The company releases Intel Raptor Lake processors, and the performance of these processors is quite different from the previous-generation processors; the reason for this is the increase in the core count of the processors. Intel Core i5-13600K is the generation’s mid-range processor, with six performance and eight efficient cores.
This makes it one of the best mid-range processors for the price and must be used with one of the best motherboards as well. This is the first time it is happening that an Intel processor is providing a better value than AMD Ryzen processors. This article will check the best graphics card for i5 13600K in 2023.
NVIDIA has released the RTX 4000-series graphics cards, which are roughly 50% faster than the previous-generation GPUs in raw performance. These graphics cards are based on the architecture of Ada Lovelace, and this is the first time that NVIDIA GPUs surpass the core clocks of 2000 MHz. Also, the count of shader processing units of these graphics cards in this generation is much higher than previous generation cards, so the outcome is stunning this time.
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Best Mid-Range Graphics Card XFX Speedster MERC319 AMD RX 6800 XT Read More | See On Amazon |
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Best AMD Graphics Card ASUS TUF Gaming AMD RX 6900 XT OC Read More | See On Amazon |
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Best 1440P Graphics Card ZOTAC Gaming RTX 3070 Ti Trinity OC Read More | See On Amazon |
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Best 4K Graphics Card MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Read More | See On Amazon |
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Best Flagship Graphics Card ASUS ROG STRIX GeForce RTX 3090 Gaming Read More | See On Amazon |
On the other hand, AMD RX 7000-series graphics cards are on the verge of release, and the performance of these graphics cards looks very similar to the performance of RTX 4000-series graphics cards. The RX 7950 XT is the flagship graphics card of the series, while RTX 4090 is the flagship graphics card by NVIDIA. The prices of these graphics cards are higher than the MSRP of the previous-generation graphics cards; the actual prices are lower, as there is no mining craze these days, and there is no shortage of graphics cards on the market. This could leave you with a great budget for the RAM to maintain balance in the build.
Regarding motherboard compatibility, the Intel Core i5 13600K supports both Z690 and Z790 boards, while B660 and B760 options are available for budget users and require a decent cooler with LGA1700 socket support. These chipsets can overclock the processor and the memory, while the B660 and H670 can only overclock the memory. These motherboards can support DDR4 and DDR5 memory, although the clock rates of DDR5 memory sticks are much higher than those of the DDR4 kits.
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Best Graphics Card for i5 13600K Reviews
The RX 6800 XT, priced at $650, is AMD’s rival graphics card to the Nvidia RTX 3080, which comes at $699. Read on to decide which card is suitable for you.
Based on AMD’s RDNA2 architecture, similar to RX 6900 XT, the RX 6800 XT comes equipped with 4608 GPU cores and 72 Ray Accelerators. This card’s nominal Base Clock speed is 2015 MHz, while the Boost Clock is rated at 2250 MHz. The VRAM, sized at 16GB, is connected to a 256-bit bus, resulting in a memory bandwidth of 512GBps. So, the only area where it lags behind the RX 6900 XT is the GPU core count and Ray Accelerators, where the RX 6900 XT takes the lead, but not by a huge margin (5120 GPU cores; 80 Ray Accelerators).
The performance benchmarks of this card were tested alongside the Intel Core i5-13600K on Metro Exodus, a highly graphically demanding AAA title. As expected, the average framerate fluttered around 40 fps, with the minimum going as low as 19 fps. However, when raytracing was turned off, the average jumped to 65fps. This card truly shines in DirectX11-supported games where, in GTA V, for example, the card performed 10% better than the RTX 3080.
The power consumption remained below 280W throughout our test at max settings while the temperatures peaked at 75C. The rated TDP of this card is 300W, so you should consider investing in a 700W PSU if you intend to buy this card. The peak temperature of 75C indicates that AMD has added a respectable cooling setup to the card.
As to the choice between RTX 3080 and RX 6800 XT, it depends on whether you want to play games that support raytracing or not. If raytracing is not a dealbreaker for you, it makes more sense to buy the 6800 XT. However, with that being said, the Nvidia RTX 3080 is just a little behind its rival in non-raytracing applications but is far ahead in those that do. So, considering the size of your investment, you might be better off in the long run if you go with Nvidia.
Released at an MSRP of $1000, the AMD RX 6900XT is the highest-tier card offered by AMD and is supposed to rival the RTX 3090. AMD’s tradition of undercutting its competition makes this card cheaper than the RTX 3090 by $500. However, a thousand dollars is still a big ask for a card that sometimes disappoints, as discussed later.
The card is based on AMD’s rDNA 2 architecture. It comes loaded with 5120 GPU cores and 80 Ray Accelerators. It features a Base Clock of 1825 MHz and a Boost Clock of 2250 MHz. The size of the VRAM is 16GB, connected to a 256-bit bus. The result is a high bandwidth of 512GBps, which means faster data transfer rates. This translates into faster loading of details in demanding AAA titles.
This card was tested on Metro Exodus at 4K to keep results consistent with ray tracing enabled. The overall performance was decent, as the card managed to maintain an average of 57 fps. It might be added that there were certain “hiccups,” so to speak, as the framerate count momentarily dipped to as low as 3 fps. However, these were very few and far between, and the overall gaming experience was more than adequate.
Power consumption and peak temperatures were also logged throughout the game. The rated TDP, or thermal design power, is 300W. However, in our system, it hovered around 280W. This means that it would be a good idea to invest in a 700W PSU. The temperatures peaked at 90C, which is a bit higher. That being said, the average temperature remained around 70C.
