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Best graphics card for your CPU

Pick your processor to see the strongest cards it can feed at each resolution.

What this tool does

This is the reverse of the best CPU tool. You give it a processor, and it lists the strongest graphics cards that processor can keep fed without losing more than about 10 percent of the card's speed to a CPU bottleneck. Buying a card faster than that wastes money, because the extra speed never reaches the screen.

The answer depends on the resolution you play at. A mid-range processor can feed a very fast card at 4K, where the card does most of the work, but only a mid-range card at 1080p, where frames arrive faster than the processor can prepare them.

How to choose from the list

Read the column for your resolution. The top entry is the fastest card that stays balanced. The cards below it cost less and leave the processor with room to spare, which is a fine place to be: a card that is slightly slower than your processor can handle is never a problem, it simply becomes the limit.

If you plan to replace the processor soon, buy for the processor you will have, not the one you have now. And if the list is shorter than you expected, the processor is the part to upgrade first. The upgrade advisor can tell you which side gains more for your money.

Examples

A typical case: a Core i3-12100F can feed an RTX 3060 at every resolution, because the card is the slower part. The same chip holds an RTX 4080 back by about 45 percent at 1080p and 26 percent at 1440p, and only at 4K does the card become the limit. The tool shows the ceiling for any processor, so you can check a card before you buy it.

Limits

Launch prices are shown because street prices change. The index behind the picks is our own estimate of gaming speed. Use the list to narrow your choice, then read reviews for the specific cards in your price range.

Questions

Why not just buy the fastest graphics card?

Because a processor can only prepare so many frames per second. If it cannot keep up, the card waits, and you pay for speed you never see. The list shows the fastest card your processor can fully use at each resolution.

Does resolution change the answer?

Yes. At 4K the graphics card has to do much more work per frame, so even a mid-range processor can feed a fast card. At 1080p the same processor limits you to a slower card.

What if the list only shows older or slower cards?

Then the processor is the part to upgrade first. A new graphics card in an old system gives disappointing gains, and the upgrade advisor can show which upgrade gains more for your budget.

Does the amount of video memory matter here?

It matters when you choose between cards, but not for the pairing itself. Pairing depends on speed. Choose between the cards in the list by their memory, price and power draw.