Which graphics card suits Core i5-2500K
Which GPU Core i5-2500K can fully unlock and where you start overpaying for the graphics card — FPSHQ unified FPS model in demanding games.
Short answer
Core i5-2500K unlocks graphics cards up to the GeForce GTX 1660 Super level (about 9% CPU loss). The optimal no-waste pick is Radeon RX 580. GPUs faster than GeForce GTX 1660 Super will be held back by the CPU — you would pay for frames you never get.
| Core i5-2500K gaming score | 2,250 / 10 000 |
|---|---|
| Cores / threads | 4 / 4 |
| Socket | LGA1155 |
| Fastest GPU without loss | GeForce GTX 1660 Super |
| PSU for Radeon RX 580 + Core i5-2500K | from 500 W |
Three options: minimum, balanced, headroom
Graphics cards on the scale for Core i5-2500K
Each dot is a graphics card (axis — FPSHQ GPU performance score, 0–10,000). Green — optimal, red — Core i5-2500K won’t unlock it, yellow — the CPU has lots of headroom. Resolution follows the GPU class.
Graphics card ranking for Core i5-2500K
Average FPS in demanding games (high) at the GPU-class resolution and the share of frames lost to the CPU.
| Graphics card | Year | Resolution | FPS | FPS loss | Verdict | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GeForce RTX 3050 | 2022 | 1080p | 51 | 14% |
Bottlenecked (overpaying for GPU) | — |
| GeForce GTX 1080 | 2016 | 1080p | 51 | 14% |
Bottlenecked (overpaying for GPU) | — |
| GeForce GTX 1070 Ti | 2016 | 1080p | 50 | 13% |
Bottlenecked (overpaying for GPU) | — |
| Radeon RX 5600 XT | 2020 | 1080p | 49 | 12% |
Bottlenecked (overpaying for GPU) | — |
| GeForce GTX 1070 | 2016 | 1080p | 47 | 10% |
Bottlenecked (overpaying for GPU) | — |
| GeForce GTX 1660 Super | 2019 | 1080p | 46 | 9% |
Optimal | — |
| GeForce GTX 1660 Ti | 2019 | 1080p | 44 | 7% |
Optimal | — |
| GeForce GTX 1660 | 2019 | 1080p | 42 | 6% |
Optimal | — |
| Radeon RX Vega 64 | 2017 | 1080p | 42 | 6% |
Optimal | — |
| GeForce GTX 1060 6GB | 2016 | 1080p | 38 | 4% |
Optimal | — |
| GeForce GTX 980 Ti | 2014 | 1080p | 38 | 4% |
Optimal | — |
| Radeon RX 5500 XT | 2019 | 1080p | 38 | 4% |
Optimal | — |
| Radeon RX Vega 56 | 2017 | 1080p | 38 | 4% |
Optimal | — |
| Radeon RX 6500 XT | 2022 | 1080p | 35 | 4% |
Optimal | — |
| GeForce GTX 1650 Super | 2019 | 1080p | 35 | 3% |
Optimal | — |
| Radeon RX 590 | 2017 | 1080p | 36 | 3% |
Optimal | — |
| Intel Arc A380 | 2022 | 1080p | 34 | 2% |
CPU headroom | — |
| GeForce GTX 980 | 2014 | 1080p | 33 | 2% |
CPU headroom | — |
| Radeon RX 5500 | 2019 | 1080p | 33 | 2% |
CPU headroom | — |
| Radeon RX 580 | 2017 | 1080p | 34 | 3% |
CPU headroom | — |
| GeForce GTX 1060 3GB | 2016 | 1080p | 34 | 3% |
Optimal | — |
| Radeon RX 480 | 2016 | 1080p | 30 | 1% |
CPU headroom | — |
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.
Popular graphics cards with Core i5-2500K
Most searched graphics cards (Yandex queries) — average FPS in demanding games with Core i5-2500K.
FPS with Core i5-2500K and different graphics cards in popular games
FPSHQ unified model forecast, high settings; ● — real measurement, “CPU” — CPU-bound.
| Game | Radeon RX 580 · minimum 1080p | GeForce GTX 1660 Super · maximum 1080p |
|---|---|---|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 25 | 35 |
| Counter-Strike 2 | 130 CPU | 155 CPU |
| Dota 2 | 145 CPU | 163 CPU |
| Minecraft | 97 | 125 CPU |
| Grand Theft Auto V | 58 | 74 CPU |
| League of Legends | 61 CPU | 73 CPU |
| Elden Ring | 30 | 41 CPU |
| Grand Theft Auto IV | 29 | 40 CPU |
Average FPS, High preset. ● — real measurement (0 of 16 cells), the rest is the unified FPSHQ model; "CPU" — CPU-limited. How FPS is calculated
How resolution shifts the load: Radeon RX 580 + Core i5-2500K
The higher the resolution, the more work for the GPU and the smaller the CPU’s impact (average FPS in demanding games).
Key figures
Unique FPSHQ metrics from this page's data
Which graphics card suits Core i5-2500K
The fastest card Core i5-2500K still unlocks is GeForce GTX 1660 Super (about 9% loss); the optimal pick is Radeon RX 580. Faster cards will be held back by the CPU.
- Core i5-2500K gaming score
- 2,250 / 10 000
- Cores / threads
- 4 / 4
- Socket
- LGA1155
- Fastest GPU without loss
- GeForce GTX 1660 Super
Frequently asked questions
Which graphics card suits Core i5-2500K?
Will Core i5-2500K bottleneck GeForce RTX 5060?
What power supply do I need for Radeon RX 580 and Core i5-2500K?
Why is the bottleneck judged on demanding games?
Related calculations
- Core i5-2500K specs →
- CPU for Radeon RX 580 →
- CPU for Radeon RX 580 →
- Graphics card for Core i3-7100 →
- Graphics card for Core i5-2500 →
- Graphics card for Xeon E5-2680 v2 →
- Graphics card for Core i5-4430 →
- Which graphics card suits your CPU →
- Gaming PC builds by budget →
Method: FPS — FPSHQ unified model (real measurements + regression), CPU limit — by CPU gaming score, resolution — by GPU class. methodology