by Malcolm Woods
Most computer enthusiasts would dream of building a computer with flagship graphics cards and most of these dreams stay dreams because of how expensive they are.
But what if you somehow did manage to buy a 1080 Ti, but were not able to use it to its full potential due to an incompatible CPU? Well, that would be devastating.
That's why we put this article together to tell you about the best CPU for 1080 Ti out in the market right now. Along with that, we'll also discuss all things CPU and much more. So, without waiting any further, let's jump into it, shall we?
Contents
Follow This Table For Quickly Select A Product
| Product Image | Name | Editor's Rating | Price |
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| 4.5 / 5.0 | Price Check |
 | Intel Core i7-9700K 8 Cores LGA1151 | 4.8 / 5.0 | Price Check |
 | AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 12-core, Processor | 4.5 / 5.0 | Price Check |
 | Intel Core i9-9900KF Desktop Processor | 4.5 / 5.0 | Price Check |
 | Intel Core i9-9820X X-Series Processor | 4.7 / 5.0 | Price Check |
As we mentioned before, your Graphics Card or GPU might not perform like it's supposed to thanks to a CPU that doesn't match up with it.
This happens most of the time for flagship GPUs like Nvidia's 1080 and 1080 Ti which need a good amount of processing power to work magic like they're supposed to.
This phenomenon is called bottlenecking. You'll face this sort of a problem if you have a high-end GPU, but not a high-end CPU to back it. So, what are the actual benefits of using the right CPU for a 1080 Ti?
The first benefit of using recommended CPU would be the performance boost that you'll get out of it. You'll get a more consistent reading from the GPU, letting it run at its full potential.
The second benefit here is mostly for gamers. Using a recommended minimum CPU for GTX 1080 Ti will make your games buttery smooth.
Now, this is most important in competitive gaming, as every millisecond counts here. Moreover, in the case of graphically taxing games, you'll get better visuals.
Out of these three benefits, this is probably the one that matters the most. Without a recommended CPU, most of the time, your 1080 Ti will come out to be unstable.
You'll face jittering and lag unexpectedly. But, with the best CPU for GTX 1080 Ti, you'll get a seamless experience with it all.
Here are 5 CPUs that are well recommended for use with a 1080 Ti. They will make sure that you can use your graphics card at full capacity without any unwanted lagging and jittering. So, here goes:
The first pick for the best CPU for 1080 Ti comes from a community favorite brand, AMD. Since the decade of 2010, AMD has been on the rise and hasn't looked back ever since.
They have created some of the most budget-friendly and well-designed processors in the last 3 years and outclassed their competition. The Ryzen 5 3600 is no different.
This budget-friendly processor has given people the ability to grasp endless possibilities at a tight budget.
The CPU offers both DDR4 3200 MHz support and a 4.2 GHz clock speed which staggers benchmarks at this price point.
The CPU alone is capable of a lot. But, when you couple it with a 1080Ti build, it blows the competition away.
With its 6 cores, comes AMD's very own Wraith Stealth Cooler which keeps the CPU cool at a remarkable temperature.
Now, we would recommend this to you if you're within a tight budget and need some good processing power to back a 1080 Ti. Moreover, it can also help you with graphical work, which seems pretty convenient.
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Now, we'll go down to a processor brought by none other than Intel Corporation, the largest processor manufacturers in the world.
Their processors are always top-of-the-line and known for consistency when it comes to performance. Along with that, the stability makes working with them seamless.
The Core i7-9700k is another one in Intel's book of accomplishments. This one's from the 9th Generation of Intel's Core i7 series. And just like the other 8 releases before, the 9700k does not disappoint.
It has 8 cores and 8 threads that can clock from 3.6 to 4.9 GHz. Moreover, it also comes with Intel UHD 630 internal graphics for backup.
Now, this one came a bit on the expensive side when it was first released. But, since the 10th Generation is already out, it's not that expensive anymore.
So, you can pretty much get it within your budget. But that also depends on the package that you're opting for with this processor.
So, you can only buy the processor or you can also get one with a cooler. On the other hand, you can opt for one package which includes a recommended motherboard, but we'll get to that in a while.
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Here's another entry from AMD and this goes up an extra rank than the Core i7-9700k. It's better and faster than both the CPUs mentioned before and it's actually a fan favorite.
The people in the computer building community hold this processor in high regard, so do we.
For starters, it's a 12 core CPU that packs in quite a punch with all these cores. Along with that, it also has 24 processing threads.
So, you can expect quite the processing power from this one CPU. It would work perfectly with your 1080 Ti. And most importantly, you won't find any kind of bottlenecking with this one.
