What CPU do I need for the GeForce RTX 3080?

At 1440p, the Ryzen 5 3600 is the slowest processor that keeps the GeForce RTX 3080 fully fed. At 1080p the card can run faster, so you need more: the Core i7-11700K or better.

Is the GeForce RTX 3080 good for 1440p?

Yes. It averages around 102 FPS at 1440p on high settings in our model, enough for a high-refresh monitor in most games.

Is 10GB of VRAM enough on the GeForce RTX 3080?

For 1080p, mostly. 10GB 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 3080 faster than the Radeon RX 6900 XT?

They are effectively tied, within 0% at 1440p in our model. Price, memory (10GB against 16GB) and features should decide it.

GeForce RTX 3080 CPU pairing and bottleneck

Model frame rate limits of 132, 102 and 62 FPS at 1080p, 1440p and 4K, assuming the processor never gets in the way.

The GeForce RTX 3080 is a high-end graphics card in our database and a high-refresh 1440p card that can handle 4K at tuned settings or with upscaling.

Its 10GB 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 6900 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)	~105	~80	~50
Fortnite (High, DirectX 12)	~170	~135	~80
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (High)	~150	~115	~70
Counter-Strike 2 (High)	~315	~245	~150

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	Core i7-11700K	126
1440p	Ryzen 5 3600	98
4K	Ryzen 5 1600	62

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 i7-10700K	116 cpu	102 gpu	62 gpu
Core i9-9900K	114 cpu	102 gpu	62 gpu
Ryzen 9 3950X	113 cpu	102 gpu	62 gpu
Core i7-9700K	111 cpu	102 gpu	62 gpu
Ryzen 9 3900X	110 cpu	102 gpu	62 gpu
Core i5-11400	109 cpu	102 gpu	62 gpu
Core i5-11400F	109 cpu	102 gpu	62 gpu
Core i7-10700F	109 cpu	102 gpu	62 gpu
Ryzen 5 5500	108 cpu	102 gpu	62 gpu
Core i5-10600K	107 cpu	102 even	62 gpu
Ryzen 7 3800X	107 cpu	102 even	62 gpu
Core i7-8700K	105 cpu	102 even	62 gpu
Ryzen 7 3700X	105 cpu	102 even	62 gpu
Ryzen 5 3600X	103 cpu	102 even	62 gpu
Core i5-9600K	100 cpu	100 even	62 gpu
Ryzen 5 3600	98 cpu	98 even	62 gpu
Ryzen 3 3300X	95 cpu	95 cpu	62 gpu
Core i5-10400	94 cpu	94 cpu	62 gpu
Core i5-10400F	94 cpu	94 cpu	62 gpu
Core i7-7700K	94 cpu	94 cpu	62 gpu
Ryzen 5 3500X	93 cpu	93 cpu	62 gpu
Ryzen 7 2700X	92 cpu	92 cpu	62 gpu
Core i3-10100F	91 cpu	91 cpu	62 gpu
Core i5-9400F	89 cpu	89 cpu	62 gpu

GeForce RTX 3080 Compared

RTX 4070 vs RTX 3080 — The RTX 3080 is about 15% faster than the RTX 4070 at 4K and 12% faster at 1440p.
RTX 3080 vs RX 6800 XT — The RTX 3080 is about 5% faster than the RX 6800 XT at 4K and 4% faster at 1440p.

Specifications

Manufacturer	NVIDIA
Series	NVIDIA RTX 30 Series
Video memory	10 GB
3DMark Time Spy (graphics)	19,667
PCI Express	4.0 ×16
Released	2020

GeForce RTX 3080