Control

Measured FPS Breakdown

The recorded data for Control with the Intel Core i5-10400F and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 shows a wide performance envelope across resolutions and presets. At 1920x1080, the combo delivers from 105 FPS at Ultra settings up to 172.3 FPS at Low settings. The Medium preset lands at 130.5 FPS, while High reaches 120.2 FPS. This means that even the most demanding preset at 1080p stays far above the 60 FPS playable threshold, with Ultra holding a 75% margin over that line.

Moving to 2560x1440, the same pattern holds but with lower absolute numbers. Ultra settings produce an average of 75.5 FPS, High yields 85.6 FPS, Medium reaches 103.1 FPS, and Low peaks at 140.2 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra at this resolution is substantial: 64.7 FPS, which indicates that the GPU has significant headroom to trade for visual fidelity. The 1440p Ultra result remains playable, but the margin over 60 FPS is thinner than at 1080p.

At 3840x2160, the performance picture changes noticeably. Ultra settings drop to 52.2 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS playable threshold. High settings produce 59.3 FPS, also under the threshold but only by a small margin. Medium reaches 65.9 FPS, clearing the threshold, and Low jumps to 96.6 FPS. The 4K data reveals that this combination cannot sustain Ultra settings at a playable frame rate, but it can handle Medium comfortably.

The database records no minimum or maximum FPS values for any of these configurations, so only average frame rates are available for analysis. Across all resolutions, the scaling from Low to Ultra follows a consistent downward trend, with the steepest drops occurring at 4K where the difference between Low and Ultra is 44.4 FPS.

Best Settings per Resolution

Based on the playable threshold of 60 FPS, the optimal settings differ by resolution. At 1920x1080, the best preset is Ultra, which runs at an average of 105 FPS. This is the most demanding preset available, and it stays well above the playable line, so there is no reason to reduce quality at this resolution.

At 2560x1440, Ultra is also the best choice, with an average of 75.5 FPS. The data shows that this preset clears the 60 FPS threshold by 15.5 FPS, which provides enough headroom for typical gameplay variance. All four presets at 1440p are listed as playable, but Ultra offers the highest visual quality while remaining playable.

At 3840x2160, the situation changes. Ultra and High both fall below 60 FPS, with averages of 52.2 FPS and 59.3 FPS respectively. Medium is the best playable preset, delivering 65.9 FPS. The verdict data confirms this: the playable settings at 4K are Low and Medium only, with Medium as the best option. Low runs at 96.6 FPS, but Medium provides a better visual experience while still clearing the threshold.

These results indicate that the RTX 3080 paired with the i5-10400F can handle Control at maximum quality for 1080p and 1440p displays, but 4K users must compromise on settings to maintain smooth gameplay.

CPU and GPU Roles

The measured FPS data across resolutions and presets reveals how the CPU and GPU divide responsibilities in Control. The scaling between 1920x1080 and 2560x1440 shows a GPU-bound pattern: at Ultra settings, the average drops from 105 FPS to 75.5 FPS, a reduction of 28.1%. At Low settings, the drop is from 172.3 FPS to 140.2 FPS, a reduction of 18.6%. This larger percentage drop at Ultra settings suggests that the game becomes more GPU-limited as visual complexity increases, while at Low settings the CPU has more influence on the frame rate.

The jump from 2560x1440 to 3840x2160 amplifies the GPU role. At Ultra, the average falls from 75.5 FPS to 52.2 FPS, a 30.8% reduction. At Low, the average falls from 140.2 FPS to 96.6 FPS, a 31.1% reduction. These similar percentage drops across presets indicate that at 4K, the GPU is the dominant bottleneck regardless of settings. The CPU still delivers enough throughput to feed the GPU, as evidenced by the fact that Low settings at 4K nearly double the frame rate of Ultra settings.

The i5-10400F has 6 cores and 12 threads, with a boost clock of 4.30 GHz and a base clock of 2.90 GHz. Its benchmark scores include a Cinebench R23 multi-core result of 10283 points and a single-core result of 1451 points. These are adequate for feeding a high-end GPU like the RTX 3080, which has 8704 shading units and a boost clock of 1710 MHz. The GPU also features 10 GB of GDDR6X memory on a 320-bit bus with 760.3 GB/s of bandwidth.

At 1080p, the CPU matters more relative to the GPU because the pixel count is lower, so the GPU finishes frames faster and waits for the CPU more often. The i5-10400F's 3DMark single-thread score of 688 and multi-thread score of 4735 indicate solid per-core performance, which helps in this scenario. At 4K, the GPU becomes the clear limiting factor, and the CPU's role diminishes. The data shows that the RTX 3080's raw output drops significantly as resolution increases, while the CPU's contribution remains constant.

