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What CPU do you need for GeForce GTX 1070

CPU picks for GeForce GTX 1070 based on the FPSHQ unified FPS model: how many frames the CPU costs in demanding games, where overpaying starts, and expected FPS in popular games.

Short answer

Core i7-2600 is enough for GeForce GTX 1070: the CPU costs about 9% of frames in demanding games (1080p). The balanced pick is Core i7-7700 (3% loss). From Core i7-7700K on it is overkill — GeForce GTX 1070 won't deliver more FPS.

Key numbers
GeForce GTX 1070 FPS without a CPU limit (1080p, demanding games)53 FPS
“Unlocks” threshold — CPU gaming score2,300 / 10 000
Overkill threshold — CPU gaming score3,400 / 10 000
TDP GeForce GTX 1070150 W
PSU for GeForce GTX 1070 + Core i7-7700from 400 W
data updated · Sources: methodology, bottleneck calculation, FPS model, PSU calculation

Three options: minimum, balanced, headroom

minimum Optimal
48FPS · 1080p
9%FPS loss
GPU utilisation: 91%
Price: —
balanced Optimal
51FPS · 1080p
3%FPS loss
GPU utilisation: 97%
Price: —
headroom Overkill
52FPS · 1080p
2%FPS loss
GPU utilisation: 98%
Price: —

CPU scale for GeForce GTX 1070

Axis — FPSHQ CPU gaming score (0–10,000). Red — the CPU costs 10% of frames or more, green — optimal, yellow — CPU headroom GeForce GTX 1070 can no longer use (1080p).

BottleneckOverkillCore i7-2600Core i7-7700Ryzen 5 5600Core i5-12400FRyzen 7 7800X3D010,000

CPU ranking for GeForce GTX 1070

From “almost unlocks” to “overkill”: average FPS in demanding games (1080p, high) and the share of frames lost to the CPU.

CPU Year Socket FPS FPS loss Verdict Price
Core i5-2500 2011 LGA1155 47
11%
 Bottleneck —
Xeon E5-2695 v2 2013 LGA2011 47
11%
 Bottleneck —
Core i3-7100 2017 LGA1151 47
10%
 Bottleneck —
Core i5-2500K 2011 LGA1155 47
10%
 Bottleneck —
Core i5-3330 2012 LGA1155 47
10%
 Bottleneck —
Xeon E5-2680 v2 2013 LGA2011 48
10%
 Optimal —
Xeon E5-2683 v3 2014 LGA2011-3 48
9%
 Optimal —
Core i5-3550 2012 LGA1155 48
8%
 Optimal —
Core i5-3570 2012 LGA1155 49
7%
 Optimal —
Core i5-6400 2015 LGA1151 49
7%
 Optimal —
Xeon E5-2695 v4 2016 LGA2011-3 49
6%
 Optimal —
Xeon E5-2640 v4 2016 LGA2011-3 50
6%
 Optimal —
Ryzen 5 1500X 2017 AM4 50
6%
 Optimal —
Core i7-4790 2014 LGA1150 50
5%
 Optimal —
Ryzen 5 3400G 2019 AM4 50
5%
 Optimal —
Ryzen 5 1600X 2017 AM4 51
4%
 Optimal —
Xeon E5-2697 v4 2016 LGA2011-3 51
4%
 Optimal —
Xeon E5-2699 v3 2014 LGA2011-3 51
3%
 Optimal —
Ryzen 5 2600 2018 AM4 51
3%
 Optimal —
Ryzen 7 2700 2018 AM4 51
3%
 Overkill —
Ryzen 5 2600X 2018 AM4 51
3%
 Overkill —
Ryzen 3 3100 2019 AM4 52
2%
 Overkill —
Ryzen 7 2700X 2018 AM4 52
2%
 Overkill —
Core i7-7700K 2017 LGA1151 52
2%
 Overkill —

FPS is the average across demanding games, high settings, 1080p; loss is the share of GPU frames taken away by the CPU (up to 144 FPS). No fresh store prices (last 30 days) in our database yet — prices are not shown.

Will a popular CPU unlock GeForce GTX 1070?

CPUs most often searched together with graphics cards (Yandex queries) — average FPS in demanding games with GeForce GTX 1070.

