Does the Core i5-10400F Bottleneck the RTX 3060 Ti?

Short answer: Yes, at 1080p and 1440p. The Core i5-10400F limits the RTX 3060 Ti by 28% at 1080p and 13% at 1440p. At 4K the pair is balanced (17% GPU), because the graphics card has much more work per frame there.

Best resolution for this pair: 4K
Bottleneck: 28% CPU at 1080p, 13% CPU at 1440p, 17% GPU at 4K
Average FPS (9 demanding games, High): 80 at 1080p, 60 at 1440p, 33 at 4K
Recommended power supply: 550 W or more

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Core i5-10400F + RTX 3060 Ti bottleneck at 1080p, 1440p and 4K

Resolution	Bottleneck	Limiting part	What it means
1080p	28%	CPU (moderate)	The CPU often holds the card back. Free fixes help; a CPU upgrade helps more.
1440p	13%	CPU (mild)	The CPU limits the card a little in high-frame-rate games.
4K	17%	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 i5-10400F + RTX 3060 Ti: 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)	42% CPU	34% CPU	13% CPU
Battle royale (Fortnite, Warzone)	28% CPU	13% CPU	17% GPU
Open world (Cyberpunk, RDR2)	12% CPU	9% GPU	31% GPU
Strategy and simulation (Flight Sim, Cities)	45% CPU	38% CPU	21% CPU
Racing (Forza, F1)	21% CPU	3% CPU	25% GPU

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

Core i5-10400F + RTX 3060 Ti 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 3060 Ti with the Core i5-10400F averages about 80 FPS at 1080p, 60 FPS at 1440p and 33 FPS at 4K. At 1440p the processor sets the limit in Baldur's Gate 3.

Game	1080p High	1440p High	4K High
Counter-Strike 2	254 (183 low)	199 (155 low)	116 (91 low)
Valorant	310 (205 low)	272 (212 low)	159 (124 low)
Fortnite	118 (92 low)	85 (66 low)	49 (38 low)
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7	83 (65 low)	49 (27 low)	28 (15 low)
Battlefield 6	90 (65 low)	66 (52 low)	32 (17 low)
ARC Raiders	101 (73 low)	72 (57 low)	42 (33 low)
Marvel Rivals	72 (56 low)	51 (40 low)	30 (23 low)
Cyberpunk 2077	80 (58 low)	57 (45 low)	27 (15 low)
Black Myth: Wukong	55 (43 low)	39 (31 low)	23 (18 low)
Hogwarts Legacy	62 (41 low)	54 (42 low)	26 (14 low)
Baldur's Gate 3	62 (41 low)	62 (41 low)	42 (33 low)
Elden Ring	60 (40 low)	57 (45 low)	33 (26 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 i5-10400F + RTX 3060 Ti: specs at a glance

Part	Key specs	Platform	Power
Core i5-10400F	6 cores / 12 threads, Comet Lake (2020)	LGA1200, DDR4	65 W rated, up to about 134 W
RTX 3060 Ti	8 GB GDDR6, Ampere (2020)	DLSS 4 upscaling (no DLSS Frame Generation; FSR Frame Generation works)	About 200 W board power

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

Core i5-10400F + RTX 3060 Ti: what to expect at each resolution

1080p

At 1080p the CPU bottleneck is 28%, so the RTX 3060 Ti will often run below full load. You will feel it most in fast multiplayer games and in 1% lows (stutter). Expect about 80 FPS in Cyberpunk 2077, 118 FPS in Fortnite and 254 FPS in Counter-Strike 2 on High.

1440p

At 1440p the CPU still limits the card (13%), but less than at 1080p (28%), because each frame gives the graphics card more work. Expect about 57 FPS in Cyberpunk 2077, 85 FPS in Fortnite and 199 FPS in Counter-Strike 2 on High. The 8 GB of video memory runs short in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 at these settings, so drop texture quality one step to avoid stutter.

4K

At 4K the RTX 3060 Ti is the limit (17% GPU), which is normal and means you are getting the card’s full speed, unlike at 1080p. Expect about 27 FPS in Cyberpunk 2077, 49 FPS in Fortnite and 116 FPS in Counter-Strike 2 on High. The 8 GB of video memory runs short in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, Battlefield 6, Cyberpunk 2077, Hogwarts Legacy at these settings, so drop texture quality one step to avoid stutter. For 4K, turn on DLSS, FSR or XeSS in Quality or Balanced mode.

Core i5-10400F + RTX 3060 Ti: best upgrade for this build

Upgrade the CPU first. The Core i5-10400F has no faster drop-in option worth buying on its LGA1200 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 3060 Ti.

Core i5-10400F + RTX 3060 Ti: power supply for this pair

The Core i5-10400F can draw up to about 134 W and the RTX 3060 Ti about 200 W. With 100 W for the rest of the system and 25% headroom, a good 550 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 i5-10400F + RTX 3060 Ti: 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 i5-10400F + RTX 3060 Ti: frequently asked questions

Does the Core i5-10400F bottleneck the RTX 3060 Ti?

Yes, at 1080p and 1440p. The Core i5-10400F limits the RTX 3060 Ti by 28% at 1080p and 13% at 1440p. At 4K the pair is balanced (17% GPU), because the graphics card has much more work per frame there.

Is the Core i5-10400F good enough for the RTX 3060 Ti at 1440p?

It works, but the CPU holds the card back by 13% at 1440p, so you leave some performance on the table, mostly in multiplayer games.

How many FPS does the Core i5-10400F with the RTX 3060 Ti get?

On High settings we estimate about 80 FPS at 1080p and 60 FPS at 1440p on average across nine demanding games, for example 57 FPS in Cyberpunk 2077 at 1440p and 118 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 i5-10400F and RTX 3060 Ti?

About 550 W from a good brand with an 80 Plus Gold rating. That covers the CPU (up to about 134 W), the graphics card (about 200 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.