Plenty of SA gamers chase frame rates without checking whether the CPU and GPU actually match, so this guide settles it for the RTX 5070 with Hollow Knight Silksong.
Quick Answer
For the Ryzen 5 9600X in Hollow Knight Silksong the answer is no real bottleneck: the graphics card is the limit, not the processor. The 9600X comfortably feeds the RTX 5070 to its target of about 240 fps, and DLSS 4 Frame Generation stretches it well at 1440p. Budget roughly R5,499 for the chip and R15,999 for the card.
Resolution and settings advice for Hollow Knight Silksong
Aim the RTX 5070 at its strength: 1440p high play. Drop shadows and volumetrics one notch before touching textures, since the 12GB of VRAM on this card likes high-res textures. With upscaling set to quality you keep one-percent lows steady around the 240 fps mark, which matters more for feel than a higher average.
RAM, cooling and the rest of the Hollow Knight Silksong build
A bottleneck check is only half the story. Give the 9600X 32GB of DDR5-6000 so Hollow Knight Silksong textures and the OS never spill to disk, and a decent tower cooler keeps the chip boosting in long sessions. Pair the RTX 5070 with at least a 750W supply for the RTX line or 650W for the RX cards. These supporting parts protect the frame rate you paid for.
Is this combo worth the rand for Hollow Knight Silksong
At about R5,499 for the Ryzen 5 9600X and R15,999 for the RTX 5070, the pairing lands in honest value territory for Hollow Knight Silksong. You are not overspending on a chip the card cannot use, nor starving a strong GPU with a weak processor. For a 1440p high build aimed at this game, the balance is right.
FAQ
Should I spend more on the CPU instead for Hollow Knight Silksong?
Not for this game. The Ryzen 5 9600X at around R5,499 already matches the RTX 5070, so extra CPU budget would sit idle. Put any spare rand toward faster RAM or storage.
Do I need a stronger power supply for the RTX 5070?
Size the PSU to the card: 650W is fine for the RX 9070 class and 750W or more suits the RTX 5070 Ti and above. A quality unit protects both the 9600X and the GPU in Hollow Knight Silksong.
Will the Ryzen 5 9600X bottleneck the RTX 5070 in Hollow Knight Silksong at 1440p?
No. At 1440p the RTX 5070 does the heavy lifting and the 9600X has spare cores, so the card is the limit. You only risk a mild CPU cap at 1080p with everything turned down.
Build Tip
Set your resolution to the 1440p high sweet spot, enable quality upscaling, and the Ryzen 5 9600X will feed the RTX 5070 without a real bottleneck in Hollow Knight Silksong.