Ryzen 7 5700X53 FPSCore i5-12400F53 FPSRyzen 7 7800X3D53 FPSRyzen 5 560053 FPSRyzen 5 7500F53 FPSRyzen 5 5600X53 FPSRyzen 5 360052 FPSRyzen 5 550052 FPSRyzen 7 9800X3D53 FPSCore i5-14400F53 FPSCore i5-10400F52 FPSCore i3-12100F53 FPS
GeForce GTX 1070 + Ryzen 7 5700X Overkill GeForce GTX 1070 + Core i5-12400F Overkill GeForce GTX 1070 + Ryzen 7 7800X3D Overkill GeForce GTX 1070 + Ryzen 5 5600 Overkill GeForce GTX 1070 + Ryzen 5 7500F Overkill GeForce GTX 1070 + Ryzen 5 5600X Overkill GeForce GTX 1070 + Ryzen 5 3600 Overkill GeForce GTX 1070 + Ryzen 5 5500 Overkill GeForce GTX 1070 + Ryzen 7 9800X3D Overkill GeForce GTX 1070 + Core i5-14400F Overkill GeForce GTX 1070 + Core i5-10400F Overkill GeForce GTX 1070 + Core i3-12100F Overkill

GeForce GTX 1070 FPS with different CPUs in popular games

FPSHQ unified model forecast, high settings; ● — real measurement, “CPU” — CPU-bound.

GameCore i7-2600 · minimum
1080p		Core i7-7700 · balanced
1080p		Core i7-7700K · headroom
1080p
Cyberpunk 2077373838
Counter-Strike 2164 CPU194 CPU199 CPU
Dota 2173 CPU217 CPU225 CPU
Minecraft132 CPU146 CPU148
Grand Theft Auto V78 CPU8788
League of Legends78 CPU91 CPU93 CPU
Elden Ring43 CPU4445
Grand Theft Auto IV42 CPU4444

Average FPS, High preset. ● — real measurement (0 of 24 cells), the rest is the unified FPSHQ model; "CPU" — CPU-limited. How FPS is calculated

How resolution shifts the load: GeForce GTX 1070 + Core i7-7700

The higher the resolution, the more work for the GPU and the smaller the CPU’s impact (average FPS in demanding games).

51FPS
1080p
CPU loss: 3%
37FPS
1440p
CPU loss: 0%
18FPS
4K
CPU loss: 0%

Popular CPU upgrades

⬆
Core i5-12400F → Ryzen 7 7800X3D
⬆
Ryzen 5 5600 → Core i7-14700K
⬆
Ryzen 7 5700X → Ryzen 7 7700X
⬆
Core i5-12400F → Core i5-13400F
⬆
Core i3-12100F → Core i5-12400F
⬆
Ryzen 7 7800X3D → Ryzen 7 9800X3D
⇢
All CPU upgrades

Key figures

Unique FPSHQ metrics from this page's data

53 FPS
GeForce GTX 1070 FPS without a CPU limit (1080p, demanding games)
2,300 / 10 000
“Unlocks” threshold — CPU gaming score
3,400 / 10 000
Overkill threshold — CPU gaming score
150 W
TDP GeForce GTX 1070
from 400 W
PSU for GeForce GTX 1070 + Core i7-7700
In short

What CPU do you need for GeForce GTX 1070

The minimum that is enough is Core i7-2600 (about 9% loss), the balanced pick is Core i7-7700 (3% loss). Core i7-7700K and faster is overkill: less than 3% more FPS.

GeForce GTX 1070 FPS without a CPU limit (1080p, demanding games)
53 FPS
“Unlocks” threshold — CPU gaming score
2,300 / 10 000
Overkill threshold — CPU gaming score
3,400 / 10 000
TDP GeForce GTX 1070
150 W
updated · source: FPSHQ model estimate

Frequently asked questions

What CPU do I need for GeForce GTX 1070?
The minimum that is enough is Core i7-2600 (about 9% loss), the balanced pick is Core i7-7700 (3% loss). Core i7-7700K and faster is overkill: less than 3% more FPS.
Will Ryzen 7 5700X bottleneck GeForce GTX 1070?
No, with plenty of headroom: Ryzen 7 5700X is faster than GeForce GTX 1070 needs (0% loss, 53 FPS at 1080p).
What power supply do I need for GeForce GTX 1070 and Core i7-7700?
400 W or more: about 305 W load, short spikes up to 365 W (FPSHQ unified PSU formula).
Why is the bottleneck judged on demanding games?
In esports titles running at 300+ FPS any CPU becomes the limit, so we judge GPU utilisation on popular demanding games (Cyberpunk 2077, Elden Ring, Grand Theft Auto IV, Max Payne 3) at 1080p, up to 144 FPS — a typical gaming monitor refresh rate.

Related calculations

Method: FPS — FPSHQ unified model (real measurements + regression), CPU limit — by CPU gaming score, resolution — by GPU class. methodology