The Best CPUs To Pair With The RTX 4070 SUPER

The Nvidia RTX 4070 SUPER is officially out, with multiple SKUs showing up from AIBs across the board. It commands a base price of $600 for the FE (the older RTX 4070 being reduced to a slightly lower $550 price tag) and comparable aftermarket options with custom SKUs such as the ASUS ROG of the same line already fetching princely sums.

What Does The RTX 4070 Super Offer In 2024?

The Nvidia RTX 4070 SUPER offers better performance than the stock RTX 4070, packing in an impressive increase of just under 20% in CUDA cores, which directly translates to a sub 15-20% performance uplift in most games. It also retains the same price tag as its predecessor while bumping up its base clock by 60 MHz. This allows it to position itself as an aggressive play by Nvidia in a market segment that recently saw a lot of interest after subsequent AMD GPU releases targeting the sub-$500 price range arrived on the scene.

For users looking to get a CPU to go with their brand-new RTX 4070 SUPER GPU, here are some of the best options to consider in 2024:

The Best CPUs To Pair With Nvidia’s RTX 4070 SUPER

The Intel Core i7 14700KF is a 20-core, 28-thread juggernaut that is identical to the more mainstream Core i7 14700K CPU. It leverages the fact that the RTX 4070 SUPER is already in play through a discount over the latter, offered thanks to the lack of an iGPU. It provides excellent single-core performance to allow it to push ahead in games with ease, plus some of the best multi-core performance end-users can buy for productivity use cases in a desktop processor.

With compatibility that stretches across three years of Intel motherboards (with mandatory BIOS updates), the 14700KF has plenty of options that it can be paired with. It makes for a well-rounded CPU entry that excels at both gaming and productivity equally, even as it costs a shade under $400 currently, making it relatively better value than its other higher-end AMD and Intel alternatives.

At the same time, the 14700KF needs a powerful cooler to sustain its higher clocks than the 13700K/KF, which it replaces with a higher power requirement in tow, as it pushes its efficiency considerably lower than its AMD alternatives that compete at a slightly higher price point.

The AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D is an 8-core, 16-thread CPU that promises to, and delivers, the fastest gaming experience a CPU can, despite clocking in at a $50 discount over MSRP currently. It continues to lead the charts as one of the fastest gaming CPUs thanks to it leveraging its stacked L3 Cache, something AMD calls 3D V-Cache, to deliver faster performance in games beyond most of its similarly configured and higher-end competitors.

It also does so with a mean power draw of just about 50 watts, making it the fastest and most efficient high-end gaming CPU in the market. Compatible with AMD’s socket AM5, the 7800X3D delivers on both support for PCI-E 5.0 hardware and DDR5 RAM. While the RTX 4070 SUPER itself is a PCI-E 4.0 GPU, it can’t hurt gamers who might upgrade to the next generation to invest in a CPU that offers 24 PCI-E 5.0 lanes, enough for a GPU and 2 Gen 5 SSDs.

At the same time, the Ryzen 7 7800X3D is what one would call a ‘Specialist’ CPU. It offers lower clocks and limited overclockability compared to the similarly configured Ryzen 7 7700X from AMD. As an octa-core CPU, it already has limited productivity use cases in multi-threaded applications, and while it is a clear-cut choice for gamers, it might not be the same for users aiming to get some productivity-related workloads (such as video edition) handled on the same CPU.

The Intel Core i9 14900KF 24-Core, 32-Thread CPU is a powerful CPU that can push up to 6GHz on its Performance Cores. The Raptor Lake Refresh CPU can deliver some of the best performance in games and productivity applications alike, thanks to its core and clock-heavy approach, which has hefty power requirements to match.

Intel is offering a unique advantage to gamers looking to pick up the iGPU-less 14900KF or the Core i9 14900K by pushing its APO scheduler optimizations in titles like World of Warcraft. While APO optimizations are limited to the top two Intel Core i9 and Core i7 CPUs from the 14th generation, Intel has indicated that it is willing to reconsider this approach for higher-tier 12th and 13th generation CPUs, which could also lead to broader implementation by developers looking to capitalize on these gains by offering them to a wider user base.

