Choosing a CPU that can later cause problems is not a wise decision, as it is one of the most vital parts of your PC. AMD and Intel offer a variety of CPUs with excellent performance. Some of these CPUs are equipped with Integrated graphics that can give you display in case your Dedicated GPU is not running or you don’t have any. The problem with Intel CPUs is that they don’t have a great integrated graphic card like the ones in the AMD but since we are looking for a CPU that you can easily pair with a GTX 1080 graphic card we don’t have to worry about much with the integrated GPU. So let’s talk about the GTX 1080 because it is avered interesting card in many ways.
Based on a 16nm process size, the GTX 1080 was released in mid-2016, which is quite some time ago. However, being an Older GPU does bring some advantages and disadvantages this GPU was a flagship model back when it was released so it was priced at a much higher price and some people could not even afford it at the time now it is selling for even below half the price which makes the question is it worth it now? And yes it certainly is because being a flagship GPU this GPU was equipped with all the latest specs and hardware at the time of its release so it can still handle modern games of today just fine which. Building a gaming PC with a GTX 1080 is still a great idea because it can handle all the workload just fine but in order to fully enjoy the gaming experience of this GPU that can provide well-equipped hardware, you need a decent CPU for it. Older CPUs can bottleneck this GPU a lot so here we have selected the Best CPUs for GTX 1080 And 1080ti and can give you a great experience. Let’s dive into the products and see which one is the better option.
Our Top 3 Recommendations
Best CPU for GTX 1080 Summary
| Award | Image | Model | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best Mid-Range CPU for GTX 1080 & 1080ti |
|
AMD Ryzen 5 3600X | See On Amazon |
| Best Budget Gaming CPU for GTX 1080 & 1080ti |
|
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X | See On Amazon |
| Best Intel Gaming CPU for GTX 1080 & 1080ti |
|
Intel Core I7-8700k | See On Amazon |
| Best Budget Friendly Intel CPU for GTX 1080 & 1080ti |
|
Intel Core I9 9900KF | See On Amazon |
| Best 4K Gaming CPU for GTX 1080 & 1080ti |
|
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X | See On Amazon |
Best CPU for GTX 1080 At a Glance:
Best CPU for GTX 1080 Reviews
AMD Ryzen 5 3600X
Best Mid-Range CPU for GTX 1080 & 1080ti
The best budget-friendly option for you would be to go with an AMD Ryzen 5 3600X CPU because these CPUs have the best price-to-performance ratio they are both newer and still supported by the company which means you can buy them box packed. Now as they are a year or two older their prices have also significantly decreased and the good part is that these processors perform extremely well when paired with a good GPU.
The Ryzen 5 3600X is based on AMD’s new Zen2 architecture with a process size of 7nm which is still the smallest. There are 6 cores and 12 threads that dose an extremely good job in gaming and multitasking and If you are worried about how it’s going to perform overall then let me tell you that this processor is an extremely good powerhouse for all purposes as it handles heavy productivity and gaming or applications with relative ease thanks to its newer architecture. The processor supports DDR4 memory-type modules. The processor ensures no bottlenecking issues with the GPU. One main advantage that 3600X has over the simple 3600 is that it has more overclocking capabilities s and higher clock speeds. Overall this processor will not give you any sort of trouble when pairing with the GTX 1080.
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X
Best Budget Gaming CPU for GTX 1080 & 1080ti
Priced at an even lower price the Ryzen 5 2600X gives an extremely tough time to its other competitors which is the 9th gen Intel core i5. If you are a bit low on money in your pocket and looking for the best CPU in that price tag or don’t need a much powerful or high-end CPU then there is no better option available than this processor that is based on much newer hardware. As we have seen in the past Intel has pretty much dominated the CPU market and AMD has never been able to fully compete with them but this has changed with the release of the Ryzen processors because now there is no better option than the Ryzen processors.
The Ryzen 5 2600X is based on the Zen+ architecture which is a generation of Zen that was released before the 2nd gen so it is not much older which is why this processor still performs great in heavy tasks. It has a manufacturing technology of 12nm so it outputs less heat and is more efficient than Intel processors that are based on bigger size. The processor base clock speed sits at 3.6GHz and it can go to a max of 4.2GHz which is more than enough for heavy tasks.
Intel Core I7-8700k
Best Intel Gaming CPU for GTX 1080 & 1080ti
If you are willing to buy an Intel processor instead of an AMD with the price and performance compare able to as of the Ryzen 5 2600X then this processor is a perfect alternative to that CPU. The I7 8700K was a flagship processor meaning that it was the top-of-the-class performing processor from Intel. This processor was released in 2017 and it still holds up to modern applications and tasks just fine. The good part with this processor is that it comes with an integrated GPU called the Intel UHD graphics which is not as powerful as the Vega but they are there if you ever,r need them.
This processor is based on Intel Coffee Lake architecture and comes with a manufacturing process size of 14nm. With the addition of two more cores in this gen, there are now 6 cores and 12 threads in this CPU. The performance of this processor has vastly improved due to the additional two cores. As we know K series processors from Intel are meant for overclocking purposes this processor comes with a base clock of 3.7GHz and goes to a max of 4.7GHz when overclocked high-and impressive.
Intel Core I9 9900KF
Best Budget Friendly Intel CPU for GTX 1080 & 1080ti
If you don’t want to make any, sort of compromises at all and want the best performing CPU from Intel that can work flawlessly with the GTX 1080 and other high-end modern GPUs the I9 9900KF is a great choice. The I( series from Intel feature more cores and threads and their only purpose is to provide the best in class high performance in every task that you perform on this CPU. Now in order to run this CPU at its full peak, you will need a really good motherboard that can fully handle this processor because the ordinary cant.
Talk about the specs of the CPU this CPU is also based on Intel Coffee Lake but with improved efficiency so it has a manufacturing process size of 14nm+. With the addition of two more cores now there are 8 cores and 16 threads. While more cores don’t do much because most of the games utilize more than 4 or 6 if you are doing multitasking that is where these cores can prove to be the most useful. The I9 9900KF has a base clock of 3.6GHz and it can go to a max of 5.0GHz. This CPU uses an LGA 1151 socket.
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X
Best 4K Gaming CPU for GTX 1080 & 1080ti
Lastly, we have another great CPU from AMD which is the Ryzen 9 3900X. This processor is also meant to be the top-of-the-class performance product from AMD just like Intel did with the Intel Core I9 series CPUs. The Ryzen 9 3900X is absolutely a beast of a CPU and it beats the Intel Core i9 10th Gen processors most of the time and sometimes scores nearly identical to it so you can already guess how much capable this CPU is really. With this,s processor you don’t have to worry about any of the games sys req as long as you have a great GPU. The processor does not bottleneck the GTX 1080 in any way, in fact, it can be used even with an RTX 3080 which is the current high-end GPU from NVidia and it will still not bottleneck that GPU.
AMD has certainly gone for the higher specs in this CPU because this CPU has 12 cores and 24 threads which is more than enough for every AAA single or multiplayer game title. The processor is based on the same Zen+ architecture as the Ryzen 5 3900X which also means that is based on the same 7nm die size but with improved performance. The only thing that you are going to need additionally for this CPU is an aftermarket cooler as this processor does come with a stock cooler which certainly cannot handle these high temps when the processor is running in under load.