Overall, the i5-10400F is sufficient for this game at all tested resolutions, but the RTX 3080 is the component that determines whether playable frame rates are achievable at 4K Ultra. The 52.2 FPS result at 4K Ultra is a GPU limitation, not a CPU limitation.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The database lists nearest rivals for both the CPU and GPU based on average benchmark scores. For the Intel Core i5-10400F, the closest alternatives are the Intel Xeon 6756E with an average score of 14163 and a delta of 0.2%, the Intel Core 7 160UL with a score of 14232 and a delta of -0.3%, the AMD EPYC 7552 with a score of 14115 and a delta of 0.5%, and the AMD Ryzen 3 7320C with a score of 14277 and a delta of -0.6%. These deltas are all under 1%, meaning any of these CPUs would produce nearly identical frame rates in Control when paired with the same GPU.

For the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080, the nearest rivals are the NVIDIA P106-100 with an average score of 23249 and a delta of -0.3%, the AMD Radeon Pro Vega 16 with a score of 23250 and a delta of -0.3%, the AMD Radeon RX 6600M with a score of 23273 and a delta of -0.4%, and the AMD Radeon R9 M290X with a score of 23276 and a delta of -0.4%. These are all within 0.4% of the RTX 3080's average score of 23172, so swapping in any of these GPUs would yield essentially the same measured FPS in Control.

What this means in practice: if a user has a system with a Xeon 6756E or a Ryzen 3 7320C instead of the i5-10400F, the Control benchmark results would be indistinguishable. Similarly, if the GPU were a P106-100 or an RX 6600M instead of the RTX 3080, the frame rates at each resolution and setting would fall within a rounding error of the recorded values. The percentile rank for the CPU is 68 among all CPUs, and the GPU is also at the 68th percentile among all GPUs, placing both components in the upper third of their respective categories.

It is important to note that the rival GPUs listed include some unusual entries, such as the Radeon R9 M290X, which is an older mobile part. The benchmark scores suggest that the RTX 3080 and these rivals occupy a similar performance tier, but the architectural differences may affect other games differently. For Control specifically, the measured data indicates that these alternatives would behave similarly.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Control at 4K Ultra settings?

A: No. The measured average FPS at 3840x2160 Ultra is 52.2, which falls below the playable threshold of 60 FPS. The best playable setting at 4K is Medium, which runs at 65.9 FPS.

Q: What is the highest playable preset at 1440p?

A: Ultra settings at 2560x1440 run at an average of 75.5 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS threshold. All four presets at this resolution are playable, but Ultra offers the best visual quality.

Q: How does the performance at 1080p compare to 4K?

A: At 1920x1080 Ultra, the average FPS is 105, which is more than double the 4K Ultra result of 52.2 FPS. Even at 1080p Low, the average is 172.3 FPS, while 4K Low is 96.6 FPS.

Q: Which component is the bottleneck at 4K?

A: The GPU is the limiting factor at 4K. The frame rate drops by similar percentages across all presets when moving from 1440p to 4K, indicating the GPU's rendering load is the constraint, not the CPU.

Q: What is the lowest playable setting at 4K?

A: Low settings at 3840x2160 run at 96.6 FPS and are playable. Medium is also playable at 65.9 FPS. High and Ultra are not playable because they fall below 60 FPS.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest alternatives for this game?

A: The i5-10400F has an average benchmark score of 14185, and its closest rivals are within 0.6% of that score. For Control, any of these CPUs would produce nearly identical frame rates when paired with the same GPU.

How This Combo Ranks

In the database of tested combinations for Control, the Intel Core i5-10400F with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 ranks 1108 out of 3720 combos. This places the pairing in the 70th percentile of all tested systems, meaning it outperforms roughly 70% of the combinations in the database for this specific game.

The ranking reflects the combination's ability to handle Control at high frame rates across most resolutions. The 1080p results are particularly strong, with Ultra settings exceeding 100 FPS. The 1440p results remain playable at Ultra, and 4K is playable at Medium. The only weakness is 4K Ultra, where the 52.2 FPS result pulls the ranking down relative to systems with more powerful GPUs.

The CPU's 68th percentile ranking among all CPUs and the GPU's 68th percentile ranking among all GPUs indicate a balanced pairing. Neither component significantly drags down the other, and the overall combo rank of 1108 out of 3720 reflects this harmony. Systems ranked higher likely use newer or more powerful GPUs that can sustain 4K Ultra at 60 FPS, while systems ranked lower typically have weaker GPUs or CPUs that bottleneck in this game.

For a user with a 1080p or 1440p display, this combo is effectively overkill for Control, as it delivers maximum settings well above the playable threshold. For 4K users, the combo requires a settings compromise but still provides a smooth experience at Medium quality. The rank of 1108 out of 3720 places it in the upper third of all tested combos, which is a strong result for a mid-generation CPU paired with a high-end GPU.