Moreover, when it comes to the present games, you can expect 100+ fps while you play. So, this processor would be perfect for gamers who play in the competitive lobby since every millisecond matters in those cases.
Other than that, the processor also comes with a Wraith Prism RGB cooler which adds to both temperature control and aesthetics.
Additionally, this one is also packed with an internal graphics chip as a backup. So, we would definitely recommend this to someone who's looking for a proper performance boost.
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This is another entry by none other than Intel to match the likes of the Ryzen 9 3900X. Moreover, the 9th generation of Intel CPUs packs in some extra punch compared to its predecessors. So, let's check out the features that this one sports to surprise us.
For starters, the CPU has 8 cores for smooth processes and 16 threads to support these cores. With a base clock speed of 3.60 GHz, it has a maximum clock speed of 5.00 GHz.
Moreover, it also happens to have a 16 MB cache that makes processing all the faster.
But this CPU doesn't have any integrated graphics. So, it'll do perfectly with your Nvidia 1080 Ti. Other than that, the Intel Core i9 9900KF also has a maximum temperature of a 100-degree Celsius. So, we can say that this CPU checks most of the boxes off for us.
Even though compared to AMD's Ryzen 9 3900X it falls off a bit short, the component definitely is an overall beast. That's why it made it to our list here.
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For our last entry, we have one of Intel's X-series processors. These are a bit better than the one we mentioned a while ago. But we have a compromise in maximum clock speed. But other than that, we have a complete beast in our hands. So, let's check out the features that this one has to offer.
For starters, the Intel Core i9-9820X has 10 cores to support your processing needs. So, you can expect a seamless experience with your 1080 Ti when you play even the most graphically taxing AAA games. Along with that, it also has 20 threads for more efficient processing.
Moreover, the base clock speed is 3.30 GHz, which can be boosted to as much as 4.10 GHz. Along with all that it also has DDR4 2666MHz RAM support.
But unfortunately, it doesn't really support 3200 MHz RAMs. So, that's the only drawback that we faced with this one. But other than that, we would definitely recommend it.
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| Name of Processor | Number of Cores | Number of Threads | Maximum Clock Speed (GHz) |
| AMD Ryzen 5 3600 6-Core, 12-Thread Unlocked Desktop Processor | 6 | 12 | 4.2 |
| Intel Core i7-9700K Desktop Processor 8 Cores up to 4.9 GHz LGA1151 | 8 | 8 | 4.9 |
| AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 12-core, 24-thread Unlocked Desktop Processor | 12 | 24 | 4.6 |
| Intel BX80684I99900KF Intel Core i9-9900KF Desktop Processor | 8 | 16 | 5.0 |
| Intel Core i9-9820X X-Series Processor | 10 | 20 | 4.1 |
Now that you have checked out all the reviews, we'd like to point out some things that you should look out for when you buy a CPU to back your GTX 1080 Ti. There are a couple of things here, so you might want to sit tight because this might take a while. So, here we go:
The first thing to look out for is the brand. This definitely matters. Since brands are overtaking each other again and again, and by brands, we mean Intel and AMD, you should keep an eye on the market.
For example, AMD trumped Intel in 2020 when it came to performance. So, this should be a concern.
Once you have chosen your brand, it's time to find out which kind of motherboard you need for it. Motherboards that support Intel will not support AMD CPUs and vice versa.
In this case, the socket matters. So, keep an eye on the kind of socket your motherboard has or the kind of socket that your CPU needs. Also remember that, in your case, you will need to get a proper motherboard for 1080 Ti as well.
The next thing to look at is the number of cores that your CPU has. The greater the number, the better. The reason behind this is that the more cores there are, the greater number of processes your CPU can pull off simultaneously.
So, remember that the CPU with the highest number of cores wins most of the time.
The next thing to consider is how fast the clocks of your CPU run. Now, the higher the base clock speed, the better your minimum performance.
But, never forget about maximum clock speed because these speeds fluctuate during use and you can even boost your CPU clocks to run at the maximum speed when needed.
Since we were talking about clock speeds, now let's discuss overclocking. Sometimes, you can increase the speed of your CPU beyond the normal maximum clock speed if it is unlocked. Only unlocked CPUs can be boosted. So, if you need to overclock your CPU, keep your eyes peeled for this feature.
The next thing that you should consider is the generation of your CPU. The higher the generation of your CPU, the better it is and the more expensive it gets.
So, you should check the kind that does the job for you, otherwise, your CPU might end up bottlenecking your GPU, which is not ideal at all.
Now, in your case, this factor is not that important since you are looking for something to back your 1080 Ti, but it's nice to have a backup in case your GPU fails during a dire moment. So, try looking for a CPU that has graphics cards integrated into them.
