What CPU do I need for the GeForce RTX 2080?

At 1440p, the Ryzen 5 1600 is the slowest processor that keeps the GeForce RTX 2080 fully fed. At 1080p the card can run faster, so you need more: the Ryzen 5 4500 or better.

Is the GeForce RTX 2080 good for 1440p?

Yes, at sensible settings. It averages around 66 FPS at 1440p on high settings in our model, so 60 FPS and above is realistic, with upscaling helping in the heaviest games.

Is 8GB of VRAM enough on the GeForce RTX 2080?

For 1080p, mostly. 8GB is enough at 1080p, but some recent games at 1440p with high textures exceed it, which shows up as stutter rather than a lower average.

Is the GeForce RTX 2080 faster than the Radeon RX 7600 XT?

They are effectively tied, within 3% at 1440p in our model. Price, memory (8GB against 16GB) and features should decide it.

GeForce RTX 2080 CPU pairing and bottleneck

Model frame rate limits of 90, 66 and 37 FPS at 1080p, 1440p and 4K, assuming the processor never gets in the way.

The GeForce RTX 2080 is a mid-range graphics card in our database and a 1080p high-refresh card that can run 1440p at sensible settings.

Its 8GB of memory is the limit to watch: the newest games at 1440p with high textures can exceed it.

Its closest AMD rival is the Radeon RX 7600 XT, which lands within a few percent of it at 1440p.

Estimated FPS in Popular Games

Game (settings)	1080p	1440p	4K
Cyberpunk 2077 (High, no ray tracing)	~70	~55	~30
Fortnite (High, DirectX 12)	~115	~85	~50
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (High)	~105	~75	~45
Counter-Strike 2 (High)	~215	~160	~90

Modelled estimates with a processor fast enough not to hold the card back, rounded to the nearest 5 FPS. Counter-Strike 2 is usually limited by the processor well before these figures. See the methodology for how they are produced.

The slowest CPU that will not hold it back

Resolution	Minimum processor	Estimated FPS
1080p	Ryzen 5 4500	86
1440p	Ryzen 5 1600	66
4K	Ryzen 5 1600	37

Notice how the requirement drops as resolution rises. At 4K this card is working so much harder per frame that a far slower processor keeps up without trouble. The search starts at four cores and eight threads: below that a game stutters whatever the average frame rate says.

The processors it lands closest to

The 24 processors whose frame rate limit sits nearest this card's, fastest first. The tag after each number says which part hits its limit first. For any other combination, use the calculator.

Processor	1080p	1440p	4K
Core i5-11400	90 gpu	66 gpu	37 gpu
Ryzen 5 5500	90 gpu	66 gpu	37 gpu
Core i5-10600K	90 gpu	66 gpu	37 gpu
Ryzen 7 3800X	90 gpu	66 gpu	37 gpu
Core i7-8700K	90 gpu	66 gpu	37 gpu
Ryzen 7 3700X	90 gpu	66 gpu	37 gpu
Ryzen 5 3600X	90 gpu	66 gpu	37 gpu
Core i5-9600K	90 gpu	66 gpu	37 gpu
Ryzen 5 3600	90 gpu	66 gpu	37 gpu
Ryzen 3 3300X	90 gpu	66 gpu	37 gpu
Core i5-10400	90 even	66 gpu	37 gpu
Core i5-10400F	90 even	66 gpu	37 gpu
Core i7-7700K	90 even	66 gpu	37 gpu
Ryzen 5 3500X	90 even	66 gpu	37 gpu
Ryzen 7 2700X	90 even	66 gpu	37 gpu
Core i3-10100F	90 even	66 gpu	37 gpu
Core i5-9400F	89 even	66 gpu	37 gpu
Ryzen 5 4600G	88 even	66 gpu	37 gpu
Core i5-8400	87 even	66 gpu	37 gpu
Ryzen 5 4500	86 even	66 gpu	37 gpu
Ryzen 3 3100	86 even	66 gpu	37 gpu
Ryzen 5 2600	82 cpu	66 gpu	37 gpu
Core i3-9100F	81 cpu	66 gpu	37 gpu
Ryzen 5 1600	73 cpu	66 gpu	37 gpu

Specifications

Manufacturer	NVIDIA
Series	NVIDIA RTX 20 Series
Video memory	8 GB
3DMark Time Spy (graphics)	10,904
PCI Express	3.0 ×16
Released	2018

GeForce RTX 2080