Quick Answer

For Hollow Knight Silksong, the Ryzen 5 9600X (R5,200 to R6,200) does not hold back the RX 9070 in any way you would feel during a session, so this is a balanced pairing for this title. Expect the GPU to be the limiting part at 1440p and above, while the CPU comfortably pushes past 120 fps on a 165 Hz panel.

Where the Ryzen 5 9600X sits next to the RX 9070

The Ryzen 5 9600X pairs cleanly with the RX 9070 and any frame-rate ceiling comes from Hollow Knight Silksong, not the CPU. The Ryzen 5 9600X carries six to eight modern cores with strong single-thread speed, which is exactly what a fast-paced renderer wants. In Hollow Knight Silksong the heavy lifting is shader and rasterisation work that lands on the RX 9070, so as you climb from 1080p to 4K the CPU does progressively less and the card does more. That is the healthy direction: you want the expensive GPU working near 95 to 99 percent load, not idling while the processor stalls.

Frame targets and where you might feel the CPU

At 1080p you can realistically see 120 to 240 fps depending on settings, and a 144 Hz or 165 Hz monitor is the natural match for this build. The only scenarios where the Ryzen 5 9600X becomes the bottleneck are dropping to 1080p Low with upscaling on a flagship card purely to chase 240 fps. For a typical South African setup running a 1440p 165 Hz panel, the RX 9070 (R13,500 to R16,000) is the part you are paying to keep busy, and it is.

FAQ

Will the Ryzen 5 9600X bottleneck the RX 9070 in Hollow Knight Silksong?

No, not in any way that costs you playable frames. At 1440p and 4K the RX 9070 is the limiter, and the Ryzen 5 9600X sits well within its comfort zone above 120 fps.

What monitor suits this build for Hollow Knight Silksong?

A 1440p 165 Hz panel is the sweet spot. It matches the frame range this pairing produces and leaves the RX 9070 as the part that decides your settings.

Should I spend more on the CPU instead of the RX 9070?

No. The Ryzen 5 9600X at R5,200 to R6,200 already feeds this card. Any spare budget is better aimed at faster DDR5, a larger NVMe drive, or stepping the GPU up a tier.

TIP

combo? Match the Ryzen 5 9600X with 32GB DDR5-6000 and a 1440p 165 Hz monitor, then put the rest of your budget into the RX 9070 tier you can afford at Evetech.