It is difficult to recommend the RX 6900 XT when considering whether to buy this card. This is because, although you might think you are saving $500 in buying this card over the RTX 3090, the fact is that spending a thousand dollars for a still pretty nascent raytracing performance is a bit of a hard pill to swallow, especially when the much cheaper RTX 3080 gives much better results in titles that support raytracing.
The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070Ti is the higher variant of the RTX 3070, which was released almost eight months earlier. It comes with a price tag of $599. Here is where things get a little trickier. It is priced at $100 higher than the RTX 3070 but doesn’t offer similar performance gains. However, the RTX 3080, which comes at $699, does offer a noticeable improvement over the RTX 3070. This fact alone makes it hard to recommend the 3070Ti.
Like the rest of the 30 series, the card is based on the Ampere architecture, the successor to Nvidia’s Turing architecture. The 3070Ti features 6144 CUDA cores, 48 RT cores, and 96 Tensor cores. It also has a fast 8GB GDDR6X memory connected to a 256-bit bus.
Like other Nvidia cards, this one also features DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling) technology, which enables scaling up games' graphics beyond their native resolutions without compromising the framerates. It also comes to the rescue when raytracing is enabled, something with which RTX 3070Ti would struggle on its own.
To get an idea of the gaming performance of this card, we tested Metro Exodus at 4K with raytracing enabled on this card, alongside our Core i5-13600K. The card managed to provide an average of 65 fps with raytracing enabled. However, the frames sometimes dropped to 45 fps at their lowest.
As far as power is concerned, the card maxes out at 290W. The Nvidia-recommended size for the PSU is 750W or higher. Like with its other cards, Nvidia didn’t compromise on the cooling solution. Even when the card was being pushed to its limits, the maximum temperature didn’t cross the 80C threshold.
On its own, this is an excellent card, especially for 1440p games. However, it is still difficult to recommend due to its unreasonable pricing, as alluded to earlier. However, with the global chip shortage, graphics cards are in short supply; if money is not a concern and you can find this card at its MSRP, we’d say go for it.
The GeForce RTX 3080Ti is Nvidia’s upgrade over the RTX 3080, released a year and a half before. It is priced at $1200 and is twice as expensive as the base variant. However, this doesn’t translate to a similar increase in performance. However, it is considerably cheaper than the RTX 3090, priced at $1500, while providing similar gaming performance.
The 3080Ti is based on Nvidia’s Ampere architecture. It has 10240 CUDA cores, 320 Tensor cores, and 80 raytracing cores. It also offers 12GB VRAM, which is 2GB more than the VRAM in the base variant. Combined, the extra 2GBs, coupled with the faster 384-bit memory bus instead of the 320-bit bus in RTX 3080, translate into noticeable differences in 4K gaming.
The card also supports Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS), a proprietary technology of Nvidia that uses some clever AI magic to scale up the screen resolution without sacrificing framerates. This comes in handy when you are trying to play games designed for 1080p screens at 4K but don’t want to see any degradation in image quality.
To test gaming performance, we ran Metro Exodus and Watched Dogs Legion at 4K settings on the card. In the former, the card managed to maintain a steady 78 fps, while in the latter, the framerate hovered around 68 fps. These are respectable results considering the demanding nature of these two games.
The rated power consumption of the card is 350W, which means you need a minimum 700W PSU. Despite the massive power demand, the maximum temperature never crossed the 80C mark throughout our tests, thanks to the excellent thermal setup employed by Nvidia.
So, who should buy this card? The people who would most benefit from this card want to experience the best that Nvidia offers but are not particularly handicapped by their budget. If raytracing is not your thing, you can safely disregard this card and buy the RX 6900XT, which is almost $200 cheaper than this card.
The Nvidia RTX 3090, featuring 82 Streaming Multiprocessors and a core count of 10,496 CUDA, 328 Tensor, and 82 RT cores, is your most powerful graphics card to get your hands on at $1499. Despite its monumental performance benchmarks, it offers only modest gains in most games of around 10% over the RTX 3080 for double the price.
Where this card showcases its muscles is in rendering applications. Its 24GB GDDR6X memory and bandwidth of ~1TBps make rendering work in programs such as Blender and Adobe Premiere a breeze. Thus, overpriced as it is, ironically, this card is an excellent bargain for creative professionals by saving them a thousand dollars or two on Quadro or Titan series cards to achieve similar performance.
One of the heavily emphasized abilities of this card by Nvidia is its ability to play most of the latest AAA titles at the buttery-smooth 60fps performance in 8K resolution, especially in games that support ray-tracing. Nvidia cards leave even the best of AMD in the dust in this area.
However, due to a lack of access to any 8K monitor, we had to keep our gaming tests to 4K Ultra High Settings. For instance, alongside our system’s Intel Core i5-13600K processor, this card maintained a steady 80 fps in Guardians of the Galaxy while the RX 6800XT barely managed to sustain 45 fps.
With such a hulk-like performance, it is hardly surprising that the 3090 draws a massive 360 watts of power when pushed to its limits. To avoid any random system crashes due to excessive power draw, Nvidia recommends that users consider investing in an 850W power supply unit. One major con we’ve noticed with this graphics card is it dont get fit into most of the mid-tower cases, but we’ve already reviewed the best cases for it.
So, who should buy this card? Based on our analysis, the only individuals who will benefit from buying this card are those who edit and render 4K videos or highly demanding graphics simulations. The time saved can translate into monetary savings in the long term for these professionals.
