Best Graphics Card For i9 9900k

Atif Liaqat | Last Updated On July 27th, 2022

Intel Core i9-9900K is a  3-year old processor from the 9th-generation Intel Core processors, and it was the first Core i9 processor. As Intel did not improve the single-core performance of their processors by a good margin, the performance difference between this processor and the latest Core i9-11900K is minimal. That is why many enthusiasts prefer buying Core i9-9900K instead of Core i9-11900K, as 9900K costs much less than the latter.

Core i9-9900K is one of the best octa-core processors, and that is why it is capable of handling every graphics card thrown at it. Last year, we saw NVIDIA RTX 3000-series graphics cards and AMD RX 6000-series graphics cards. The GeForce RTX 3090 is the flagship model of this generation, followed by RTX 3080/Ti, RTX 3070/Ti, and RTX 3060/Ti, while the RX 6900 XT is the flagship model in the Red team, followed by RX 6800/XT, and RX 6700. In this article, we will look at some of the best graphics cards that can match the potential of Core i9-9900K.

Quick Buying Tips!

Graphics cards are the most attractive components in a computer system, and that is why most people have enough knowledge about graphics cards. However, if you are unsure of terminologies used in a graphics card, this buying guide will help you purchase a suitable graphics card for your system.

Graphics Card Chip: The most crucial factor of a graphics card is its chip, also known as the GPU model. Among NVIDIA RTX 3000-series graphics cards, the best graphics card is RTX 3090, while the cheapest graphics card is RTX 3060. The higher the number is, the faster the graphics card. The same goes for AMD RX 6000-series graphics cards, with RX 6900 XT being the most powerful AMD graphics card while the RX 6700 is the cheapest among the bunch. If you want to know if RTX 3060 is better than RTX 2070, check this article that we have.

Graphics Card Variant: Once you have decided on the graphics card model, you should decide on its variant. Manufacturers design many graphics card variants to fulfill the needs of a wide range of users. Some graphics cards come with a lot of bells and whistles, which increase the price of the product but don’t necessarily increase the price. Some GPUs are performance-oriented, with faster clock rates and high-end cooling solutions, while others come with a single fan and run at reference clock rates.

Power Requirement: High-end graphics cards are the most power-hungry components in the computer system, consuming as much as 350 watts. That is why it is a good idea to select the graphics card according to your system’s power supply. For a power supply with a 600 watts rating, it would be a good idea to buy a graphics card that can utilize a maximum of 250 watts of power. For something like RTX 3080 (see also the best PSU for NVIDIA RTX 3080) or 3070, you should have at least 800 watts PSU to prevent system failure during extreme loads (and a good CPU for the 3080 or 3070 as well).

Best Graphics Card For i9 9900k Reviews

One of the cheapest but powerful graphics cards that you can get for your Intel i9 9900K is the RX 5600 XT as this card comes at the price of GTX 1660 Ti, but performance matches RTX 2060. This makes this the best value card, and you can consider it if not going to use RTX features like Ray Tracing or DLSS as AMD graphics cards don’t support them. The good thing is you can use this graphics card for 1080p gaming (even with a 1440p monitor) at medium to high settings with a refresh rate like 144Hz, and it will outperform all competitors in the latest AAA titles. While at the same time, 1440p gaming is also possible if you can make a little compromise on settings and frame rates because of the 6 GB GDDR6 memory. Two digits frame rates are no deal for this graphics card, and you can easily achieve 90-100 frame rates in AAA titles and even more if willing to get it for Esport or multiplayer games. There are currently two best RX 5600 XT choices that I will suggest to get where one is from Sapphire Pulse, and the other is XFX RX 5600 XT. Both of them give the best value and are much better than the reference card. You may also know that these vendors are known for their cooling solution for AMD graphics cards, so get the one if you are looking for a budget 1080p graphics card.

