Core i9-12900K + RTX 5080 in Elden Ring

Every figure below is a measurement aggregated from published review charts — the CPU's frame-rate ceiling and the frame rate the GPU delivers in this game, combined. The CPU figure is the highest frame rate that CPU sustained in this game with a flagship GPU installed — past that frame rate, the CPU is the limit. Settings: Highest settings (TechPowerUp RTX 5090 review suite), framerate cap removed - the shipped game caps at 60 fps. CPU ceiling measured at 1080p, highest settings (TechPowerUp CPU suite), RTX 4090, framerate cap removed.

1080p

Mild CPU limit

Expected frame rate: 147–147 fps (measured range across sources).

CPU Core i9-12900Kceiling ~147 fps on its own

GPU RTX 5080delivers ~196 fps in this game at 1080p

The CPU side is lower by about 25.1% in this game at 1080p. The math, from the two measured figures above: the pair runs at the lower one (~147 fps), and the gap to the faster side is (196 − 147) ÷ 196 ≈ 25.1% of the faster side's output. That percentage belongs to this game, this resolution and these settings only — the same two parts score differently in another game, which is why no universal bottleneck percentage exists for a pair of parts. Upgrading the faster part alone would not raise the frame rate.

That range justifies a 144 Hz monitor in this game.

Confidence: MEDIUM — based on 2 source measurements for these two parts.

1440p

Mild CPU limit

Expected frame rate: 147–147 fps (measured range across sources).

CPU Core i9-12900Kceiling ~147 fps on its own

GPU RTX 5080delivers ~192 fps in this game at 1440p

The CPU side is lower by about 23.4% in this game at 1440p. The math, from the two measured figures above: the pair runs at the lower one (~147 fps), and the gap to the faster side is (192 − 147) ÷ 192 ≈ 23.4% of the faster side's output. That percentage belongs to this game, this resolution and these settings only — the same two parts score differently in another game, which is why no universal bottleneck percentage exists for a pair of parts. Upgrading the faster part alone would not raise the frame rate.

That range justifies a 144 Hz monitor in this game.

Confidence: MEDIUM — based on 2 source measurements for these two parts.

4K

Balanced pairing

Expected frame rate: 127–127 fps (measured range across sources).

CPU Core i9-12900Kceiling ~147 fps on its own

GPU RTX 5080delivers ~127 fps in this game at 4K

The CPU ceiling and the GPU's delivered rate sit within 13.3% of each other — neither part wastes much of the other. The gap is measured between the two figures above: (faster − slower) ÷ faster.

That range justifies a 144 Hz monitor in this game.

Confidence: MEDIUM — based on 2 source measurements for these two parts.

This pair in other games

• Alan Wake 2 — only your GPU has a figure there so far.
• Baldur's Gate 3 — Estimated: Strong CPU limit, ~68–151 fps at 1440p (labelled estimate)
• Counter-Strike 2 — Estimated: Mild GPU limit, ~327–409 fps at 1440p (labelled estimate)
• Cyberpunk 2077 — Estimated: Balanced, ~96–122 fps at 1440p (labelled estimate)
• Kingdom Come: Deliverance II — Estimated: Mild GPU limit, ~142–142 fps at 1440p (labelled estimate)
• Marvel's Spider-Man 2 — Estimated: Mild GPU limit, ~132–139 fps at 1440p (labelled estimate)
• S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 — only your GPU has a figure there so far.
• Starfield — Balanced, 101–101 fps at 1440p

Sources for Elden Ring

• TechPowerUp

Full data: Elden Ring benchmarks · how verdicts are computed.