Control

The Intel Core i5-10400F and AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT combination delivers a playable experience in Control, but the quality of that experience depends heavily on the chosen resolution. At 1080p, the hardware has enough headroom to run every preset above the 60 FPS threshold. At 1440p, the system becomes more selective, with only Low and Medium presets maintaining smooth frame rates. At 4K, the combo falls short of the 60 FPS target across all tested settings, making it unsuitable for that resolution. The recorded data shows a clear progression of performance degradation as resolution increases, with the gap between presets also widening at higher pixel counts.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, no preset achieves the 60 FPS playable threshold. The highest recorded average frame rate at this resolution is 58 FPS on Low settings, which is still below the target. The verdict data confirms this, listing no playable settings for 4K. The best option available, Low, produces an average of 58 FPS, but this does not clear the threshold, so the recommendation is to avoid 4K with this combination for Control.

At 2560x1440, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Medium, which delivers an average of 65.3 FPS. This is the optimal choice for 1440p, as it provides the highest visual quality while maintaining smooth performance. Low settings at this resolution reach 89.9 FPS, but Medium is the better balance. High settings drop to 54.1 FPS, and Ultra falls to 50 FPS, both below the threshold.

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is Ultra, with an average of 64.8 FPS. This means the system can run the game at maximum settings at 1080p while still clearing the playable threshold. High settings reach 75.5 FPS, Medium reaches 81.6 FPS, and Low reaches 118.4 FPS, but Ultra is the recommended preset since it offers the highest fidelity without sacrificing the 60 FPS target.

CPU and GPU Roles

The scaling between resolutions reveals how the balance of CPU and GPU workload shifts. At 1920x1080, the system produces a wide spread of results across presets, from 118.4 FPS at Low to 64.8 FPS at Ultra. This suggests that at lower resolutions, the GPU has enough headroom that the CPU can keep feeding frames, and the preset level becomes the dominant factor in determining performance.

Moving to 2560x1440, the average frame rates compress significantly. Low settings produce 89.9 FPS, Medium produces 65.3 FPS, High produces 54.1 FPS, and Ultra produces 50 FPS. The percentage drop from Low to Ultra at 1440p is roughly 44%, compared to a drop of roughly 45% at 1080p. The more important observation is that the absolute values at 1440p are much lower than at 1080p for the same presets, indicating the GPU is becoming the limiting factor as pixel count rises.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is clearly the dominant constraint. Even Low settings only reach 58 FPS, and Ultra drops to 33.3 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is a 43% reduction, but the absolute performance is so low that the CPU role is negligible. The data indicates that at 1080p, the combination of CPU and GPU is well balanced, with the CPU able to support high frame rates. At 1440p, the GPU starts to limit performance, and at 4K, the GPU is entirely the bottleneck.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the recorded average frame rates are as follows: Low settings produce 58 FPS, Medium produces 43.7 FPS, High produces 39 FPS, and Ultra produces 33.3 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a steady decline, with the largest single step between Low and Medium, a drop of 14.3 FPS. The gap between Medium and High is 4.7 FPS, and the gap between High and Ultra is 5.7 FPS. No minimum or maximum FPS values were recorded for any 4K preset.

At 2560x1440, Low settings produce 89.9 FPS, Medium produces 65.3 FPS, High produces 54.1 FPS, and Ultra produces 50 FPS. The drop from Low to Medium is 24.6 FPS, which is the largest step at this resolution. The drop from Medium to High is 11.2 FPS, and the drop from High to Ultra is 4.1 FPS. This pattern shows that the most significant performance cost comes from moving from Low to Medium, while the difference between High and Ultra is relatively small.

