Core i7-4790K + Radeon RX 9060 XT bottleneck at 1080p, 1440p and 4K

Intel Core i7-4790K with AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT

1080p

The processor holds this card back in most games

The processor can prepare about 50% of the frames this card could draw.

1440p

The processor holds this card back in many games

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

The graphics card sets the pace

The processor could keep up with a graphics card about 30% faster.

If you play at 1080p or 1440p, a faster processor would let this graphics card show more of what it can do; at 4K it matters much less.

The Radeon RX 9060 XT is sold with 8 GB or 16 GB of graphics memory. With 8 GB, some recent games need their texture quality lowered at 1440p and 4K, and a few at 1080p. Stutter and textures loading late are the sign.

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.

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:

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.

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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

Processors that keep up with the Radeon RX 9060 XT

Current processors that keep the Radeon RX 9060 XT from waiting at 1440p, starting from the least powerful step up from the Core i7-4790K.

Power supply

A 450 W power supply covers this pair: at full load the Core i7-4790K, the Radeon RX 9060 XT and the rest of the PC can draw up to about 330 W. The power supply page for the Radeon RX 9060 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 i7-4790K and the Radeon RX 9060 XT. It is an estimate from the part names: memory speed, settings, heat and the monitor decide what a real PC delivers.