Control

The Intel Core i5-11400F and Intel Arc B570 combination delivers a playable experience in Control, but the headroom depends heavily on your target resolution. At 1080p, the combo clears the 60 FPS threshold with room to spare on multiple presets; at 1440p, only the Low preset maintains a steady framerate; at 4K, no settings reach the playable mark. The data shows a clear scaling pattern where the GPU becomes the limiting factor as resolution climbs, while the CPU remains adequate throughout.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 1920x1080, the most demanding preset that stays at or above 60 FPS is High, with an average of 63 FPS. This is the sweet spot for this resolution, offering the visual quality uplift over Medium while still holding above the playability floor. The Medium preset averages 71 FPS, which provides additional headroom, but High is the highest quality tier that remains playable.

At 2560x1440, the only preset that reaches 60 FPS or higher is Low, averaging 76 FPS. The Medium preset drops to 54 FPS average, which falls short of the 60 FPS threshold. High and Ultra are further behind at 48 FPS and 42 FPS respectively, making Low the sole viable option for smooth gameplay at this resolution.

At 3840x2160, no preset achieves 60 FPS. The closest is Low with an average of 51 FPS, followed by Medium at 36 FPS, High at 32 FPS, and Ultra at 28 FPS. The verdict data confirms no playable settings exist at 4K for this combo, so users targeting this resolution would need to consider lower internal resolutions or different hardware.

Similar Performance Alternatives

Looking at the CPU benchmarks, the Intel Core i5-11400F sits at the 71st percentile among all tested processors, with an average benchmark score of 17177. Its nearest rivals in the database include the AMD EPYC 7H12, which scores 17120 and is 0.3% ahead, and the Intel Core Ultra 7 164U at 17074, which is 0.6% behind. The Intel Core i5-12450H scores 17239, putting it 0.4% ahead, and the AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 8300G scores 17278, 0.6% ahead. These deltas are all within a single percentage point, meaning any of these CPUs would produce nearly identical frame rates in CPU-bound scenarios within Control.

For the GPU, the Intel Arc B570 ranks at the 65th percentile among all tested graphics cards, with an average benchmark score of 20556. Its nearest rivals are tightly clustered: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile scores 20534 (0.1% behind), the Intel Arc A750 scores 20582 (0.1% ahead), the NVIDIA Quadro M4000M scores 20480 (0.4% behind), and the AMD Radeon R9 M390X scores 20662 (0.5% ahead). In practice, swapping the Arc B570 for any of these would yield essentially identical performance in Control, as the score differences are negligible.

When considering the full combo, users with this CPU could pair it with any of the rival GPUs and expect similar results. Conversely, keeping the Arc B570 and swapping in any of the rival CPUs would also produce near-identical outcomes. The performance envelope is narrow across these alternatives, so the choice between them would come down to other factors like features or driver behavior rather than raw frame rates in this title.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Control at 1080p with high settings?

A: Yes. The recorded data shows an average of 63 FPS at 1920x1080 with High settings, which clears the 60 FPS playable threshold. Medium averages 71 FPS and Low averages 101 FPS, while Ultra falls to 55 FPS.

Q: What is the best settings preset at 1440p for this combo?

A: Low is the only playable preset at 2560x1440, with an average of 76 FPS. Medium drops to 54 FPS, High to 48 FPS, and Ultra to 42 FPS, all below the 60 FPS threshold.

Q: Does this combo achieve 60 FPS at 4K resolution?

A: No. At 3840x2160, the best average is 51 FPS on Low settings. Medium averages 36 FPS, High averages 32 FPS, and Ultra averages 28 FPS. No settings reach the playable threshold.

Q: How does the Intel Arc B570 compare to the Intel Arc A750?

A: The Arc B570 has an average benchmark score of 20556, while the Arc A750 scores 20582. The A750 is 0.1% ahead, which is within measurement noise. In Control, the two would perform nearly identically.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more important for Control at 1080p?

A: The GPU becomes the limiting factor as resolution increases. At 1080p, the CPU has enough headroom to push High settings to 63 FPS, but the drop to 55 FPS on Ultra indicates the GPU cannot maintain the same performance at the highest preset.

Q: What frame rates can I expect on Medium settings at 1080p?

A: The recorded data shows an average of 71 FPS, with a minimum of 61 FPS and a maximum of 82 FPS. The minimum stays above the 60 FPS threshold, indicating consistent playability.

The Verdict

The verdict data is clear: this PC can run Control, but the experience varies by resolution. At 1920x1080, the combo delivers playable performance on High, Medium, and Low presets, with High averaging 63 FPS as the best playable option. Ultra falls short at 55 FPS, so it should be avoided for smooth gameplay.

At 2560x1440, only the Low preset clears 60 FPS, averaging 76 FPS. The step down from 1080p High to 1440p Low represents a significant visual quality reduction, but it is the only way to maintain smooth framerates at this resolution. Medium, High, and Ultra all sit below the threshold.

