The RX 7900 XT is a very powerful high-end graphics card, so you'll want a capable CPU to avoid bottlenecking. An 8-core or higher modern CPU is recommended. For AMD options, the Ryzen 7000 series with Zen 4 architecture is ideal. The Ryzen 9 7950X, Ryzen 7 7700X, and Ryzen 5 7600X all pair very well with the 7900 XT. On Intel's side, a 13th gen Raptor Lake CPU is a great fit. The Core i9-13900K, Core i7-13700K, and Core i5-13600K offer excellent performance with the 7900 XT. High core/thread counts, lots of cache, fast single core speeds, and support for PCIe 5.0/DDR5 memory are key CPU features to match with the 7900 XT. For pure gaming, Intel CPUs tend to edge out AMD right now due to stronger single threaded speed. But AMD still provides smooth gaming experiences. Budget options like the Ryzen 5 7600X or Core i5-13600K can work well for 1080p gaming while high-end choices like the Ryzen 9 7950X or Core i9-13900K enable maximum 1440p/4K performance. Make sure to pair the CPU and 7900 XT with a good cooler and motherboard to enable stability and optimal performance. Overall, modern high core count CPUs from AMD or Intel that have Gen4/Gen5 support are recommended to avoid bottlenecking the powerful 7900 XT graphics card.