The recently released RTX 2080 Super is a welcome addition to the Nvidia RTX Turing lineup because it narrows the performance gap between the $699 RTX 2080 and the $1199 RTX 2080 Ti. The newcomer’s MSRP establishes at the same price as the RTX 2080 and improves on its performance by anywhere between 5-10%, essentially retiring the RTX 2080 if you find it at the same price as the 2080 Super.
A natural and healthy way of looking at things when taking into consideration a new gaming build or upgrading your current, is basing your graphics card purchase decision on the resolution and refresh rate of your primary gaming monitor. The RTX 2080 Super when paired with a suitable CPU is a great candidate for resolutions such as 1080p 240Hz / 1440p 60Hz / 1440p 144Hz and 4K 60Hz. The card is fairly overkill for 1080p 60Hz and 1080p/144Hz resolutions as its performance level will be wasted; 4K 144Hz is still very niche, not even the RTX 2080Ti being a great candidate. This is why we’ll be recommending the best-suited CPUs to pair with the RTX 2080 Super based on the gaming resolution/refresh rate of choice and the value they bring to your build. The following sections will be explaining the value of suitable CPUs for the various gaming resolutions and refresh rates.
Best CPUs for RTX 2080 Super Builds – Our Recommendations
| Best CPUs for RTX 2080 Super Builds | Design | Cores / Threads | Core Clock / Boost Clock |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intel Core i7 9700K |  | 8 / 16 | 3.6 / 4.9 GHz |
| Intel Core i9 9900K |  | 8 / 16 | 3.6 / 5.0 GHz |
| Ryzen 5 3600 |  | 6 / 12 | 3.6 / 4.2 GHz |
| Ryzen 7 3700X |  | 8 / 16 | 3.6 / 4.4 GHz |
| Ryzen 9 3900X |  | 12 / 24 | 3.8 / 4.6 GHz |
| Intel Core i5 9600K |  | 8 / 12 | 3.7 / 4.6 GHz |
1. Intel Core i7 9700K
3.6/4.9GHz. MSRP: $374
The Intel Core i7 9700K is the cut-down version of the i9 9900K featuring 8 strong and frequency-unlocked cores/threads. The CPU can be overclocked to a daily and sustainable 5.0GHz all-core clockspeed in the range of 1.25-1.3 Vcore without a lot of hassle. Its 8 cores and 8 threads help it provide a consistent and stutter-free experience for any current game and its the best candidate if you’re looking for a gaming focused 1080p 240Hz build. It also delivers great performance on the other mentioned resolutions but other CPUs can offer better-suited performance per dollar.
- i7 9700K Pros:
- Eight strong and unlocked cores.
- Within 2-3% of the best gaming performance on the market.
- Soldered CPU.
- Works on previous generation Z370 motherboards with a BIOS update.
- i7 9700K Cons:
- No Hyper Threading. Multi-core performance is impacted.
- Expensive.
- Gets hot when overclocked.
- Needs a good aftermarket cooler.
2. Intel Core i9 9900K
3.6/5.0GHz. MSRP: $499
The i9-9900K is essentially a 9700K with Hyper Threading, this CPU is the current best offering on the market for a purely gaming perspective but it loses in value to the i7 9700K because you are getting low 2-3% bumps in gaming performance for a hefty 25% price increase.
This CPU starts making more sense and can be recommended to users that include streaming/rendering/editing tasks in their workloads where, thanks to its 8 extra threads over the 9700K, the i9 9900K performs up to 30% better in multi-core workloads (not gaming).
- i9 9900K Pros:
- Eight cores/sixteen threads with unlocked multipliers.
- Good multicore performance.
- Best current gaming performance on the market.
- Soldered CPU.
- Works on previous generation Z370 motherboard with a BIOS update.
- i9 9900K Cons:
- Very expensive.
- Gets very hot when overclocked.
- Breaks power limits.
- Needs a very good aftermarket cooler.
3. Ryzen 5 3600
3.6/4.2GHz. MSRP: $199
The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 is a true powerhouse for such a small and power-efficient chip and represents the current best value all-around CPU for both mid and high-end builds. Its got 6 cores/12 threads and its unlocked. Gains from overclocking this CPU can be had but it’s usually best to just enable PBO and let the processor boost by itself on all cores based on the gaming or production workload; Its really a great algorithm that allows this CPU to be very easy to live with whether you’re a power user or a beginner.
We can’t recommend the R5 3600 enough if you’re looking for a well-priced and great performing processor that won’t break the bank when paired with an RTX 2080 Super; it’s essentially an i7 8700K for $199 in an easy to cool 65W package. The stock cooler that comes in the box will be enough in most cases; we recommend trying it before purchasing any overkill aftermarket cooler that will only somewhat improve full-load noise.
While not providing the best performance when compared to other high-end CPUs, the R5 3600 manages to be within 15% of the best performing gaming CPUs on the market for a fraction of the price, making it the best value all-around CPU of this current generation and a good pair to the RTX 2080 Super.
- R5 3600 Pros:
- Matches more expensive CPUs such as the 8700K & 9700K in multicore performance.
