BEST CPU FOR EVERY GRAPHICS CARD

Not by how well the two parts match. Sorting by match sounds reasonable and produces nonsense: it measures how evenly two parts run, not what they deliver, and by that measure a Core i5-14400 ranks above a Ryzen 7 9800X3D for an RTX 5090 — 31% fewer frames — under a “best match” label.

Nor by raw frame rate alone, which would produce the same flagship top ten on all 175 pages. Every pairing reports two numbers: the frames it delivers, which is the sort key, and the share of the partner it unlocks. Both ceilings are capped at a reference refresh rate first, because without that cap esports titles at 400–700 FPS decide the mean and no processor in the catalogue counts as sufficient for anything.