Control

FAQ

Q: What is the playable threshold for this game, and how does this combo compare?

A: The database uses a playable threshold of 60 FPS. The Intel Core i5-10400F and AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT combination clears that threshold at 1080p on all four tested presets, at 1440p on Low and Medium, and at 4K only on Low.

Q: What is the best playable setting at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440, the playable settings are Low and Medium. The best setting is Medium, which delivers an average of 67 FPS, with a minimum of 57 FPS and a maximum of 76 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU compare to nearby processors in the database?

A: The Intel Core i5-10400F has an average benchmark score of 14185, placing it in the 68th percentile of all CPUs. Its nearest rival, the Intel Xeon 6756E, scores 14163, a delta of 0.2%, meaning the i5-10400F is essentially tied with it. The AMD EPYC 7552 scores 14115, which is 0.5% lower.

Q: How does the GPU compare to nearby graphics cards?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT has an average benchmark score of 17083, placing it in the 60th percentile of all GPUs. Its nearest rival, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690, scores 17037, a delta of 0.3%, putting the RX 7600 XT marginally ahead. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 scores 17208, which is 0.7% higher.

Q: What are the CPU's key specifications?

A: The Intel Core i5-10400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor from the Core 10th Gen series, based on Comet Lake architecture on a 14 nm process. It has a base clock of 2.90 GHz and a boost clock of 4.30 GHz, with 12 MB of shared L3 cache and a 65 W TDP.

Q: What are the GPU's key specifications?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT is based on the RDNA 3.0 architecture with the Navi 33 chip, built on a 6 nm process at TSMC. It has 16 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus with 288.0 GB/s bandwidth, 2048 shading units, 32 ray tracing cores, and a boost clock of 2755 MHz.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark data reveals a clear pattern: the GPU is the dominant component for Control at higher resolutions, while the CPU's role becomes more apparent at lower settings and resolutions. The scaling from 1080p to 4K shows the performance drop is primarily driven by the graphics card's workload.

At 3840x2160, the average FPS ranges from 35 on Ultra to 63 on Low. The gap between presets is substantial, with Medium at 45 FPS and High at 40 FPS. This steep drop from Low to Medium, a 28.6% reduction in average FPS, indicates that the RX 7600 XT is the limiting factor at 4K. The GPU must render four times the pixels of 1080p, and the data shows it cannot maintain 60 FPS beyond the Low preset.

At 2560x1440, the situation improves. Low delivers 94 FPS, Medium 67 FPS, High 59 FPS, and Ultra 51 FPS. The transition from Low to Medium costs 27 FPS, but the GPU still clears the 60 FPS threshold. At High, the average drops to 59 FPS, just below the playable mark. This resolution represents the balance point where the GPU's memory bandwidth and shading units are stressed, but the CPU still has enough headroom to feed the pipeline.

At 1920x1080, the combo reaches its full potential. Low hits 124 FPS, Medium 88 FPS, High 78 FPS, and Ultra 68 FPS. The CPU's 6 cores and 12 threads, with a boost clock of 4.30 GHz, are sufficient to keep frame times consistent. The scaling from Low to Ultra at 1080p is 56 FPS, a 45.2% drop, which is less severe than at higher resolutions. This suggests that at 1080p, the GPU is still the primary bottleneck, but the CPU's single-thread performance, as indicated by its Cinebench R23 single-core score of 1451, provides enough compute for the game's physics and logic.

The measured data shows that Control is GPU-bound across all resolutions, but the degree varies. At 4K, the GPU is overwhelmed, and the CPU's contribution is minimal. At 1080p, the GPU is still the main constraint, but the CPU's performance ceiling is not reached. The medium preset at 1440p, with 67 FPS average and a minimum of 57 FPS, represents the best combination of visual quality and smoothness for this hardware.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The nearest rivals for the CPU and GPU provide context for what other hardware would behave similarly in Control. For the Intel Core i5-10400F, the closest matches in the database are the Intel Xeon 6756E, the Intel Core 7 160UL, the AMD EPYC 7552, and the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C.

The Intel Xeon 6756E has an average score of 14163, a 0.2% delta from the i5-10400F. This means the Xeon would deliver nearly identical frame rates in CPU-bound scenarios. The Intel Core 7 160UL scores 14232, which is 0.3% higher, so it would perform slightly better in tasks that rely on multi-threaded processing. The AMD EPYC 7552 scores 14115, 0.5% lower, while the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C scores 14277, 0.6% higher. In practice, all four rivals would produce frame rates within 1% of the i5-10400F in Control, meaning the game would run virtually identically on any of these processors.

For the AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT, the nearest rivals are the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690, the AMD Radeon HD 7970M, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070, and the NVIDIA Tesla M4. The GTX 690 scores 17037, a 0.3% delta, so it would match the RX 7600 XT's performance in most scenes. The Radeon HD 7970M scores 17019, 0.4% lower, and would be slightly slower. The RTX 3070 scores 17208, 0.7% higher, giving it a marginal edge in GPU-bound scenarios. The Tesla M4 scores 16932, 0.9% lower, and would trail the RX 7600 XT by a small margin.

