When you want the best possible performance out of a CPU, the most important component that comes to mind is the graphics card. Intel Core i7 11700K is definitely one of the gaming beasts we have today that can handle the most high-end graphics cards.
The issue here, however, is the correct selection of a GPU that allows you to take the maximum benefit of the i7 11700K and not hinder its potential. The i7 11700K features 8 cores and 16 threads that boast a clock speed of 3.6/5.0GHz. These clock speeds are really impressive as games love high clock speeds.
Our Picks
Not only that but your games will love to run on a combo that features a powerful GPU with this chip. The 11700K will easily handle any game at 1440p or even at 4K. Going below 1440p is not recommended unless you love fast-paced eSports games like CSGO.
Here are the top 5 graphics cards to combine with the i7 11700K and what you can expect from them.
Best Graphics Cards For Core i7 11700K
Nvidia Geforce RTX 3060 Ti
- NVIDIA Ampere architecture, 2nd Gen Ray Tracing...
- Boost Clock 1695 MHz, 8GB 256-bit GDDR6, 14 Gbps,...
- White LED Logo Lighting, IceStorm 2.0 Advanced...
- 8K Ready, 4 Display Ready, HDCP 2.3, VR...
As more new graphics cards enter into the RTX 3000 series, Ampere can be seen as the most successful architecture and has shown great improvement over the Turing cards surpassing most of them for almost half the price.
With the RTX 3060 Ti, you can play any title at 1440p resolution with 60+fps. Or lower the resolution to 1080p, and you can enjoy nearly 100 fps in most games. This card features 8GB of VRAM that is adequate for any game on these resolutions to max out graphics settings and as you can expect, it has a lot of great specs to list out.
The RTX 3060 Ti features 4864 Cuda Cores which makes this noticeably faster than the RTX 3060. Also, being a card that uses a 256-bit memory interface compared to the 192-bit on non-Ti, the memory yields better results. However, the difference between the pricing of both will determine your choice.
The RTX 3060 Ti is $100 more expensive than the 3060 and brings in a boost of up to 15%.
AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT
- Video Memory: 12GB GDDR6
- Stream Processor: 2560
- Game Clock: 2633 MHz (OC) / 2593 MHz (Silent)
- Boost Clock: 2713 MHz (OC) / 2689 MHz...
RX 6750 XT was among the second batch of RDNA 2 GPUs that was released this year and gave some noticeable increase in performance over the 6700 XT. It might not be a lot but you will see around a 3-5% increase in performance across most games.
Although the RX 6000 series GPUs can’t match the Ray Tracing performance of RTX 30 series GPUs from Nvidia, the adaptation of new technology gives you some advantages. RX 6750 XT is one of the best 1440p gaming graphics cards that provide equivalent performance to the RTX 3070.
Nvidia Geforce RTX 3070 Ti
- Real Boost Clock: 1815 MHz; Memory Detail: 8192 MB...
- Real-Time RAY TRACING in games for cutting-edge,...
- Triple Fans plus iCX3 Cooling offer higher...
- All-Metal Backplate & Adjustable ARGB.Avoid using...
RTX 3070 Ti being the bigger sibling of RTX 3070, comes with faster memory and some more Cuda Cores. It comes with 6144 Cuda Cores which are more than any of the RTX 20 series GPUs and features GDDR6X memory that runs faster than the GDDR6 on the 3070 at around 19Gbps.
The card is equivalent to the 2.5 times more expensive RTX 2080 Ti from the previous generation and has superior Ray Tracing performance. Thanks to the Ampere architecture, with the new-gen RT and Tensor cores, Ray Tracing and DLSS are more powerful due to AI technology.
This should give you a boost of at least 10% over the RTX 3070 making it one of the best GPUs for the i7 11700K.
AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT
- Memory Speed:16.0 Gbps.Digital Max...
- AMD Radeon 6800XT
- Video Memory: 16GB GDDR6
- Stream Processor: 4608.Avoid using unofficial...
With 3840 stream processors, it has roughly 1.5 times better capability in executing operations than the RX 6700 XT. Though it directly doesn’t convert to 1.5 better performance in gaming, comparing it with the 6750 XT and RTX 3070 Ti, it can easily go up to 15% faster in most games on average.
It features 16GB GDDR6 VRAM with a memory bandwidth of 512GB/s on a 256-bit memory interface that is much higher than that of RX 6700 XT. This also helps it in achieving better performance but the only CON you will see here is the power consumption which is 50 watts more than the 6700 XT.
For most enthusiast gamers, it isn’t a big issue and what matters is that you will be able to play a lot of games at 1440p with higher fps than any of the cards listed above.
Nvidia Geforce RTX 3080 10GB
- Memory Speed:19 Gbps
- NVIDIA Ampere architecture, 2nd Gen Ray Tracing...
- Boost Clock 1725 MHz, 10GB 320-bit GDDR6X, 19...
- SPECTRA 2.0 RGB Lighting, IceStorm 2.0 Advanced...
RTX 3080 might not fit everyone’s budget but it is still much better priced than the RTX 3080. For $800-$900, you can achieve very high fps on 4K resolution and unless you don’t want 60+ fps at 4K or 100+ fps at 1440p resolution, then simply ignore it and buy the RTX 3070 Ti or lower.
This card can maximize the eye candy that will look stunning at max graphical settings without any compromise in performance. With over 8500 Cuda Cores, it is far more powerful than the RTX 3070 and comes with a very fast GDDR6X memory that runs at 19Gbps.
Be mindful if you are going to purchase it as most RTX 3080 cards are big and consume a lot of power.
Final Words
With the current shortage of graphics cards, it’s almost impossible to get any of the GPUs above for their MSRP. When things get better, you are good to go with any of these GPUs for not only i7 11700K but any high-end processor.
Let me know if you have any queries or feedback to share in the comments below!
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