Control

The Intel Core i5-10400F paired with the AMD Radeon RX 580 produces a very specific performance envelope in Control, one that is heavily dictated by resolution and preset selection. The recorded data shows a system that can cross the 60 FPS threshold, but only under narrowly defined conditions. At 4K, the combination is firmly in slideshow territory, while 1440p offers a marginal improvement that still falls short of playable. The only configuration that clears the playable threshold of 60 FPS is 1080p with Low settings, where the average frame rate reaches 63.2 FPS.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for this combo covers three resolutions and four quality presets. At 3840x2160, the results are uniformly low. The Low preset produces an average of 34.2 FPS, which is the best result at this resolution. Medium drops to 21.7 FPS, High falls further to 18.7 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 16.5 FPS. None of these averages approach the 60 FPS playable threshold, and the gap between Low and Ultra is substantial: Ultra delivers roughly half the frame rate of Low.

Moving to 2560x1440, the situation improves but remains below the playable mark. The Low preset averages 49 FPS, which is the only 1440p result within striking distance of 60 FPS. Medium averages 34.5 FPS, High averages 28.3 FPS, and Ultra averages 25.2 FPS. The scaling from 4K to 1440p is significant: Low improves from 34.2 FPS to 49 FPS, a gain of 14.8 FPS. Medium improves from 21.7 FPS to 34.5 FPS, and High from 18.7 FPS to 28.3 FPS. Ultra improves from 16.5 FPS to 25.2 FPS.

At 1920x1080, the data finally shows a playable configuration. Low settings average 63.2 FPS, clearing the 60 FPS threshold by a narrow margin. Medium settings average 43.9 FPS, which is a significant drop from Low. High settings average 38.3 FPS, and Ultra settings average 33.5 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra at 1080p is steep: moving from Low to Medium costs 19.3 FPS, while moving from Medium to High costs another 5.6 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra is 29.7 FPS, indicating that the preset choice has a larger impact on performance than the resolution change from 1440p to 1080p in some cases.

The data set does not include min or max FPS values for any configuration, so the analysis relies on average frame rates only. The absence of min FPS data means that transient frame drops cannot be assessed, but the averages provide a clear picture of the overall performance tier.

CPU and GPU Roles

The performance scaling across resolutions and presets indicates that the GPU is the dominant constraint in this pairing. The RX 580's average benchmark score places it in the 53rd percentile among all GPUs, while the i5-10400F sits in the 68th percentile among CPUs. This percentile gap suggests that the processor has more headroom than the graphics card in most scenarios.

The resolution scaling confirms this. At 4K, the GPU is clearly overwhelmed, as even the Low preset only manages 34.2 FPS. Dropping to 1440p improves the Low preset result by 14.8 FPS, and dropping to 1080p improves it by another 14.2 FPS. This linear improvement with decreasing resolution is characteristic of a GPU-bound workload, where the same graphical work is being rendered at fewer pixels. The CPU's role becomes more prominent at lower resolutions and lower presets, but even at 1080p Low, the frame rate only reaches 63.2 FPS, which is barely above the threshold.

The preset scaling further supports the GPU-bound interpretation. At 1080p, the difference between Low and Ultra is 29.7 FPS, while at 1440p, the same preset range spans 23.8 FPS, and at 4K, it spans 17.7 FPS. The absolute frame rate difference between presets shrinks as resolution increases, which is expected when the GPU is saturated: at higher resolutions, the pixel fill rate becomes the bottleneck, and preset changes have a smaller absolute effect. The CPU, with its 6 cores and 12 threads, does not appear to be the limiting factor in any measured configuration, as even the most demanding preset at 1080p still yields a higher frame rate than the least demanding preset at 4K.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the CPU and GPU in the database provide context for what other hardware would behave similarly. The i5-10400F's closest matches include the Intel Xeon 6756E, which has an average score 0.2% higher, and the AMD EPYC 7552, which is 0.5% higher. On the lower side, the Intel Core 7 160UL is 0.3% lower, and the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C is 0.6% lower. These deltas are all within a single percentage point, meaning that swapping the i5-10400F for any of these processors would produce nearly identical CPU performance in Control, assuming the GPU remains the same.

