Does the Core i7-13700K Bottleneck the RTX 4090?

Short answer: Yes, at 1080p and 1440p. The Core i7-13700K limits the RTX 4090 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): 185 at 1080p, 170 at 1440p, 112 at 4K
Recommended power supply: 1050 W or more

Table of ContentsShow or hide all 10 sectionsShowHide

Core i7-13700K + RTX 4090 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 i7-13700K + 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)	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 i7-13700K + 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 i7-13700K averages about 185 FPS at 1080p, 170 FPS at 1440p and 112 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	506 (334 low)	506 (334 low)	364 (284 low)
Valorant	619 (408 low)	619 (408 low)	497 (388 low)
Fortnite	293 (193 low)	265 (191 low)	155 (121 low)
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7	236 (170 low)	186 (145 low)	108 (84 low)
Battlefield 6	180 (119 low)	180 (119 low)	121 (95 low)
ARC Raiders	203 (134 low)	203 (146 low)	133 (103 low)
Marvel Rivals	191 (126 low)	161 (125 low)	94 (73 low)
Cyberpunk 2077	169 (111 low)	169 (122 low)	105 (82 low)
Black Myth: Wukong	146 (97 low)	123 (96 low)	72 (56 low)
Hogwarts Legacy	124 (82 low)	124 (82 low)	99 (78 low)
Baldur's Gate 3	124 (82 low)	124 (82 low)	124 (89 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 i7-13700K + RTX 4090: specs at a glance

Part	Key specs	Platform	Power
Core i7-13700K	16 cores / 24 threads, Raptor Lake (2022)	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 i7-13700K + RTX 4090: what to expect at each resolution

1080p

At 1080p the CPU bottleneck is 28%, 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 169 FPS in Cyberpunk 2077, 293 FPS in Fortnite and 506 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 169 FPS in Cyberpunk 2077, 265 FPS in Fortnite and 506 FPS in Counter-Strike 2 on High.

4K

At 4K the RTX 4090 is the limit (17% 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 i7-13700K + RTX 4090: best upgrade for this build

Upgrade the CPU first. The Core i7-13700K 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 i7-13700K + RTX 4090: power supply for this pair

The Core i7-13700K 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 i7-13700K + 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 i7-13700K + RTX 4090: frequently asked questions

Does the Core i7-13700K bottleneck the RTX 4090?

Yes, at 1080p and 1440p. The Core i7-13700K limits the RTX 4090 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 i7-13700K good enough for the RTX 4090 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 i7-13700K with the RTX 4090 get?

On High settings we estimate about 185 FPS at 1080p and 170 FPS at 1440p on average across nine demanding games, for example 169 FPS in Cyberpunk 2077 at 1440p and 293 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 i7-13700K 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.

Ryzen 7 5800X3D + RTX 409031% 1080p18% 1440p12% 4KSee full results Ryzen 7 7800X3D + RTX 409025% 1080p9% 1440p20% 4KSee full results Ryzen 7 9800X3D + RTX 409022% 1080p4% 1440p24% 4KSee full results Core i7-13700K + RTX 4070 Ti Super21% 1080p3% 1440p24% 4KSee full results Core i7-13700K + RTX 4080 Super24% 1080p8% 1440p21% 4KSee full results Core i7-14700K + RTX 409027% 1080p12% 1440p19% 4KSee full results

All CPU and GPU pair results

Keep exploring

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.