Does the Core i7-14700K Bottleneck the RTX 4090?

Short answer: Yes, at 1080p and 1440p. The Core i7-14700K limits the RTX 4090 by 27% at 1080p and 12% at 1440p. At 4K the pair is balanced (19% GPU), because the graphics card has much more work per frame there.

Best resolution for this pair: 4K
Bottleneck: 27% CPU at 1080p, 12% CPU at 1440p, 19% GPU at 4K
Average FPS (9 demanding games, High): 193 at 1080p, 174 at 1440p, 113 at 4K
Recommended power supply: 1050 W or more

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Core i7-14700K + RTX 4090 bottleneck at 1080p, 1440p and 4K

Resolution	Bottleneck	Limiting part	What it means
1080p	27%	CPU (moderate)	The CPU often holds the card back. Free fixes help; a CPU upgrade helps more.
1440p	12%	CPU (mild)	The CPU limits the card a little in high-frame-rate games.
4K	19%	GPU (mild)	The graphics card is fully used. This is the normal, healthy kind of limit.

From our bottleneck calculator with its default settings: Battle Royale game type, 16 GB RAM, High detail, typical background load. How we calculate.

Check this pair with your own settings

Core i7-14700K + RTX 4090: bottleneck by type of game

The same pair can be balanced in one game and CPU-bound in another, because some games lean much harder on the processor. For this build the CPU is felt most in strategy and simulation games, at 45% at 1080p.

Game type	1080p	1440p	4K
Esports (CS2, Valorant)	41% CPU	33% CPU	11% CPU
Battle royale (Fortnite, Warzone)	27% CPU	12% CPU	19% GPU
Open world (Cyberpunk, RDR2)	10% CPU	10% GPU	32% GPU
Strategy and simulation (Flight Sim, Cities)	45% CPU	38% CPU	20% CPU
Racing (Forza, F1)	19% CPU	1% CPU	26% GPU

Bottleneck from our calculator for each game type, 16 GB RAM, High detail.

Core i7-14700K + RTX 4090 FPS in popular games

Estimated average FPS and 1% lows on the High preset, native resolution, no ray tracing, with 16 GB of RAM. Across nine demanding games the RTX 4090 with the Core i7-14700K averages about 193 FPS at 1080p, 174 FPS at 1440p and 113 FPS at 4K. At 1440p the processor sets the limit in Counter-Strike 2, Valorant, Battlefield 6, ARC Raiders, Cyberpunk 2077, Hogwarts Legacy, Baldur's Gate 3.

Game	1080p High	1440p High	4K High
Counter-Strike 2	528 (348 low)	528 (348 low)	364 (284 low)
Valorant	645 (426 low)	645 (426 low)	497 (388 low)
Fortnite	305 (201 low)	265 (207 low)	155 (121 low)
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7	246 (177 low)	186 (145 low)	108 (84 low)
Battlefield 6	188 (124 low)	188 (135 low)	121 (95 low)
ARC Raiders	211 (139 low)	211 (152 low)	133 (103 low)
Marvel Rivals	199 (144 low)	161 (125 low)	94 (73 low)
Cyberpunk 2077	176 (116 low)	176 (127 low)	105 (82 low)
Black Myth: Wukong	152 (110 low)	123 (96 low)	72 (56 low)
Hogwarts Legacy	129 (85 low)	129 (85 low)	99 (78 low)
Baldur's Gate 3	129 (85 low)	129 (85 low)	129 (93 low)
Elden Ring	60 (40 low)	60 (40 low)	60 (47 low)

Estimates from our FPS calculator model, which is calibrated against published review results. Expect real results within about ±12%. Elden Ring is locked to 60 FPS by the game.

Calculate FPS for any game with this pair

Core i7-14700K + RTX 4090: specs at a glance

Part	Key specs	Platform	Power
Core i7-14700K	20 cores / 28 threads, Raptor Lake Refresh (2023)	LGA1700, DDR4 / DDR5	125 W rated, up to about 253 W
RTX 4090	24 GB GDDR6X, Ada Lovelace (2022)	DLSS 4 upscaling and DLSS Frame Generation (2x)	About 450 W board power

Manufacturer specifications. Maximum CPU power is AMD’s package power limit or Intel’s maximum turbo power.