For the GPU, the RX 580's nearest rivals are similarly close. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Mobile scores 0.1% lower, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER scores 0.4% lower, the AMD Radeon 740M scores 0.5% higher, and the AMD FirePro W5100 scores 0.6% higher. The GTX 1660 SUPER is a particularly relevant comparison, as it is a desktop card with a similar performance tier. The recorded data suggests that a system with the i5-10400F and a GTX 1660 SUPER would produce frame rates nearly identical to those measured with the RX 580, within a fraction of a percent.

The practical implication is that this combo's performance is representative of a broad cluster of mid-range hardware. Users with any of these nearby components should expect similar results in Control, with the same resolution and preset limitations.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Control at 4K?

A: No. The best 4K result is 34.2 FPS on Low settings, which is well below the 60 FPS playable threshold. Ultra settings average 16.5 FPS.

Q: What is the best playable setting at 1080p?

A: Low settings are the only playable configuration, averaging 63.2 FPS. Medium drops to 43.9 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: How does the RX 580 compare to the GTX 1660 SUPER?

A: The RX 580's average benchmark score is 0.4% higher than the GTX 1660 SUPER's, so the two cards would produce nearly identical frame rates in this game.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU the bottleneck in this pairing?

A: The data indicates the GPU is the primary constraint. The RX 580 sits in the 53rd percentile among GPUs, while the i5-10400F sits in the 68th percentile among CPUs, and frame rates scale heavily with resolution.

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra at 1440p?

A: Low averages 49 FPS and Ultra averages 25.2 FPS, a difference of 23.8 FPS.

Q: Does this combo rank high among tested configurations?

A: No. It ranks 3432 out of 3720 tested combos, placing it in the lower portion of the database.

The Verdict

This PC can run Control, but only at 1080p with the Low preset. The verdict data lists 1920x1080 Low as the sole playable configuration, with an average of 63.2 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS threshold by 3.2 FPS. Every other resolution and preset combination fails to reach 60 FPS.

At 2560x1440, no settings are playable. The best result is 49 FPS on Low, which is 11 FPS short of the threshold. Medium averages 34.5 FPS, High averages 28.3 FPS, and Ultra averages 25.2 FPS. At 3840x2160, the situation is worse: Low averages 34.2 FPS, Medium averages 21.7 FPS, High averages 18.7 FPS, and Ultra averages 16.5 FPS. The verdict by resolution confirms this, listing no playable settings for either 1440p or 4K.

For users with a 1080p display, the system is technically capable of running the game, but the margin is thin. The 63.2 FPS average on Low leaves little room for demanding scenes, and the absence of min FPS data means that dips below 60 FPS cannot be ruled out. For 1440p or 4K displays, this combo is not suitable for playable frame rates.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the recorded data shows no playable settings. The best average is 34.2 FPS on Low, which is below the 60 FPS threshold, so there is no recommended preset for this resolution.

At 2560x1440, the same applies. The highest average is 49 FPS on Low, which falls short of 60 FPS. No preset at this resolution is recommended.

At 1920x1080, the best playable setting is Low, with an average of 63.2 FPS. This is the only configuration across all tested resolutions and presets that clears the 60 FPS threshold. Medium settings average 43.9 FPS, High settings average 38.3 FPS, and Ultra settings average 33.5 FPS, so users seeking higher visual quality must accept frame rates well below 60 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the Intel Core i5-10400F and AMD Radeon RX 580 ranks 3432 out of 3720 tested combos in Control. This places it in the bottom portion of the database, with only 288 combos performing worse. The ranking reflects the hardware's age and tier: the CPU sits in the 68th percentile among all CPUs, but the GPU sits in the 53rd percentile, and the game's demands at higher resolutions expose the GPU's limitations.

The rank is consistent with the measured FPS data. A combo that can only manage 63.2 FPS at 1080p Low, and cannot reach 60 FPS at any other resolution or preset, will naturally sit low in a database that includes higher-end hardware. The nearest rival comparisons show that this performance is typical for the hardware class, but it remains firmly in the lower third of tested configurations for this specific game.