The 14900K/KF is also supported by a variety of Intel motherboards, including the 2+ year old Z690 chipset-based offerings from a variety of manufacturers that can easily be had for as low as $150, but BISO upgrades are required for said motherboards to recognize Intel’s latest and greatest offerings in 2024. At the same time, users opting for the 14900KF should be warned ahead of time that it shares its higher-priced sibling’s penchant for taxing some of the best liquid coolers money can buy.

For users looking for a higher core and thread count under the hood than the Ryzen 7 7800X3D, AMD pulls out all the stops when it comes to the Ryzen 9 7950X3D 16-core, 32-thread Desktop Processor, which offers a 2x multiplier on both ends. It retains the 3D V-Cache advantage that AMD continues to leverage for superior gaming performance, even as it ushers in a new tier of efficiency for productivity-based use cases.

With 16 cores in play, it targets content creators, editors, and users with needs for significant multi-core, multi-threaded application performance, while also tapping its L3 cache advantage to push for better gaming performance, making it an excellent all-around CPU for users needing the extra power in play now, or in the near future.

At the same time, due to multiple price cuts at Intel’s end that see its Core i9 14900K/KF CPUs trade at around the $550 mark, the Ryzen 9 7950X3D might be a pricier choice now, with a sub-$100 premium to offer comparable productivity and slightly better gaming performance to gamers, making it AMD’s best, but significantly premium offering even in 2024.

With 10 cores in play in a 6-to-4, performance-to-efficiency configuration, the unlocked Intel Core i5-12600KF CPU offers a significant performance uplift over its locked Core i5 alternatives from the 13th and 14th generation. The Intel Core i5 12600KF showcases its prowess in video games, leveraging its unlocked CPU cores to command a respectable lead over its newer locked siblings, even as its price tag gives it a significant amount of edge in terms of the CPU class it currently competes in.

It does, however, like most locked Intel CPUs, not ship with a stock cooler or a thermal solution, meaning that users will have to find their own alternative. The team at Game Rant does have a detailed guide that covers some of the best options at multiple price points for users interested in grabbing one along with their CPU purchase, however.

With decent gaming performance, plenty of Intel-based motherboards to choose from, and decent upgrade potential down the line, the 12600KF is priced to sell currently and offers astounding value, earning it a recommendation for the best budget gaming CPU one can buy with the Nvidia RTX 4070 Super currently.

For users looking for a more value-centric purchase that can handle productivity tasks reasonably well, the efficient AMD Ryzen 9 7900X3D comes to mind, buffered by a series of price cuts that helps secure it as a favorite gaming CPU. With four more cores than its octa-core gaming-centric sibling, the 7900X3D occupies, and somewhat dominates, an important market segment that the Ryzen 9 7950X3D can not cater to, given its current price tag.

Versus Intel’s more core-heavy alternatives, the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X3D offers significantly faster cores on average, better performance with some game engines and 3D tools, and a ridiculously better efficiency, which is an important factor for productivity users at a time when rising energy costs are in play for nearly every product and service.

It does sacrifice being included in the fastest gaming CPUs list like its other Ryzen 7000 X3D-based siblings, but does deliver arguably better value for money and serves a market segment that is crucial as a result, even though it comes as a close second in gaming benchmarks to its faster AMD-based alternatives. This makes it a great candidate for the best overall productivity CPU when one considers the power efficiency, price-to-performance, and thermal needs of the Ryzen 9 7900X3D.

FAQ

Q: What is the CUDA Core count on the Nvidia RTX 4070 Super?

The Nvidia RTX 4070 SUPER offers 7168 CUDA cores, a marked improvement over the 5888 that the RTX 4070 currently offers

Q: How Much Does The Nvidia RTX 4070 Super Cost?

The Nvidia RTX 4070 Super costs $599 for the FE and most non-OC aftermarket SKUs. More premium models can cost as much as $750, putting them within spitting distance of the Nvidia RTX 4070 Ti SUPER FE at $800.