These rivals do not necessarily have the same memory capacity or feature set, but the benchmark scores indicate they would produce similar average FPS in Control. For example, at 1080p Ultra, the RX 7600 XT delivers 68 FPS. The RTX 3070, with a 0.7% higher score, would likely deliver around 68.5 FPS, while the GTX 690 would be near 68 FPS. The differences are within measurement noise, so users with any of these cards should expect comparable gameplay.

The Verdict

Yes, this PC can run Control, but the playable experience depends heavily on the chosen resolution and settings. The database's verdict by resolution is clear: at 1920x1080, all four presets (Low, Medium, High, and Ultra) clear the 60 FPS threshold, with Ultra averaging 68 FPS. At 2560x1440, only Low and Medium are playable, with Medium averaging 67 FPS. At 3840x2160, only Low is playable, averaging 63 FPS.

The best settings for each resolution are determined by the highest preset that maintains an average above 60 FPS. At 1080p, Ultra is the best setting with 68 FPS average. At 1440p, Medium is the best setting with 67 FPS average. At 4K, Low is the only option, with 63 FPS average.

The data indicates that this combo is well-suited for 1080p gaming at maximum settings and 1440p gaming at medium settings. For 4K, users must accept Low settings to stay above the playable threshold. The GPU's 16 GB of memory is ample for Control, but the 128-bit bus and 288.0 GB/s bandwidth limit its ability to push high frame rates at 4K. The CPU, with its 12 threads and 4.30 GHz boost clock, is not the limiting factor in this game.

The measured FPS numbers show that the game is playable at the recommended settings, but users should be aware of the minimum FPS at 1440p Medium, which is 57 FPS. This dip below 60 FPS could be noticeable in intense scenes, though the average of 67 FPS provides a comfortable margin. At 4K Low, the average is 63 FPS, but no minimum FPS was recorded, so the frame pacing is less certain.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The database contains measured FPS data for three resolutions and four settings each, though some entries lack minimum and maximum values. The complete breakdown is as follows:

At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 124 FPS, with no minimum or maximum recorded. Medium averages 88 FPS, with a minimum of 75 FPS and a maximum of 101 FPS. High averages 78 FPS, with no minimum or maximum. Ultra averages 68 FPS, with no minimum or maximum.

At 2560x1440, the Low preset averages 94 FPS, with no minimum or maximum. Medium averages 67 FPS, with a minimum of 57 FPS and a maximum of 76 FPS. High averages 59 FPS, with no minimum or maximum. Ultra averages 51 FPS, with no minimum or maximum.

At 3840x2160, the Low preset averages 63 FPS, with no minimum or maximum. Medium averages 45 FPS, with a minimum of 38 FPS and a maximum of 52 FPS. High averages 40 FPS, with no minimum or maximum. Ultra averages 35 FPS, with no minimum or maximum.

The data shows a consistent pattern: each resolution step down (from 4K to 1440p to 1080p) yields significant FPS gains. For instance, the Low preset goes from 63 FPS at 4K to 94 FPS at 1440p (a 49.2% increase) and then to 124 FPS at 1080p (a 31.9% increase from 1440p). The Medium preset, which has the most complete data, shows 45 FPS at 4K, 67 FPS at 1440p, and 88 FPS at 1080p.

The minimum FPS values, where recorded, provide insight into frame consistency. At 1080p Medium, the minimum of 75 FPS is well above the playable threshold. At 1440p Medium, the minimum of 57 FPS dips below 60, which could cause occasional stutter. At 4K Medium, the minimum of 38 FPS indicates a poor experience.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-10400F and AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT combination ranks 2363 out of 3720 tested combos in the database for Control. This places it in the 36.5th percentile of all combinations, meaning it outperforms roughly a third of tested systems but trails the majority.

This rank reflects the GPU's position in the overall hierarchy. The RX 7600 XT sits in the 60th percentile of all GPUs, which is above average but not high-end. The CPU, at the 68th percentile, is similarly positioned. The combination of two mid-range components results in a system that can handle Control at 1080p and 1440p but struggles at 4K.

The rank is driven by the GPU's performance at higher resolutions. Many combos with more powerful GPUs, such as those in the top quartile, would deliver higher frame rates at 4K and maintain 60 FPS at 1440p on Ultra. The RX 7600 XT's 16 GB of memory is a plus, but its compute throughput, measured at 22.57 TFLOPS FP32, is the limiting factor for this game.

In the context of all tested combos, this system is a solid mid-range option. It clears the playable threshold at 1080p on all presets and at 1440p on medium settings, which covers the most common gaming scenarios. Users with 1080p monitors will have the best experience, while those with 1440p displays can still play comfortably with adjusted settings. The rank of 2363 out of 3720 suggests that while there are many faster combos, there are also many slower ones, and this pairing delivers dependable, if not spectacular, performance in Control.