Control

Measured FPS Breakdown

The recorded data for this configuration, Intel Core i5-11400F paired with AMD Radeon RX 9060, shows a clear performance curve across the three tested resolutions. At 1920x1080, the system delivers its strongest results, with average frame rates ranging from 71 FPS at Ultra to 130 FPS at Low. The High preset averages 82 FPS, while Medium averages 92 FPS with a minimum of 78 FPS and a maximum of 106 FPS. The Ultra preset averages 71 FPS, which clears the 60 FPS playability threshold by a comfortable margin.

Moving to 2560x1440, the averages step down but remain largely playable. Low settings produce 98 FPS on average, Medium produces 70 FPS with a minimum of 59 FPS and a maximum of 80 FPS, and High produces 62 FPS. The Ultra preset drops to an average of 54 FPS, which falls below the 60 FPS threshold. The data shows that at 1440p, the system can handle the three lower presets without dropping below the playable mark on average, but the most demanding preset begins to strain the hardware.

At 3840x2160, the performance picture changes significantly. The Low preset averages 66 FPS, which is the only setting at this resolution that stays above the 60 FPS line. Medium averages 47 FPS with a minimum of 40 FPS and a maximum of 54 FPS, High averages 42 FPS, and Ultra averages 36 FPS. The gap between Low and Medium at 4K is substantial, a 19 FPS drop, which indicates that the additional rendering workload at this resolution overwhelms the GPU once settings are raised beyond the minimum.

Across all resolutions, the pattern is consistent: the gap between Low and Ultra widens as resolution increases. At 1080p, the spread from Low to Ultra is 59 FPS. At 1440p, the spread narrows to 44 FPS. At 4K, the spread narrows further to 30 FPS. This compression of the settings range at higher resolutions suggests that the GPU becomes the limiting factor more decisively as pixel count grows.

CPU and GPU Roles

The benchmark data reveals a configuration where the GPU is the dominant constraint at higher resolutions, while the CPU has enough headroom to support the lower resolutions comfortably. The Intel Core i5-11400F is a 6-core, 12-thread processor with a boost clock of 4.40 GHz, and its benchmark scores place it in the 71st percentile of all CPUs. The AMD Radeon RX 9060, based on the RDNA 4.0 architecture with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus, sits in the 59th percentile of all GPUs. This percentile gap, 71 versus 59, indicates the CPU is relatively stronger than the GPU in the overall hardware landscape.

The scaling between resolutions confirms this interpretation. From 1080p Low to 1440p Low, the average FPS drops from 130 to 98, a 32 FPS reduction. From 1440p Low to 4K Low, the average drops from 98 to 66, another 32 FPS reduction. These are large absolute drops, but the percentage changes tell a more nuanced story. At Low settings, the workload is less demanding on the GPU, and the frame rates remain high enough that the CPU can still feed frames effectively. At Ultra settings, the drops are smaller in absolute terms but the frame rates are already lower, which points to the GPU being saturated.

The Medium preset data includes minimum and maximum FPS values, which provide additional insight. At 1080p Medium, the range is 78 to 106 FPS, a 28 FPS spread. At 1440p Medium, the range is 59 to 80 FPS, a 21 FPS spread. At 4K Medium, the range is 40 to 54 FPS, a 14 FPS spread. The narrowing spread at higher resolutions indicates that the GPU is working closer to its limit, leaving less variation frame to frame. At lower resolutions, the GPU has spare capacity, and the frame times vary more, likely due to CPU scheduling or scene complexity.

The role of the CPU becomes more apparent when comparing the Low and Ultra presets at each resolution. At 1080p, Low averages 130 FPS and Ultra averages 71 FPS, a 45% reduction. At 1440p, Low averages 98 FPS and Ultra averages 54 FPS, a 45% reduction. At 4K, Low averages 66 FPS and Ultra averages 36 FPS, a 45% reduction. The consistency of this percentage drop across resolutions suggests that the relative cost of Ultra versus Low settings is stable, which implies the GPU is scaling its workload proportionally while the CPU maintains a consistent level of performance.

However, the absolute FPS values at 4K Ultra, 36 FPS average, indicate that the GPU is the bottleneck at this resolution. The CPU, with its 12 threads and a max-thread benchmark score of 5652 in 3dmark, has enough compute headroom to handle the game logic and draw calls, but the GPU cannot rasterize and shade fast enough to keep up with the demands of 4K Ultra. Conversely, at 1080p Low, the 130 FPS average shows the GPU is capable of high throughput, and the CPU is not limiting the frame rate at that point.

Best Settings per Resolution

The database identifies the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS for each resolution. At 1920x1080, the best settings are Ultra, with an average FPS of 71. This is a clear result: the system can run the game at maximum quality at 1080p and still maintain a comfortable margin above the playability threshold. The High preset at 1080p averages 82 FPS, and Medium averages 92 FPS, but Ultra is the recommended choice because it offers the highest visual quality while remaining playable.

At 2560x1440, the best settings are High, with an average FPS of 62. This is a narrower margin, only 2 FPS above the 60 FPS threshold, but it is still a playable result. The Medium preset at 1440p averages 70 FPS with a minimum of 59 FPS, which technically dips below the threshold in the worst recorded frame, but the average is higher. The High preset does not have a recorded minimum FPS, so the average of 62 FPS is the primary metric. The Ultra preset at 1440p averages 54 FPS, which is not playable according to the 60 FPS standard. Therefore, High is the best setting for 1440p, offering a balance of visual fidelity and performance.

