If you’re looking for the best graphics card to go with your Ryzen 9 5900X or 5950X CPU, then we have you covered right here.
The two CPUs come with 16 cores and 32 threads, so you can expect smooth performance for demanding tasks like gaming, streaming, and video editing. They also have high clock speeds, which should deliver great framerates for most titles.
And when it comes to powerhouse CPUs, selecting the right GPU is important. So when considering the best GPU for the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X and 5950X, we’ve focused on parings for the best performance. As you set out to build a system capable of heavy-duty productivity tasks and high-end gaming, the right GPU will make all the difference. The powerful CPUs we’re looking at here need the right GPU support, which is exactly what we want to ensure you have.
This article seeks to guide you through choosing the right GPU for these Ryzen 9 workhorses. It focuses on performance, compatibility, longevity, and price points, as aim is to help you balance power and value while maximizing the potential of your processor.
Products at a glance
- Best GPU for Ryzen 9 5900X and 5950X
ASUS TUF Gaming RTX 4070 Super OC Edition
- GPU: AD104
- CUDA cores: 7,168
- VRAM: 12GB GDDR6X
- Bandwidth: 504 GB/s
- Memory bus width: 192-bit
- Boost clock speed: 2595 MHz
- Best AMD GPU for Ryzen 9 5900X and 5950X
AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT
- Best 1440p GPU for 5900X and 5950X
ASUS ROG Strix NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 OC Edition
- GPU: GA102
- CUDA cores: 8,704
- VRAM: 10GB GDDR6X
- Bandwidth: 760.3 GB/s
- Memory bus width: 320-bit
- Base clock speed : 1440 MHz
- Best high-end GPU for 5900X and 5950X
Sapphire Radeon RX 7900 XT
- GPU: Navi 31
- Stream Processors: 5,376
- VRAM: 20GB GDDR6
- Memory bus: 320-bit
- Base clock speed: 1,387 MHz
- Game Clock speed: 2.2025 MHz
How we selected the Best GPU for 5900X and 5950X
We’ve spent hours testing the Ryzen 9 5900X, so check out our review for our overall thoughts. Using this knowledge, and the differences between it and the 5950X, To select the best GPU for these two processors, we looked at the specifications of each GPU available today, considering performance, cooling technology, compatibility with CPU, motherboard, and monitor, and market price too.
Using our expertise and benchmarks of the processor and considered graphics cards – including Nvidia Ti and Super variants – we’ve compiled a comprehensive and unbiased evaluation of each GPU. We’ve given considerable weight to the GPUs’ real-world performance in games and productivity too, since synthetic benchmarks are useful but do not always accurately reflect a GPU’s performance.
AMD’s Zen 3 stand-out chips deserve the best pairings out there, and they’re highly-capable options, so you’ll find no GTX cards here, nor older AMD or low-end options (although we have considered budget constraints).
One final thing: while this guide is targeted towards more specific CPU and GPU pairings, if you still need oa motherboard, check out our best motherboard for Ryzen 9 5900X guide. And if you’re still undecided on which GPU to buy, check out our overall best graphics card article. Or if you want a system that is capable of beyond Full HD 1080p gaming, check out our best GPU for 1440p 144Hz gaming.
- GPU: AD104
- CUDA cores: 7,168
- VRAM: 12GB GDDR6X
- Bandwidth: 504 GB/s
- Memory bus width: 192-bit
- Boost clock speed: 2595 MHz
- Able to deliver smooth 1440p and 4K gaming
- Excellent pairing option for content creation, editing and encoding
- Impressive power efficiency given its capabilities
- May be overkill for users not wanting 4K
- Expensive owing to being Nvidia’s ‘second best’ 40-series GPU
If you’re looking for the best NVIDIA GPU for Ryzen 9 5000-series chips, then we think the NVIDIA RTX 4070 Super is a strong mid-range choice.
The RTX 4070 Super comes with 7168 CUDA cores, which is 1280 cores more than the base model GeForce RTX 4070. Of course, if you go for tweaked versions from other manufacturers, like the ASUS TUF GeForce RTX 4070 Super OC here, then clock speeds will be different. This specific model ramps up to 2,475 Mhz as an OC model, which can deliver better performance overall.
In our 4070 Super review, the card proved it can deliver great framerates with 2K and even work well in 4K resolutions. For instance, Assassin’s Creed Mirage and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora both delivered 119fps and 80fps, respectively, at 1440p. The same games were playable at 4K with average framerates.
