RTX 4070. The best example is the 13600KF. While, the Intel Core i5 13600KF isn’t the latest mid-range Intel chip, it’s still arguably the best value option for gamers looking to pair it with an RTX 4070.
Intel’s 14th-generation processors are out, but they don’t show an improvement in performance enough to warrant an upgrade for gamers. This makes the 13th-gen processors more viable, and the 13600KF is a great choice for the RTX 4070.
Before we continue, it’s important to know what the “KF” means. The “K” indicates that this is an unlocked chip, meaning it supports overclocking for even better gaming performance. As for the “F”, that means it doesn’t have any integrated graphics, which is irrelevant since you’ll be pairing the CPU with a dedicated GPU like the RTX 4070. The lack of an iGPU also means that it has a cheaper price than the standard version.
Compared to its predecessor, the 12600KF, the 13600KF has eight more Efficiency cores (E-cores for short). This means that the total core count is 14, compared to the 10 cores on the 12th-gen chip. It also has a higher clock speed, more cache, and 4 more threads. These improvements translate to better gaming performance when paired with a powerful GPU like the RTX 4070.
The 14 cores in this CPU consist of 6 Performance cores (P-cores for short) and 8 E-cores. P cores are ideal for demanding tasks like gaming, especially when paired with a high-end video card like the RTX 4070. E cores handle background tasks efficiently without compromising gaming performance.
This makes the 13600KF a relatively powerful chip for gaming, but also more efficient in less demanding tasks. Despite that, it has a TDP of 125W, meaning at full load, it will be slightly harder to cool compared to similarly-priced Ryzen chips.
Circling back to the newer 14600KF, it’s surprising to see how much of a better value the older chip is for gamers with an RTX 4070. It’s slightly cheaper, has the same amount of cores and threads, and has the same TDP. The only difference is that the 14600KF boosts higher, but that 5.3GHz clock speed can be achieved with a tiny bit of overclocking on the 13600KF, making it a better value for gamers.
Instead of buying the 14600KF, get the 13600KF and a better cooler. This way you’ll get almost the same level of performance for gaming with the RTX 4070, save some money, and enjoy a bit of overclocking for even better performance.
Performance-wise, the 13600KF is a great match for the 4070 in both games and productivity. It won’t bottleneck the RTX 4070, even at a 1080p resolution and you can expect high frames in all the latest games.
As for productivity apps, it performs a bit better than the Ryzen 5 7600X. It’s a great mid-range CPU for editing videos, streaming, and playing games, especially when paired with the RTX 4070.
To sum up, what I like is…
Great multi-core performance
Affordable pricing
Handles both gaming and productivity well
Supports DDR4 memory
On the downside…
Draws quite a bit of power
Slightly hard to cool
Ratings:
Value For Money: 9/10
Gaming performance: 8/10
Productivity Performance: 8/10
Efficiency: 7.5/10
Overclocking: 8/10
Overall Rating: 8/10
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