CPU and GPU pairings

Does the Core i5-13600K bottleneck the Radeon RX 9070 XT?

At 1080p, the processor holds the graphics card back in many games. At 1440p, the two are well matched. At 4K, the graphics card sets the pace, by a wide margin.

Intel Core i5-13600K with AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT

  1. 1080p

    The processor holds this card back in many games

    The processor can prepare about 80% of the frames this card could draw.

  2. 1440p

    Well matched

    The processor could keep up with a graphics card about 20% faster.

  3. 4K

    The graphics card sets the pace, by a wide margin

    The processor could keep up with a graphics card about 2.0 times as fast.

The processor clearly holds this card back only at 1080p. At 1440p the two are close, and at 4K the graphics card sets the pace, so a faster processor would pay off mainly at 1080p.

An estimate for a typical game at high settings. Strategy, simulation and large multiplayer games lean on the processor more; lower settings and upscaling do too.

Change either part in the calculator

Does your PC deliver this?

Before buying a faster processor, make sure your PC gets what it should from the one it has: a setting left wrong can cost as many frames as the upgrade would add. On a PC with these parts, Bottleneck checks, free:

  • Intel’s fix for 13th and 14th gen instability. The Core i5-13600K is one of the processors that can wear out and turn unstable without a BIOS update; Bottleneck says whether yours has the fix. What the fault is
  • Memory at its rated speed, in dual channel. Games held back by the processor lose the most when memory runs slower than it should.
  • The monitor’s refresh rate. A 144 Hz monitor left at 60 Hz holds every game to 60 frames a second.
  • Heat. A processor or graphics card that slows down to stay cool falls short of these figures.

Then play a game while it measures, and it tells you which part really set the pace, and for what share of the frames: measured on your PC, where this page can only estimate.

Download free for Windows How to check it yourself

The free version has no time limit and needs no account. Pro, $9 once, explains each problem and how to fix it, makes the common fixes in one click, and costs out the upgrade for your own PC. Compare the versions

Graphics cards the Core i5-13600K keeps up with

Current cards that are well matched with the Core i5-13600K at 1440p, fastest first.

Power supply

A 750 W power supply covers this pair: at full load the Core i5-13600K, the Radeon RX 9070 XT and the rest of the PC can draw up to about 545 W. The power supply page for the Radeon RX 9070 XT has the size with other processors.

More pairings

How this is worked out

Each part gets one figure for games from the reference dataset the Bottleneck app uses to judge the hardware it measures, and the two are compared at each resolution. The calculator explains the model; this page is its answer for the Core i5-13600K and the Radeon RX 9070 XT. It is an estimate from the part names: memory speed, settings, heat and the monitor decide what a real PC delivers.