And to get the most out of this CPU, the GPU needs to be just as versatile.
Otherwise, a great deal of CPU performance will be left unused & youll experience GPU bottlenecking issues.
So which GPU should you pair with your i9 12900K for the best optimal gaming performance?
But which one should you choose from the vast amount of fine candidates?
And which prospects should you consider before making a purchase decision?
Were glad to inform you that we regularly review each GPU model from various vendors with different PC configurations.
During this extended review and categorizing process, weve picked which GPU is best suited for which PC builds.
It uses the AD103 chip that offers 48.74TFlops FP32 performance and next-gen visuals with ray tracing and DLSS.
And the ASUS ROG Strix RTX 4080 gaming graphics card follows the same testament of reliability.
From its size to its performance, it is an extreme card in every sense of the word.
What I loved most about these 4000 series cards is the AI wizardry behind DLSS 3s frame generation feature.
For example, I was getting around 30fps while running CP2077 at native 4k max prefs.
After enabling DLSS 3+frame generation, I was getting over 75fps.
Thats a massive performance jump with no visual downgrade.
During our game test, I noticed that the VRAM usage never crossed 11GB, even with ultra-quality textures.
Its often the small things that matter the most.
In case youre interested, here are thebest aura sync compatible GPUslike this Strix 4080 graphics card.
Speaking of RTX, heres ourin-depth comparison between RTX and GTX GPUs.
It also greatly improves the overclocking headroom to push the performance even further.
If youre interested, check out our detailed discussion onwhether liquid cooling is worth it for GPUs.
And for competitive games, it can easily deliver over 100fps which is great for 144Hz gaming.
Also, check out our detailed discussion onwhether FreeSync can work on Nvidia GPUs or not.
Unfortunately, the MSI 4090 SUPRIM Liquid X didnt manage to win me over in this regard.
Not to mention, the AIO block only covers the GPU die.
The VRAM and VRMs are still air-cooled with a single fan on the GPU shroud.
And it also provides the much needed cooling solution for such a beast of a card.
Among all the 4070 variants, the ASUS Dual 4070 White OC Edition stands out for multiple reasons.
It offers a great price-to-performance ratio due to being factory overclocked and costing no more than Nvidias MSRP.
And the similarities dont end there.
This also really helped with the GPUs cooling in my colleagues compact PC build.
The GPU also comes in black if you dont like the white version.
The fans were also a bit loud when the GPU crossed 60 degrees.
The lack of RGB lighting can also be a deal breaker for some gamers.
For those, heres our shortlist of thebest RGB graphics cardson the market.
Yes, there are more affordable GPUs in the market.
But none of them can match the performance and feature set value of this GPU.
Well, it can do ray tracing, but the performance is nowhere near Nvidias high-end GPUs.
But it quickly falls behind as soon as you turn on RT.
7900 XTX also supports AV1 codec for video encoding and live streaming.
The fans were also a bit loud under heavy load after switching to the Max Power BIOS.
The 7900 XTX can be a great alternative for a high-end GPU without breaking the thousand-dollar mark.
It has a better price-to-performance ratio than the RTX 4080 when you dont think about ray tracing and stuff.
From that list, we picked the best ones that are most suitable for an i9 12900K PC.
Then we put those GPUs in our i9 12900K build and tested each card one by one.
GPUs come in a wide range of price tags, anywhere from 100$ to 2000$+.
Determine a budget and your intent of use before you make a choice.
Compatibility
The next crucial factor you should consider is overall compatibility.
Price-to-performance ratio
You also need to check the cost per frame of your shortlisted GPUs.
Hardware Unboxed and TechPowerUp are very useful in this regard.
Trust me, spending 15-20 bucks for a huge performance jump will serve you greatly in the long term.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is an i9-12900K overkill for gaming?
In some cases, the CPU performance of an i9 12900K can be overkill.
But its ideal to stay ahead of the hardware requirement curve for future-proofing.
Can an RTX 4070 cause bottleneck with an i9 12900K?
No, an RTX 4070 wont be bottlenecking when its paired with an i9 12900K.
What is the overclocking potential of RTX 4080 when coupled with an Intel i9 12900K?