Core i7-14700K + RTX 4090: what to expect at each resolution

1080p

At 1080p the CPU bottleneck is 27%, so the RTX 4090 will often run below full load. You will feel it most in fast multiplayer games and in 1% lows (stutter). Expect about 176 FPS in Cyberpunk 2077, 305 FPS in Fortnite and 528 FPS in Counter-Strike 2 on High.

1440p

At 1440p the CPU still limits the card (12%), but less than at 1080p (27%), because each frame gives the graphics card more work. Expect about 176 FPS in Cyberpunk 2077, 265 FPS in Fortnite and 528 FPS in Counter-Strike 2 on High.

4K

At 4K the RTX 4090 is the limit (19% GPU), which is normal and means you are getting the card’s full speed, unlike at 1080p. Expect about 105 FPS in Cyberpunk 2077, 155 FPS in Fortnite and 364 FPS in Counter-Strike 2 on High.

Core i7-14700K + RTX 4090: best upgrade for this build

Upgrade the CPU first. The Core i7-14700K has no faster drop-in option worth buying on its LGA1700 platform, so the next step is a new platform such as AM5 with a Ryzen 7 7800X3D or 9800X3D. A faster graphics card would add little until the processor is faster. See the best CPU for the RTX 4090.

Core i7-14700K + RTX 4090: power supply for this pair

The Core i7-14700K can draw up to about 253 W and the RTX 4090 about 450 W. With 100 W for the rest of the system and 25% headroom, a good 1050 W power supply (80 Plus Gold or better) is a safe choice. Use the PSU wattage calculator to include your exact drives, fans and overclocking.

Core i7-14700K + RTX 4090: settings tips for this pair

Raise graphics settings and resolution: the GPU has spare power, the CPU does not. Higher settings cost almost no FPS here.
Use native resolution or DLAA / FSR Native AA instead of a Performance upscaling mode, which would only shift more load to the CPU.
Lower CPU-heavy settings: crowd density, object view distance, physics and simulation quality.
Turn on XMP or EXPO so the RAM runs at its rated speed, and use two sticks for dual channel.
Close browsers, launchers and overlays while gaming to free up CPU time.

Core i7-14700K + RTX 4090: frequently asked questions

Does the Core i7-14700K bottleneck the RTX 4090?

Yes, at 1080p and 1440p. The Core i7-14700K limits the RTX 4090 by 27% at 1080p and 12% at 1440p. At 4K the pair is balanced (19% GPU), because the graphics card has much more work per frame there.

Is the Core i7-14700K good enough for the RTX 4090 at 1440p?

It works, but the CPU holds the card back by 12% at 1440p, so you leave some performance on the table, mostly in multiplayer games.

How many FPS does the Core i7-14700K with the RTX 4090 get?

On High settings we estimate about 193 FPS at 1080p and 174 FPS at 1440p on average across nine demanding games, for example 176 FPS in Cyberpunk 2077 at 1440p and 305 FPS in Fortnite at 1080p.

Should I upgrade the CPU or the GPU first?

The CPU. The graphics card already has spare power, so a faster GPU would add little until the processor is faster.

What power supply do I need for the Core i7-14700K and RTX 4090?

About 1050 W from a good brand with an 80 Plus Gold rating. That covers the CPU (up to about 253 W), the graphics card (about 450 W), the rest of the system and some headroom.

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All CPU and GPU pair results

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Sources: Tom’s Hardware GPU hierarchy, Tom’s Hardware CPU hierarchy, TechSpot CPU and GPU scaling tests, TechPowerUp GPU database, and manufacturer specifications from AMD, Intel and NVIDIA. Bottleneck and FPS figures come from our own bottleneck and FPS models.