However, if you want to experience more 4K gaming, then the newer RTX 4070 Ti Super may be a better pick, although there is a clear additional cost of an extra $300 in terms of MSRP.
The RTX 4070 Super also works well in terms of productivity for video editing and rendering. Again, we wouldn’t recommend it for high-end creative work if that’s what you want to do with your system. But overall, it’s a well-priced and capable pairing.
What users say
On Amazon, the ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4070 Super OC has a rating of 4.7 stars, and over 500 people have reviewed it. Most customers shared positive reviews about the GPU’s performance, quality, and silent cooling. “The Asus Tuf RTX 4070 is incredible. Powerful, quiet, and built like a tank. It doesn’t heat up my case as a higher wattage card does and plays everything I have at 4k 60fps,” one of the customers wrote in a review. However, a few users mentioned that the card is big, so make sure your PC case can accommodate it.
- GPU: Navi 32
- Stream Processors: 3,840
- VRAM: 16 GDDR6
- Memory bus width: 256-bit
- Bandwidth: 624.1 GB/sec
- Base clock speed: 1,295 MHz
- Boost clock speed: 2,430 MHz
- Capable of smooth 4K and excellent 1440p resolution in gaming
- Even better value since its price drop from a high MSRP
- Top future-facing graphics card that will keep your system going for years
- Lacks Nvidia exclusive features like DLSS 3 and Nvenc encoding
- Power users would be better with the XTX variant
The RX 7800 XT GPU has been labeled as “the ultimate 1440p upgrade” by AMD, and it’s for all the right reasons.
The GPU comes with 3,840 Stream Processors, which is 386 processors more than its predecessor, RTX 7700. Further, you get a base clock speed of 1,295 MHz, which may not seem like a lot. However, you get a better game clock and boost clock speeds of 2,124 MHz and 2,430 MHz, respectively.
Coming to memory configuration, the card has 16GB GDDR6 VRAM on a 256-bit memory bus. In other words, you get plenty of VRAM to run graphically heavy games at 1080p and 1440p. Plus, you can also factor this in when you think of upgrading or future-proofing your build.
In our RX 7800 XT review, we found out that the GPU performance was great for 1440p (just like AMD advertised it). For instance, we played Cyberpunk 2077 at Ultra settings and managed to get 91 FPS for 1440p. However, the card struggled with 4K, so this is not the best card for that resolution.
Overall, the RX 7800 does what it promises – run games smoothly at 1440p. So if you want a reasonably priced card for 1440p, then this is a good pick for your setup.
What users say
On Amazon, GIGABYTE Radeon RX 7800 XT GPU has a rating of 4.5 stars, and more than 60 people have reviewed it. As per the customer reviews, people were happy with the quality and performance of the GPU. “Fantastic card, very quiet. Love that the single RGB element is the name on the side,” one of the customers said in a review.
- GPU: GA102
- CUDA cores: 8,704
- VRAM: 10GB GDDR6X
- Bandwidth: 760.3 GB/s
- Memory bus width: 320-bit
- Base clock speed : 1440 MHz
- Boost clock speed: 1905 MHz
- Great for 1440p gaming
- Good improvement over RTX 4070
- Works for 4K gaming with DLSS
- Better pricing compared to RTX 4070
- High power consumption
- Expensive for a mid-range GPU
The RTX 3080 is from NVIDIA’s last-gen RTX 30-series lineup, which was launched in 2020. Now, even though the card is a few years old, we think it holds up pretty well and does justice to demanding games.
Talking about RTX 3080 specifically, the card is built on the Ampere architecture, which was a big leap from the previous Turing architecture. So, if you’re looking to upgrade your GPU from an RTX 20-series or older, the RTX 3080 is a good tweak.
Coming to the specs, the RTX 3080 has 8,704 CUDA cores and delivers a base clock speed of 1440 MHz and a boost clock speed of 1905 MHz. Further, you get a 10GB GDDR6X VRAM with a 320-bit memory bus. All of these specs will give you an idea that the card is capable of handling demanding games at decent resolutions.
In our RTX 3080 review, we found out that the card delivered smooth performance across various resolutions. For example, we plated Warzone at max settings, and the card gave us 206 FPS at 1080p, 164 FPS at 1440p, and 108 FPS at 4K with DLSS disabled.