Additionally, you should also keep an eye on the maximum temperature of the CPUs that you choose to purchase. This is something most people forget to consider when buying a CPU. Now, this is important because when your CPU heats up, it doesn't work that well. So, the lower the max temperature, the better.
Lastly, you should take into account the kind of work you want to pull off with your CPU. There are ones that are better for games and there are ones that are better for workstations as well. If you don't check this out, you're bound to make the wrong decision. So, definitely don't forget this one.
Both the GTX 1080 and 1080 Ti are amazing GPUs brought out by Nvidia. Most importantly, they revolutionized the world of consumer graphics one and for all.
Ever since their release, we have not looked back. So, what's so amazing about these two graphics cards, and which one is better? Well, let's take a look, shall we?
The GTX 1080 by Nvidia was the first of its kind. It changed the way we use graphics cards in such a way that we have had no need to look back ever since.
This flagship graphics card was built on a 16 nm process and was made based on NVidia's revolutionary architecture, 'Pascal'. This was the absolute game-changer.
With the GTX 980, Nvidia was having trouble bridging the gaps in the world of graphics and gaming when it came to graphical processing power.
But, with the 1080, they cracked the code and came up as strong as even possible. This one was crowned the new king of gaming graphics.
Now, this beast is capable of running all the modern AAA titles at Full HD and even at 2K in some cases. But it does not support 4K.
The whole thing comes packing 2560 CUDA cores, 8 GB of DDR5X video memory, and 160 texture units. The GPU clocked at 1733 MHZ. The GTX 1080 CPU requirements weren't much as well.
There wasn't much to ask for back then. It had it all.
The 1080 Ti, on the other hand, had much more to offer. Nvidia had already cracked the code and was ready to let us have the best that technology has to offer.
And that is how they pulled off making the great 1080 Ti. This one packs in more of a punch, which was unheard of when it first came out.
The graphics card featured 3584 CUDA cores, way more than what the 1080 had, and a base clock of 1480 MHz. Moreover, the GTX 1080 Ti also bragged a whopping 11 GB of DDR5X video memory with a 352-bit memory bus. This means that this card was crazy fast.
But, the one feature that overshadows the 1080 is the fact that the 1080 Ti can run games at 4K while having significant framerates. So, with time Nvidia added more power to these cards. But one thing is certain that the GTX 1080 Ti was a major step up for Nvidia.
So, the GTX 1080 Ti wins the fight with its superior specs and performance abilities.
The CPU will most definitely influence your gaming performance. Games render using both the CPU and the GPU. So, without the power of one, the other will surely fail. So, CPUs are pretty important here.
Overclocking will provide an increase in FPS, but it will be very small. But this effect becomes less impactful as the resolution increases further. So, overclocking the CPU just to get a few extra frames is not that feasible.
Yes, the CPU does bottleneck the GPU. The CPU and GPU work in harmony when it comes to rendering a graphic. So, if the CPU falls short while performing, so will the GPU.
You can easily repair your CPU by soldering spare pins onto the broken ones. But only do so if you're skilled with a soldering iron. Otherwise, we would not recommend doing so.
The CPU processes data and stores the temporary memory on the RAM while doing so. But if the RAM is not sufficient, then the process becomes slower and that's why we face lag issues.
That's all we had about the best CPU for 1080 Ti. Now, we would like you to put all this information to good use and make a proper decision regarding the processor you'd like to buy. All of these choices are good, but you should take other factors into account while choosing one.
Now, we always appreciate feedback from our readers. So, if you feel like we left something out or there's some other topic that you want us to cover, then feel free to reach out. Other than that, good luck getting a CPU perfect for your 1080 Ti.
Intel BX80684I99900KF Intel Core i9-9900KF Desktop Processor 8 Cores up to 5.0 GHz Turbo - Walmart, Etsy, eBay
Intel Core i7-9700K Desktop Processor 8 Cores up to 3.6 GHz Turbo unlocked LGA1151 300 - Walmart, Etsy, eBay
AMD Ryzen 5 3600 6-Core, 12-Thread Unlocked Desktop Processor with Wraith Stealth Cooler - Walmart, Etsy, Ebay
AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 12-core, 24-thread unlocked desktop processor with Wraith Prism LED - Walmart, Etsy, eBay
Intel Core i9-9820X X-Series Processor 10 Cores up to 4.1GHz Turbo Unlocked LGA2066 X299 - Walmart, Etsy, eBay
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About Malcolm Woods
Malcolm Woods is a blogger who enjoys writing about technology and solar power. He has a passion for learning new things, and loves to share his knowledge with others. Malcolm is also an advocate for sustainable living, and believes that everyone has a responsibility to do their part in preserving our planet.
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