At 3840x2160, no preset is playable. The best case is Low at 51 FPS, which is still 9 FPS shy of the target. Users with 4K displays would need to rely on upscaling or reduce the rendering resolution to get a playable experience.

Overall, the combo is best suited for 1080p gaming with High settings. It can handle 1440p only at the lowest preset, and 4K is out of reach entirely. The data suggests this is a capable 1080p machine with some 1440p headroom at reduced settings.

CPU and GPU Roles

The scaling between resolutions and presets reveals the division of labor between the Intel Core i5-11400F and the Intel Arc B570. At 1920x1080, the CPU has sufficient headroom to support High settings at 63 FPS. The jump to Ultra drops the average to 55 FPS, a 12.7% reduction, which indicates the GPU is starting to strain at the highest preset even at 1080p.

Moving to 2560x1440, the GPU bottleneck becomes more pronounced. High settings fall from 63 FPS at 1080p to 48 FPS at 1440p, a 23.8% drop. Medium falls from 71 FPS to 54 FPS, a 23.9% drop. The Low preset drops from 101 FPS to 76 FPS, a 24.8% reduction. These consistent percentage drops across presets point to the GPU as the primary constraint, as the CPU would show more variance if it were the limiting factor.

At 3840x2160, the GPU is heavily saturated. High settings drop to 32 FPS, Medium to 36 FPS, and Low to 51 FPS. The Ultra preset bottoms out at 28 FPS. The scaling from 1440p to 4K shows an even steeper decline, with High falling 33.3% from 48 FPS to 32 FPS. This is characteristic of a GPU-bound scenario where fill rate and memory bandwidth become critical.

The CPU benchmarks show a mid-range performer: the i5-11400F scores 14340 in Cinebench R23 multi-core and 2024 in single-core, ranking at the 71st percentile. These scores indicate enough processing power for Control's physics and AI workloads at all tested resolutions. The frame rate drops are almost entirely attributable to the GPU, which ranks at the 65th percentile and shows its limits at higher resolutions.

The data indicates that at 1080p, the combo is balanced, with the CPU able to feed the GPU adequately. At 1440p and above, the GPU becomes the clear bottleneck. Users seeking higher framerates at 1440p or 4K would benefit more from a GPU upgrade than a CPU upgrade.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-11400F and Intel Arc B570 combination ranks 2995 out of 3720 tested combos in Control, placing it in the 19.5th percentile of all combinations. This means roughly 80% of tested hardware configurations perform better in this game.

This ranking reflects the mid-range positioning of both components. The CPU sits at the 71st percentile among all processors, while the GPU ranks at the 65th percentile among all graphics cards. When paired together, their combined performance in Control places them below average relative to the full database of tested combos.

The rank is heavily influenced by the GPU's limitations at higher resolutions. At 1080p, the combo delivers playable performance on three presets, which is respectable. However, the inability to handle 1440p above Low or 4K at all drags the overall ranking down. Combos with stronger GPUs would achieve higher ranks by maintaining playable framerates at higher resolutions.

For context, the nearest GPU rivals all score within 0.5% of the Arc B570 in average benchmarks, so pairing the CPU with any of those alternatives would produce a nearly identical rank. The same applies to CPU swaps, as the nearest rivals are all within 0.6% of the i5-11400F's average score. The rank is essentially fixed for this performance tier.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the recorded data shows the following averages: Low settings run at 101 FPS, Medium at 71 FPS with a minimum of 61 FPS and maximum of 82 FPS, High at 63 FPS, and Ultra at 55 FPS. The Medium preset is the only one with recorded minimum and maximum values, and its minimum of 61 FPS stays above the 60 FPS threshold, indicating consistent performance.

At 2560x1440, Low settings average 76 FPS, Medium averages 54 FPS with a minimum of 46 FPS and maximum of 62 FPS, High averages 48 FPS, and Ultra averages 42 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 46 FPS shows that even the playable Low preset would have some frame dips, though the average remains solid.

At 3840x2160, Low settings average 51 FPS, Medium averages 36 FPS with a minimum of 31 FPS and maximum of 42 FPS, High averages 32 FPS, and Ultra averages 28 FPS. The Medium preset's minimum of 31 FPS indicates significant frame drops, reinforcing that 4K is not viable for this combo.

The pattern across all resolutions shows that Low settings provide the highest averages, followed by Medium, High, and Ultra in descending order. The gap between Low and Medium is substantial: at 1080p it is 30 FPS, at 1440p it is 22 FPS, and at 4K it is 15 FPS. This suggests that the Low preset avoids certain GPU-intensive effects that heavily impact performance. The Medium preset's recorded minimum and maximum values show that frame pacing becomes more variable as resolution increases, with the 4K Medium minimum of 31 FPS being particularly low relative to its 36 FPS average.