I. Preface
In previous articles, I have already shared gaming tests using the Core i5-12400F and Ryzen 5 7500F paired with the Radeon RX 9070 XT. The results showed that both setups were somewhat strained, experiencing performance bottlenecks that prevented the graphics card from reaching its full potential.
Today, I will share gaming test results using another classic model, the Core i5-14600K, paired with the Radeon RX 9070 XT. Based on common sense, this combination is expected to perform well, with no bottlenecks and the GPU able to fully demonstrate its capabilities. Therefore, the key point of this test is to evaluate whether the Core i5-14600K in this configuration performs easily, moderately, or with some difficulty.
II. Specifications Review
The Core i5-14600K was released on October 17, 2023. It is based on Intel’s 10nm process, with 6 performance cores and 8 efficiency cores, totaling 14 cores and 20 threads. It has a base frequency of 3.5GHz and a maximum boost frequency of 5.3GHz.
It comes with 20MB of L2 cache and 24MB of shared smart cache. Its standard power consumption is 125W, with a suggested retail price of $319. The current market price is around 2,600 RMB.
The Radeon RX 9070 XT was released on March 6, 2025, featuring the Navi 48 GPU and manufactured with TSMC’s 4nm process. It has 4,096 shaders, 256 texture units, 128 ROPs, 64 compute units, and 128 tensor cores. The L2 cache is 8MB and the L3 cache is 64MB.
Its base clock is 1660MHz, and the boost clock reaches up to 2970MHz. The memory bus width is 256-bit, with 16GB of GDDR6 memory running at 20.1Gbps, offering a bandwidth of 644.6GB/s. Power consumption is 304W, and it is priced at $599.
III. Test Platform Configuration
The main specifications are as follows:
The processor is a Core i5-14600K, the motherboard is an MSI Z790 Gaming Plus WIFI, memory is 32GB DDR5-6000, the graphics card is a Radeon RX 9070 XT 16GB, and the storage is a Lexar NM790 2TB SSD.
IV. Game Testing (i5 14600K With RX 9070 XT)
The following tests cover seven games, all conducted at 1080P resolution.
Game 1: Alan Wake 2
Average FPS: 125
Minimum 1% FPS: 109
Frame time: 9.0ms
CPU usage: 20%
CPU power: 74W
CPU temperature: 49°C
Memory usage: 9.2GB
GPU usage: 96%
VRAM usage: 8.3GB
GPU power: 301W
GPU temperature: 49°C
In this game, CPU usage is around 20%, very relaxed. Memory usage is just over 9GB. GPU is near full load with VRAM usage just above 8GB.
Average FPS exceeds 120, minimum 1% FPS is over 100, and frame time is about 9ms—very smooth with full GPU performance and relaxed CPU.
Game 2: Cyberpunk 2077
Average FPS: 126
Minimum 1% FPS: 97
Frame time: 8.2ms
CPU usage: 64%
CPU power: 110W
CPU temperature: 62°C
Memory usage: 11.3GB
GPU usage: 100%
VRAM usage: 8.4GB
GPU power: 301W
GPU temperature: 54°C
CPU usage is about 64%, slightly high but not stressful. Memory usage is over 11GB. GPU is fully loaded, with VRAM usage just above 8GB.
Average FPS exceeds 120, minimum 1% FPS over 90, frame time around 8ms—very smooth with no bottlenecks.
Game 3: God of War
Average FPS: 206
Minimum 1% FPS: 159
Frame time: 5.8ms
CPU usage: 31%
CPU power: 116W
CPU temperature: 68°C
Memory usage: 13.9GB
GPU usage: 97%
VRAM usage: 8.1GB
GPU power: 278W
GPU temperature: 56°C
CPU usage around 30%, very relaxed. Memory usage around 14GB. GPU is near full load with VRAM usage about 8GB.
Average FPS exceeds 200, minimum 1% FPS over 150, frame time around 6ms—GPU performance is fully utilized with no weaknesses.
Game 4: Ghostwire: Tokyo
Average FPS: 165
Minimum 1% FPS: 137
Frame time: 6.0ms
CPU usage: 21%
CPU power: 88W
CPU temperature: 54°C
Memory usage: 10.7GB
GPU usage: 99%
VRAM usage: 6.4GB
GPU power: 302W
GPU temperature: 54°C
CPU usage around 20%, very relaxed. Memory usage between 10GB and 11GB. GPU is nearly fully loaded, VRAM usage just over 6GB.
Average FPS exceeds 160, minimum 1% FPS over 130, frame time around 6ms—very smooth with fully utilized GPU and relaxed CPU.
Game 5: Silent Hill 2
Average FPS: 86
Minimum 1% FPS: 69
Frame time: 12.0ms
CPU usage: 17%
CPU power: 64W
CPU temperature: 48°C
Memory usage: 9.3GB
GPU usage: 99%
VRAM usage: 7.9GB
GPU power: 304W
GPU temperature: 55°C
CPU usage below 20%, very relaxed. Memory usage just over 9GB. GPU near full load, VRAM around 8GB.
Average FPS over 80, minimum 1% FPS over 60, frame time around 12ms—very smooth with no weak points.
Game 6: Black Myth: Wukong
Average FPS: 66
Minimum 1% FPS: 52
Frame time: 15.8ms
CPU usage: 19%
CPU power: 69W
CPU temperature: 47°C
Memory usage: 18.2GB
GPU usage: 100%
VRAM usage: 9.1GB
GPU power: 306W
GPU temperature: 55°C
CPU usage around 20%, very relaxed. Memory usage just over 18GB. GPU fully loaded, VRAM around 9GB.
Average FPS over 60, minimum 1% FPS around 50, frame time around 16ms—fairly smooth, with full GPU utilization and relaxed CPU.
Game 7: The Last of Us Part II
Average FPS: 178
Minimum 1% FPS: 145
Frame time: 5.9ms
CPU usage: 70%
CPU power: 113W
CPU temperature: 60°C
Memory usage: 22.3GB
GPU usage: 99%
VRAM usage: 9.5GB
GPU power: 270W
GPU temperature: 53°C
CPU usage is about 70%, slightly high but not struggling. Memory usage just over 22GB. GPU near full load, VRAM between 9GB and 10GB.
Average FPS over 170, minimum 1% FPS over 140, frame time around 6ms—very smooth with no major weak points except moderately high CPU load.
V. Test Conclusion
Overall, in all the game tests, the Radeon RX 9070 XT maintained a usage rate above 90%, indicating that its performance was fully utilized with no bottlenecks. Additionally, among the seven games tested, only two showed CPU usage exceeding 60%, with none reaching 80%.
In summary, the final conclusion of this article is: the configuration of Core i5-14600K + Radeon RX 9070 XT presents no bottlenecks, and the graphics card’s performance can be fully utilized. For the Core i5-14600K, it handles the setup “quite effortlessly.” In other words, if you are currently using the Core i5-14600K and considering upgrading your graphics card to the Radeon RX 9070 XT, there is no need for concern or hesitation.
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