AMD was giving a tough time to Nvidia and Intel at the same time by releasing processors and graphics cards that offer performance the same as their competitors but costs much less. Another example is there, which is AMD RX 5700 XT, which is the right choice for 1080p gaming with a refresh rate up to 144Hz and for Ryzen 5 5600X. The performance of this graphics card is somewhere equal to the RTX 2070 Super but costs 20% less, which makes it appealing for budget users. The disappointing thing in AMD graphics cards is they don’t support RTX features now, but we are expecting they will support them in the future. Initially, there were some driver issues with this graphic card on the vendor but from the AMD side and they started releasing some updates and almost fixed every single problem but still got this card from a store that will accept it at no question asked to return. XFX RX 5700 XT Triple Dissipation is the best offering in RX 5700 XT, which comes with a large sized cooler and three fans that cool down the graphics card temperature when running high on load. Long story short, if you don’t want RTX features and are looking for a 1080p 144Hz or 1440p 60Hz graphics card, this one is a perfect choice. We also have an article here where we list down the best GPUs for 1080p 144Hz gaming.

We all know that Nvidia was leading the enthusiast’s space for years because AMD doesn’t have any competitive card that matches team green graphics cards’ performance. This new generation of graphics cards changed everything as they are much cheaper than their predecessors and have a double performance, which excites the users. AMD previously attempted to beat the RTX 2080 with their Radeon VII, but in 2019 Nvidia RTX 2080 was top on the best graphics cards list. There we’ve got RX 6800, which you know a great alternative to RTX 3070, while both of these graphics cards are meant for 1440p gaming at 100 frame rates. Maybe you need to lower down the in-game settings in a few titles, but with most games, you can achieve these frame rates. Now the reason to consider this graphics card over the RTX 3070 is doubled VRAM, which you know help in the future because modern titles demand 10 GB of VRAM while RTX 3070 has only 8 GB. On the other hand, RX 6800 comes with 16 GB VRAM, which is enough now, while the memory speed and frequency of both cards are the same. Long story short, if you don’t give a damn to RTX and DLSS, RX 6800 is a great option that you can consider.

RX 6800 is a great option to consider for 1440p gaming at 100 frame rates because of the 16 GB VRAM, but you know the ray tracing performance of that card is inferior. In fact, there are very few titles that support RTX features on AMD graphics cards initially, but of course, with time, they all get updates and fixes. Right now, if you are looking for the best 1440p graphics card that will support RTX features, then there might be no other better option than the RTX 3070. The only problem you will face with this card is the 8 GB VRAM, which is enough for these days but not for the future, and you may need to compromise in-game settings in upcoming titles. When comparing this graphics card with previous-generation cards, you will find it much better because it gives the best ray tracing effects at 1440p for a very meager price, while RTX 2080 Ti comes at a doubled price and doesn’t have a performance like it. AAA titles on one side, but if you are willing to play multiplayer or Esport games on it, you can easily achieve triple digits frame rates. The vendor I would recommend you for this graphic card is the EVGA XC3 Black Gaming, which is budget-friendly as well as gives better performance than the founder edition card.

As we know, Intel Core i9 9900K is a great gaming processor that can support 4K gaming when paired with some good graphics cards. The option next on our list is the RTX 3080, which is the cheapest offering from Nvidia in Ampere architecture that supports 4K gaming with Ray Tracing enabled. The most surprising thing about this graphics card is that it costs half the price of RTX 2080 Ti, but the performance is doubled, and you can enjoy the full visuals of real time ray tracing with this graphics card. This graphic card’s AMD competitor is RX 6800 XT, but that card is truly meant for 1440p gaming, while RTX 3080 has an advantage in 4K gaming because of its power and cores. Also, a reason to consider this graphics card is its performance in Ray Tracing.

In contrast, AMD graphics cards recently adopted RTX features, and it will take some time to enhance the ray tracing experience with AMD graphics cards. Long story short, if you are looking for a 4K graphics card that will support ray tracing and doesn’t cost a lot, there might be no other better option than the RTX 3080. One thing that might disappoint you regarding this graphics card is the 10 GB of VRAM, which is enough for these days but not makes it future proof because modern games demand at least 10 GB of VRAM, and of course, this will go up with time.

