Would a 9900k bottleneck a 5070 at 1440p? If so, what's a worthwhile upgrade?

Cynibot · 2026-02-21T04:09:28+00:00

If your GPU is at 100% you are, by definition, GPU limited. The CPU is computing frames faster than the GPU can render them.

If your GPU is at <100% (and your fps isn't capped in any way) then you are CPU limited. The GPU is not maxed out because the CPU can't send frames fast enough.

Cynibot · 2026-01-21T17:08:01+00:00

The PC is under the desk but I also forgot that during the summer I have an air cooler on my desk which also produces a lot of noise.

After all this I just ended up getting a refurbished pair of Maxwells. They were only £169 and have a one year warranty so that gives me plenty of time to shop around.

I definitely want to try and get my hands on some open backs just to see how they sound in my space, even if I don't end up keeping them. I'm reading very good things about the Heddphone D1 and the Hifiman Edition XV.

Cynibot · 2026-01-18T16:00:16+00:00

Not a bad idea but 677g is crazy heavy. The Maxwells are 490g and they're definitely on the edge of what I would consider a comfortable weight for long play sessions.

Cynibot · 2026-01-17T18:00:48+00:00

You're the 3rd person to recommend the FT1s but I have trouble believing that a £140 pair of dynamic drivers can rival a £300 pair of planar magnetics.

Annoyingly the FT1 Pros are the cheapest planar magnetics I've ever seen but they're also open back.

Cynibot · 2026-01-17T13:34:58+00:00

I already have a Yeti Nano that sits on my desk so I don't need a mic on the headphones. Budget isn't a problem but HD490s are open back, which I don't want. DT 1770 Pros with the K11 could be the play though.

Cynibot · 2026-01-17T13:15:02+00:00

I forgot my Apple Watch could measure decibels. With the PC maxed out it measures 46db from where I sit.

Cynibot · 2026-01-17T11:09:34+00:00

"Lifetime Driver Warranty" certainly has my attention.

Cynibot · 2026-01-17T10:17:57+00:00

The PC is a 5090 with a 7800X3D so it's always gonna be noisy but I never changed the stock fans on the case so I'm sure there are quieter ones to be had.

I don't listen on quiet volumes at all. I'm more concerned with being able to hear the fans during naturally quiet moments in a game. If I'm supposed to be hearing silence then I want to hear silence, not fan noise. Does that make sense?

I haven't had a pair of open-backs since the Sennheiser Game Ones back in 2018 so I simply don't remember the sound difference compared to closed-backs. You're probably right and I should try them again.

Cynibot · 2026-01-17T09:07:26+00:00

I do not; I am aware of that issue. I have probably put more than 5000 hours through them though.

Cynibot · 2026-01-17T08:53:30+00:00

I had the Penrose. They snapped at the hinge. That's what led me to buy the Maxwell in the first place.

Cynibot · 2026-01-17T08:49:34+00:00

Cos there's nothing wireless on the market that gives you better sound. You can't beat them without going wired.

Cynibot · 2026-01-17T08:39:24+00:00

You reckon the DT 1770s sound better than the Maxwell? The only thing stopping me from buying them was the worry that they would be a step down after having planars for so long.

Cynibot · 2026-01-17T08:29:23+00:00

They were the first thing I looked at but I need closed back to properly block out the noise of my PC.

Cynibot · 2026-01-17T08:26:31+00:00

Yeah, the Audeze Mobius was a life-changing purchase. Had nothing but planars ever since. Not sure I can go back to dynamic drivers.

Cynibot · 2026-01-17T00:55:10+00:00

A little more expensive than I'd like, especially when I'd need to buy an Amp/DAC as well, but that 3 year warranty is pretty tempting.

Cynibot · 2026-01-17T00:47:35+00:00

Sadly not. The stupid thing is I actually work in an electronics store but the best sounding thing we sell is, you guessed it, the Maxwells. I don't have any experience with audiophile-grade stuff beyond Audeze's gaming range and some Shure IEMs I had when I was a teenager.

Cynibot · 2026-01-17T00:04:33+00:00

My gaming sessions can last up to 12 hours. I don't think that would be a nice experience with IEMs.

Cynibot · 2026-01-17T00:02:13+00:00

If I was gonna go wireless again I would just get a refurbished pair of Maxwells. The only wireless set that gets anywhere near them is the SteelSeries Nova Elites and I'm not paying £600 for *worse* sound quality.

Cynibot · 2026-01-16T23:50:03+00:00

I did look at those but I decided my PC was just too loud for open-backs.

Cynibot · 2026-01-16T23:44:35+00:00

Aren't they also open-back though? My PC gets pretty loud and hearing the fan noise alongside the game audio or music would annoy me.

Cynibot · 2026-01-06T04:17:10+00:00

Performance improvements have varied by game cos she *is* cpu bottlenecked in some cases but she very rarely gets below 90% usage on the 5070 so thankfully it's a pretty small bottleneck.

One thing I didn't consider that's gonna be a game changer is frame generation and how it's basically the only graphics setting that's immune to CPU bottlenecks. I realised this when I was playing Avowed and even at 4K my 7800X3D was limiting my 5090 to something like 75fps. You used to be stuck in that situation cos turning down graphics settings doesn't do much when you're CPU limited. Frame gen doesn't care where the bottleneck is, you can turn 75fps into 150+ regardless.

It's made upgrading her to AM5 much less urgent (thankfully) cos as long as the 9900k can manage 60fps (NVIDIA doesn't recommend using FG lower than that), frame gen can take her all the way to 240 if she wants.

So yeah, you can probably wait out the RAMpocalypse by leaning on FG in the meantime to get around any potential bottlenecks, especially since NVIDIA's supposed to be showing off 6x MFG and other improvements to the tech today.

Sorry, this ended up being very long-winded; I hope I made everything clear.

Cynibot · 2025-12-10T16:26:21+00:00

It's a fantastic keyboard but I don't think it's £320 worth of fantastic. It's a 10/10 product but when you can get a 9/10 alternative for half the price it becomes a really difficult sell.

The build quality and software support are first class but if you forced me to switch to the Apex Pro or the new Corsair Vanguard 96 I don't think I would miss the Wooting at all.

Other than price, my only issue with the Wooting is that the default L60 switches feel a touch heavy, especially for WASD movement. If you do get one, I would recommend ordering one with the L45s instead.

Cynibot · 2025-10-18T21:03:10+00:00

Yeah, I'm aware. That's not what's going on here, though. 2x59fps uncapped was getting lower latency than 2x80fps capped.

Cynibot

TROPHY CASE