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The RTX 4060 is Nvidia's latest $299 graphics card targeted at 1080p gaming. The card is built for the budget audience as a direct competitor to the AMD RX 7600 launched a few weeks ago. The budget card brings the improved performance, efficiency, and technologies of Ada Lovelace to the bottom crop of the gamer audience.
FHD continues to be the most popular resolution for gaming, with over 64% of PC gamers still relying on it. Thus, the new 4060 has big shoes to fill. The graphics card, however, has some key problems and issues requiring specific CPUs for optimum performance.
In this article, we will list the best processors that one can pair with the 4060.
The Nvidia RTX 4060 doesn't need high-end CPUs for good performance
5) Intel Core i3 13100 ($103)
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The RTX 4060 has one problem — it is based on a PCIe Gen 4 x8 connector interface. This means gamers on older Gen 3 systems will lose much performance simply because of a connectivity bottleneck. Thus, pairing this CPU with a Gen 4-capable CPU and motherboard is necessary.
The Core i3 13100 is a perfect contender for this. The H610 motherboards are the best pair with this chip since it supports the latest Gen 4 interface.
The 13100 isn't beefed up in terms of its on-paper specs. It features four and eight cores. The processor has no efficient 'E' cores, making it the only Raptor Lake chip without the slower cores. Although this may sound underwhelming, it is one of the biggest selling points of the CPU. The four cores on this chip bring the improved single-core performance of the 13100 to the masses.
The latest Core i3 is cheap — just $100 on Newegg. The older 12100 is selling for $20 less. However, spending slightly more on improved single-core performance is worth it, especially while pairing the CPU with cards like the RTX 4060.
4) AMD Ryzen 5 5600 ($119)
The AMD Ryzen 5 5600 has some strong selling points over the Core i3 13100 — it supports overclocking and features six cores. The chip gets very close to the 12400 in terms of single-core performance, making it a solid offering for gaming on a budget.
Do note that only the B550 lineup supports the Gen 4 connectivity. We recommend you get one of these motherboards at the minimum to avoid leaving a ton of performance on the table.
Both B550 boards and the AMD Ryzen 5 5600 have been massively discounted over the past few months following the introduction of the newer Ryzen 7000 series. This makes the 5600 a solid budget CPU for the RTX 4060.
3) Intel Core i5 13400F ($196)
The Core i5 13400F is Intel's $200 competitor for this generation. This processor is going head-to-head with the Ryzen 5 7600 and beats it in terms of price-to-performance. Starting this generation, Team Blue has also paired E cores with their budget Core offerings. This pushes the total core count to ten, making it the highest in the sub-$200 market.
An H610 motherboard can easily handle the chip. Gamers can spend the premium for a B660/B760 option. However, we don't think that would be necessary. This slashes a ton of cash off the total price of the chip, making it an ideal choice for RTX 4060-based PC builds.
2) AMD Ryzen 5 7600X ($249)
Moving over to some more premium options in the lineup, the Ryzen 5 7600X is a solid chip to pair with the latest 60-class offerings from Team Green. The chip can be a bit overkill for the latest non-TI variant. But it will future-proof the system for upcoming upgrades.
The 7600X was originally launched for $299. However, it has been discounted to just $249 these days following pure sales and reception. At this price, the chip brings massive improvements in single-core performance. Thus, gamers can get the most out of the RTX 4060.
1) Intel Core i5 13600KF ($265)
The Core i5 13600K is Intel's answer to the Ryzen 5 7600X. The chip features small gen-on-gen improvements over the 12600K. Major improvements have been made in core count and power draw, which allows the chip to deliver astronomically high single-core numbers. The integrated graphics processor-less offering has been discounted to $265 on Newegg.
The chip is slightly costlier than the 7600X. However, it delivers way more performance for the cash. The RTX 4060 isn't the best card to utilize this difference, making the 13600K a bit overkill for the new 60-class card.
This processor will hardly give you a frame or two extra compared to the cheaper offerings listed above when paired with an RTX 4060. Thus, if you don't have the cash to dump on this chip, don't stress it.