- Great affordability and value.
- Within 15% of the best gaming performance on the market.
- Backwards and forwards compatible on any AM4 motherboard.
- Overclocking made easy for everyone by the use of PBO and AutoOC.
- Great power efficiency.
- Included suitable cooler.
- R5 3600 Cons:
- No integrated graphics.
- Not a lot of overclocking headroom.
4. Ryzen 7 3700X
3.6/4.4GHz. MSRP: $329
The Ryzen 7 3700X improves on Ryzen 5 3600’s performance by featuring 2 additional cores, 4 additional threads and a slightly higher boost clock-speed. This CPU will do slightly better in gaming than the R5 3600 and be more future proof thanks to its 8 cores and 16 threads.
Priced at $329, it matches the gaming-value of the $359 i7 9700K CPU at any resolution while crushing it in any workload tasks. This value gap further enlarges if we compare it to the exact 8 core / 16 thread Intel competitor, the 9900K.
Thanks to its abundant resources and superior SMT (Simultaneous Multi-Threading) implementation, the 3700X is a great all-arounder that can game, stream, record and edit at the same time without breaking a sweat. If you are looking for the best gaming CPU offer currently on the market that will pair with the RTX 2080 Super and you are also doing some multitasking on the side the 3700X is great and should be shortlisted.
- R7 3700X Pros:
- Beats 9700K in applications, matches 9900K for a fraction of the price.
- Affordable.
- Great power efficiency.
- Within 5-10% of the best gaming performance on the market.
- Backwards and forwards compatible on any AM4 motherboard.
- Included suitable cooler.
- R7 3700X Cons:
- No integrated graphics.
- Not a lot of overclocking headroom.
5. Ryzen 9 3900X
3.8/4.6GHz. MSRP: $499
This Ryzen 9 3900X 12 core/24 thread CPU is a beast and majorly overkill for a user that does just gaming on his PC, even with a high-end card such as the RTX 2080 Super; we include this CPU in the review because it still provides the absolute best gaming performance out of all AMD Ryzen chips thanks to its higher, 4.6GHz boost clock-speed and is in another league when considering multi-core.
The R9 3900X with PBO and AutoOC technologies enabled will provide 95% of the gaming performance an i9 9900K @5.0GHz will while crushing it in any multithreaded scenario like streaming/rendering/editing by upwards of 30%; thus, this CPU which is priced the same as the 9900K is strongly recommended for a full-time streamer or any gamer that is also a content producer.
- R9 3900X Pros:
- Heavily beats every other consumer CPU on the market in applications and multitasking.
- Can easily be used as a streaming & gaming CPU for a single-PC solution at the best resolutions and bitrates.
- Good power efficiency.
- Within 5% of the best gaming performance on the market.
- Backwards and forwards compatible on any AM4 motherboard.
- Included suitable cooler.
- R9 3900X Cons:
- No integrated graphics.
- Expensive if you’re just gaming.
- Not a lot of overclocking headroom.
Honorable mention: Intel Core i5 9600K
3.7/4.6GHz. MSRP: $264
Intel’s unlocked midrange CPU, the Core i5 9600K, features 6 cores, 6 threads and good overclockability. Its a great performer for a mid-high end build that focuses on gaming only and can be paired with the RTX 2080 Super at 1440p 144hz resolutions and up.
While being a similar gaming performer to some more expensive Ryzen chips like the R7 3700X, this CPU is gimped to have only 6 threads and we can’t warmly recommend it because of this detail. Many game engines today started using 6 cores or upwards for performance scaling and the 9600K is frankly just “enough”.
It does perform competitively in average fps with the other chips when paired with the high-end RTX 2080 Super but it has frame pacing and consistency issues in heavy-CPU games, sometimes causing stuttering. Because of this, the R5 3600 is a better offer around the $200 price range because it has the 12 threads that keeps the CPU from getting to 100% usage, thus avoiding bottle-necking and any stuttering issues.
Conclusion
| Best CPUs for RTX 2080 Super Builds | Design | Cores / Threads | Core Clock / Boost Clock |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intel Core i7 9700K | | 8 / 16 | 3.6 / 4.9 GHz |
| Intel Core i9 9900K | | 8 / 16 | 3.6 / 5.0 GHz |
| Ryzen 5 3600 | | 6 / 12 | 3.6 / 4.2 GHz |
| Ryzen 7 3700X | | 8 / 16 | 3.6 / 4.4 GHz |
| Ryzen 9 3900X | | 12 / 24 | 3.8 / 4.6 GHz |
| Intel Core i5 9600K | | 8 / 12 | 3.7 / 4.6 GHz |
As it can be seen, the RTX 2080 Super can stretch its legs in gaming alongside a broad range of consumer CPUs that are currently retailing. The decision on which CPU to buy should be made after considering what you will be doing with your PC as some CPUs are great all-arounders, some are great gaming chips and some are multi-threaded beasts that can also game very well.
We live in great times where CPU performance is great at all price points so we hope the sections of this article helped you paint a better picture of the current CPU market for high-end GPUs such as the RTX 2080 Super.