Does the Core i5-13600K Bottleneck the RTX 4070 Ti Super?

Short answer: Only at 1080p. The Core i5-13600K limits the RTX 4070 Ti Super by 25% at 1080p, which mostly shows in high-frame-rate games. At 1440p (9% CPU) and 4K (20% GPU) the pair is balanced, so this is a good match for a 1440p monitor.

Best resolution for this pair: 1440p
Bottleneck: 25% CPU at 1080p, 9% CPU at 1440p, 20% GPU at 4K
Average FPS (9 demanding games, High): 152 at 1080p, 120 at 1440p, 72 at 4K
Recommended power supply: 750 W or more

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Core i5-13600K + RTX 4070 Ti Super bottleneck at 1080p, 1440p and 4K

Resolution	Bottleneck	Limiting part	What it means
1080p	25%	CPU (moderate)	The CPU often holds the card back. Free fixes help; a CPU upgrade helps more.
1440p	9%	CPU (balanced)	Balanced. Both parts are well used.
4K	20%	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 i5-13600K + RTX 4070 Ti Super: 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 44% at 1080p.

Game type	1080p	1440p	4K
Esports (CS2, Valorant)	40% CPU	31% CPU	9% CPU
Battle royale (Fortnite, Warzone)	25% CPU	9% CPU	20% GPU
Open world (Cyberpunk, RDR2)	7% CPU	13% GPU	34% GPU
Strategy and simulation (Flight Sim, Cities)	44% CPU	37% CPU	18% CPU
Racing (Forza, F1)	17% CPU	2% GPU	28% GPU

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

Core i5-13600K + RTX 4070 Ti Super 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 4070 Ti Super with the Core i5-13600K averages about 152 FPS at 1080p, 120 FPS at 1440p and 72 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	450 (297 low)	398 (286 low)	232 (181 low)
Valorant	550 (363 low)	542 (391 low)	316 (247 low)
Fortnite	236 (170 low)	169 (132 low)	98 (77 low)
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7	165 (129 low)	118 (92 low)	69 (54 low)
Battlefield 6	160 (106 low)	133 (103 low)	77 (60 low)
ARC Raiders	180 (130 low)	145 (113 low)	84 (66 low)
Marvel Rivals	143 (112 low)	102 (80 low)	60 (47 low)
Cyberpunk 2077	150 (108 low)	115 (89 low)	67 (52 low)
Black Myth: Wukong	110 (86 low)	78 (61 low)	46 (36 low)
Hogwarts Legacy	110 (73 low)	108 (78 low)	63 (49 low)
Baldur's Gate 3	110 (73 low)	110 (73 low)	84 (66 low)
Elden Ring	60 (40 low)	60 (43 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 i5-13600K + RTX 4070 Ti Super: specs at a glance

Part	Key specs	Platform	Power
Core i5-13600K	14 cores / 20 threads, Raptor Lake (2022)	LGA1700, DDR4 / DDR5	125 W rated, up to about 181 W
RTX 4070 Ti Super	16 GB GDDR6X, Ada Lovelace (2024)	DLSS 4 upscaling and DLSS Frame Generation (2x)	About 285 W board power

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

Core i5-13600K + RTX 4070 Ti Super: what to expect at each resolution

1080p

At 1080p the CPU bottleneck is 25%, so the RTX 4070 Ti Super will often run below full load. You will feel it most in fast multiplayer games and in 1% lows (stutter). Expect about 150 FPS in Cyberpunk 2077, 236 FPS in Fortnite and 450 FPS in Counter-Strike 2 on High.

1440p

At 1440p the pair is balanced (9% CPU), so both parts are well used. Expect about 115 FPS in Cyberpunk 2077, 169 FPS in Fortnite and 398 FPS in Counter-Strike 2 on High.

4K

At 4K the RTX 4070 Ti Super is the limit (20% GPU), which is normal and means you are getting the card’s full speed, unlike at 1080p. Expect about 67 FPS in Cyberpunk 2077, 98 FPS in Fortnite and 232 FPS in Counter-Strike 2 on High.

Core i5-13600K + RTX 4070 Ti Super: best upgrade for this build

Upgrade the CPU first. Your Core i5-13600K uses the LGA1700 socket, so you can drop in a faster chip without a new motherboard: Core i7-14700K (19% CPU at 1080p, 1% CPU at 1440p). Update the motherboard BIOS before you swap. A faster graphics card would add little until the processor is faster. See the best CPU for the RTX 4070 Ti Super.

Core i5-13600K + RTX 4070 Ti Super: power supply for this pair

The Core i5-13600K can draw up to about 181 W and the RTX 4070 Ti Super about 285 W. With 100 W for the rest of the system and 25% headroom, a good 750 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 i5-13600K + RTX 4070 Ti Super: 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 i5-13600K + RTX 4070 Ti Super: frequently asked questions

Does the Core i5-13600K bottleneck the RTX 4070 Ti Super?

Only at 1080p. The Core i5-13600K limits the RTX 4070 Ti Super by 25% at 1080p, which mostly shows in high-frame-rate games. At 1440p (9% CPU) and 4K (20% GPU) the pair is balanced, so this is a good match for a 1440p monitor.

Is the Core i5-13600K good enough for the RTX 4070 Ti Super at 1440p?

Yes. At 1440p the bottleneck is 9% CPU, which is in the balanced range, so you get close to the card’s full speed.

How many FPS does the Core i5-13600K with the RTX 4070 Ti Super get?

On High settings we estimate about 152 FPS at 1080p and 120 FPS at 1440p on average across nine demanding games, for example 115 FPS in Cyberpunk 2077 at 1440p and 236 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 i5-13600K and RTX 4070 Ti Super?

About 750 W from a good brand with an 80 Plus Gold rating. That covers the CPU (up to about 181 W), the graphics card (about 285 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.