CPU and GPU pairings

Does the Core i7-8700K bottleneck the RTX 5070?

At 1080p, the processor holds the graphics card back in most games. At 1440p, the processor holds the graphics card back in many games. At 4K, the graphics card sets the pace.

Intel Core i7-8700K with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070

  1. 1080p

    The processor holds this card back in most games

    The processor can prepare about 60% of the frames this card could draw.

  2. 1440p

    The processor holds this card back in many games

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

  3. 4K

    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.

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:

  • Memory at its rated speed, in dual channel. Games held back by the processor lose the most when memory runs slower than it should.
  • Hardware GPU scheduling. Frame generation on the RTX 5070 will not run without it.
  • 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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Graphics cards the Core i7-8700K keeps up with

Current cards that are well matched with the Core i7-8700K at 1440p, fastest first.

Processors that keep up with the RTX 5070

Current processors that keep the RTX 5070 from waiting at 1440p, starting from the least powerful step up from the Core i7-8700K.

Power supply

A 550 W power supply covers this pair: at full load the Core i7-8700K, the RTX 5070 and the rest of the PC can draw up to about 429 W. The power supply page for the RTX 5070 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 i7-8700K and the RTX 5070. It is an estimate from the part names: memory speed, settings, heat and the monitor decide what a real PC delivers.