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Core i5-13600K with RX 9060 XT 16GB: Bottleneck & FPS

At 1440p, a Core i5-13600K + RX 9060 XT 16GB build averages about 71 FPS in AAA games at High settings, with 1% lows near 55 FPS: heavily GPU-limited. The RX 9060 XT 16GB is the limiting part at every resolution, so the 14-core Core i5-13600K (LGA1700) still has headroom for about 146 FPS and room for a faster card later. In esports titles such as CS2 or Valorant expect around 226 FPS, enough for a 144 Hz monitor, while CPU-heavy games like Microsoft Flight Simulator drop to about 77 FPS. Ray tracing costs this AMD card more than an equivalent NVIDIA GPU: about 35 FPS with RT on at 1440p.

Processor
Intel Core i5-13600K
14 cores / 20 threads · LGA1700 · 2022
Graphics card
AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB
16 GB VRAM · Ray tracing ✓ · 2025

1440p (2560×1440) · High · AAA games · Native · 32 GB · 165 Hz

Change settings
GPU-limited

Heavily GPU-limited at 1440p

The RX 9060 XT 16GB is the limiting part at 1440p, which is the normal and preferred situation for gaming. The Core i5-13600K has headroom for about 146 FPS, so it can handle a faster GPU later.

Max frames each part can deliver. Frames pile up in front of the slower one.

Avg FPS71
1% low55
CPU load48%
GPU load99%

Bottleneck by resolution

Core i5-13600K + RX 9060 XT 16GB at High settings in AAA games.

ResolutionAvg FPS1% lowBottleneck
1080p (1920×1080)10178GPU 31%
1440p (2560×1440)7155GPU 52%
UW 1440p (3440×1440)5946GPU 60%
4K (3840×2160)4333GPU 71%

FPS by game type

At 1440p, High settings.

Game typeAvg FPSLimited by
AAA / mixed games
Cyberpunk 2077, Black Myth: Wukong, Elden Ring		71GPU 52%
Competitive esports
CS2, Valorant, Fortnite (Performance), League of Legends		226GPU 40%
CPU-heavy (strategy, sims, MMO)
MS Flight Simulator, Cities: Skylines II, WoW, Baldur's Gate 3 Act 3		77Balanced
Ray tracing / path tracing
Cyberpunk RT Overdrive, Alan Wake 2, Indiana Jones		35GPU 72%

Recommendations

Specific to these parts at 1440p.

  • Your 165 Hz monitor can show more frames than this build delivers. Variable refresh (G-Sync/FreeSync) will keep motion smooth.

GPU upgrades for this CPU

The Core i5-13600K can drive a faster card at 1440p.

Step upRTX 5070≈101 FPS (+42%) · GPU 31%Big upgradeRTX 5080≈132 FPS (+86%) · balancedBest match for your CPURX 9070 XT≈119 FPS (+68%) · GPU 16%

Related builds

Ryzen 5 9600X + RX 9060 XT 16GB1440p · GPU-limited 52% · ≈71 FPSCore i5-13600K + RX 7700 XT1440p · GPU-limited 48% · ≈75 FPSRyzen 7 7700X + RX 9060 XT 16GB1440p · GPU-limited 51% · ≈71 FPSCore i5-13600K + RTX 30701440p · GPU-limited 59% · ≈59 FPSCore i5-14600K + RX 9060 XT 16GB1440p · GPU-limited 53% · ≈71 FPSCore i5-13600K + RTX 4060 Ti 8GB1440p · GPU-limited 59% · ≈59 FPS

Browse all 577 popular builds or open this build in the bottleneck calculator to try other settings.

Core i5-13600K + RX 9060 XT 16GB: quick answers

Does the Core i5-13600K bottleneck the RX 9060 XT 16GB?

1080p: 31% GPU-limited. 1440p: 52% GPU-limited. UW 1440p: 60% GPU-limited. 4K: 71% GPU-limited. At 1440p the CPU keeps up, so this is a sensible pairing. A GPU-limited result is the normal, healthy state for gaming.

How many FPS does the Core i5-13600K with RX 9060 XT 16GB get?

About 101 FPS at 1080p, 71 FPS at 1440p, 59 FPS at UW 1440p, 43 FPS at 4K in AAA games at High settings without upscaling. In esports games like CS2 and Valorant it reaches roughly 226 FPS at 1440p.

What is the best upgrade for a Core i5-13600K + RX 9060 XT 16GB build?

At 1440p, the most effective upgrade is the RTX 5070 or RTX 5080. Use the calculator to check other resolutions and settings.