Hey everyone! I'm trying to find the best CPU to pair with my 5070 Ti, as I'm experiencing some stuttering issues, especially in games like Fortnite and Marvel Rivals. I've been considering the 9600x, but I've heard mixed feedback about it. Is there a specific reason the 9600x might cause stuttering? If it's not a great fit, what CPU would you recommend for smooth 4K 120Hz gaming? I'm using a 65" LG C4 OLED and I only play controller games, so no city builders for me!
6 Answers
Definitely go with the 7800x3d! It’s the way to go for gaming.
I find it hard to believe a 9600x would actually stutter in Fortnite or Marvel Rivals. Isn't it more likely a network issue since those games are online? When gaming at 4K, your CPU is less of a bottleneck. I checked a review which shows that the 9600x only trails behind the 9800x3d by about 3% in those scenarios. If you're looking to upgrade, the 7800x3d is solid—or even the 9700x for more cores, but the 9600x is still a strong choice.
For 4K and the 5070 Ti, the 9600x is actually pretty sufficient. Random stutters are tough to avoid; it could just be something like Unreal Engine 5 being poorly optimized in those games. Even with a 7800x3d, I still experience random stutters in Fortnite and Marvel Rivals, which aren’t consistent at all.
Just a heads up, you can’t completely eliminate performance inconsistencies with hardware. At 2160p, the price difference between CPUs like the 7600X and the 7800X3D is pretty tough to justify. That being said, the 7800x3D offers better consistency due to its cache size, which leads to fewer slowdowns caused by how often the CPU has to access RAM, which can bottleneck performance.
Honestly, I’d recommend aiming for at least a 7800x3d or even higher, especially since you’re focusing heavily on gaming at 4K resolutions.
Are you suggesting the 7800x3d helps with those 1% lows? Is that what leads to stuttering?
I just paired my setup with a 9800x3d, and it's super smooth—no bottlenecks at all. While the 7800x3d is the best option, I found the 9800x3d for just under $100 more, so I went for it.
Is that 3% difference really noticeable? Would it translate into faster load times or something else?