At 1920x1080, Low settings produce 118.4 FPS, Medium produces 81.6 FPS, High produces 75.5 FPS, and Ultra produces 64.8 FPS. The drop from Low to Medium is 36.8 FPS, the largest single step at any resolution. The drop from Medium to High is 6.1 FPS, and the drop from High to Ultra is 10.7 FPS. The 1080p results show that the system has substantial headroom at Low settings, and even Ultra remains comfortably above the 60 FPS threshold.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested hardware combinations for Control, this specific pairing of the Intel Core i5-10400F and AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT ranks 2641 out of 3720 total combinations. This places it in the lower-middle portion of all tested systems, meaning there are many faster combinations, but also a significant number of slower ones. The rank reflects the measured performance across all resolutions and settings, and the data shows that this combo is capable of running the game well at 1080p and adequately at 1440p with adjusted settings.

The CPU itself sits at the 68th percentile among all tested processors, which indicates it outperforms roughly two-thirds of the CPUs in the database. The GPU sits at the 70th percentile among all tested graphics cards. When combined, the system achieves a rank that is consistent with these individual percentiles, though the game's specific demands at higher resolutions pull the overall rank down from what the individual component percentiles might suggest.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the nearest rivals for the CPU, the Intel Core i5-10400F has an average benchmark score of 14185. The closest competitor is the Intel Xeon 6756E, which scores 14163, a difference of 0.2% in favor of the i5-10400F. The Intel Core 7 160UL scores 14232, which is 0.3% higher than the i5-10400F. The AMD EPYC 7552 scores 14115, which is 0.5% lower. The AMD Ryzen 3 7320C scores 14277, which is 0.6% higher. These four CPUs are all within 0.6% of the i5-10400F in average benchmark score, meaning any of them would deliver nearly identical performance in Control.

For the GPU, the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT has an average benchmark score of 24442. The nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1630, which scores 24277, a difference of 0.7% in favor of the RX 6600 XT. The Intel Arc A350M scores 24647, which is 0.8% higher than the RX 6600 XT. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti scores 24236, which is 0.8% lower. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER scores 24170, which is 1.1% lower. All four GPUs are within 1.1% of the RX 6600 XT in average benchmark score, so swapping to any of these would result in very similar frame rates in Control.

The Verdict

The verdict for this combination is clear. At 1080p, the system can run Control at Ultra settings with an average of 64.8 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS threshold. High, Medium, and Low presets also clear the threshold, with High at 75.5 FPS, Medium at 81.6 FPS, and Low at 118.4 FPS. All four presets at 1080p are playable.

At 1440p, the system can run Low and Medium presets, with Medium being the best playable setting at 65.3 FPS. High and Ultra fall below the threshold at 54.1 FPS and 50 FPS respectively. At 4K, no preset clears the 60 FPS threshold, with the best result being 58 FPS at Low settings. The verdict data confirms that 4K is not playable with this combination. Overall, this PC can run Control well at 1080p on any preset, and at 1440p with reduced settings, but it cannot handle 4K.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Control at 1080p on Ultra settings?

A: Yes. The measured average frame rate at 1920x1080 with Ultra settings is 64.8 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS playable threshold. All four presets at 1080p are listed as playable.

Q: What is the best setting for 1440p?

A: Medium is the best playable setting at 2560x1440, with an average of 65.3 FPS. Low also clears the threshold at 89.9 FPS, but High and Ultra do not.

Q: Is 4K playable with this hardware?

A: No. At 3840x2160, the highest average frame rate is 58 FPS on Low settings, which is below the 60 FPS threshold. The verdict data lists no playable settings for 4K.

Q: How does the Intel Core i5-10400F compare to its nearest rival, the Intel Core 7 160UL?

A: The Intel Core 7 160UL has an average benchmark score of 14232, which is 0.3% higher than the i5-10400F's score of 14185. This difference is negligible for gaming performance.

Q: How does the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT compare to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER?

A: The RX 6600 XT has an average benchmark score of 24442, which is 1.1% higher than the RTX 2080 SUPER's score of 24170. The performance difference is minimal.

Q: What is the rank of this CPU and GPU combination among all tested combos for Control?

A: The combination ranks 2641 out of 3720 tested combinations in the database.