At 3840x2160, the best settings are Low, with an average FPS of 66. This is the only preset at 4K that clears the 60 FPS threshold. The Medium preset averages 47 FPS, High averages 42 FPS, and Ultra averages 36 FPS, all of which fall short. The jump from Low to Medium at 4K represents a 19 FPS drop, which is a steep penalty for the additional visual features. Users targeting 4K must accept Low settings to maintain playable frame rates with this hardware combination.

FAQ

Q: Can this system run Control at 1080p with maximum settings?

A: Yes. The recorded data shows the Ultra preset at 1920x1080 averages 71 FPS, which is above the 60 FPS playability threshold. The system has sufficient performance for the highest quality settings at this resolution.

Q: What is the best settings preset at 2560x1440?

A: The High preset is the most demanding option that stays playable, averaging 62 FPS. The Ultra preset drops to 54 FPS, which is below the 60 FPS threshold, so High is the recommended choice for 1440p.

Q: Is 4K gaming viable with this configuration?

A: Only at Low settings. The Low preset at 3840x2160 averages 66 FPS, which is playable. All other presets at 4K, Medium at 47 FPS, High at 42 FPS, and Ultra at 36 FPS, fall below the 60 FPS standard.

Q: How does the CPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The Intel Core i5-11400F has an average benchmark score of 17177. Its nearest rival, the AMD EPYC 7H12, scores 17120, which is 0.3% lower. The Intel Core i5-12450H scores 17239, 0.4% higher, and the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G scores 17278, 0.6% higher. The Intel Core Ultra 7 164U scores 17074, 0.6% lower. These are all within a narrow band, indicating the CPU is competitive with these alternatives.

Q: How does the GPU compare to its nearest rivals?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 9060 has an average benchmark score of 16014. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti scores 16129, which is 0.7% higher. The AMD Radeon R9 370X scores 15862, 1% lower, and the AMD Radeon RX 7700 scores 15852, also 1% lower. The AMD Radeon Pro W5500 scores 15679, 2.1% lower. The RX 9060 sits near the middle of this group, with the RTX 3060 Ti being the closest competitor.

Q: What frame rates can be expected at Medium settings across resolutions?

A: At 1080p Medium, the average is 92 FPS with a range of 78 to 106 FPS. At 1440p Medium, the average is 70 FPS with a range of 59 to 80 FPS. At 4K Medium, the average is 47 FPS with a range of 40 to 54 FPS. Only the 1080p and 1440p Medium presets maintain playable averages.

Similar Performance Alternatives

The CPU and GPU each have nearest rivals that would produce similar overall performance in this game. For the Intel Core i5-11400F, the closest match is the AMD EPYC 7H12, which has an average benchmark score 0.3% lower. This means the EPYC 7H12 would deliver nearly identical CPU-bound performance in Control. The Intel Core i5-12450H scores 0.4% higher, so it would be marginally faster in CPU-intensive scenes, though the difference is within the noise of typical benchmarking. The AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G is 0.6% higher, and the Intel Core Ultra 7 164U is 0.6% lower, all of which are negligible differences for gaming purposes.

For the AMD Radeon RX 9060, the nearest rival is the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, which scores 0.7% higher on average. This suggests the RTX 3060 Ti would produce frame rates within a few FPS of the RX 9060 in Control across all resolutions and presets. The AMD Radeon R9 370X and AMD Radeon RX 7700 both score 1% lower, meaning they would be slightly slower, while the AMD Radeon Pro W5500 is 2.1% lower, a more noticeable gap but still in the same performance tier.

In practical terms, a system with the Intel Core i5-11400F and AMD Radeon RX 9060 would behave almost identically to one with an AMD EPYC 7H12 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti for this game. The benchmark scores for both components fall within a 2% band of their respective rivals, so the measured FPS data in this database would be a reliable predictor for those alternative configurations. The ranking of this combo, 2152 out of 3720 tested combinations, places it in the upper half of all recorded system pairings for Control, which aligns with the playable results at 1080p and 1440p.

The Verdict

The data shows that this system can run Control successfully at 1080p and 1440p with multiple playable settings, while 4K is limited to Low settings. At 1920x1080, the verdict is clear: all four presets, Low at 130 FPS, Medium at 92 FPS, High at 82 FPS, and Ultra at 71 FPS, clear the 60 FPS threshold. Users with a 1080p display can max out the game without concern.

At 2560x1440, the verdict is positive but with more caveats. The High preset averages 62 FPS, which is playable, as are the Medium and Low presets. The Ultra preset at 54 FPS does not clear the threshold, so users must accept High as the ceiling for visual quality. The margin at High is thin, only 2 FPS above the playable mark, but the average remains above the line.

At 3840x2160, the verdict is marginal. Only the Low preset, at 66 FPS, is playable. The Medium preset at 47 FPS, High at 42 FPS, and Ultra at 36 FPS are all significantly below the 60 FPS standard. For 4K gaming, this configuration requires a significant reduction in settings to maintain smooth frame rates.

Overall, this combination of Intel Core i5-11400F and AMD Radeon RX 9060 is best suited for 1080p gaming at maximum quality, capable of 1440p gaming at High settings, and only viable at 4K with Low settings. The CPU has sufficient headroom, but the GPU becomes the limiting factor at higher resolutions and presets.