Yes, at 1080p. The Ryzen 5 5600 holds the GeForce RTX 4090 back by about 52.4%, which is a large loss of the card's speed.
Severe CPU bottleneck
The processor holds the graphics card back by about 52.4% at 1080p.
| Resolution | Result | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| 1080p | Severe CPU bottleneck | 52.4% cpu |
| 1440p | Severe CPU bottleneck | 35.7% cpu |
| 4K | Well matched | 4.5% gpu |
The processor launched at $199 and the card at $1,599, so the card cost 8.0 times as much. At 1080p this pairing is held back by the processor by about 52.4% (severe). At 1440p it is held back by the processor by about 35.7% (severe), and at 4K well balanced. The graphics card scores 100 on our index and the processor 56.
The loss is a 1080p problem, and it fades by 4K.
For comparison, with the more powerful GeForce RTX 5090 the 1080p result would be held back by the processor by about 63.4% (severe), and with the less powerful GeForce RTX 5080 the 1080p result would be held back by the processor by about 38.2% (severe).
Yes, at 1080p. The Ryzen 5 5600 holds the GeForce RTX 4090 back by about 52.4%, which is a large loss of the card's speed.
Yes, at 1440p. The Ryzen 5 5600 holds the GeForce RTX 4090 back by about 35.7%, which is a large loss of the card's speed.
No. At 4K the Ryzen 5 5600 and the GeForce RTX 4090 are within 4.5% of each other, which is a good match. Higher resolutions put more load on the graphics card, so the processor matters less.
Updated October 3, 2026