The framerates get impacted a bit when you enable ray tracing. But even with that, today’s top games, such as CS:GO, Dirt 5, Doom Eternal, and Fortnite, all of which are well above the 60fps mark with ray tracing enabled when playing natively in 2160p. Simply put, that’s impressive and means even without the bolstering of DLSS 3 Frame Generation, you’ll have a smooth gaming experience.
What users say
The ASUS ROG Strix NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 V2 GPU has a rating of 4.6 stars on Amazon, and more than 250 customers have reviewed it. “In conclusion, I believe this was a great bang for buck in the 30 series GPU’s. With prices coming down finally I suggest picking one up,” said one of the customers. While most customers were happy with the performance and build quality, a few complained about the card getting noisy under pressure.
- GPU: Navi 31
- Stream Processors: 5,376
- VRAM: 20GB GDDR6
- Memory bus: 320-bit
- Base clock speed: 1,387 MHz
- Game Clock speed: 2.2025 MHz
- Boost clock speed: 2,500 MHz
- Bandwidth: 800 GB/sec
- TDP: 300 W
- Affordable for tighter budgets and a step beyond RX 6000 series equivalent
- Offers good 1440p gaming and supports AMD FSR
- A bad pairing for full potential in 4K gaming with both CPUs
- Not for power users or professional content creators
If you want a high-end AMD GPU to pair with your Ryzen 9 5000-series processor, then you can consider the RX 7900 XT.
To start with, the GPU is built on the RDNA 3 architecture, which is a big jump from the RDNA 2 build – so you can expect better performance.
Coming to the RX 7900 XT specifically, the card comes with 5,376 Stream Processors, which is similar to CUDA cores in NVIDIA’s GPUs. The stream processors are the units that process graphics, so a higher count usually means better performance.
As far as memory is concerned, the GPU comes with a massive 20GB GDDR6 VRAM and a 320-bit memory bus. Now, a 20GB VRAM is a lot, so you can expect smooth performance across all resolutions. It also gives you scope for futureproofing your system.
In our RX 7900 XT review, we found that the GPU performs well for 1440p and 4K gaming and delivers good framerates. We played Assassin’s Creed Valhalla with DLSS disabled, and we managed to get 145 FPS at 1440p and 90 FPS for 4K. For more insights, you can check out our detailed RX 7900XT review.
Coming to advanced features, the card supports FSR for AI upscaling, the newer AV1 codec for content creators, is fairly modestly sized (next to Nvidia’s top-tier options), and skips 1440p and 4K gaming along without issue.
Overall, we think this is a good choice for gamers who want a premium AMD GPU for their build – especially if you consider the price drop.
What users say
The Sapphire Pulse AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT GPU has a rating of 4.5 stars, and over 140 people have reviewed it. Most of the reviews spoke positively about performance, quality, and value. “This is it. If you want the best bang-for-your-buck high-end card in the current gen, this right here is the one to buy. Anything else is either inferior performance or grossly overpriced,” a customer wrote in a review.
Features and considerations
Both the Ryzen 9 5000-series processors are high-performance CPUs that can handle demanding tasks effortlessly. So, it’s essential to pair them with a GPU that can keep up. The GPU’s performance becomes a significant factor here.
Frame rates
Any GPU should be able to handle high frame rates in games at high settings and resolution, as well as demanding graphics-related tasks. Ryzen 9 CPUs are the elite of AMD’s offerings, and even the 5000 series Ryzen 9s are very capable. More powerful GPUs will drive more value from these processors.
Power changes
Adding a new GPU to a system will always be the deciding factor in the PSU you need. Whether you’re upgrading to a new GPU to pair with your processor or building a new system altogether, check out a PSU calculator like this one from BeQuiet!
Cooling
A powerful GPU generates a significant amount of heat, so a good cooling mechanism is vital to ensure the GPU’s longevity and stable performance. Consider the GPU’s cooling technology, whether it’s air or liquid cooling, the size and quality of the fans, and the overall design for heat dissipation. It may be worth adding additional fans into your case to ensure a good flow of cool air.
Is the Ryzen 9 5900X a high-end CPU?
Yes, the Ryzen 9 5900X is indeed a high-end CPU. It’s a part of AMD’s flagship Zen 3 architecture, offering 12 cores and 24 threads, making it ideal for both high-end gaming and professional workloads. Its impressive multi-threaded performance and power efficiency make it a fantastic choice for anyone seeking top-tier processing power.