RTX 3080 is a great option to consider when you have to play games at 4K resolution, but for 1440p resolution there, we’ve got something more than expected. RX 6800 XT, an impressive offering from AMD RDNA 2 architecture, is there and outperforms the RTX 3080 and 3090 at 1080p resolution. This graphics card has great potential to run modern titles at 1440p resolution, but the only place where it got stuck is 4K resolution, and the RTX series graphics cards have an advantage. Techspot recently released some benchmarks of RX 6800 XT, and we can see how impressively this graphics card is performing. Also, you need to know that it comes with 16 GB of VRAM while RTX 3080 has only 10 GB, which may become a significant problem for RTX users in the future because modern gamers demand at least 10 GB of VRAM to run at 4K resolution. Though this card has its flaws like it doesn’t have RTX features like ray tracing etc. A few games will support AMD GPUs, but you can imagine the RTX performance on this card. The aftermarket card I will suggest you get is Sapphire Nitro+, which is much better than the founder edition in terms of clocks and cooling design.

As we all know, new generation graphics cards are currently out of stock from the market, and they are available at some stores for very high prices, which most of us can’t afford. In that case, RTX 2080 Super is an excellent graphics card that we can consider buying because of its exceptional power and performance. This graphics card is roughly 40% less potent than the RTX 2080 Ti, but surprisingly it’s much better than the RTX 2080 and comes at almost the same price, making it more appealing to consider. These days you can use RTX 2080 Super for 1440p gaming, while with most of the latest titles, it can also hit 4K resolution while in a few ones, you might need to make some little compromise with the in-game settings. Simultaneously, suppose you consider this graphics card for multiplayer or Esport gaming. In that case, you are good to go with it because it can run games like DoTA 2 or CSGO at 100+ framerates with 4k resolution and high refresh rates. The most disappointing thing with this graphics card is its price is the same as the next-generation cards, which are much more potent than it but right now, they are expensive due to limited availability.

Conclusion

Best Budget Graphics Card for i9 9900K
Best Mid-Range 1440p for i9 9900K

Even though Intel Core i9-9900K is getting dated, it is still one of the fastest octa-core processors capable of handling every game, providing more than 100 FPS, as long as you use a high-end graphics card with it. There are many choices for graphics cards as NVIDIA has released the RTX 3000-series graphics cards, and AMD has released the RX 6000-series graphics cards.

It would be best for those with 4K monitors to buy NVIDIA RTX 3080, RTX 3070, or AMD RX 6800/XT, as these are the finest graphics cards in the market and fully capable of handling 4K resolution at high frame rates. For those who use a 1440P high-refresh-rate monitor, RTX 2080 Super and RX 5700 XT are worth mentioning, while for budget users, AMD RX 5600 XT is among the cheapest graphics cards that should be used with a processor like Core i9-9900K.

You might also be interested in this article about the best GPU for 1440p 144hz gaming that we have for you.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best graphics card that can be coupled with Intel Core i9-9900K?

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 is the fastest graphics card that can be coupled with Core i9-9900K. However, this graphics card has a bad price to performance ratio, and we will recommend you buying RTX 3080 instead, as it can run all modern games at high resolution, providing stable frame rates.

What happens if we use a low-wattage PSU with a high-end graphics card like RTX 3070?

It is not a good practice to use a high-end graphics card like RTX 3070 with less than 600-watt PSU because it can have pretty drastic results. When the system runs at full load, you might suffer from system restarts without warnings, indicating that the power supply cannot provide enough juice to the components. In the worst-case scenario, any of the PC components can die during such failures, including your processor, graphics card, motherboard, RAM, or of course, your power supply.

Can we use previous-generation graphics cards with Core i9-9900K?

There are no compatibility issues when you use previous-generation graphics cards with Core i9-9900K. In fact, graphics cards like RTX 2080 Super, RTX 2070 Super, and RX 5700 XT are more than capable of handling the latest games at 1440P resolution, which is why it is a good idea to buy these graphics cards if you own a 1440P monitor and want to do some savings.

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